Song: It Could Have Been Me by The Struts

(With some adjustments to avoid so much repeating and make it more accurate to the characters in certain places)

Characters: Moiraine and Briar

Context:

Probably the only (almost) fully wholesome song you'll ever get relating to these two characters.

Moiraine is easily my favorite character of Briar's group (though Cam is a close second, of course).

Some basic information on Moiraine! He's trans (FtoM) but transitioned long before he joined the gang, so only Briar ever knew. He went by Raine or Mori most of the time. He and Briar were dating (unofficially, of course. The gang would never stand for them being open together-).

And, uh, the best comparison of their relationship? Nico and Briar, actually! On a more romantic level, of course. And Raine was much more confident than Nico is and a little more chaotic too. The two met because Moiraine took Briar under his wing when no one else paid any attention to them and kept their humanity intact for longer than it would have been otherwise.

Anyway, this song is basically just how Moiraine saw life. What he stood for and why he continued to hold on to his humanity when literally everyone else in the gang lost theirs.

There's no approximate ages since I'm still working out the timeline

Enjoy! I really love Moiraine, hope you do too :D

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*We start when Briar first met Moiraine. Raine immediately started building Briar up when everyone else broke them down and started teaching them to live to the fullest, even when things seemed hopeless. Like everyone else in the gang, he came from a broken home, but unlike the others, Mori never lost hope. He just hoped to pass this on.*

Moiraine, inviting Briar into his life: "Don't wanna live as an untold story, rather go out in a blaze of glory!"

Moiraine, talking about Viar: "I can't hear you, I don't fear you! I can't hear you, I don't fear you."

Moiraine, to Briar, more sympathetic but still promoting: "Dodging bullets with your broken past. I can't hear you!"

Briar, hesitantly echoing Moiraine: "I don't fear you now?"

*Timeline change. Mori steps in when he sees Destry bothering Briar and quickly calls him out while Briar watches half-smug, half-admiring*

Moiraine, to Destry, completely and accurately calling him out: "Wrapped in your regret? What a waste of blood and sweat!"

*Timeline change. Raine and Briar are quite close now, starting to develop a more romantic relationship. Mori begins to talk to Briar about how he really feels about everything and we start to see hints about his future plans within the gang*

Moiraine, sitting with Briar in the shack that Briar prompted him to move into, slightly distant as he talks: "I wanna taste love and pain, wanna feel pride and shame. I don't wanna take my time! Don't wanna waste one line! I wanna live better days, never look back and say could have been me!"

Moiraine, smiling sadly and looking at Briar: "It could have been me!"

*Timeline change. Briar and Moiraine are fully romantic now and Briar's picked up on Mori's ideas, fully supporting him in his future plans. The two work together and are often seen joking around with one another, even in the presence of higher-ups, something that gains attention rather quickly*

Moiraine, to Briar: "Don't wanna live as an unsung melody!"

Briar, following his lead, much more confident than in the beginning: "I'd rather listen to the silence telling me!"

Moiraine, grinning: "I can't hear you, I won't fear you!"

Briar, teasingly: "Don't wanna wake up on a Monday morning."

Moiraine, smirking and joking back: "The thought of work is getting my skin crawling."

Briar, echoing Moiraine's previous statement, much to Mori's pride: "I can't fear you, I don't hear you now!"

*Moiraine starts setting his plan into motion, only letting Briar in on half of the plan*

Moiraine, referencing the majority of the camp: "Wrapped in their regret..."

Briar, smiling slightly and nodding: "What a waste of blood and sweat."

*Moiraine's plan begins about a year into him and Briar dating. Briar's still only half aware of the plan, something Raine did intentionally to protect Briar from the expected ending. So, the two set out, one oblivious and the other happy but resigned, hoping his lesson will stick with Briar permanently*

Briar, in the lead for the first time since meeting Moiraine: "I wanna taste love and pain!"

Moiraine, smiling sadly: 'Wanna feel pride and shame."

Briar: "I don't wanna take my time!"

Moiraine, watching Brair with a mixture of sadness and pride: "Don't wanna waste one line!"

Briar, grabbing Moiraine's hand out in the open for the first time, hopeful for the future and turning against the ideas of the gang: "I wanna live better days!"

Moiraine, squeezing Briar's hand and allowing himself to relish the love surrounding him, something he never really knew until Briar: "Never look back and say could have been me."

Briar, beaming: "It could have been me!"

*The two parade through the camp together, watching as other creatures and higher-ups alike part for them until they reach the center*

Briar and Moiraine, calling out to Viar together: "I wanna taste love and pain, wanna feel pride and shame! Don't wanna take my time! Don't wanna waste one line!"

*Seemingly out of nowhere, Destry bursts from the crowd and tackles Briar, pulling them back and holding them down just as Viar appears, immediately looking to Moiraine who glances back at Briar and smiles*

Moiraine, meeting Briar's eyes: "Never look back and say, could have been me. It could have been me!"

*For the first time in the gang's history, Viar is directly challenged. By a creature nonetheless, and, yet, Moiraine doesn't waver*

Moiraine, meeting Viar's eyes, never dropping his smile: "It could have been me, It could have been me!"