#POST: JOKE & ZO GO TO THE NEXT STEP

[bl-bam-beyond]

HIDDEN AGENDA (2023, THAILAND)

Episode 8 Post 3 of 3

Joke (ARCHEN AYDIN aka JOONG)and Zo (NATACHAI BOONPRASERT aka DUNK) taking their relationship to the next level.

Zo has some apprehensions as it is his first time but he chooses to put himself in Joke's hands and trust him.

@pose4photoml @lutawolf

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Most memorable items of clothing in bl series in 2023

In order of their airing/me watching them:

I'm thankful I've gotten into the habit of noting which shows I watch and when otherwise I wouldn’t be able to remember. As it is, first on my list is Bed Friend, which kind of sets the tone for this post since it features the best and the worst outfit choices for Uea. The waffle robes and cat ears vs the fake sleeves shirt.

Next is a quick shout out to Por in My School President, since the show started in 2022 but did finish in 2023, and basically all of his outfits. The man is a style icon. But this stripy polo shirt takes the biscuit for me. I need to have it.

On to Moonlight Chicken and this one is a combined effort between Heart and Li Ming. @telomeke prompted me to write a little about it, but essentially the two shirts together are saying 'you're my other half'. Urthe / Tomato sauce.

The Gloves! Need I say more? (Alright, for those of you who don't know - how could you not?! - they're from Chains of Heart).

And now not strictly an item of clothing but an accessory, the most straight ankle bracelet you'll ever see in a thai series. Totally platonic, not gay AT ALL. In Midnight Museum.

In July the different Thai production companies took stock of three versions of the same stripy linin shirt – the cream long-sleeved, the brown short-sleeved, and the charcoal short-sleeved - and proceeded to clad every actor they could in one of them within a three and a half month period (six shows*, eight different characters). We had couple-shirts with both Kawi and Pisaeng and Mew and Top wearing them, and Namneua in Wedding Plan wore all three. (*Step by Step, Be My Favourite, Hidden Agenda, Wedding Plan, Love in Translation, and Only Friends).

Staying in July for a while, and speaking of weddings, Kawi rocked on up to Pearmai and Not's wedding in Be My Favourite in this brown houndstooth shirt and black pants outfit - an almost exact replica of Ray's outfit in the original pilot trailer for Only Friends. I waited with baited breath to see if Ray would still wear the outfit in the actual series...and he did! Not only that, I then realised Uea had already worn it in Bed Friend earlier in the year.

In a surprising turn of events, Be My Favourite – and Krist – turned out to actually be Quite Good. Perhaps distracted by Krist's puppy eyes, we weren't entirely ready for the first appearance of the Dudes shirt – itself a wonderful comment on the narrative since Kawi was figuring out his feelings for Pisaeng – but it was a delight to see it again on Nick in Only Friends, and offering a different narrative comment.

This next one may only be notable for me, but when I was doing my dedicated scan through of oh so many shows to collect items for the communal wardrobe, I noticed this sand and grey sweater amongst the many other items of shared clothing which appeared in The Warp Effect and then very briefly on Pisaeng in Be My Favourite. Not long after, the trailer for Last Twilight dropped and I spotted it again immediately. I've also since noticed it in a speed scan of The Shipper. Not only do I think it's a pretty neat sweater, but I loved the effect it gave in Last Twilight, which I wrote about at the end of this post.

This is getting long but I'm going to keep going (this might be the only 2023 wrap up I do so I'ma make it count).

If you've been following me for a while (or since the BBS days), you’ll know how rabid I go when I see a pair of the yellow-soled Mustard brand shoes in a show. The most recent being in Hidden Agenda worn by Zo…but they're not the ones on this list. Oh no, it's Joke's blue-soled shoes which made me sit up and scream this time...meaning even their shoes were colour-coded in this show. Oh how I wish I could buy a pair of each.

There were many fabulous outfits in Laws of Attraction (especially Charn's) but Tanthai's green rope shirt wins out for me. Green seemed to be used in the show to represent the lies and secrets Tanthai was forced to keep because of his father, and he was metaphorically bound and trapped in these lies and his life. Ah perfection!

I've mentioned a lot of brilliant items but there have also been many awful ones, and the one I can't seem to stop thinking about (or horrifying over) is the Droopy Tits shirt (or Nipple Protector, whichever way you want to call it) which first appeared in Dangerous Romance and then The Jungle just three days later. I'm surprised we haven't seen it again to be honest, but I imagine if we get more spoiled rich kids we probably will.

These next two aren't specific items but more of a shout out to the whole wardrobe design of the shows.

First, Only Friends, with Mew and Ray's transformation to Ray and Sand's (respective) wardrobe choices, as well as the inversion of colours to highlight differences in relationships, and the use of colour-groupings to separate characters (<- a post i have yet to write). I wish I could write more about it…but life is just too busy to give it the time it needs.

The second is, of course, Ai Di and Chen Yi in Kiseki: Dear to Me with how they always share a colour in their different outfits. @respectthepetty details this perfectly here, so I don't need to. I am however still feral about these two and can't wait to do a full re-watch of the show.

And lastly, much like Baseball Mom in Bad Buddy two years ago (and to be honest many of Pat's other shirts), Aof recently gifted us another absolutely ridiculous but brilliantly poignant t-shirt slogan in Mhok's Fart Proudly shirt in Last Twilight, which I went into detail about here. Just A+

Thanks for sticking with me through all that! Any others that stood out for you or that I missed?

[respectthepetty]

Hi Respect!

I really loved @placetneplacet's post calling out how Zo's fears around Joke went directly back to his interactions with Puen, and you highlighting the specifics of how it's impacted Zo throughout the series. You both tapped so adeptly into something I've been rather incoherently rambling about, regarding how fear is a reoccurring motif in the show. And I was curious about your thoughts (and anyone else's) on how Joke's fear is being portrayed so far. We're seeing him push through a lot of more...I don't want to say superficial, because they're still quite valid...but more traditional human phobias (height, rollercoasters, etc) due to his desire to be near Zo. But there was that one scene where he absolutely panicked at Zo not answering the door & phone, to a rather excessive degree (I think most of us would assume our friend was asleep or stepped out without their phone before we decided they were probably dying and needed our help). So it seems that he's able to overcome fears in order to get closer to love, but that same love is also his biggest Achilles' heel around fear.

It feels to me that Joke has a rather substantial fear around loss based on something that happened in the past. And I'm wondering if there's going to be something revealed that will cause Zo's fear to retrigger, and maybe pull back, and then that will create issues around Joke's fear around losing Zo...

Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts!

(Adore your color analysis, btw)

@befuddledcinnamonroll, this is me after reading this -

@heretherebedork has mentioned a similar idea that Joke has his own issues with abandonment and loss due to the way he reacts to Zo's distance.

I'm of the mind that Joke is simply a lovesick guy who subjects his cousin to Sad Boy Karaoke when Zo avoids him.

But you and @heretherebedork have pointed out several instances of Joke panicking when it concerns Zo like the apartment moment.

And @chicademartinica mentioned that episode three was just forty-five minutes of watching Joke panic to the point that he showed up in the middle of the night outside of Zo's apartment

All because Zo was "acting weird earlier."

When it was because he touched Zo, and Zo ran for the hills.

TWICE!

But now that I think about it . . . maybe I've been too dismissive of Joke's behavior.

I took Joke for being the usual pushy seme in a BL, but when it comes to Zo, he is really pushy.

I have defended Joke's behavior because, to me, it's needed to break through Zo's resistance, but . . .

Each time Joke has been called out for his behavior, he offers a variation of this response:

And next week, when confronted with his hidden agenda (if it isn't him conspiring with Pat to get Zo, I'm going to be shocked - LOOK AT THE REFLECTION!)

He offers the same reasoning - due to his actions being based on his care for and of Zo, he wasn't in the wrong.

Which leads to Zo getting upset.

During their pseudo-date, Zo told him the story of roses.

In response, Joke mentioned he would never let his lover go.

Joke stated he "would never let someone [he] loves face danger alone."

We have four episodes left and have no idea where Joke's parents are. Why did he take Zo to meet his grandmother, and not his parents? But we've seen Joke cover for Nita to protect her from a stalker to the point that he didn't defend himself against rumors. And we saw how he reacted to James and Puen hurting his loved ones.

Joke's reactions are reasonable to me, but both Nita and Zo had to drag him off James, and Joke wanted to fight Puen so the second Puen grabbed Zo's arm, Zo had to tell Joke to back off.

I want there to be a reason beyond love that makes Joke so protective, but like you mentioned, what if love really is his Achilles' heel? What if Joke gets so blinded by love that he can't see reason? What if he wants to protect Zo so badly because one time he didn't?

And what if it all stems from the freshy contest?

Because even then, Joke had his reasons.

Perhaps the one time Joke didn't cross the line and didn't push back, was the one time he didn't protect Zo.

And he can't allow that to happen again.

[k-llama-llama]

Take One

Monsta X AU: 8th member

Zoey x Monsta X

Some behind the scenes of filming for Zoey’s music video.

Requests are OPEN and feedback is still super important to me. Remember to check out my PATREON! (link in bio) for exclusive content and 1 extra post a week!!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“Okay, three two one...action!”

Zoey stared into the camera, giving her best ‘i’m better than you all’ look as the crown on her head ignited. It wasn’t right on her hair, but hovering slightly above. She was sure it looked amazing, but it was kind of terrifying to have fire directly above her head.

“And...cut!”

Zoey ducked her head and slid out of the throne as staff rushed to extinguish the fire.

“Was that okay?” She asked, turning towards the director. 

“Yeah, it was good.” He studied the screen. “We’ll do it one more time, if you can just go get your hair touched up.”

Zoey nodded, hurrying behind the cameras towards where the makeup was set up. Her dress was short in the front, but the train dragged behind her, and she picked it up to avoid ruining it.

It was only the first day of her music video shoot, and they were doing all of the dramatic shots today. Tomorrow would be choreography shots, which she was honestly more excited for. 

“They keep getting ash in your hair.” Her stylist clucked. “It makes it look dusty.”

“That’s what happens when my crown is literally on fire.” Zoey laughed. “Does it look cool, at least?”

“Very cool.” The woman promised. “Speaking of which, you have guests.”

“Guests?” Zoey looked around, “where?”

“Security wasn’t sure if you were trying to keep it a secret, so they put them in the wardrobe storage.”

Zoey grinned, looking back to where they were still cleaning up the set. “Do you think I have time to go see them?”

“Of course.” A final piece of ash was brushed from her hair. “But don’t mess up my creation.”

Zoey held up her pinky in a joking promise, and then hurried away. She held the train of her dress over one arm, keeping it from collecting dirt, as she made her way towards the wardrobe storage room on the other side of the warehouse.

“Knock knock?” She sang, before she pushed open the door.

“Zoey!” Jooheon exclaimed. “Are you here to free us?”

She stepped into the room, taking in the scene before her. All six of her group mates were scattered amongst racks of clothes, with a pizza box on the floor in front of them.

“Will you let us out if we give you pizza?” Kihyun offered. 

Zoey gave a little spin, showing off the clear panels at the stomach of her dress. “Sorry, boys. I’m officially not allowed to eat until we’re done filming.”

“You look so good, Zo.” Hyungwon gave her a thumbs up. “Is all of this wardrobe yours?”

“Mine, and my dancers.” She held up one of the masks. “There’s a lot of extras.”

“Can we please see the set?” Minhyuk begged. “We came all the way here, and they won’t let us out of the closet.”

Zoey bit her lip. “I don’t want to spoil it.”

“We just want to peek.” Changkyun promised. “Take like, two selfies to prove that we supported you, and then we can leave.”

Zoey shook her head. “Surprise.”

“Please?” Shownu begged.

“I let you come to my set.” Jooheon insisted. “I even let you cameo.”

“I don’t know....I-”

“Zoey?” The door opened and the director’s assistant peeked in. “Are you ready? Oh- are they the torch bearers?”

“YES!” Minhyuk said loudly, stripping his coat off. “Ready to bear torches.”

“Urgh,” Zoey rolled her eyes. “Fine, can you get them into the pants?”

“I’ll call a stylist.” The assistant promised. “They’re looking for you out there.”

“Wait, pants?” Hyungwon looked up in alarm. “That’s it?”

Zoey winked. “You didn’t think I’d let my torch-bearers wear shirts, now would you?”

Kihyun clenched his jaw. “Is this supposed to be some commentary about the objectification of women in music?”

Zoey shrugged. “Whatever helps you come to terms with it.” She spun and headed for the door. “Take it off, boys. I’ll see you out there.”

When they finished the shot of the throne and the burning crown, Zoey let herself be quickly changed into her next outfit. This one was a one shoulder gold dress, very grecian queen. 

“So, we just stand here?” She heard Jooheon’s voice.

“Yeah, and the torches will light in sequence so you-”

“Don’t you boys just look fantastic.” Zoey grinned, skipping over.

Jooheon glared at her. “I hate this.”

“Hey, you made me be sexy for your video.” She reminded. “I’m just returning the favour.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” Hyungwon crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are you punishing me?”

“I’m not punishing you, Wonnie.” She poked his stomach. “I’m rewarding the fans.”

“You look pretty.” Shownu said, swinging an arm over her shoulders. Him and Changkyun were the only ones who didn’t look slightly uncomfortable. “Is this the theme? You’re like a queen or something?”

Zoey beamed up at him. “I’m always a queen.”

“Hey, Zo.” Changkyun studied the torch on the wall that he was supposed to be holding. “Is this actually going to light on fire?”

“Yup.” She nodded. “You guys just stare at the back wall, holding the torches, and they’ll light up in order as I walk by.”

“What if we get burned?” Kihyun asked worriedly.

Zoey shrugged. “You wanted to be in my video, didn’t you?”

“Urgh, yes.” He groaned. “But I did not sign up for the nakedness.”

She lightly patted his chest. “You look great.”

“I know.” He pouted.

“Places, everyone! We’re going to do our first take.” The director called.

The boys all took their places. They lined up under a roman archway, each placing their right hands on the torches. They faced the back wall, so that only their backs would be illuminated by the torch light.

“And....Action!”

An hour later, they were done for the day. The first couple of takes, Hyungwon and Jooheon had both flinched when their torches lit up, but eventually they got it.

“Good job, guys!” Zoey clapped as they all headed back to change.

“I can’t believe I agreed to do that.” Hyungwon wiped soot off of his cheek. “We didn’t even hear your song.’

“Did I tell you you would?” She laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist. “You get to see it all together when it’s done. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”

They stepped back into the wardrobe room, all stripping off and finding their actual clothes. Zoey pulled on her sweatpants, reaching for her sweater. 

“I’m surprised, Zo.” Minhyuk noted. “You were wearing a surprising amount of clothes.”

She pointed to the rack of clothes next to him. “Wait until you see my wardrobe for tomorrow.”

Changkyun grabbed a hanger off of the rack, holding it up. “Is this a necklace?”

“A shirt.” Zoey answered.

He held it up to his chest. “Zo, it doesn’t even cover my boobs. How is it going to cover yours...while you’re dancing?”

She rolled her. “I’m wearing a bra under it.” 

“Still...” Kihyun winced as her looked at the rest of the clothes on the rack. “They really didn’t spend much on the clothes for day 2. Did they just take scissors to clothes you already had?”

“Learn to love it, my loves.” Zoey grabbed her backpack. “It’s my new look.”

“Hyung?” Jooheon looked up Shownu.

The leader shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll look great.”

Zoey grinned, grabbing his hand as they started walking towards the exit. “This is why you’re my favourite.”

“Watch her edit us out of the final video.” Minhyuk complained. “And just photoshop Shownu into ever shot behind her.

“Keep talking and that’s exactly what’ll happen.” She warned.

[nanigma]

Leon Fanbook Translation: Special Interview

Link to the Takumi Fanbook

Introduction

Profile

Famous Lines

Relationships

Leon&Kamui + Words of Love

Daily Routine + Cooking Showdown

Fashion Check

Dream Change

Only two more updates to go. It’s hard to believe that I am almost finished with this. And it didn’t take me half as long as I feared to translate this. Probably because of a distinct lack of Odin speech..

Meanwhile I’ve finally gotten another part-time job, so that’s helped me feel better about my situation and I can focus on this project more than I did before. It’ll be a while before my first payment, so it would still be really nice if you could help me out a little until then. Here’s a link to my Ko-fi account. Thank you to the generous people who have helped me so far!

- All the photos on this post were taken by the lovely @zaziki7

My comments are in italics

I’ll be using Japanese names

Pages 36-37

Special Interview/ Leon

An interview sprung on the younger prince of Nohr! Listen to what this one young man keeps inside his heart!

Anna: Good day to you, fans of Leon!! I am Anna, the traveling merchant! Today we've successfully gotten a hold of a Prince Leon from right after the conclusion of the „Invisible Kingdom“ Arc, and will now confront him with some rapid fire questions!! (In English) Don't miss it!!

Topic 1 – About being Nohrian Royalty

Anna: Prince Leon, thank you for your time. It must be tough being recognized by everyone every single day. You do have a lot of fans after all.

Leon: A member of the Nohrian royal family must never embarass themselves, be firm of mind, and always remember to present themselves with grace. However, I sometimes end up wearing my clothes inside out for some reason. I really should be more careful... By the way, have we met somewhere before... ?

Topic 2 – About Kamui

Anna: So, what do you think of Kamui precisely? Also, if Kamui were below you in age, would you rather have them as a younger brother or sister?

Leon: They do have their talents, but I guess no matter how old they get, they are so unreliable it always makes me want to help them out. It seems I just can't leave them on their own. As for if Kamui were younger than me, I'd prefer to have them as a younger sister. A younger brother would likely mean more competition, you see.

Topic 3 – About his siblings

Anna: I see... So you would prefer another little sister. Well, how do you feel about your older brother and sister?

Leon: In many ways, Marx is the strongest man in Nohr. It shows in how he embodies the ideal of the Nohrian crown prince, his skill with the sword...  how as an older brother, he shows a special kindness only to his siblings. However, there are ways in which he can be just too stubborn. Although we are currently amicable with each other, his unbending nature has caused us to quarrel in the past, to the point he even hit me once.

This refers to the Drama CDs

Anna: Ehh! Prince Marx might have just made himself the enemy of 50 million Leon fans around the whole world.

Leon: As you may know, in the whole kingdom of Nohr, Camilla's beauty and the depth of her affection is unmatched. The way she coldly dispatches of her enemies is also more than befitting of Nohrian royalty. Although it seems she doesn't pay much attention, she has actually been focusing on me quite a bit... Her offer to share a bath has been troubling for me though.

Leon, your siscon tendencies are showing.

Anna: Mhm mhm... //Taking a bath with Camilla... Now that's some good material.// So how about your younger sister, Elise?

Leon: I'll just say this here, but I feel like she's a great help in a lot different ways. This isn't just me, all of us siblings have come to truly rely on her. I just wish she would stop tackling me with all her strength whenever we met. *laughs*  I also want her to stop drumming her fists against my back so relentlessly. It actually hurts a lot...

Topic 4 – About parent-child relations

Anna: You won't like this question, but what about your father, King Garon, and also... your mother?

Leon: My father used to be a kind man. I still remember him keeping me company during study time or letting me ride on his shoulders. Having him pat my head with his huge hand is something I used to love. He may have become an entirely different person since that incident in the past, but I would still like to meet and be able to talk to the father from my childhood just one more time.

Tagging @agoddamn here because we’ve recently discussed the extent of Leon’s memorys of the real Garon. Still a bit vague, but it seems he already had an education/training (the kanji could mean both) going before Garon died, though with his mom being so ambitious he may have started quite young still.

Leon: As far as my mother is concerned, I don't have any special memories. That woman only ever thought of me as a tool that would bind her to the king, so I couldn't bring myself to love her either. … Is that enough?

Anna: Th- Thank you. A- Anyway, your son also seems to be rather... how to put this? Quirky... //Oh jeez! I brough up another topic he hates!!//

Leon: This is about Foleo, I see. At first I also mistook his intentions, but it turns out he is simply sticking to his own personal aesthetic. Just knowing about his convictions, I can honestly say I'm fine with it. Someday though he'll have to make a decision regarding the calling passed down through his blood, what it means to be Nohrian royalty at it’s core. … When the time comes, I hope his courage will help him make the right choice.

Not sure I like how “mistook his intentions” is phrased... What other intentions could Foleo have had that wouldn’t have been okay in Leon’s eyes? 

Topic 5- About himself

Anna: What do you think about being called cold-blooded? If you could give your own estimation of yourself, what would it be?

Leon: Although I'm not about to point out specific things I like about myself, I can say that I do have confidence in myself. Otherwise I wouldn't be fit to be royalty. That means even when I am sometimes insecure, I at least have to seem confident. My flaws are in those areas I don't have sufficent knowledge of. It's not that I ever neglect my studies, but I am fully aware it's still not entirely good enough.  

Topic 6 – About taste in women

Anna: I am pretty sure I am asking this in the name of all your female fans, but could you share what you like in a girl? Let's give an example! You like, say, the open-minded type, or...

Leon: Well, I have never experienced a mother's love. But when it comes to choosing a partner, it's wrong to say I only long for someone to give me the love my mother never did, so I want to name a another criteria. Let's see, I'd say I like strength, but I mean that as being intelligent. Not just someone who is well-studied, but one who doesn't let their guard down around an enemy, who is able to accurately assess any given situation. That's the kind of intelligence I like.

SPECIAL GUEST TAKUMI

Takumi: Huh, it's strange seeing you two together.

Anna: Ah, it's the Prince who loves the Southern Islands! … Er, rather the Prince of Hoshido, Lord Takumi!

Leon: Prince Takumi? I thought you were staying in the southern islands right now.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is the first time (or one of the few times) Leon has used the ending zo (ぞ) to a sentence in Japanese. Usually his style of speech is already pretty casual and „boyish“ in the anime-sense (it doesn't work exactly like that in real life), with him ending many sentences in „da“ (だ). It's makes it sound a bit harder.. ぞ can be seen as a step up in that, really „decisive“ sounding. It's something you would only use with friends or people of lower social standing, but we can guess which one he means here.~

Takumi: …? What are you two on about?

Leon: Speaking of, thank you for sending me that miso supply the other day. I am grateful for it.

Anna: Lord Leon actually ended up cooking the soup for himself. Suprisingly though...

Leon: That's right. I understand what I like best after all. This time I decided to try putting some tomatoes in it.

Takumi: T- Tomatoes!? You put tomatoes in miso soup!?  Please stop joking. This is why you are Nohr's tomato prince...

Leon: Who are you calling tomato prince!? I think it's terrible how you Hoshidans always cling to your old traditions.

Anna: Uh.. Haha. Looks like I got between them~!

-----------------------------

Again, sorry for the small images in places. I have tried finding a fix for it, but no luck. At least it’s not most pictures again like last time. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

The next update will include all the poll results, and as you could see with the Takumi translation... that’s huge. I overestimated how long it would take me this time, but I can safely say the next one will be a long one. Hope you look forward to it.

[bunnybbomb]

Trying To Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Chapter 6: Seeing Eye to Eyes:

Summary: With Betaal as the new First Knight and Estuu as Brivere’s Holy Knight, the three Zoras must awkwardly make amends and learn to understand each other in order to properly be able to carry out their duties to Prince Sidon. However, their tense and complicated past threatens to hold them back from something greater.

(A fic for the sidlink fic Coma Baby, a continuation of the other one I made called Catharsis!)

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.

It only occurred to Sidon as he stood there, before every citizen in the Zora Domain, holding a silver scale spear that would initiate the knighting ceremony, that this was an extremely horrible idea.

He inwardly cringed as he looked at Estuu and Betaal kneeling in front of him. It wasn’t that they weren’t worthy of their positions respectively. Betaal had almost won the first tournament he’d held years ago for the role of his personal knight, and while still very young, Estuu was extremely intelligent had and won Brivere’s trials fair and square. Both of them had fought for and earned their respective titles in an admirable show of wit and strength, making Sidon honored that such talented individuals would choose to serve and protect him.

No, the problem was the infamous tension that ran between the two, along with his now Oracle Knight, Brivere.

Years ago, Estuu had shot Betaal in the eye with an arrow for reasons unknown. Ever since then, she had had to wear an eyepatch that, luckily for her, just enhanced her already rugged face and threatening persona. Many speculated that, if the incident hadn’t occurred, she would have become Prince Sidon’s original First Knight, not Brivere. Sidon couldn’t deny the possibility, since battling with a sudden handicap would severely hinder anyone’s fighting ability. But nothing could be done in time for the tournament and Brivere had apologized profusely and insisted that he had no hand in his brother’s brash actions.

Sidon often joked to himself that he should thank Estuu for doing it, but there was no way that he could tell such a dark joke to anyone else. Of course, there was no malice towards Betaal in his humor, as he admired her raw physical strength and amazing leadership abilities. It just hurt his heart to think that he possibly never would have met Brivere if the tournament had ended differently. The prince was dating him and Link now, who had left the Domain a couple days prior to try and find help for Brivere’s strange eye condition, caused by his future-seeing abilities. For now, Brivere continued to wear a silver scale visor to hide it, since most of the crowd still didn’t know about his condition.

The prince often mused that perhaps it was for the best that Brivere had won initially. When he had opened up the position for his personal knight to all of the Zora Domain, regardless of bloodline or status, he had the best of intentions to let everyone have an equal chance at the position. But he never would have expected the intense class war that broke out as a result. Under and upper city Zora alike had all fought in his tournament, accidentally making the position of first knight into a political statement. Undercity Zora wanted to rise into the untouchable upper class, and the Uppercity Zora wanted to put the lower class back into their place.

Sidon used to be silently thankful that Brivere had won, since he technically didn’t fall into either category. Then, he had realized that the controversy and torment that used to surround his beloved knight’s family was something that no one should be grateful for.

The sound of his father starting his speech snapped Sidon out of his thoughts. King Dorephan’s naturally loud voice was absolutely booming as he made sure that every individual could hear his words. “Zora of our great Domain, it is with honor that today we bestow the title of Holy Knight to Estuu of Brivere’s bloodline and the title of First Knight to Betaal of the Undercity Zora. May the two of you use your positions to continue to protect our Domain and its citizens. Please lead us to a prosperous future.”

The old king gestured at Sidon and Brivere to step forward. “Both of you may now swear in your respective personal knights.”

Sidon walked over to Betaal with the silver scale spear tightly gripped in his hands. She held her head down until he stood directly in front of her. “Betaal of the Undercity Zora,” he began, tapping the pointed end of the spear on her brow, “You have displayed great strength during your time as a warrior.”

The spear then gently shifted onto her left shoulder. “There is no doubt that you have worked hard and deeply care for your fellow Zora.”

Moving the spear to her other shoulder, Sidon stared into her one remaining eye. “With this, I am proud to declare you as my First Knight. May we work together to bring victory to our great Domain.”

Betaal knelt lower until her brow touched the floor, then she rose to her feet. “Yes, my lord.” she said proudly. The two of them each held out their right hand and clasped them onto the other’s left shoulder, bowing their heads until they lightly touched.

Slowly, they let go, and Sidon shifted the spear until it rested horizontally in his hands. He held it out to Betaal, who took it in her left hand with a thankful nod. Sidon grabbed onto her right hand and held it high, which was a bit awkward since she was so much shorter than him, as she turned to face the cheering crowd.

“May we all welcome the new First Knight, Betaal!” he announced loudly.

The crowd roared with energy as they cheered and clapped their hands. The Undercity Zora hollered and screamed with joy, absolutely ecstatic at one of their own making it into one of the highest positions possible in the elite class of the royal government. The Uppercity Zora were noticeably less excited, politely clapping or simply mumbling words of congratulations in barely audible monotone voices. The soldiers in attendance, many of whom had actually worked under Betaal’s watchful eye before, started up the famous battle chant, shouting “ZO RA RA RA!” over and over as they pumped their weapons into the air.

The sounds of the wild crowd almost drowned out the sound of Brivere’s own speech, but Sidon was still able to barely catch a bit of it as he turned to look at the brothers. Estuu was trembling, clearly shaken by the sudden and extreme change in volume. Both of them quickly went through the same motions that he and Betaal just had, noticeably leaving out the parts where they would have to touch, and then Brivere helped Estuu to his feet and ushered him back into the palace.

Some of the Zora who were watching tilted their heads in confusion, surprised that the Holy Knight’s initiation had happened so quickly, with no one paying attention. But the majority of the crowd either didn’t notice or ignored the brothers in favor of Betaal, who was more popular and technically held a higher rank than Estuu anyways.

Sidon and King Dorephan watched with concern as the two brothers ducked through the grand entryway, but they knew that it was improper to disrupt the ceremony to check up on them. Besides, Brivere had already warned them that this would most likely happen, but apparently Estuu himself was the one who had insisted on going through with the ceremony.

The prince hoped with every scale on his body that his new trio of knights would get along. He was at least confident that they would work together professionally, but this hope quickly died when he caught the glare that Betaal wore as she watched the brothers leaving and the slight scowl that they both gave her in return.

Dear Hylia help them all.

;

The first few days after the ceremony were tense as Sidon tried to adjust to his larger entourage.

It was already bad enough that two new positions were added, leading to more paperwork and fumbling around to try and clear up any confusion. But on top of that stress, his knights were walking around on eggshells. Everyone awkwardly danced around each other, trying not to slice their feet into ribbons as they moved to an ever-changing tune.

One second, everything would at least be somewhat professional, and then the next, Betaal and Brivere would be clawing at each other's throats. The fights always started the same, just over different topics each time. Betaal would say something against either of the brothers and egg them on until Brivere would snap and argue back. Ironically, the youngest Zora, Estuu, managed to be the most mature one and never got involved. But this was probably more due to him being mute than anything else, as evidenced by the cold stare he often eyed Betaal with.

This dynamic was surprising at first because Brivere was usually so reserved and stoic in the face of adversity. But Sidon could tell that Brivere was more confident and open to sharing his feelings after his melt down in the throne room a few months back where he had called out everyone who had ever wronged him and his family. At the same time, however, Brivere often still tried to maintain his usual emotionless mask out of nothing but sheer habit.

And for the most part, he was successful, and almost everyone saw no changes in his personality. But Betaal was the one person who knew all the wrong things to say, pushing Brivere to the point that he would snap and argue back.

If anything, Sidon wanted to be happy that his lover was finally able to give in to and acknowledge his emotions, but he was definitely less thankful that it made their working environment so damn uncomfortable.

Even though he was dating Brivere, Sidon didn't want to take any sides for sake of professionality. He figured that things would get better as they all got used to their new positions, and so he decided to just let the two of them fight it out until things settled down. But as the days melted into weeks and then a month, Sidon realized that things had only gotten worse, if even possible. It got to the point that he would excuse Brivere by sending him away to practice using his future-seeing powers, in turn also getting rid of Estuu.  The only good thing to come out of sending the brothers away was a closer friendship with Betaal, resulting in the two of them becoming much more casual with each other. The Undercity knight wouldn’t refer to him by his formal title and didn’t speak in a stuffy manner if they were alone. He appreciated it, since even Brivere couldn’t help but act like he always had a silverscale spear stuck up his ass.

Even then, the few rare moments that Brivere and Betaal would be in the same vicinity as each other would be as tense as ever. Practically all of the other soldiers and workers in the palace knew about their rivalry, and everyone would immediately vacate the room should one of the knights enter while the other was present.

Their constant fighting wore Sidon out, who found it harder and harder to keep up his usual upbeat front that he displayed to his people. It didn’t help that his empathetic ability was always running in the background, catching every bit of animosity that raced through Brivere and Betaal every time they were near each other. Even Estuu, who always stayed out of it, was beginning to take a toll on the prince. Sidon was worried about the younger Zora, who clearly had a lot of inner turmoil, but no way to express it. The raw, negative energy that almost always emitted off of the Holy Knight wore Prince Sidon’s sensitive abilities out.

His knights were too busy arguing to notice the change until one day Sidon snapped and shouted at them. He absolutely hated the way their faces fell and he excused himself, avoiding them for days. As much as he hated to admit it, the relationship between him and Brivere had become strained, and he found himself missing his other Hylian boyfriend every day.

The guilt and fear of losing Brivere as both a lover and a protector, as well as the two other talented knights, was what finally made Sidon take action.

He was going to fix this whether they liked it or not.

;

"I want not a single word from any of you until we reach our destination."

His knights flinched at the harsh edge in Sidon's voice. Brivere opened his mouth to ask exactly where it was that they were going, but quickly decided against it when Sidon glared at him.

They quickly fell into line behind the prince, obediently following him through the maze of hallways inside of the Zora Domain's gigantic palace. It was a well-known joke that it had to be so big because of his father's huge body, but even Sidon thought that the sheer number of useless halls and rooms was ridiculous.

The strange group continued to walk in silence, yet the tension was still thick in the air. Sidon looked over his shoulder to see Betaal and Brivere glaring at each other. Sighing, he continued to lead them down several flights of stairs until they were in the lower, older levels of the palace. This section was mostly unused other than for emergencies or for storage, but what really stood out was the use of doors. For some reason, as the centuries went on, Zora architects decided that they were too good for doors and just made extravagant, high arching entryways instead.

And this old design was exactly what Sidon intended to use to his advantage.

They continued to walk until they came to stand in front of a particularly small door that stretched just above Estuu's head. Sidon grabbed the handle and threw the door open, holding his muscled arm out to welcome them in.

"I need you guys to go inside. There's something we need to investigate."

If it had been anyone else, the three knights would have thought it was shady. If it had been anyone else, they would have decked them.  If it had been anyone else, they would have accused the other Zora of trying to lure them into a dark room just to murder them miles below the surface so that no one could hear their screams or find their bodies.

But it wasn't anyone else. It was just Sidon, their trusted prince and superior.

Hesitantly, each of them entered the room. Estuu could walk in easily, but Betaal had to duck her head and Brivere had to tuck himself into a ball and scoot inside.

The room itself wasn't weird. It seemed like an abandoned Hylian guestroom, judging from the design of the carpet and the small bed inside. That certainly explained the low doorframe, since their Hylian friend Link was about the same size as Estuu.

No, what was weird was when the door suddenly slammed shut behind them.

Sidon was definitely bigger than each of them individually, but as he leaned up in front of the door and felt their pounding fists on the weak wood he quickly became unsure if he was stronger than the three of them combined. He could only hope that Estuu was staying out of it like he usually did.

"Sidon!" Betaal's rough voice shouted. "Let us out of here now!"

"Not until you all finally fix things between each other!"

He could hear Brivere's panicked tone as the Oracle Knight pushed his body against the door. "But my Lord, what if something were to happen to you and we-!"

"It is my command as your prince that you three stay in there and work things out!"

The immediate silence that followed told him that Brivere and Betaal had frozen in uncertain shock. It was a dirty move, sure, ordering them to stay in the room, but it was the only way to keep them from arguing back. He felt the weight on the door lighten, then heard soft footsteps as both of his knights quietly slinked back to the center of the room.

Sidon could barely hear their voices through the door, even as he pressed his whole face against it. But while he couldn't make out exact words, he could definitely tell that they were bickering in whispers just as harsh as if they were screaming at each other. He could only guess what the silent Estuu was doing during all of this, most likely just hiding behind his brother while scowling at Betaal, like usual.

The voices quickly grew louder and louder until Sidon could practically feel the wooden door shaking from their intense shouting. When there was sudden silence followed by the loud clanging of metal clashing against each other, he immediately realized that maybe it wasn't a good idea to lock three of the Domain's best fighters into the same room as each other.

Shit. He should have at least taken their weapons away first.

;

Betaal walked behind Prince Sidon, trying not to limp too much and show just how badly Brivere had injured her a few days before. While he was definitely still an asshole, she at least had to acknowledge how skilled he was with a longsword, especially since it wasn’t a common weapon among Zora soldiers.

She was satisfied to at least see him doing the same, as the Oracle Knight stumbled around next to her. Not one of the trio were speaking as they walked through the woods surrounding the Domain. They were overseeing several groups of soldiers who were combing the woods for monsters to make the roads safer for travelers.

Suddenly Prince Sidon stopped walking, making her and Brivere scramble to not bump into him. “I am going to rejoin the group led by Guard Captain Bazz just up ahead. Estuu is with them on my command to help them find any bokoblin bases. You two stay here on stakeout until I return or you receive word saying otherwise.”

“What, is this another ploy to get us to talk to each other and get along again?” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It clearly backfired when Sidon stared back at her with a hard gaze. “No. I gave up on doing that after last time. To be quite honest, I am extremely disappointed.” the prince said curtly. “I feel ashamed to bring either of you around the other soldiers because of your behavior. It makes me wonder if I should regret either of you being placed into these positions.”

His words stung, sure, but Betaal couldn’t fathom why Brivere looked absolutely devastated at Sidon’s harsh statement. Perhaps he was weaker than she had initially assumed.

With that, Prince Sidon turned and walked away. The two of them watched his large red form weave through the trees and eventually catch up to Guard Captain Bazz’s group. They were now alone with each other in a grass clearing with nothing else but the bright moon that hung above them.

They aggressively started a camp fire. Rather, they argued about the right way to position the logs, and then how to actually start a fire, then Betaal accused Brivere of trying to freeze her to death with his inability to get a spark going and he just glared back at her when the fire suddenly roared to life.

She rolled her one eye. “What, am I supposed to be impressed? I had to do this all the time when I was in charge at Fort Boko! I bet you and your brother have never had to even light a candle before.”

“First off, Estuu and I lived in poverty for nearly a century,” he said, the blazing fire behind him almost as hot as the heat rising in his chest. “We are both well aware of how to make a fire because it was the only way we could stay warm. Second off, I do not understand why you hate us so much!”

Betaal cringed. “I do not hate you two.” she lied politely.

The Oracle Knight threw his hands into the air, clearly fed up at this point. “Oh bullshit!”

She gaped back. Brivere was always so professional to the point that she was pretty sure that he always had a silver scale spear stuck up his golden ass. “I despise people who deny their hatred when it is so clear,” he spat.  “I have had to put up with it for too long from everyone else and I will not tolerate it anymore by the likes of you.”

“Oh really?” she hissed back. “And what exactly makes you think that you and your brother deserve my respect? He shot my eye out! I lost the tournament because of that!”

A frustrated sigh erupted out of Brivere as he tugged on his long forefins. “I am aware of my brother’s actions. I have already apologized, and I will continue to apologize for them. But as I have already told you, I did not put him up to it. I would never cheat for something that I wanted, as satisfaction only comes from truly earning something with one’s own skill.”

His voice dropped as he looked at her through the slits of his visor, regret clear in his deformed eyes. “I thought that I had conveyed my sincerest apologies when I tried to give you the position all those years ago.”

“I don’t remember it that way.” she snapped back.

Brivere arched his brow at her, still forgetting that such gestures couldn’t be seen by others due to his visor. “Really? How do you remember it?”

She hummed and closed her eye. The last round of that cursed tournament was one of the worst days of her life, so she tended to block it out. But she dragged it out from the depths of her mind if only to show Brivere the true impact of his actions.

It took a few minutes before she let out a loud sigh and slumped back against the grass. “I remember walking into the arena with my head held high, not wanting anyone to think that I was trying to hide my eye patch. I remember you standing on the other side of the platform, clearly pitying me. I remember you not even fighting back until I had to call you out on your bullshit.” Her fists balled next to her sides, clenched in anger. “And I remember you humiliating me in front of my own people who wanted me to win for their sake, and all of the people who expected me to fail just for being from the Undercity.”

Brivere silently sat there, clearly unsure of what to say. Eventually, he spoke up in a soft voice. “I am sorry. I didn’t know that you saw it that way.”

“Sure,” she grunted. “You elites are all the same. You act without thinking about what the hell those of us under your thumbs are going through.”

The golden knight’s face pinched tighter in frustration. “I wasn’t even considered worthy of living in society until a few months ago when I became nothing but a tool for the elite that you claim I am part of.”

“And even back then, you were still considered higher than me!” she shouted, shooting into an upright position. Her one eye stared back at him, boring a hole through his visor. “Don’t you see?! Undercity Zora like me are so far below the rest of you!”

“Then maybe you should not get so hung up on useless titles and statuses!”

Her hands flew into the air in frustration. “You really don’t get it!” she laughed. There was not a trace of humor in her breath, however. “I have to work for those titles! It’s the only way I can be even be seen as worthy to live by those stuck up pompous assholes! It’s the only way I can survive!”

“Do not speak to me as if I do not understand!” he shouted in her face, baring his sharp teeth. “You know of the controversy that used to surround my family. I am well aware of how much titles matter in society, but at least I have learned that there is more to life than bending over backwards for the very people that will dispose of you the second you aren’t useful anymore!”

A strangled growl clawed its way out of her throat. “Don’t act like you’re suddenly wiser and smarter than me because of your fancy new powers! YOU DON’T GET ANYTHING!”

The two of them were now panting for breath as they glared each other down. They were absolutely daring the other Zora to make the next accusation, to stab the next painful word through the other’s heart, but nothing came of it. Eventually they lost their steam and fell back onto the grass, slowly curling up into themselves. The woods continued to be quiet, other than the occasional howl of a monster too far away to be a threat.

Betaal was the first to break the sudden silence that had washed over them. “You seriously can’t expect me to believe that you are above titles when you clearly adhere to them so well.”

He glared at her through the slits of his silver visor. “And what has misled you to that conclusion?”

“How about the fact that you made up your new position of Oracle Knight?”

“I thought I already explained this to you back in the barracks months ago,” he groaned. “First off, the Oracle Knight and First Knight hold the same status, so it is not as if I gained anything. I would dare to say that you have more power than me, since you have control of the prince’s soldiers and I do not unless he tells me otherwise.”

Betaal deflated a bit at this, realizing he was right. “Then why do it?”

“I already told you. Goddess, were you not listening back at the barracks?”

“Sorry, I’ve learned to tune you out for years now.”

A slow, deep sigh hissed out of Brivere as he held his hands together in prayer and pressed them to his face. “Dear Hylia above please give me strength.”

The First Knight rolled her eye. “Cut the theatrics and just tell me why you made such an arbitrary title for yourself.”

“Fine.” he said curtly. “As I have stated before, I simply wanted to pledge my bloodline’s loyalty to the royal family. As my father was dedicated to King Dorephan, I am to Prince Sidon, and I know that our ability to see the future will be passed down and continue through a strong line of knights who wish to do the same for their generation of the next ruler.”

Betaal sighed. “Yeah, but don’t you think that’s a little much? Everyone already thinks that it’s weird that you and Sidon are together so often.”

She flinched when Brivere suddenly shot up, his eyes clearly wild even through the narrow slits of his visor. “We do not stay together too much!” he cried out.

Propping herself onto her elbows, she arched her brow at the flustered Oracle Knight. “No, you guys totally do. You think that I don’t find it insulting every time

His mask of indifference was cracking, letting her see the panic writhing underneath. “I do no such thing!” Brivere said, unconvincingly. She stared at him in confusion, completely lost as to what suddenly made him so anxious.

Wait.

The way he was so defensive at the smallest accusations, completely flushed at the mere question of his relation to Sidon…

It reminded Betaal of herself.

Realization dawned on her. “You and Prince Sidon are dating?!” she shrieked before she could control herself.

Brivere yelped and gripped onto the grass around him. “N-no! It is not what you think! I assure you that it is much more complicated!” he exclaimed.

“Bullshit!” Betaal shouted, scooting right next to him. She absolutely enjoyed the embarrassed way he squirmed in place.

Stabbing a clawed finger at his chest, she giddily asked “How long has it been?”

He didn’t respond. Although she had a surprising soft spot for romance, that did not excuse her suddenly becoming too pushy, especially considering their tense relationship with each other. And that was putting it lightly. She pulled her finger back and awkwardly sat next to him, their scales shining from the warm fire blazing just in front of them.

A couple of minutes passed before the silence was broken by his soft voice. “Over a year.”

Her head whipped to the side to stare at Brivere, stunned. “Seriously?! For that long?!”

His golden tail shyly bobbed as he nodded. “Yes. We have kept it secret for many reasons, which I am not completely comfortable sharing without his consent.” Although she wanted to ask for more details, it was a reasonable restriction.

He still caught the conflicted look on her face and chuckled, much to her surprise. She had never seen him actually happy before. She hadn’t even known that he was capable of feeling such a thing. “I will tell you, however, that one of the many problems with our relationship is the power dynamic. He technically holds a lot of power over me as my prince, but I assure you that we see each other on equal terms.”

Hesitating, he tilted his head towards Betaal so that she could see his deformed eyes through the slits of his visor. The strong light of the fire illuminated not just the strange condition of his eyes, but also the broken man that was hiding underneath all of the extravagant jewelry and armor.

“Can you please promise me that you will not tell anyone of this?” he said in a desperate, pleading whisper that tugged at her heart. “Aside from Estuu and Link, Prince Sidon is all that I have. I cannot imagine a world where all three of them did not exist alongside me.”

Betaal hummed and slowly nodded. “I can do you one better,” she said, piquing Brivere’s interest. “In exchange for your confession, I will give you one of my own.”

As much as she didn’t want to, she had pressured Brivere into confessing something he was clearly uncomfortable with. And on top of that, it was something that was a secret, something that could possibly ruin his career. So it was only fair if she did the same.

She took in a deep breath and stared into the flickering fire in front of them. Its warmth reminded her of the special one in her heart. “I am dating another soldier named Dunma, who was recently promoted to my right hand in command.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Both of them sat in silence. Eventually, Brivere spoke up. “Does anyone else know about this?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“I am sorry. Obviously, I know how it feels.”

“It’s alright. I just wouldn’t dare to tell anyone for the same reasons you and Sidon haven’t.” She laughed. “Power dynamics, what a bitch, right?”

Brivere surprisingly snorted and replied, “What a bitch.”

Betaal thought about how easily they were talking now despite being at each other’s throats for the last few years, more so over just this month alone. And then she cringed, remembering the results of such hostility.

“Hey…” she said slowly. “I’m sorry.”

Brivere looked at her, his lips slightly parted in surprise. “For what?”

“You know, all of the fighting. Sidon’s clearly pissed at us. I’m sorry if I accidentally ruined whatever you guys have. I can’t imagine a world without my Dunma.”

He sighed and leaned back into the grass. “Then can we agree to stop fighting every time we see each other?”

“Sure.”

“Then I accept your apology.”

Both of them were now reclined on the ground, faces turned to each other, both out of the desire for company and to also not lay directly on their head fins and cause muscle cramps later. The warmth of the fire lapped at their feet as the cool night air washed over the rest of their bodies.

Brivere’s voice softly made its way over to her. “I apologize for the way I acted at the tournament all those years ago. I had no idea that you perceived me that way. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it is now clear that I didn’t.”

She sighed and closed her eye. “I mean- sure. Yeah, it’s cool. But I want to know what the hell you were thinking, not fighting back against me.”

“I assure you that it was not out of pity. I could never look down on such an admirable fighter.” At this she jokingly scoffed back, swatting the compliment away with one hand. “I am serious!” Brivere laughed. “There is a reason why you have become so popular within our army and eventually earned the title of First Knight. You are extremely talented in battle.”

“Are you going to get to your point or are you going to finish sucking my dick first?” Betaal teased.

Brivere gasped at her vulgarity and she laughed at how flustered he got. “Right right, sorry, forgot that you only do that to our beloved prince.”

“BETAAL!”

“Geez, you’re too sensitive. But seriously, continue.”

The golden knight would have rolled his eyes, but even that slight movement caused him pain in his current condition. He tried to convey the gesture through his exasperated words. “I didn’t fight back because I thought that it would make up for my brother’s actions. Everyone already hated me so much because of the controversy surrounding both of us, and the arrow incident seemed to push them all over the edge. I thought that I didn’t deserve the position of First Knight if I could be so easily shaken by their words, but I learned to put up a stoic front to at least take away their satisfaction from hurting me.”

His voice suddenly became low as he tried to find the right words. “I figured that if everyone wanted you to win because of their hatred of me, then I might as well give in to it. I didn’t want to bring shame to Prince Sidon. I wanted to give you the position in exchange for the loss of your eye, I suppose.”

“And you didn’t think about how I could possibly see that as you pitying me or looking down on my misfortune?”

“I never would have imagined that it could be misconstrued in that way. I am so sorry that I was too misguided to realize it.”

Betaal sighed. “Promise to never do something like that again?”

“You have my word.”

“Then I accept your apology.”

They lay there, listening to the quiet woods around them. Neither of them knew exactly what got into them after a few moments of silence. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe neither of them cared anymore. Maybe it was the relief that they had finally cleared up some misunderstandings, and they were hoping to clear up some more.

Whatever the reason, they slowly began talking.

Betaal relayed her struggle as an Undercity Zora, constantly trying to prove that she was worth far more than the snotty elites above her deemed her to be. She joked that her father wanted her to be a scholar, since a higher education was definitely uncommon among her people, but she couldn’t help but become the living stereotype of an Undercity brawler. The battlefield just kept calling to her too much to stay away. As harsh as it was, war was her home, the one place where she could be herself and actually feel that her life actually had some sort of inherent worth, even when everyone above her said otherwise.

In exchange, Brivere told her about the hardships he had had to endure because of his father’s hasty marriage on the battlefield over a century ago. Despite being able to see the future and knowing that he would die, Prion had still left him and his mother alone in the world with no evidence of his love for them. As a result, both were stripped of nobility status and his mother had been taken advantage of by Zambezi in her grieving state. The only good thing to come out of it was his beloved brother Estuu, who may have acted a bit differently and required more care than most kids, but had been, and still was, extremely cute and intelligent.

At least, that was his younger brother that he was describing, so Brivere was definitely biased.

Betaal cringed at that part but decided to hold her own opinions aside. After all, the kid did shoot her eye out and still presented no explanation as to why. Then again, he was mute, but still. She continued to listen anyways, feeling her heart begin to soften towards the brothers as Brivere’s story continued.

She caught the way Brivere’s breath hitched when he hesitated before speaking about how his mother had killed herself because of all of the mockery that she endured. It had happened when he had simply been asked to take Estuu out to practice archery, and they came back to find their dead mother floating in their poisoned cistern. Brivere was left alone to take care of a child, but he was just a child as well.

And then all he had was Estuu and all Estuu had was him.

He had clawed his way up to First Knight to try and regain some sense of dignity and also to support the two of them. And now here he was as Oracle Knight, nothing more than a tool for the elite to use for their own desires.

Sure, Betaal had heard his story many times before. It was definitely tragic and complicated, but the full extent of how bad it was had never hit her when it was just rumors spread around the barracks by soldiers in-between sparring sessions. As she sat there listening to the man who had actually went through it all, she could see the pain in his eyes that the others had written off as weakness or joked about right in front of him.

And in-between each of their stories they kept saying sorry to each other. The apologies became less about their own wrong doings against the other and more about the regret they felt for the other Zora experiencing such hardship.

As the night stretched on and the fire began to burn itself out, the topic of difficult pasts shifted to amazing victories on the battlefield and other fond memories. They found that they actually had more in common than they initially thought. It ranged from strong ties, like their shared hatred for the upper class that looked down on them, to smaller, more mundane things, like their shared enjoyment over The Cursed Girl series. Brivere admitted that he hadn’t really read the series but knew about most of it since his younger brother had completely memorized the books and sometimes used it as a means of communication. This impressed Betaal, and Estuu became a bit more bearable to her in that aspect.

Somehow, the conversation turned to insecurities, along with whispers of praise and encouragement to the other Zora, trying to assure the other that they shouldn’t be afraid or that they had more worth than they gave themselves credit for. They could sense each other come close to tears several times and said nothing if the other had to pause and sniffle or wipe at their face.

Both of them were terrified of failure. Of becoming useless and unworthy of simply being alive. Of losing the Zora that they loved the most in the world. Brivere even admitted to how he was sharing Prince Sidon with the Hylian Champion Link and Betaal didn’t even bat her eye. If anything, she just teased him about it, asking if he felt something for the Hylian as well and shrieking with laughter when he couldn’t answer.

The moon shone brightly above them, now the only source of light as the fire had died long ago. They were quietly gasping for breath, throats and minds completely exhausted from hours of talking about things that they had never told anyone else.

Betaal’s one eye met Brivere’s deformed ones hidden behind his visor. A silent message passed between them as their peculiar eyes became heavy, promising to still be on their guard and protect one other should anything try to attack them in their sleep.

;

“Do not rest until they are found!” Prince Sidon shouted to his men.

“Yes sir!” the soldiers shouted back in unison.

He nervously watched as they dispersed, each guard looking behind every tree and disappearing to search further into the woods. When he had left his First and Oracle Knights yesterday to join another group of soldiers, Sidon had never anticipated how long it would take. He had only intended to be gone for a few hours in order to regain his composure after accidentally lashing out with a venomous tongue. Brivere had reacted as if the prince had just run his spear through his chest, but Sidon left his lover behind anyways like a coward.

And now he worried that their relationship would be ruined over such careless words. The same thing had happened a long time ago, when Brivere had been sick with the Water Blight and had said harsh things to Sidon. He remembered how broken he himself had become over such statements. It had taken forever for them to come back from that, and it was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to be in a relationship now. But as much as Brivere hated to admit it, he was softer at heart and much more emotionally fragile than Sidon was. He was just much better at hiding it.

That wasn’t the only thing that worried Sidon. When they had finally returned from destroying a Bokoblin base, he had realized that he didn’t actually know where he had left Betaal and Brivere the night before. The woods were extremely vast and had no landmarks that made anything stand out. It was just a sea of trees with monsters lurking inside, making Sidon realize that they had wandered too far, and now he had no idea where his two knights could be.

Sidon shook off his worries and helped search the forest, trying to make himself useful. Shouts of Brivere and Betaal’s names by other soldiers were the only things he could hear over the heavy pounding of his heart. But even as he tried to occupy his mind with scanning the woods for his knights, he couldn’t help but think of every possible scenario imaginable.

What if the two of them had gotten ambushed by raiders? A member of the Yiga Clan? A whole group of Yiga Clan members? A Hinox? A hoard of monsters? What if they had gotten lost or injured? What if they were… dead?

A shudder passed through Sidon. What if they had finally had enough of each other and had drawn their weapons out? What if they were both dead from the fight? After all, both of them had proven themselves to be two of the most talented fighters in the domain. No, what if one of them had accidentally killed the other and ran away, trying to escape imprisonment?

He didn’t notice that he was practically sprinting through the woods now. The only thing that would ease his anxieties would be if he could actually find them.

A blur of scarlet suddenly crashed into him. Whatever it was, it was much smaller than him, but the surprise of the attack knocked him to the ground. He quickly positioned his spear so that it was threateningly pointed at his opponent.

Estuu stared back at him, unamused.

“Oh!” Sidon said sheepishly, lowering his weapon. “I apologize, Holy Knight. But then again, that isn’t the best way to get the attention of someone who is on edge.”

When Estuu just glared back Sidon remembered that the younger Zora couldn’t talk. For all he knew, Estuu could have actually been trying to get his attention for a while now and he had just been too distracted to notice. The prince cleared his throat in an attempt to save face. “Nevermind that. Is there something you wish to report to me?”

The younger Zora tugged onto Sidon’s silver bracelet and pointed behind him. When the prince just arched his brow in confusion, Estuu sighed and let go. He then used his only hand to cover one eye and after a pause used his flattened fingers to cover both of them, raising them up and down like a visor.

Sidon immediately perked up. “You have found Betaal and Brivere?!”

Estuu nodded and grabbed back onto Sidon’s bracelet, trying to pull the prince along. He obliged, obediently following the scarlet Zora through the woods.

The sight would have looked comical to anyone else, a child dragging around a fully-grown Prince like a beloved toy. In any other situation, Sidon would have laughed at how ridiculous this was, but his heart was tearing itself apart as feelings of relief and anxiety battled in his chest. The two of them silently weaved through the trees. But as their walk stretched on, the only thing on his mind was the state of his knights, each possible outcome getting worse and worse with each passing second.

He was so caught up in his growing panic that he didn’t even notice that Estuu had stopped and was now staring at him. Sidon only snapped out of it when a strangled growl escaped the small Zora’s throat as he waved his only arm to a grass clearing right in front of them.

The prince nearly had a heart attack on the spot. Laying in the grass were both of his knights, completely motionless.

Sidon wrestled out of Estuu’s grasp and accidentally knocked the tiny Zora aside when he ran towards his fallen friends. “BRIVERE! BETAAL!” he screamed.

To his shock, both of them shot up onto their feet and had their weapons pointed at him in the blink of an eye. As he stumbled and fell over, he couldn’t tell if he was more relieved to see that they were actually alive or scared that they might attack him any second.

Luckily, it was the former. “My lord!” Brivere shouted, lowering his weapon as he ran to Sidon’s side. “I am so sorry! You caught us by surprise in our slumber!”

Sidon was so happy that Brivere was still alive and apparently not mad at him that he pulled the golden knight into a tight embrace on top of him. He didn’t care that Betaal was still standing there, although he was confused when an amused smirk danced across her lips.

Both of them quickly pulled apart and Brivere quickly got back onto his feet, holding a hand out to help him up. Sidon grasped onto it more out of a need to physically feel his lover’s presence and to assure himself that he was truly there than because he needed help. He then turned to both of his knights, a sorrowful look on his face. “I am deeply sorry for leaving the two of you alone for so long. I did not anticipate running into a hoard of bokoblins, and I spent the night with Guard Captain Bazz and his men trying to get rid of them at their base. We have all been looking for you for hours.”

He was relieved when his knights simply nodded in response. “I apologize for the trouble, my lord.” Brivere said, bowing his head. Betaal laughed and smacked a hand onto the golden knight’s back.

Sidon tensed up, anticipating a fight. But, to his surprise, Brivere just chuckled in return as he straightened up. The First Knight then stepped forward, eyeing Sidon with an amused gaze.

“It’s alright your Highness. Everything turned out fine,” Betaal said, patting him on the arm as she passed. Then she paused and looked over her shoulder, grinning at Brivere. “I’m going to go around and get the other soldiers to stop their search. I’ll take the part of the woods west of here and you take the east?”

Brivere nodded with a slight smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Cool.” Betaal looked back at Sidon and blinked, but the way she did it suggested that she was actually trying to wink at him. “Don’t slack off. I know you want some alone time with your Oracle Knight, but actually try and search for any wandering soldiers. Send them all back to the barracks when you find them so that this doesn’t stretch on for too long.”

He was too stunned to argue. “Uh- um, I… Ok. Yes, sure.”

With a nod to both of them, Betaal walked through the trees and out of sight. Estuu waved and pointed in her direction, scurrying off before either of them could say otherwise.

Now that they were alone, Sidon ogled his First Knight. “What in Hylia’s name did I miss?” he asked.

A rare laugh escaped Brivere’s taut lips. “I assure you not much, my lord.” the golden knight said as he held his hand out to lightly grab onto Sidon’s. “Shall we look around and tell the other soldiers that the First Knight and I are safe?”

Numbly, Sidon nodded, and the confusion sloshing around inside of him melted into affection as he and his lover walked away hand in hand. Of course, when they came across other guards they had to quickly pull apart. But the feelings of affection still remained.

;

The first few days after the incident in the woods were awkward as Sidon tried to adjust to his knights’ sudden change in behavior.

No one could explain why the two seemed to be so much calmer now. The other soldiers and palace workers still left the room out of habit when one of the knights would enter while the other was in there, but they would peer behind the entryway and be surprised to find that the two of them would just be politely chatting with each other.

It was also strange to see two of the most powerful and strongest warriors in the Zora Domain suddenly be so casual. This was especially because Betaal tended to act tough to cover up how she struggled being the only Undercity soldier in the palace, and Brivere had always been known for his infamous resting bitch face and spear-up-his-ass attitude. So, it completely shocked everyone when the First Knight would often lean over and whisper something to the Oracle Knight and they would immediately start cackling. Genuine smiles and bouts of laughter became less rare, and Sidon was finally enjoying his role as a prince again.

Although Betaal had clearly not completely forgiven Estuu yet, it was obvious that she had at least warmed up to him a bit. Some swore that they saw her quietly sitting with the younger Zora in the royal library, both of them completely engrossed in the same book that they had read so many times before. Guard Captain Bazz even claimed that he once witnessed her follow Estuu when he ran away to have a meltdown, presumably comforting him by the way he quickly recovered and came back. But if anyone asked Betaal, she always denied it and no one was certain if she was actually joking or not.

Now that they all got along, it was an absolute joy to have the three of them be Sidon’s personal knights. To him, it was just like having old friends be your coworkers, and his dull duty as prince became much more bearable as a result.

They even often had contests during boring council meetings to see who could get away with the most outrageous and funny gestures without the other stuffy old council members noticing. No one knew who had started it, but Estuu was the reigning champion because he had somehow managed to sneak behind King Dorephan’s shoulder and stick his tongue out without anyone else batting an eye. They had to tone it down after Sidon burst out laughing while a council member was reading about the soldier fatality rates and funeral procedures.

Prince Sidon had always known that his three soldiers had had difficult pasts. Each of them had never been expected to make it to their high positions. Everyone held them down and told them that they were worthless, and complained that they must have cheated to become his personal knights for the sole purpose of mooching off of his power.

But Sidon knew better than that. His knights had fought back against society’s designated roles for each of them, taking what was rightfully theirs with the intention of protecting the very people that had tormented them for years. Brivere, Estuu, and Betaal were very admirable in his eyes, refusing to stick to an oppressive class system or listen to anyone’s harsh tongue and instead, choosing to fight for what was right.

And, as he proudly stood by his father’s throne, three of the Zora Domain’s toughest and most fearsome warriors kneeling right beside him, Prince Sidon couldn’t help but hope that he could rule his kingdom the very same way his knights acted when the time came.

[bl-bam-beyond]

HIDDEN AGENDA (2023, THAILAND)

Episode 8 Post 2 of 3

Zo (NATACHAI BOONPRASERT aka DUNK) is nervous but decides he's ready to move forward with Joke (ARCHEN AYDIN aka JOONG) in a more intimate relationship.

@pose4photoml @lutawolf

[k-llama-llama]

Don’t Eat That!

Monsta X AU: 8th member

Zoey x Monsta X

Zoey goes out for lunch with Seventeen’s rap unit.

A/N: What do you think! Your feedback makes my hands type faster (proven by science)

A/N: no links in my posts until tumblr sorts itself out.DM me or head over to my ask box!

Please submit your requests to my Ask Box!

“I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve just gone out for a day.” Wonwoo said as they settled into their chairs at the restaurant.

“Probably because we never have a day off.” Mingyu laughed.

“Just be glad we had time to go out and eat.” Seungcheol reminded them. “So we need to remember to eat lots.”

“You guys don’t mind if I invite someone to join us, right?” Vernon asked, looking down at his phone.

“Sure, who do you want to invite?” Mingyu asked.

Vernon smiled slightly. “Zoey mentioned that she also had the day off, so I invited her to come eat with us.”

“You invited Zoey?” Seungcheol almost knocked over the water pitcher. “To come here?”

“Yup.” Vernon said with a smug smile. “And she’s only about ten minutes away.”

“You going to be okay, hyung?” Wonwoo observed as Seungcheol tried to straighten out his shirt and tidy up some spilled water.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” His voice went high on the end.

“Yeah, you sound find.” Vernon rolled his eyes. “She says she’s here.”

He waved down the waiter and told him to bring Zoey to the back room where they were eating.

“Did we order already?” Seungcheol asked, trying to distract himself.

“Yes, it’s a set menu.” Wonwoo answered. “Just calm down.”

A little knock sounded on the door, and they all stood as Zoey entered.

You could tell it was her day off; she was wearing flats, a simple black t-shirt dress and a jean jacket that hung a little loose on her frame and probably belonged to one of the other members of Monsta X.

“Hi!” She exclaimed as soon as she entered the room. “How are you guys?”

“We’re good.” Mingyu answered with a smile, returning the hug that Zoey offered.

She turned to Wonwoo next, giving him a tight squeeze as well. Zoey was a very affectionate person, and Seventeen had quickly learned that a hug from Zoey meant that she really liked you. And if she liked you, she would hug you a lot.

“Thanks for inviting me,” She said as she hugged Vernon. “I feel like I haven’t seen you guys in forever.”

“Yeah, it’s nice seeing you.” He grinned.

She moved around the table and wrapped her arms around Seungcheol. He hesitated only a second before hugging her back, though the other boys all noticed.

“It is really nice to see you guys.” She said, smiling warmly. “Should we sit?”

They all sat down, with Zoey finding a spot at the low table right next to Seungcheol. Her shoes had been removed as she stepped into the room, and she fiddled with her sitting position so as to keep her dress in place.

Seungcheol timidly pushed his jacket her way. She gave him a kind smile and spread it over her legs, allowing her to sit more comfortably as they waited for food.

“What have you been up to, Zo?” Wonwoo asked.

She shrugged. “We finished Shoot Out promotions yesterday, so we’re taking a few days break. I am working on a new song though, and I think it’s going to be a collab.”

“Ohhh, who with?” Mingyu asked curiously.

Zoey took a sip of her water. “I think you guys know her, actually. Tori? From Stray Kids? She mentioned that she knew Dino, I figured she’d know the rest of you as well.”

Seungcheol nodded. “We’ve met them a few times. She’s really nice.”

“She’s the sweetest.” Zoey agreed. “And she’s super talented. I can’t wait to work with her.”

The waiter brought in some side dishes and set them out on the table, letting them know that food would be arriving shortly.

Zoey clapped her hands. “I haven’t been out for real Korean food in so long. We’ve just been ordering take-out to all of the music shows.”

“This place is really good.” Vernon told her. “We love coming here, they have really good chicken.”

“Spicy?” She asked hopefully.

“The spiciest.” Mingyu promised. “But there’s also noodles and dumplings, so there will be lots to eat.”

She grinned. “I am actually so hungry right now. I’m so glad you guys called me.”

The food arrived on several steaming platters, and soon they were left alone in the room with piles of food in front of them.

Zoey reached right for the chicken, taking a small bite to see how it would taste.

“Mmm!” She exclaimed. “It’s so good. You guys were right!”

They all dug in, munching on the different foods in content silence.

Zoey noticed a plate of noodles that she hadn’t tried yet, and picked some up with her chopsticks. They were still steaming, so she held them up and blew on them to cool them down.

A hand smacked hers, sending the chopsticks and the noodles flying. She barely had time to register what was happing before someone was vigorously wiping her face with a napkin.

“Yah, what are you doing?” Vernon exclaimed.

Zoey pushed back the hand to see Seungcheol holding the napkin. “Oppa? What are you doing?”

“It’s fried in peanut oil, Zo!” He exclaimed. “You didn’t eat any, did you? Do you have your epi-pen?”

It dawned on Zoey what had happened. She shook her head. “That was going to be my first bite. I didn’t have any.”

“Oh my god, I didn’t even think of that.” Wonwoo wiped up the discarded noodles and put the lid back on the pot. “When the waiter comes back we’ll have him take it out.”

Zoey held a hand to her lips in shock. “I didn’t even realize. It’s a good thing you did,” She said to Seungcheol. “I didn’t bring my epi-pen.”

“You had an allegoric reaction and were hospitalized last month.” He scolded. “You couldn’t remember to bring you epi-pen?”

Zoey shook her head with a laugh. “You’re worse than Shownu and Kihyun. It’s in my purse, but it didn’t go with this outfit so I left it at home.”

“Still,” Seungcheol said. “You need to be careful.”

“I will.” She promised with a smile. “Anyways, thank you. We’d be in a lot of trouble if you hadn’t noticed.”

He nodded slightly.

“Am I cleared to eat the rest of the food? Because that chicken is worth dying for.” She teased.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t joke about dying. And yes, you can eat the rest of the food.”

“Yeah, Zo,” Vernon said. “If you die with us, Shownu’s going to kill us.”

“That sounds like a you-problem.” She mumbled through a mouthful of chicken.