#and ofc he doesn’t like humans but you grow on him and he reluctantly leaves shells and other things on the beach for you to find

[sleepymarimo]

*takes my first sip of caffeine for the day*

my brain: merman toji?

lowkey inspired by this art I stumbled upon yesterday!!

[kittydemon9000]

SO MERLOPIAN KAI PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

So, with Kalmaar, he ofc immediately goes to his parents about his feeling, slightly placing his revenge on hold. They are...dubious about it, but Maya raises the point of how there has never been a human/merlopian hybrid before, and from what Ray has told them about having two EM parents it’s possible for Kai to have some water abilities himself, which could be what gave Kalmaar his feeling. So, they agree to look into it.

Moving on..... Uh. Kai doesn’t have a fun time in S6, as briefly as he’s there. You see, Nahdakahn knows exactly what buttons to press and is able to get Kai into a panicked state where he, on the verge of a panic attack and mental breakdown, just says “I wish that I could just be normal! I wish I could just go home! I wish I could be with dad and mom and father and Kal and Bentho and Nya!!!”

The “normal” comment comes from how they weren’t able to completely hide Kai’s heritage since yeah, there were other people on the boat who saw him. That and he also tried a lot less to keep it hidden. And because some humans are assholes, he has to deal with that.

So ofc, Nahdakahn interprets it in the worst ways and as two wishes. Kai is now a full human yes….but was also sent to where the fish fam currently were……which just so happened to be at the bottom of the ocean.

So yeah, double trauma for both groups. Kai got to experience what drowning felt like, and his fam was essentially forced to watch him die since there was nothing they could do. They were too far under to take him to the surface and too far from the palace to take him there.

But dw, it gets even worse.

You see, the whole reason Nahdakahn is being this malicious about Kai’s wishes is because he learned that Kai was the reason the Preeminent was destroyed, thereby destroying Djinjago.

Nahdakahn is then able to do a “oh? Is this not what you wanted? I thought you wished to be normal.” Which ofc sounds really bad since it’s in front of his family. “But, I understand. You grow tired of the stares in the street, how they whisper behind you back about what you are. Not human, not merlopian, not normal. Just a freak masquerading as one of them.”

This ofc supremely pisses off the fam. Like, weapons drawn ready to commit murder.

But then Nahdakahn stop them with a “ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. After all, I am the only way your son has a chance at living. So go ahead. Make a wish.”

Trimaar ends up being the one to do it, and is smart enough to know this uh will twist it in anyway he can so says. “I wish for Kai to be sent safely to the surface without harm done upon him.”

Blah blah blah, your wish is yours to keep, Trimaar realizing “wait there’s a lot that could be interpreted” but too late BAM now Kai’s kinda stuck on the Misfortune’s Keep.

And he....generally has a pretty bad time. Think Jay but this time it’s personal.

However, Kai’s appearance had Trimaar get the Merlopian army and start heading to the surface. The remaining ninja have a brief moment of “are you kidding me two enemies at once” before learning that this is Kai’s lost family and they’re here to help.

So now the ninja have a whole ass fish army to help them, plus a very protective, very angry fish family.

But for the rest of canon, the only difference is that when they’re leaving Tiger Widow Island, Nya gets snatched along with Jay(who was taken because he hadn’t used his wish yet) and they aren’t stuck on the island, and then later that Kai gets sucked into the sword when the ninja launch their rescue mission.

But yeah, it gets all Un-Happened by Jay’s wish(which at seeing Kai physically hurt and being emotionally torn apart at his baby sister dying, wished that none of this ever happened and that Nahdakahn was never found), only like canon Nya and Jay still remember what happens.

Nya is now firmly on team Kai Is Alive and tells her parents everything about what happened and the wish Jay made, and more importantly where Kai is.

Unfortunately, they need to take some time and prepare. Trimaar and Maya have been doing their best over the years to open the populace possibly making bonds with the humans, but now it’s finally happening. They can’t just go up there out of no where, since from what Nya has told them 1) most humans don’t even know they exist and 2) in the past few years they have been subject of many attacks, mostly from non-humans, so they need to make sure the humans understand they don’t mean any harm.

So DotD happens, then the beginnings of S7 :)

Right out, Kai never liked the museum curator. Up to that point he’d only ever caught fleeting glimpse of him but something about him Kai just despised. As a result, he also visited the museum as scarcely as possible, and thus didn’t notice a very interesting painting containing a two very strange figures.

When he learns his name was Dr.Saunders.....things don’t go well.

It happened when Kai brought the helmet with his dad’s symbol on it. As much as he disliked the curator, he was the most likely to be able to recognize what kind of helmet it was.

Then in his anger he gets himself captured.

He’s taken to a special cell lined with vengestone and has guards around the clock, and Krux takes extra care to make sure Kai doesn’t know where Ray is.

ofc it’s around this time that the Merlopians arrive and express their wishes for a possible alliance between their two races. Unfortunately they showed up at literally the worst time, and double unfortunately the people in charge of diplomacy decide to bring some of the ninja in as an extra precaution because of the villains have been running around.

So the people who join the meeting are Lloyd and Jay from the ninja(they would’ve brought Kai but he hasn’t returned from his missions yet and isn’t answering their calls) as well as some police officers and from the Merlopians is the whole royal family plus a few guards.

Both Jay and Nya have a silent moment of staring at each other since “I know and I’m not sure you know but I think you know but I don’t want to say anything since you might not”

And just as they’re about to start, The Time Twins attack. Because why the hell not.

They’re actually able to hold them off for a while, but unfortunately there are too many Vermillion. Then Kalmaar whips out his Water Powers which causes him to get kidnapped since they need both Fire and Water masters for the blade.

While they’re recovering, Lloyd then gets a panicked call from Zane saying that he checked the museum footage and Kai has been captured. The gets overheard by the royal family, and then Lloyd asks why they looked so upset at which they learn(sans Jay since wish) that Kai is royalty. The eldest son actually, and thus first in line for the throne, as well as being presumed dead for the past five years.

So basically Krux has kidnapped the King and Queen’s husband, the crown prince, and the second in line prince(if anyone knows a more fancy term for this please let me know)

Maya, Trimaar, Nya and Benthomaar are not happy. Not with the Ninjagian people, no they’re fine, but they’re bout ready to murder Krux, and they don’t even know about Ray yet.

So they offer any help they can.

Zap back to how Kai and Kalmaar are doing.

Kalmaar is….kind feral tbh. Like, he’s biting, clawing, trying to strangle them with his tentacles, and before they got vengestone cuffs on him was trying very hard to drown anyone.

Ofc, this does little to the Vermillion and soon Kalmaar finds himself in the cell right next to Kai’s. He’s overjoyed to see his brother again, albeit upset that this is why.

They both reluctantly come to the conclusion that there isn’t much they can do at the moment, and there are many Vermillion guards right outside their cells, so they decide to start catching up.

And for pretty much the rest of the season canon is pretty much the same, just shuffle around the characters a bit and add a protective Fish Fam. 

Though their little trip back in time is quite sight for the Past EMs, especially because of how Kalmaar is using his powers, which leaves Kai mostly stuck in his Fish Form. This time they don��t even bother trying to explain, just give instructions on how to defeat the Vermillion and jumping into the battle. 

And I mean just imagine that from the EMs perspective. An enemy you thought you defeated just returned with a giant metal creature and an army of snake things that don’t look like any kind of Serpentine they’d ever seen. Then a shark person and squid person??? show up and not only do they know how to fight the snake things but they also seem to be Elemental Masters???? Despite the fact Ray is very much alive and they didn’t even know there was a Water EM. Then the two not only summon dragons but they also fuse their dragons into an even bigger one with two heads.

And then all of them disappear into the sky without a trace.

W i l d

But yeah, after that it calms down quite a bit. Kai spends the time skip before S8 reconnecting with his family and his dad, and through some tech courtesy of Borg they're able to bring Ray with them :D

And Kai actually goes to meet the Jade Royal Family since y’know. He’s the crown prince. He’s kinda important and legitimately forgot about it. Luckily Kalmaar is able to help coach Kai through it, but is also a bit smug about how he finally has something to teach to his older brother. Kai was actually the one who suggested asking the ninja for help protecting the mask.....but we know how that inevitably ends.

Bentho, Kal and Nya were actually on the ship for this particular adventure, and then Nya and Bentho were dragged along when they got sent to the First Realm. Bentho, despite being the youngest sibling and to the surprise of literally everyone, was actually really good with kids and spent the most time with Little Wu, right behind Cole.

But yeah S9......Nya and Bentho have a really bad time in the First Realm beause of the heat, but at least they don’t get captured. Kai on the other hand....

Yeah at some point he gets accidentally splashed with water and well.....it definitely doesn’t help with the Oni accusations. The Dragon Hunters decide to burn him along with the Wind Dragon, which moves up their Build Our Own Dragon time table.

After they escape Faith is actually pretty chill about the whole fish thing, but she does ask a lot of questions. 

And then S10..... kinda the same. They end up dropping off as many people as they can with the Merlopians since the smoke can’t reach them.

I might make a Part 3 for the rest of the seasons, but yeah. this is where we’re at.

[shima-draws]

OH HEWWO here’s the two new characters for ATS I’ve been gushing about nonstop!! Their refs have actually been done for quite a while, I wanted to draw more of them before I shared but I just got so excited I couldn’t wait!!

Their inspiration is probably pretty obvious lmao as stated several times by my pals but well, Albion’s been planned to look smth like that for a long time now so :’Dc

Albion’s on the top!! And Ikaia’s on the bottom!!

Their backgrounds and story details are under the cut, but be warned, it is LONG lol

Albion Kerrigan Age: ??? (Physically, early twenties) Hair color: Black and white Eye color: Black and white (Dual-user) Element: Light and Darkness

Remember when I introduced Edan and Valdis way waaaay back? Well, Albion is one of their companions--the Grandmaster of Light and Darkness! (His name was Alva previously, but I changed it.) He’s existed within Kishuniia for countless millennia, ever since that world was created. However, unlike his Grandmaster brethren he doesn’t like to play by their rules, and goes to interact with humans despite the fact that it’s strictly forbidden by Astraeus (the Grandmaster’s leader and the only existing tri-user (besides Kaz, who is a special case)). Because of his Grandmaster status, he serves as a pillar for Shima’s world, being an existence that keeps it thriving. If a Grandmaster were to be killed, the entire world would collapse instantly, for those seven pillars are needed to keep it functioning. And that is the reason why they conceal themselves from humans, spending thousands of years avoiding humanity or just in hibernation, and why Astraeus, being their leader, is so cautious about interacting with humans, who could easily abuse them for their power and unknowingly cause the world’s destruction.

Even so! Albion has always been an outsider within the Grandmaster group--not because he doesn’t get along with them (Edan’s his closest friend among them) but because he doesn’t like being tied down by their rules. Humans fascinate him and he’s always seeking knowledge on how they function and evolve, and he’s sorta inherited their mischief, always getting into trouble with people. But that’s just because he’s playful! Being a very curious and energetic person, he easily falls into misunderstandings, and also enjoys playing pranks on people lol

Astraeus is a really calm and laid back person, but with Albion they’re kinda strict--they pretty much act like a parental figure lmao and Albion HATES it. Astraeus kinda treats him like a kid, mostly because they don’t believe Albion is capable of understanding just how important of a being he is, being a god of this world, and it frustrates them. They’re quite protective of all of their Grandmaster allies, especially Albion since they know he attracts trouble and will disobey them no matter what they say. Albion’s constantly just like “Go away” and Astraeus is like “If I don’t keep an eye on you, who knows what will happen” so they’re just constantly arguing. Family squabble. Mkdmasdas

Ikaia Belcour Age: 23 Hair color: Blonde (very subtle pink gradient at the bottom) Eye color: Pinkish-red Element: Water

Ikaia is my newest baby...I would and can die for him...he’s a good soft boy that doesn’t allow any bullshit and pretty much does whatever he can to achieve his goals. He’s also trans!! 

He actually met Albion when he was 8 years old, after finding him collapsed in some bushes outside his house--apparently Albion had irritated some of the boys in town and gotten into a fight with them (but of course, he pulled his punches, letting them get out their anger and trying not to inflict too much damage). Ikaia then tended to his wounds and started asking all sorts of questions. Albion found him immensely entertaining. When Albion asked for his name, Ikaia hesitated because he didn’t like the name he was born with--so Albion gave him the name Ikaia, and he’s stuck with it ever since! 

Albion stays around town for a little while, and he slowly starts getting attached to Ika along the way. Ikaia, being the youngest of a large family, is ostracized by them, especially since they’re all gifted with elemental abilities and can use them brilliantly while he fails to master his powers of water. The only person who really cares for him is his older sister, but it’s hard for her to protect him when everyone else is essentially out to get him. Ikaia tells Albion he dreams of running away and being free from the ties of his family, and doesn’t have to put up with their misgendering and bad treatment of him. Ikaia excitedly suggests traveling with Albion, who sorta just goes with the flow and travels to wherever, being the adventurous type he is (which is smth Ikaia dreams of doing), and Albion jokingly says maybe he can one day.

By mistake Albion realizes that Ikaia’s elemental gifts lie more on the side of ice rather than just water--as elementals tend to specialize in different fields of their element, down to specific battle styles and practical uses. Once Ikaia discovers that he’s able to control his ability EASILY--he realizes he’s better at freezing things, developing a knack for it right away! Albion trains him a bit and teaches him a few Grandmaster tricks that only he knows. Ikaia excitedly goes home to show off to his family--they are proud at first, but immediately turn around and start using Ikaia for his powers, which makes him miserable. They also start noticing Ikaia hanging around Albion, which they find VERY suspicious, and punish Ikaia for meeting with him. Albion feels immensely guilty for getting Ikaia in trouble, and even worse, a very furious Astraeus shows up and berates Albion for interacting with humans, fearing that the secret of his Grandmaster status might leak.

Astraeus threatens to erase Ikaia’s memory of Albion, to which Albion protests, saying it isn’t fair to erase all the happy moments they had together just to preserve their secret. (Also they’d have to get Valdis to come do that who is like halfway across the world anyway.) Because of how close Ikaia and Albion had become, Astraeus says they won’t erase the child’s memory, but that Albion has to leave town and never look back, and forbids him from ever seeing Ikaia again lest Ikaia realizes that Albion’s immortal. At this point Albion’s been driven into a corner and can’t really oppose that decision, so he goes along with it, reluctantly, because he’d actually wanted to see the type of person Ikaia would grow up to be. 

Finally, Albion resolves to leave town. Ikaia is absolutely distraught, of course, not wanting to lose the only friend he has, and the person who’s taught him so much. Albion tearfully says he’ll come back one day, and Ikaia makes him promise to take him with on a journey across Kishuniia and show him everything he knows once he’s grown up and mature enough for the journey :’) Ofc this is a lie but Ikaia doesn’t know that;;

Years after Albion has left, Ikaia becomes stronger and trains more often to master his elemental abilities--and also lashes out more frequently against his family. At this point, he’s become a bitter sort of person, under his family’s control and the promise that Albion never came back to fulfill. His sister gives him encouragement but Ikaia tells her there’s no point in believing in lies, that Albion had probably just been humoring his childish fantasy. Still though, he finally leaves home at age 16--sick of his parents and siblings’ manipulation, he starts traveling around and participating in tournaments to hone his skills. 

And then, 15 years after Albion had left--Ikaia is in his early 20s at this point, and has become a renowned champion of local tournaments, going under the name “Ruka” because he doesn’t feel super comfortable using his actual name, especially because of how important it is to him, being the one big reminder of Albion he has. People refer to him as the “Frigid Prince” because of his use of ice and his cold personality lol. It’s at one of these tournaments that Albion stumbles upon him again, completely by accident 👀 Ikaia is shocked to see him from the audience and almost loses his match but he uses his irritation at Albion to win lol. He honestly thinks it was just a hallucination for a while, but he runs into Albion again outside of town--who had been avoiding meeting him--and just. Shit hits the FAN LMAO. Ikaia is absolutely FURIOUS at Albion for breaking his promise, and ofc is very confused as to why Albion still looks exactly the same. Albion refuses to reveal his identity as a Grandmaster, since he knows the truth would put Ikaia in danger with both Astraeus and any other humans looking to take advantage of them. But it becomes clear to Ikaia that Albion definitely doesn’t age, and probably isn’t human like he’d assumed--and he realizes that was the reason Albion never came back, and slowly but surely forgives him. (He’s still irritated for a long time after tho lmao)

With that said, Albion’s finally able to fulfill his promise and take Ikaia with him on a journey :’D They do a lot of catching up and they spar against each other occasionally, tho most of the time it ends in a draw since Albion’s afraid of hurting Ikaia despite the fact that Ika’s definitely strong enough to handle his blows lol. To Albion, Ikaia feels like an entirely different person, and it takes him a while to adapt to how snarky he’s become, and slowly begins to realize that Ikaia definitely doesn’t smile as much as he used to when he was a kid. (He then starts blaming himself for this drastic change in his friend, wondering if Ikaia’s become such a bitter person because of Albion’s “abandonment” of him.)

It takes a long time for Ikaia to finally start opening up to Albion, but when he does, and when he finally discovers Albion’s status as a Grandmaster--he resolves to protect Albion no matter what, and even stands up to Astraeus and challenges them to a fight in order to prove he’s worthy enough as a human being to stand by Albion’s side :’) Before this Ikaia had kinda been going through life without any real purpose, only wanting to get stronger without knowing why--but when Albion crashes back into his life again, he realizes that Albi’s been the driving force behind everything he’s done in his life, and finally knows what he wants to do from then on out. Seeing Ikaia stand up to Astraeus moves Albion tremendously, and that’s when he starts Catching Feels >:3c (It also doesn’t help that Ika looks REALLY good in thigh highs. Albion’s very weak for them fnadkald)

Ikaia’s pretty popular with his fans--especially the girls, who find him to be very handsome and charming with his cold and quiet demeanor--and Ikaia’s ignorance of them usually makes them freak out over him more lmao he just can’t avoid it :’D He doesn’t really care about fame particularly, and is disinterested in the affairs of his peers in the tournaments, but he does appreciate the support he gets! He’s a very careful battler and strategist, preferring to think first before charging in, while Albion is the exact opposite lmao. Being so cold and calculating gives him an air of arrogance, but he’s not like that, not at all! Deep down he’s still the excited, kind child he used to be, and he still really looks up to Albion a lot and is inspired by him! He likes teasing Albion a lot; they’ll get into friendly arguments and bicker over silly things. Ika thinks Albion’s an idiot despite being an all-powerful immortal being and sorta appoints himself as a babysitter for Albion under Astraeus’ instructions and Albion’s fury at that lol. Ikaia teaches him a lot about the human world, what humans are like, and how they function--which is something Albion’s always been extremely interested in.

They do fall in love, eventually! But it takes a long time because Albion’s never developed feelings for a human before, due to their lifespans being so short and him never being super attached to any of them in particular. He’s curious about them and he likes them, but human lives are fleeting and fragile, so he doesn’t really allow himself to get really close with any out of fear of losing them. After he starts getting closer to Ikaia he becomes very...overprotective of him, and worries constantly about his health and his state of being, and nags at him to be more careful when he gets hurt. Eventually Ikaia snaps back at him and tells him to stop coddling him and acting like a mother hen lmao. He does understand Albion’s fear, as Ikaia feels the same, worried that someone will take Albion away and try to use him against his will, and does his best to reassure him...!

A long time later when they finally get the balls to confess to each other, Albion pleads for Astraeus to let Ikaia become an immortal (who had already considered his options and decided yeah, spending an eternity with Albion would be really nice), and Astraeus, having seen how important they are to each other and viewing Ikaia as Albion’s only true friend, grants him immortality!! (Which they can easily do, being the Grandmaster of Time, Space AND Stars--) And then, Albi and Ika begin their eternity together. Insufferable partners to the end. LMAO

There’s this whole thing where people do eventually find out about Albion and there’s a huge battle arc where they fight to get him back and he turns into a raging demon and unlocks his Grandmaster Destruction Powers or something after Ikaia gets hurt and. Yeah. That’s a story for another time LOL

WHEW sorry that got long but that’s the gist of it!! I love my boys very much and would lay my life on the line for them, yessir

Bonus screencaps from me blabbing on about them in Discord:

[sammyspreadyourwings]

Ooh, this one is fun!! Okay, so I changed a few things for flow story-wise, but it should still fit. Also I did a little more world-building off-screen than I should of but... it was fun.

Escape

Roger has been told to keep an eye on certain advisors, what he isn’t expecting is for them to be so bold with sending actual assassins while they’re in the middle of court. Dressed up in their rival nation's colors ofc. He’s able to dispatch the first assassin with ease, but gets a crossbow bolt to the shoulder. The few loyal knights rush in, but Roger’s main goal is to get Freddie out of the castle.

So he takes him through the back tunnels that Brian showed them when they were younger to sneak out. He’s not surprised to see that the warlock is already halfway to the throne room. Brian takes Freddie’s arm because of course the young prince wants to get back to his people.

They don’t know how much support they still have in the castle, Roger reminds him so they have to go.

As it turns out the crossbow bolt was poisoned. Predictably, so by the time they reach the middle of the forest, no doubt thanks to Brian’s magic because he’s looking close to passing out.

Freddie is freaking out because his two cheif protectors (brothers, companions, friends, something else?) are both vunerable, and his father never really let him learn martial skills beyond wrestling and the like. And he knows the tales of this forest and about the spirits and Fae that run the woods.

When Brian finally sucumbs to his exhaustion and Roger to the poison, Freddie is sure thsi is the end for all of them because then there’s rustling in the trees. A young(?) elf stumbles through the underbrush.

“What are you doing here? Humans are forbidden here.”

“I don’t mean any harm, we don’t. My friends, they need a healer. One is badly poisoned.”

John checks over the pair, wincing as Roger’s wound grows sickly and green. He knows helping humans is a crime, but they also charish all life, so he smears on a salve on the wound and crushes herbs into the warlock’s mouth.

Then he waits, because the humans probably won’t do anything while he’s there with his weapons.

It turns out all the humans needed was the night. Elf magic and healing is far more potent than humans (even if Bri has to hesitantly explain that he has elven blood in him and that’s why he’s so good a magic becuase he’s up much faster than any human should be even without the help).

Once Roger is up, he wants to back and shore up their support and reclaim the castle. The coup needs to be settled effectively and swiftly so that the people don’t get restless. Brian argues that they need to do everything under the radar because they might not have the majority support.

John watches this for a few hours. How the two humans (or rather human and half-human) will be at eachs other’s throats back off and resume. The other human seems content to let them bicker, but every once and awhile the two arguing ones will defer to the other. It doesn’t take him much longer to realizes that this is an Important Human techincially in charge of the two bickering ones.

Then comes the army through the forest. John feels how the woods scream in terror. He takes off, surprised to find the humans come with him. His village is being ransacked by the Human Army. He takes off to fight them, and much to his surprise the warlock is with him as well.

They fight until they get overrun and then the warlock (Brian he thinks he heard) pulls him away, saying that its too late. John reluctantly agrees, a useless death his not a heroic one. Brian takes him to somewhere in the forest that he knows well, but not many know of.

“Sorry, it was the first thing that had enough of your past presence here,” Brian shrugs.

The other two appear in a shimmery mist. John sees the waystone in Roger’s hand. It must be attuned to Brian. Which is no small feat to do.

Regroup

With John’s permission, the humans (and half-human) manage to set up a rebel base of some sort. Reaching out their allies which are much fewer than he knows they hoped for. He’s also turned it into a sort of refugee camp for those of his village and other’s affected to regather in. Which technically means its a joint army for the first time in thousands of years.

Even the humans defer to him in rank despite not being an Offical Member of the Army. He guesses its because Freddie is always with him (or within eyesight of him) and Roger seems to allow his presence when he chases others away from Freddie ( “I don’t care what they say, or how long they’ve served the crown. I’m not letting anyone I don’t know or trust near him”).

No one ever tells him explicitly but he knows it has something to do with why they ended up in the forest in the first place as Roger was poisoned and Brian knocked out to near exhaustion. Not that John has any complaints, because Roger gives the same treatment to both elves and humans which strangely enough helps builds bonds.

John is also quick to learn why Roger is Freddie’s chosen gaurd, after he soundly defeated four would be troublemakers that tried to disregard his commands. He’s impressed at the speed Roger possess, almost as quick and dexterious as an elf.

Freddie on the other hand is well liked by his followers. He’s kind and caring, while a bit entitled at times, John’s never heard of a more pleasent human. When they’re with the other commanders, Freddie always makes sure to keep everyone’s voices heard (including the elves) and doens’t have much paitent for the bickering of his commanders (even if Roger has less so).

John figures that Freddie must be similiar to their council but born into this position. Humans are far more prone to greed, but Freddie earns every man’s loyalty (and John is quickly finding that he is one of them).

Then there’s Brian. The half-human warlock. Brilliant but prone to worrying and magical mishaps. John has never seen anyone (elf or human) more intune with the ley-lines of the world. Although more than once John has found himself guarding an unconsious Brian because he exhausted himself in his quest to find the things they’ll need to reclaim Freddie’s throne.

He also has the most understanding with Brian, because while the Warlock might not know their culture completely, he does know parts of it. And usually he’s pretty good at explaining why certain threads get crossed between humans and elves in their camps.

John also just enjoys the way magic wraps around Brian and makes him warm.

About three months into this entire mess John realizes that he’s sort of fallen in love with them. In elven culture, more than one lover is accepted irregardless of gender, sometimes it’s even encouraged because of low-birthrates. Humans aren’t like that, he’s found. Especially when he’s heard stories of soldiers wives making homes with those left behind.

He would like to draw away, but the three won’t let him. Everytime John wants to go on a scouting brigade, Roger will join him (ultimately leaving Freddie with Brian or bringing the prince along). John tries to organize things on the elven side, Freddie is next to him, trying to figure out ways to make their rations and supplies last longer (wait, you use the rine of the fruit? We don’t eat it, so let’s set up a collection place!). Brian, just seems to know where he is (not that it’s hard John, you’ve got a pretty specific energy).

What Brian fails to tell him, that he has to learn from one of their own Spell-weavers is that he has a specific energy that matches the others. Not that Brian knows the significgance, until said spell-weaver explains it to him. (John somewhat enjoys how humans do have boundries of things others can tell someone else).

Brian naturally tells Freddie and Roger. John has to sit through a very awkward confession (because they hadn’t really thought about why they all fit together, but yeah kissing and courting each other sounds very nice). So now that they’re all on the same page of romantic love. John couldn’t be happier.

They still have a castle to seige, and that might not go well. John tries to ignore that.

Conclusion

John stays with the elves and arches during the siege and subsequent battle. Roger is on the front lines along with Freddie, and John knows he won’t stray far from the prince but he can’t actually see them to verify, and Brian is taking a group through the secret hallways of the castle to get them from the inside as well.

He doesn’t know who to be more worried about, since save for a stray arrow, he’s mostly protected. While he fells as many as he shoots arrows, he can’t shake the feeling that something might go wrong. Roger could (would. will) sacrifice himslf to keep Freddie from feeling a fatal blow. Freddie might not be able to stop a fatal blow and he and Roger got seperated. Roger could sacrifice himself and Freddie still fall.

It’s the last one that has him deffering command to second, and starting to run through the battle. 

He can’t help Brian. The warlock is too far out of his reach, but John can’t stop the thoughts of everything that could go wrong. The traitors might have learned of the passages. They could’ve collasped. Giant spiders. Someone getting too close to Brian before he can cast. Somone nullifying his magic.

“John?” Roger slides next to him.

As expected Freddie is only a few feet away from him, and Roger’s eyes are trained directly on his prince.

“Sorry. I couldn’t. I wanted to be up. I can’t.”

Roger nods and pulls the shortsword off his belt, “I know you’re good with your bow, but here.”

The three of them start carving a path towards the gates. John keeps an anxious watch on the sky waiting for the signal. So does Freddie. So does Roger.

Eventually the orange sparks hit the sky and the second phase of their plan occurs. The castle gates fall and the inside had already been routed. Except he can’t see Brian. Roger and Freddie are fine, Freddie’s already assuming his duty as now King, but he can see that they’re looking for Brian too.

John worries for a split second about what’s going to happen between elves and humans, but he’s more worried about where Brian could be.

Then he sees a curly mop of hair stumbling towards them. Exhausted but unharmed. Roger urges him to go to Brian with his eyes, because he still has to be A General and get things settled.

John can’t help but ask Brian when he wraps around  him, “what’s going to happen to this. To me?”

Brian snorts, “if you think you’re going to be able to get away from Freddie and Roger now that they have you, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“And you?” John wonders if Brian doesn’t care about him as much as the others.

“I don’t have to worry about not being able to find you again.”