#BOTH BETRAYOR AND BETRAYED | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

give-grian-rights · 3 years

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Grian lunged through the trees. warily watching Bdubs and Scar ahead of him.

He couldn’t care less for the words. Scar had betrayed him. After having spent every waking moment owing Scar his life, countless battles and pitfalls.

It was fitting, Grian could muse, that he settled a thing such as a battle to the death with a piece of paper.

Out of the corner of his eyes, the one-way holographic screen had read a message to him, one awfully bittersweet. The words he had heard a hundred times over, in the time they spent on this server.

I have plan.

At that moment, Grian sprung from the tree.

“BETRAYOR!” He shouted, kicking off of the treetop, the blade of his glistening sword slashing Scar shoulder-to-chest, a loud clank as it hit the plated pieces of armor.

Both men opposing Grian had shouted out, the words incomprehensible as the Brit heard nothing but whitenoise around him.

Scar quickly put up an arm, the blade bouncing off the metal as Grian advanced, cold and hurt eyes not leaving Scar’s blood-red gaze.

With a swift kick, Scar went tumbling down the cliffside into the water.

Grian howled his words of “Traitor, Betrayers!” as he attacked, leaping over a gap on the hill he went for Bdubs.

While Bdubs had turned with a crossbow, arms shaky as he attempted to aim, Grian’s blue sword caught in the wooden bow, pulling it towards himself before giving a heavy kick to the chest, sending Bdubs tumbling down, Bdubs withdrew the bow, recalling it back to his inventory as he turned, leaping down the hillside clumsily.

Chasing promptly after him, Grian panted, loading his own weapon.

“Okay! He has the high ground-” Bdubs had turned to Scar, to be met with the blade of his own supposed ally.

Scar’s sword slashed heavily across Bdubs mid, before the deep black-purple sword was pierced through his neck. Bdubs poofed, his items spilling out into the water.

Grian fought against the shallow water, pushing his way through as he drew his word, the diamond clanking against Scar’s Diamond chestplate. “Traitor, Scar!”

Unexpectedly, Scar merely took the hits, cringing as he stuck his feet in the stand, trying to stay upright, he merely took the hits. Grian faltered for a moment.

“Wait-”

“You can kill me.”

“..What? No..-”

“For- For everything you did for me, to keep me alive this long, you may slay me-” His words faltered for a second- “And take the enchanter.”

“No! No I can’t- I literally can’t.”

Scar kept his head bowed, neck exposed as he stood infront of his friend, his former ally, his partner in crimes committed several times over.

They were silent for a moment as they drew themselves out of the water.

Both collected themselves for a moment.

This is supposed to be fun. It is and has been fun. They are friends. This is a game. Grian reminded himself.

Fight! Blood! Kill them! Blood! We need a fight!

The voices of the former servermates echoed and rattled in their heads all to familiarly.

“The spectators want a fight!” Grian ran a hand through his hair for a moment. He could feel their gazes, as the intangible players watched.

“No no no no.. We got this. We’ve got friendship-” “They said blood! They want blood!” “..Can we at least do the duel at Pizza’s grave?”

...

Scar’s items had spilt over the cliff. The stares of near a dozen players stuck to him. Grian watched as Scar’s item spilt over.

Every item they had fought for

Fought over

Stole

Made

They had been burnt.

Grian turned towards the cliffside, stepping over Pizza’s grave.

One more life to go

rang out in the distinct voice of Ren. The Red King.

Grian took a breath, before leaping from the hill.

Within a second he was joined in the air by all Players lost that day, laughter ringing out.

The lives were lost.

The game was done.

Until next time, that is.

#i know theres edgy takes of 3rd life but i try not to bring TO much pain so this was a game they all just got really heated about #they just spent every weekend here for the past eight months :)#spoilers #spoiler #death #tw death #death tw #suicide #tw suicide #suicide tw #3rd life #3rd life smp #3rd life spoilers #3rd life smp spoilers #3rd life smp fic #3rd life fic #mcyt #mcytblr #mika-posts

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erisenyo · 2 years

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Ok but how do you think it would work if instead of taking Iroh as a prisoner in Ba Sing Se Azula captures Sokka? Could the gaang have continued with his invasion plans? Would Azula have used Sokka to keep Zuko under her control? Azula would definitely keep Sokka well guarded on the day of the invasion so... Zuko would have left even knowing that he would have to leave Sokka behind?

So assuming you mean a general at least semi-established Zukka situation (and I will answer as if you mean These Things Unsaid is what we're working with)...

I think the question of what might change if Azula captures Sokka instead of (or in addition to) Iroh in Ba Sing Se depends on how much weight Azula actually gives any emotion that might exist between Zuko and Sokka. Does she think Zuko is infatuated but Sokka is just using him? Does she think Zuko is just hooking up to pass the time?

But assuming she at least thinks Sokka has Zuko hooked--now she has a very clear way to keep Zuko in line, but one that strikes me as a double edged sword. There are the Fire Nation laws around homosexuality, which could turn leveraging Sokka into a risk. The pains she goes to to return Zuko to Caldera and his royal status suggests she does, in fact, want him to be in the Caldera power structure in some way.

And there would also be limits to what she could threaten Sokka with--if Zuko is genuinely invested, and knowing that he is an impulsive, single-minded individual, she can't threaten *too* much harm without driving Zuko to try to break him out/risking Zuko coming for her if something does go wrong.

And the Zuko who goes back to Caldera and is kind of bopping around with Mai and Ty Lee, and going to the beach with Azula, would be gone. This would be an explicitly antagonistic relationship now, and a volatile angry Zuko who's been gone for 3-4 years is probably not as predictable as Azula would like.

On the Gaang's front, I see them trying to get Sokka back sooner, to be honest. I think they'd toss the plan, toss prudence, and throw themselves into the rescue mission the minute Aang is healed enough to go. I don't think Toph, Katara, or Aang would be advocating to let Sokka just chill in Fire Nation prison--and in These Things Written, Katara and Aang failed to rescue Sokka from Fire Nation hands before (and Zuko lit Aang up for it). I don't think they would risk that again.

Another dynamic that shifts is that if they're aware that Sokka was taken in order to control Zuko, that suggests a lot about the nature of their relationship that would be hard for even Katara to ignore. Zuko starts to look at lot less like a betrayor and a lot more like someone acting in Sokka's best interest, which makes him an ally to the Gaang even as Azula is eroding any loyalty he might feel toward the Fire Nation.

Let's say the Gaang's rescue attempt doesn't work and Sokka is still captive when theDay of the Black Sun happens. I find it likely that Zuko would have found some way to communiate (Mai, perhaps?) and that they're both viewing this as an escape opportunity. Maybe Mai and Ty Lee are more explicitly pulled to betray Azula earlier than Boiling Rock now, or maybe Zuko is on his own trusting his Blue Spirit shenanigans to see him through when other firebenders might be incapacitated.

Is there a world where Zuko leaves Sokka behind? Maybe, if Zuko can't him him out, or can't get him safely away. But I think then Zuko is going to the Avatar not to say hey, I'd love to join your cause and teach you firebending, he's rolling in to demand their help for a Caldera prison break and he's willing to bargain with anything he has to make it happen.

#asks and answers #These Things Unsaid #A fun AU of an AU in which Azula makes what would be a very strategically unwise choice #That might have seemed tactically sound in the moment #The big piece in how all this would play out/could be interpreted is Azula #What do we think her relationship with Zuko is? What does she think it is and what is it actually?#And to what extent does she think she and Zuko are working toward the same goals or not?

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