Pssssst... you know what'd be interesting is if shortly after arriving at the townhouse in the rbau Wars encounters a high Legend
TW: mentions of Volga and abuse in Wars' past (I figured I should put this here because uh this got heavy-)
Like Legend is Legend and idk what point in the timeline Wars arrives at but Legend's always a snappy little shit (affectionate) so imagine it from Wars' perspective. He's been defiled and abused and taken into a large intimidating house by the man who'd killed his abuser and threatened to kill him too. He's shaken and traumatised and probably doesn't even know what to think, just scared for his life. And in the house the stranger with a gun brought him to, there's some kid wandering around high as a kite and being snappy and secretive about it.
Poor guy's probably gonna assume the worst and experience whatever life or death reaction you choose. But I see him as possibly falling into the 'fawn' response because hear me out. He's been held captive before by Volga, who clearly had no qualms about bulldozing any boundaries and autonomy Wars had, and now he's been essentially held captive in this townhouse and doesn't know that Time hates himself for threatening Wars and keeping him there like that.
What if he sees Legend, a kid to him, on substances, as well as the rest of the residents are obviously traumatised, and he fears Time is another Volga? And what if he thinks that Time may want the same thing Volga wanted from him, so that's why he spared him, but Time's just waiting until Wars is healed enough to not warrant a hospital visit once he's done with him. What if he figures that if he just gives up, gives his body to Time, then maybe it'll hurt less and Time won't be as bad as Volga was
Trauma and abuse like that leaves a heavy mark on a person, and I don't know if it would manifest this way specifically with Wars and I apologise if I spoke about some things in an insensitive way
- brainrot anon (i think that's my name? It's been a while lol, I hope you're doing alright)
Brainrot Anon! Welcome back! Don't worry - nothing you said was insensitively worded. And I'm doing okay! Still getting over my cold 😭 but I'm alive.
Thanks for the ask! I always love hearing from you! I'm not sure Wars would see Time as another Volga, though.
Wars is pretty good at reading people. He might have walked willingly into Volga's trap the first few times, but he was never under the impression Volga was safe. He just thought that was what he wanted. And by the time he knew how out of control it was, Volga had cut him off from his lifelines.
Yes, Time may have killed a few people and even threatened Warriors. But those people were actively hurting Wars. And Time was strict in that Wars wouldn't be hurt as long as he didn't reveal any of the Deity's secrets. Plus Time isn't even remotely interested in Wars sexually in this au, going as far as to tell Wars that he didn't want anything in return for him staying in the house. No forms of payment at all.
Volga, in that situation, would have taken the opportunity to force Wars into some truly heinous shit.
Those things alone would be enough to convince Wars that Time was relatively okay (or at least okay enough to live with temporarily). But the other boys would clear things up in a little more.
Yes, Legend is often high as fuck or grouchy from withdrawal. But he's not incapable of speaking for himself. In fact, he's very good at making himself abundantly clear. Wars would only have to have one conversation with him to realize Time was in no way keeping Legend like Wars was kept by Volga. Instead it's more like Legend is an angry alley cat Time is attempting to coax into a carrier so he can have him properly treated.
The same goes for most of the other boys - Wind is obviously a mostly normal kid with authority issues. Hyrule is an overworked worry wart with a decent head on his shoulders but no money in his pocket. Twilight is a good kid who means well that's just a tad bit naive and who's been hurt by rejection. Four is legitemetly fucked up but it'll be a little while before Wars even speaks to him properly. And by then he'll be able to tell that it wasn't Time who did anything.
Sky, who Wars met with during boot camp, is the biggest reason why Wars starts slowly trusting Time though.
In this au neither of them are friends - they met, but didn't quite for a meaningful connection before Wars dropped out. But even knowing someone who can personally vouch for Time puts a lot of Warriors worst fears at ease.
And Sky does vouch for Time. Time does a lot for him (that's an upcoming installment) and Sky can see for himself that Time is just trying to help whoever he can. Sky has also had a little while to talk to the other boys so he kind of knows their stories. He knows that Time is a well meaning man who's just bitten off more than he chew. Which he'd explain to Wars.
So Wars wouldn't treat Time like another Volga. He's wary of him (again - gun to temple leaves an impression) but soon enough Wars will start seeing what he can get away with. He won't break any of Times rules, but maybe he'll start with just a little snark. A little backtalk. Just a tad of sass. Just to see what he can get away with.
(That's just quintessential Warriors - he'll always be a sassy lil bitch)
Time is going to be both relieved and annoyed the first time Wars sasses him. Relieved, because Wars has stopped treating him like a loaded gun. Annoyed, because he's met enough Links by now to know the sass is only going to get worse. But he'll take it in stride because being disrespected by Wars is leagues better than being feared by him.