@soniclozdplove @zorria And Anyone Else Interested In More Potential Abaddon Content.

Relationship Goals!

The Seven Deadly Sins 01x09

Here's a thought I doubt anyone's ever considered before.

What if Tristan was born before the Commandments were released?

He'd be the child of a different Ellie of course, probably Liz, and Liz died shortly after giving birth to their son. As a result Meliodas showed up in Liones with two babies!

The Sins still form and all that but with the addition of Tristan being coddled by everyone because he's Meliodas' son... up until Zaratrus is killed. Meliodas doesn't have time to grab Tristan before he's teleported away so Tristan gets left behind and taken jn by Baltra. He grows up alongside his own mother as practically siblings and when Baltra is locked up and the Coup happens Trustan goes with Elizabeth to find the Sins, and also because he wants to find his father.

I’m just your problem AU

3000 years ago, Meliodas and Elizabeth were still courting each other in secret. Meliodas has just recently brought up that he’s been considering betraying the demon race and joining stigma and Elizabeth is ecstatic! So ecstatic she told mael all about their plans, which ludociel overheard and immediately went to tell the supreme deity

to say that SD is livid is putting it lightly. She needed to put an end to this as soon as possible. Luckily she hadn’t started physically mating with the demon scum or else she would have destroyed them in the spot. She just needed to find away to split them apart without them wanting to get back together, that will kill all remaining feelings and allow them to destroy each other without remorse.

Unfortunately the Supreme Diety was expert in this. While the Demon King was more about brute force and physical violence, the Supreme Diety was more about emotional and mental manipulation, pushing someone’s mind to the brink and watching them break into tiny pieces, it didn’t matter who she was hurting as long she gets the desired outcome, which in this case is a Holy War.

Maybe she threatens to harm Meliodas if Elizabeth doesn’t break it off. So she sends her off with strict instructions on how to do it, and curses her to never be able to tell Meliodas what she had told Elizabeth and that she’ll never be able tell Meliodas that she actually loved him. (She can tell other people but as soon as she tries to tell Meliodas or if Meliodas is near the words physically can’t come out)

That night she met up with Meliodas, he looked really happy to see her of course and had been planning to give her gift that he made. Seeing him this happy made her heart feel like it’s about to shatter into pieces, Elizabeth didn’t want to do this to him but she was terrified of what her mother would do him if she didn’t do this.

I’m sure what Elizabeth tells him exactly but it’s something along the lines of that she never actually loved him and that she was just using him to get information on the demon race and she no longer has any need for him now that he was considering joining stigma. It’s even made worse when it turns out that the Supreme Diety sent Ludociel to attack Meliodas.

Meliodas hadn’t moved since Elizabeth told him these things, he was in such emotional turmoil that he didn’t register Ludociel coming at him from behind and had gotten blasted into the nearby forest. Luckily Zeldris had followed his elder brother being suspicious about what he was up to and witnessed everything, so he jumps in to blast Ludociel into a nearby mountain. He hoists his brother up putting one Meliodas’s arms over his shoulder before aiming a vicious glare at Elizabeth, asking her if she got some sort sick pleasure from tricking and embarrassing his elder brother.

It’s… one hell of a breakup to say the least. Elizabeth will never forget the devistating look of betrayal on her now ex-lover’s face as he left with his brother. As soon as he’s gone, Elizabeth falls to her knees and screams out in grief and agony.

Meliodas returns to the demon realm with Zeldris, who’s side eyeing his elder brother in worry. He was eerily silent, his eyes were overshadowed by his hair so he couldn’t decipher what he was thinking. When Meliodas gets to his room, he silently closes the door and starts throwing everything in a rampage. It ends with Meliodas about to destroy the courtship feather she gave him, but he couldn’t do it. Tears start to pour down his face, backs up against the door, sinks onto the floor and clutches his hair sobbing.

He stays in his room for days, then the commandments under orders from the demon king go to get him out. They’re pretty nervous to go in there cuz they heard a little about what happened from Zeldris, so they’re pretty confident that if they go in there it’s gonna be hell to pay. But before they can even knock, Meliodas cracks open the door, he asks what they want in a dull tone, his voice is also hoarse. They tell him and he just says that he’s not going to see his father that day. His hair’s a mess, he has dark bags under his eyes which are red and puffy, tear tracks are still on his face. He looks like a wreck basically.

They give him a breakup pep talk, this is the first time Meliodas has ever gotten his heart broken and he doesn’t know how to stop these horrible feelings, so they encourage him to channel his heartbroken sadness and anger into getting revenge on the goddess who tricked and betrayed him. This is what kicks off the holy war with the Goddess Race wanting to eradicate the Demon Race and the Demon Race wanting vengeance on their prince’s behalf, all according to the Supreme Diety’s plan.

The Demon King is honestly a little impressed.

Unfortunately Elizabeth has to regretfully to kill Meliodas in battle because she can’t stand to see her former lover like this, so consumed by rage and grief, grief that she caused, so she puts him out of his misery.

“I’m sorry Meliodas, I’m so sorry.” Elizabeth chokes out as she stabs out his hearts one by one, tears were streaming down her cheeks as she aimed her lance for the last one. She made eye contact with Meliodas, staring deep into his green eyes one last time, eyes that glared at her in hatred. “Please forgive me.”

Meliodas growls at her, looking at her beautiful face covered in grime and blood, his blood. He felt some of her tears drop on his face, tears of pity probably, tears of guilt, why else would she cry for him, she never loved him after all. “I hate you Elizabeth.”

She sobs, “…I know.” Elizabeth brings her lance down and the dim light in his eyes goes out.

Elizabeth is stricken with grief and anger, anger directed at her mother. Elizabeth challenges her mother, wanting revenge for her lost lover, she loses her life and gets cursed in the process, a curse of immortality.

The holy war ends with the demon race locked away in the seal and the goddess race losing their physical bodies.

3,000 years pass and Elizabeth is the leader of the seven deadly sins, the sin of wrath. The demon race gets released from the seal of eternal darkness and Melascula does her whole resurrection thing, but she finds a very familiar soul, a soul she hasn’t seen in over 3,000 years and Melascula thinks it’s about time that he gets his revenge on a certain annoying goddess and her friends.

Ok, idea while I go back and forth between writing this and the time travel one you sent me.

The first time Meliodas holds baby Zeldris he just stares at him. And Zeldris stares back at him with big, wide green eyes that match his. Meliodas is immediately filled to the brim with a feeling of I love you more than anything else in the entire world combined, I would DIE for you without question.

Now here's the AU part. Meliodas was never unfeeling. He was never cold and emotionless. But he had to ACT like he was, because the Demon King had a looming threat over his head, a bargaining chip he could never ever give up. "You ever step a toe out of line, I'll punish Zeldris twice as hard as I punish you." And the punishments Meliodas would receive were not light. The DK quite literally threatened to kill Zeldris if Meliodas disobeyed him.

So in front of everyone in the entire world? He was Meliodas the Destroyer. He was cruel and cold and slaughtered everyone in his path without a single twitch in his expression.

Then he would come home and give Zeldris a bright smile as he scooped up the laughing infant, baby, toddler, child. Though he made sure no one else was ever around when he did this. Quite literally one person in the entire world saw the full extent of his soft side. Gowther (demon) saw some of it, but even if Meliodas smiled at him, he never radiated quite the joy and love he did with his brother.

Half of Zeldris’s lessons were done by Cusack, and the rest were Meliodas. His big brother taught him to read, write, to understand politics. He taught him how to fight and defend himself, how to use magic.

The first time Meliodas EVER shows expression on the field is when Zeldris, still a young child, but old enough to know he wants to be JUST like his big brother, sneaks onto the battlefield. He's got a dull training sword and the goddesses, not caring he's a child, attack him. He cries out, blown back and burned by an ark. Meliodas, who sensed his little brother and then heard his sharp cry of pain and fear a second later, whips his head around. Upon seeing Zeldris curled up and smoking, an expression fills his face, stunning the goddesses.

Sheer, unfiltered, raw terror.

He flings over to Zeldris, covering his small body with his own and taking Ludociel's ark to his back. Doesn't even try to dodge it. It's a strong spell, coming from the leader of the Archangels. It burns through his clothes easily, and blood slips down his skin, but he doesn't care. Zeldris is whimpering, clinging and curling into him as he cries about how it hurts.

"Shh, shh, it's alright Little One, it's ok, I've got you, I'm here now." He strokes his head gently as he soothes him, standing up and holding the tiny ball of child close. He's cradling him gently, protectively, when he turns out, lifting two fingers and murmuring "Counter Vanish" at a spell hurled straight at them. He's never used this spell before, not in anything but training, which means NO ONE knew he could make an attack just DISAPPEAR.

He's GLARING at the goddesses. "You've hurt my little brother." He growls, looking at them with rage. Terror and rage, they had invoked terror and rage in the most unfeeling, ruthless demon in the entire clan. They were really starting to regret attacking that "random demon spawn"

The goddesses very quickly regret attacking Meliodas’ brother. For one thing, Meliodas is very quick to fix his slip up by killing as many of the goddesses who saw him showing emotion as possible… for another the survivors were lectured to hell and back by Elizabeth when she heard what had happened. Even back when Bloody Ellie had not even met Meliodas yet, she would have been upset simply because the goddesses chose to attack a child! Zeldris was grounded btw.

You said this was after Mel broke the curse and killed his father. When the Supreme deity got revived, she mocked the sins, especially her daughter, how they were unable to save Mel and how pathetic and ironic it is that Mel got killed by the person he loves the most.

Ohhh~ I want Tristan (maybe with the event of 4koa?) to add on the pile. When Tristan was born, everyone was protective of him because he reminded them of Mel and mostly because he was the last piece of Mel.

Tristan grew up hearing Mel's adventures with the remaining sins, but no one told him how he died because the kingdom thinks if they told him that his mother killed his father, he would grew to despise her.

Zeldris tries to visit Tristan as much as possible because his brother's son needs to know he has an uncle, and like everyone else, he was the last piece of Mel. He didn't like Eli at all, he avoids or hiss at her everytime he sees her. He still holds a grudge of her for killing his brother despite Tristan's confusion of his uncle and mother's relationship. Zeldris didn't like talking about his brother and tired to avoid the topic everytime Tristan asked because he never got to hang out nor get to know him.

I leave the rest to you because I love how you rambled with ideas, and I love them!!!

You know what even more sadder in this au?

Is that Mel never got peace after the curse broke after killing his father, he never got to live in peace with Eli and his family :(((

saharthings asked: Gowther would be giving Tristan the story of the seven deadly sins, mainly his parents. He would see how much suffering his parents have went through especially his father. Although, it never shown his death because like everyone else, Gowther doesn't want Tristan to hate his mother.

(In reference to/continuation of this and this post)

Oh, you want rambling? Well then, let's see what I can do.

First of, yes, this is after the breaking of the curse and the death of the Demon King. That is, in a way, what creates the whole heartbreak of it all - the curse being broken means Meliodas is really dead-dead with no resurrection.

(Oh damn. When I think about it, it would be interesting to explore an AU to this AU, I guess you could call it, where the events in My Love, It Burns (bad ending) happens BEFORE the curse is broken. This would present a whole different kind of angst, because we all know Meliodas would brush it off because it's not like he can actually die and they've got a curse to break, but Elizabeth would be completely wrecked with the guilt and - Yeah, I might actually write this some day. Maybe?)

Okay, I got a little sidetracked. But! The curse is broken, Meliodas is dead. This would of course change everything about the fight against the Supreme Deity. There are so many things in Cursed by Light that depend on Meliodas and his relationships. He and Elizabeth are out on their honeymoon trip when they meet Zeldris and Gelda, he "convinces" Zeldris to let them come along to the Demon Realm, they all fight together against Dahlia and Dubs and thereby learn about the Supreme Deity's involvement, then they get back to Liones in time for Meliodas and Zeldris to kill her. This story would look completely different without Meliodas. Elizabeth would have no reason to go on the trip and wouldn't run into Zeldris and Gelda, her relationship with Zeldris would be even worse off than Meliodas' is in canon, Zeldris and Gelda would be forced to face Dahlia and Dubs alone, and Zeldris and Gelda's roles in the actual fight with the Supreme Deity would look different as they would in that case come there to face her alone without any involvement from Meliodas.

It's interesting to think about (and now I kinda wanna make a fic out of that too - but I would have to figure out how to write actual fight scenes first lol). I can definitely see the Supreme Deity being absolutely cruel against the remaining Sins and even more against Elizabeth. After everything Elizabeth did, after going against the Supreme Deity and the goddesses' principles, after choosing Meliodas time and time again, she was the one to kill him. The Supreme Deity would no doubt appreciate the irony of it. And then the Seven Deadly Sins? The famed order of knights, responsible for defeating the demon threat, kill the Demon King himself and end the war, well, they couldn't even keep their own captain alive. Oh... I think her gloating about Meliodas' demise would be the cause of her own fall. Because like the Sins and Elizabeth, yeah they might accept her talking shit about themselves - hello guilt and self-blame - but not each other and absolutely not Meliodas. Elizabeth would make good of that threat she gives in canon, that if the Supreme Deity doesn't stop hurting her family and friends, she will fight her. And fight her she does! Alongside Zeldris, who came after there to confront her after everything that happened in the Demon Realm.

That would be what determined Elizabeth and Zeldris' relationship going forward. But before we step further into the future, there's one more character I wanna talk about: Gelda.

Gelda's place in this AU and the whole ordeal with Meliodas' death is another intriguing thing to think about. Because on one side, she sees firsthand the utter devastation Meliodas' death at the Elizabeth's hands causes Zeldris. On the other side, Meliodas and Elizabeth were the ones who freed her from her second seal and then saved Zeldris from the Demon King, not just when he possessed Zeldris body but also by killing the Demon King and releasing Zeldris from his influence and control. I also think she and Elizabeth have a deeper understanding for each other - she knows that Elizabeth would of course never willingly harm Meliodas, if she did that it was either an accident or because it was literally the only option she had. Gelda would be able to view the situation more objectively and not let her emotions cloud her ability to see it from Elizabeth or the Sins' perspective. I think she would push Zeldris to maintain a relationship with Elizabeth after Meliodas' death and especially after the news about baby Tristan.

Of course, Zeldris doesn't need much convincing to be a part of Tristan's life - but more about that later. First, let's talk a little about Tristan himself.

I don't know which alternative is worse: Elizabeth finding out she's pregnant with Meliodas' child after her magic kills him, or Elizabeth and Meliodas both already knowing she's pregnant when the attack happens. Ugh, so much angst, I love it. Or, third option, Bartra knew Elizabeth was pregnant because of his Vision but hadn't said anything yet because he wanted them to find out on their own and then Elizabeth had to find out alone because Meliodas' died before he could even find out he was going to be a father. So, so much angst potential in this AU.

Okay, but what about Tristan then? No matter how anyone finds out, Tristan is born and suddenly there's this last piece of Meliodas, completely free of all the pain and horror, in the world. So, Tristan grows up fiercely protected. Just like in canon, Tristan will constantly hear how much like his mother he looks. From outsiders. But when it comes to his family and even more his parents' family and friends, they look at him and they see Meliodas - which is not good for the guilt that none of them seem able to shake, and definitely makes their protectiveness of Tristan worse.

Tristan might never have gotten the chance to meet his father, but everyone around him certainly makes him feel alive. Tristan grows up surrounded by stories about his father; of how he saved the kingdom and the entirety of Britannia, of how he saved his family and friends in big and small ways, of how he was a demon and he was good, of how despite everything he went through he would always smile, of how his cooking could make even an immortal fear for his life. Tristan heard stories about the big things and the small things, the amazing things and the silly things. He heard stories about everything except how his father died. It was the one thing nobody would ever speak to him about - he was a hero, he died protecting this kingdom; never a how and never a who. Even when Gowther gifted him the story of his parents, that part was still missing.

As the years pass, Tristan gets even more stuck on that one missing story. Some might even say it turns into an obsession. But Tristan can't let it go; it's that one even that kept him from ever meeting his father. And he just doesn't get it. Why won't anyone tell him? There was definitely some horrible things that Gowther still showed him, so why not his father's death? Tristan is not stupid, with every avoided story, he realized that there's something more to it, there's something about how his father died that everyone is trying to keep from him.

(Okay, now I want to write THAT story too. Tristan's search for the truth about his father's death over the years, with a lot of focus on Zeldris' relationships with Tristan and Meliodas too. Because if anyone is going to stop treating him like a child it's Zeldris, if anyone is going to understand what it's like to never get to have a real relationship with Meliodas, it's Zeldris).

Now, about Zeldris. Like I said earlier, he doesn't need much convincing once the news about Tristan reaches them. He doesn't really want to be around Elizabeth (even if she did help him kill her own mother) or the remaining Seven Deadly Sins, but Tristan's his family. He's Meliodas' son. To Zeldris, as well, he's the last piece of Meliodas still alive in this world. And Zeldris needs him to know that he has an uncle, that his father had a family too. He wants Tristan to know about demons and see the beauty in those powers too. Most of all, he doesn't want Tristan to be ashed of his father's genes, he wants him to have the childhood and the family that both he and Meliodas were robbed of. That's what Meliodas would have wanted to. Zeldris might never have gotten to make up with his brother, to forgive him or even talk about everything they said or didn't say - he never got to have a relationship with his brother, but he can have one with his nephew. Zeldris visits Tristan as often as his own duties allow. As he grows older, Tristan sometimes visits him in the Demon Realm too. When Zeldris is in Liones he tries his best to avoid Elizabeth and anyone else of Meliodas' friends. Their relationship is still bad, but they all do their best to keep the bad blood hidden from Tristan - he still notices things. They all just want to make right by Meliodas.

At first, Zeldris is one of the only people who won't talk about Meliodas with Tristan. He will tell him about the Demon Realm and about demons, but never about Meliodas. Not even when Tristan asks him about him. It doesn't last. As Tristan grows older, the questions increases. Zeldris still tries to avoid the topic, even gets into arguments with Tristan about it, until eventually... Eventually Zeldris can't avoid it anymore. He's forced to confront his own relationship with Meliodas. Because Tristan actually thinks Zeldris hates how big brother, that he doesn't miss him. Zeldris has missed Meliodas since long before he actually died. After that, Zeldris starts telling Tristan about Meliodas as well. Not about his death and not about the Meliodas that Britannia knew. He tells him about the Meliodas before all that, about growing up in the Demon Realm together, about going dragon hunting. He tells him about the few moments they actually got to have as brothers, about the Meliodas that Zeldris grew up looking up to and admiring.

Yeah, Meliodas never getting the peace with Elizabeth is the most cruel part about this AU, and what I kinda wanted to focus on with the bad ending. "After all these years, their parents had won." Because that's what happened. All Meliodas ever wanted was to live in peace with Elizabeth, but he died and he wasn't coming back, and thereby it was a reality he never got. But not only that, with Tristan added to it all, it makes it worse. Because Meliodas never got to see the family he left behind and Tristan never got to meet him. Even if Tristan tried to get into the Necropolis/City of the Dead he couldn't, because he has no shared memories with Meliodas.

And with that I'm gonna shut up before I'm hit with even more fic ideas (I already have sooo many - I mean I love it, I love writing them, but also ahhh)

@zorria @soniclozdplove @animalarte (because you mentioned you wanted to see this stuff sooner.)

During the fight against Hendrickson, it is revealed that Abaddon is a goddess, we've already discussed this. And at the same time, Elizabeth is fighting, the silhouette of golden wings branching out of her back. She settles into instinct and fights amd heals in tandem with her father.

The fight is over and the golden light faded away from her. He doesn't bother putting his wings away, it's already out, so he just settled them against his back and turns towards Elizabeth. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

She just stares at him. "...I'm not hurt."

"Oh, thank the stars-"

"What are you?"

She asks it blunty, still staring at him, and more specifically, his wings. "You're not human, are you? Are you a GODDESS? How is that possible?? Am I- Am I even really your daughter, or has my entire life been a lie?"

"Ellie..."

"Answer me!"

"Alright! Yes, I'm a goddess, always have been. But you ARE my daughter-"

"How is that possible?? I-I'm a HUMAN, not a goddess!!" Oh, if only you knew, Honey.

"Because your mother was human! You inherited her clan and my abilities." It was a lie he had prepared years ago, should he need it. "You-" He sighed. "Ok. The druid clan are descendants of the goddesses. When a goddess has a child with a human, more often than not, that child is a druid. A human with divine magic. It wasn't all that uncommon to happen back in the day. First generation druids are typically the most powerful, they have the most undiluted divine blood, so they are usually on par with, at least other lower rank, goddesses. Over 3000 years, the divine blood dilutes more and more. There are still druids, still with divine magic, but no longer what it once was. You're currently the only first generation druid in Brittania. You ARE human. And I AM your father. The only lie is that I pretended to be human for the safety of both myself and you." He gestured towards Hendrickson, who was still unconscious. "Because this happens when people know or even suspect what we are."

She stared at him for another moment, before wavering. "We're talking more later." She hissed. Then she whirled around and glared at Meliodas. "And YOU! I feel like you knew, didn't you??" He shrunk away from her Wrath a little. "I did..." She threw her hands up into the air. "MEN! What is wrong with you two, why would you keep something like that from me?? Who else knows??"

"Well, er... everyone, now..." Abaddon said quietly. She glared at him furiously and he shrunk. "Fine. Who did you TELL before you thought: Hm, maybe I should tell my daughter her true heritage so she, I dunno, wouldn't grow up feeling excluded and like a freak for her golden eye and twisted pupil??"

"Your eye is beautiful-"

"Who. Did. You. Tell??"

"I didn't actually TELL anyone, people just found out! Zaratras knew, because he found me with Meliodas."

"...."

"...He was hurt and ill, and my magic was too drained to heal him properly. And he was protecting you, when you were 3 days old. Zaratras helped us out. Lady Merlin knew because... well, she's Merlin. But that's it. No one else knew."

"....."

She stared, at them, both men on their knees as they tried to earn her forgiveness and she took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ok. I understand you kept it from me for my safety when I was young. But I think, as grown as I am, I deserved to find out from YOU instead of in the middle of a battle! Because it's not SAFE if I don't know I'm being targeted, much less WHY!"

"...I concede your point."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Great, we can talk more later, when we dont have an audience. Get up, both of you, and help me clean this mess."

Like, imagine Abbadon’s first meeting with the man his daughter was courting (cuz you know that Ellie was the one to court Meliodas that first time) and how… strange and awkward that must’ve been for him. Like, ‘oh okay my daughter is dating the most feared and hated demon in existence and acting like he’s some sort of misunderstood puppy…’ and then as the meeting passes he realizes that Meliodas… really is sorta like a misunderstood puppy. Specifically own that’s been mistreated it’s whole life and needs rehabilitation ASAP. Then it’s a sudden, ‘oh… I’m gonna adopt myself a new son out of this aren’t I…’ moment all while Seraphina is looking at him like “What the fuck do you mean, your gonna adopt him!? We gotta stop her and kill that demon!”

Elizabeth peaked into her father's study. He was reclined in his chair, eyes skimming over some book or another, his wings settled, half curled around him.

"Dad?" She asked quietly. He hummed as he looked up. "Hey, Elizabeth. Come on in, what's up?" She slipped in and closed the door behind her, walking over to the chair across from his. She pulled her legs up onto it, hands in her lap. She steeled herself, taking a breath as Abaddon marked his book and gave her his full attention.

"I'm courting someone."

He blinked, then smiled. "Really, now? That's fantastic! Tell me about him! Her? Them? What caught your eye first? What is this mystery partner like?"

"Him, you were right the first time. He's great, really! He's super sweet and kind and, honestly, he's pretty awkward, but it's cute. He loves his brother so much, and always tries to make sure he's OK, even in the midst of battle! I found him helping get a couple of kids out of harms way, that's what got my attention."

He blinked at her, then tilted his head a little. "...Are you talking about Mael? I know he's been trying to woo you for awhile now."

"No, no it's not Mael. I see him more as a sibling than anything, he's one of my best friends, but I have no romantic or sexual interest in him."

"Ok, that's fine. Then who is this mystery man? What clan is he from? You know I don't care if you court a goddess or not."

"Well, that's the part I'm a little worried about. I know you SAID you wouldn't care, but..."

"But... You're courting a demon, aren't you?"

"Yes..." her voice was a little whispy and hesitant and he smirked. "Of course you are. Alright. What's his name?"

".....Meliodas."

"...I see. And how long has this been going on now?"

"About six years now."

"Ah, that explains the change in his battle methods. He was trying to impress you, who knew? Alright, when can I talk to him?"

"...What?"

"When can you set up a meeting for us? I've engaged with him on the battlefield before, but I've never actually TALKED to the man."

She stared at him, stunned. "You're not mad??"

"Mmm... I'll admit, I'm a little startled. It's off putting, thinking that you're courting The Destroyer of all people, but it also kinda makes sense. He may be your opposite, but he's also your equal. Besides, it's YOUR love life, not mine."

"Oh..."

He laughed and walked over to kiss her forehead. "I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy. Even if it IS our clans worst enemy. We'll work it out." She sagged and hugged him. "Thanks, Dad."

_-_-_-_-_

Abaddon was waiting In the old Heavens Theatre. It had been abandoned decades ago, and was in disrepair, but it still worked well enough as a meeting point.

He sensed the two coming before he saw them, and smiled as they landed in front of him. Elizabeth beamed at him. "Hi, Dad! Thanks for coming!" Meliodas, however, was a bit more withdrawn, watching him nervously, warily.

Abaddon smiled and stood up. "Well, you asked me to, so of course I did." He smiled as he walked forward and held a hand out to the Demon. "Abaddon, if you weren't already aware. It's nice to meet you outside of battle." He stared at his palm for a moment before tentatively clasping and giving a firm shake. "Meliodas."

His original plan was to give the Demon an only half playful shovel talk, but as he talked with him he realized that Meliodas was actually, genuinely frightened. He shouldn't have been, not really. He was plenty capable of matching him in a fight, if he thought he would attack. It dawned on him almost slowly that he was scared of REJECTION. He felt a piece of him melt a little. Demon or no, this was just another kid.

......

Gah, and he was so fucking cute too, looking at his daughter like she'd hung the moon!

I HC that whenever zeldris had a nightmare when he was little he would be too scared to be alone and would want someone. So he would get off his bed grabbing a blanket and a small plushie he slept with and wander the halls looking for meliodas because he was really good at keeping the nightmares away

As soon as he found meliodas, he beg to stay with him because he was scared and meliodas would just give in instantly and would gently wrap him in his arms making sure he was okay before letting him sleep on his lap during meetings or just hold him until he was sleep. When that happened he would take him back to his room and lay him in his bed. But the moment he did zeldris would instantly cling to him making meliodas instantly rethink leaving. So he stayed with him the whole time holding zeldris in his arms as they both slept

Slight au but what if, with the sins disbanding, Meliodas just chose to go back to the Demon Realm or something. Like no traveling tavern, no searching the other sins, just laying low a couple hundred years and try again later cuz at least Elizabeth is most likely gonna stay safe in this life since she’s a princess with hundreds of loyal knights and Baltra is hardly a weak king (he stays on the edges just in case though) only his plan gets cut short cuz Hendy starts searching specifically for him and him alone cuz, guess what, he has the key to the seal!

that's a really interesting take ngl

and Elizabeth would still go looking for the sins like in the original, only this time, Eli doesn't find a traveling tavern, but idk, falls into the demon realm by a stray portal that mysteriously opened? Or maybe she finds some kind of artifact that reacts to her dormant goddess magic and takes her to the demon realm just about when she's supposed to find the tavern and Mel and falls unconscious into the demon realm. Or rumors about the captain of the sins being a demon have spread and Elizabeth actively looks for a way into the demon realm.

OOH, or maybe Elizabeth doesn't find Mel, but instead another sin first! Until the only sin left is their dear captain.

BUT WAIT Hendrickson finds a way into the demon realm first and manages to get Meliodas out with some trick, or just straight up kidnapping him (depends on whether Mel still had his power stolen in this au), and upon hearing that their captain was found, the sins start a rescue mission to get him back, storming the capital in the process. And there's no way Hendrickson doesn't know how powerful Mel is (and that he's a demon), so he asks him a bunch of questions without letting on that he's planning something. And when the sins attack, Hendi tries to paint them as evil and having lost their way, which of course Mel doesn't believe and he interrogates Hendi on the spot. The sins interrupt, and Hendi, thinking fast, tasks Helbram with keeping Mel 'safe' and runs off. Helbram with his 'link' ability is currently stronger than Mel but still struggles.

Back to the first approach though with Eli falling into the demon realm: Mel finds her and after making sure the environment won't kill her (by putting his 'blessing' as the demon prince on her or something) he nurses her back to health. She tells him all about how Liones is in danger thanks to its holy knights, and Mel, seeing her resolve, can't help but help her at least get back to Liones. As they journey through the underworld to the portal leading back to the human realm, Hendrickson sends someone after Eli after discovering that she plays a key role in the revival of the demons. A holy knight comes across Mel and Eli as they're still in the demon realm and attacks him. Mel of course protect Eli even after she makes her whole show of "if he gets me, he might leave you alone" and Mel going "he'll still kill both of us I think", so while Mel originally meant to just take her back to Liones and then see if he should stay, he's forced to reveal himself to her and help her like he does in canon. The moment they get to the human realm, Hendi already lies in ambush to get both her and his dragon handle. They manage to escape though, maybe even because Ban broke out of prison and decided to go back to his captain after hearing the guards chat about Hendis big plan. I would have said Diane, but I'm not sure if she would even get wind of the whole thing with where she hid. King could also be a candidate since he respects Mel greatly and doesn't want any harm to come to him, but that would jeapordize his plans to use the holy knights to get his hands on Ban.

Now, they get away, but where do they go? Mel has his home in the demon realm, and the traveling tavern doesn't exist. The best course of action: into the nearest village, or better yet, the next kingdom.

Since Hawk mentioned when he first met Mel that they were pretty close to camelot, and the portal to the demon realm was pretty far out of the way in canon, they go to camelot where they won't be prosecuted and can take a breather. As they go, they could meet Hawk and Hawks Mom if you will and build a home on top of her after Hawk takes a liking to Elizabeth. The home still ends up a tavern since Mel still goes "I wanna drink, plus drunkards talk a lot, if we get lots of customers, we might find the other sins sooner rather than later" and, well, you know the rest...

Hey what if Chandler and Cusack saw how much of an abusive piece of shit the DK was and decided that they would do everything in their power to protect Mel and Zel and basically kidnapped them as infants/children to raise them in a loving home somewhere in the human realm or something and half the Holy War was just the DK trying to get his pawns/weapons/sons back while the goddesses blew his constant invasions into the human, giant, and fairy realms out of proportion?

i'm just imagining like the DK reaching out his hands towards Cusak and Chandler and them repeatedly slapping his hands away XD

and of course, without Mel to pick them, the DK has to pick elite warriors themselves. (At least I'm pretty sure Mel is the one who picked them out. If not, I'm going with it anyway.)

The DK is impatient. There's only a few years where kids are impressionable enough to be manipulated easily, and time is slipping through his fingers. The warriors he picks are semi-decent, hastily chosen from strong families. Galand, being the mitochondria powerhouse that he is, makes it to the team. At first, he thinks the DK just wants his kids back, but questions as to why Chandler and Cusak ran away with them in the first place. The two caretakers are also demons, powerful ones, why would they disobey their ruler and creator?

Galand finds out why, when he hears the demon king mutter and pieces it together. And abuse of children, no matter the race, is a huge taboo for demons. Galand tells the other commandments, who have no choice but to believe Galand of Truth and from there the knowledge makes its way to the general folk, slowly turning the entire demon race against their king.

Meanwhile in Stigma, Ludociel conveniently fails to mention that the DK wants his kids back, saying that he wants to invade the fairy kings forest where they're stationed. Many who don't care enough (which is like 99% of them, also due to lack of information) buy it easily. Not Elizabeth. She knows where the DK invades regularly, and it's alway the same place, a village with no conceivable advantage in battle. It's one of the few human settlements still untouched by the war. Curious as to why the demon king of all people would want to take over, she investigates.

She discovers quickly that there are four demonic presences within the village. They were well-hidden, but as a high-ranking goddess (if not the strongest one) she can sense them anyway. They're just two kids and two elders. She figues the demon king would want his people back, but invading over and over, just for two children too young for war, and two doting elderlies? Seems fishy, but there's no way to find out more unless she talks to them.

And another detail: Without Chandler to cast absolute order, and the growing resentment against the demon king among demons, Elizabeths attempts at convincing the demons to turn back and stop the fighting are much more successful!

One who also makes it on the team of the TC is Gowther. He was always close to the royal family, and also saw the abuse second-hand, patching up wounds and bruises with magic and potions. Chandler and Cusak told the elder demon of their plans, and in fact, Gowther was the one to pick out the village they ended up staying in! Knowing that the TC are formed this time solely to get the two princes back, Gowther joins willingly and isn't imprisoned. It's the only way he gets to see the two princes, and he still makes doll Gowther to visit Chandler, Cusak, Mel and Zel under the radar.

And I just read that the DK also invades the other realms. And all I can picture is his gigantic body, only half fitting through the portal entrances (or whatever the different realms have as entrances) and going "Where the FUCK are my pawns I mean children." to whoever hears him and gets the f outta there real fast. Right after, swarms of demons trickle through (bc the DK is blocking like 90% of the entrance) to search the place before being beaten back by the resident warriors. In the case of the goddess realm, one random goddess goes "Bro, do you really think demons would even survive up here?" and DK responds "Do not question my judgement, puny goddess."