#If the prison guards know what’s good for them they’ll just leave the boys alone

[ssreeder]

I'm picturing liab Sokka and/or Zuko somehow ending up in that one "Avatar's Day" prison with the "hey ur smart and cool :)" and "don't be afraid to tell her how you feel 😢" prisoners and they're. In a corner glaring at everyone and the other guys are like "wtf is up with these kids 🥺"

I’m wondering if this is the closest the boys would ever get to therapy haha?

It sounds like these prisoners have some good advice! alright you’ve convinced me anon, the boys gotta go back to prison.

[luimagines]

Hey, I’m not sure how to explain this but getting straight to the point, I’m the person who runs the yandere-linked-universe blog and I’m pretty sure you’re pinkittwice.

So, I was just wondering what ideas you might have about the chain being yandere for one person. Like, what would the dynamic be and how they would behave as yanderes, you know that kind of stuff.

I hope it’s not too much to ask but I’m just curious to see what you might think of it since you’re pretty much the only person on the sight that I know of who also writes things involving lu and the reader. I’m not unhappy or dissatisfied in any way but it does get a little lonely being the only person who writes stuff like this. Sorry if this is too weird.

Masterlist

Yahaha~! You found me!

Everybody go check out their stuff @yandere-linked-universe

They do cool art sometimes and are even writing a whole fic which you can find right here.

It's really well written and I'm excited to see how the story progresses and where it goes- especially endgame.

And I'm assuming the ask means if they were yandere in the same circumstance than in the story.

That being said, I'm still going to apply the rules I have set for the Links. Like how Sky was never with his Zelda and similarly how Time and Malon never really happened. As for Wind, he will not be platonic unlike in the fic mentioned above- I will explain this in his section I promise.

Also, disclaimer, I'm not good at horror and I've never written for these types of characters before. But if you want headcanons then I'll provide the brainstorm that I've been cooking up of ever since I got this ask. (And it was a while ago I'm sorry for the wait.)

I'm also including some songs that I think best fit their rose tinted glasses ideal. Not necessarily yandere and can apply to Link being in love with you in general but it's as close as I'm going to get to making a playlist.

I might come back and change them to stalker songs and add these songs to a separate list entirely but maybe not...

Content under the cut!

It's long, brace yourself.

As a group, I think jealously would run high.

Everybody wants the attention of a single person and there's eight other people as competition.

If the group was tight knit as we like to portray them, it won't last long.

If dear reader was a little caring or naturally falls into a healer/medic position in the group, the group becomes more reckless, less caring about their personal safety- if only to get a momentary caress from the love of their life's fingers as their wounds are tended to.

There's less group unity and alliances between them form.

If the reader isn't a fighter well...

They would take turns guarding their prize and fight to be the one to do it.

Leaving you behind when they go to dungeons is a must.

They won't risk you getting a scratch on your person let alone putting you in a potentially dangerous situation.

They try to keep all their weapons away and out of reach. Less you get any ideas and try to fight with them or worse, get hurt playing with them.

Or try to fight against them. HAHAHAHA!! How crazy would that be?

Like you would stand a chance.

When you're simply traveling with the group, your designated spot is on top of Epona, hands down, no questions asked.

Not only would be easier to keep an eye on you, and make it harder to get away, but Twilight has personally asked Epona (through Wolfie) that if they were ever ambushed, she was to take off with you and get away from the fight no matter the cost. She'll always come back to him anyway- so if you're tied to connected to her than all the more reason for him to be the one to retrieve you when it's all over.

The others don't like how Twilight gets to be the one to greet you first. But Epona is on Twilight's side and everyone knows it.

So they wait their turn.

You're on top of Epona even if you're a fighter as well.

If you can prove your salt and fight with them, they actually don't try to keep you away as much as they can (because now it means that they can spend more time with you!)

It instead becomes a competition to be your partner. Among the younger ones anyway.

The older ones, are less concerned now by you fighting, and more by the younger ones who keep trying to be by your side (even if that's their spot) and try to keep them out of your way.

Every bump and cut you get is treated immediately by who ever reaches you first.

It's once again a race.

The group, as yandere's go, do not know how annoying they're being nor do they plan to stop.

If you told stories of your past conquests, it a mixed bag of awe, adoration and anger for you even being put there to begin with. These thoughts are not voiced however, and they instead stew and simmer and grow into their possessive tendencies.

Because they would protect you, honor you, worship you and you wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again. Not if you were with them, not if you stayed with them, not if you were in their Hyrule.

There's a slight knee jerk reaction when you bring out your items to take it away because it's dangerous. But not only would that piss you off, it would take away what little protection you have on your person and they don't want to take any risks when it comes to your safety.

I wouldn't share too much if I were you.

Now as Individuals they're all different, obviously.

Let's explore that.

Time

He's the most dangerous

I'm starting this off with that

I'm talking the most calculating, scheming and devious of the whole group

He know he's in charge and that the others will listen to him regardless if they actually agree with him or not

Because he's the leader

His grip on the group lessens as time goes by and their unity dissipates

But he's delusional and he doesn't realize it

However, because he's already in this position, he takes it upon himself to take care of you

And others let him

Less work for them to focus on when they can be by your side instead

You never have watch

You're always in the middle of the group

He'd gladly send the boys ahead of you into danger to make sure that they deal with it before you even get there.

The others let him with little thought because it's for you

So they go for it

Time however, is somehow, never the one to go ahead, instead waiting behind (with you) while they go ahead and deal with the issue

He gets away with this 8/10 times

Mostly because he rotates who's he's sacrificing

Dad! Time is not here- not anymore

But he lets them near you because he's only biding his time

You're meant to be

Soulmates, if you will

If a little time with you is all those boys need to stay in line and listen to him then he'll allow it

Because they're only boys

He's a man through and through

They have nothing on him

And you deserve more than a mere boy

He has some other concerns on his mind while the boys fight each other like street dogs

Time has to think about your future together so he daydreams the most out of the group.

He doesn't really have a home and a roof over his head for himself- let alone you and he knows he'd have to change that

He thinks about staying as a permanent employee at Lon Lon Ranch

He can save enough money

Buy a house

Maybe some land

And enough things for you and him to make a comfortable life without any worries

Maybe even start a family?

The dream is a reprieve form the headache that are other boys who won't leave you alone

Pray you don't end up in his Hyrule

EVER

This is just the gateway he'd be waiting for to keep you all to himself

Fighter or not it's dangerous to travel with them

You're in danger

And he won't stand for that.

He doesn't know how exactly he'd do it

But he plans to leave you at Lon Lon Ranch, waiting for him, for when he comes back after the mission

He'd have to find some kind of way to actually keep you there and find you when you inevitably try to leave the Ranch

But he's traveled all over his Hyrule

There's no place you could go that he doesn't know about

As the adult of the group, he'd step over all the others

He's not going to listen to them when they try to stop him

They don't know as much as he does

They haven't experienced as much as he has

He knows that this is the best and only option to ensure that you're safe and well taken care of

He'd doesn't mind leaving you as prisoner to the Gerudo instead either if the others start to really get pushy

It won't be comfortable and it won't be glamorous

But they'll definitely keep you in one place

And he can walk in whenever he wanted thanks to that note from the chief from a time long ago

Pick you up, take you away and you'll be his

He daydreams a lot

And he knows that you'll choose him

You have to

He's the best and only option

He's never felt happier thinking about you and the life you'll both have

He's struggled so much anyway

Maybe you were the blessing the goddesses owed him for all his work in his youth

And surely they aren't so cruel to give you to him and then take you away by some monster attack or some terrible unforeseen fate

He can't have that either

So he'll take the first and best out he's given

But while you're here with him...

He's looking at you like you're magic

Warrior

Warrior is the least dangerous

He knows the feel of being on the receiving side of someone's obsession

He was ignorant for a long time about it

But he wasn't sure how to feel comfortable in his own skin again when he found out about it

He can see how the others are starting to show similar obsessive tendencies and tries to mitigate what he can

He does a lot of damage control

It's what he's trying to do anyway- he's not very successful

Warrior is the one who's challenging their train of thought

Why do they think this is ok? Why don't they ask you for your opinion? Why do they not give some time alone to recharge? Why don't they lay off?

Because it's totally for your benefit- AND THEIRS

Because it's not ok

He doesn't see himself follow the exactly same train of thought

He doesn't see himself doing what they're doing

He's just annoyed that they're the ones doing it

Warrior becomes the very definition of hypocrite.

However- because he's the one acting as your advocate- the others don't consider him as much as a threat and therefore more inclined to listen to him at this point in time than Time himself

It also means that they don't fight him as much when he wants time with you. Mostly because in their eyes, he's not interested

They're wrong

At some point in Warrior's attempt to keep the group together and keep you from going crazy or hating all of them, he begins to gain ulterior motives in his mission

He begins to play the role in an attempt to win you over.

Because- see, he's not like them

He won't violate your space

Go through your stuff

Or keep you from doing what you love

He's the one to say you should join them in fights, that you should stay, that you can hold your own

Since he's the main strategist in the group, he takes into account your skills and always places you at a distance from the fight or from the most obsessive the group.

He knows that their one track mind could kill you or them and there's still the darkness to defeat.

They don't have the luxury to afford this kind of distractions

When the others aren't paying attention to him, he'd pepper you with compliments and flirty lines, playing up his charm and suave attitude

He becomes the perfect gentleman

You'd never know that he's crazy

Just join him and be with him- that's all he wants

He loves you so what more is there to offer you?

He's got the status, the looks and the means to take care of you so you wouldn't have to worry about anything else

He'd be the best husband that Hyrule has ever seen

He'd hate to have the group scare you off with how over the top they've all been.

He knows the group is being annoying with being by your side all the time and how they don't let you be and how there's always someone by your side even when you're at your final straw

Warrior is the one who takes over guarding you when you need to pee or bath and actively argues on your behalf to let you take care of your hygiene.

He's not always successful but it's the thought that counts right?

Hyrule agrees with him most of the time and since Hyrule seems to be the only one who still cares (somewhat) about the mission, they make an agreement

Warrior isn't at all concerned about the others and know that you'd come around to him eventually.

Since he's not like the others

You're his first thought in the morning, his last thought when he rests his head to sleep and there's nothing that he hasn't been doing that wasn't for you

Hyrule

Hyrule is the least possessive

Mostly because of his low confidence.

I've mentioned in a previous post that is unrelated to this, his love language is physical touch- so he's all over you

There always have to be some way that he's holding you- whether its a hand on your shoulder or the small of your back, maybe he's holding your hand or maybe he's just pinched the edge of your tunic

But he's careful to not go beyond what you're comfortable with

He doesn't want to you to pull away from him

Because the others will not hesitate to push and pull him away if you so much as hinted at not wanting him near you

So he plays it cool

Hyrule also gets concerned when there's too many injuries to go around and he needs to heal the group

Because if you hurt then he can't spare anything else to help you

It's one of the few things he thinks that he's useful for- so if he can't do this little thing for you then why does he bother?

There's so many other guys here that could easily sweep you off of your feet and have so much more to offer you

He doesn't have any land

He doesn't have a house

His Hyrule... isn't the most welcoming and he doesn't like the idea of bringing you from one dangerous situation to another

Especially since he's being hunted for sport back home

It doesn't stop him from trying to win your heart obviously and he tries to show you and win you over in whatever little ways he can.

He's the gentlest with you

Whatever hurting you, he'll heal

Whatever scaring you, he'll deal with

Whatever danger comes your way, he'll end it's miserable existence

He- like Time- daydreams a lot but he's trying to live for the moment

He's almost resigned in a way- that you won't pick him

He knows they're on borrowed time, he knows that something dangerous can take you away from them or that he could be the one to be taken away instead

So he's trying to make up for it in the time that you do have together and spend every second by your side that he can

Because the group gets a little more reckless in their attempts to impress you and be dealt with (whether you're healing them and tending to their wounds or just yelling at them)

He heals the group a lot little less

If they're going to be stupid and get hurt- then he's not going to waste his magic when they're only going to do the same thing the next day

Soon, with enough time and patience, Hyrule begins to hoard all the healing potions as well.

It's an attempt to keep them away from you so when they're hurt he can step in and just get them healed up in a minute

But it also works to keep the group from getting too reckless

It's not his intention but he takes it as it is

If they get hurt too much anyway then that just means less competition for him to deal with and a higher chance with you!

Because of his low confidence about you actually ending up with him, he becomes one of the more mission minded of the group, probably right after Warrior

Since they both have their sights on eradicating the darkness instead of focusing on their love lives (for different reasons) this is the first alliance to be formed

Hyrule wants you to be his but he's at a crossroad

He knows Warrior has a lot of charm to win you over and has the means to make sure you live a good life

He knows it's more than he can ever give you

But he's fairly certain he can take Warrior in a fight

One well timed Thunder Strike and Warrior wouldn't stand a chance

Not to mention that they've been fighting side by side now, so he knows what to look for to bring him down

He doesn't think it'll come to that though

Warrior doesn't seem that interested with you anyway so he doesn't worry about him

Which just leaves the problem of winning your heart

He wonders what life would be like he can love like you do

Twilight

Twilight is the most protective

It's his wolf instincts and his caretaker instincts combined.

He's used to being the one to look after everyone else

Being his village's primary babysitter and all

But wolves are family animals and they protect their mates

He's the one to fight to keep you away from the fights, whether you can handle yourself or not

He can Four agree with this and it's the second alliance that forms

You must be protected at all costs and there's many things around that can injure you, or worse

So they both try their hardest to keep you safe and secure

If bubble wrap existed in Hyrule you would have been wrapped in it and then wrapped again for good measure.

He's the first to run up to you and the first to drag over Hyrule or someone with a fairy or a potion to treat you

He's not afraid to start punching anything that dares to threaten you

Forget the sword

He'll just start swinging... or maybe just go full Woflie even if he's not in his form and go for the jugular

He lets you ride on Epona more often than not and refuses to let you work more than you should

He's quick to carry things for you

He tries to impress you by being a handy man and tries to fix whatever he can get his hands on for you

He's not good at it

But he tries

His love language is acts of service so he's trying

You don't really need his help though

But let him get it out

And tell him that he's doing a good job please, for your sake

He talks a lot about his home life with you and he ask a lot of questions about your own

He's comparing notes

Trying to see what way of life you'd be more comfortable with and how he can accommodate to it

He tries to win you over with the simple life and he paints pretty pictures of having a ranch and a farm and letting you have all and any animals you want

Wolfie make an appearance every other day instead of simply whenever it's convenient

If you're a dog lover then it's even better.

Twilight is not afraid of taking advantage of it to give you all the kisses and cuddles he can get away in his other form

The others would have to fight the each other just to get kisses from you but Wolfie gets special privilege's

He gets kisses no problem

He's not above using it to his advantage

Epona is always on Twilight side and while he's in wolf form, he tells her all about you and how much he loves you and all the ways he finds you amazing and spectacular

Because you're riding Epona more often than not, he tells her to watch after you and to keep your safe and to get to a safe area if they ever get ambushed

She doesn't know how human romance works, so she agrees.

Link is her master and her best friend, so she trusts him with her life and you're important to him, clearly, so you're important to her too

He's not going to lose you like he lost Midna

She left him behind with barely a glance behind

You won't leave him at all

He'll make sure of it

The others won't take you away from him either

Four seems to be the one who's most on his side right now and together they can lessen the competition

He'd hate to fight the guy and maybe they can come to an understanding but he knows he's got the brute strength that Four lacks not to mention Wolfie and Epona as well

So maybe he'll listen to reason

His world used to be so grey with no change in either direction

An eternal twilight

You became his light in the gloom

Sky

Sky is the least violent

He actually falls in the middle of both protectiveness and jealousy.

But he's more set on letting each of the boy pick each other off (not unlike Time) and then he'll figure out who's left over to deal with them then.

Sky also isn't one to fight off the other people who you interact with

He's not going to go confront the person or drag you away and definitely not going to start swinging

He still feels uncomfortable if you aren't by his side but he'll make up for it when you're done by sticking to your hip

Sky doesn't want you to feel cramped by only talking to the group

But he does get a little jumpy when you're beyond his line of sight.

That being said- he will let you out of his sight

Not for long periods of time, mind you, but he's not going to be in your shadow the entire time or demand to be glued to your hip

He's arguably the most normal out of the group- the least yandere if you will

Still crazy though

Sky is also one to agree with Warrior and Twilight.

He's not a part of any alliance but between wanting you to be safe and still wanting you to be healthy and clean (he knows how being clean helps out ones moral and he doesn't want you to be depressed when you're with them) he'd let them do the fighting and arguing for him and when they lose a bit, he'll say something and add to their cause

He's trying to be chill and he plays on his harp when you're nearby.

If you come sit next him to listen and chill- he will absolutely be over the moon

He will go through some of your things to make sure you have anything and everything you'd need for their adventure

But he won't take away your weapons or go through your diary (he wouldn't be able to read it anyway)

He does try to ask you in some roundabout way if he has permission to do that.

It'll be long winded and vague and a total play on words, so be careful to what you agree with when he asks something of you

Sky although is the least violent, that's in regards to other humans

Monsters have learned to keep away from him when he's on the battle field and if they haven't learned that...

They will

He's the one that tries to have your relationship mature and grow naturally.

Sky is going to simply be your friend first and show you that he has your best interest at heart

So when you talk to him about your problems and how the others are driving you crazy, he'll give you advice, tell you he's on your side and openly give you outs to avoid the others.

If you want time alone and the others begin looking for you, he'll tell them you went in the other direction and he'll send them on a wild goose chase.

Since he's on your side, he tells you to at least let him know where you're going and for how long so he can distract the others.

He's not concerned about you running away, since the others are going to do the work for him

Four and Twilight and Wolfie can find and hunt you down in a heart beat and you'll be together again

He won't blame you for running away, there's a lot of people who won't leave you alone in the group and it annoys him too

And Hyrule, Wind and Time keep you within the group and close by so he never has to worry about not knowing where you are at all times

Warrior and Wild keep you well fed and well taken care of

And Legend makes sure that you always have a potion on you and has even given some power rings to ensure your safety

So all he has to do is butter you up by being the least persistent of them all and you'll fall for him and you can be together forever and ever and even be the start of Hyrule as everyone knows it

Wouldn't that be nice?

While he may not be the most musically inclined of the group, he's the one to serenade you when he gets the chance

He plays his harp more often than not, trying to get the notes out that he hears in his head when he looks at you

His life was such a simple song before you came along but now... It's a symphony, he wants you to know this

Four

Four is the most controlling

He's the one putting restrictions on you left and right and is the one to never want you to leave his side- let alone his line of sight.

You see, he's got these voices in his head that bounce ideas off of each other.

When one might be, hey that guy is talking to you

The other responds with, he's close to you too

One might say, you're smiling and it's beautiful

Another says, why is it directed at that guy?

Which snowballs to, you're a little too close, a little too nice, is he flirting? Has he touched you? Is he trying to make a move?

And then he's even more possessive and it grows and spirals and next thing he knows, he's next to you again and chewing the poor guy out for no reason when it was a simple conversation about the weather and directions.

And that's in public

Now add in the threat of monsters and traps and many other dangerous that surround the group as a whole

He's paranoids in the extreme

So when Twilight suggests that they tie you to Epona and keep you where he they can always see you, he's the first to agree

In fact he feels as if Twilight is the only one who's actually looking out for your well being

Wind tries to throw fits and get the two of them to back off but he's just a kid, what does he know? He should know better anyway, he knows how dangerous this journey is going to get, so why is Wind trying to actively put you in harms way?

Twilight a least can get Wind to listen to reason and Twilight's better at explaining it than he is so while Four'll yell, Wind is really Twilight's problem.

He doesn't like the idea of fighting is friends but he can see that well... He's the only to notice that they're not as close as they used to be when you first joined.

He thinks that Warrior can feel it but Four is the one who'll say it out loud.

Four is actually the most trigger happy out of all them, he's not afraid to break character and yell at some poor passerby who's too foolish enough to even look in your direction

He's the angry guard dog in public and it's a little hard to reign him most of the time

Twilight agree with him in this but he's also the one to hold him back

The last thing they need is to be kicked out of town

But if while you're there maybe he can get something for you?

He's the kind of person to make something for their beloved but he only knows how to make weapons and tools

Things that he's never going to give to you and actively tries to keep them away from at all costs

Yes, if you have your own weapons he'll also try to take them away

He'd rather see you angry than injured

No, he does not see how being weaponless in a fight will lead to more injuries and no, he not going to listen to those who try to tell him that.

Maybe he can learn how to make jewelry and gift that instead?

A pretty thing like yourself should be adorned in more beauty.

And he can save enough to make it with rubies and diamonds and any gold that he can salvage in Hyrule

He'd give you and make you anything you want

You'd be dripping in jewels if he had it his way

He also knows that the voices try to point out his flaws and all the ways that he's really not that appealing to any potential partners

It doesn't matter that he's merged and they all have the same flaws

But whenever he's next to you and things are calm, the voices are quiet and he feels like him

Wild

Wild is the Most violent

Like Four, he does not care if it's a simple conversation, if someone else is taking up your time and attention then he will want to start swinging.

He's usually held back by Warrior and Time since Twilight typically has to restrain Four

But if you're in danger? Real danger?

He becomes the equivalent of the Fierce Deity, no mask required

The battle field becomes a blood bath by his hand alone

Sure the others will want to to cause some destruction as well and destroy any and all threats to you, but Wild goes the extra mile

Forget Twilight going feral, he has an excuse- but Wild?

He'll go ballistically feral, even going as far to drop his weapons to rip into the threats with his hands and teeth

He has to make sure there's absolutely nothing in between you and him

He's not afraid to throw away his whole good guy reputation and even the reputation of the hero in order make sure he's the last man standing

Wild is now taking notes on how the the group fights and how they defend themselves, defend you and try to figure out the best ways to take them down

If there was ever to be a physical fight within the group, he'll not only be a part of it but most likely also the instigator

Wild has already lost all his friends and family before, he can't afford to lose anyone else

Besides his Hyrule has so much more to offer you than some of the others

Not to mention he has his own house- in a safe village- with low monsters around it- and barely any reason to think that he wouldn't be able to provide for you

He's got the rupees he needs from his monster farming and everything's nearby. Whatever he can't get, he can teleport to and he wouldn't have to leave you alone for long periods of time.

Wild goes out of his way to buy you clothes since the others have taken care of your other needs (much to his chagrin)

But he also makes sure you have the best portions of the meals he makes

He keep tracks how much you ate and when

He always there to give you a snack if you even mention of being peckish

He knows the others won't mind if he dotes in this manner

Not only because it's for you...

He has all the food anyway.

When he sees that you're wearing Legend's old tunic, he instantly hates it

He and Legend are less of an alliance and merely on tolerable terms- not that Legend notices or cares- because of this and Wild knows that your clothes have taken a lot battery

He wants to you be warm and protected

But he also has a lot of extra outfits

So he takes a page out of Legend's book and gives you some as well

He's a little disappointed you don't wear them as often but he knows that most of them are specialized for certain terrain- Legend's is more of a catch all kind of deal so he can understand the need for general uses

He's not happy about it

But he understands

The crazy thing is, you wouldn't want to end up in his Hyrule either

Pray you never do

Like Time, Wild has been all over his Hyrule and has traveled to all the nooks and crannies

He knows that he can hide you away without the others ever knowing what happened to you

Not even Wolfie would be able to track you

Why?

Because (and this is from AoC) he can teleport more than one person at a time, so he can just take you far away and somewhere secluded, somewhere where you wouldn't be able to leave

Hebra region? In the cabin where he learned how to shield surf? Or play the snow bowl game?

Gerudo Wasteland?

Akkala Region? With Robbie? It's hard to get past the guardians and the high level monsters...

Or maybe ditch you in the mountains with Paya in Kakariko Village?

Or maybe leave you on the Great Plateau? You can't get down without a paraglider...

Life with you is the only reason he's still on this journey instead of just taking you and leaving

The darkness is still around and it threatens his future with you

But it looks bright in his head when all is over and he's so happy that he met you

Life is now pink! And he won't take off his rose tinted glasses any time soon!

Legend

Legend is the most possessive

As some people have headcanoned in the past, he has a problem letting things go

He's lost so many people he cares about- he knows that items are a little harder to lose

He's the Collector- the Hoarder

Naturally when he sees something that he wants, he'll stop at nothing to make it his.

However, since he has a problem coming into direct contact with his own feelings, he's projecting

Legend instead tries to keep you at arms length and fails miserably

He doesn't want to fall for someone only to have them be ripped form him again, and again and again,

He cares for the group still even after their disagreements and eventually mistrust

He doesn't want to leave this little family they've made for themselves and has disillusioned himself into thinking that he can save it before it's too late

But in his fairytale ending, you're with him

Legend, though, still knows that their time will end and everyone will eventually go home so by the time everyone begins fighting and jealousy runs amuck, he's trying to hold everyone at arms length

When you don't give him attention, he's prone to get angry and may very well at times act like he hates you

He doesn't like it when you so much as breath in someone else's direction

You're his and his alone, why is anyone else even worth your time and energy?

But he's not going to say this out loud

So he's frustrated with himself and pouts often

So he's stuck in a cycle of self hatred and jealousy and not willing to do something to change it

But when you do give him attention, he's melts into a puddle

He's at your beck and call if so much as say his name

There's very little that he isn't willing to do for you or get for you, anything to make you happy

He's also quick to give you power rings to protect you even if he's against you fighting

Legend is also going to give you an extra tunic if (/when) your clothes take too much damage and they're too far gone for him to fix

It's a power move on his part

Not only does he feel giddy with boyish excitement when he sees you in his old tunic (that definitely has some kind of magical properties to ensure your safety), it's also him marking you as his property

And the others know it

Wild does a similar thing so you can at least have a change of clothes but Legend is quick to tailor them when you're not looking to not fit you and be uncomfortable

He's the one going through your things for sure

He need to know that he's the one who's taking care of you

He needs to know you have everything you need

He needs to know if there's anything that you're lacking so that he can sweep in and provide it for you

He's not really planning on taking out the competition or is planning beyond keeping you by his side for the day

He (like Hyrule) is living for the moment, because he's afraid he's going to blink and you'd be gone and there would be nothing else left for him

But you won't be gone

He's going to make sure of that

He's got tunnel vision for sure

But since he's also trying to not fall for you and get his heart broken, it becomes a game of hot and cold with a whole lot of minefields in between that could set him off for (what looks like) no reason

He hates you- no he doesn't- he wants nothing to do with you- he wants to be your everything- he's not going to write you poetry or braid your hair or fall asleep listening to your heart beat- he would kill for that to be his reality- he hates that you're all he's able to think about now- don't leave him please

He's not crushing

He's not

He is

Wind

Wind is the least protective- Still protective but arguably not to the degree of the others

You see, he knows that the others protect him because he's the youngest

And he's not blind

He can see that they're just as, if not more, protective over you

He can see how you hate it and how much it annoys you

He's not going to make that same move

And as a bonus, since the others are protecting you anyway, why should he put in the work and protect you as well?

There's enough people watching you all the time

With the others taking care of it, he can plan on winning you over

He's going to give you as much freedom as he's able to get away with

It'll put him as your favorite

This immediately puts him at a crossroads with Four who's somehow a hair's breadth away from tying you up and chaining you together by the wrists

They fight against each other the most

He plans on marrying you

It's honestly in the same degree of young children that say they're growing to grow up and marry their dad or their mom

Because obviously you marry the person you love and you stay with them for the rest of your life

And he loves you.

So that's what he plans to do

Win you over is step one

Then he (and you) just need to wait a few years for him to get older

And then he'll marry you

He does not see a problem with this plan

Typically I make the reader the same age as him to avoid the worst of it but in this case, this does not matter

I'd say that if you're older, he'd get more easily attached to giving you the freedom you've been missing

With him by your side obviously

Because you're older- you're an 'adult'- you can take care of yourself

You're so cool in his eyes

The others, naturally, see a problem with this

Not only out of jealously at the very thought of it not being them to marry you but because they know he's young and if you're older, (say closer to Twilight and Warrior's age) then they can see the problem it'll prove to be for you from a moral stand point

The others (mainly Legend and Four) bully tease him when you're not around about how selfish he is to even think about making you wait, when you could easily marry one of them instead, so why would you ever choose him?

He tries not to let it get to him because he does hang out with you more than they get to- so maybe they're really just jealous that his plan is working

Wind has the more innocent approach to this whole ordeal out of the whole group

His obsession isn't healthy, obviously, but he at least the excuse of being young and not knowing how to deal with crushes

Because he's awkward with it, (and he knows it) he's actually pretty quick to shut away the worst of it when he's spending time with you, less you think he's weird and push him away

Not only does he not want that to happen, but he's heard the others come up to you countless times regarding him and his behavior and if you'd like him to leave you alone

Because they will deal with him if you so much as say one word of annoyance

The choice is yours

If you indulge him when he wants your attention then he's more like himself and becomes the most normal out of the whole group

He becomes the him when you first joined

Before the obsession

Wind becomes your safest bet in terms of keeping your sanity intact and it's the groups saving grace to keep up any illusion that they're still normal

Wind is dealing with a highly flammable vial of puppy love concentrate

All in the form of budding teenage yandere hormones

If you had met him any later in his life, the cocktail would have no doubt exploded into the form of the other's behavior and he'd seem like a completely different person instead

He's almost like a lost puppy, always following you around and being in your shadow

It would be cute if he wasn't crazy

Wind adores you though and he wants you to know that

[zuko-always-lies]

Unpopular Opinion: Zuko’s treatment of Mai is deeply toxic.

Mai is a character who is often maligned in the fandom, with it even occasionally being claimed that she was “abusive” toward Zuko. Any objective analysis of Mai’s behavior in her relationship with Zuko will instead find that she was, in fact, a shockingly good romantic partner, generally treating Zuko very well and being loyal to him far beyond reasonable expectation.  Claims that Mai behaved toxically toward Zuko seem to be instead founded in misogynistic expectations that women be perfect caretakers for the men in their lives.

That is not to say that the Zuko-Mai relationship isn’t still deeply toxic. However, its toxicity stems from the manner which Zuko badly mistreats Mai, often in ways which devalue her. Much more under the cut.

Our story begins in the first half of Book 3.  The vast majority of episodes there don’t show anything particularly toxic going on in the relationship. The most you can say is that they suggest that Zuko tends to dump his problems on others and doesn’t have best understanding of his girlfriend.

However, inevitably we must turn to “The Beach,” the episode which, by far, gets the most into the Zuko-Mai relationship. To say that Zuko doesn’t behave well toward Mai in this episode would be an understatement. I don’t speak here of Zuko’s unsuccessful attempts to please Mai early in the episode, but instead how badly he starts treating her beginning at the party:

Ruon Jian: Hey, first ones here, huh? Zuko: (cut to shot of Zuko and Mai walking side by side) Pft. He thinks he's so great. (to Mai) Well, what do you think of him? (they stop walking) Mai: I don't have any opinion about him. I hardly know him. Zuko: You like him, don't you? (Mai sighs and walks away, as Zuko looks angrily in the direction of Ruon Jian. The camera zooms in on Ruon Jian)

And

(Cut to shot of Ruon Jian leaning over Mai. Zuko rushes toward them angrily and pushes Ruon Jian away from her. Cut to shot of Ruon Jian straightening his hair.) Ruon Jian: Whoa. What are you doing? Zuko: (close-up shot of Zuko, angry) Stop talking to my girlfriend! Ruon Jian: (Ruon Jian approaches Zuko) Relax, it's just a party. (Zuko pushes Ruon Jian hard, sending him flying across the room, breaking a giant vase.) Mai: (Mai stands up and grabs Zuko's shoulder. He turns towards her.) Zuko, what is wrong with you?! Zuko: What's wrong with me?! Mai: (angrily) Your temper's out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient and hot-headed and angry. Zuko: Well, at least I feel something...as opposed to you. You have no passion for anything. (raising his arms is the air) You're just a big "blah". Mai: (turning away from him) It's over, Zuko. We're done.

 And:

(Zuko follows her and the camera pans down to the handprint, left alone on the porch. Cut to wide view of the camera panning down Ember Island Beach. Zuko and Azula are walking side by side toward Mai and Ty Lee. Close shot of Zuko looking toward Mai and then looking away. Close shot of Mai looking angry and a bit sad.) Mai: Hey... (Interrupted) Zuko: (close shot of Zuko) Where's your new boyfriend? (Mai turns away angrily. Zuko comes and sits next to her) Are you cold? (he puts his arm around her, but she slaps it away)

Zuko is acting in a massively controlling fashion toward Mai, motivated by his violent and rage-filled jealously.  She literally can’t talk to a boy without Zuko flying into a jealous rage, trying to separate her from the person she’s talking to, and accusing her of emotional infidelity. In real life, this is considered a warning sign for an abusive relationship(although I don’t think Zuko has crossed the line into abusive yet).

“The Beach” also gives us this:

Mai: Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you. (Cut to over-head shot of the four teens. Zuko walks closer to the fire and Mai.) Zuko: I'm sorry, too. I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once, (Close shot of Mai looking away and Zuko standing over her) instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside. She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that?

Zuko tries to provoke Mai into having a fight with her best friend Ty Lee just so he can watch her express strong emotions.  Zuko very much wants to Mai to be and act like someone she’s not, which has its own issues.

Overall, Zuko treats Mai quite poorly in “The Beach.” The episode ends with this:

Mai: I know one thing I care about... (Cut to shot of Mai smiling at Zuko) I care about you. (Mai and Zuko kiss. Azula claps, causing them to separate and turn toward Azula. The camera pans left to include her.)

Mai forgives Zuko and accepts him back without him acknowledging his behavior was wrong, apologizing for it, or giving her any guarantee that he will treat her better in the future. That’s unfortunate, as Zuko soon ends up treating her far, far worse than he ever did in this episode.

Zuko’s disregard for Mai cumulates with the manner he commits treason on the Day of Black Sun. Let us start our understanding of what he did wrong from the beginning. Breaking up with Mai via a letter which didn’t give her a real explanation was a real asshole move, but it’s not at the core of what he did wrong.  For that, we need to turn to this conversation from “The Headband”:

Zuko: Can't you see we're busy? (He and Mai resume their "business".) Azula: (not to be put off) Oh, Mai... Ty Lee needs your help untangling her braid. Mai: (complaisantly) Sounds pretty serious. (She gets up and leaves. Walking past Azula, towards the camera, she shoots the princess a quick, poisonous glance behind her back.) Azula: So...I hear you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower. Zuko: (standing, incensed) That guard told you. Azula: (smugly) No, you did. Just now. Zuko: (sitting back down) Okay, you caught me. What is it that you want, Azula? Azula: (solicitiously) Actually, nothing. Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If people find out you've been to see Uncle, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be careful, dum-dum.

Zuko has proven his loyalty to the Fire Nation beyond doubt, yet Azula is still very worried that him spending time with Iroh will get him accused of treason, because having a close association with traitors puts oneself under almost automatic suspicion of treason.

“Day of Black Sun, Part II”:

Zuko: First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me. Fire Lord Ozai: Why would she lie to me about that? Zuko: Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived. Fire Lord Ozai: (alarmed) What?!

Zuko deliberately throws Azula under the bus, hurting her and reducing her status with Ozai as much possible while effectively accusing her of deliberately committing treason. He also deliberately pisses off Ozai as much as possible.

So where does this leave us? Mai is Zuko’s known girlfriend and extremely close associate. Automatically, the suspicion of knowing of Zuko’s treason ahead of time or being involved falls upon her. She’s in grave risk of being imprisoned, tortured, or executed, especially since Ozai seems not the type to be strictly concerned with ensuring those he punishes are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The Fire Nation seems like a society which might have collective punishment(as historical East Asian societies, Nazi Germany, and the Stalinist Soviet Union did), and Mai might be under risk from that direction.  Finally, Ozai might hurt her simply as way of retaliating against Zuko.

Normally Azula would almost certainly be able to protect her friend, even under these trying circumstances, given Azula’s prestige and accomplishments.  However, Zuko has deliberately undermined Azula as much as possible and effectively accused her of committing treason herself, dramatically reducing the probability that she will be able to protect Mai.  In fact, Mai stands risk of being accused of being involved in Azula’s effort to “conceal the fact that the Avatar survived,” given Mai’s close association with Azula and her close involvement in the events where the Avatar “died.” She’s thus under danger from two different directions.

“But Zuko had to betray his father and become good through aiding Team Avatar.” Yes, it’s a good thing he did so. But Zuko had other options than the course he adopted. He could have avoided confronting Ozai at all and instead focused on rescuing Iroh(interesting AU idea right here).  He could have confronted Ozai but not thrown Azula under the bus, and that alone would have vastly reduced the risk to Mai(and also made Zuko out to be a better person, because deliberately throwing your younger sister under the bus and then abandoning her to the mercy of your abusive father is not a good look).  Zuko could have killed Ozai right then and there during the eclipse.  He even could have tried to lead Team Avatar to the bunker and tried to end the war right then and there.

“Zuko didn’t understand that he was placing Mai in danger.” Quite possible, but Zuko being so self-centered that he is unable of understanding that his actions can have negative effects on other people is a mark against him, not for him.

Now we turn to the Zuko’s behavior toward Mai in the rest of the third season.  Let us start with “The Boiling Rock, Part 1”:

Sokka: (emphatically) I think your Uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us, that's hard. Zuko: It wasn't that hard. Sokka: (Cut to a side view of the basket) Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about? Zuko: Well I did have a girlfriend. Mai. Sokka: (He goes closer to Zuko with a surprised look on his face) That gloomy girl who sighs a lot? Zuko: (Cut back to show Zuko grinning goofily) Yeah. (his face turns serious) Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor. I couldn't drag her into it. Sokka: (Cut back to Sokka who leans back on the basket) My first girlfriend turned into the Moon. Zuko: (looks up) That's rough buddy

There are two things to unpack here. First, Zuko claims he “couldn’t drag her into it,” yet he already did, as I’ve illustrated above. Second, Zuko seems to expect that Mai would have followed him into treason if he asked her, that she would be willing to betray her nation, ideology, family, and friends just for the sake of her love for him. That’s an insane and pretty toxic expectation for Zuko to have for her relationship with him, especially since he wouldn’t do the same for her.

We also get more confirmation that Zuko doesn’t care at all about Ty Lee or Azula.

I don’t have a lot to say about the Zuko-Mai conversation during Boiling Rock, Part 2. The only things I would like to note are that Zuko is not very sorry for what he did, not very empathetic toward Mai’s pain, and doesn’t give Mai a real apology for his actions.

Of course, Mai proceeds to save Zuko’s life through committing treason in front of dozens of witnesses at Boiling Rock, something which places her own life in serous jeopardy. How does Zuko react to this?

Zuko: (Cut to a shocked Zuko) It's Mai. Azula: (Cut to a furious Azula) What is she doing?! (Cut to the backs of Azula and Ty Lee as Ty Lee shrugs and makes a "I don't know" noise. Cut to the gondola as it reaches the outer part of the crater. Cut to the inside of the entrance tower as the door opens and Suki rushes out followed by Sokka, Zuko, Hakoda and Chit Sang. Hakoda turns towards Chit Sang and points to the inside of the gondola. Chit Sang proceeds to throw the warden back in.) Hakoda: (Cut to the back of Hakoda's head looking at the warden lying on the floor) Sorry Warden, your record is officially broken. (Hakoda walks off screen while the warden continues to struggle on the floor. Cut to a front shot of the group as they run up a rocky incline.) Suki: Well, we made it out. Now what? Sokka: (Sokka stops and looks back at Zuko who pauses in his tracks, thinking) Zuko, what are you doing? Zuko: My sister was on that island. Sokka: Yeah and she's probably right behind us. So let's not stop. Zuko: What I mean is she must have come here somehow. (He runs to the edge of the rocks and looks down) There. (Cut to an area looking up at the edge of the cliff) That's our way out of here. (Camera pans down to reveal a Fire Nation zeppelin docked at the shore.

Zuko says Mai’s name once and then abandons her (to die?) with zero hesitation.  This is probably objectively the correct decision. It would probably be extremely difficult and dangerous if not outright impossible to save Mai.  The prison-break crew do have access to an airship, but it’s difficult to fly an airship over the lake’s thermals.

Yet that’s not my point. Zuko abandons Mai with zero hesitation, with zero anguish, with zero angst. He doesn’t even to seem consider the possibility that he should save her.  Something tells me if Iroh had just saved Zuko’s life under identical circumstances and then was in imminent risk of harm, Zuko would act very differently, that Sokka, Suki, and Hakoda would have to drag him off that island.

Zuko’s complete disregard for Mai continues for the rest the series. Remember this exchange from “The Cave of Two Lovers”?

Zuko: (losing his patience) We're not taking any more chances with these plants! We need to get help. Iroh: But where are we going to go? We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom, and fugitives from the Fire Nation. Zuko: (musingly) If the Earth Kingdom, discovers us, they'll have us killed. Iroh: But if the Fire Nation discovers us, we'll be turned over to Azula.

Zuko considers being captured by Azula a worse fate than death!

But do we see Zuko worry once about Mai’s fate? Do we see angst about what might have happened to her? Do we see him make any effort to even discover her fate, much less rescue her?

No. In fact, Zuko launches a sophisticated operation to infiltrate a Fire Nation information center so that he can gain intelligence in order to help Katara murder someone so that she’ll like him, but he doesn’t even consider doing the same to find out about Mai’s fate so that he could potentially rescue her. Zuko doesn’t even mention Mai once after Boiling Rock until the very end of the series finale, even though she sacrificed herself to save him. Remember this exchange(“Sozin’s Comet, Part 3”):

Zuko: Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today. (jumps off Appa) I am. Azula: (laughs) You're hilarious. Katara: (standing beside Zuko) And you're going down. (The fire sage motions to crown Azula, but she raises her hand, signalling him to stop.) Azula: Wait. You want to be Fire Lord Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai! Zuko: You're on. (Katara turns to Zuko, surprised. Cut to a close up of Azula's lips as the curls into a smile. Cut back to Katara and Zuko.) Katara: What are you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both so she is trying to separate us. Zuko: I know. But I can take her this time. Katara: But even you admitted to your Uncle that you would need help facing Azula. Zuko: There's something off about her, I can't explain it but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt. (Fade to a shot of the courtyard from the side. The camera pans from Zuko kneeling on the right end to Azula kneeling on the left end. Cut to a shot of Zuko rising and turning around, then cut to a shot of Azula rising. Each can be seen behind the other. Cut to a shot of Azula from the front turning and removing the Fire Lord robes.) Azula: I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother. Zuko: (in his stance) No, you're not.

Notice something? Zuko doesn’t demand to know what happened to Mai! It’s almost like he forgot she existed!

Now we turn to the final infamous exchange(“Sozin’s Comet, Part 4”):

Mai:(off screen) You need some help with that? (He looks up surprised and moves aside to reveal Mai leaning against the doorway. Cut to a close up of Mai as she walks towards Zuko.) Zuko: (Cut to a delighted Zuko) Mai! (Walks off screen) You're ok. (Cut to an area behind Mai's back as Zuko opens his arms out in a hug) They let you out of prison? (Mai walks behind Zuko and lifts up his empty robe sleeve.) Mai: My uncle (Zuko puts his arms through the sleeve) pulled some strings, (she proceeds to fasten his robe) and it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord is your boyfriend. (She walks in front of Zuko and places a hand on his chest) Zuko: So does this mean you don't hate me anymore? Mai: (she blushes) I think it means... (Cut to a close up of the couple) I actually (places a hand on Zuko's cheek) kind of like you. (They lean in for a kiss and part a fewseconds later, looking into each other's eyes happily) But don't ever (She jabs a finger into Zuko's shoulder and Zuko's eye traces the movement of her finger) break up (She lifts her finger into the air and Zuko's eyes still follows it) with me again. (She jabs her finger into Zuko's shoulder one last time and Zuko smiles goofily. They embrace and the camera zooms out slowly.

Zuko seems surprised to learn that Mai is OK, almost like he made no effort to find out her fate once he took charge of the Fire Nation. And indeed, his first acts as leader of the Fire Nation were not to find out what happened to her or, if he actually knew, to get her released from prison.  Mai only got released from prison when her uncle and his connections got sufficiently confident that Zuko had been completely accepted as the new leader to release a massive traitor completely on their own initiative.  This was quite possibly weeks after Azula-Zuko Agni Kai, yet he made no apparent effort to get her released. It’s almost like Zuko completely forgot about Mai, even though she sacrificed herself to save him.

And, of course, Zuko doesn’t accept responsibility for any of the awful ways he treated Mai, much less apologize to her or offer any guarantee he will behave better in the future. Mai still forgives him anyways, just like she did in “The Beach,” only for Zuko to continue to screw her over. There is something deeply depressing here, as there’s every reason to believe that Zuko will screw over Mai over, devalue her, and disregard her well-being, desires, and interests again the moment it’s convenient for him to do so. He certainly has not recognized that his toxic behavior here is something he needs to stop doing. Ironically, the comics get this right by having Zuko try to use his power as Firelord to order Mai to stay his girlfriend.

Ultimately, Zuko loves Mai and cares about her deeply, yet he still treats her as a tool and acts like she exists to serve him. It reminds me how show! canon Ozai genuinely loved show! canon Ursa, but still used her as a tool and threw her away.  Honestly, I doubt 16-year-old Zuko is really ready for any romantic relationship at all, given his often toxic behavior, his trauma, and the incredibly stressful position he’s placed in at the end of the series.

[reinerispretty]

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt21

hello and welcome back! i hope you are having a very good day :)

pt1

pt20

pt22

It was a rainy day at the palace when Mai had interrupted (Y/N’s) meeting with the newer war generals. They were young, but had moved up in the Fire Nation army rather quickly and were more open to change than their older counterparts. (Y/N) paused her speech to stare at me. “Oh, hello,” She said. 

“What happened?” Zuko demanded as they sat with the doctor. The poor man was wearing a nightcap and gown, but whatever the Fire Lord needed, he got. (Y/N) was very appreciative of the old man who was currently stitching up the cut on her arm and she gave him a smile before turning to Zuko and narrowing her eyes. 

“What do you mean, ‘What happened?’ I couldn’t exactly ask the details while I was fighting for my life!” Zuko opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and turned his head away from her. (Y/N) sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m still on edge. They didn’t tell me who they were or what they wanted. They just said that they were sent to punish me for crimes against the Fire Nation.” 

“What crimes?” Zuko asked. (Y/N) shrugged, wincing as the doctor stitched into her skin. 

“None that I can think of, unless trying to right your country’s wrongs is considered a crime.” 

“That has to be it. The people who are still loyal to my father...they must have sent someone after you.” Zuko turned to the guards standing watch at the door. “I want guards permanently placed outside of her rooms at all times. I want every inch of this palace watched.” 

“Yes sir,” One of the guards said, bowing and then leaving to go inform the others. 

“It’s not me they should be protecting,” (Y/N) said. “They’ll start coming for you next.” 

And (Y/N) was right, as she tended to be. Over the course of the next year, as she and Zuko tried their hardest to bring peace back into the world and make up for the hundred years of war their nation had caused, five attempts on both of their lives had been made. (Y/N) tried her best to remain strong, but she feared going to sleep at night, not knowing if she would wake up the next morning. 

Zuko’s seventeenth birthday came and went. Their friends could not pull away from their work of helping those who had been affected by the war and Uncle Iroh’s tea shop was taking off, leaving him little time to do much else. They all still sent Zuko gifts to show how much they cared, but she wasn’t sure if that was enough. (Y/N) had proposed the idea of a birthday dinner for Zuko, but he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “We’re far too busy to worry about my birthday this year,” he had said as he signed scrolls at his desk. “I might just go to Mai’s house and have a small dinner with her.” 

“If that’s what you want,” (Y/N) said with a smile, but it really felt like a punch to the gut. The last birthday she had spent with Zuko was his thirteenth. It was so many years ago that she was looking forward to doing something special with him. But she supposed she couldn’t blame him for wanting to spend his birthday with his girlfriend. (Y/N) was the one who distanced herself from him, after all. Still, she gave him the best birthday present she could come up with: a portrait of him and his mother. It had sat in the catacombs of the palace, untouched for years. Ozai had probably ordered it thrown out after Ursa’s banishment. She left it in front of his bedroom while he was out with Mai. 

(Y/N) expected her sixteenth birthday to go somewhat similarly. She was pleasantly surprised to wake up that morning to find that her friends had sent her birthday gifts from areas they had traveled. Sokka sent her a whale-bone comb from the water tribe. Aang and Katara sent her a lovely portrait of her and her friends, complete with big smiles and goofy faces. Toph had sent a letter (with Katara’s help) stating that when they reunited, she’d buy her a birthday gift that (Y/N) picked out, since Toph was blind. (Y/N) giggled as she read that. From Iroh, she received dried tea leaves that made “the best tea in all of Ba Sing Se!” as his letter said. 

Each of her gifts made her smile widely, but Zuko’s gifts had surprised her the most. A warm fruit tart was left outside of her door, along with a servant informing her that she had the day off to do what she liked and that all the costs would be covered by the Fire Lord. Then, she and Zuko would have a private dinner that night. (Y/N) thought it was a pretty sweet gift from the busiest person in the entire Fire Nation. 

Her day had gone great. She bought all of the things she had had her eye on in the market for a while, and even bought the servants and guards who accompanied her a few things that she had noticed them looking at. The royal family was beyond beyond wealthy, so (Y/N) thought a few hundred gold pieces spent on the people who made their lives easier was a manageable expense. 

When she returned to the palace, she readied herself for dinner and joined Zuko in the dining room. A feast had been prepared for the two of them, complete with all of their favorite things they used to eat as children. (Y/N) and Zuko dug into the meal, leaving little time for conversation, but they enjoyed each other’s company just the same. For the first time in a while, (Y/N) felt like she was just spending time with her old friend again. 

That was, until a guard came in and whispered into Zuko’s ear. He looked at (Y/N) apologetically. “Fire Lord stuff, I have to go. I’m so sorry, (Y/N), it’s very urgent.” 

“Oh,” She said, swallowing her noodles. “Do you need me to come?” 

“No, no, I gave you the day off. Enjoy it.” He walked to her seat and bent down, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “Happy birthday, (Y/N).” 

“Thanks,” she mumbled, before watching him be led away by the guards. (Y/N) had known for her entire life that Zuko would become Fire Lord, yet there was nothing she could do to prepare herself for it. She ate the rest of her birthday dinner alone, and then retired to bed at an early hour. 

---

The sixth assassination attempt was the final straw for Zuko. He kept the assassin prisoner and interrogated them for information. This interrogation led him out of the Fire Nation and to the Earth Kingdom colony of Yu Dao. All of his decisions were made in a split second, including the one where he left (Y/N) in charge of the entire Fire Nation. 

“You can’t possibly be serious,” One of his other advisors said, “Leaving this girl in charge of your country while you are gone.” 

“This girl helped save the entire world from destruction, so I suggest you start listening to her. Besides, as soon as I walk out these doors, she might choose to fire you, and I’d absolutely back her up, no questions asks.” Zuko raised his eyebrow at the advisor, who immediately kept his words to himself. 

(Y/N) approached Zuko and tugged on his robes. “If I’m interim Fire Lord, do I get to wear the thing?” 

“The thing?” Zuko asked. She put her hand behind her topknot and waved her fingers around like a flame. “You mean the Fire Lord crown?” Zuko laughed heartily for the first time in a while. “Yeah, you can wear the Fire Lord crown.” 

“Yes!” (Y/N) said quietly to herself. It wasn’t so much that she wanted the power of being temporary Fire Lord, but she had always thought the crown looked really cool. 

Zuko took the crown from his own topknot and placed it in hers. “There. Don’t go burning the city down.” (Y/N) scoffed. 

“That runs in your family, not mine.” She walked away with her head held high, already giving her fellow advisors briefings about what decisions she and Zuko had come up with for the nation. Zuko watched as the old men begrudgingly listened to the young girl’s orders before departing to the Earth Kingdom. 

Zuko made some very questionable decisions while he was away. He had sent a messenger hawk to (Y/N) informing her that the Fire Nation was now pulling out of the Harmony Restoration Movement. He had learned that some of the families within the colonies where blended mixtures of fire and earthbenders. He explained to her how he didn’t feel right separating families or making people leave their homes, so that was why he no longer wanted to back the movement. (Y/N) was nervous about this decision, because everyone else in the world was for the movement, but Zuko had essentially given an order. He was the Fire Lord and he was trying to do what was best for his nation. She had to remind that little voice in the back of her head that Zuko was not Ozai. He was not the person he was before. So, she informed the advisors of the order and planned for the repercussions accordingly. 

It was a rainy day at the palace when Mai had interrupted (Y/N’s) meeting with the newer war generals. They were young, but had moved up in the Fire Nation army rather quickly and were more open to change than their older counterparts. (Y/N) paused her speech to stare at her. “Oh, hello,” She said. 

“Could I speak to you for a moment?” Mai asked. (Y/N) nodded and left the table, promising that she would return shortly. She and Mai stepped outside the room. 

“What’s up?” She asked. 

“I’ve been worried about you and Zuko.” 

“Me and Zuko? Why?” 

“Because of all the assassination attempts?” (Y/N) nodded. 

“Right, those. Forgot about those.” 

“Listen, I asked Ty Lee if she and the Kyoshi Warriors would mind keeping an eye on the place, since the guards obviously aren’t doing great. I wanted to double check that it was okay with you.” 

That honestly surprised (Y/N). She had never had anything against Mai, except that she had tried to kill her on multiple occasions (but at this point, very few of her friends hadn’t) and was dating the boy she loved. They had grown up together but she had never really considered themselves to be friends; moreso acquaintances who had a lot of mutual friends. So, the fact that Mai was asking for her permission to bring in the Kyoshi Warriors because she was worried about her meant a lot. 

“That’s completely fine by me,” (Y/N) said with a smile. “Thanks for thinking of it.” 

Mai shrugged. “Both you and Zuko are way too busy to have to worry about keeping yourselves alive.” She leaned in close to (Y/N). “By the way, I’m pretty sure all of those boys in there are completely in love with you.” 

(Y/N) laughed. “Makes my job of getting them to do what I want easier.” Mai gave her a small, very Mai-like smile before walking away. (Y/N) wondered if maybe Mai was soft on the inside like she was. 

---

Tag List!

@mdgrdians , @soft4kei , @bubblebars , @pleasantfankingdom , @vintageroses1014516 , @celamoon , @fangirlanotherjust , @gliderbudgie , @haylaansmi , @jada-cleo , @boxofteenageideas , @disgruntled-gay , @lie-ana , @jasmine-the-amazing , @svsoftie , @buckysfeet , @anime-simp , @imcravingyou , @rosetheshapeshifter , @alrightberries , @izzieserra , @hstott , @random-stupid-stuffs , @jackbamexpress , @jainaixo , @thefoxskinwalker , @kryptidkova , @bigbuckyenergy , @omgwhattheeven , @ohmigooosh , @snapchatisoverrated , @inlove-maze , @harapirena , @sooske , @sweeetteaa , @selenvx , @ilovespideyyy , @saaaasib , @mochminnie , @agentsofblinks , @happyariesbabey , @slytherky , @uglipotata72829 , @og-disaster-bi , @animeluver23 

[nooneelsecomesclose17]

Am I a fool to think that there's a little hope - Part 4

This fic is growing yet I feel like I'm only writing a tiny bit at a time. Anyway I'm playing fast and loose with prison visiting here because Victoria has feelings and her brother needs to hear what an idiot he's been...Aaron's had his turn.

Robert's surprised but also he's not when the guard tells him he has a visitor the following afternoon. The rule is one visit a fortnight and he's got two in two days. He knows it's Vic even before he goes into the visiting room. He dreads to think what she's done to wangle another visit and decides he's probably better off not knowing.

Since Aaron left the day before he's done nothing but worry about what he'd said, about Liv, about the business and cursing himself for thinking Aaron would be better off. It sounded like it was anything but. He'd wanted to ask, wanted to know everything but Aaron couldn't get out of there fast enough.

He'd barely had chance to think about his case, if there was one, too focussed on Aaron, and he knew Victoria would be wanting answers, answers he just didn't have. He needed to talk to his solicitor. He'd asked for her to be contacted but nothing moved that fast in here, it'd take time for her to visit he knew that.

"Robert!" He smiles as she hugs him, gently pushing her away when one of the guards glares at him.

"Hi Vic. Are you alright? Aaron said you weren't up to much."

"Oh no, I'm fine now. Speaking of Aaron, what did you say to him, he was in a foul mood all night long."

"Never mind that." He can't stop smiling, her mood is infectious like that and he realises just how much he's missed her. "Just how did you manage to get another visit?"

"Oh...well I tried explaining that I'd been ill and when that didn't work I got on to your solicitor and...well she might've implied that it was a family emergency."

"Vic! You can’t do things like that."

"You would." He opens his mouth, then shuts it because she's not exactly wrong. "Anyway, it is. You could get out Rob! That's massive."

"Hold on, Aaron said it was a tiny chance, and besides, are you alright? Must've been a shock, Luke coming out like that and all this." He's stalling, he knows she wants him to jump for joy but he just doesn't have it in him.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm better off. You need to talk to your solicitor, and then we can get started on an appeal."

"Vic, slow down. I pleaded guilty, I took responsibility. Are you sure anyone's going to care?"

"I will, your nephew will." She paused. "Seb will."

"Don't." There wasn't a day went by without him thinking of his little boy, wondering what he'd be doing, if he was still cheeky, if he even knew who he was anymore. In his darker moments he imagined him calling Ross 'Daddy' and the three of them being the perfect happy family. "How is he?"

"I don't know. Rebecca's pretty much cut us all off. Diane managed to get to see him a few months back but she's heard nothing since. You know she stopped Aaron seeing him, not long after Christmas last year, right after the divorce papers arrived." He stares at her, wished she'd say it was a joke. He knew they hadn't had any kind of formal agreement but he'd never expected Rebecca to do that. She knew how much Seb loved Aaron. He was beginning to realise just how much he'd messed up, and Aaron had every reason to be mad at him.

"I've made such a mess. Is he...he said the business isn't good and Liv's in a mess." He reaches for her hand. "How is he really Vic?"

"Things are...difficult right now. We've not really been close the last few months, he had issues with Luke and Wendy and everything, and now I realise how much of an idiot I've been."

"It's not your fault, Vic."

"He's lonely. Even with..." She trails off and he knows she was going to mention a bloke, he's not stupid. He'd wanted this after all, he just hadn't realised just how much it would hurt.

"He's with someone?"

"Sort of, I think. Ben. He's alright, and they're...I don't think it's anything official, they're just hanging out, and Ben's helping with Liv. You can't be mad about it Rob."

"No I know. Hurts all the same."

"You might be my big brother but you're a proper idiot. Cutting him off like that, and me! What were you thinking?"

"I've been through all this with him, don't you start."

"I will start. You'll say it was for the best and that, but it wasn't. Not for me, and definitely not for Aaron. Neither of us care that it'd be a pain making the journey down here, or that it's for years. We love you, but you won't let us!"

He shakes his head, he knows she's right. He knows why, it's always been the same. Ever since he was sent away all those years ago, he just never feels as though people will stay with him, that they'll get fed up, that he's not worth it. So he gets in first, pushes them away, cheats, anything rather than be hurt.

"Vic, stop, please."

"No. You're my brother and I lost you before. Andy's gone, you're stuck here and it's just been me. I needed you, even if it was just a phone call or a letter. You've been all alone because you're stubborn."

"It was for the best. All of you should just get on with your lives and forget about me."

"Well tough, it doesn't work like that! You know, Aaron wasn't going to come with me, even though I asked, but he did because he wanted to see you despite everything. Left Ben to do it, what does that tell you?"

"That he's a good mate."

"No, that he misses you. First mention of you and he goes all Aaron, storming off and hiding away. He still loves you, you idiot." He shakes his head, doesn't want to believe it. He's managed to push all those thoughts aside and he doesn't want them coming back up again and torturing him.

"Didn't feel like that yesterday."

"Of course it doesn't. He thinks you don't want him. Honestly the two of you drive me mad. Look, say you do get out of here, wouldn't you want him back?"

"Of course I would, but he's with this Ben now."

"Pfft." He laughs a little and her face. "He'd take you back the second you walked in the village and you know it."

"Maybe once."

"You're so infuriating."

"So are you. I don't want to talk about Aaron anymore. Tell me what's been going on in the village." He let her chatter wash over him, too much going on in his head to even start to sort out. If he was lucky enough to get out, would he want to go back to the village where most of the residents didn't like him. He wasn't stupid he knew they tolerated him for Aaron. No doubt the Dingles hated his guts, and then there was Wendy. Maybe it'd be better all round if he just started afresh, or stayed where he was. He just didn't know what to do for the best. He needed time.

--------

Aaron throws his keys on the table, glad the house is quiet. He's exhausted. Vic had tried talking about Robert all the way home, so much so he'd contemplated getting the train home. Trying to tell him he still loved him, knew he'd been an idiot. He didn't care, no that was a lie, of course he did, but he was afraid to believe it. Besides what good would it do unless Robert changed his mind and let him back in.

He should call Ben, try and explain, try and make it up to him, except he really wasn't sure he wanted to anymore.

He's half asleep when his phone rings and he doesn't recognise the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi." The gasp sounds loud in the quiet room, the voice so familiar and so unexpected. "So, you married an idiot."

He can't help it, he starts laughing, hears Robert joining in and that's all there is for a good few minutes.

"I missed you." He doesn't say anything. "I know it's my fault, all of it and it shouldn't have taken my little sister pecking my head about it all afternoon, but...I'm sorry."

"I know. I missed you too." He feels the tension leave him, Robert always managed to do that.

"If I'm...Vic said, about Ben. If I'm...if you want me to go that's fine, I will, I just...I...wanted you to know."

"Yeah. Ben's...he's a mate." Not strictly true, but deep down he'd known it'd never be more than that, no matter how hard he tried. "I'm still mad at you."

"Yeah. Kinda mad at myself too. Listen, Vic said...about Rebecca stopping Seb visiting. I'm so sorry Aaron, I never thought she'd do that."

"Yeah well, I think she was just waiting for the chance. You know she never really liked me all that much." It hadn't mattered when Robert was there, he'd put up with it because as long as Seb was happy he didn't care.

"Still...if things go the right way, that's the first thing I'm changing."

"You're going to appeal then?"

"You have met Vic, right? As if she'd let me do anything else." He sighs and Aaron can hear a commotion in the background. "I've nothing to lose have I? If I lose I'm still in here the same amount of time. If I win then I get my life back, at least some of it."

"All of it." Robert pauses, and Aaron knows he's thinking he's misheard.

"Yeah?" His voice sounds just like it had so many times, when he couldn't quite believe what was happening.

"Yeah. I'm still mad as hell at you and we will be talking about you making stupid decisions all by yourself, but yeah...throughout our lives together, remember?"

"And if it takes a while? Or...if it doesn't work?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

They talk a bit longer, about nothing at all, just chatting like they used to and he realises just how much he's missed it. When they finally have to hang up he's smiling. He knew there was one more thing he had to do.

"Ben? It's me. Can you come over? We need to talk."

--------

It'd taken months, of legal wrangling, of trying to find Luke, months of visits to the Isle of Wight, of expecting every time to be turned away because Robert had changed his mind, but now it was the last time.

"Quit your pacing, you're making me dizzy."

"I can't help it. What if..."

"What if nothing. You heard the judge. He's free. He'd be here now if he'd been in court." He nodded, he knew that, but the restrictions still meant video appearances, so here they were waiting for all the paperwork to be finished before they could see Robert.

Vic had wanted to come with him, only Harry having a raging temperature had stopped her, so he'd asked Cain, the only member of his family who hadn't tried to talk him out of it all.

"Daddy coming?" He turned to see Seb poking his head out of the car window. Robert had somehow managed to convince Rebecca to restart their visits and he and Seb had been slowly getting to know each other again.

"Soon mate, promise."

"I'm hungry."

"I know. We'll get something as soon as he's here." Satisfied the little boy goes back to the game on Aaron's phone. "Do you think...is it wrong that I don't want to go back?"

"To Emmerdale? Why."

"You've seen what it's like. Mum, Paddy, everyone telling me what they think, how bad he is for me."

"Do you care what they think? You know the truth, they'll come round. If they don't, you've got your family Aaron. Your Mum's the one who'll lose out."

"I know. I just wish she'd try."

"Yeah well, she's stubborn. Just like him." Aaron follows his gaze, sees Robert standing outside the entrance to the prison, looking around, as if he can't quite believe he's out. "Go on then, go get your husband back."

He doesn't need telling twice, runs across the road, probably startling Robert as he throws his arms around him.

Everything would be alright now. He had Robert back.

[polaroid15]

Febuwhump day 26 - Recovery

Summary: Healing takes time. And that’s okay. 

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138196/chapters/73102269

----

It’s been twelve days.

Twelve excruciating days.

After all this time, Tony’s still not sure of much. He doesn’t know who took them, or where they are. All he knows is that they want answers to questions he can’t give and that Peter is suffering for it.

They bring the kid back three hours after they take him. Two armed guards drag Peter’s limp form in by the armpits and Tony screams and jerks himself against the chains pinning him to the wall in his desperation to reach him. Through his fear and pain, however, he feels a slight release in his chest. An ease, a peace, because again, for today, Peter is still alive.

“Have you changed your mind?” one of the guards asks. His voice is deep and mechanical, his identity concealed by a thick metal mask.

And it kills him. He’s seconds from breaking.

He wants it to be over.

For Peter to be safe.

But if he tells them what they want to know, thousands of people will die.

“No.” It’s nearly impossible to verbalize.

“Very well.”

And they leave.

Peter is still where he lays on the floor, face down and bleeding. Tony bites back a sob as he takes in the kid’s worsening state. He’s thinner than he had been, his metabolism no match for the scarcity of their food and covered from head to toe in lacerations. There’s thick bruising on his wrists and ankles, on his neck. Electric burns on his arms and dozens of injuries that Tony can’t see through the kid’s clothes but knows nonetheless that are there.

“P-Peter. Bud. Can you hear me?”

His fearful voice carries, splinters, and is met with silence. He pulls harder against the chains holding him in place, wanting nothing more than to reach Peter’s side. “Peter. Wake up kiddo. Let me know that you’re okay.”

Peter shifts, groans, sobs. It’s hard to see through the darkness of their cell but when Peter’s eyes open they’re distant and confused, and Tony knows that they drugged him again.

To keep the brat docile, they had told him on the first day after Peter had fought against them. He’ll learn his lesson soon enough.

“That’s- that’s it bud. Good. Come back to me.”

Peter sucks in a breath, tries to move and struggles. Every inch brings a fresh wave of pain. Tony watches him with a broken heart, turning his hands into fists against their restraints. “C’mere bud.”

Finally, Peter looks up at him. It takes him nearly thirty seconds to cement the eye contact and ten more to recognize who Tony is. When it clicks the boy gives him a broken half smile, shoulders relaxing. “T’ny.”

“You gotta come to me kiddo. I can’t come to you, okay?”

“M’kay.” The boy crawls forward, whimpering low in his throat but eventually making it to Tony’s side. With the little slack the chains provide Tony is able to pull Peter against his body, hugging his frail frame against his chest. If it hurts, Peter doesn’t say, and opts to relax more fully against Tony’s side.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispers into Peter’s hair. The kid mumbles something unintelligible in response, eyes closing as the drugs persist in his system. Tony shudders against the hot flush of a fever on the kid’s skin, of the ribs he can feel through his shirt.

He’s losing him.

They’re running out of time.

It’s a desperate, hopeless feeling.

“I’m sorry,” he says again, voice cracking.

Then, he prays.

----

Two days later and Tony sees sunlight. He jerks awake at loud, jarring noise. There’s a gaping hole in their prison, spilling in fresh air and blue sky. Tony winces at the bright light, feeling dizzy at the sudden development. He curls around Peter who is once again tucked into his chest, shivering and mumbling in his sleep in an attempt to shield him from the dust and debris.

At the mouth of the hole appears Rhodey and Steve.

He hopes he isn’t dreaming.

They run towards him, mouthing things he can’t understand.

Peter doesn’t stir.

“Help him,” he murmurs.

Then he falls back into darkness.

----

Tony wakes up confused and alone, hooked up to beeping machines and blinded by sterile white walls.

He tries to sit up, is stopped by Rhodey, searches the man’s eyes and fails to curb his mounting panic.

“Where’s Peter? Where is- Where is he?”

They clasp hands. Rhodey tells him that Peter is fine, that he’s in surgery, that they’ll bring him to Tony as soon as they're finished.

It’s not enough. Tony needs to see him now.

He doesn’t stop fighting until something cool enters his bloodstream and he falls back against the pillows, the room darkening at its edges.

Rhodey never lets go.

----

The next time awareness comes back to him, the first thing Tony sees is Peter.

Alive, safe, Peter.

The kid is lying on a bed identical to his own across the room. He’s small and pale against the sheets, wrapped in casts and bandages and monitored by every machine you could think of. His eyes are closed but his chest is rising and falling in a comforting, even pattern.

“Peter?”

Of course, Peter remains asleep. It brings back dark memories of their time in captivity and Tony is suddenly overcome with the need to be by the boy’s side, to make sure he’s really okay. That this isn’t just all in his head.

Ignoring the way his own machines beep in protest, Tony clumsily detaches himself from them, and then, from his bed all together. His legs are weak but support him, his goal overpowering his body’s weakness. He reaches the edge of Peter’s bed in a couple steps and collapses against it, shaky and weak.

“Peter?”

The monitors pick up, and seconds later, dark brown eyes are blinking up at him. “Tony?” he slurs.

“Oh thank god.”

Before he can think it through, he’s hugging the kid. Peter completes the embrace, his limbs weak but sure.

They’re both crying.

“You’re okay,” Tony says, perhaps more for his own reassurance, and he hears Peter laugh wetly in his ear.

“You are too.”

He isn’t sure how long they stay like that. Only that after a while, Peter sags against Tony’s side. Noticing, Tony shifts himself out of their hug. “Move over,” he instructs.

Slowly, Peter does, and Tony fits himself in the available space. Peter latches onto him. “I was scared we’d never get out of there,” he whispers, so faintly that Tony barely catches it.

“We did though,” Tony tries to comfort. “Rhodey and Steve saved the day.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

Tony is silent, his head spinning. Eventually he manages to choke out, “I’m so sorry, Pete. This is all my fault.”

This gives Peter more strength. He lifts himself up on his elbow, then looks dizzy for doing so. “What?” he says. “No it’s not-”

“I wouldn’t tell them what they wanted.”

“Obviously. We know what would’ve happened if you did.”

“You got hurt because of it.”

“You got hurt too.”

Tony sighs and closes his eyes when they sting. He feels Peter collapse back against the mattress beside him.

“We’re out,” Peter continues sleepily. “That’s all that matters.”

And Tony is too weak to argue.

----

Three days later and Tony is free to roam as he pleases, his injuries no longer keeping him bedridden. Despite the freedom he doesn’t leave their room, staying in a chair beside Peter’s bed. The kid sleeps, mostly. He mumbles unconsciously and flinches at loud noises. He sweats and cries.

And Tony is there for it all.

----

“I’m so bored,” Peter grumbles, arms crossed and pouting. “I hate staying in bed all day.”

“Remember when you almost died?” Tony says.

Peter sighs, rolling his head back against his pillow. He looks considerably better now, with colour in his cheeks and a majority of his minor wounds closed up. But he still has a cast on his leg, his arm in a sling, and twenty precarious stitches in his side.

“You’ll be out of bed soon enough,” Tony promises.

“Whatever you say.”

----

Ned and MJ visit. They play video games and board games and don’t leave until it’s dark. When they do, Tony returns. Peter is still against the bed, looking more alone than Tony has ever seen him.

“Are you okay?”

Peter jumps and swipes at his face. “Oh- Tony. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah I’m okay.”

And Tony is stupid enough to believe him.

----

“Help!”

Tony jackknifes awake, heart thundering in his chest. He scrambles in darkness for a moment before flicking on the lamp, finding Peter twisted up in his sheets, kicking and clawing and fighting.

“Damn it.”

He drops to his knees beside the bed, gently nudging the boy into wakefulness. It doesn’t take long before Peter’s eyes fly open, wide and deep with fear. He continues to fight and doesn’t stop until Tony forces his face to look at him.

“T-Tony?”

And all he can do it nod, his throat too tight to form words.

Peter stares at him like he’s far away. He chokes on his next breath.

“Peter?”

Peter shudders and raises a hand to clutch at his throat.

“What’s wrong buddy?”

But he already knows. Has seen it in himself for years.

“Can’t breathe,” Peter gasps.

Tony sits on the edge of Peter’s bed and rubs his back, barely able to keep his own panic at bay. He holds Peter’s hand over his chest and tells him to concentrate on the beats. Teaches him how to breathe.

And he does.

In reality that attack only lasts for a couple of minutes, but it seems to stretch like hours. When the worst of it passes Peter falls back into the pillows, exhausted, eyes fluttering. “Thanks,” he says. Then, “sorry.”

“Don’t apologize Pete. I should be the one saying sorry-”

“No,” Peter says. He pats Tony’s leg. “No sorrys. For either of us.”

And Tony would like to think it’s possible.

He stays awake long after Peter drifts off again.

----

Another two days, and Peter is discharged from medbay. He’s excited but lacking his usual spark. He spends the day with his friends and comes back exhausted. He sleeps on the coach and wakes up disoriented. They eat dinner, though Peter barely touches his food, and they spend the rest of the night in the lab.

“How was your first day as a free man?” Tony asks.

“Good.”

“What’d you do?”

“Went to the arcade with Ned and MJ.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah. Yeah it was.”

The tinker in relative silence. He notices Peter grab at his arm periodically, as if to stop an ache.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Well, I don’t really believe that, so how about telling me the truth?”

Peter throws down his tools. They clang against the table and Peter flinches back from the sound. Tony stands, worried, and Peter shrinks into himself.

“Peter-”

“Stop. Just stop, okay? I’m fine.”

He’s crying.

Tony takes one cautious step forward, then two. When Peter doesn’t say anything he closes the distance in its completion and wraps his arms around the boy’s shaking shoulders.

“Talk to me,” he says.

Peter sniffles, doesn’t push him away. “I’m sore and achy. I can’t sleep. I never feel like eating. I’m scared all the time-” he trails off, voice quieting. “I’m just so scared.”

He’s not sure if there’s words somewhere out in the universe that Peter needs to hear. If there are, it’s impossible to know them. He tightens the hug and rests his chin on the top of Peter’s head. “It’s okay to be scared. You’re allowed to be. You know that right?”

“I’m supposed to be strong. A superhero.”

“You are. You are, Peter.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Tony interjects. “Listen close, okay? Cause I don’t like to get all mushy gushy very often. You, Peter Parker, are a hero through and through. You’re the bravest, smartest, kindest kid I’ve ever met. You’ve gone through some tough stuff in your life. And you’ve always come out the otherside. This is no different, even if it feels like it right now. Okay?”

Peter clutches onto his arm like a lifeline.

“It’s okay to be scared, Pete. It means you're human like the rest of us.”

Peter nods vigorously against him. “Th-thank you.”

“I’m always here. Whatever you need.”

Forever and always.

----

It’s been a month and Peter is nearly back to his old self. He’s patrolling again, he finishes dinner and smiles and laughs when they clean up afterwards. Nightmares become less frequent. He aces his tests.

Tony reflects on this as he looks at the kid across the room. He’s scribbling away equations in a coil-bound notebook, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. A soft smile turns his mouth up, the warmth of pride leaking through his chest.

“Hey Pete?”

Peter looks up, his pencil drooping in his grip. “Yeah Tony?”

Don’t be like your father. Break the cycle.

“I’m proud of you, kid. Just wanted you to know that.”

Peter blushes. He averts his gaze, mouth open in lost words. “Oh. Uh, thanks Tony.”

“I mean it. You’ve come a long way.”

When Peter reconnects their eyes, Tony feels the depth of the boy’s understanding. He had seen it in the cell, in their shared hospital room.

“Thanks,” Peter repeats, and this time, he sounds sure. He smiles. It’s wide, genuine, reflecting his youth.

It looks like healing.

It is healing.

“Now get back to work.”

“Aye aye.”

Peter writes down more equations, then pauses. “Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you too.”

The sentiment freezes the air in his chest. He hardly knows how to compartmentalize the emotion. It processes slow as molasses. Eventually, he matches Peter’s smile. “Thanks kiddo.”

Yep, it’s healing.

And they’re family, through and through.

[miss-choco-chips]

Drink and make merry, my friend (you'll be gone come morning)

Day four: historical- pirates // sci-fi- space

There are three pirates chilling in the dungeons. None seem overly concerned about the fact that they’ll be hanged come morning.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Bartholomew H. Allen. Bart for the friends. ‘The red nuisance’ for everyone else. Wasn’t the first time he’d been inside this very same prison cell; probably won’t be the last. The guards stationed in front of his door were the quickest on their feet, so maybe they’d have a minimum chance of catching the fucker should he escape again. Probably not, but the Arch Duke had been particularly displeased the last time he’d weaseled his way out of their prison, so they had to at least pretend to try.

He’d been unconcernedly chewing on dried meat for hours now. How did he manage to smuggle it into the cell, no one knows, but after he bit the first few hands that tried to take his treasure away, the general consensus was to let him be.

Similarly, anyone who held any notions of spending a fun afternoon with the only woman among the sea bandits was quick to be corrected, either by a broken hand or a kick that stole the air from their lungs like it was gold from a ship’s treasury.

Her name? Cassandra Sandsmark. She did not fuck around, and really, considering she would be dead by that time the next night, it was’t worth it to punish her for ‘prisoner misconduct’. That was why they left her be. Not because she scared their balls back into their bodies. The fact that she was Princess Diana’s wayward niece and, death row or not, the noble Lady would murder them all for even breathing in her direction, was a notable plus.

The last pirate, well… He’d chosen to spend his last night on earth doing push ups. It was probably better to leave him to his own devices.

Conner Kent. Whether or not he had any relation to Crown Prince Kal was anyone’s guess, but they did look startlingly similar; something the younger man had taken advantage of to avoid capture multiple times in the past.

To catch any of them wasn’t an easy task. The fact that they were all there thanks to the same man was beyond amazing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

An auburn haired boy ran through busy port streets, his form almost a blur between passerbys. Jumping over crates, avoiding street vendors, sliding over banisters and landing at the very last step of any stair in his way, the youngster made a truly astounding escape.

Tough luck his opponent had accounted for that.

Just as he was rounding that last corner separating him from the port (and his freedom), a foot struck out. Quick thinking saved him from face planting on the disgustingly dirty streets, but his surprise and momentum cost him precious seconds of stumbling.

The swords pointing him from every direction when he straightened weren’t as threatening as the lone young man standing behind the National Guard, unarmed but from the cutting edge on his glare. Without breaking eye contact, the runner threw both hands up in surrender.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The guards barely even glanced up when the servant girl let herself in, softly pushing the trolley. They did, however, when the scent of food caught their attention.

“That for us, pretty lady?”

Blushing, the girl looked at both men from under her brown fringe.

“The… the prisoners…”

Elbowing each other, they smiled, sharks smelling blood in the water as they eyed the delicacies on display.

“It’d be a waste to let people who are gonna be fish food by this time tomorrow eat such an amazing feast.”

The girl hesitated again, her duty to feed the prisoners at war with the populace general unwillingness to disobey their military enforcers.

“Come on, pretty lady”, the other one edged on. “Who’s gonna tell the higher ups?”

Something flashed behind her beautiful blue eyes, and she nodded, gently pushing the trolley in their direction.

From within their cells, the three pirates watched in silence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

If anyone were to ask, he’d been minding his own damn business when shit went down.

He had only wanted a beer. Really, life just wasn’t fair to wanted criminals.

It was just his luck that his crew chose this particular tavern to drink and make merry. Though, Kon supposes, it wasn’t their fault either. How would they know that the Lavender Throne pirates favored the same establishment?

He’d only been a member of the Renegades’ crew for about two months now, but he already knew how this fight would turn out. He was easily their best fighter, and the Lavenders were all about the same level of well trained; so here he was, alone in a circle of enemies, fist held high and feet doing their best not to trip over fallen crewmates.

Or maybe not so alone. A smaller back pressed against his, and he could see from the corner of his eye how the men trying to get his blind spot fell like flies. Not one to doubt his blessings, he doubled his efforts.

When things died down, Kon relaxed, marveling at the fact that just two of them were enough to deal with a full tavern of enemies. The bar maidens started to rise from under the tables they chose to hide behind, and Conner was about to turn around and thank his surprise saviour, when the feeling of cold metal against his neck stopped him in his tracks.

Uniformed men started bleeding into the room, dragging unconscious pirates away. When one approached him and his mysterious capturer, he almost felt the man behind him shaking his head.

“This one is high risk. I’ll take him myself.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Are you sure? There’s plenty enough for all of us”, asked Dumb Guard Number one again, words almost unrecognizeable under his chewing.

The girl, sitting primly in the chair they oh so gentlemanly had offered for her to wait on until they finished their impromptu dinner, shook her head.

Dumb Guard Number two didn’t need to be told twice and snagged the last piece of bread.

“Is it just you two for the night?”, she asked, apropos of nothing.

The more sharing of the two nodded. “Yeah, until the morning shift guys come and take them away to the plaza for their sentence.”

She whistled softly.

“Seems kind of mean, having only you two to guard three of the most wanted pirates of the last few years.”

The second one smiled a bit. “Nah, we got dealt a nice hand. We get to eat and laze around, and as good as they are, they can’t weasel their way between those bars. No excitement here. The day guards are the unlucky ones here.”

“How so? Aren’t them, like, a lot more? Seems like it’d be easier, sharing the weight of it.”

“Yeah, but Lieutenant Drake will be with them, ‘s going to personally oversee the executions. Can’t exactly slack off with the favored son of Archduke Wayne breathing over your shoulder, now can you?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Cassandra!”

“Go! I’ll hold them off!”

The older woman, holding desperately to the other’s hand, made a sound of profound distress.

“But-!”

“Donna, just go! If they catch you- just how much do you think Diana is going to suffer?”

“It’s the same with you! We can run together, there’s space in the spare boat”

They were running out of time. She knew convincing her older sister figure to leave her behind was not going to end well or happen quickly, so the blonde pirate shot a look to vice captain Artemis. They both knew Donna was just too important to risk like this, her relationship to Diana recognizable enough to use her as leverage against their Princess. Cassandra, as beloved as she was by the women who took her in, had spent the better half of her childhood hiding her real identity and running amok where few would be able to point her out as Princess Diana’s protegeè.

Ignoring her mistress’s screams, Vice captain Artemis’s arms went around her waist, lifting her clear off her feet and dragging her away, her strength forcing Donna’s hand free of Cassandra’s arm.

Soon, Cassie stood alone in an empty ship, sword in hand as she watched the sun setting over the horizon, the distant figure of dozens of escape boats a mere shadow in the distance.

When the sound of boards and then feet hitting the deck reached her, her hand tightened on the sword’s hilt, but she didn’t turn to see.

“It was a bold move. Brave, though.”

The words made her startle, spoken so closely to her ear, the approaching presence absolutely unnoticed until that exact second.

Breathing in deeply, Cassandra spun on her feet, sword raised. Her enemy was already a few feet away, safe from her board attack. His cold stare clashed with her feral growl, an ice prince facing off against an amazon fighter.

No other soldier dared approach them, as the sound of their clashing swords echoed in the quiet of the night as thunder.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just as a distant clock was about to point both arms to its highest point, both guards fell asleep. Literally fell, face planting in the dirty prison ground.

Sighing tiredly, the young serving girl rose to her feet. Walking towards Dumn Guard Numer 2 (stopping only barely on her way to nudge Dumb Guard Numer one to the side, so he wouldn’t drown in the puddle his face had landed on), she crouched down and took the keys from his belt.

When she stood again, all three pirates were on their feet near their doors, waiting.

“Who’s first this time?” asked the youngest, voice vibrating in his excitement, smile bright.

“Me, for sure”, crowed Conner, hands on his hips.

“What are you talking about? I made him fight for it. Drew blood, even.” Cassandra, proud smile and raise hand, threw back in challenge.

To all their surprises, the maiden went straight for Allen’s door.

“What? Me?”

“What the fuck?”

“Are you seriously telling us IMP is the one who gave you the most trouble this time?”

The girl shrugged, but a small smile could be spotted under her calm facade if one cared enough to look for it (which they all did).

“I had to chase him all through Star Port city. I was tired afterwards. The two of you made me fight, but it wasn’t nearly as exhausting.”

The boy jumped out of his cell as soon as the door was opened, fist raised in victory.

“Yessss! Free booze!”

“It’s a stupid bet”, the girl shrugged at the other two’s upset frowns. “None of you are an actual challenge, after all.”

“Oh, shut up, asshole. Get us out of here before those dumbasses wake up.”

Before long, all three pirates and the young castle maid were running through empty streets towards the port.

“The ship is ready for you to take. I made it look like you stole it from a very drunk, very unsuspecting crew of beginners.” As they all ran, she… he, took his hand to his head, snatching away the brown wig. Hair, black like a raven’s wings, fell over his icy blue eyes.

Cassandra, keeping pace with him, accepted the disguise. “Where to, after?”

“There’s instructions on your next mission already written down on the back of the map, on the captain’s cabin. I left the key to the cellar as a paperweight over it, so there’s no way you’ll miss it.”

Behind them, the other two boys crowed in delight. Bart even makes a small little jump, never slowing their pace.

“Is it fully stoked?”

Turning to look at the bigger man over his shoulder, the maid-turned-criminal rolled his eyes.

“Half. I do need you all lucid enough to do your chores. But whatever you find along your way that doesn’t slow your progress on the mission, you can loot for yourselves. There’s an empty treasury on the right side of the ship just for that.”

Another jump, this time from the other pirate. The two running ahead shared an exasperated, though fond, look.

They reached the promised ship before long. It sat there, beautifully tilting this way and that thanks to the gentle waves reaching shore.

They stopped there for a second, the three pirates facing their rescuer.

“Will you be alright? Won’t anyone suspect?”

He shook his head, hands demurely raising his dress a slight inch from the ground in a small courtesy.

“Caroline Hill has a perfectly solid cover, and there are lots of people who’ll vouch for her if she’s ever suspected for tonight. Also, the guards chosen for the night shift are known for slacking off in their duty. Falling asleep close enough to the cells for one of you to snatch the keys and free themselves won’t be too much of a stretch for anyone to imagine.”

They smiled back at him.

“Do try to catch some sleep before going back there as Lieutenant Drake. You’ll need your beauty rest to give a convincing ‘I left those criminals in your care and you LOST THEM?!’ show.”

“The laughable state of the kingdom’s military is perpetually infuriating to me. Don’t worry, I’ll be believable. And I can use this as an excuse to fire the most incompetent guards in the history of ever.”

“Do you ever do anything without at least two different reasons and multiple plans banking on it?”

“Why would I, that just sounds like a waste of my time. Now go, run off, before someone sees four people hanging by the port and gets curious enough to remember faces.”

“When will we see you again?”, asks Conner, hand catching his friend’s shoulder before the man in the dress can turn around and leave.

“This mission should last a month or so, and after you hid the objective in the safe place I designated for it for me to pick up later, you’ll need to scatter. I’ll catch you again soo after that, so in total… maybe two months? Three if any of you give me an actual challenge, but I’m not holding my breath for that one.”

“Bastard. See you soon.”

“Make sure to take us drinking next time, Tim. We barely see you now that you have to play good lawful boy with your dad.”

“Only if you idiots take good care of the ship. The Red Bird is a delicate lady and I’ll hang you myself if there’s even a scratch on her beautiful shell.”

“It’s almost as if you care more about a bunch of wood and metal than us.”

“Because I do. Now fuck off.”

[In which Tim is a privateer (Basically a pirate with papers. As the name suggests, privateers were private individuals commissioned by governments to carry out quasi-military activities; in this case, Tim does illegal things for the greater good. As a military agent, he’s hiring himself lol) and the other three are pirates working for and with him, because they like to help him do good things and they also get a chance at fighting people, drinking and looting treasure outside their missions. Tim catching and then freeing them is how they exchange information or he gives them his orders.]

[typinggently]

I'm still obsessed with that Wincest scenario you came up, based on Coast to Coast, with one brother behind bars and the other free (esp if the one locked up is Sam? Wow)

babe thank you sm...🖤✨✨ honestly the concept is super intriguing to me, too — I love when they’re forced to interact with others independently from each other, I love how weird they are. Honestly, with that concept you could go serial killer AU (which was my first thought, very delicious), or just regular them? Weirdos. Either way, I hope you don’t mind that I’ll take this as an opportunity to, you know —

.🖤.

When you work at a prison, you see all kinds of shit going down during visitor's hours — break ups, reunions, first dates. Tears, laughter, fits of violent rage. You see a lot, you get used to it. And honestly, this here would be endearing.

Would be, if they weren't so fucking odd about it.

It's been about a month now, and the guy's been — difficult. Not like he's out to pick fights, no. Not him. He spends most of his time quietly doing a task or other, always silently busy with something. At this point, they’ve given up on trying to figure out what exactly he's been doing and how he keeps getting his hands on all these tasks and duties, but there's basically not a moment in time when the man isn't doing something. Silently, keeping to himself. But he's pretty, alright? He's got the tan, the handsome face, the trim waist. Guy like him at a place like this — well. So they, the guards, they kinda watch him, watch the way the others watch him. Placing nonverbal bets. Except —

Except, five days in he breaks Trooper's jaw, dislocates Anderson's shoulder and smashes Big Tiger's nose to bits. It's a fucking mess, blood on the floor, shoes slipping on wet tiles, men howling and stumbling, tripping over each other, and the guy at the centre of the storm, tall, pretty, dripping blood. Self-Defense, arguably. Definitely, actually, and by the looks of it, he could’ve done a lot worse but chose not to. So yeah. He's difficult.

It's been about a month now and the other men usually avoid him, let him be pretty and silent in peace. He doesn’t seem too bothered by it, though. Doesn’t try to rise through the ranks despite the fact that he proved he could, easily. Doesn’t open his mouth for more than two words at a time, in fact, letting attempts at conversation slip and drop from him like rain from a lotus flower. Except for Tuesday afternoons, that is. Visiting hours.

Because every Tuesday, 3pm on the dot, the brother will come in. Drop dead gorgeous, tall, summer-sweet ease in every move. Show stopper, that one. He'll sit down, hands folded on the tabletop, shoulders back. Right across from the glass where the guy waits, mirror image. He’ll sit down and open his mouth.

"Look at you," he'll say. "Fuck, I'm sorry, man. This is my fault, isn't it?" That's the usual, of course. Except this guy's pretty like a doll and just as cool, saying the words with the conviction of someone reciting a poem. One could think he’s doing it for an audience, except his eyes don’t seem to register anything in the room that’s not the other guy, hands folded on the tabletop, shoulders back.

"Fuck, baby, 's all my fault, huh?" Face cut from marble. "Let you play with those guns, they always say that oughta mess a kid up in the head. But how are we supposed to know, right? Hell, you never had anyone to teach you good and proper, just me.” Absent father, vet who brought guns and a history of violence into the family, then left. Tragic story, but one has to wonder how it only ever affected just one of them. And for all of those expressions of guilt, the brother is perfectly innocent. Never hurt a fly, apparently, which is at odds with what the judge had to say about the tall one, at odds with what he’s not quite saying now.

“Shoulda known, baby boy." And that's - it's a bit weird. Baby boy, Handsome, Sugar. He says Princess, once, and the other one cracks a smile. Exhales through his nose, flicks his head to the side and the corner of his mouth twitches. Not a word from him, but the brother's pink around the ears, sniffs. "Ah, Sammy, don't gimme that look. Make a guy blush." He doesn't call him Princess again.

"Was it the fuckin' shit you been taking? Break my heart, why don’t you? You said you were clean." - "Clean? Nah, not me." They stare at each other like it's a joke, except no one's laughing. And of course he was tested, right when he came in. The kid hasn't touched pills, syringes, powders in months.

"I'm glad they caught you, man. You were scaring me, baby boy, with the guns and the silver and the chanting at night. They'll fix you right up, I promise. Send you out as a changed man, do a better job of that than I ever could." And he never mentioned that in court, it kinda contradicts some of the other shit he’s reciting, but no one knows what it means. Chanting. The guy sits on his bed at night, sometimes, staring at thin air, a shadow in the dark with glittering eyes, but no one's been smooth enough to sneak a glance at his lips to check if he's whispering.

"Sugar, I shoulda done better by you. You're my baby boy, I shoulda seen it. Always too smart for your own good, baby, too sharp. Shoulda kept you on a tighter leash, kept you closer. Kept you away from those bad influences. Fuck, not like I don't know you like to put your dick where it doesn't belong. Call that nature and nurture, huh?" That’s — yeah, that’s another thing that doesn’t make sense. The guy worked alone, not a trace of any kind of influence to be found. No one but the brother, who’s got a spotless white vest, who’s doing nothing but prove his sorrow, two hours at a time.

And then visitor's hours are over and they get up simultaneously, mirror images, and turn to leave. Neither of them says a word of goodbye, never. As if it’s self-evident that next Tuesday, they’ll be back on opposite sides of that glass, hands folded on the table top, shoulders back. And they are, again and again and again, until one day, neither of them shows up.

-

("Next time," Sam says as he balls up his third wet wipe and drops it into the little trash bag with the others, tinted pink and smelling of iron, "you go in. The food fucking sucked."

"Aw, baby," Dean purrs, "I'll make it up to you. Besides - you look cute in apricot. Your colour, I say."

"Fuck off." Sam shakes his head, but the corner of his mouth is twitching into a smile and he melts into familiar leather seats. Hot with adrenaline, smoke in his hair and sweat shimmering on his cheeks, his temples.

Dean takes his eyes off the road to stare at him, his gaze heavy and greedy, like they haven’t seen each other in months. "So, you make any new friends?" Sam hums, drops his head back, undoes the zipper of his jumpsuit. Rolls his eyes, too, not that Dean would notice. “Yeah, lots.” Dean clicks his tongue, hums, deep and dirty in his throat. “That’s my boy.”)

-

Gotta be all that coco, ayy? Playin' too much of that GTA Playin' too much of that Dr. Dre Doom, Quake, where'd you get the gun from, eh? Really think that metal gonna make you safe? Playing peek-a-boo with the devil these days Black cap back with a trench coat, ayy Living in the valley cuttin' porno tapes

[x-woozi]

Sugar, Spice, and Everything.. else?

Part 25: waiting

Summary: After a very public embarrassing moment, y/n manages to make a few new friends. Though in trying to make those friends there is a bit of a complication in winning over the group.

A/n: Double posting because I just got promoted and am in a super great mood. Also this is basically the part 2 because I didn’t want to mess it up again but it’s not very long. Anyways the ending maybe coming soon... not really sure yet 😅 

(I bolded and italicized her thoughts to read easier)

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I really hope he’s not going to do what I think, you thought before putting your phone back into your pocket. As you walk through the courtyard, there are a lot of lingering eyes and covered whispers.

‘Thats the girl that threw herself at Dino’

‘I heard she tried it with the whole dance team’

‘Well have you seen who she hangs out with?’

Nayeon quickly came into your line of sight and you could see her starting towards you. If it wasn’t for someone cutting off your path and walking past you, you would’ve ran straight to her to leave.

It was Changbin, and he did not look happy. His hands balled tightly, swinging at his sides as he got closer to a group of people. oh no. “Changbin” you called but he kept walking. “Changbin!” You rushed after him but it was too late.

As soon as he reached them he grabbed one of the guys by the shoulder, spinning him around. It was Dino. Without a single word, Changbin threw the first punch knocking him to the floor.

“What the hell is your problem?!” He yelled, picking himself up.

“Changbin stop it!” latching yourself to his arm in an attempt to pull him away.

“Ah, I see what this is,” DIno laughed. “The boyfriend, right?”

Tugging on his arm, “Let’s just go.” You could feel his muscles tighten, you could practically feel his anger.

“No, wait.” He paused pretending to think, “You’re just upset I got to her first, huh?”

Changbin ripped his arm from your grip and tackled him to the ground. Immediately everyone's phones were out and recording it.

“Bin, stop! Hes not worth it!” you tried reasoning, just as the two flipped. Changbin managed to get out from under him and to his feet.

“But you are.”

You were about to try to reach for him again but his comment threw you off and you froze. Just as you shook it off, you felt someone’s arms wrap around you. “Hey wait, let go of me!” Trying to wiggle free as they pulled you out of the crowd.

“Y/n, you're going to get hurt! Just calm down” you turned to see the face that match the familiar voice. “You don’t need to be here right now.”

“But someone has to stop them.” As if on cue the rest of the boys came running to the crowd.

Nayeon was suddenly at your side and wrapping her arm around your shoulders, “come on I think they’ve got it. Let’s just get you out of here before the rent-a-cops get here.”

You couldn’t help but to keep looking back. They boys struggled to squeeze through the crowd at first but now you couldn’t see them. All you could do was hope that they could separate the fight before either of them got too badly hurt.

You didn’t really care about Dino, but if he was really injured Changbin could get into a lot more trouble than he already would be.

Just as you and Nayeon reached the parking lot, 4 campus security guards ran past you. “Look they’re barely going to help,” Nayeon rolled her eyes as she got into her car. “I’m sure your friend is already out of there,” trying to make you feel a little better.

“Yeah maybe,” was all you said, but your mind on the other hand. Were they really able to get to him in time? Why did he have to go and do that, I told him no more fights. Now I have to worry about him! Ugh, I hope he’s okay…

“Don’t think about it anymore okay?” Nayeon said, pulling you from your train of thought. “It’s already done, let’s just get to your place and wait.”

“Oh how I love waiting…”

“Well sarcasm is a good sign” she laughed lightly.

“I’m fine. Well I was, sort of. But now I’m a little upset?” You said it like a question which only confused your friend.

“Upset like you’re sad? Or like you’re mad?”

Thinking for a second, not completely sure yourself, “both I guess? I mean the whole thing with the lies is kind of whatever I could’ve just ignored it.”

“But…” pushing for you to continue.

“I told him no more fights, and for all of them to leave this alone.” You turned a little in the passenger seat to face her as she drove, “I literally just told him the dude wasn’t worth it. And then hit him again!!”

“I think he just cares about you. I mean what if it was us and the rumors were about me?” She had a valid point.

You turned back to the front and crossed your arms, “that’s different.”

“Why because he likes you?”

“What? No. We’re friends, I’m just ‘one of the guys’. Where did that even come from?” Wait why do I sound so defensive?

“Right okay. I saw the way he looked at you the other day, he did not look at the ‘other guys’ like that,” she gave a quick questioning look before continuing. “Plus I heard him say you’re worth it” she teased.

You tried to think back to that day, not knowing what look she meant. There was nothing. I mean maybe he did look a little longer when i talked or laughed, but it wasn’t just that day. You thought about the night you went to have dinner at their house. It was the same then too. But the doesn’t mean anything, right? Her last comment had his words ringing in you mind bringing a little heat to your cheeks you hadn’t felt yet.

Nayeon cleared her throat loudly, “earth to y/n?”

“What?” You looked up to see you were home and she was already getting out of the car. “Oh my bad.”

“You’re looking a little flushed,” she teased as you walked up to the door. “You feeling okay?”

“Will you just get inside,” you pushed the door open and headed straight for the couch. “How long do you think it’ll be before they’ll tell me everything's okay?”

After grabbing a bag of chips Nayeon sat beside you, “I don’t know, have you checked your phone?”

You mentally smacked yourself in the forehead Duh, why didn’t I think of that? You pulled out your phone to see if any of them called or texted. “Nothing.” You let out a very long dramatic sigh.

“Dang, how long does it take to stop a fight and get out of there?”

“Oh man, what if they didn’t and now he’s in prison?!” You said before sending a quick text to the group chat hoping someone will respond eventually.

“Okay prison? that’s a little much. jail on the other hand? Maybe.” She said before shoving a few chips in her mouth, not helping at all.

“That’s not funny,” hitting her arm before taking the bag from her. “I’m being serious here.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.” Her tone was much softer now, “just try not to think about it for now okay? Let’s just watch some tv”

You agreed, but you couldn’t just not think about it. You tried but still not hearing from any of them, hours later? It would be a lie to say it didn’t stress you out, but what more could you do besides wait..

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Geralt and the Minotaur p2

Pairing: Geraskier?????

Warnings: violence, talk of human sacrifice, talk of cannibalism, this is ancient Greece baby, they buck-wild, sad goodbyes? 

AN: anthropologists have found evidence that the people of Crete ate their dead. fucking wack right?? also they were the major power in the area at the time and defs considered downright ruthless (think Nilfguard) 

part 1 here!

__________

Plans were made, if you could call them plans; Geralt was going in blind. No one who’d ever entered the labyrinth below the palace of Crete had ever returned, save for the architect, and even he almost died in the maze. All they could prepare for was getting him home. He had one day after they were released into the tunnels to make it out alive and to the port. 

As the day grew closer he found sleep harder to come by. Anyone he spoke to was positive, encouraging, some of the senior military officers even offered advice, but he saw the pity in their eyes. Eskel and Lambert trained him hard, telling him they’d rather him die of heat exhaustion in the arena than by the hands of the minotaur. He heard people's whispers from around corners and his father's advisors worry over who would inherit the crown when he didn't come back. It seemed everyone thought he was as good as dead. 

He spent most of the night before they were to leave wandering the cliffs overlooking the sea. He’d never tried to speak to his Olympian father, sure he made sacrifices and said his thanks, but he had yet to seek answers from him. He stopped to stare out at the waves, the sound of them rushing over the rocks below coming to him as a comfort. Now wasn’t the time, he decided, better not to test his Posiden’s favor before something so important. 

He arrived back at the palace just after dawn to a great flurry and bustle of activity. Someone pulled him into a dressing chamber and helped him work out best how to hide a knife in his robes. In the end, they opted for a shorter chiton, only tied at his off hand shoulder to give him as much freedom with his weapon as possible. The blade was tucked between the layers of fabric and the belt around his waist where he could easily grab it but, hopefully, no one would see it. He’d have to be careful sitting down, but it gave him comfort knowing it was secured beneath his navel. The piece was hemmed above his knee, easier to run in, and made of common, sturdy grey fabric. The hope was he wouldn't be recognized, though there was nothing to be done about his hair and eyes. 

Vessimir said nothing all morning, he followed his son from room to room as he asked Lambert last-minute questions and had a final, quivering voiced pep talk with Eskel. It felt as though Apollo was meandering across the sky, drawing out the agony of their wait. 

When the sun was finally directly overhead, there was a chorus of screams as mothers spotted black sails on the horizon.

Geralt had felt nothing all morning until seeing those sails. Now his palms were sweating, his heart pumping as if he’d sprinted the amphitheater stairs, and he felt if he looked his father directly in the eye he might fall into a fit of tears. 

Finally, the time had come, the ship was roughly a mile out, and he would have to join the others soon. 

Vessimir gripped his shoulder, “Geralt,” the boy, for that is certainly what he felt like, looked up at him with a trembling bottom lip, “I am proud of you. It may scare me, but you are a fair and noble leader; not a mere ruling body.”

Geralt nodded, biting his cheek to keep his tears at bay as he whispered, “Thank you.”

Vessimir pulled him into his arms, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug, “I love you.”

Geralt tucked his head into his father's shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut as tears cascaded over his cheeks. He had only just found his father, and now he’d thrown this away on some stupid impulse? 

A guard cleared his throat, a signal that time was running short.

Geralt couldn’t be the one to let go, not even if he’d wanted to. Vessimir had to gently push him away, holding him at arms distance.

“When you come back, raise white sails. I need to know you’ve survived as soon as I see your vessel.”

Geralt nodded, taking the yards upon yards of folded white canvas from an attendant, “I love you, father.”

Vessimir’s lips formed a thin line behind his beard and he nodded, “Go be a hero.”

He followed the plain-clothed guard to the docks where families were gathered saying goodbyes full of false hope. One look at the terrified prince had mothers clutching their children tight and begging the gods for mercy. Guilt weighed heaviest on his chest when fathers reassured their daughters that the slayer of Procrustes and the wild boar would protect them. He wondered if they were lying, or if they really believed he could save their children.

They were corralled onto the boat in a flurry of shouts and soldiers in unfamiliar armor and colors. Geralt tucked the sails inside a coil of rope that came up to his waist in the chaos. Before the fourteen youths were even pushed into the lowered portion of the deck, the soldiers shoved off from the dock, dodging rocks and trying to tune out the wails.

Geralt was herded next to a boy maybe one year his junior as the rowers began to heave at the oars. He stumbled into the brunet when the vessel surged forward.

“Sorry, I’ve never been to sea like this before,” he muttered, reaching out to steady himself against the mast in the center of their makeshift prison.

The boy looked up at him with a grin, blue eyes matching the sea behind him, “Well now’s a good time for firsts, yeah?”

Geralt raised an eyebrow, “Nothing like certain death to inspire optimism.”

A small snicker reached over the rush of the wind as the boy shook his head, “I’m Jaskier.”

“Geralt.”

A soldier slammed his spear on the deck, “Oi! No talking!”

“Fuck off, you dirty cannibal.” Jaskier snapped back at him, turning to face the man twice his size. The man glowered at him but the boy stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest and continuing despite his best interest, “Is the whole island full of bull-fuckers like your queen? Or is beastiality only reserved for the royals?”

Geralt gripped the neck of the boy’s tunic and yanked him back just in time to avoid the blunt end of a spear swinging at his head. He pulled Jaskier around to stand behind him, turning to grab the spear just as it was thrust at his chest. There was a moment of eye contact between Geralt and the soldier before he twisted his wrist and snapped the handle in half. The soldier let out a yell and swung with his fists at Geralt’s head. He sidestepped and gripped the soldier's wrist, using his momentum to pull him down the step, and gripping his backplate with his other hand. He slammed the soldier into the mast as hard as he could, making the rigging rattle with the force. When the soldier tried to struggle Geralt twisted his wrist behind his back.

He leaned in close and growled in the man’s ear, “We have no choice but to go,” Geralt paused to crank the man’s arm even farther up between his shoulder blades, “but touch a hair on their heads and I will swiftly remove yours.”

“You would try.” The man gasped, clearly trying to sound more confident than he was.

Geralt rolled his eyes and grunted as he wheeled around and threw the man back up to his fellow countrymen. He landed on his shoulder at their feet, a sickening crack filling the tense silence. The strangled gasp the man let out made Geralt want to wince, but he kept his face set in stone. 

“Don’t touch them.” his voice was strong and sure despite feeling like he might faint. 

The captain stepped forward, holding a hand up to his men, “You stay put, and they’ll keep their distance.”

Geralt nodded, waiting till the Cretian turned away before looking for Jaskier, “Are you alright?”

He nodded, stepping up close to Geralt and gripping his hips, standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. The terror that had weighed him down all day was temporarily forgotten as Geralt shivered under his touch.

“Your knife came loose.” Jaskier whispered against his cheek, subtly twisting the prince’s belt, “Don’t want them spying it.” 

Geralt swallowed hard, fighting the urge to follow Jaskier when he pulled away, “Thank you.”

“Please. I should be thanking you.” Jaskier cocked his head to the side, squinting as he examined Geralt’s face, “Are you always so pale?”

Geralt released the breath he was holding, letting himself smile as he shook his head.

Everyone was settling into groups around them, some sitting and chatting quietly, their bodies tense as they leaned in close, others holding hands and staring out over the sea. Jaskier slid down the mast, patting the deck beside him as if Geralt hadn’t already decided he wouldn’t leave the boy alone until they were safely back on Athenian shores. 

Jaskier rested with his shoulder against Geralt’s, practically ordering his body to relax. 

Leaning into him, Geralt trembled, no longer able to keep his nerves contained as the adrenaline seeped out of his body, “Do they really eat people in Crete? No one will tell me.” 

“All I know are rumors- Are you alright?” Jaskier asked, fixing Geral with a worried look as he rested a hand on his knee.

“Fine.” Geralt lied, feeling his whole body shake with the effort of keeping him upright and his eyes open. It didn’t help that this boy was magnetic and distracting, drawing him closer with his gentle touch and fearless nature. Geralt wondered if their dire circumstances were what made him react this way or if he would have been just as allured by the reckless boy had they met back home.  

“It’s nearing dusk, when was the last time you slept?” Jaskier examined the deep blue bags under his eyes as Geralt stubbornly avoided his gaze. Eskel had told him to be wary of everything, especially anyone who wasn’t just as terrified as him, but everything in Geralt was telling him to trust Jaskier. 

He shrugged, honestly unable to say when he actually slept last. The night before had been spent in denial and before that he wasn’t sure if any of the time he spent with his eyes closed could really have counted as sleep. 

Jaskier shifted, wrapping an arm around his waist and guiding him to lay his head on his lap, “You need to rest.”

Geralt made a feeble effort to fight him, born out of pride more than actual desire, “I need to stay alert. I can’t defend us if I’m asleep.”

“Sshhhhh,” Jaskier ran a hand through Geralt’s hair, making his scalp tingle under his touch, “You can’t defend anyone too exhausted to stand,” he whispered. Geralt gave in, making it clear he was doing so reluctantly, even if he was unable to keep his eyes from closing as he rested against Jaskier’s thigh. The blue-eyed boy hummed a soft tune, something Geralt’s mother used to sing him to sleep with, and every stroke through his hair sent a wave of calm through his body. The sensation lulled him closer to sleep despite the angry crashing of waves against the hull and violent shifting of the boat beneath them. 

“Wake me.. If…”

“I’ll wake you if you’re needed.” Jaskier assured him, resting a hand on his sternum, “Sleep, hero.”

With the promise, Geralt relinquished his already weak grasp on consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

__________

part 3 here!

if you wanna be tagged just let me know! 🥰

@hailhailsatan 

[arse-crack-thistle]

a firstprince meet-cute

the heroes of olympus au

in which the roman son of apollo meets the greek son of themis

Henry—the quiet son of Apollo and Centurion of the 3rd cohort—leads a team of five demigods through the Long Island woods. Their task: spy on the Greeks and bring information back to Octavian. The golden-haired boy wishes he could’ve refused, but anyone who goes against the Pontifex Maximus gets severely punished and he will not let any harm come to his legionaries. Not again.

The group weaves through the trees, dodging the sight of any patrols. Henry has no idea how he’ll get close enough to hear anything, but he might be able to interpret some battle strategy from the Greek’s night preparations. As his fellow soldiers fan out beside him, Henry inches up the hill. He’d say a prayer to his father if he thought it would help, but he doesn’t. After many unanswered prayers about his sexuality, about his rather fucked up influential family, he doesn’t bother with Apollo anymore.

Henry gestures for his right-hand man—Pez, son of Mercury and the only one who actually knows he’s gay—to peer over the hill with him; the others stay back, keeping watch. The Centurion readies an arrow just in case, while Pez has his hand on the hilt of his blade, and they watch Greek demigods reinforce their buildings, sharpen their weapons, and prepare medical tents. None of them are practicing formations, which doesn’t help Henry or Octavian at all. He has to come back with something, so he puts the arrow away and crawls forward.

This could be really stupid, but he has to try—not for Octavian but for New Rome. It’s the only place that’s felt like home to him. Back in England, there’s his grandmother, the CEO of an underwhelming home goods empire. The stuff is cheap, but they’re still the number one seller back home. His mother and brother have a part in it. His sister ran off a few years back, and he has no idea where she is or if she’s even alive. His father—or rather ex-step-father—hasn’t wanted much to do with him since about three years ago when he found out Henry’s mother had an affair at a music festival fourteen years before.

They had a scandalous divorce, covered by every major news outlet, and Henry found out his true identity when a handsome demigod knocked on his door and told him he was in danger and had to be take to California. Several monsters, a few thousand miles, and a few months with a wolf goddess later, he found himself at Camp Jupiter. Everything that happened to him up until then—the blurry images of creatures at the corner of his eyes every time he turned a corner, the dyslexia that made his passion for writing frustrating, the way he never really fit in with his family—finally made sense. He was a demigod! And when the sign of Apollo appeared over his head after he made his first bullseye at the archery range, he truly felt like he found where he belonged.

Pez whispers for him to come back, but Henry lifts a hand in warning. Just then, someone—a dryad probably—screams an alert to his enemy, and all Underworld breaks loose. His legionaries get in formation behind him, readying themselves for the Greeks. They were taught never to run from a fight, but Henry can’t allow this to happen. He’s been in enough battles to know when he can win and when he can’t. Eventually, they’ll be outnumbered because Octavian won’t send him reinforcements if he can help it. He doesn’t know how violent the Greeks will be, but if they willingly fired on New Rome when their defenses were down, then he can’t take the risk. And he won’t repeat what happened in the Titan war.

Henry orders his soldiers back, telling Pez to take temporary control of the cohort and share the minimal information they gathered with the Pontifex. If they’re to be any casualties tonight, it will only be Henry and the Greeks he can take down with him.

•••

The last thing Alex—the wise-ass son of Themis—wants to do in the middle of the night is go to a counsel meeting at the Big House. He wipes the sleep from his eyes as he walks up the creaky steps. Inside, Chiron and the other counsellors gather around a table. It’s times like this he wishes it was a year ago when the children of minor gods were left out of meetings and decision-making. But as soon as he slaps himself awake, he regains his undying need to get involved and raise hell—fair and just hell, of course.

He sits down next to Nora, the temporary head counsellor of the Athena cabin. She’s bouncing in her seat—no doubt high on caffeine and nectar and ready to get back to developing war strategy. She gives him a wink and taps her fingers like she’s back home typing on a computer. Chiron clears his throat and tells the demigods of a Roman scout team that was spotted an hour ago. Unfortunately, most of the soldiers got away, but they did manage to capture one. He’s being held in one of the Big House’s guest rooms.

Now it’s Alex’s turn to bounce. He’s been waiting for an opportunity like this. A prisoner of war means they’ll need to get information. There will need to be a lawyer present—or a lawyer in training that is. He can preside over the questioning, be the voice of justice, and maybe even get the Roman to see the right side is his. He can picture it now: Camp Half-Blood safe from the Romans and that dude reformed in his ways, joining them to stop Gaia. Yes, this is his chance to step out of his sister’s shadow.

He volunteers to mediate for whoever is charged with the interview. Alex ignores Chiron’s obvious hesitation; just because he can get a little heated—thank gods Leo isn’t here cracking a dumb pun joke at that, which would inevitably leave them both laughing on the floor—doesn’t mean he can’t be objective. So he hates the Romans’ guts and thinks they should go back to their stuck-up little camp, so what? Once he’s in the real world, going to college, running for congress like his father, he’ll have to deal with a shit-ton of people he doesn’t like. Looking at you, Bitch McConnell.

Just as Chiron decides he, Nora, Will Solace, and reluctantly Alex will talk to the Roman boy, a camper from the Aphrodite cabin bursts through the door and tells him one of the Hephaestus girls accidentally blew up a boy from the Ares cabin. Apparently, armor strapped with projectile explosives wasn’t the best idea. So Chiron declares they will talk to their guest in the morning, and in the meantime, they’ll take shifts in pairs guarding him. Alex raises his hand to get the first watch, but Chiron appoints Drew Tanaka and Connor Stoll. They both roll their eyes at the idea of being stuck together for the next few hours. Alex’s chest deflates.

Ever since his sister left—he and June are some of the rare demigods that have the same mortal and immortal parentage without being twins—the responsibility of the Themis cabin has fallen on his shoulders. He wanted it, of course, but his siblings also elected him to the head counsellor position, thinking he’d follow in June’s footsteps: ruling with truth, justice, and wisdom. Just like their mother.

Back in his cabin, Alex stares at the marble statue of her that presides over her children. Her iconic image—blindfolded, holding a sword in one hand and balancing a scale in the other—reminds him he’s definitely no June.

She was a leader of quests; Alex has never been on one. June was the voice of reason at counsel meetings; he struggles just to sit still, let alone calm a room with one enlightening sentence. When the children of minor gods were finally given their own cabins, there was no question who should run theirs. Now, he hears his siblings whisper whether they should hold another election. Gods, you call out your conservative brothers one time—it was way more than once—and suddenly, you’re imposing your opinion on everyone.

That’s not it though. Alex has never been given a chance to step up. No matter how many times he tries to convince the counsel they should establish a court system at camp—nothing settles an argument like a nice, fair trial—he always gets shot down.

Not anymore. He’s not going to sit back this time. Not when the threat to camp is this great. He’ll get what he needs from that Roman. If June were here, she would’ve been trusted to go ahead without Chiron, so Alex will do the same.

•••

Henry wakes up to angry whispers outside of his door. The twelve Greeks overtook him easily, but he did put up a good fight. At least, he did until he was knocked unconscious. On the table beside his bed, a note sits atop a plate of food.

Eat well. Hydrate. Rest. We’ll speak with you soon. -Chiron

A glass of juice spiked with nectar sits next to the plate. Why would those imbecilic Greeks give him what’s essentially strengthening serum? He intakes his surroundings: a bed, a table, a dresser, and a chair. Window to the left. Only door out to the right. There’s a clean set of clothes at the end of the bed, but Henry would rather go to Tartarus and back than put on another camp’s shirt.

He jimmies the window, but it’s locked and to hard to break. He lightly tries the doorknob, but it’s locked as well. By the sounds of it, three maybe four people argue outside his door. Romans never had this much trouble changing guard shifts. Henry fiddles about the room, looking for anything to 1. unlock the door and 2. use as a weapon. He can handle four Greeks, and he’ll do everything in his power to get back to his cohort.

Henry hears the click of the door unlocking. Gods, they’re thick, aren’t they? He grabs the wooden chair, and as the door swings open, he thwacks the person walking in with it. Just as he suspected, the chair breaks, and he uses one piece to press against the throat of the careless demigod he’s pinned to the floor.

The boy beneath him groans. He’s got light brown skin and dark curly hair, and if Henry weren’t about to kill him, he’d think he was quite cute.

“Gods, can you Greeks do anything with finesse? Even your hero, Percy Jackson, as talented as he may be, flies by the seed of his trousers.” Henry grits his teeth.

“Ha!” the boy coughs out. “Jumping to conclusions, are we? I thought you guys were supposed to be strictly trained soldiers. You miscalculated.”

He points behind him, and when Henry looks up, a girl stands battle-ready with a sword in her hand. The distraction is enough for the boy below to wrap his legs around Henry and flip them. The Greek holds a dagger to his neck.

“Listen here, pretty boy, are we going to talk or am I going to go all American Revolution on your British-ass?” He presses the dagger, and Henry yelps.

The boy’s brown eyes peer into Henry’s, and some strange part of him likes it. The Greek looks about his age and, while clearly not as capable as he, definitely has some fight in him.

“I’d like to see you try, graecus. But be forewarned, if you send me to the Underworld, I’ll drag you and your camp down with me.” He keeps his face plain and uncaring, though he can feel the heat in his cheeks. Apollo help him.

The girl interrupts them to remind her partner what they’re here to do. She sheaths her sword and closes the door.

He’s called Alex. Henry swallows. And they need information.

Alex releases him. The two get up off the ground. No one moves to sit or get more comfortable. The boys just stare at each other, long and cold.

Henry can tell this guy is a complete and total arse, and yet he can’t shake the swirling feeling in his stomach. A memory from a quest eighteen months ago flashes in his mind. In Vegas, a priest of Venus dressed like Elvis told him great tragedy would befall his love life, but with the goddess’s blessing, he’d find happiness again.

He already lost someone. The demigod who found him, Daniel, son of Ceres, his sponsor when he joined the camp, his Centurion. Everything was quiet between them—few words needed for mutual understanding. Daniel brought him fresh lavender; Henry played him a tune on the lute. But then the Titan war came. And Daniel disobeyed the Praetors’ orders to save the boy he loved. Henry barely had time to grieve before he took control of the 3rd cohort and lost four other demigods in the process. Not a day goes by when he doesn’t think of the five who died because of him. Because of love.

No. This feeling he has is the desire to beat the Greeks, nothing more. He doesn’t give a damn about happiness in love or this obnoxiously hot demigod before him. Like even as Alex breaks eye contact first, puts his sheathed dagger in his boot, ruffles his hair, puts his hands on his hips, and sighs, Henry feels nothing. Elvis can go fuck himself.

“So,” Alex says, “what do you have planned, and how can we convince you to stop? We’d really like to prevent another demigod civil war.”

Henry laughs, and even though nothing would make him happier than to stop fighting, to rest as Chiron suggested, he tells Alex, “You’re really a dickhead if you think I’m giving you anything.”

•••

“It was an accident!”

“You expect me to believe with our two camps in a centuries-long feud that the one time we let down our defenses, your lot just attacked us on accident? Right, and I suppose Pluto is actually a sweet guy once you get to know him, too?”

“My buddy Leo was being controlled by Gaia!”

“Your mate Leo should come up with a better lie.”

“You’re impossible!” Gods, Alex really hates this guy. “Nora, can’t we just—”

She shakes her head before he can finish. He’s not really sure what he was going to say. Have Drew come back and charmspeak him? Feed him to the harpies? Pin him down again? Wait—what?

“Listen, dude. We’re really on the same side here. Right now, both Greeks and Romans demigods—our friends—are fighting against a greater threat than the world has seen since the beginning of time. That’s got to count for something,” he says.

The Roman is quiet. Alex hates how he looks like a goddamn prince even after a fight. But maybe he got through to him. After all, it is true. For all the shit he talks about Romans, he knows they’re not bad, just different. They actually have more in common than they’d like to acknowledge. Jason Grace taught him that. If there was ever a Roman WASP he could get behind, it’s Jason.

So Alex tries a different approach. He gestures to the bed. “You want to?” The blond boy stiffens, and Alex clarifies, “Sit?”

“How about we start over?” He sits. Nora takes the opportunity to march to the other side and bellyflops onto the bed. “I’m Alex, son of Themis, the goddess of justice. And you are?”

He watches the Roman look from the undefended door to Alex and back again.

“You could run,” Alex says. “But then we’d have no chance to broker peace. Hera thought she could do it by trading heroes, but I think you and I both know it takes more than one person to heal two armies.”

Power swells in his chest. Alex can’t know for sure, but maybe his mother is looking out for him. This is how he can bring the demigods justice for Gaia’s destruction. June would be the better choice, but Alex is here and he has to try.

“Let’s work together. Or at least, get along long enough for the prophesized seven to come back home,” he says.

The Roman hesitates. Alex can see in his light blue eyes the number of strategies racing through his mind. But ultimately, he decides to sit. Nora snores next to them. Five a.m. and a caffeine/nectar crash will do that to you.

“So your name?” Alex asks. “It’s only fair.” Dumb pun but he winks.

The boy coughs, but then he looks into Alex’s eyes. “I’m—er—Henry, son of Apollo, Centurion of the 3rd cohort.”

so this is a little late but we’re just going to ignore that...

i just finished reading toa a couple of weeks ago, and i can’t stop thinking about it!! so when i saw the meet-cute prompt, i couldn’t resist a percy jackson-ish fic! i hope you enjoyed this little short piece. <3

rwrb romance week | @rwrb-fests

[nieithryn]

Ghost Company

"Commander."

The men were soaked. The rain poured down in sheets in the still air, seeping into every nook and cranny and turning the dusty floor of the compound to mud. Steam rose from the mouths of his brothers, especially those who had been woken in the middle of heir downtime for this inspection. Some had come in their blacks, and though they shivered, they made no complaint. Others had been on-duty when inspection was called, and were dressed in their dress grays. Still others were wearing their armor, called in from patrol or guard duty, or fast enough to don it in the scant time they were allotted for inspections. As was usual, natural-born troopers had taken over for them so they could be inspected.

This was a clones-only inspection. They usually were.

Something about the armor his men were wearing was prodding at the back of his mind, but what exactly it was he couldn't quite identify. So long as the General didn't seem to care, he would let it go for now.

In front of the men, their natural-born general prowled, moving from squad to squad, man to man, inspecting with his critical eye. While he always found some small fault, he seemed in good spirits tonight, and even seemed to smile and toss out an off-handed joke or two. Of course, part of that was likely the clones' misery. While they wore cheap plastoid armor that leaked at the joints, and cheap boots that soaked to the skin, he wore a well-oiled overcoat and sturdy, weather-proofed boots that kept him warm in the otherwise chill downpour. At the moment, Cody's feet sorely envied the idea.

"Commander, this is the most presentable this company has ever been." "Thank you, sir." "But Commander, I must inform you that this company is an utter disgrace."

The general's smile didn't falter one moment as he turned to his Commander, his pleasant tone almost friendly. Behind him, Cody watched as his brothers tensed almost imperceptibly, and subtly drew together. His gut clenched, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"Cody, can I talk to you?" Boil didn't ask to talk to him much these days. Not since....well. Not for awhile. Cody couldn't blame him. But he waved the lieutenant to sit in the chair in front of his desk, and set his padwork aside.

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

A heartbeat of silence. Two. Boil had never been shy, and Cody didn't think the scout was afraid of him. He never had been in the War, after all. No, this felt more like Boil was...considering. Maybe double-thinking what he wanted to say. Cody waited. He was patient. That hadn't changed, anyway.

"Me and the boys...we wanna leave." "Leave what?" He hoped he sounded less surprised than he felt. He'd thought his men had wanted to stay under his command, as grouped together as they could manage. Even if it was under these circumstances, at least...at least he'd kept them together, as best he could.

"...the Empire, Sir."

"I don't understand, sir. You just said-" "They're perfectly presentable, yes, Commander. Nothing I would show Lord Vader, or the Emperor, but perfectly presentable, given the circumstances." "Then I don't-" "They are a disgrace to your kind, to their uniforms, their armor, and, of course, to the Empire. Disloyal clones....tsk tsk." The General shook his head, smile falling as he took on a melancholic air. Disappointed.

"You can't be serious!" "I am, Cody. We're free men, and yet here we are, betraying everything we were raised to believe, to fight for!" "Boil, the Empire will hunt you down. It will kill you. All of you! Runaway clones are almost as bad as escaped Jedi!" "Then come with us! No one in the battalion was half as good at command as you, no one could even compare at the strategy table! Next to General Kenobi-"

The room went silent, an unspoken line crossed as the Commander turned away, shoulders slumped.

"...Cody. This isn't where we belong. We're better than this...than them. Come with us." "I wish you luck, Boil. But I...I can't."

The silence returned, heavy and aching.

The general clicked his tongue softly, reprimanding, and raised a hand. Around the compound, blasters were aimed at the assembled clones, some of whom were fast enough to draw their weapons. For a long moment, no one moved, before the general swept in front of his commander, and motioned. A soldier stepped forward, and removed his helmet. He was a clone, with hard eyes and firm features. Off-hand, Cody couldn't remember his name. He'd been a shiny when the War ended, a good soldier. Kept his head down, mostly.

Something in his eyes made Cody's stomach harden. Made it drop like lead to the floor. He looked...satisfied. But not in the way the Order made someone. It was...worse than that. It was personal.

"Cody. We all tried to kill Kenobi. You didn't do anything more than any of the rest of us." "You know that's not true." "It wasn't your fault. He would under-" "Rex tried to tell me, and I wouldn't listen, Boil! I had a chance to stop it, and I didn't! And we...and I..." He sighed, dropping his face into his hands.

"...I hope you make it out, Boil. But I don't want to know any more. I....I can't, Boil. I'm sorry." "...good luck Cody." The lieutenant stood, and made for the door...then paused, lingering. "I'm sorry, Cody." "...so am I."

"The nice corporal here has been very forthcoming about your plans to escape. I'm sure I needn't tell you gentlemen that desertion is a crime punishable in only one way. Particularly for people such as yourselves." The sarcasm that dripped from the General's voice was venomous, and even in his shock, Cody had enough presence of mind to growl. The General, however, ignored him, plowing along his monologue as Cody watched his brothers shift, watching their former allies like hawks.

"Lieutenant Boil. Please, step forward." Silence. "Oh please. Must I really resort to violence? Step forward, Lieutenant!"

No movement, and the General sighed, motioning to a pair of soldiers off to the side. They moved forward, and the clones closed ranks. The pair struggled to push through, as the clones began to mutter insults and push them back. The noise began to grow, both sides getting reinforcements, and Cody finally managed to shake the shock off. He opened his mouth-

"Enough!" Boil. Boil, no...

"Let me through."

Hesitantly, the clones parted for their lieutenant, and Boil emerged. It was only now that Cody realized what it was about the armored clones that had been eating at him: there was color to their armor. No longer was the plastoid bare white, as the Empire demanded, but...but the 212th gold was back. His 212th. They looked like members of Ghost Company again. It was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes.

Boil stood at perfect attention before their general, eyes stern. "Yes, sir?"

"Lieutenant. I hear you orchestrated this attempted escape. Is that so?"

"Yessir." "Honest. I like that. Captain?"

The birth-born officer didn't hesitate. The butt of his rifle slammed into Boil's gut, even as his partner swept the lieutenant's legs from under him. The brothers behind protested, but a warning shot kept them behind the line of birthborns holding them prisoner.

 "Lieutenant, I want you to know I really respect your planning. You did well. But you failed, and now, you and your brothers will die."

The General drew his pistol, checked the clip, and hummed. "No, stay down, Lieutenant. I like you right there."

Boil's lip curled in a snarl.

“Rather die on my feet, if it’s all the same to you, Sir.” “I’m sure you would. But I think not. Hold him down.”

“Sir.” Cody’s voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears. The General paused, tipping his head. There weren’t any rifles aimed at Cody, he realized. Why weren’t there rifles aimed at him?

“Sir, please. Let me speak with my men, I’m sure I can-” “Sure you can what, Commander? They didn’t trust you enough to include you in this little endeavor, I doubt they’ll listen to you.” The surprise and pain must have showed on his face, as the General tipped his head, frowning slightly. “The corporal claims you to be innocent, and I see no reason to argue it...unless you do?”

He should have said yes. It would all have been so much better if he’d said yes. It would be so easy to disarm the General, kill him...he and his brothers could take the natural-born officers by surprise, kill them, and then...

And then what?

A company of clones on the run? They couldn’t get off-world. They couldn’t run forever. There weren’t many places for a company to hide, after all. And what about food, credits, equipment? Let alone transport.

And even if he’d had answers for all of those questions, he realized something else.

He was being tested.

And Boil knew it too. The scout was looking at him from the ground while the General faced away, eyes softer. Understanding. Even as Cody watched, he offered a half-smile, and mouthed It’s okay Cody.

“...no Sir. What would you have me do?”

The General grinned. It was a nasty, predatory look. A nexu looking at penned livestock. “Take care of this execution, Commander. Then get us some more men.” Without warning, he tossed the blaster pistol to the Commander, and folded his hands behind his back. “I expect this all to be cleaned up in an hour or two.”

With that, the General turned and moved for the command center, whistling cheerfully. The natural-born officers stepped back, weapons trained on his brothers, but leaving him with Boil.

The world seemed too loud and too quiet. He could hear his heart beating.

He shook his head, looking down at Boil as he leveled the blaster. The safety was off. Had he hit it, or had the General?

"It’s alright Cody...it’s okay.”

No, it wasn’t. This felt like some sick nightmare, and he wanted nothing more than to wake up. There wasn’t a winning strategy here, just agony. Just blood. Just death.

“Boil, I-” “Don’t, Cody. We knew the risks.” “Hurry up, Commander.” The General’s voice was bored, and Cody felt himself nod...and felt the ache in his chest sharpen.

“I’ll tell Waxer how much you miss him, Sir.” “...I’m sorry Boil.” “So am I, boss.”

The single shot rang out in the compound. For a few heartbeats, the only sound to be heard was the soft thump of Boil’s body hitting the ground as the rain poured down. It hid the tears as Cody looked at nothing in particular.

A murmur went through the assembled clones, and Cody swallowed hard before turning to one of the natural-born soldiers. “You hard the General. Get this cleaned up, Captain.” “Yessir!”

He tried to ignore the excitement. Instead, he stepped back, and watched as the screaming began.

                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” “Sir?”

The General had been in a good mood the last day or so, though he’d run his commander ragged. Not that he minded much. It kept him from sleeping.

“Your company used to be known as Ghost Company, yes?” “Yessir.” “Now they’re a company of ghosts. Ironic, wouldn’t you say?”

The commander swallowed the lump in his throat, but his neutral tone never wavered.

“Yessir. Ironic.”

[pretimasafghanistanlitblog]

“Ten Interesting Afghani Novels”

1. Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Intertwined portraits of courage and hope in Afghanistan and Pakistan Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose name means "star," suddenly finds herself alone when her father and older brother are conscripted by the Taliban and her mother and newborn brother are killed in an air raid. An American woman, Elaine, whose Islamic name is Nusrat, is also on her own. She waits out the war in Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching refugee children under the persimmon tree in her garden while her Afghan doctor husband runs a clinic in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

Najmah's father had always assured her that the stars would take care of her, just as Nusrat's husband had promised that they would tell Nusrat where he was and that he was safe. As the two look to the skies for answers, their fates entwine. Najmah, seeking refuge and hoping to find her father and brother, begins the perilous journey through the mountains to cross the border into Pakistan. And Nusrat's persimmon-tree school awaits Najmah's arrival. Together, they both seek their way home.

Known for her award-winning fiction set in South Asia, Suzanne Fisher Staples revisits that part of the world in this beautifully written, heartrending novel. (goodreads.com)

2. Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy

Winner of the Christopher Medal and a "heart-wrenching" Al Roker's Book Club selection on the Today Show.

Zulaikha hopes. She hopes for peace, now that the Taliban have been driven from Afghanistan; a good relationship with her hard stepmother; and one day even to go to school, or to have her cleft palate fixed. Zulaikha knows all will be provided for her--"Inshallah," God willing. Then she meets Meena, who offers to teach her the Afghan poetry she taught her late mother. And the Americans come to her village, promising not just new opportunities and dangers, but surgery to fix her face. These changes could mean a whole new life for Zulaikha--but can she dare to hope they'll come true? (Amazon.com)

3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years - from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding - that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness - are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love - a stunning accomplishment. (goodreads.com)

4. Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra 

Since the ascendancy of the Taliban the lives of Mosheen and his beautiful wife, Zunaira, have been gradually destroyed. Mosheen's dream of becoming a diplomat has been shattered and Zunaira can no longer even appear on the streets of Kabul unveiled. Atiq is a jailer who guards those who have been condemned to death; the darkness of prison and the wretchedness of his job have seeped into his soul. Atiq's wife, Musarrat, is suffering from an illness no doctor can cure. Yet, the lives of these four people are about to become inexplicably intertwined, through death and imprisonment to passion and extraordinary self-sacrifice.

The Swallows of Kabul is an astounding and elegiac novel of four people struggling to hold on to their humanity in a place where pleasure is a deadly sin and death has become routine. (goodreads.com)

5. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.

In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to the market, and chaperone her older sisters.

But Rahima is not the first in her family to adopt this unusual custom. A century earlier, her great-great grandmother, Shekiba, left orphaned by an epidemic, saved herself and built a new life the same way.

Crisscrossing in time, The Pearl the Broke Its Shell interweaves the tales of these two women separated by a century who share similar destinies. But what will happen once Rahima is of marriageable age? Will Shekiba always live as a man? And if Rahima cannot adapt to life as a bride, how will she survive? (Amazon.com)

6. Shooting Kabul By N.H. Senzai

In the summer of 2001, twelve-year-old Fadi's parents make the difficult decision to illegally leave Afghanistan and move the family to the United States. When their underground transport arrives at the rendezvous point, chaos ensues, and Fadi is left dragging his younger sister Mariam through the crush of people. But Mariam accidentally lets go of his hand and becomes lost in the crowd, just as Fadi is snatched up into the truck. With Taliban soldiers closing in, the truck speeds away, leaving Mariam behind.

Adjusting to life in the United States isn't easy for Fadi's family, and as the events of September 11th unfold the prospects of locating Mariam in a war torn Afghanistan seem slim. When a photography competition with a grand prize trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister. But can one photo really bring Mariam home?

Based in part on Ms. Senzai's husband's own experience fleeing his home in Soviet-controlled Afghanistan in the 1970's, Shooting Kabul is a powerful story of hope, love, and perseverance. (goodreads.org)

7. Green on Blue: A Novel by Elliot Ackerman 

Aziz and his older brother Ali are coming of age in a village amid the pine forests and endless mountains of eastern Afghanistan. They are poor, but inside their mud-walled home, the family has stability, love, and routine. One day a convoy of armed men arrives in their village and their world crumbles. The boys survive and make their way to a small city, where they gradually begin to piece together their lives. But when US forces invade the country, militants strike back. A bomb explodes in the market, and Ali is brutally injured.

To save his brother, Aziz must join the Special Lashkar, a US-funded militia. As he rises through the ranks, Aziz becomes mired in the dark underpinnings of his country’s war, witnessing clashes between rival Afghan groups—what US soldiers call “green on green” attacks—and those on US forces by Afghan soldiers, violence known as “green on blue.” Trapped in a conflict both savage and contrived, Aziz struggles to understand his place. Will he embrace the brutality of war or leave it behind, and risk placing his brother—and a young woman he has come to love—in jeopardy?

Green on Blue has broken new ground in the literature of our most recent wars, accomplishing an astonishing feat of empathy and imagination. Writing from the Afghan perspective, “Elliot Ackerman has done something brave as a writer and even braver as a soldier: He has touched, for real, the culture and soul of his enemy” (The New York Times Book Review). (barnesandnoble.com)

8. Caravans by James A. Michener

First published in 1963, James A. Michener’s gripping chronicle of the social and political landscape of Afghanistan is more relevant now than ever. Combining fact with riveting adventure and intrigue, Michener follows a military man tasked, in the years after World War II, with a dangerous assignment: finding and returning a young American woman living in Afghanistan to her distraught family after she suddenly and mysteriously disappears. A timeless tale of love and emotional drama set against the backdrop of one of the most important countries in the world today, Caravans captures the tension of the postwar period, the sweep of Afghanistan’s remarkable history, and the inescapable allure of the past. (barnesandnoble.com)

 9. A Cup of Friendship: A Novel by Deborah Rodriguez

From the author of the “bighearted . . . inspiring” (Vogue) memoir Kabul Beauty School comes to a fiction debut as compelling as real life: the story of a remarkable coffee shop in the heart of Afghanistan, and the men and women who meet there - thrown together by circumstance, bonded by secrets, and united in an extraordinary friendship.

After hard luck and some bad choices, Sunny has finally found a place to call home - it just happens to be in the middle of a war zone. The thirty-eight-year-old American’s pride and joy is the Kabul Coffee House, where she brings hospitality to the expatriates, misfits, missionaries, and mercenaries who stroll through its doors. She’s especially grateful that the busy days allow her to forget Tommy, the love of her life, who left her in pursuit of money and adventure.

Working alongside Sunny is the maternal Halajan, who vividly recalls the days before the Taliban and now must hide a modern romance from her ultratraditional son - who, unbeknownst to her, is facing his own religious doubts. Into the café come to Isabel, a British journalist on the trail of a risky story; Jack, who left his family back home in Michigan to earn “danger pay” as a consultant; and Candace, a wealthy and well-connected American whose desire to help threatens to cloud her judgment.

When Yazmina, a young Afghan from a remote village, is kidnapped and left on a city street pregnant and alone, Sunny welcomes her into the café and gives her home - but Yazmina hides a secret that could put all their lives in jeopardy. As this group of men and women discover that there’s more to one another than meets the eye, they’ll form an unlikely friendship that will change not only their own lives but the lives of an entire country.

Brimming with Deborah Rodriguez’s remarkable gift for depicting the nuances of life in Kabul, and filled with vibrant characters that readers will truly care about, A Cup of Friendship is the best kind of fiction - full of heart yet smart and thought-provoking. (Amazon.com)

 10. In the Sea There Are Crocodiles By Fabio Geda

What would you do if, when you were ten, you were left to fend for yourself, and, in order to survive, you had to undertake a harrowing journey all the way from Afghanistan to Italy?

In early 2002, Enaiatollah Akbari’s village fell prey to the Taliban. His mother, fearing for his life, led him across the border. So began Enaiat’s remarkable and often publishing five-year ordeal—trekking across bitterly cold mountains, riding the suffocating false bottom of a truck, steering an inflatable raft in violent waters—through Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, and Greece, before he eventually sought political asylum in Italy, all before he turned fifteen years old.

Here Fabio Geda delivers the moving true story of Enaiat’s extraordinary will to survive and of the accidental brotherhood he found with the boys he met along the way. In the Sea There Are Crocodiles brilliantly captures Enaiat’s engaging voice and humor, in what is a truly epic story of hope and survival, for readers of all ages. (barnesandnoble.com) 

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 44

Previous / Next

-

What.

That was all that was running through her head in that moment.

What.

They caught her? How? Why? When?

As sky was sitting here, planning what to do next, they had already caught the culprit?

There was no way, there was just no way they could've done that. Not when it had been so hard before, not when they had done everything in their power to avoid being caught before this point, this all seemed too weird. Judging from the boy's reaction, they were having very similar thoughts. Instead of being joyous over the capture of a tormenter and criminal they were skeptic and confused.

No one moved except for the queen, rushing down the halls and away from the kids towards the prisons.

Sky turned to jude, whose eyes followed the queen before heading off after her, still rather confused but ready for anything nonetheless. Judas wasn't even running but he was walking rather fast, sky and landon rushing to catch up with him as he had been given a head start at this point. Though no one really knew what to expect at all from any of this, or who they expected to find in the prison.

Would it really be someone they knew?

Or was it someone worse then they could imagine?

There were so many questions being raised and they all could feel their heartbeats get faster and faster with every step forward, even though they weren't in any danger right now they still felt as if they were, they were still scared. The small group passing through crowds of people who were also eager to see what was actually going on in the butterfly prisons.

People protestors, royals, guards, you name it.

They were all there, shouting and screaming.

But Kelly and Katrina wouldn't let them in, pushing them all back before star stepped in, pushing them back further with magic, her wife almost running into her on her way out of the room as she stepped in. Janna's presence immediately scared the crowd, who backed up and away from her. Honestly it was rather amusing that janna just standing there was considered way scarier then star's magic to these people.

Though if sky herself had to chose between the two, she'd rather deal with the magic as well.

But at least the crowd backing up allowed room for the kids to squeeze through, janna spotting them in the crowd, and ushering them towards her. Frankly she outta push the kids away and not let them get involved in this right now with all these people, but at the same time this was janna and she tended to not care about most of that kinda stuff like she probably should.

She actually looked way too happy for sky's taste.

Sky stopped in her tracks right in front of her mom with a worried and puzzled expression.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?", judas and landon were also stopped in their tracks next to the princess. The three shared puzzled expressions and janna smirked harder, "Well, we caught someone alright, but not entirely sure if we can call wo we caught and the guy who wrecked us last night the same person. Unless we've all been even dumber then we thought we were, which...i dunno".

Now sky was MORE confused.

"But...w-what?".

That's when Jackie popped her head through, scaring sky half to death.

Wasn't she supposed to be-?

Jackie ushered the kids inside the prison, janna helping keep guard as the kids headed over to the obviously crowded cell just to see what was going on over here. And sure enough, in a musty and dusty old cell was a figure in a dark dress, mask on their lap and chained hands behind their back. Their hood was clearly peeled back to see their face.

And Sky was dumbfounded at seeing light blonde hair and blue eyes.

"L-luna?".

Luna looked dazed, something strange to how she normally was, usually sky would expect Luna to either be sneering at them or sitting patiently as if she hadn't done anything wrong at all. But she looked weakened and tired and everyone around her was constantly asking her questions and exchanging confused glances between them all. No one is sure how to react to this exactly.

Luna was clearly being set up, she had to be.

Sky had seen her in the same place as the figure before, when they attacked angel.

So it couldn't have been her, no way.

Granted, that was the only time and she never knew the extent of luna's abilities but...still, there was no way luna was behind all of this. Just like there was no way she had been mind controlled into doing anything herself, something else had to be going on entirely. Sky walking up to the bars, looking at her dazed sister, it had to have been mind control.

and Judas looked stunned.

His hands suddenly reaching out to his neck all of a sudden without hesitation on his part.

The charm, luna had used it to repel being controlled or cursed and had given it to him when he told her about his dreams, she had only given it to him just the day before and without it they might of never found bernard how they did. Judas had been hesitant for good reason, because who knew what could happen if she gave it up and handed it over to him.

Had they gotten to her?

Landon of course was not happy to see her, considering their encounters before this point had been nothing but unpleasant to deal with, he felt himself sink back against the wall, he did not want to talk to luna, at all. He much rather would stay out of this whole situation if he could, crossing his arms and avoiding luna's gaze as he tried not to get himself worked up.

But they weren't finished, sky was quick to go up to her mother and question her. She had too many questions, questions her mom may or may not have answers to right now but she had to ask someone right now anyway. How long had luna been like this? Been captured? Where had she been captured? Who was the one to bring her in? Jackie? The spy who had been following her?

And wait a second-

But Star quickly tried to quiet her down, clearly in the midst of processing a lot herself right now.

Everyone was talking rapidly between themselves, no one really did seem to believe luna was responsible exactly, but at the same time luna left when they discovered who she was, and how much did they really know about her and what she was doing? With luna leaving the group for all they knew she was working with someone and manipulating everyone behind their backs.

Sky shaking her head, not even wanting to consider that.

Luna wasn't a great person, but she'd never well...go THIS far.

Right?

Judas quickly passed by Sky, pressing up and against the bars, staring at luna in disbelief and worry. Ignoring all the discussion around him about what was going on, the boy looking over luna to make sure she wasn't hurt, or if there were any signs she had been attacked or controlled by anything. His face full of regret in taking her magic charm before shaking his head.

She gave it to him, it helped save bernard, he shouldn't regret that..

But Luna...

His face however, seemed to be the thing that snapped luna out of whatever state she was currently under, the girl shaking her head rather fiercely and waking herself up, realizing just in what state she had been left in. She blinked her shiny blue eyes to get the sleep out, pulling on her bound hands, and she quickly was turning back into the luna everyone knew and tolerated.

"What...what's going on!?".

Her speaking finally got everyone's attention from their arguing to see luna snarling at all of them, confused and angry. She looked like if given enough time, she could break out of her situation with her fists alone, and no one would be shocked if she did. But her scary expression wasn't doing herself any favors and the argument if she was evil and out to get everyone secretly or not.

If anything all of this seemed to make her look so much worse right now.

But judas seemed delighted and relieved, so different from how he saw her the day before, and luna actually seemed almost happy to see him.

So much for her goodbyes of yesterday.

Guess being here was better then most situations she could've gotten herself into. The blonde actually rather sad in her tone as she spoke up properly for the first time since she got here, "Hey judas...sky". For once she seemed actually rather defeated, there was nothing she could do in this situation to make anything any better. Break out and she was screwed, say anything encrypting and well...her other mom was right there, stay here and who knows what would happen to her at this point.

"Luna...what...what happened?", Judas wanted to take this as slowly as possible, get as much out of luna as he could. Though her expression wasn't exactly reassuring, luna responding with more of a shrug and a look of puzzlement, "I...I don't know...I went to sleep last night and...oh...oh no...". She looked right at judas, and the two knew where this was going.

The charm.

"How could...i was trying to be so careful and...judas what happened since i saw you last?". There was a lot to actually say but they were currently in no condition to talk about it with so many people around, all the demon prince could do was try and reassure her. "We're going to figure this out...just hang tight right now and we'll try and get this...sorted out.".

"They took over my brain...didn't they?", the way she asked it gave him chills.

"I...maybe...yeah".

Star was quick to ask for some privacy from some of the adults in the room, Katrina and Jackie leaving to work on the crowd outside and getting them out of the area in general. Obviously whatever Luna wanted to talk about, it was going to have to remain private, lest information got out that no one wanted to get past the castle gates to cause more damage.

But Landon also made his way towards to door, his older brother stopping him, worried. "Landon? Hey, you don't have to leave so soon, don't you want to-", but landon cut him off, "I'm going to tell mom and dad what happened and you can't make it to your arm thing right now, they'll reschedule, I-I don't want to be here...with her". He nodded towards the blonde teenager, "We'll talk alter...you can let me know...what you find out...". And judas could do nothing more as landon headed out after the other adults, judas sighing but letting him go.

Guess he couldn't blame him after how luna acted to him, Celeste was pissed about it just as much.

But they'd have to focus on luna for now and deal with it later, and judas went back to focusing on the princess, who watched landon leave with a face of mixed emotions, whether she may of had regrets, judas couldn't say for now.

"Luna...you first...what happened after i saw you last?".

Luna seemed to be struggling to remember, eyes closing and lip quivering, "I-I...I left and...I made my way back to my camp that night...I-I was keeping an eye out to make sure those after me hadn't caught up and i put charms around my area for protection...and next thing i know...i'm here...oh no, i hope my stuff's ok...I don't want all my evidence stolen..".

"Evidence?", star asked, startled.

"On who was after us...and how to get home", she muttered, "I...I might've found some crucial stuff and...ugh...". She seemed about ready to punch a wall, only for star to try and hush her down, her distress only making everyone more stressed. "We'll find it...the ones tracking you...i'll send them out to your camp and see what they can find...you...still have...it...right?".

Luna scoffed, still not happy her sorta mother was talking to her, it had been so long sky and judas nearly forgot how...tense luna got around star.

"It?", she asked rather rudely.

"Your wand".

The mention of it seemed to freak luna out, struggling to make her hands to desperately feel it.

Breathing a sigh of relief, "Oh...no...it's still safe...they must not have noticed it...".

Thank god.

And thank god for luna knowing how to hide her wand so well, or they'd be in deep trouble. Everyone else seemed to be just as relieved, though their reaction seemed to make luna curious. At the very least the wand was ok, though with luna in a costume no doubt she didn't put herself in there had to have been a reason for it other then looking for a wand.

"Check her for bruises", sky sputtered out randomly, everyone staring at her.

"Sky?".

"The masked figure that attacked us last night, we attacked them...we need to make sure if it was actually them-".

"-Or luna..", judas finished.

Luna looked at them all, rather puzzled before muttering, "Ok, but...get me out of this cell first...we're not checking my body with all of you staring at me in a cold jail cell.". Star opening the door to escort the girl as sky let out another question that she couldn't help but have in the back of her mind throughout this situation. "Mom...hey uh...luna was being followed by a spy wasn't she? Where...are they?", it might've been a weird time to ask, but if jackie was here Katrina's partner had to be as well.

Perhaps they could ask them some questions.

"Oh well...I think they're with eclipsa in the gardens right now".

"Eclipsa...why with her?".

"Well-", star started only for janna to walk in and cut the mood, "Hey star, we kicked all of those people out, so if you wanna move little trouble over here better do it now before they start climbing the walls...oh and uh...maybe put the mask back on...luna might not want people to see her face if they find out she was the one we actually caught".

Luna could agree to that alright.

And in an instant, luna was rushed out in her costume, judas looking back at her as she left, only dragged away by sky, who needed to go find eclipsa. For once she actually wanted to find eclipsa and find out what was going on. Maybe the spy saw something? They were following luna after all, they could figure out how this all happened, when luna got her mind taken over...anything they needed.

It was a better lead then nothing.

Though judas still seemed worried about luna.

Would she end up like how angel did? On trail?

There was no way they could defend her the same way they defended him, angel was only a boy who didn't know what he was getting into and didn't commit the crimes himself, luna on the other hand...if this was what it looked like...she was going to be in way worse trouble. Though at least her kingdom was in another reality and she wouldn't be surrounded by an angry mod anytime soon.

Angel was still dealing with the risk of that last part.

And he barely left the castle.

His mind was so lost in thinking about luna he had to be snapped out of his state by sky to notice they had moved to the outside of eclipsa's tower, everyone had seemed to have left. Angel, nora, sunny, melaine...all of them, off somewhere else. Melaine was home obviously, angel might've went for lunch with nora and then back to see his mom, and sunny...well sunny was probably with lexi if anywhere.

Sky hung out with them so much now she could practically guess what they were up to at any point in time.

Guess everyone had to get back to life as per usual for awhile, besides...outside was a good place to get ambushed.

But she was happy they weren't here, she didn't want them involved in this just in case things got a little...rough, they didn't know what they were in for if they were going to ask the spy some questions and who they would see on the other side obviously. Though it didn't take long for someone to answer, and sky had to take a step back. Because though this was eclipsa's tower and home when she was staying by the castle, she wasn't who was standing in the doorway.

And sky was speechless and...baffled.

She had knocked, trying not to be rude, and before she could back herself out of this whole deal, they had to be inside and hopefully eclipsa wouldn't mind them joining to ask some questions of their own. Though the moment the door had been opened, sky almost felt the color drain from her face, and she and judas had gone stiff as a board as their stomachs turned.

Because instead of a green haired mewman standing at the door.

In front of her was a woman who was much younger, and much less mewman if the horns and tail were any indication. She had striking red eyes but the thing that clearly got the both of their attention was the plain clover cheekmarks on her face. Even though they had never seen this woman in person since the day they were made, they both knew who stood before them.

For the first time in their lives, Meteora stood before them.

The monster who almost destroyed mewni.

The original princess to take the throne before sky.

The monster who got a second chance to live.

The sight of her alone was enough to stop the two in their place unable to say a word to her, just gapping at her and their minds going full blank. They never knew what they'd do if they met meteora in person since they found out she was really well...not dead. Now that they were actually seeing her for the first time they had nothing to say, looking as though they were staring off into space.

Meteora however, seemed to know them rather well.

"The prince of the underworld and princess of mewni...hey".

They still didn't say anything, how much did meteroa know about them? About what was happening? Was she happy to see them or was she just as freaked out as they were?

It took all of his strength for judas to rely like he wasn't freaking out on the inside.

"H-hey".

It was a start.

Of course meteora was the spy following luna, of course.

Why didn't sky think about this before? Who else would go to see eclipsa but her own daughter?

And that meant, Katrina and Meteora were working together all this time, all this time they had been closer to meeting the former princess then they thought they were. It was only an ask away. They must've looked pretty silly gawking at her like that, because meteora was staring back at them as if they had grown a head between the two of them, confused and worried.

"Uh...hi?".

"Meteora, dear...what's going-", Eclipsa paused at seeing the teenagers at her door, but quickly smiled and invited them inside, "C'mon in, have some tea, meteora was just telling me how work has been going". She pulled her daughter aside to let the teens enter, judas and sky recovering from their frozen state, but still having a hard time not looking at meteora as they entered.

Man, now meteora must've thought they were weirdos, looking at her as if she was some sort of ghost.

Great start, they just seemed to have a way with making first meetings really uncomfortable.

And indeed as they were welcomed in and to take a seat the monster girl watched them curiously, reminded them this was again, her first time really meeting them either. She'd probably hear many stories about them from her mom, some probably fun and some sky really hoped would never ever be mentioned ever again if they could help it.

Eclipsa and her might not have had the closest relationship, but that never stopped eclipsa from knowing too much for comfort.

Regardless, now neither sky or judas was sure how to go about this, they barely knew meteora, would she really answer any of the questions they had for her? Or would she not say a work, considering the spy business was purely confidential. Maybe meteora was stingy about that info and they'd have to pry it out of her, good cop and bad cop style?

Actually, no, that'd be stupid.

Truth potion?

Oh right, with what happened yesterday sky basically forgot they lost it to Judas's grandfather.

Well today was full of inconveniences now wasn't it? Leaving Sky more anxious then she probably would've been otherwise.

But she might've been just panicking, she didn't know meteora, and she didn't know for sure she wouldn't easily help them or not. Maybe this would go a lot better then she was thinking it would. Though meteora's looks weren't exactly reassuring her a ton, as the former princess seemed to be trying to read the two royals herself, as any good spy probably would.

Did they look suspicious? Or just weird?

Sky wished she could read meteora's mind, wondering what eclipsa had told her about all of this if

anything.

There was no way meteora didn't at least have some questions considering she was tailing luna, someone she DEFINITELY didn't know.

And if she had ever spotted Luna doing magic….yeah.

Sky just had to pull herself together and maybe if she was lucky this would go rather well and maybe eclipsa would even help her out?

"Any flavor you'd like?" , Eclipsa asked sweetly, sipping her own cup as meteroa drank from her own.

"Oh uh….it doesn't matter…" Sky answered awkwardly. Eclipsa just shrugging and walking to her teapot. Guess she didn't feel as weird since Sky and Judas already knew Meteora was alive, but that wasn't shared among the others.

She really shouldn't be acting so peachy to Sky, especially since she knew how unusual this was for everyone.

But the 3 said nothing between them, just sharing awkward glances at each other as they heard the teapot boil nearby. Eclipsa humming to herself as she did so, acting as if this was all somehow just extremely normal and nothing odd was happening at all right about now.

They couldn't even bring themselves to ask about her thoughts on Luna with Meteora there. It was nothing but dead silence and odd tension that Meteora probably didn't fully understand herself.

Eclipsa handed them their cups before taking a seat next to her daughter. She bumped the monster's shoulder, eyeing the kids, "Meteora, this is Princess Skyler, and Prince Judas. Two of the lovely royals I've told you about".

Meteora coughed into her fist, trying to almost reset the whole meeting as she held out her hand.

"Hello".

They better take it, otherwise enter another awkward staring contest between the three of them.

Judas shook first, meteora and him both seeming to note just how strong the other appeared to be.

Sky felt the grip next, and she was sure her hand had been uncomfortably sweaty throughout the whole thing.

At least meteora didn't seem to be too focused on that last bit, trying to strike up a conversation herself to ease the tension. "So um...you've been...taught by my mom? She keeps raving about how you and this dorky spider prince studied under her for some reason?". Well, this was not really where sky expected this to star but it was something it seemed.

"Oh yeah...angel, he's the prince of the-".

"Arachfords, yeah, i've been to that kingdom...kinda a bit of a dump".

Well that was one way to start a conversation, though sky was sure if angel had heard he wouldn't have disagreed with her. Guess it figured at one point or another meteora would've spied there, probably as part of the investigation into all the strange masked person activity when angel was still working for Her. Perhaps Meteora had been more involved with this conflict then sky thought she had.

"How is it there these days?", the demon prince was quick to ask, curious about how it's been since angel was on trial. Meteora simply shrugging, "Eh...still a dump, though at least people aren't overunning the castle anymore. Should've seen the king, dude couldn't even leave his own castle with all those monsters out there yelling at him for one reason or another...guess it comes with the job".

Fun.

"Oh yes, i told angel earlier, his father is coming over here for a bit while globby takes care in his place. So if you have questions you'll be able to ask him in person rather soon if you'd like...though maybe give him and angel some space, they clearly have some serious catching up to do with how long they haven't seen each other. Downside to him not letting angel have a compact.".

"Yeah...angel probably should have one...", judas gritted his teeth, "Hard to contact him without it...".

"Old fashioned type kingdom?", meteora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually more like they didn't trust angel to just have one".

That actually seemed to make meteora laugh, "Man, dude must have some issues then...must be fun parties".

"Well he was kicked out of most of them...".

Actually out of context it almost sounded like angel was some sort of badboy who got in trouble a lot rather then what actually was going on. But they didn't need to go into that with meteora right now, they had more important matters to get into. Though meteora seemed to find the fact he was kicked out of royal parties to actually be kinda interesting.

However, meteora was quickly onto them, scanning their faces closely, "You're here to ask about the girl i just caught aren't you? Don't try to deny it, i can tell from your body language you both wanted to ask something in particular and were hesitant about it". Judas and Sky immediately felt embarrassed, she caught on quick, that's for sure but she didn't seem to mind.

"Ask away, i don't have an issue...I kinda figured you'd have questions, the news was bound to spread fast...", she sounded actually rather cool about it, ushering them to get out what they wanted to ask while she was still here. Judas and Sky gapping and looking at each other as sky cleared her throat, guess if meteora was really cool with it they better hurry up before she wasn't.

"So uh...were you uh...following..-".

"Was i following the blonde girl with a resting face in the cell? Yeah, mom called me in to follow her since she apparently ran away or something. She spent the whole time trying to shake me off, it was insane. I've never had someone try so hard to make sure they weren't being followed, i'm not exactly sure how she did it...but she had to be an expert on it...and only culprits go out of their way to hide so much".

So meteora didn't know about the magic luna could do then.

But she thought luna was suspicious.

As she would if luna was going so far to keep herself from being tracked, of course that would look suspicious. She didn't know why luna left and why she didn't want to be followed. Luna was kinda a suspicious person even when she was an ally, going off and doing her own thing and keeping secrets from the others, all of this would be even worse coming from someone who never met her.

The kids exchanged glances, meteora still talking, not really paying attention to the kids or her mom, who all seemed to mutually send glances, knowing the truth behind luna's weird actions and unsure what to respond with after that statement. "Honestly i can see why mom wanted me to follow her, she's tricky...no normal guard could handle something like that...did your mom see her already?", she asked sky.

"Uh...yeah...yeah she did.".

"When's the trial then?".

"Oh...uh...", so meteora was also expecting luna to be put on trial after all this too? Did she have any evidence to get her convicted? She had to have right? Though sky'as silence seemed to tell luna enough about the situation, "Alright then, i guess we'll see when she wants to take care of it...y'know i thought she was weird before, but i never expected to find out she was a criminal".

But thankfully, eclipsa chimed in.

"Oh dear, you don't know that, innocent till proven guilty after all, give it some time", meteora didn't seem so sure about that fact but it didn't seem she was deadset on not agreeing with her mom either, false accusations was a sore spot in their family and meteora herself couldn't go around claiming her mom was wrong when that part of their family history was still fresh.

"She's still really suspicious though", she grumbled, leaning on the couch and drinking more of her tea.

They could all agree to that, even when luna was helping them she was suspicious, she tended to have a vibe to her.

"Did you...what was she doing...when you guys got her?", sky asked, trying not to sound suspicious as she brought the topic up, meteora simply shrugging to herself and drinking her tea with a sigh. "She was just...strolling through the woods, pretty unlike her all things considered since she seemed obsessed with trying to stop me from watching her...but there she was...out in the open, might as well have just turned herself in and saved me the trouble".

"Just...walking?".

"Pretty much, tired too by the looks of it".

So luna wasn't caught doing anything that seemed scary or dangerous at least, though meteora seemed to help make it more obvious luna wasn't in control of her own body at the time. Luna would never have put herself out in the open like that, they knew that well enough. She had to have been under control and got caught while being so, honestly it just seemed like they gave up using her when they finished what they needed.

At least luna seemed mostly intact instead of being heavily injured during this whole thing, being out of control of what happens to your own body is scary, luna was lucky nothing worse happened to her when someone else took the steering wheel. Not to mention be attacked by anyone who had really though they had caught the big bad enemy that had terrified all of mewni.

She got lucky this time around, that was for sure.

"But i've caught some real scary folks in my time, usually i hang out in that sweet dig in the underworld to get new jobs, place has great smoothies...and music...as long as those demons don't pick any fights". The royals exchanged looks knowingly, guess for certain they could confirm the cloaked figure fae had seen there, meteora might've seen landon there a few times if she went regularly.

"How long have you been a spy?".

"Eh...maybe about...four years?", she said, still a little unsure, "I mean, if not that then five, but it's not much more then that...katrina started earlier then me, since she ages differently and got a bigger head start...but it is what it is, she's cool though, best partner i could have. She talked about you guys all the time, like your weird big sister...she gave you that pendent thing right?".

She pointed to sky.

"Yeah...she did...".

"Did she tell you you had to wear it on your hat before she did it?".

Sky shook her head, meteora snorted.

"Sounds like her".

Eclipsa smiled into her teacup, "Meteora is wonderful as a spy, sneaky and smart...i tend to get her help a lot when teenagers get a little rough around the castle and they need to be taught them a nice lesson." Meteora also seemed to share a smile about that, leaving their company to wonder just exactly what eclipsa did when they weren't paying attention to her.

"Eh...it works, but it's nice to take a break...come over...where's dad anyway?".

"Busy, he'll come over soon though".

Meteora sagged her shoulders, "He better get here before i have to go back into work, hard to get in contact with him when he's spending his "retirement" cleaning up other people's messes". Her attention went back to the royals, "So yeahh...hopefully that takes care of your little masky problem, and well, that blonde girl in general, hopefully you both stay safe from now on".

"What do you mean by that?".

"I mean...you were nearly killed a few times right?", she said knowingly, "If you die, well lucitor has brothers, but well...in sky's case...who knows where the throne might go without you there to run it. Mewmans are just work in general, their a mess without their queen, you leave them alone for too long and they can barely feed themselves, so better not let anyone stupid get a chance to take over".

Honestly sky only felt more awkward knowing meteora almost had this position herself years ago, would meteora have been a better queen then sky? It's possible, meteora ight also have been just as hated if not more then sky but at the very least she had to be far more powerful then her and maybe more accustomed to dealing with all of this then sky.

Or maybe sky was just doubting herself again.

"Yeah well...i guess we'll just have to see for ourselves about that...things kinda seem to happen to our family a lot", she was joking, but she wasn't wrong, her mom nearly died multiple times, in fact she had claimed to have actually come back from the dead during one of those occasions. Their family seemed to have poor luck in avoiding ending up in serious life-threating peril.

"Hey, all queens deal with it, just blast anyone who tried in the face, works every time".

At least Meteora was enjoying this.

Judas coughed, knowing they needed to get back on topic about luna before they left with little info, there had to be ore they could push on. So far what they asked seemed mostly fine and not that odd, probably because it was stuff meteora had no reason to hide anything about, but there could be more they were missing and would have to go further to get.

Eclipsa seemed to know their next move, continuing the conversation with her daughter as normal, "Well meteora, i really hope staking out wasn't too bad this time around, though i'm sure the girl didn't make it easy for you...it's hard to sleep if you have to keep finding the person over and over...but at least you can rest here if you need to, i kn0ow it's tiring".

"Jeez...no kidding, she had camps, but kept wandering off, only reason i found her again was she went back to her campsites...otherwise i might've lost her".

Guess at least that meant luna did go off and do the hunting for clues she promised, she wasn't fibbing when she told them in her cell, she had stuff at her camp, waiting for her and everyone else to see.

But it also meant she looked more suspicious cause no one but her could claim what she did when she wandered off right now.

Cause for all they had known, luna could've been out doing terrible things when she went out of meteora's view. But they'd have to ask luna herself, only she could really say what went down. And if what she did was bad or not, even judas was up in the air about what she had down since they parted, and he knew luna would not be against doing some shady things.

They needed to talk more about her absence when they could.

"You...you really think it's her?", he said it in such a sad way, he couldn't help her, he really honestly didn't want to doubt luna but he couldn't help but be worried about all of this. How much did he really know about luna? What if she really was just as bad as meteora seemed to think and all of them had been tricked? His mind felt fuzzy just thinking about all of this.

Meteora seemed to take note of his tone, hers immediately shifting. She actually seemed rather

worried that she upset the boy, feeling rather embarrassed all of a sudden. "Oh um...were you and

her...friends or something? I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply-".

"It's fine….", he said, so quickly that it only emphasized how upset he actually was. "I'm sorry….its just….I don't believe luna did this….or at least I hope she didn't ".

His own voice seemed to betray him, because he, to an extent, wasn't sure about luna. He couldn't betray a friend either, and luna was a friend no matter how mixed things currently were right now. Eclipsa seemed to be admiring his loyalty, despite how luna kinda was to everyone around her. She was lucky anyone was standing up for her with how things had been.

"Well, I guess we'll see for ourselves once we do some kind've investigation on her and everything. So Let's just hope for both our sakes this capture isn't a complete waste of our time", the monster girl put down her teacup and took out her compact, "So enough questions for me...time for me to question the two of you". Her compact now aimed at the two teenagers.

"What….?".

"You both are part of this whole deal and I need to hear what you know so I can further do my job.", her words seemed to strike some worry into the kids, how much did meteora know if she knew they "Were part of this whole deal"? Judas quickly trying to relax himself, especially since meteora could read their body language and might get suspicious if they kept freaking out.

The former princess looked them both over and tried to explain more clearly, she then said simply, "So since we're here together I better do it now and hear what you both have to say. Especially since you both know the girl I captured on a personal level".

They both felt their hearts drop, Eclipsa sending them a shrug.

Guess they had no choice but to answer meteora's questions and just hope they didn't say anything that might make them look weird.

"So how do you know this girl?", she pressed record on her compact, keeping eye contact the entire time with the teens, the two struggling just to answer the first question. They couldn't outright say who she ACTUALLY was to Meteora right now, they barely knew her, they'd kinda have to lie….if even a small lie for now. They were just going to have to be careful of their words, though even just thinking what to say too long might make them seem suspicious.

"Uh she wanted to be in our guards".

It was technically the truth so hopefully it worked, though in their minds they both just really hoped that meteroa wasn't an expert lie detector, because if she was they were doomed.

"Is that how you met? She came to you looking to be apart of the guards"

"Well no, we met a bit before b-"

"How long ago did you meet and how close were you? You didn't tell her anything you shouldn't have did you? Was she interested in anything she shouldn't have been?", geez sky hadn't expected meteora to be so….intense. She really seemed to take her job seriously, like VERY seriously. Sky was nervous just trying to answer her first question, much less all the others.

It was overwhelming, they barely could process all the questions she was even asking them, catching them more off-guard.

Sky especially.

"Well I uh-".

"Luna came down wanting to be a guard and we met her in town, so we hung out and asked for her to stay in the castle since she left home to be a knight ", judas to the rescue of course, a significantly better person to handle this then sky. At least he was staying consistent to the story they gave luna as best he could.

"Where's she from?"

"She's from….a very far part of mewni, she traveled through scissors to get here, she didn't wanna say because it was personal information".

This seemed to make meteora suspicious, whether of them or luna they couldn't tell for sure but she didn't seem entirely satisfied with that answer. This only seemed to make the demon more nervous, but meteroa didn't push further on the matter, moving onto the next question she had.

"Why'd you help her become a knight?"

"Because we're...nice people?"

She made a face in response to that one and judas kept his mouth shut once again just to avoid sounding more like an idiot in front of the master spy. But really he didn't have a better answer then that, he wasn't exactly sure what meteora had expected to hear honestly.

"How much do you really know her? She seems to have been vague about all the important things a friend would share normally?".

Eclipsa must've sensed how nervous the teens were trying to figure out their next set of words.

Quickly getting her daughter's attention with a tap on the shoulder, "I've spoken to Luna quite a few times and seen them with her quite a bit since she's been here, I can say for sure luna has quite the relationship with both of them….judas and luna even hung out with me, sky, and angel before ".

Well if meteora didn't know whether to trust the royals for sure, there was at least a decent chance she might trust her own mother's word on the matter. The girl biting at her lip and moving onto the next question she had about the matter. Judas and sky becoming extremely relieved about that one, trying to talk about luna without mentioning her whole deal was...tricky.

"I've already spoken to some of her comrades , she was dangerous….like she had training way before she even came here...can both of you confirm this?".

They nodded.

"So she was well trained before she entered the knights ? I'm gonna guess she never explained why she was so well trained right?".

"She trained herself ", sky said, "she wanted to be the best".

It was the most in character thing luna would do if this was her actual backstory.

They couldn't deny any of luna's skills, that was for sure, nothing about her read as "Incompetent".

They were waiting for meteora to ask anything else but she stopped her recording, "I'll probably get back to you later...but i have others to talk to about this as well...anyways, thanks for helping me with this for the time being". They simply nodded, still anxious about being bombarded with questions they couldn't be entirely truthful about.

At least it was over, they didn't know for how much longer they could've kept that up before they said something more stupid that gave them away. They had enough mixed emotions about meteora, they didn't need her hogging down their backs on top of that, and even now they were still processing the fact they were in her presence. Looking at her now she didn't seem the type to attack an entire kingdom like she did.

She seemed...well normal.

Focused on her work, talking to her mom, hanging out with her friends.

Would she still be like this if her mind hadn't been wiped how it was?

"So...wait...are you going to be part of this whole deal?", sky asked all of a sudden, meteora blinking at her in confusion, "Uh...if you mean am i apart of this whole masked person stuff...i kinda have to be now, my target was caught with the costume on...when she is on trial i'm going to be a witness to everything...also honestly if my mom is investigating...i might as well join in".

She grabbed her things, fixing up her hair and checking on her tail, "I'm going to find Katrina real quick mom, to share some notes...i'll meet up with you and dad later...give you updates, you tell me when you find anything out..." Then she looked to the teens, holding out her hands for them to shake, "And i'll see the two of you...later...don't spend too much time with my mom...the longer you do the more she starts talking about weirder things".

She headed out the door, eclipsa laughing to herself as her daughter left, her attention on her guests.

"So how was-?".

"METEORA IS A SPY?! And you said NOTHING?!"

Sky said it so loud it even scared judas, but she couldn't help it, she had so many thoughts running through her head and she could barely process most of them. But Eclipsa just seemed amused, sipping her tea to herself and nodding, "Sky c'mon, i couldn't tell you anything about that, it's meant to be a secret...and besides, it's not relevant to everything else...meteora's life is her life, nothing to do with you all anymore".

She was right about it, sky didn't need to know what meteora did, but she was still shocked.

"But like...she...and we...", sky couldn't even come up with a defense, she was so defeated, and so was judas too by the looks of it. The dark queen put down her cup, patting their shoulders gently, "Kids...it's ok, honestly you just seem shocked all this time meteora was right nearby and you missed her for so long, it's alright...i'm sure anyone would be just as shocked.".

"Wait...but meteora...she's going to go out there...won't people recognize her?", it suddenly came to sky, meteora might not be who she was but the people of mewni would NEVER forget her, a surge of panic wave through her as eclipsa quickly answered her question without a worry on her face.

"They will".

So she knew just as much, but-

"But she doesn't know what she did...what if-?".

"It's no matter, I told her".

The two sat there, stunned.

"When?".

"Just now, before you showed up, i told her everything...well...everything about her life before...nothing about the whole "Sister from other timelines" thing", she was sitting there, so casually about it too, like this wasn't a big deal. She kept meteora from the throne and erased her mind of destroying mewni, and meteora had no reaction to it? At all?

"I considered it for awhile...and thought it was time...better she learn about it from me...then anyone else.".

"But she didn't...she-".

The queen smiled sadly at them, her eyes facing away and towards the wall, "She's an adult, and i'm sure this is going to be a lot to process for her, but i think she'll be ok...eventually...but of course she wasn't going to freak out, she's rather fine with what she's doing now...never had much interest in ruling, finds the mewmans annoying to try and manage.".

"So when we came in just now and she was talking about me being queen and that without me who knows who it might go to...", sky started, "She...she was aware that it might go to her...". Well, that suddenly made that conversation even more awkward then it needed to me, maybe that was why meteora was so silent after they came in, she was just as uncomfortable as they were.

"Yeah you came at...very awkward timing for her".

Judas suddenly felt very sick, his stomach sinking, "We...we had no idea i'm so sorry about that...it was a big deal and we must've walked in while she was still processing everything and we didn't mean to make everything more weird then it had to be". But she hushed him, relaxing back into her seat, "It's alright, you had no reason to know about any of that, you don't have to say sorry for anything in relation to this...it's between me and meteora.".

That finally seemed to silence the nervous teens, who tried to settle themselves against the couch beneath them, the former queen handing them chocolate bars that had been hidden in her drawer nearby. " Today seems to be a day of confession, so i think it's good to get all of this out of our system...even if it hurts, but it's better let out and consumed inside...", they took the candy and unwrapped it, taking bites.

"Do you think...she hates us?".

"Doubtful, she barely knows you...and it's not your fault".

They fell silent, nearly forgetting why they even came here in the first place, to look for answers and clues. Now back into their guilty modes, getting themselves off track and their minds unfocused. The older woman snapping in front of their faces to get their attention, encouraging them to eat their chocolate before she took it back from both of them, and knowing her, she would.

"You both need to stop blaming yourselves, what happened was in the past...you have a new future ahead to make things right. Meteora has a lot to process on her mind but...i think by how she left is enough to indicate she'd be happy to be friends with you both. Trust me, when meteroa hates something...it sticks...probably why she still flinches instinctively over queen lucitor".

She looked deep into their eyes, "Enough wallowing in sadness, you'll never get things done if you keep feeling sorry about things you shouldn't be sorry for, i made my choice and i'll deal with the consequences. Me and star have made some...well...questionable choices in the past, bit we were the ones to make those choices, not you...you could never have known what we'd do and we could never have guessed how this would affect all of you...including meteora. We can't change our past but we can work on bettering our future, you know as well sky...".

"Huh?".

"You said it yourself, to Angel".

She was right, sky had said something similar to him before.

Told him to stop thinking in the past, and work to the future, for the betterment of everyone.

Guess sometimes she needed to be reminded of her own advice.

"I'm sorry, i didn't meant to get all upset and whatever...sometimes i just feel i don't deserve the throne and i feel bad i might've...stolen it away from someone who deserved it more...", she took another bite of chocolate, "Eclipsa, the wand broke cause it went to me, the girls might not even have been here if i didn't have it...i just feel like...giving it to me only made things worse...".

"Oh hush now, meteora is happy to not have the pressure you do, and you don't have anything to feel sorry for, your mom's broken the wand plenty as well and done her own fair share of stupid things, my grandmother erased gravity once...what you've done is fairly tame in comparison. As far as I'm concerned, you'll be a good queen...but perhaps...instead of hearing it from us...maybe you need to hear it from yourself.".

Sky was about to question what she meant but eclipsa was way ahead of her, "We can only do so much, for you and judas both, we can encourage you, help you, cheer you on...but getting over these fears and doubts you have...we can only do so much on our own, you both need to learn to love yourselves and trust yourselves as well, otherwise you may never fully get over this sinking feeling".

She was right.

They did keep falling into this, because even if everyone else felt one way, they still kept doubting themselves.

If they didn't believe it, they were never going to overcome these issues.

"Do you know how we can try?", judas asked, his shoulders hunched and his eyes mostly staring at his hands rather then eclipsa, "I...want to...i want to get better, i want to fully stop...even if it takes time...i know it's not my fault and i know what i do is to help...but...i want to know how i can prevent myself from falling back into...bad thoughts...if there's a way to do so".

This really seemed to peak eclipsa's attention, caught off guard by judas's sudden question, leaving her in thought for a moment. "Well, it's a step by step process...but...start by recognizing things you like about yourselves...things you're proud of...and start doing nice things for yourself...it'll take some time to get over years of self doubt...but...you need to fully have faith in yourselves if either of you are to get passed this...".

"Angel asked me out..."Sky started noticing eclipsa smile before giving her a face, "As friends...he asked us to hang out to make up a bit for...what happened. Maybe i'll take him up on his offer...soon...in between plans and dealing with the mission. At least...it might be a good start into truly feeling more confident, he's confident in my magic it seems".

"And judas?".

He looked at his arm, clutching it.

"I'm going to learn to control it".

Luna being in prison was quick to spread to everyone in the group, everyone reacting with a similar face of shock and confusion. Though celeste reacted more with "Whatever", probably still mad with luna just like landon was. She didn't exactly have the best time with her yesterday when the blonde pointed her wand at her and nearly got into a fight with her.

The only plus side to this all was because they saw luna yesterday they knew the timeslot they had for luna to have been cursed, making it easier to determine when everything might've went down and if luna was at the lucitor castle or somewhere entirely different. No one seemed to really believe at the end of the day that luna was actually their enemy, as mad as some of them were at her.

It all did make the dinner they were all at very awkward however, as they went in expecting to plan stuff in the morning and now the talk was entirely around luna herself, of course next to queen moon and meteora. Star was already panicking and stuffing her face at just the mention of her mom, having no ability to shun her away this time was driving her nuts and the only reason she wasn't here already was because River was getting into a fight at their retirement cabin with a bear.

Next to Janna, who honestly was actually way too calm about the whole situation, maybe at this point she was numb to every dumb big event that happened seemingly each week. Which of course didn't apply to anyone else, The lucitors were here after all and they were already trying to figure out what happened to luna and coming up with theories of what was actually going on.

Luna of course, was not eating with them, but at least she wasn't in prison either.

Oh no no, they locked her in her room, surrounded by guards, with Jackie watching over her in case she tried to escape. Not that Luna would try it knowing how much worse it would make her look, but it was better to be safe then sorry when it came to luna, she had a knack for being unexpected. It was just unfortunate she couldn't be here to well...defend herself.

But on the plus side, she wasn't here to start arguments over those who were fussing about her right now either.

"But let's say she WAS being used as a distraction, for what purpose? They didn't use the opportunity to do anything, was it just to frame someone?", the Queen of demons was pondering, their partner presenting his own theory to the group, "Maybe they gave up and ditched their clothes, realizing now that we're close to catching them they needed to get out as fast as possible and us catching luna would make a good distraction..".

"Would they really just give up after all this? They've gone this far...even considered murder...".

"Maybe i'm just wishful thinking marco, but i guess that would just mean they'd be someone else's problem".

"Well, i um...i'm not sure what the reason was either", angel's voice was a little quiet, trying to speak over the others who were talking loudly around him, "But they well...it wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to just frame her...luna is well...she's kinda the perfect candidate to frame, she wasn't around during the sleepover incident, she's highly skilled...luna would be smart enough to do this kinda stuff...and she's been missing awhile".

"But luna is still an ally to us, she has no reason to run around in a dress and mask to do the things that thief did unless she had ulterior motives we aren't aware of, and even so...eclipsa's been in her mind, she would've seen something if luna had been up to anything outside of helping us, like one of us would've caught on, like this whole framing idea just doesn't work...", judas explained, trying to not eat with his mouth open.

"Well, to us, sure, but to everyone who doesn't know about your little...secret...they wouldn't know that...and we can't admit to any of it in court either.", Marco was rubbing their head, pulling at their hair as tom interjected, "Yeah, whatever they intended or not this is kinda a problem, the only way we can defend luna is by revealing what's happening and well-".

"You know what could happen if we do that".

"But what can we do? We can't let her be frozen either...if we fake evidence that's only going to look worse on our part, and we can't just let luna go free without any explanations either...we'll just look more suspicious...", they were all in a rut, all because of this luna situation. Keeping this a secret was important for many reasons, but how were they to keep it a secret and keep luna innocent at the same time?

They couldn't, they couldn't get themselves out of this one that easily.

"We're just going to have to get risky...", marco admitted, "There's no other way...maybe if we catch the person whose really behind this, we can clear luna's name entirely...and then we might not even have to worry about trying to defend her, at the very least it's a plan that could work...but that's if we use a truth potion and even then that's risky if they well...know who luna is".

"Are you sure about trapping them...at your coronation judas?", his father looked worried, barely touching his food, "It's an important part of your life and well...it's dangerous to do something like this". But judas shook his head, "Sky's right, it's the best thing we have to make into a trap, we can't lure them somewhere they know will be dangerous and we can't do something so out of character they'll know something is up".

"But...they can't hide with that mask on, won't be much of a trap otherwise...".

"Not if...we're all...wearing masks".

This seemed to get everyone's attention, their heads drawing towards the boy.

"Judas?".

"Scrap the original plans...let's make my coronation, a masquerade ball...".

There was silence after the idea left his lips, everyone looking among each other in question as judas explained, "If everyone's wearing a mask, they'll show up in one too, they'll feel safer...it'll help them feel like they're blending in...then we wouldn't have to worry about them bursting in on a rampage, they'd just sneak around...and we could lure them".

"But how-? They won't trust us...especially not to lure them anywhere, they could be anywhere during the party, we might lose them in all of the guests".

"Simple, they want something others don't, they'll be the only ones to take the bait, making it easier for us all to figure out who we're attacking", there was murmurs among the dinner group, it was a good start to a plan, and it might actually work. If they could figure out how to set the trap, and make sure that it would work, they'd be golden, though there were still doubts.

"What if it's not enough?".

They all turned to face none other then the former King Lucitor, the mewman listening in to all their ideas and plans but he didn't seem as confident as some of them were. "You're counting on them to come in for the wand, maybe even something else entirely...but what if they don't, what if this is all for nothing? Then we'd have wasted time and effort into a plan that doesn't work...", he sighed, "I have faith in you kids, but I have to admit, after this break in, after this kidnapping...I don't want us to be fooled again...not in our castle".

"Dad...".

"You know what i mean thomas...", he said, looking over the others, "I've never seen the kingdom so...scared before, they came running out of our castle, if we're to form some kind of plan...i just want it to be something we can be sure will work, because if we don't make this work the first time...we might never fool them the next...this idea needs to be foolproof".

"Then make sure i'm in the lead...", angel spoke up, "If they don't come for the wand, they'll come for me...make a show of it...that i'll reveal who they are or something, they'll have to show up then...they can't miss that kinda opportunity". He seemed unsure of this decision himself and sky and judas were quick to try and protest before he stopped them with his legs.

"I have to face it eventually after what i did, and it'll make sure they show up...i'm...i'll be bait, for this".

"Then i'll guard you...", angel turned to sky, who looked at him fiercely, "With or without my wand, i won't leave your side the entire night, just to make sure no one sneaks up on you". Angel seemed rather touched, though he wasn't sure the adults would agree with this arrangement, considering someone more powerful was probably better to guard him.

But it was sweet anyways.

"Well...we can't stop you if you do so...", marco sighed, "We don't like the idea...but...you're right...it would work...but let's not put it as our first option, i just want to consider other options first...". Angel felt sky touch his shoulder comfortingly, and judas pat his other as he went back to silence. The plans going over and being discussed over and over again.

and that's when Sunny coughed, standing in her seat.

"How about we go out and investigate? If we can't be sure of this then the best thing we should do is gather more information!", and sky knew where this was heading, after all, sunny's costume idea was still an option that could be used. The plan was still viable but if they were to find out more details they were more likely to avoid running into more issues, after all, meteora and eclipsa still were investigating.

And this seemed to be something at least all the adults seemed comfortable with...for the most part, them all sharing nods.

Maybe they were better left with more time to plan then over the span of a single dinner when it comes to the most feared criminal in mewni right now. Otherwise they might as well be going in with no plan at all. Though the lingering problem of luna was still in their minds, and in the minds of landon and celeste, who had avoided most of the discussion about her as best they could.

That's when it hit sky, standing up and almost slamming the table.

"Eclipsa's investigating that lair thing right? No dna evidence to luna means they can't like her directly to the kidnapping or maybe even to her directly...we can use that! That way we can keep luna from being in trouble and we might find out some more evidence to use for our plan!". That wouldn't of course stop false evidence or anything but it was a good start to fixing this whole mess if they could.

"Alright, we'll wait until eclipsa gives us a report and perhaps we'll do a little private investigating on the side then...", Marco said with a sigh, and a rub to their face, "God, nothing can be easy around here...but at least having some idea of what we're doing is better then nothing at all.". They seemed tired, from lack of sleep, and that seemed to go for everyone at the table.

No one could sleep, fearing they'd wake up to see a pale white face in front of them to take them away.

Maybe that was another reason they weren't thinking straight when coming up with plans, they were all almost about to fall asleep into their own meals. Everything had happened so fast and crazy it had been nearly impossible to get any proper rest around here. Especially with all their minds wandering and constantly keeping them awake all the time.

They were all tired, but they didn't want to leave the table either, not when they couldn't be sure of their safety.

"Where should we investigate...", marco mumbled, "I hate to ask...but...do you know anywhere from your own investigations we can look into at the very least?".

And that's when landon finally spoke, arms crossed and clearly knowing what he'd have to do, his eyes still away from everyone but still spilling the beans regardless. "I...have a place...fae went there, it's a good place to catch gossip or whatever...it's at least something you could go to to hear out from other people of mewni for more information...i'm not going to promise anything though".

Was landon really going to give up his safe spot for this mission?

Celeste nor Sunny made him either, Landon spilt it himself, even if he didn't actually originally want to.

"Landon?".

"No...meteora goes there...", Judas added on, "It might be a good place to check, if you went in dressed as well...anyone other then yourself...you might have a decent chance of finding out some important information". If meteora went there to help her out then it had to of been something worth looking into, meteora was on the case after all.

And the adults seemed in mutual agreement.

"Then i think we have a plan".

Everyone had to be escorted to their room, and when they meant room, they meant single room.

New orders meant they were all going to be spending the night in the butterfly's private safe room, like they once did with the lucitors. Their belongings already down there waiting for them and everything set out for them, those who had been living in lucitor castle were mostly staying in the butterfly guest rooms and the safe room was the biggest place they could keep all of the kids and adults of this group under supervision.

The room was nice, it was fancy, it didn't have as much activities as the lucitor one but it was for the sole purpose of sleeping right now, so it didn't matter anyway, fitted with sleeping bags everywhere for everyone, star having enhanced it to the best of her ability. The queen falling on the nearest couch, immediately asleep upon reaching the fluffy cushions under her.

People were spacing out and sky went to find her pjs and change, seeing judas stare at his sleeping bag.

He was clearly thinking about luna, sleeping alone and unsure of her future.

And sky saw angel wandering off, worried what would happen if angel really was to put himself in the line of fire. He looked like he couldn't even believe himself that he had said that, the girl reaching out for him. "Hey...that...was brave of you back there...stupid...but brave", the boy turning to face her and nodding, "Thanks...I'm...I'm sorry to hear about...luna".

"Well, we're not finished yet...at least they didn't burn all the evidence we could use...".

He nodded.

"Hey uh...if you wanna hang out...at some point...let me know...when we can at least...".

He simply send her a small smile before heading off to get ready for bed, making himself comfortable in the safe room.

Everyone set up to try and get some sleep, safe and sound.

Meanwhile in another room, not too far away, a girl laid next to the window, unable to rest, touching her ring carefully, knowing full well she could escape but knowing what would happen if she did. Luna was lost in thought, unable to sleep, debating whether her leaving had been a good idea at all. But there was nothing she could do now, her fate seemed to be out of her hands.

And she could only trust in her friends to get her out of it.

She could only hope that she didn't screw up with them too bad.

Because she was doomed without them,

[yamithediaperdork]

Cutest widdle champion part 2

To say the last 24 hours of Umbraby's life had been interesting would be a understatement. Having gone from one of the most handsome and dashing Starlit angel knights in service of his god he was now now basically a toddler and was learning to deal with the enhanced powers his new form gifted him with, as well as the limits and draw backs.

He was stronger then before of course but that came with a lost of reach, His flying skills were vastly improved and he was a aerial ace now but that had come with a lose of speed and balance while on the ground, due to his new stubby legs and well the thick massive diapers his Goddess (Who insisted on being referred as mommy now, a term and arrange he was rapidly warming up to) had made clear he needed.

As a godly force he had never learned to use the potty and in such a small body well, let's just say he had gone though more then a couple of diaper changes. (he wasn't keeping count though Mommy was, but she was nice and didn't bring it up.)

The other Starlit angel's, those that reminded loyal to their diminished goddess had been confused when she had invited them to meet her new champion. Quick beat, the second in command asking if she was allowed to just abduct a helpless little boy from the mortal plain, and asking if Allimir had been made aware of this.

upon finding out the former head of the knights had been given a promotion and was in fact the cute widdle guy being cradled by the goddess and being bottle fed, all worries were addressed and some chuckles rang out among the knights, as well as comments about how adorable and cute the former captain was.

"Congratulations on your promotion friend. You deserve." Quick beat said, smiling widely and while there was hint of teasing in it, the other angel meant it, and even offered to take over feeding his friend.

well fed and a diaper change later, Lulnyq didn't want there to be any doubts that her chosen form for the new champion was a mistake and also wanted to give her cute widdle champ a chance to adept to combat in his adorable new body and so arranged a series of matches between the starlit angels as Umbraby sat in her lap, sucking his thumb with the winners of each match then getting a chance to spar with the former captain.

Umbraby naturally struggled with the first few matches but before long was dominating the fights, even the one against the now captain of the guard quick beat and sharing a hearty handshake with his friend, a awesome moment somewhat marred by the fact that Umbraby had started to soil himself again and cried for mommy.

deemed ready for his mission he was escorted by Mommy and all his 'brothers and sisters' as he saw them now, Clad in his heroic champions grab and playing with his cloak as mommy worked to prepare a portal to take him to the exact location where her three worshipers were waiting.

"i didn't have a temple in the area the tournament is being held, but the three children you'll be meeting know everything about you and were more then willing to host you. they know about your 'needs' and don't mind handling that so make sure your on your best behavior." Mommy was saying, kneeling down and putting her hands on his shoulders and trying to ignore the soft comments about her ample backside coming from the other starlit angels. "Your representing mommy..heck all of us." She added and kissed Umbraby's forehead.

Maybe it was his small size, maybe it was he'd never actually left the realm before, but Umbraby suddenly felt more like Allimir, as in less of a champion and wanted to cry and toss his arms around his goddess, his mommy and beg to stay. to offer up the role of champion to anyone else.

Mommy clearly could see what he was thinking and gave him anther kiss , this time on his cheek. "You'll be ok little champion. I stocked everything you'll need in your cloak, and you can call upon them as needed. in fact the cloak itself can shape change into a soft and warm blankie should you find yourself missing us."

Reach into the cloak herself she pulled out a soft and cute bat stuffie and offered it to her scared widdle champion who hugged it and seemed to draw courage from it.

"There's a book in there about the other god's and their champions, more about the rules, Your weapon Night Blade and of course the most important thing.." And she paused and winked before finishing. "Lots and LOTS of extra diapers." She giggled and tickled his tummy.

Allimir blushed and went to argue, but one does not merely ignore the tickles of a mommy, let alone a goddess.

with some last words of encouragement from his brothers and sisters, and a last second diaper check from mommy, Allimir/Umbraby took a big breath and stepped into the portal, not quite sure what to expect.

Dwere nibbled on her lip, checking a wall clock. The goddess had said to expect the champion half a hour ago and she couldn't be out of bed much longer as it was nearing the nightly bed check.

14 year's old and average size for her age, she had her long brunette hair loose around her shoulders and was in a light black nightgown with it being so late.

She was a priestess in training at the wayward soul's Orphanage and the only worshiper of the night goddess in the city (or for a good 400 miles around at that)

As a priestess she wanted to be there when Allimir arrived and greet him but at the same time while some of the non priests or priestesses in training were given more leeway on night time wandering (it still wasn't smiled upon) it was a very big nay nay.

"I hope he shows up soon, oh gosh, what if he doesn't show up!? Those papers i forged will be left with no child to prove an-" she started to whine and then suddenly the back of her nightie was lifted and her modest white bloomers were suddenly yanked up between her cheeks and Dwere had to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from shrieking.

"Relax will ya, he'll git here when he git's here!" Giggled the prankster of the gathered gathers, A dirty blond 4 year old who hair was cut short because she loved to play in the dirty and would get tangled with leaves and the like and this just saved time.

Vivi was her name, and unlike the girl ten years her senior she was clad in just layers of faded white cloth diapers, secured with a oversized safety pin.

She was yanked out from under the nightie by the third and final member of the group, who was chuckling softly and trying and failing to scold Vivi.

Dressed in a pair of tight olive green shorts and a faded white top, his hair was in a semi mohawk and was light grey, contrasting with his light grayish skin as a half drow.

"Vivi, I think we've had this talk before, you can't -snk- just go around yanking on peoples undies." Selen scolded, picking her up and cradling the four year old in his strong despite his slim frame arms.

Dwere turned around, fire in her eyes and Vivi say the wisdom in seeking shelter in the arms of the slightly girlish half drow.

"Gosh, I'm Sooooo sorry Dwere." Vivi said, the words and tone making you think she was but the HUGE grin on her face as the oldest of the three (Selen being 7) glared and yanked at her crack.

And wouldn't you know it, with her back to the area where the champion was suppose to show and a hand digging at her wedige, the portal opened and out came Allimir, who paused for a moment, watching Dwere and tilting his head, then rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh.. Is that how you greet people on the mortal plain?" he asked cutely, and started to turn around and grab at his behind.

"NO!"

One misunderstanding explained later, and introductions made, Allimir had lots of other questions for the trio even as he hugged his stuffie and looked around the room.

"ok..First question.what's with all the mini prison beds in the room and that large table over there?" he asked, pointing at cribs and then a changing table.

"heh, never seen a nursery before?" Vivi asked. "It's where diaper butt like you n me sleep! Those are called cribs, and that's a changing table where they can put you while changing yer diapies." Vivi said, then after a second added. "Oh you'll be bunking with me by the way, but don't think you'll ever out do me when it comes to booms!"

"Vivi! we do NOT challenge a champion of our goddess to a boom boom contest!" Dwere hissed, not for the first time wishing there was a minimal age requirement to worship the goddess.

"Though you gotta admit that would be cute to watch.. from a distance." Selen chimed in.

"I'm sure that the champion of the goddess does NOT go boom boom th-" Dwere started and then was cut off.

"Actually I'm open to any and all challenges, and I was told I was a super duper big boomer by mo- I mean my goddess and fellow Starlit angels." Allimir chimed in and smiled.

"..Can we PLEASE try and get off the topic of boom boom diapers?" Dwere asked, face palming.

"ehehehe sorry. Ok, why so many beds when it's just the three of you, and are you two diapered as well?" Allimir asked, thinking this was just the three kid's home.

"Oh sweetie, this is a orphanage. a nice and open one that that offers training in priest and priestess's and offers training for any religion. they keep a big nursery because you can never be sure HOW many babies they'll have in here. Normally most of the kids here are potty trained by 2 or three at the latest bu-" Selen was explaining when Vivi cut him off

"But who wants to give up AWESOME diapies n' being able to just go whenever fer icky undies and having to sit on a smelly potty?" Vivi giggled.

"..what's a potty?" Allimir asked. " I just learned about getting rid of body waste like, 24 hours ago.."

"And now you being in diapers makes sooo much sense." Dwere said, then wrinkled her nose as a smell started to fill the nursery. "Speaking of.. ok which one of you?"

"heh, if it was ME ya would know it." Vivi said and winked, turning around and wiggling her butt and slapping it.

Allimir meanwhile was hiding his face in his plushie and whining softly.

"I'll handle changing him, you better get moving double time Dwere, it's almost bed check." Selen said, nodding at a clock and goiving over to the changing table, then frowning as he looked in the compartment for diapers.

"oh uh.. yeahhh they hafa wash more diapies because I kinda you know.." Vivi said said sheepishly.

"We CAN NOT leave a champion in stinky diapers!" Dwere whined, panicking and getting ready to offer her Nightie for the cause when Allimir chimed in.

"it's s'ok, I got this." he said, setting his Bat plushie down and then reaching into his cloak as the three mortal watched, eyes going big as saucers and he pulled out a spare diaper. "Mommy looks after me!" he beamed happily.

with the with the champion changed and Vivi seeing she had some serious competition in the nursery, the champ and the brat were put in her crib and quickly conked out, Allimir sucking on his thumb and hugging his stuffie while Vivi hugged a silver fox plushie, though instead of sucking on her own thumb she was sucking on Allimir's.

Dwere made it back to her own room just in time and had to explain why she was so out of breath and getting a lecture on proper behavior for young girls, but otherwise was left alone with cheeks burning red.

Selen was spotted in the halls and started to get a semi lecture on wandering the halls before saying he heard some of the little ones crying and wanted to help out and changed the diapers. Thankful to not have to do the dirty deed themselves, the caretakers who'd caught him let him go with a pat on the head and telling him what a good boy he was.

All was calm and good, at least until the next morning.

Vivi couldn't be sure exactly what time it was, having not bothered to learn how to read anything as of yet, but she was woken up by the panicked screams and whimpers of terror of Allimir and sat up in their crib, rubbing a eye and basking in the morning sunlight.

Despite the crib rail still being up, she was alone in the crib, and as she listened, she could make out the cry's of terror from UNDER the crib and pulled herself up, JUST too short to get out of the crib on her own.

"Allimir? Buddy? what's wrong?" She called out, trying to get her face between the bars so she could look down, though the bar's were JUST too close together.

"S-Something awful and strange is happening! it's some sort of energy attack or something!" Allimir Cried out.

"Huh? I don't see anything.." Vivi said, turning her head towards the window.

All she saw was a bright and sunny day out.

"But..but..it's so bright out there!! What's going on!?!" Allimir whined and whimpered, choking back a sob of terror and doing something else, as the smell reached Vivi.

Ironically it was as the funk reached her it clicked what was going on.

"Heh..hehehehehehehe Allimir that's called daylight. didn't you have that back home?" She giggled, thinking of how silly it was. "Daylight can't hurt you..well as long as your not out in it too long." Vivi added, thinking of the time she had played outside all day and gotten wicked sun burn.

The sniffles slowed down and Allimir slowly came into view, coming out from under the bed and locking his tear filled eyes with Vivi's amused ones.

"Y-You promise?" he asked, hovering in the air, making his diaper droop more then it normally would of as he hiccuped and ran a arm across his eyes.

"Swear by the goddess." Vivi said and gave him a warm smile, then added "but you better get your stinky butt back in here, if a caretaker find your hovering that's gonna be all SORTS of questions."

Allimir nodded slowly and floated back into the crib, though he made a grossed out face as he plopped down on his muddy back side, Just in time as the door opened and in came one of the adults.

"Oh great..anther stinker.. as if there weren't enough of them in here." The balding older man said, rolling his eyes.

"heh, G'morning ta you took Kalect!" Vivi giggled, then turned to Allimir. "That's Kalect and he's the one who gets the pleasure of wiping our BUTTS!"

Hearing the utter delight in Vivi's voice and seeing the older human frown, Allimir couldn't help but break into a fit of toddlerish giggles.

One series of diaper changes later and Allimir was trying to get used to the outfit he'd been dressed in, Mortal clothing was just so weird!

his own clothes had been taken away to be washed,save for the cloak which he had turned into a blankie and the caretaker let him keep with him at least.

but bow he was in a pair of grayish white socks, a white diaper shirt and a pair of shortalls over them, and was trying to adjust to the mortal diapers that just didn't feel right on his sensitive booty and had him wiggling like he had ant's in his pants. (he hadn't told to take out extra diapers when he'd gotten his change the night before and a look from Vivi told him that offering one now might not be a good idea)

"How are you not bugged by how rough this material is!?" Allimir whined for the forth time as Vivi in just her diapers (they had given up long ago on trying to dress her for the most part) snugged.

"I never knew anything else. but hey, your a CHAMP right?" She said, putting a arm around him and pulling him in. "You gotta get used to a little discomfort."

"Ngggh.. I suppose that tr.." Allimir trailed off, as his nostrils flared and then he covered his nose and gagged."whats that awful stench!?! I thought a poopie diaper was bad!" he cried out.

"Heh, this is where all the stupid big kids go tinkle and boom boom. it's called a bathroom." Vivi explained then added. "and NOW you see why I just go in mah diapie."

"Really, I thought that's just because you like tormenting other people." Selen said, coming out and smirking, and getting a raspberry blown at him but no denial from Vivi.

"How's my favorite little pamper packers?" he asked, Bending a knee and drawing both of the diaper butts in for a big hug.

"Eh, We're ok..Right Allimir?" Vivi said the asked, she had agreed to keep his little fit to herself to help him save face.

"Uhh yeah! Totally! no crying fits or hiding under the crib here!" Allimir said, blushing and giving a shaky grin, and making Selen raise a eyebrow.

"where's Dwere?" Vivi asked, trying to change the topic.

"oh she got roped into helping make the morning portage to teach her purity or something like that." Selen said and shrugged. "Anyways, ready for your first taste of mortal food little guy?"

"Yeah!" Allimir said, giggling and holding up his arms to be carried.

To be continued

[atinytokki]

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Chapter 6: Friendly Fire

The sun was high and bright but still the winds whipping around the Indeok were numbingly cold.

It had been a few weeks since leaving Kon and finally they were meeting the Black Crow about halfway to the colonies. When Wooyoung wondered why, it fell once again to his brother to investigate for him.

“The Admiral has someone on board who knows the eastern waters better,” he explained in a hush voice while they stood on the main deck with everyone else, summoned to greet their eminent commander. “All Kim’s orders derive from the strategist’s expertise— Lucky, I think the men called him.”

“A special strategist?” Wooyoung scoffed. “Isn’t plotting courses supposed to be Navigator Kang’s job?”

“Look, I don’t question these things.” Woosung said testily. “Ask your sailing master friend, since he seems to know so much.”

Wooyoung scoffed and went to shove his brother for being jealous of Yeosang, but remembered they were in public and supposedly unacquainted, so refrained.

“I think I will do just that,” he whispered back before shuffling over to the stairs. Yeosang was always posted on the quarterdeck or in his cabin, observing the strict hierarchy that placed him above the common sailor, but he saw Wooyoung coming and moved to where he could speak quietly to him.

“Is there any merit to this?” Wooyoung asked when the captain wasn’t looking. “That someone else is calling the shots?”

“I doubt the Admiral would want it to be known if that was the case,” Yeosang argued, not turning around but keeping his eyes focused on the backs of his superiors. “But men will talk.”

The rest of the fleet was a day or so behind them, so the Indeok’s arrival was extremely fortunate. The northwestern colony of Kibo was on the horizon, and two Haemin ships were already lingering around it.

“Only two of them, true to form,” Lieutenant Yoo sighed from the quarterdeck in Yeosang’s general direction before calling for the anchor to be dropped.

The Indeok came to a halt alongside the Black Crow.

“Do any among you speak their language?” Came a familiar call from the decks of the warship.

Lieutenant Byun.

Yeosang and Wooyoung both tensed and looked away, Wooyoung shrinking back and blending in with the soldiers on the main deck again.

“I do,” Lieutenant Yoo spoke up. It explained why he was first lieutenant of the Indeok, if Yeosang thought about it. That was a skill that could come in handy.

He went to the rail and spoke for a moment with Byun before being lowered in a boat and rowing himself over to the Haemin ships.

He was attempting to reach a settlement before they began fighting.

It was only good manners after all.

Predictably, he came back a few minutes later and resumed his post, reporting to Byun and the other Black Crow officers and allowing them to proceed with readying their cannons.

Wooyoung sighed and got to work.

“Have you been in battle, Mr. Kang?”

The navigator startled and turned to bow to Yoo, who appeared to be addressing him.

“Not... Not quite like this.” He had dealt with his fair share of skirmishes and close calls all over the world in his travels, but this lieutenant didn’t need to know that.

“Fair,” the man sighed, and it pulled at Yeosang’s heart a little bit. From the looks of things, he was just another unwilling soldier. “I never thought we’d see war with Haemin in our time. The assassination was so unexpected. But we’ve got to make them pay, haven’t we?”

The final remark gave Yeosang pause.

There was no rallying cry. If not for Yoo Dojoon’s declaration, Yeosang would have no idea what they were fighting for.

For glory? For revenge? For the defence of lands they claimed as theirs?

“For peace,” he finally said. Because that was what he strived for at the end of the day.

Another gust of wind hit the quarterdeck hard and Yeosang gripped the railing even harder, pulling his coat closer around his shivering form.

“Oh, perfect,” Lieutenant Yoo groaned, pointing at the horizon.

Another ship had joined their enemy’s.

Now they were outnumbered.

...

San fought to reach Jongho, and he fought hard.

They were yelling at him to get back, it was a phrase he’d heard enough times to deduce the meaning, and he struggled against them before finally going slack. There was no point in causing a scene if he and Jongho were going to end up in the same place anyway.

“He’s hurt, let me help him!” He screamed at his translator, whose face was set in a stern frown.

“He’s our enemy,” the officer reminded San calmly, before taking him by the arms and pulling him up. “Get back to the brig.”

San sent a forlorn glance in Jongho’s direction. He lay there, blood dripping from his head completely untended, while the soldiers fiddled with his chains, trying to make them tight enough.

They would have to be secure to hold Jongho.

“Now!” The translator snapped, pushing San back in the direction of the prison hold and smacking him over the head for good measure.

It was a much gentler slap than San had come to expect from these barbarians.

“How did you escape?” The man asked, clearly frustrated, as he chained San to the floor again. His vocabulary was expanding, just like San’s, a mutual benefit. San refused to answer and rather than press the matter, the officer simply sighed and got to his feet. “Ready for battle. We sail west.”

It was disappointing, because San had grown a bit of a soft spot for this translator, the only man on the ship with even the slightest bit of patience toward him, but a soft spot was no alliance.

It was a mistake.

He had his duties, and San had his.

A few minutes later, Jongho was dragged in and chained up right next to him. A small mercy, but an important one.

All San could do was dab at the blood with a ripped off section of fabric from his shirt, but after a couple of touches, Jongho awoke.

His eyes were unfocused and he looked to be in pain, but he tried to glance around and take in his surroundings.

“Oh, Jongho,” San cooed tenderly. The younger boy startled and took in a shaky breath. “You’re alright, you’re alright. I’ll take care of you.”

Jongho’s brow was furrowed, probably confused at how San could possibly be there with him. “What happened?” He croaked out hesitantly.

“You were in an explosion,” San explained. “I think you caught the Haemin soldiers off guard.”

He could tell exactly what had happened from Jongho’s wounds alone.

The tower had been blown, and he must have been facing a ledge on the other side, from the wounds around the crown of his head and the burns on the back of his arms. He seemed out of breath, too, likely from the fall.

“We’re prisoners, but at least we’re together,” he concluded.

Jongho’s eyes blew wide in sudden realisation. “Oh no... Seonghwa, Mingi, Yunho, and Maddox... they’ll be wondering what happened to me.”

San froze and turned back to the porthole. They were too far away from the island now to see if the ATEEZ was there. “You were with them? They’re alright?”

“Yes,” Jongho told him with a gentle smile. “We managed to find each other but you... San, we had no idea what happened to you. I can’t believe you’ve been imprisoned on a Haemin ship this whole time.”

“Well, more or less. Please, Jongho,” San’s eyes brimmed with thankful tears. “Tell me everything.”

...

Yunho sprinted across the beach and gathered Mingi in his arms.

“They took him,” the redhead was crying, groaning even louder as Yunho hoisted him up onto his back and made for the ship. “No... you can’t... they took him, they took Jongho!”

“I know,” Yunho gritted out, seething as he watched a rowboat reach the enemy ship and running the other way nonetheless. “But you’ve been shot in the head, Mingi.”

No answer came from him, and so Yunho pushed harder for the ATEEZ. He was seeing red, whether from the droplets of blood hitting the sand or from the anger that clouded his senses, he didn’t know.

Maddox and Seonghwa halted their progress where they were rowing back to the ship and helped pull the listless Mingi and a worn out Yunho into the longboat.

“Pull for the ATEEZ, as fast as you can,” Yunho ordered the quiet Maddox, watching anxiously as Seonghwa’s shaking hands inspected the bloody mess that was Mingi’s face.

From the curse under his breath, Yunho assumed it was pretty bad.

“It must have been a glancing shot,” Seonghwa explained, pushing back Mingi’s hair to give the others a better view. “The bullet’s not here. I think it hit the edge of his face and ricocheted bone fragments into his eye.”

Yunho swallowed back bile. “Do you think he’ll lose his vision?”

Seonghwa shook his head helplessly and passed Mingi up to the crew members as they hauled the boat up to the deck. “I don’t know. We need someone more knowledgeable to take a look at him.”

They needed San. And this time they hadn’t the slightest clue to his whereabouts.

“Hanbyeol!” Seonghwa called breathlessly to the crew member as he carried Mingi down to the abandoned infirmary. “I need help getting the bone shards out!”

What followed was a long and frightening process Yunho could only sit through, looking on as the two of them painstakingly plucked each bone fragment out of Mingi’s face and did their best to cover the wound before he lost more blood.

Only when their patient awoke would they know if he had retained his vision.

“I’ll find him an eyepatch,” Yunho volunteered, feeling restless and wanting to do something with himself.

Maddox snuck up on him while he rifled through spare fabric in the storerooms and gently tried to pry him away.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but I need to ask for a heading.”

Of course, how could he have forgotten? Without Mingi taking care of it, Yunho supposed it was his responsibility.

“Tell the helmsman to follow the Haemin ship,” he ordered succinctly and continued looking for an acceptable fabric.

Maddox cleared his throat, and before Yunho could ask why he was still there, he went on with some unsolicited advice. “Respectfully, I must advise against.”

Yunho rounded on him angrily. “I don’t care what you think, respectfully, they captured Jongho so we’re hunting them down and taking him back.”

Maddox didn’t back down even a single step.

“Now isn’t the time for rash foolishness, it’s a prisoner of war ship, they’ll likely put him to work. He’s in no immediate danger.”

A breath for Yunho to work through what he was saying before he continued, “Mingi however, is. We need to make a strategic retreat.”

“Then how do you propose we find that ship again?” Seonghwa’s voice broke into their standoff, and both turned to see him standing in the doorway with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“It’s called the Paragon,” Maddox informed them both. “I got a good look at it while we rowed out. It’s turned west, likely for the colonies. When we’ve regrouped, we can look for it there. It’s your decision.”

Seonghwa shifted his gaze to Yunho with the question in his eyes, letting him speak for himself.

“Alright,” Yunho finally sighed. “Give the word, we turn east.” Maddox was on their side, he knew that. But the crushing defeat of gaining someone only to lose someone else weighed heavily on him.

Maddox slipped past Seonghwa to inform whoever was at the helm, and Yunho gave the prince another glance, wondering why he had ventured out of the infirmary.

“It’s Mingi,” he sighed, and Yunho pocketed the fabric he had selected. “He’s awake.”

...

The third time Admiral Kim heard Navigator Kang clear his throat and shuffle his feet nervously, he finally looked up at him to see why.

“May I suggest we return Lucky to his quarters?” He muttered, motioning at their approaching escort ship with a stiff jerk of the head. “My son is on the Indeok.”

Kim glowered momentarily but gave his permission, signalling Byun to take care of it.

The first lieutenant approached Park and Hongjoong where they were still in quiet but intense conversation at the starboard rail.

Before he could direct the prisoner to somewhere less conspicuous, Hongjoong rounded on him.

“Is Prince Seonghwa still aboard this ship?”

Lieutenant Byun cast a scolding glance at Lieutenant Park but addressed the prisoner coolly. “I need to get you below.”

“Is he aboard this ship?”

“He is not,” Byun muttered harshly, taking him by the arm and leading him to the upper gun deck. When they were out of the Admiral’s sights, he pulled Park aside to ask what the prisoner was going on about.

“I couldn’t hide it from him,” the lower lieutenant whined. “He knew the prince was aboard and now we’ve received word that Haemin is after him.”

“Keep it quiet,” Byun hissed before he headed back up to facilitate the Indeok as it joined them. “The last thing we need is the entire fleet thinking we’ve gone soft.”

Never mind the fact that it was true.

Park turned to where Hongjoong was staring at him and rolled his eyes. “You’re on the gun team for now I suppose. We’ve got to keep you away from prying eyes. Don’t try anything.”

Hongjoong immediately suspected the Admiral’s reasons but didn’t remark on it while Park finally removed his chains.

“The tailwind is too strong, you should adjust the sails,” he said dryly instead.

“You can’t even feel the wind,” Park scoffed. “We’re belowdecks.”

But a gust from behind a moment later proved the pirate’s point.

“I’ll go inform the Admiral,” the lieutenant sulked and turned to go.

And so began the wait.

Hongjoong wished the Crow could enter battle the same way the ATEEZ once had; with persistent singing and shrouded in mystery.

There was no real advantage that came with charging headlong into combat when they’d already been seen, except for maybe the exploitation of any underlying fear the Haemin soldiers were harbouring towards the deadliest ship in Jaecho’s navy.

He glanced around the deck and calculated their odds. He was placed on the port side of the upper gun deck with a few dozen silent gunners and their short range cannons, trembling almost imperceptibly except to one who could see right through them.

They looked at “Lucky” with wavering eyes.

“Don’t panic, our chances are good,” he encouraged them firmly. “We’re bigger and better armed, plus we’ve got an escort ship for support. We can take whatever they give us.”

The Black Crow drifted closer to the colony and their odds lowered a bit. Battle so close to the shore was never good, and unless the helmsman knew Kibo like the back of his hand it could become a major problem.

They stopped just close enough to begin firing and Hongjoong waited for Byun’s order to come.

It was deathly quiet, with only the ghostly howl of the wind and the deep creaking of a colossal ship weathering the waves.

Then the order came.

“Fire at will!”

The boom of haphazard cannon blasts shook the deck and the gun teams stumbled back briefly before moving into formation.

They had each step of the process practiced and perfected, they only needed someone to tell them where to fire and when. So that was what Hongjoong did.

In the pause of reloading, the nearest Haemin ship finally shot off a volley. It was grapeshot, and judging from the screams that came from the upper decks, it had found its mark.

Their second round tore a hole in the enemy’s gun deck but wasn’t enough to sink the ship.

“Hit them below the water line!” Hongjoong yelled so that everyone facing the port side could hear over the screams and splashes of bodies falling into the sea. His orders went unquestioned, all the gunners immediately pointing their cannon muzzles down so that their shots did real damage.

“Hold your fire!” He called, raising his hand and keeping it midair while he waited for them to drift just a little further, so the enemy’s broadsides were in their sights. A hit to their bow would only cause them to list for awhile, so to fire at the right time could give them a decisive victory.

“Fire!”

In perfect synchronisation, fifty guns ripped a devastating hole in the side of their opponent and all the men on the deck cheered.

Its port quarter was sinking, but the Black Crow’s helmsman had made a mistake. They’d gotten too close to the enemy and now the second Haemin ship was flanking them on their starboard, leaving only the Indeok to fend off the new arrival, the Paragon.

A chilling screech of splintered wood interrupted the cheering and everyone who wasn’t hanging onto a cannon stumbled back from the collision of the Crow with the ship to their starboard.

Hongjoong picked himself up just as Lieutenant Park came running down to meet him, blood trickling down his face, and informed him he was being reassigned.

They would have to board.

Hongjoong followed the lieutenant topside and most of the gunners followed behind him. They trusted him now, whatever doubts they may have had before.

But instead of doing as he was told and crossing directly to the Haemin ship, where fighting had already broken out, he marched up to the Admiral and demanded a weapon.

“Will you give me nothing to arm myself?”

Kim laughed at him outright but motioned the surgeon to hand the prisoner something.

A single, meagre blade.

Hongjoong knew in that moment exactly what the Admiral desired.

He wanted him to go and die, and take as many Haemin soldiers with him as he could.

If he survived it was on to the next battle, and then the next and the next after that until the world was the Admiral’s and Hongjoong was no longer useful, nothing more than a threat.

Seeing as he couldn’t strike Kim then and there, Hongjoong snatched the flimsy thing and turned to join the battle.

“Nothing too flashy, understand?” Admiral Kim called after him, a hint of teasing in his voice.

They couldn’t risk a realisation that the Pirate King was among them.

Time seemed suspended while he swung across on the rigging and prepared for the plunge.

Hongjoong was not afraid of death. No, he had survived insurmountable odds before and trusted his own skill. If it was him and an enemy in a battlefield somewhere he could be sure of the outcome, but the Admiral’s plans were a different matter.

Barely armed and with bare feet and tattered clothes, he shook off his worries and got to work.

The Paragon and the Indeok were firing back and forth a little ways away and the sinking Haemin ship would be of no help, so it was just the Crow and the enemies they mowed down right and left.

Haemin’s soldiers were nowhere near as trained as Jaecho’s, that was for sure.

Blood spurted and shrapnel flew through the air, but Hongjoong was numb to it, dissociating from himself almost completely and letting his body remember how to fight. All of the lieutenants had joined, unwilling to simply leave the outcome up to the midshipmen and average sailors, and it felt nice to have someone he knew watching his back.

Hongjoong had been on his feet too long already, exhausted and with nothing left to give. The sword was difficult, instead of the nice clean cut he was used to, he had to hack his way through opponents. It was dirtier, bloodier, and even more degrading.

Anyone who came within an arm’s length of him was dispatched quickly after.

“Grenade!”

The sudden yell from Midshipman Moon’s direction came seconds before a hand grenade hit the deck. Instinctively, Hongjoong grabbed it and tossed it into the sea before it could explode, wincing at the blistering burns it left on his hands.

A flash of light signalled more shells raining down on them from the rigging, and the soldiers did their best to kick them away but now they were fighting on two fronts, and the cast iron grenades blew apart into tiny metal shards before they could stop them.

An enemy managed to slice Hongjoong across the face while he was distracted, but retribution was swift and he could only take a single step back before being stabbed.

Hongjoong shut his ears to the crunching of bone as he shoved his blade in between the man’s ribs.

He needed to get aloft to take out those grenadiers.

Struggling with his newly singed hands, Hongjoong scaled the rigging and dodged the musket shots that went whizzing past his face.

“What I wouldn’t give to have a gun right now...” he muttered.

Alerted to his presence, the grenadiers moved even higher, and Hongjoong had to pause to regain his breath before reaching them.

As he looked around, he realised the wind had blown in a snow cloud. Flurries and gunpowder alike drifted through the air and the warning groan that echoed through the ship told him it wasn’t built to handle the cold.

Shivering, he pressed on until he reached the cowards.

They had cornered themselves on the end of the mainmast while they reloaded their guns, and Hongjoong was on them before they even had a chance to fire.

He didn’t revel in ending their lives, but he finished the job and then smeared the blood across his face accidentally when he went to wipe away the powder.

It stung, but not as badly as the cold.

Below, the Haemin forces were surrendering, but Hongjoong didn’t want to go back down, as freezing as it was in the sails.

A snowflake gently floated into his raw, bloody hand and soothed him as it melted.

For a moment he wasn’t anyone, just a barefoot, white-haired mystery painted scarlet and sitting high in the ropes while ships were sinking around him.

...

San had no time to grieve. The tears were still wet on his face when the officers ordered them to the gun decks.

Thoughts of the last time he had seen Hongjoong— in the middle of the night at the inn while bullets burst through the window— cycled in his head while he rushed gunpowder back and forth.

It didn’t matter how loud the gunfire was, his heart was only silence and emptiness. If only he hadn’t left them, if only he had disobeyed Hongjoong’s orders.

Maybe they would all have survived.

A hand was placed on his to steady his load when he was pulled too far into his distracting thoughts.

“Jongho...?” San gasped, looking over at the translator and protesting, “No, he can’t fight, he’s still injured—”

“We can’t spare any hands,” the translator insisted, nudging Jongho over to the cannons. “He can stay with you.”

San had no fire left in him to argue. The news Jongho delivered had sucked it all out of him.

And just in time for a battle, from the looks of it.

If San had to be present, he wished he could go back to performing emergency surgeries, but he supposed his incident on deck earlier had banned him from that.

Jongho hadn’t spoken a word since explaining what had happened in San’s absence, and he remained quiet while he helped load the cannons and peered through the gunport.

He didn’t understand what the officers were yelling, but he could see the ships ahead of them and he recognised at least one.

“San, that’s the Black Crow.”

San’s head shot up and he crowded next to Jongho to see for himself.

Again, Jongho placed a steadying hand on his companion’s arm, just in case he dove off the ship and swam over just to make the Admiral pay.

Jongho had half a mind to do so himself.

“There’s no way we’ll survive this,” San whispered instead. And he was right, three small Haemin ships against the Black Crow, especially with an escort ship alongside her, stood no chance. Already one of the Haemin ships was sinking, and the other was being boarded from the looks of things.

The Paragon moved to cut off the smaller escort ship— the name Indeok was written on her— and abandoned their allies, dooming them to deal with the Crow.

The Indeok was ready, and before San and Jongho could get a shot off, cannon fire blasted through the deck.

It was such a powerful blow, the cannons around them reeled back in their gunports with the listing of the ship, and all the war prisoners had to avoid debris.

To protect Jongho from worsening his wounds, San pulled him into his arms and sheltered underneath the cannon until an officer dragged them back out and screamed something while holding out a bucket.

“He wants us to bail,” San explained, and he took the bucket reluctantly, shuffling forward to scoop out the water that was already bursting in.

The officer grabbed Jongho by the collar when he tried to follow and pointed at the cannons. He was to continue firing.

Angry at being separated, Jongho shoved the man off and quickly loaded the cannon completely by himself, lighting the fuse and firing it at the Indeok. The sooner he finished the job, the sooner he could reunite with San.

To his surprise, it was a palpable hit. Invigorated, he loaded again and fired just as quickly, paying more attention where he aimed it this time.

A second hit, this one better than the first by the image of the hole being ripped in the side of the navy ship.

Jongho began rallying the gunners. He may not care for Haemin’s hit and run tactics but he had no love for the navy, and he’d bring that ship down if it was in his way.

As the final, most devastating shot ripped the gun deck in half and just as a smile returned to Jongho’s face, he spotted a familiar head of lavender hair.

Wooyoung was picking himself up from the wreckage, stumbling to his feet and trying to climb to safety before the deck was submerged.

Someone was yelling on the Indeok’s quarterdeck, rushing down to help the gunners even as bullets rained down and Jongho was shattered to see that it was Yeosang.

There was only one reason they’d be on a navy ship, escorting the Black Crow of all vessels.

They were prisoners too.

Jongho covered his mouth to prevent himself from emptying his stomach. Guilt swirled around inside him, that he could have killed them if they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But at least there was someone on this watery battlefield who didn’t hate him and San.

The Haemin sailors were cheering Jongho on, and robustly loaded and aimed their cannons again. A shot hit the mainmast and Jongho watched it fall, horrified. The next hit the quarterdeck and exploded just below the helm, decimating the entire level.

No one who stood there could have survived that.

Not the captain, not the lieutenants, not his friends.

“Stop! Stop it, please!” He screamed, trying to pull away their gunpowder bags while they celebrated and patted him on the back.

They thought he was encouraging them, and they loaded another cannon.

The Indeok sank before his very eyes.

...

There wasn’t much Yeosang could do to help except to pick off the occasional main deck gunner on the Paragon.

The Crow seemed to be doing fine against the other two Haemin ships, already one was nearly sunk and the sounds of fighting sounded from the second.

Yeosang’s cheeks flamed as he looked over and met eyes with his father.

The man had seen his son’s successful shots and was looking at him with such a genuine smile, his eyes so proud and pure it was sickening.

Yeosang turned away and focused on covering Lieutenant Yoo’s back.

He was lulled into optimism, sure they would take an unquestioned victory, just when several massive explosions rang out in succession.

The gun decks were ripped through with cannon fire, and Yeosang didn’t care if the Admiral himself punished him, he could not stay on the quarterdeck while Wooyoung was in danger.

There was a cloud of powder released by the shot, and the young navigator stumbled through it and down the steep incline where the shells had broken through the deck.

Body parts and weapons were strewn along the collapsing surface but Yeosang averted his eyes.

With their last breaths, some of the wounded screamed for his help but he was only looking for one gunner. He didn’t have time to stop to save anyone else.

He must have yelled his name because Wooyoung stood up and extended a hand through snow and powder, so Yeosang reached for it.

With their fingers inches apart, another blast shook the Indeok and suddenly a mast was falling between them. Yeosang halted just before being crushed and still the momentum knocked him to the ground.

Disoriented and with his ears ringing at the proximity of the explosion, he tried to get up and find Wooyoung, hoping against hope that he wasn’t trapped down in the sinking lower decks.

Before he could even stand, the loudest boom yet came in a brilliant firework display from behind and completely destroyed the quarterdeck.

Yeosang watched the captain himself sail over the railing, wounded almost beyond recognition and scanned the deck anxiously for Lieutenant Yoo... or the remains of him. Whichever he found first.

Someone was groaning intelligibility, a lieutenant with his leg stuck in between the wooden boards of the stairs that led to the quarterdeck. He was hurt but alive, and as Yeosang approached him, he recognised the man.

It was Woosung, Wooyoung’s brother and although he was weeping painfully, he looked like he would recover.

Yeosang helped him get his leg out of the splinters and supported his weight as they moved to see what was left of the officers.

No one had survived.

Even First Lieutenant Yoo Dojoon lay choking on his own blood with shrapnel embedded in his midsection. He raised a hand and when Yeosang took it, it was frozen with the mingled chill of winter and death.

“T-Take them down,” he grunted, not a tear on his face. He was resolute even in his last moments.

Woosung looked to see why their enemy had stopped firing. “The Paragon is retreating,” he told them, voice brittle and confused. “But the Indeok will not survive.”

Yoo closed his eyes in disappointment for a moment. When he opened them, it was like he could see past Yeosang and Woosung, past their entire plane of existence.

“We did our duty.”

The light faded from his eyes and Yeosang closed them with a shaking hand.

It was still for a moment, only the dying cries of men and the wind-blown snow swirling around them as the Indeok gave its final farewell moan and started to disappear below the waves, bow first.

“Where is my brother?” Woosung’s voice trembled and he tried to get to his feet but fell back on the uneven ground. Yeosang could see the white of bone protruding from his leg and grimaced.

“He... he was...” Then letting go of the lieutenant, he stumbled forward to peer into the abyss. “Wooyoung!”

There was no answer.

“Make for Kibo!” He turned and yelled back to Woosung, rushing to lower a longboat and helping him into it. “I’ll find Wooyoung.”

So he peered in every crevice and checked every face, knowing the water was cold and the longer he spent looking, the faster Wooyoung’s minutes ticked away.

Soon there wasn’t much of the Indeok left for him to search and his heart had nearly been crushed with the pressure, but suddenly something in the water caught his eye.

A portion of the mainmast, with a familiar head of hair propped up on it. Wooyoung was there, fighting his wounds and floating towards land.

“Wait!” Yeosang yelled, and he ran to what was left of the rail, scaling it and diving in a perfect arc into the uneasy waves.

“Wooyoung!” He gasped between strokes until his hands made contact with the wooden plank. “It’s me!”

Bleary eyes opened and latched on to him.  “Yeosang, I was worried,” he shivered and scooted off to the side, leaving space for Yeosang to share. “Is Woosung—?”

“He’ll be alright, he’s on his way to land,” Yeosang explained through coughs, motioning in the direction of Kibo. It wasn’t far, they could make it if he started propelling them in the right direction.

Wooyoung allowed his head to lower and took in a wheezing inhale. He was injured somewhere and Yeosang didn’t have time to figure it out yet. “I’ll get you to safety,” he promised.

And he promised too soon, because moments later, the Black Crow blocked their path.

...

“You’re doing so well, Mingi, just hang in there,” Seonghwa soothed his protesting patient, wiping away as much blood as he could from his wounded eye.

“M-My head,” he whined in a breaking voice. “It hurts... please, it h-hurts...”

Seonghwa bit his lip and tried to ignore his cries until the eyepatch was secured and he could blow out the candle, casting the room in darkness.

“Is that better?”

“Mhm,” Mingi hummed tiredly, before taking in a hitched breath and letting his other eye drift shut. “Better.”

Seonghwa sat back to give him space, but wouldn’t let go of his hand.

Had the bullet been just centimetres to the right, Mingi would already be gone. Even with him lying there now, sloppily bandaged up and practically drunk on pain relief tonic, Seonghwa had no contingency plan.

They needed to get him to a real doctor.

Seonghwa glanced over to where Yunho sat, long legs pulled up into the chair making him look smaller and more vulnerable.

He rested his cheek on his knees to dab away tears and stared at Mingi like looking away would kill him.

Seonghwa hated how familiar this was. Waiting around uselessly in the infirmary, waiting to see if death would take someone they loved.

Hesitantly releasing Mingi’s hand and pressing the blanket into it, he crossed to Yunho and wiped away a tear with the cuff of his sleeve.

“Sorry,” Yunho sniffled, turning away, but Seonghwa caught his face before he could and cradled it until he met his eyes.

“It’s alright. We’re only human.”

Yunho’s eyes watered more and he dropped his head in surrender, letting Seonghwa hold him for awhile.

“Maddox recommends we retreat for awhile and go after Jongho later. I’m still not happy about it,” Yunho admitted when Seonghwa pulled away to let him talk. Seonghwa knew this, but if Yunho wanted to say something about it again, that was fine. Clearly it was weighing on his mind.

“Let him take care of things for awhile,” Seonghwa sighed, reaching over to grab an extra blanket and then throwing it over the pair of them. “I think we deserve a little break.”

It was indeed a break, but it didn’t turn out to be very restful.

Mingi adjusted well to the eyepatch and his headaches wore off gradually, but the officers spent the week it took them to reach Freeport worrying about his vision. They had done their best to clean the wound daily but still Mingi couldn’t see out of his left eye.

Seonghwa remembered this port from the last time they’d been. They were a group of eight then, spending their well earned salaries in the pub and restocking in the market. Of course, the contemptible mutineer Seunghyun had joined them then as well, but Seonghwa didn’t see any more of his type loitering around.

He did notice some significant changes however, in the general liveliness of the townspeople and the shiny new artillery in the garrisons. Seonghwa didn’t even remember there being garrisons last time.

“Who do the batteries belong to?” He asked Maddox as they sailed past.

“You,” Maddox shrugged before taking a sip of his tea and continuing. “Me. Anyone on this ship. Anyone who wants to keep the free islands free.”

“That sounds like... an alliance,” Seonghwa scoffed in disbelief. “An alliance between pirates?”

“I take it you haven’t been to Geobugi in awhile. It’s not unheard of, especially in wartime,” the older pirate went on to explain as the island faded from view and they reclaimed their seats at the breakfast table on the quarterdeck. “Do you know the history of these lands?”

Mingi accidentally smacked himself in the face with his spoon before adjusting his trajectory and getting it into his mouth. Half-vision had its challenges. “No, not really,” he admitted.

“Well, pirates were once unified, a long time ago. It was pirates who first discovered the East, at least to our knowledge,” Maddox began. “There are ancient ruins on some of the islands, but we’ve never found any inhabitants, assuming they either died out or moved on. Places like Freeport and Geobugi became pirate refuges, especially after the defeat of Captain Seongho of the Hammerhead, when his secret caves on Dalhae were discovered. Eden repurposed those tunnels and dug even deeper, but only as a last resort. We wanted to be free. The Navy’s quest to eliminate us only intensified from then on, and they claimed the island they later imprisoned me on, founded the colonies, and even attacked Geobugi. We drove them away but I was injured in the battle and wished to return to the mainland to be reunited with my family. That was the last time I’ve been there.”

His eyes became cloudy and distant and he poked at his food while he went on.

“That year was the same that Eden met Hongjoong. And so, of course, I’m sure you know what followed. You’ll find that since your treasure hunt, you’ve been included in the pirate legacy.”

The three officers sat in silence.

“This has all been going on since we left?” Yunho finally asked, pushing back his plate. He wasn’t sure how to feel about this supposed truce.

Maddox nodded. “And you’ll be quite surprised to discover that not only is the ATEEZ well known there, but each of you  in particular.”

Mingi blushed and glanced around. “Well, I can’t say it wouldn’t be nice to be appreciated but... can we really trust them to help us? Will they honestly want to save Jongho if it means attacking Haemin?”

“If you have a chance anywhere, it’s here,” Maddox insisted. “Now, get some rest. I’ll call you when we arrive.”

So the vessel moved against the movement of the sun, until a familiar harbour was on the horizon.

Maddox took them through the Bem canal which led directly into the heart of the island, and then summoned the officers so they could see for themselves.

Large wooden platforms had been built all along the waterway, with bright lanterns tinted in amber and cyan decorating them and lines strewn back and forth to deliver messages. Flags that indicated residents’ crew affiliations hung near the door posts, and the streams that branched away eventually became roads. There was space at the mouth for ships to be anchored, and the ATEEZ became the next of many while the four of them disembarked.

Crossing a network of bridges clearly made from spare planks and netting to reach what appeared to be the central building, Seonghwa couldn’t help but laugh at all the people flinging open their windows and waving at them, some even cheering.

It was like they were heroes.

“This way,” Maddox’s voice grounded them in reality and they followed into the main building, hands on their swords just in case.

Seonghwa couldn’t help but notice that it almost seemed to be an imitation of the palace, from the material of the tiles to the shape of the trees. There was a vague resemblance that struck him as ironic, and when he entered, he half expected to see a throne.

Someone was there, sitting at a table. Someone very familiar, but whose face he couldn’t quite put his finger on...

Yunho dropped everything and ran towards him.

“Gunho!”

...

Taglist: @serendipityunho @celestial-yunho @atzjjongbby @89staytinyzen21

A/N:  So yeah this one was a lot more intense than usual, and I'm sure you've got a lot to say soooo go ahead and say it, leave me a comment :,) Tbh I'm not 100% confident with this chapter but I don't hate it and it was due for an update so I tried lol. If you have any questions about the more technical aspects or are struggling to picture what's going on, let me know and I'll try to clear it up for you! ttfn, hope you enjoyed~

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