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Inside the canary cage, the hero glared at the villain, cursing their name to the winds, but all that came out was loud chirping.

“Such lovely songs!” the villain said to the shopkeeper. They leaned close to the cage. “I’ll be taking you with me,” they said cheerily. “Unless, of course, you’d rather I leave you to the mercy of the other customers. You really are such a pretty bird… and I don’t imagine they have the antidote. Still, I’m rather tempted to keep you like this.”

I’ll get you for this, the protagonist said– or rather, chirped.

“It got your attention, didn’t it?”

The hero crossed their arms. “She was terrified, shaking for hours after. Hours! That’s not okay!”

At least the villain had the decency to look ashamed of themselves. “Won’t happen again, I promise. But how else do I contact you? I still need to threaten you on occasion.”

“You can get a message to me the same as everyone else,” the hero said. “Just say the special words, blah blah blah. Make sure it’s for a good reason though, or I’ll blow up your evil lair.”

“I don’t have a lair.”

“Your death ray, then.”

“Don’t have one of those either.”

“Too bad, I’ll destroy it anyway.”

“That’s not–”

“FIX THEM!”

“Okay,” the hero said, crossing to their side and examining the body. They looked up at the villain. “What the hell happened to them? It looks like -” 

oh.

The villain looked down, guilt twisting their face. “I wasn’t careful enough - please, just fix them.”

“You’ll do what?” the villain asked, all inquiring eyes. They chuckled, walking around the helpless hero.

“I’ll put you in these chains!”

“I look forward to it. Until then–” the villain turned to a henchman. “I want them in the clear cage in the main hall.” 

The bandit froze, but only for a second. “That would defeat the point of the masquerade ball, your highness.” He edged a little closer to the balcony, wondering if he could make the jump if things went south.

The prince raised an eyebrow. “Good answer.” he stepped forward, cornering the bandit. “What I’m wondering, though,” he said, leaning forward, so close that the bandit could feel the heat coming off his body, “is if you’re supposed to be here at all.”

The bandit froze again, this time without a response.

The prince laughed. “Oh you needn’t worry. Now, let me see your face.” he lifted the mask off the bandit’s face every so gently, fingers wandering across his cheeks, feather-light. 

“You’re pretty,” he said. “Too pretty for the streets, I think. Why don’t I escort you upstairs?”

The bandit started struggling at that, but a knife pressed to his stomach soon quieted him.

The prince smiled sweetly. “Shall we?”

“Says the one in chains,” the villain replied.

“Winning doesn’t make you right!”

“Pick up a history book. Either way, I’m helping you. Why can’t you see that? Why must you stand in the way of prosperity?”

The hero scoffed. “You don’t want us to be happy. I know what you are. You want chaos and destruction, you want to rule.”

“At long last, sleeping beauty awakens,” said a familiar voice.

Villain. Of course it would be them. 

“Stars. Can’t we go a couple weeks without doing this?” he rasped.

The villain came over with a glass of something, presumably water. “Drink, or I’ll force it down your throat.”

“Okay, titchy, calm your nerves.” the hero obediently drank some of the water, thankful to relieve the itching in his throat. The first time he’d been kidnapped, the villain had forced him to drink. It wasn’t very pleasant.

The villain removed the glass, setting it down on a table out of sight. 

“So, what’s up?” asked the hero.

“Nothing,” the villain replied, “I just need you safely tucked away for a few days. Can’t have you ruining my plans, you see.”

The hero nodded. “So, what am I thwarting this time? A heist? A grand show? Do you need an audience?”

The villain chuckled, moving around the room, tidying things up.

It was a different room than usual, Hero realized. “Finally decided to remodel the old room?” he joked.

“Can’t have you escaping.”

“Of course. What is it you’re keeping me from, again?”

The villain stopped in front of the hero, and - almost lovingly - stroked his cheek. “Darling. I’m going to make this city mine, and then I’m going to parade you down its burning streets by my side, right where you belong.”

The hero’s mouth went dry. This was… way more serious than their ‘fights’ ever were.

The villain gazed at the stunned hero and burst out laughing. “Weren’t expecting that one? I always told you that you aren’t cautious enough.”

The hero tugged at the ropes, uselessly so. “You aren’t serious.”

“More than ever. Enjoy your new room!” the villain strode out, and the hero flinched at the ominous click of the lock turning.

By the time he had escaped the ropes, hours had passed. He could almost hear the explosions in the distance. Then the room - a hundred times harder than the other, and magic suppressors leaving him exhausted.

It felt like weeks when he finally broke out - right into the waiting arms of the villain.

It was a lovely autumn day: birds singing in the trees, breeze in hair, cliff at his back, and a sword at his throat.

Not a bad place at all, Dorian mused. His own sword lay on the ground several feet away, and he briefly considered lunging towards it.

That is, until the person holding the sword pressed it a bit harder.

“None of that now,” Locke chided. “Don’t think I can’t see the gears turning in that pretty head of yours. Stars, for a spy, you’re shockingly easy to read.”

“If I’m that easy,” Dorian said, hands in the air, “Then why did it take you so long to notice me? I had you pegged as a spy within a day of getting here.”

Locke smiled. “I won’t underestimate you again. Of course, I won’t need to worry about that.” he took a step forward, forcing Dorian closer to the edge.

“Now, now,” Dorian chuckled nervously, “Let’s remain civil. We’re both gentlemen, and I’m sure you don’t want to deal with explaining my death to everyone else, would you? It would certainly draw some unwanted attention.”

Locke shrugged a shoulder. His torn blue jacket flapped in the wind. “It’s a breezy day. You took a tumble, I couldn’t reach you in time. I’m terribly traumatized.”

Dorian blinked. “That’s a fairly plausible alibi, but have you considered… not?”

The other sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t understand how you were chosen for a mission like this, with your skills at diplomacy.”

“So you’re reconsidering?”

“Oh, darling. It’s been a pleasure. Now, off you go.” He pushed forward.

Dorian ducked backwards and slid to the left. In the moment before Locke turned, he’d grabbed his sword and pointed it at the other man.

“How the tables have turned,” Dorian panted. “Now you’re going to slip and fall off this cliff, and I’m going to tearfully tell everyone you’re dead.”

Locke smirked at him. “Oh, are you?” he casually tapped the blade away from his throat. “You aren’t going to touch me.”

Dorian pressed closer. “It seems you’re not as good an agent as you’d like to think. I’ll kill you in a heartbeat.”

Locke shook his head, a bold move for a man with a sword on his neck. “No, you won’t. See, I thought ahead. If I die, then everyone will know it was you that did it.”

“Lies,” Dorian replied, “but thanks for the heads up.” he stepped forward.

“You won’t bargain?” Locke said. There wasn’t a hint of panic in his voice. He’d probably been in situations like this before.

Dorian stopped. True, the other man probably had more experience and ignored many pleas for mercy, but he didn’t want to kill anyone. Especially not Locke.

Of course, Locke saw his hesitation. “I can help you,” he pressed. “You don’t have everything you need.”

“I don’t trust a word you say,” Dorian said. “I have to kill you, you’re too dangerous. It’s not personal.”

“True,” Locke replied, a glimmer in his eyes. “Or, you don’t, and we both walk away from this and forget everything.”

“As if,” Dorian scoffed.

“You don’t have to tell your superiors why you didn’t kill the other spy if they don’t know there is one.”

Dorian couldn’t believe he was actually considering it, but… 

“I don’t want to kill you,” he said. “So I won’t.” He stepped back, lowering his sword.

“Oh, my naive little spy,” Locke said, and swept Dorian’s feet out from under him. In a flash, he was hanging off the cliff, Locke’s hand on his shirt as his only tether to the earth.

“Your name?” The fairy said, hand held out, palm up. It was a demanding gesture, one of possession, not welcome.

Chandra raised her eyebrows. True, she had been startled (and rather awed) when the fairy first appeared, tall and chilling, an aura of magic around him. But these were her woods, too. “You may call me Fray,” she said, staring up into his eyes with a mock-polite smile.

The fairy tilted his head. “Quick, I see.”

Chandra’s smile didn’t waver. “And your name?” she asked, making the same gesture. Hand out, palm up.

Long fingers caught her chin, tilting her face up. For the first time, she saw his eyes-- as dark as the night sky, deep and speckled with stars, galaxies and nebulae. She could get lost in those eyes. Her hands started to tremble.

“Fray,” he said, tasting the name on his tongue. In one smooth motion, he took her shaking hands and pulled her closer. “Why don’t you call me Fenris?”

Chandra jerked back, wrenching her hands away. She took a breath, trying to calm down.  “And relative of the wolf?”

Perhaps it was unwise to tangle with a supernatural being, but it was the only defense she had.

His smile was all teeth. “If you wish.” He waved his hand, and the vines at her feet wrapped around her legs, trapping her where she stood.  

“A fairy in the domain of the night?” The vampire chuckled, teeth glinting in the moonlight. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“What big teeth you have,” the fairy said. He stepped forward, close enough to grab the vampire’s coat - but he merely stroked a finger up the shoulder. “You forget that the fae have their own Night Court. We revel in the dark.” he slipped his hand beneath the coat, ghosting along the cold shirt underneath.

The vampire smiled languidly. “I’ve always loved the fae. You’re so ridiculously extravagant in your beauty.”  He caught the other’s wandering fingers in his own. “Why are you here?”

“I was out, thought I’d drop by, see what the undead are up to.” 

“I see. Surveillance, then?”

The fairy tilted his head. “We’re quite alike, you and I.”

The vampire released his hand and stepped away, disgusted. “So, this is nothing more than a cheap offer of alliance?”

“How quick you are to assume I want an alliance. I merely pointed out the existence of our numerous similarities.”

The vampire raised an eyebrow, staying silent.

“What said, however - how goes your feud with the Spring Court?”

That earned him a scathing glare from the vampire. “I’m not interested in what your court has to offer.”

“Not interested in anything?” the fairy said. “Don’t think you can lie to me. You’re desperate.”

“And so are you, if you’re offering an alliance. What do I have that you want?”

“Lies,” the fairy said. “You have lies. You and I are not very different, but for your lies.”

The vampire snorted. “You’re telling me you, a fairy, want me to lie for you?”

“And in return, your problems with the Spring Court disappear.”

The vampire paused, considering. “What is it you want me to say?”

“I’ll let you know when I want it.”

“You must think me a fool if you think I’ll agree to something that open-ended.”

The fairy stepped very close to him suddenly, quietly twisting his hand into the vampire’s shirt. “I think you’re desperate. I think you know you cannot beat the fae, I think you’re on the very edge of willing to do anything - and really, it’s just a little favor that I ask. A little lie, sometime in a hundred years, a thousand - one little lie.”

“One lie,” the vampire said, “for you.”

“Yes,” the fairy purred. “And?”

“I accept.”

The fairy smiled. “Then let us seal it,” he said, and leaned forward, kissing the other. 

In a moment, they had broken apart, the vampire grimacing.

“You fae and your deals,” he said. “You ought to change the requirements.”

“And miss out on all the beautifully desperate people? Never. See you in a few years,” he said, and vanished.

The hero stood, panting in the ashes of their once beloved city. 

It was all gone now. Nothing left to lose, no one left to save. Almost no one, anyway.

“I didn’t think you’d have it in you,” the villain said, approaching them. “That was quite the explosion.”

The hero stared into the distance, eyes almost deadened. “You survived?” Their voice came out scratchy.

The villain chuckled. “Of course I did. I know what you can do, I’m not an idiot.” They strolled over casually, brushing some rubble off the hero’s shoulder. 

“They didn’t think I would do it.”

The villain pressed a kiss to the hero’s forehead. “They were fools.”

For the first time, the hero looked at the villain. “And you aren’t?”

The villain shrugged.  “I’ve done dumb things, but I’d never be stupid enough to underestimate you. Even the kindest people - especially them - have bombs waiting to explode.”

“I’m not kind. I killed them,” the hero said, voice starting to break. “I killed them all, every last one! I was supposed to be their hero!”

“And they rejected you,” the villain said, cradling the hero in their arms. 

Slowly, the hero relaxed into the embrace.

“You won’t win this,” the protagonist said, jutting their chin up. Perhaps it wasn’t very smart to provoke the other, but… oh, well. “I’ll defeat you.”

The antagonist turned. “You?” He covered the space between them in two steps, slamming the protagonist in the wall. “Small, weak thing like you?”

“You’re not strong enough to budge me, and you think--” he squeezed harder-- “That you--” he slammed them again--  “can actually win?” he growled. “You’re pathetic.”

He tossed the protagonist into the wall like a rag doll, and left without looking back.

The protagonist groaned, tearing themself off the wall. They looked down at their clenched fist which held the key to the castle, formerly inside the antagonist’s pocket.

This is very important, please do not ignore this.

Watch the video till the very end please (the end is when the explosion goes off.)

I live in Lebanon and the fiercest explosion went off in the midst of Beirut today, killing off an ungodly amount of human beings (more and more people are dying as I write this) and injuring up to 5000 people whose cases are immensely critical. Today,, at approximately 6 pm, hospitals were completely torn to shreds, people have been buried underneath fallen buildings, fires have been ignited almost everywhere, blood staining the streets in an excruciating manner, in addition to people that flew and fell to the sea due to the impact of the explosion. And it is certainly worth mentioning the millions upon millions' worth of damages what with buildings and cars and stores. Plenty of people are missing, it's an overall mess that is quite frankly very traumatizing.

What Lebanese people have been undergoing in recent times:

Lebanon has been going through a major economical decline that grows worse and worse by the day. The prices have heightened and the salaries remain the same, scarcely anyone has the capacity of affording basic needs anymore. There has been an unfolding revolution the past year, and the lebanese society has been protesting against the humiliation thrust upon our lives due to our miserable excuse for a government, and though the streets bled with thrashing, screaming citizens fighting for their utmost basic human rights, that caused mere to no change in the way things go around here, in fact, it only made it worse. We're being provided with, metaphorically, a droplet's worth of water and nearly no electricity, a pregnant woman has even passed away recently due to a heat stroke (as there were no means of cooling off)

What caused the setting off of this explosion?

The ignorance, heartlessness, and overall brutality of the government and the people in control.

A critical amount of chemicals (2700 tons of ammonium and other nitrates) were left inside a ship along the port of Beirut, and though the people in charge of this transaction were warned that heat and perspiration have the capability of destroying the whole of Lebanon in ode to a massive explosion, they refused to do anything about it and left the chemicals in there for years on end.

Up until, surprise surprise, the explosion went off and devestated Lebanon almost entirely.

I don't have much followers, and I know that this post isn't going to magically heal what is unfolding in this, priorly gorgeous, magnificent country, but I truly hope with all my heart that you find it within yours to spread awareness on this topic so that it would be more widespread,, so that Lebanon gets the aiding it deserves and the people from outer places slap the 'big bosses' awake, or at least pressure them into resigning, whatever it takes to make this place sufferable, tolerable, somewhere you can picture yourself residing in.

Lebanon is a place of infinite traditions, diversity, creativity, joy, and love. Most of the people here are open-hearted and wholesome. We all deserve far better.

My heart aches for the people that have passed away today, and I shall pray for the ones stuck in hellish suffering.

I’ll be real, when people request recs for ‘gaang adopts Zuko’ I’m not entirely sure what it’s asking for. Like is this in the context of ‘Zuko joins early’ or ‘Zuko finds loving and supportive friends with the gaang’ or what? 

For gaang + Zuko content, I’m always a sucker for ‘gaang finds out about the scar’ fics, which I have a list for right here 

Other gaang + Zuko favorites are:

count your blessings, not your sins by delightwrites is a delightful one I found today set during the WAT period. It has some truely heartwarming Aang and Zuko scenes with Aang sharing his history and the history of the Air Nomads with Zuko. 

Bracing by minarenny delves into Zuko’s insecurities and his growth through tea

positive affirmation by blueseam is just the gaang complimenting Zuko a whole bunch and Zuko’s brain doing the 404 error 

end-of-the-world beach vacay by howlikeagod is a series of snippets from the Ember Island time, featuring a lot of Zuko + gaang content 

What We’re Given by  Haicrescendo is an AU series where Zuko rediscovers the sky bison at the air temples and raises them instead of hunting the Avatar. There’s a lot of gaang bonding once it gets to canon-period