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skinnyducky · 3 years

Text

monsters (pt. 2 to maneater) // v.h.

This part went through so many changes. At one point, it was a backstory and at another it was a twilight fanfic. But I think this is where it should’ve went. Besides that, this is very much inspired by Supernatural and Teen Wolf and those sorts of shows. So, hope you enjoy!

link to part 1

Word Count: 1942, slightly edited

WARNING: language, sexual themes, mentions of blood/gore, partying, and supernatural creatures :)

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Your eyes shot open and sweat trickled down from your forehead. Your chest heaved up and down as you felt around, the feeling of rough leather coming in contact with your palm. Your sight became clear, and you were relieved to find yourself still in Vinnie’s car. You didn’t know what the hell that was about, but you knew something wasn’t right.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” Your boyfriend, Vinnie, asked. He kept his attention on the road, shooting a few worried glances your way. “You look like you just had a nightmare.”

You leaned back in the passenger seat and gazed out the window. “No, no…it wasn’t that. This felt real, like I was actually living it, y’know?”

“What was it then? Was it a vision?”

“I think so,” you sighed, reaching for your water. “It was hard to tell. It was weird.”

Vinnie softly chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t expect your visions to be normal. What was this one about?”

“You.”

“Me?”

You nodded. “You, and me. We were going into a room and-“

“I think I know where this is headed, Y/n.”

“No, it wasn’t one of those dreams.” You replied. “I was some sort of monster, and I was about to eat you.”

With furrowed eyebrows, Vinnie quickly pulled over and turned to you.

“Why’d you stop?” You asked.

“You know why I stopped, Y/n. You just had a vision, an important one at that.”

You crossed your arms and rolled your eyes at him. Your visions—or “gift” as Vinnie likes to call it—was something that came in handy in your line of work. Being hunters for the supernatural, your visions aided the two of you in finding clues and the whereabouts of monsters or entities. But unlike those visions, this one was different. Never have you been the leading actress in your visions, let alone have Vinnie guest star. That’s why you weren’t taking this as serious as he was.

“You know how they work, Vin. I don’t have visions with me in them. I haven’t even had a vision with you in it.”

Vinnie sighed, “Remember what your grandmother told to you?”

“Yeah, that I’m different from most psychics.”

“And your visions don’t just let you see things before they happen. They actually let you live through the people within them.”

You sat there confused, trying to figure out what he was trying to get at. “I’m having trouble understanding. Are you saying that I can sometimes live through others in my visions?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“If that’s the case, why were you in it? You’ve never been in them.”

He shrugged, starting the car back up. “Maybe it’s a sign or something. Maybe the person you were living through had an emotional connection with whoever they attacked. Just like you and me.”

“They didn’t though. It was at a party, and they didn’t know each other. Whoever the woman was lured her prey in.”

He paused. “Did you say it was at a party?”

“Yeah. I don’t know who’s party though. Just that whoever’s party it was, you…or the guy…was very unhappy about being there.”

You heard Vinnie gulp before he did a hard U-turn and sped down the road. You clung to your seat, fearing that this may be the end of your life. “What’s wrong, Vinnie?” You asked, gripping onto your seatbelt tightly.

“Jett.”

“I don’t understand. What about Jett?”

“Jett’s at that party, Y/n. He texted me an hour ago saying that some of the boys dragged him out and he’s bored out of his mind. Y/n, he’s me. Well, not me, but the guy you saw in your vision.”

“That makes sense.” You responded, chewing on your bottom lip. “If Jett’s in trouble, then we have to save him.”

“I’m already two steps ahead of you.”

It didn’t take you that long to figure out that the party was none other than at the D’Amelios’ house. It was a single release for Dixie, and she was throwing a huge party in celebration. Obviously, due to your work you and Vinnie couldn’t make it. But, given the situation…you wished you had shown up earlier.

“So, what do you think we’re dealing with?” You asked, following Vinnie in the house.

“You said she lured him in so…possibly a siren?”

You shook your head. “She didn’t sing to him, though. It was a look.”

“Gorgon maybe?”

“Why would a monster eat a statue?”

“I don’t know? For minerals?”

You ignored his statement and looked around for any sign of your friend. “If not a siren, and definitely not a gorgon…then maybe it’s-“

“A succubus.” Vinnie interrupted. “Look, we need to split up and try and find Jett before he becomes Jett à la carte. You check in the main room, and I’ll check the kitchen and the bathrooms.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” You muttered, fiddling with your thumbs.

“Why not? We’d find the two of them faster that way.”

“We’ve only dealt with one succubus before, and that one alone was a bitch. This one can’t be any different. We need to be cautious.” You huffed, crossing your arms.

“Y/n, we can’t play it safe this time! Our friend’s life is on the line!”

“And I understand that, but if we go into this gung-ho…then we’re more likely to scare her away and lead her to some other poor guy. I know Jett’s life is at stake here, but so is a bunch of other peoples.”

At that moment, a scream rang out through in the crowd and the music came to an abrupt stop. You gasped, dropping to your knees and covering your throbbing ears. Vinnie fell next to you, wrapping his arms around you.

“That wasn’t just your average scream was it?” Vinnie asked.

You kept your hands on your ears. “That was a banshee. While her screams are normal to a human…”

“…for the supernatural, it causes pain.” Vinnie finished.

You nodded, steadily getting back on your feet. everyone stopped dancing and mingling, trying to figure out what the hell happened.

“Jett’s not dead yet, is he? You know, with banshees being walking Geiger counters for death and whatnot.”

“No, Jett’s not dead. Don’t you remember? When banshees scream, it means that someone is about to die, not that they have already passed. It’s a prediction, just like my visions.” You explained.

The two of you saw a wailing Charli being carried out of the room by Noah and Chase. You raised an eyebrow and said, “Would you look at that. I think we found our banshee. Now where’s our succubus?”

You scanned the crowd, finding no sign of anyone feeling the effects of Charli’s scream. The succubus wasn’t there. You then remembered the two leaning up against walls, but surprisingly, there was no one clinging to them. Then, you looked to the stairs where you saw a familiar brunet making his way up them. There was no doubt it was Jett and judging by his state, the demon had him right where she wanted him.

You tapped Vinnie’s shoulder, gaining his attention. “They’re headed upstairs…just like in my vision. Ugh, why didn’t we think to go up there first?”

“It’s fine, Y/n. As long as we know where he is, we can get to him in time.”

Just as you two were about to embark on your quest to save Jett, the music resumed, and a herd of people got back on the dancefloor. You and Vinnie tried your best to push through the sweaty bodies, but it proved to be much more difficult.

“C’mon idiots, move out of the way!” Vinnie yelled, on the verge of decking people in the face. You on the other hand, had a sweeter disposition, nicely excusing yourself. After some time, you had finally got to the stairs and flew up them. Reaching the top, you both were met with no Jett and no succubus. There was, however, an elongated hallway with many doors.

Vinnie groaned, lacing his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Great, we lost them.”

“Maybe not.”

You closed your eyes and tried to remember your vision as vividly as you could. You steadily breathed in and out as it began to replay in your head. In seconds, your eyes shot open revealing nothing but ghostly white orbs. You stepped to the first door on the right. The minute your hand touched the handle, you were back to normal.

“It’s this one!” you spat, bursting through the door.

You and Vinnie ran inside, finding an unconscious Jett on the floor. Vinnie hurried to your shared friend and checked to make sure he was alright. You searched around the room in search of the demon to no avail.

In the midst of walking back over to Vinnie and Jett, you felt some light hit your shoulder. After feeling the spot, you took a look at your finger, seeing it painted with blood. Your breath hitched as you slowly looked up. There the succubus sat, hanging from the wall with a sick grin on her face and blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She roared and dropped from the ceiling, falling on top of you.

“Vinnie!” You screamed, wrestling on the floor with the demon. Vinnie’s attention shot over to you and without hesitation, he charged at the succubus, punching the beast dead square in it’s jaw. She fell off of you and Vinnie took this chance to straddle her.

“Keep her steady, Y/n!” Vinnie ordered, reaching into his jacket pocket. You did as he said, planting your hands on the demon’s wrist, keeping her from moving too much. She flailed around, speaking in tongues and shouting out profanities.

Finally finding it, Vinnie pulled out his father’s bestiary. As he flipped through the pages, the succubus stopped moving and stared daggers at you.

“I know about you,” she cackled, “Y/n, the youngest psychic of your family.”

“Don’t listen to her, Y/n!” warned Vinnie.

You ignored his warning and responded to the demon. “You don’t know nothing about me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Down in hell, we know all about you. And we can’t wait for you to join us and your whore of a mother.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, not from fear…but from rage. You looked to Vinnie, watching as he stopped on a page. He glanced up at you. “You ready?”

“Kill the bitch.”

Vinnie read off a vanquishing spell and upon doing so, the succubus began to cry out in agony. You struggled to contain her but after a few minutes, she stopped squirming. Her cries silenced as her body dissolved into boiling liquid, creating an acid pool of flesh and blood.

You let out a breath of relief. “Well, that was easier than the one in Devil’s Kettle.”

“That’s because we were amateurs then.” Vinnie replied as he stood up, bringing you with him.

You smiled, patting him on the back. “I gotta give you props on that punch. It was actually kind of hot.”

“No one can do it like me.”

“Don’t let my compliment go to your head.”

He pouted and then turned to a frightened Jett. “You okay, buddy?”

Jett softly nodded, shooting the two of you a shaky thumbs up. “N-Never better. How’d you know I was in trouble?”

Vinnie pointed over at you. “Visions. Only, she didn’t actually see you. She saw me.”

“O-Oh,” Jett said. “I guess, t-that’s cool. Thank you, Y/n.”

“You’re welcome.” You laughed, turning to Vinnie. “We did good, babe.”

“We sure did. All in a day’s work.”

“And onto the next adventure.”

#vinnie hacker #vinnie hacker x reader #vinnie x reader #vinnie hacker imagine

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xcrystalzero · 3 years

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it's called a starconch

pairing: childe x gn!reader

summary: a seashell shouldn't hold as much meaning as childe lets it. and yet, he can't seem to let go.

note: i think i'm going through my angsty teenage stage as a literal adult.... also this shit long, good luck! also SPOILER WARNING HERE FOR THE LIYUE ARCHON QUEST DONT READ IF YOU HAVENT FINISHED IT!!!!!!!

Childe had always loved the ocean. Coming from a little fishing village on the coast, the Snezhnayan ocean had always felt like home, but that wasn't the ocean he was talking about.

It was so warm here compared to his homeland, the coasts lined with fine golden sand that crumbled under his feet and shells of every color under the sun scattered about. One in particular caught his eye and Childe knelt down slowly to take it in his hand.

"It's called a Starconch!"

He nearly spun around in panic as the voice seemed to echo around him. He hadn't heard that voice in long enough that it almost sounded real, and yet, there was no way that could have been the case.

With a soft sigh, he turned his gaze back out towards the sea. Starconch...

~~~

Liyue was a country of colors. The moment he had first stepped off of the boat and into Liyue Harbor, he had been awed by the way that city seemed to shine. The warm light of a thousand lanterns hanging from every building he could see pushed back the darkness of night, bathing the place and the people in a golden glow.

And in that golden glow, he saw you.

"Welcome to Liyue Sir Tartaglia!" Your smile was warm like the city around you and yet, Childe sensed that it wasn't entirely genuine. "I am [name], a representative on behalf of the Liyue Qixing. It is an honor to have you in our harbor." Ah, that was why. Well, you were smart not to trust the Fatui who had just docked in the city you were meant to protect.

Well, two could play at that game. It took him but a moment to pull his usual grin to his face as he extended a hand. "Quite the warm welcome! Trust me, the honor is all mine."

He didn't miss the way the side of your mouth quirked slightly upwards at that as you regarded him with a somewhat bemused expression before returning the gesture.

"And please, call me Childe."

~~~

"Fancy seeing you here." Childe had been heading out on a request to monitor a Fatui base near the coast and had thought to grab some food for the road before he left when he saw your figure weaving between the various stands set up around Liuili Pavilion.

He wasn't sure how to feel about the way his heart seemed to jump at the sight of you though. It wasn't as though he didn't see you often. His position as a foreign diplomat and your role as a representative of the Qixing made it so that communication between you two was an all-too normal occurrence. Almost every day as luck would have it and yet, he wasn't sure if he would ever get bored of the prospect of running into you.

You turned to face him and Childe couldn't manage to hold back the laugh that erupted out of him. Your cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk, likely filled with a huge bite of the pastry you were currently cradling protectively in your hands as though you thought he was going to steal it from you.

Your cheeks went red as you threw a hand up in front of your face as you finished your bite before turning a glare back on him. "What..."

"Hungry?" He teased, stepping around you to scan the stand's wares as he pulled his wallet out.

"Shut it..." You muttered, promptly folding the wrapping of your pastry up over the top and slipping it into your pocket. "I thought you were Ganyu... She's always yelling at me not to eat so many sweets but they're just so good..."

Childe chuckled at that, earning him another sideways glare from your direction. "Ah, so is that your weakness then?" He plucked a handful of fruits from the stall as well as a pair of lemon tarts sitting in a small container to the side, offering the money for them to the stand owner as he stowed them in his knapsack.

"What do you need to know about my weaknesses Fatui?" Ah yes, there is was. The thing that had drawn Childe to you in the first place. The city of Liyue was warm and so were the people, but there were times when for you, that warmth rose into a heated blaze. You weren't afraid to challenge him, to dart across the line drawn by diplomacy and come just close enough that he was tempted to chase after you when you retreated.

There was a slight smirk on your face as you waited for his answer. He sighed, shrugging with a soft smile. "I mean, it can't hurt right?"

"You're insufferable." He might have been offended if you actually meant that. Thankfully, that smirk was still there so he had nothing to worry about.

"Say, I'm going out to the coast right now for some inspections. You think you can spare a moment to come with me?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Why me?" You questioned immediately, suspicion evident.

"U-Um... Well it'll be a little suspicious if a Fatui Harbinger just takes off out of nowhere right?" An awful excuse truly. There had been multiple instances already in his short time in Liyue that Childe had just taken off to get done whatever it was that he needed to get done. In fact, it was something of a known fact within the Bank that he enjoyed heading out for smaller tasks every once in a while just to get some combat practice and stretch his muscles. That being said, there was no way you knew that so...

"So you want someone to account for you, is that it?" you remarked, crossing your arms over your chest as you studied him.

"Well..."

"Okay sure."

He shouldn't have let his gaze fly up to meet yours as quickly as he did. He shouldn't have let the jolt of happiness he felt show in his eyes, or allowed his smile to become the slightest bit more real. But he did, and he was sure that you noticed.

"A-Alright then, let's go!"

~~~

"Well, that went well." You clapped your hands together, brushing off any dirt that had accumulated as you made your way down the shore, taking a seat on a small outcropping or rock placed conveniently in the shade of a large tree.

Childe trailed after, taking big, dramatic steps as he tried to keep the ever shifting sand out of his shoes. "Sure did..." He heard your laughter and despite the fake pout he wore, the sound was nothing less than heartwarming.

"Take your shoes off!" you encouraged, kicking your feet up to show that you had already done a much. After a moment of hesitation, he complied, slipping his boats off and tossing them to the side as he took a seat beside you, staring out at the ocean.

Childe would have loved to say that the silence was comfortable. However, the truth of the matter was that he felt strange. The crash of waves onto the shore was nearly drowned out by the pounding of his own heart as though the thing were beating inside of his head instead of his chest. Well, they had been moving for a while, maybe he was just tired. Or dehydrated. His palms were sweaty though, that was new... Likely just the fact that he was wearing his coat. He wasn't built for the warm Liyue climate after all!

"Childe?" Oh no, your hand was on his shoulder. His already deafening heartbeat felt as though it was speeding up further, the heat in his body seeming to concentrate at the point where your hand made contact with him.

Wait. None of this was normal. All of these feelings seemed to be related to you in some way or another. How strange. Was he ... nervous?

"You called?" He didn't recall thinking those words, but they were already out of his mouth, complete in true "Childe" fashion with a teasing tone and smile. Wow, he was even better at faking it than he thought.

"You were completely spaced out... Don't tell me a little inspection is all it takes to tire out a Fatui Harbinger!" It sounded like just another dig at him but Childe was sure that he heard just the slightest bit of concern hidden in your joking words. The realization did not help his current confusion in the slightest.

"Nothing wears me out! You on the other hand, look like you could use a snack. Now, if only someone brought one..." He tossed back before digging into his bag and pulling out the little carton holding the pair of lemon tarts he had purchased earlier that day. He didn't miss the way your eyes lit up before you pointedly glanced away.

"You think you can bribe me into being nicer to you?" you scoffed.

"Whenever did I say anything like that?" Childe popped open the top, holding the tray out to you. After a moment, you hesitantly reached out, plucking one of the little tarts out.

"Thanks..."

Childe smiled as he took the other half of the pair, immediately taking a huge bite out of the side, savoring the way the tartness of the lemon contrasted with the buttery, flaky crust. "Anytime!"

"I have something for you too..." Popping the last of the treat into his mouth, Childe turned to face you only to see that you were holding something out to him. Taking it immediately, he held it up to his face, turning it about in his hands in confusion.

"Is this, a shell?"

When he looked back at you for confirmation, he was somewhat surprised to see a slight blush beginning to spread over the tops of your cheeks.

"It's called a Starconch! They're native to Liyue so I didn't think you'd seen one before." you offered as clarification as Childe continued to inspect the little thing.

"It's pretty. But why for me?"

There was a pause. "It may have reminded me of you..."

There it was again. The panicked rhythm of his heart and the warmth and the confusion. "Oh? This shell did?"

"It... It looked like your eyes. It's kind of pretty..."

Childe's gravestone was going to look so stupid. Here lies Tartaglia, 11th Harbinger in service of the Tsaritsa. Defeated by a seashell and a compliment about his eyes.

"What are you looking at me like that for Fatui?" He was drawn back to his present, sadly still alive self and your blushing face as you awaited his reaction. He attempted to pull a self-satisfied smirk to his face, combing his mind for a response that was just the perfect balance of confident and joking and accepting, and came up empty.

He tried, he tried as hard as he could but he couldn't think of anything. Anything except you that was. Slowly, he set the Starconch down beside him as he turned fully to face you.

"[name]?"

"Yes?" To your credit, you showed no sign of wanting to retreat. He could see the flash of panic in your eyes as he suddenly came closer and yet, you made no move to pull away.

"Do you really think of me as just disgusting Fatui?"

"Huh?" Apparently, that had not been what you were expecting. You blinked twice, evidently confused.

"Is that what you think of me?" he reiterated, not daring to break eye contact in case it gave you a chance to pull away.

"I mean, you are definitely Fatui but I don't think of you as disgusting or anything..." You offered, eyes wide as though you weren't sure what answer he wanted from you.

"And just to be clear, an honorable representative of the Liyue Qixing wouldn't want to be seen with the Fatui right?" There was a slight waver in his tone that he couldn't seem to get rid of it. He hated it. Rather than the usual confidence that oozed from his every word, he sounded unsure. Hesitant even.

It was you who broke eye contact then, glancing down at your hands as you kneaded them nervously in your lap. "Well, they probably shouldn't..." His heart dropped. "But..."

Childe's eyes flew open as you pressed your lips against his, your own eyes squeezed so tightly shut he was sure it hurt. It took a second of coaxing but he found himself slowly leaning into you, hands coming up to wrap around your waist as yours coiled over his shoulders before traveling up into his hair. He felt you smiling into the kiss and the thought spurred him on as he pulled you in until you were all but sitting on his lap.

It wasn't particularly fiery or passionate or anything he believed your first kiss would be like, but there was something else there. It felt like release. When you began to pull away, Childe let out a soft whine, lips following yours as you drifted tantalizingly out of range.

"Relax harbinger." you drawled, glancing up at him with half-lidded eyes, your expression tempting enough that he almost threw himself at you right then and there. "We have all the time in the world. I'm not going anywhere."

~~~

"I think this is turning into an actual problem."

Childe pouted in response to your remark as he continued to organize all of the starconches you had collected into neat little rows on the sand before you. There had to be at least 50 of them, all in different shapes and sizes of every shade blue one could imagine.

This had become your new ritual. Every free evening the two of you had, you would come back to this spot, the location of the first starconch exchange. What had started as a cute little bonding activity though, as with anything with Childe, had quickly become a competition. Now, it was a contest as the two of you continuously tried to one-up each other in finding the most beautiful starconch.

"It's fine! They're pretty right?" He turned towards you, stupid shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "They remind you of my eyes remember?"

You rolled your eyes as you straightened out the harbinger's less-than even rows. "Ah, how I regret saying that..."

"Rude!"

When all of the little shells had been perfectly arranged, the two of you stood back to consider them.

"I call the top right."

"Hey, I wanted that one!"

"Too bad, I was quicker."

Childe pouted again but didn't protest as he bent down to pick up the shell you had chosen and then one that he liked as well. When he reached out to offer it to you however, you reached for his other hand, grabbing the shell he had picked.

"Huh?"

You smiled. "You like this one and you like me, so I get this one. "

"I am ... confused," Childe confessed, though the smile adorning his lips contrasted his words. He reached for your free hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, tugging you away from your little shaded safe-haven and towards the water.

"Hey!" you protested though you let him pull you there, laughing the entire time. "What are you doing, we don't have a change of clothes!"

"Doesn't matter! It's a waste to come to the beach and never touch the water, don't you think?" Childe grinned as he pulled the two of you into the waves just in time for one to crash down, instantly soaking the two of you from waist down.

You gaped in faux shock as you swatted at the man's arm. "Childe!"

He laughed, a free, unrestrained sound unlike the one he was so used to performing in front of others when trying to remain the ever charming and relaxed Fatui diplomat the people of Liyue had to see him as.

Childe. He had told you to call him that. That was what everyone called him after all, and yet, it didn't sound right anymore. Not coming from you.

"Childe?" It was a question this time, as though you had been able to sense that something was amiss with your lover.

"Ajax," he replied.

"What?"

"Ajax, that's my name. My real one anyway."

Your eyes widened as you stared at him in shock, the hand you had resting against his arm slipping slowly down back to your side. "Is... Is it okay for you to tell me that?"

Childe scoffed, running a hand through his hair. Damn, this was more embarrassing than he thought it would be. It was just a name! "It's my name, and I want you to call me it. There shouldn't be a problem with that right?"

You stared at him for a moment longer before leaning in, placing soft lips against his for just a moment. "Alright then, Ajax. Don't regret it."

And then you dunked him, pushing him down the moment the enxt wave crested over you two. When he pulled himself back to the surface, sputtering in shock, there was a dangerous grin on his face.

"Oh, it's on now!"

~~~

"What's happening with that traveller you've been talking to recently?" There was nothing accusatory about your tone and yet, Childe couldn't help but hear is as an accusation.

"Nothing much," he shrugged. "They're looking for someone and the information they've dug up has been pretty useful so far."

"Useful huh..." Well now you were definitely suspicious. Childe felt bad about it, he really did, but there was no way he could involve you in any of this. His loyalty was to the Tsaritsa and he was required to carry out her orders. With your loyalty in line with the Qixing, he had no doubt that you would be at odds with the Fatui's plans in the coming weeks, but there was nothing he could do about that. What you didn't know couldn't hurt you.

If worst came to worst and he was forced to attack Liyue however, he had already made preparations. A quick look at your schedule for the coming weeks had confirmed that you were going to be taking a quick trip to Fontaine for some business you had chosen not to disclose with him. Not that he particularly cared what it was that you were doing, just that you would be gone when everything went south. As long as you weren't hurt, everything would be fine.

"They're a nice kid honestly! I introduced them to Zhongli yesterday and they seem to be getting along quite well!" Childe offered. You quirked an eyebrow at him, recognizing an olive branch when you heard it.

"I mean, Zhongli is a hard man to hate." You took the branch.

"Which reminds me, we're still on for dinner tonight right?" Childe could pat himself on the back for how smooth that conversation shift was. You seemed less impressed though as you rolled your eyes at him.

"I guess if I have to..."

"Hey!" You were laughing again and Childe felt his heart soften. He hated this game of keeping secrets from you, but if it kept you safe, kept you happy and content and laughing, he might be able to play the game for just a bit longer.

~~~

It felt like you were going to crush his ribcage, but Childe wouldn't have it any other way. He was sure that his grip on you was just as strangling as he buried his face in your neck.

Slowly, you pulled yourself away from him, eyes sad even as you mustered a smile to your face. "I'll be back in 3 weeks max okay! That's not that long!"

"Yes it is." Childe didn't mince his words and didn't miss your flinch at his statement. He wanted to badly to grab onto you and not let you take a step closer to that boat. To drag you back to his apartment with him and sit you down there until this was all over. But he couldn't.

You would be safer in Fontaine. You wouldn't be part of anything that happened. And best of all, if this all went fine, you wouldn't ever have to know what he did. He didn't want to lie to you, but he couldn't see a way around it this time.

Instead of voicing as much, he pulled you back in for a final kiss, not caring that there were definitely people watching and gaping at the show he was putting on. You hummed softly but didn't do much to fight him, letting him press himself into you as you gently brushed some stray strands of his way hair out of his face.

He only let go when the ship's captain sounded the horn in impatience, though his half-smile made it clear that he wasn't particularly mad at the young couple's display. You squeezed his hand once more.

"I'll see you soon okay Ajax."

"Be safe [name]." You nodded smiling at him once more before slowly detangling your fingers from his and making your way up the ramp onto the ship.

Childe waved until the ship had completely left the harbor, even when it was clear that there was no way you could still see him. When the shape of the ship had finally faded behind the sea fog, he grudgingly turned to make his way back to the Bank, only to be faced with a nervous looking Fatui recruit who nearly jumped when they made eye contact.

"M-Master Childe! There's some new information you should probably know about."

Childe raised his eyebrows in a silent question and when the recruit nodded, he took a slow breath it. So it was starting.

~~~

"Master Childe!" Ekaterina greeted him the moment he stepped through the doors of Northland Bank. He mustered the strength to give her a quick wave, even as his entire body ached at the slightest movement. The Foul Legacy transformation really was something but he wasn't sure he would ever truly get used to the backlash.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well enough," he lied. After that stunt that Signora and Zhongli had just pulled on him, he wasn't in the best mood at the moment. "What is the situation like?"

Ekaterina paused and Childe narrowed his eyes at the way some strange expression had crept suddenly onto her face. "What happened?"

"Well, you're quite the wanted man... It seems word has gotten out about your involvement in all this, though I'm not quite sure how..." The traveller huh? Well, that much was expected considering how things had gone. If only they hadn't gotten in his way. Of course, he had relished in the battle they had been able to share, but it would most definitely have been cleaner if they hadn't been around.

"That much is expected," he said with a soft laugh. Ekaterina offered him a thin smile, and that was when he knew that something was wrong. "There's something more isn't there?"

"Um... There was something..."

"Well, spit it out then."

"There were a few casualties in the event..."

"Really?" Childe was genuinely shocked by that. "Outside of the Millelith? I thought the adepti would have been able to protect everyone within the city."

"Yes well, most of the people in the city were fine... It's just, there were some just outside of the border..." Ekaterina fumbled with her words, eyes downcast in a way that was starting to worry Childe.

"Like?"

"Well, there was a ship that turned around because of a storm up ahead and ran straight into Osial's torrents," she finally spit it out, eyes flashing with panic when she finally looked back up at him.

"A ship? A ship..." Childe's blood ran cold. "A ship going where?"

"... Fontaine sir."

The next few moments may have been filled with silence to an outsider watching, but Childe's head was filled with a roaring. He heard voices and people and the sound of his blood rushing through his body and the air filling his lungs as he heaved in breath after breath. It was all just noise, there was so much noise.

Childe grabbed onto the counter as his feet collapsed from under him, breath coming in thick inhales as he struggled to gain purchase. No. This, this wasn't happening. There was no way.

"Where is the ship?" he managed to get out between breaths, eyes flashing up to Ekaterina. He wasn't sure if she squeaked in fright or it was just his delirious mind playing tricks on him, but she answered him anyway, hurt registering even in her voice.

"It washed up on shore this morning... There was no sign of anyone who had been on-board..."

This wasn't real. Childe's vision was starting to go dark, black edges creeping slowly inwards as he struggled to sit back up.

"That... That can't be possible. They're here. They probably made it back. They're waiting for me. I have to get to them." He attempted to push himself to his feet but all the strength in his body was gone. The black in his vision was growing and without warning, he found himself slumped against the cold tile of the Northland Bank floor.

"Master Childe!" Ekaterina's worried voice registered somewhere in his brain but the darkness was slowly encroaching.

His fingers attempted to clutch at something, only to find the chilly smoothness of tile beneath him. This was a dream, some fever nightmare brought on my the transformation. It was fine, he would open his eyes and everything would be fine. He could already see you, the little smirk on your face as you teased him for getting so worked up over nothing. Oh, you'd have a good laugh about this one.

And it was with the image of you in his mind that Childe passed out.

~~~

Childe barely remembered the weeks that had followed. He distinctly remembered not going to the funeral, partially because he would be arrested on the spot, but mostly because that would mean accepting it all, and he was not ready for that.

He still wasn't sure he accepted it.

And so, here he was. This wasn't your spot, the little cove with the rock and perfectly placed tree where you were constantly unearthing the most perfect starconches, but it was the Liyue shore, and that was all it took. Childe studied the shell in his hand for a moment, brushing the remaining flecks of sand off slowly as he did.

This was the prettiest one he had seen in a while. There weren't any visible cracks and the color was the richest blue, exactly like the one you had given him so long ago.

Childe considered the conch for a moment longer before sliding it into his pocket and turning away from waves.

"Why? Why won't you move on?"

Childe sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat as he trudged up the shore. The little shell rubbed against his fingers and even though he knew there was no one there, he spoke out loud.

"It reminds me of you. Everything does."

#genshin impact #genshin imagines #genshin fic #genshin impact fic #childe #tartaglia #genshin tartaglia #childe genshin impact #genshin childe #childe x reader #childe x you #childe x y/n #ajax #genshin ajax

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calif0rnia-lovers · 3 years

Text

big boss.

1a/n: i don't always write smut driven plots, but when i do it's for daddy losa. set in s2 before the shit hit the fan. unedited might be some typos.

pairing: bishop losa x bratty!reader

warnings: 18+ rating: 💦

requested prompt: "What's wrong? I thought you liked teasing."

words: 2.4k

sum: bish has a sit down with the sons scheduled. it's the fifth night in a row that you've gone to bed without your husband. so you try your best to get him home early.

Bishop’s mind is split, torn into what feels like a million pieces. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t notice your arrival at the clubhouse.

You find him seated at the bar, fingers massaging his temple, his gaze fixated on his never-ending vibrating phone. For the majority of the day, you were responsible for the vibration.

He'd received a barrage of messages from you, all in response to the words he mumbled as he placed a kiss against your forehead this morning.

“I gonna be home late tonight. We’re sitting down at the table. You don’t have to wait up.”

Now, his phone is going off for club related matters.

“There’s my husband,” you smile as you sit his wrapped dinner on the bartop. Your lips press a kiss against his cheek as he reads an incoming message. “I almost forgot what he looks like. I brought your dinner.”

“Thanks,” he sighs.

“All these late nights,” you mumble against the warmth of his skin. “I had to check and make sure you weren’t meeting up with your girlfriend.”

Bishop's eyes roll, a chuckle leaving his lips. "Between you and the M.C., I wouldn't have the energy."

He doesn't object to your hands guiding his lips to yours. The kiss pushes the incoming messages out of his mind, his hands finding your waist. Guiding your body closer, he smiles as you leave a second kiss against his lips.

"I miss you."

The admission comes out soft against his lips. The kiss you leave behind this time tightens his grip, his lips chasing yours as you pull back.

"You too."

"Kinda hard to tell," you sigh, a smile finding your lips as Bishop presses a kiss against the warmth of your neck. "The only time I see you is over breakfast."

"Shit's been--"

"Crazy." You take a step back, slipping out of his grip. The dramatic roll of your eyes brings a smile to your husband's lips. "I know. So crazy, I can't even get in a quickie with my own husband."

Although he chuckles at your teasing, Bishop knows you're right. For the past week, he's gone before you can finish your morning coffee. Only to return when you're already asleep. It's not something he's proud of.

He's in the process of opening his mouth to apologize when you take a second step back.

Bishop’s brow arches, his eyes taking in your appearance--specifically the skirt you wear.

“You went shopping?”

Your eyes drop, your fingers flattening the fabric.

“I did, actually." You smile. You watch as his eyes travel the entire length of the grey pleats. "I stopped by the mall today. My husband hasn’t been around lately, so I had to find some way to keep myself busy.”

Shrugging off his jacket, you lay it across the bar. Taking a step back, you turn in a circle giving Bishop a full look at the mini skirt. By the time you come full circle you dawn a wide smile.

"I figured I try something new."

"It’s definitely...new."

"What?" You fix your lips into a pout as his gaze lifts. "You don’t like it? I was thinking of you when I got it."

Before your husband can string together another word, you turn to catch the eye of a passing Angel.

"What do you think, handsome?"

The question freezes the Mayan in his tracks.

The quest of finding another beer slipping through Angel's mind as he takes in your smile. "About what?"

"My new skirt."

Angel's mouth opens. Thankfully, his brain stalls as his gaze passes over the length of the skirt. His eyes linger on the length of your legs. The inability of his brain to string together a coherent sentence saving him from saying something stupid.

Heat rushes to his face as Angel clears his throat.

"I think you look nice, don't you Bish?" Angel manages as he reaches around you for a beer. His eyes avoid Bishop's as he grabs a second before quickly dismissing himself.

"Well," you smile. "At least somebody thinks I look nice."

"I don’t have time for this," Bishop admits knowing exactly where this will lead.

"What’s new?" you release a dramatic sigh as you step between his legs. "You never have time for me anymore."

"I have this meeting with the Sons--"

"Oh, is that today?" You ask, the heat of your touch seeping through the chest of his shirt. "I thought you said it was tomorrow night."

"Which is why I’d appreciate it if you put your jacket back on."

Although it doesn't drastically improve your appearance. The oversized jacket is enough to distract from the length--or lack thereof--of the skirt you wear.

"No."

It’s a word Bishop Losa rarely hears.

It’s also your favorite word to use against your husband.

“No?”

You shake your head, taking another step back putting a distance between the two of you.

"Then, wait for me at home where the entire club can't see your--"

“Nope,” you say allowing the end to pop, before turning on your heels. “I think I want to stay.”

You reach out, taking the cue stick from a passing Ezekiel.

“You have your meeting. I'll wait for you out here. I’ll just play some pool.” You smile as Bishop's jaw tightens. “Zeke here can keep me company. Right?"

The prospect's gaze lifts from the grey pleats of your skirt.

“Uh—yeah, I mean. I guess if that’s what you want—”

Ez clears his throat as he takes in your wide innocent smile. He glances in your husband's direction. The look in Bishop’s darkened gaze causes the prospect to quickly divert his eyes.

Ez's hand rubs against the back of his neck. “I mean, if it’s alright with Bishop--”

“He'll be fine. You don’t have to ask him for permission, Ez."

Ez quickly retrieves the second cue stick, suddenly focused on lining up a shot.

“Stop playing with the kid,” Bishop’s voice drops as he comes to a stop before you. “He’s my prospect, not your new toy.”

It doesn’t take a genius to understand where this is headed.

Your husband is well versed in your antics, as you are his. The firm squeeze of your hip is a silent warning. A warning that reemphasizes his previous statement

I don’t have time for this.

Between the upcoming meeting, your pouts over breakfast, and round-the-clock sassy texts, his patience is wearing thin.

“Or what, Obispo?” You huff, your weight resting against your cue stick. “You’ll spank me?”

The taunt is enough to lift Bishop’s gaze from the tip of the cigarette he lights. His brow arches as he catches sight of your playful eyes. The unimpressed look on your face earns you the tiniest reaction, the twitching of his lips as he pushes the smoke from his lungs.

“Because if that’s all, let me bend over and make it easy for you,” you laugh as you turn.

Bishop takes a step back as you lean forward, bending over the pool table. The drawn-out act of lining up your shot gives an up-close view of just how short the skirt really is.

His double-take at your arrival was highly warranted.

You can feel the heat of his darkened gaze as it travels along the length of your legs, your new position dragging his tongue across his lips. His eyes pass over your shoulder to the opening door, signaling the early arriving Sons. Releasing a huff, you straighten before turning to face Bishop.

“Put your jacket back on,” he says.

“Is that what you're bringing to the table tonight? I expected a little more intimidation from el Presidente.” Your finger trails down the leather of his kutte, your touch lingering on the worn patch. “What will the boys think if you can’t even handle an old lady? Thought they said you were the big boss.”

For a brief second, the sight of you looking up at him through your lashes, push his arriving brothers out of Bishop's mind. His hand finds the base of your throat, his thumb tipping your chin back so that your gaze meets his.

The look you find weakens your knees. It’s what you’re looking for, the sight of it pulling your lips towards his. A pout settles on your lips as Bishop leaves them cold. Instead, he pauses to place a kiss against your forehead.

“Behave.”

There is one cardinal rule your husband expects you to follow when the doors to Templo are closed.

Do not interrupt--unless it is life or death.

This is why Bishop stops midsentence when the doors slide open.

Bishop wishes he could say he's surprised, but he's not when he glances away from Hank to find you standing in the doorway.

“I just figured the boys might want a drink after making the drive here.”

Ez stands behind you, a case of beer in his hands. His face is visible over your shoulder. He hopes the telepathic message sent to your husband is received.

I told her no--or, I tried to.

One moment Ez was shaking his head and chuckling, "I don't think it's a good idea, you know how Bish gets--" the next, he was carrying a case of beer into the lion's den for you.

“We are the hosts after all,” you smile, not waiting for your husband’s permission.

Ez distributes his beers as fast as he can. You take your time, your husband's eyes following you with each passing second.

By the time you’ve reached the head of the table, there is one drink left to distribute.

“And something special for the boss.”

His eyes study the sweet, innocent smile on your lips as you place the shot of whiskey down alongside the gavel.

"Thanks, sweetheart."

All of the men throw in a word of appreciation. A mixture of "thank you" and "appreciate it" filling the air as you cross the room. Not a single man is foolish enough to glance up from the beer in their hands until they hear the door slide shut.

Hank is the first to file out. He has a mixture of humor and pure admiration on his face as he meets your gaze. It is a look you’ve both grown accustomed to over the years. The one that comes each time he sees you are bold enough to push his best friend's buttons. Which is entirely too often.

“He wants to see you,” he shares, his head shaking as you pass.

You find your husband in the same spot you left him fifteen minutes prior. Seated at the head of the table. Only his whiskey is gone, and he’s got a freshly lit cigarette between his lips. His eyes lift from the zippo in his hand as you pull the door shut.

“I’ve been summoned?” Pushing your weight off the door, you start your journey around the table. Your finger traces over the wood, your gaze lifting to his. "I take it the meeting went well. It didn’t last long."

"Thought you'd sound a little more excited now that it's over."

"Only if you got what you wanted," you respond coming to a stop alongside him.

"You got something you wanna show me?” He asks, tossing his lighter onto the table.

"What makes you say that?"

Instead of answering your question, he nods to the table.

"Bend over."

Your head shakes as you take a seat on the table before him. Your palms rest against the table, your left foot settling on his armrest. A wave of heat covers you from head to toe as Bishop's gaze travels the length of your leg.

A smile finds your lips as his touch ghosts the curve of your calf.

The response is premature. Bishop takes a drag of his cigarette before repeating his previous demand.

"Bend over."

You heed his order, a smile finding your lips as the legs of his chair drag across the floor. The heat of his palm drags the length of your outer thigh, a smile finding his lips as he puts out his cigarette.

"Tell me," he asks, his touch drifting between your thighs. "What couldn't you wait, till I got home, to show me?"

Your teeth tug at your bottom lip as his thumb teasingly pass over the lace covering your clit.

"It's gotta be beautiful," he continues, his touch sending shockwaves through your body as he traces the pattern of the fabric. "The way you were trying to show it off in front of the whole fucking club."

"Why don't you see for yourself?" You breathe, your hips shifting to increase the pressure of his touch.

The red fabric brings a grin to your husband's lip. It is a color he can never resist when paired against your skin.

"Do you like it?"

Bishop doesn't rush to answer your question. Each roll of his thumb meticulous, as he unzips his jeans.

"I do," he places a soft kiss against your shoulder.

Your body tenses in anticipation as the head of his cock teases your slick folds. A soft whimper fills the air as he denies you what you want. Instead of pushing inside, he allows his tip to rub the length of your folds. He repeats the process until your mind has lost count, the trembling of your thighs arching his brow. As you shift your hips back, he pulls a grunt of frustration from your lips.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he chuckles, his grip presses against your spine pinning you in place. "Hm? I thought you liked teasing...this isn't a reward, you don't get to pick how you get it. "

He slides into you in one fluid motion. Bishop's thrusts are not as sweet as your pet name. They are deliberate, pushing into you at a fast and harsh pace. His hips snap into you with a relentless force, his grip bruising your skin.

The edge of the table is the only anchor you're able to find as your body succumbs to the pleasure only he can bring. It doesn't take long for the muscles of your body to tense.

"You wanna cum, sweetheart?" he grunts, his words rasping with every thrust.

“Yes--fuck, Bish,” you manage. The words pass breathlessly, your mind struggling to string together a coherent plea. “Please--”

The pleas spilling from your lips are lost to a gasp as he pulls out of you.

“Since you’ve been trying to get me there all day,” he breathes. “You can wait till you get home.”

Your husband’s chuckle drowns out your whimpered protest. He catches your wrist as you attempt to finish where he’s left off, pinning it flat against the table.

“You don’t have time for that,” he assures you, the wave of pleasure he’s built already slowly beginning to ebb away. “You got something else you need to do first.”

He releases your wrist, his hands moving to pull your skirt back into place. The moment he’s finished, Bishop steps back allowing you to stand.

Turning to face him, you watch as he settles back into his chair. The smile on Bishop's lips morphs into a grin, his playful gaze watching you bite your lip. The desire to disobey his demand only seems to increase with each slowly passing second. The shifting of your weight pulls a chuckle from his lips.

“For making me cut my meeting short,” his head cocks to the side. His eyes pass over your heaving chest before he smiles. “I think that pretty mouth of yours owes me fifteen minutes.”

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#divider: whimsicalrogers #let me know what you think?#bishop losa x reader #bishop losa imagine

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sineala · 3 years

Text

Tony Stark and Arthuriana

Coming to you by special request, a very long post about 616 Tony's interest in Arthuriana, with a focus on all of Tony's run-ins with Morgan le Fay!

I feel like I should disclaim the extent of my knowledge here, which is that I still haven't managed to read anywhere near every issue of Iron Man -- at least, not yet, anyway -- so I'm just going by the things I know I've read, and Morgan le Fay's Marvel wiki entry is frustratingly under-cited, so it's very possible I've missed something relevant, but I'm pretty sure I've got the big stuff down. My other disclaimer here is that I'm not as big an Arthurian nerd as Tony is, which is to say that most of my familiarity comes from modern retellings -- T. H. White's The Once and Future King, Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave, Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset -- and not so much the usual classic sources on the Matter of Britain, though I've read bits and pieces of them.

(This is because I wanted to read versions of them that were as close to the original as possible but so far have not ended up finishing any of them because, well, that's hard. So I've never read the Mabinogion because I do not know Welsh. I've got the Norton Critical Edition of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which is probably the best student edition if you're looking for something without modernized spellings, as I was. I've also got -- well, okay, it's my wife's but I'm borrowing it -- a relatively recent Boydell & Brewer edition (ed. Reeve, tr. Wright) of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain), which is, you guessed it, in Latin with a facing English translation. I haven't gotten very far in it because, in case you didn't know this about Latin texts, the beginning is pretty much always the hardest, so I gave up and read some Plautus adaptations instead. Anyway, if for some reason you too want to read Geoffrey of Monmouth in the original Latin I'd recommend that one, but I can't recommend any particular English translations because I've never read one by itself. I bet you didn't think you'd be getting Latin prose recommendations in this post. I mean, maybe you did; it is me, after all.)

Okay. Right. King Arthur. Here we go.

We've got:

Flashbacks to Tony's childhood in late Iron Man volume 1

A brief discussion of Morgan's origin story and Avengers #187

Iron Man vol 1 #149-150: Doomquest

What If vol 1 #33: What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?

Iron Man vol 1 #249-250: Recurring Knightmare

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #1-4

Avengers vol 3 #1-4: The Morgan Conquest

Civil War: The Confession

Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11: Time Is On No One's Side

In terms of universe-internal chronology, we know from Iron Man #287, from 1992, that Tony has been a fan of King Arthur since childhood. This is an issue of a fandom-favorite arc which features Tony having a lot of childhood flashbacks, including the famous "Stark men are made of iron" line (in #286) that for some reason MCU fandom decided it loved; I mean, seriously, I've seen that quoted in way more MCU fic than 616 fic. But slightly later, in #287, we get an entire page devoted to Tony's love of King Arthur.

The narration reads: "Over the next few years, I learned as my father intended. Discipline of body. Strength of character. But in what free time I was allowed, I worked my way through the school's library. At thirteen, I discovered Mallory [sic], who showed me a whole new world. A world of dedication to a cause greater than oneself. Of chivalry and honor. And the fantastic deeds -- of armored heroes."

The art shows Tony as a child sitting under a tree, reading a book labeled Mort D'Arthur by Mallory [sic] -- no, don't ask me why nobody at Marvel checked how to spell either the name of the book or its author -- and daydreaming of King Arthur, the Sword in the Stone, knights, et cetera. Just in case you somehow missed the extremely blatant hint that we are meant to understand that Tony's knight obsession heavily influenced him becoming Iron Man as an adult, we see one of his armors mixed in with all the drawings of knights. So, yes, canonically Tony is Iron Man at least partly because he's a giant King Arthur nerd, which I think is so very sweet. I love him. He's such a dork!

(This issue is currently in print in the Iron Man Epic Collection War Machine, should you need your own copy.)

This isn't actually the only reference to Tony as a King Arthur fanboy in this era of canon, either; a little later, in IM #298, we see that one of Tony's passwords is actually "Mallory." (Yeah, no, they still couldn't spell. But it's cute.)

But in terms of actual publication order, this is definitely not the first time we have seen in canon that Tony is into Arthuriana, as I'm sure you all know. I would assume, in fact, that giving Tony a childhood interest in Arthuriana is because Doomquest is one of the most beloved Iron Man story arcs of all time, and that all started at least a decade before IM #287 here was published.

The villain of Doomquest -- the one who isn't Doctor Doom, at least -- is Morgan le Fay. Yes, that Morgan le Fay. Yes, Arthur's evil half-sister Morgan le Fay. Yes, all of this King Arthur stuff is canonically real history on Earth-616. Morgan's first appearance in Marvel, per the wiki, was in Black Knight #1 (1955), which I have not read, and judging by the summary I feel like this is probably just supposed to be a straight-up comic retelling of Arthurian legends for kids; I don't think Marvel really had the whole Marvel Universe in mind as a concept in 1955, so I'm not sure this was meant to connect to anything else. I feel like this is another one of those instances of Marvel discovering that they can write comics about characters in the public domain for free -- like, I'm pretty sure that's how we also ended up with, like, Norse, Greek, and Roman mythology wedged into 616.

As far as I can tell from the wiki, the first time Morgan tangled with the Avengers (or indeed the larger 616 universe) in any way actually predated Doomquest -- it was in an early arc in Spider-Woman (#2-6) and then Avengers #187, which came out in 1979, actually right when Demon in a Bottle was happening over in Iron Man comics. If you read #187, Iron Man is not in it because he's off the team due to his drinking problem and also his accidentally murdering the Carnelian ambassador problem. So Wonder Man's filling in instead. This issue is part of Michelinie's rather sporadic Avengers run, which makes sense, I guess, considering where we see Morgan next.

Anyway, Avengers #187 is the classic issue where Wanda is possessed by Chthon, but what you may not remember from Chthon's backstory (I sure didn't!) is that he was summoned by Morgan le Fay because she was the first person who tried to wield the Darkhold to summon him. As you can imagine, this did not work out especially well for her and her followers and they had to seal Chthon away in Wundagore Mountain, which was where Wanda found him. (The Spider-Woman stuff is only slightly earlier and also appears to be about Morgan and the Darkhold; the Darkhold is not one of the areas of 616 canon I am especially conversant with, alas. It's on my to-read list.)

Doomquest, as you probably know, was a classic Iron Man two-parter in Layton & Michelinie's first Iron Man run that set up Tony and Doom as rivals; Doomquest itself was IM #149-150, in 1981, and then in their second IM run they came back and did a sequel in 1989, Recurring Knightmare (IM #249-250), and then the much later four-part sequel to that was the 2008 miniseries Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, which was also by Layton & Michelinie but generally does not seem to be as popular as the first two parts. They've all been reprinted, if you're looking for copies; I have a Doomquest hardcover that collects the first four issues and then a separate Legacy of Doom hardcover. Currently in the Iron Man Epic Collection line there's a volume called Doom, which confusingly only collects the 249-250 part of the storyline (as well as surrounding issues), because for some reason the first Layton & Michelinie run isn't in Epics yet but the second one is. So the beginning of Doomquest isn't currently in print, as far as I can tell. I'm sure you can find it anyway.

So what's Doomquest about? Okay, so you remember how Doctor Doom's mother's soul is stuck in hell for all eternity? Well, Doom's obviously interested in getting her back, and the strategy he has embarked on is to try to team up with other powerful magicians who can help him out, and he thinks Morgan le Fay would be a good choice, for, uh, his quest. Doom's quest. A Doomquest, if you will. (If you've ever read Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph & Torment, you're familiar with the part where he later ends up waylaying Strange for this and they go to hell together. And if you haven't read Triumph & Torment, you really should, because it's amazing.)

So Doom is off to his time machine to go team up with Morgan le Fay and Tony thinks Doom is up to something -- Doom has been stealing components for his time machine from a lot of people, including Tony -- and he follows him and it turns out one of Doom's lackeys has a grudge and wants to trap Doom in the past forever, and Tony gets caught up in it. Now they're both in Camelot. Surprise! #149 is actually all setup; they don't get to Camelot until #150.

IM #150 begins with Doom and Tony thrown back into the past; there's a fandom-famous splash page of them locked in combat, only to realize that they have found themselves in Camelot.

They are then discovered by knights; Doom would very much like to attack them, but Tony, who naturally would be happy to LARP Camelot forever, persuades him to play nice. Also Doom thinks Iron Man is only Tony's bodyguard so he keeps referring to him as "lackey," much to Tony's annoyance. Somehow everyone thinks they're sorcerers. Can't imagine why. The knights take them to meet King Arthur himself, and Tony has clearly had his introduction all ready to go, as he introduces himself in a timeline-appropriate manner, says he's here to apprehend Doom, and demonstrates his "magic" by levitating Arthur's throne. Doom's response is essentially "I'm the king of Latveria," which is, y'know, also valid. So they're guests at Camelot for the night while Arthur figures out what to do with them.

We then have a page devoted to Tony alone in his room, musing sadly about how alien he feels, how he doesn't know if he'll ever get home, how he could never fit in here without his beloved technology. Then a Sexy Lady shows up to keep him company for the night, and he decides maybe it's not all bad. Thanks, Marvel. I guess they can't all be winners.

Doom is using his evening much more productively; he compels one of the servants to tell him where Morgan's castle is, because he's still interested in having that team-up. Then he jets off. Literally. He has a jetpack.

The next morning Arthur's like "one of you is still here and one of you has punched a hole through the castle wall and flown off to join Morgan so I guess I know which of you is more trustworthy." He then explains to Tony who Morgan is, because Tony professes ignorance, because clearly we had not yet retconned in Tony's love of Arthuriana. Tony offers to go fight Doom and Morgan with Arthur; meanwhile, Morgan and Doom have teamed up and Morgan has offered to help get Doom's mother out of hell if he commands her undead armies against Arthur because for Reasons she can't command them herself anymore. So that's a thing that happens.

So, yes, it's Tony and Arthur versus Doom and Morgan. Fight fight fight!

Tony tries Doom first but then decides to hunt Morgan down, and in the ensuing fight we get what I think is Tony's first ever "I hate magic," a complaint that we all know he still makes even to this day.

Anyway, Tony freezes a dragon with Freon (mmm, technology) and Morgan gets upset and disappears, so the battle comes to an end, and of course Doom is extremely mad at Tony because he blames Tony for Morgan not sticking around to save Doom's mom, because I guess Doom trusted her to keep her word? Weird. (Like I said, for the next chapter of Doom saving his mother, go read Triumph & Torment.)

Doom says if he and Tony work together, the components in both of their armors can send them both home. So Tony has to trust Doom. Which he does, because he really has no other choice. They build a time machine and Tony makes Doom agree to a 24-hour truce when they get back, so they can both get home. So it all works out okay, and they end up in the present, and Doom tells him, ominously, that they will meet again. Okay, then. That concludes the original Doomquest. It's fun! You can see why fandom likes it.

So that's all well and good, but you might have noticed that Tony's ability to get home hinged on Doom actually being trustworthy. And Doom was. But what if Doom hadn't been? What if he'd just stranded Tony in Camelot forever As you may have surmised from the form of that question, that is in fact a question Marvel asked themselves, because, yes, there's a What If about this! What If v1 #33 is "What if Iron Man was trapped in the time of King Arthur?"

The divergence point from canon, as you can probably guess, is the very end of Doomquest. Instead of Doom bringing Tony home, he deceives him and leaves him in Camelot. And since Tony cannibalized a lot of the tech from his armor to make the time machine, he doesn't have a way to go home.

This is not a story where Tony comes up with a way to go home after all. He really doesn't get to go home. But instead of drowning his sorrows in mead -- because, remember, Demon in a Bottle has already happened and Tony is sober now -- he decides he might as well just play the hand he's dealt. So with what's left of his armor, he defeats some enemies that Morgan rounds up to send against Camelot. And for his services, he's knighted. He is now Sir Anthony.

Tony acknowledges that he is both living the dream and would also like very, very much to go home.

He does end up having some fun in Camelot; it's not all miserable. But he obviously doesn't want to be there.

So if you're at all familiar with King Arthur, you know how this goes, right? Arthur fights Mordred and Mordred kills him. And that does happen in this version. Except Tony is right there, and with his dying words, Arthur asks Tony to rule Camelot... and Tony agrees.

So, yes, Tony Stark becomes king of the Britons after Arthur's death and he never goes home again. The end. Man, I love What Ifs.

Heading back to main 616 continuity, there is still more of this arc to go. The original Doomquest was only two issues, yes, but it was popular enough that Layton & Michelinie did a sequel a hundred issues later, in their second run of Iron Man, and that's Iron Man #249-250, Recurring Knightmare. (In the intervening issues were Denny O'Neil's IM run, specifically the second drinking arc (#160-200), and then Layton & Michelinie came back and most famously gave us Armor Wars (#225-232). I would have to say that Armor Wars is definitely the standout fandom-favorite arc of their second IM run; for their first one, I think a lot of people would have a hard time choosing between Doomquest and Demon.) But anyway, yes. Recurring Knightmare.

Recurring Knightmare is... well, the best way I can describe it is "a trip." It is definitely a sequel to Doomquest, and it is also definitely not a sequel you would ever have expected to see for Doomquest.

Much like #149, #249 is pretty much just setup. Fun setup, but the big action is in the next issue. We open with Doom in Latveria, on his throne, pondering which of his servants he should have disintegrated. Anyway, he's just hanging out there when a mysterious object appears. In California, Tony is suited up and entertaining the crowd at a mall opening when the same object also appears! He takes it to his lab. Please note that this is after the Kathy Dare incident, so Tony is still recovering and is walking with a cane. Doom sees on the news that Iron Man has found the same object, which cannot be carbon-dated, and he shows up at Tony's house. He criticizes Tony's taste in art.

Anyway, Doom basically orders Tony to work with him. Tony refuses, and then Doom sends some robots to attempt to steal Tony's version of the object because he thinks if he has them both he will be powerful. Doom manages to steal it, and when he puts the pieces together, both he and Tony disappear.

So where do they go, you might ask? Camelot?

Not exactly. The future! There is a great callback to the Doomquest splash page.

It turns out they are in London in 2093. Merlin brought them there. Tony still hates magic. And in the future, King Arthur is still there, except he is now a child, because he has been reborn. But he does remember Tony from Doomquest, at which point Tony kneels. Doom, of course, is not impressed. He asks why they have been brought to the future.

The answer is that things are going wrong in the future. If you do not personally remember United States politics in the 1980s, I need you to google the words "Strategic Defense Initiative" right now. I'll wait.

Back with me? Okay, so this is a future where Reagan's Star Wars program actually happened the way he wanted it to, and the satellites are still hanging around the Earth in the future and messing everything up, and Arthur and Merlin need Tony and Doom's help to stop them. Doom once again flies away with his jetpack, of course.

Tony is game to help, but he's not in an armor that can stay in space for long. This is when Merlin takes him and Arthur to the mall and Tony manages to get everything to upgrade his armor at Radio Shack. You see what I meant about this issue being weird.

Tony is out in space trying to disarm the SDI platform, which is where he runs into his future descendant, Andros Stark, who is in armor you will probably recognize from Iron Man 2020. He is referred to as "the resurrected spawn of Iron Man 2020" so I assume he's actually directly related to Arno rather than a direct descendant of Tony; Wiki confirms that Arno is his grandfather. This is all from way before Arno was contemporaneous with Tony in canon. Anyway, he's fighting Tony.

Oh, by the way, Future Doom exists. Future Doom would like to rule this future Earth and for some reason Andros would like to help him. Meanwhile, Present Doom finds out from Merlin that he can't leave except by magic and he can't leave without Tony, so he is reluctantly on Tony's side.

They need help from the Lady of the Lake, except the lake has been paved over and is now a parking lot. Merlin makes the lake come back and then of course they get Excalibur. Arthur is a kid, so he can't wield a longsword; Doom assumes he's going to take it because he is basically a king, and he's pretty grumpy when the sword picks Tony. Tony then uses Excalibur to destroy the space lasers, and I bet that is a sentence you never thought you would read. It's pretty cool. Tony concludes that magic has its good points. Tony stops Andros and Doom stops, uh, himself, and the world is saved and they get to go home. Also, Doom finds out Tony is Iron Man, but when Merlin sends them back he conveniently erases their memories, so neither of them remember anything about this and Tony's secret is still safe. And that's the sequel to Doomquest.

And if you think that's weird, wait until you see Legacy of Doom.

Iron Man: Legacy of Doom is a four-issue miniseries from 2008, also by Layton and Michelinie. Even though it's from 2008, it's set during a much more classic time in Iron Man, continuing on from where we left off in this Doomquest saga. We start with a framing story in 2008. Tony, who has Extremis now, is busy scrapping some of his older armors and reviewing his logs when he suddenly remembers that there was a whole thing with Doom that happened that he seems to have forgotten about until right now. So the whole thing is narrated by Tony in flashback.

Tony's in space fixing a satellite when a hologram of Doom shows up and summons him to Latveria. It's not really clear why Doom needs Tony's help in particular here, but Doom tells Tony that he's discovered that Mephisto would like to bring about the end of the world, which Doom finds, and I quote, "presumptive." So Doom has his Time Cube, and with it he takes Tony to hell.

(Yes, I promise this is relevant to Doomquest. There will be some Arthuriana shortly.)

Doom brings Tony to Mephisto, and it turns out it's a setup! Doom trades Tony for an item he wants from Mephisto, leaves, and Tony's going to be trapped in hell forever! Oh no! (I mean, he's not. But it's quite a cliffhanger.)

At the beginning of issue #2, we find out what the Arthurian connection is, which is that we learned that after the events of Doomquest, Morgan had been granted sanctuary by Mephisto in exchange for a shard of Excalibur that she had somehow stolen. Doom still wants Morgan's help with some magic -- he doesn't mention what it is here, but he says he needs someone of Pendragon blood, and that'd be her -- so he traded Tony to Mephisto in exchange for, I'm guessing, Morgan and the Excalibur shard.

I have probably mentioned this elsewhere, but Legacy of Doom #2 is one of my favorite issues of Iron Man ever, solely because of the next scene. We return to Tony in hell. Howard Stark is also in hell, and he is now a demon, and Tony has to fight him. Mephisto brings popcorn and watches. This is the one time in canon when Tony actually confronts his father, and okay, yes, it's a fistfight in hell and Howard is a demon, but that's comics for you. Howard spends several pages insulting Tony -- specifically insulting his masculinity, but that's a whole other essay -- until he finally insults Maria too, and that's when Tony fights back, because his mother taught him to be good. Honestly if you're a Tony fan I'd recommend this issue just for that scene.

Anyway, we go back to the Doom and Morgan plot, and Morgan casts the spell Doom wanted, which was fusing the Excalibur shard with Doom's armor. Then Doom sends her back to Camelot rather than hell, because he's still mad that she never helped him get his mom out of hell like she said she would.

Tony freezes Howard with Freon -- yes, the same trick he pulled on the dragon back in Doomquest -- and tells him, "You're no father of mine." It is immensely satisfying.

(I had been going to mention that I thought it was a shame that neither canon nor fandom seems to have really engaged with this confrontation, and I know canon never believes in narrative closure but fandom sure does -- and then, anyway, it occurred to me that since the framing story of Tony remembering this is set when Tony has Extremis, there's a very good chance that he no longer remembers remembering it. Goddammit, Marvel.)

(If I got to retcon one canon thing about Tony, I think "the entirety of World's Most Wanted" is up there. I mean, okay, a lot of things are up there, but WMW is definitely on the shortlist.)

Okay. Tony has now engineered his way out of hell, and he's back with Doom in Latveria. Doom has Excalibur. Doom would very much like to fight him. While wielding Excalibur. You get the sense that this is going to be bad. Another cliffhanger!

Legacy of Doom #3 opens with Tony destroying Doom's lab to buy time and running away from Doom and Excalibur. I should probably mention that Doom still doesn't know Tony is Iron Man (anymore), so he thinks he is dealing only with Iron Man, Tony Stark's lackey. Meanwhile, some scientists at SI think there's something weird going on with space. Meanwhile meanwhile, Tony is in a forest taking a breather when a mysterious old man walks up to him.

It's Merlin! Surprise! Merlin wants Tony's help to stop Doom from doing whatever he's doing with Excalibur. The sword makes you invincible and the scabbard makes you invulnerable, so Merlin sends Tony to Scotland on a fetch quest for the scabbard. Doom has now magically sent the sword in search of the scabbard, so the sword flies away to meet it and Doom follows. Turns out the thing that's wrong with space is a thing that's going to hit Earth at the exact place Tony and Doom are. What a coincidence! So Tony and Doom get trapped in a stone circle and fight some stone warriors and then Tony ends up with the scabbard. And by "ends up with," I mean it fuses to his armor. Next issue!

Legacy of Doom #4 is when things really, really get weird. A giant demon made of eyes (???) appears, and this demon is apparently what Doom had been preparing to fight (because it's mad that Doom stole one of its spellbooks), and now he can't, because the sword and the scabbard aren't together. Thanks, Shellhead.

That's when Merlin shows up and says all is not lost. They can defeat the demon... if they put the sword into the scabbard.

"But I'm the scabbard now!" Tony says, uncomprehending.

"Yes," Merlin says. "You are."

Then Tony gets it.

So, yes, Doom has to, um, penetrate Tony. With Excalibur. I love comics. I love comics so much.

So that's a thing that happens.

And then Tony flies off and, I guess, resolves to never, ever think about any of this again.

We head back to the framing story, in which Tony, now having remembered all of this, flies to Britain, buys the land the lake is on, and paves it over, presumably so it will be there for Merlin to bring back in Iron Man #250. The end.

Whew.

Okay, yeah, I know I didn't have to summarize the whole thing, but Legacy of Doom here really is one of my favorite Iron Man miniseries. And I just want to share the love. Please read it. It's great.

But the Arthuriana fun doesn't end there! In fact, now we get an Arthurian-themed arc that actually isn't in Iron Man comics. It's in Avengers! Iron Man is involved, though.

(There is also apparently a Morgan arc in Avengers #240. I actually haven't read it. It seems to be yet another Spider-Woman arc. I get the impression that this isn't really Arthuriana other than having Morgan in it fighting Jess, though, so it doesn't seem quite as relevant. Morgan also apparently has some appearances in FF, Journey into Mystery, and Marvel Team-Up, but those seem like more of just basic villainy. Also, probably not involving Tony.)

Kurt Busiek's 1998 Avengers run, volume 3, is in large part the kind of Avengers run that is a nostalgic love letter to older comics. Heroes are heroes and villains are villains and good triumphs over evil. The Avengers all live in the mansion and are BFFs. I love it. It does assume that you are already a fan of the Avengers, because it starts out by summoning pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger and is available to the mansion, and that is... a lot of people. Thirty-nine, by my count. Also, when the entire team is magically whisked away, we are treated to the following narration, as Steve disappears: "And Captain America's last thought, as the world goes white around him, and he with it -- is that Iron Man would hate this."

The narration doesn't tell you why Iron Man would hate this, or how Captain America would know that Iron Man hates this. This is not explained later on. But if you have read comics -- or if you have read the above summary of Doomquest -- you know that Tony is absolutely, one hundred percent, thinking, "I hate magic." And Steve knows it.

The reference is not relevant to the plot; if you don't get it, you'll be fine. But that's what I mean when I say this is a nostalgia run. There are definitely Easter eggs for people who have read a bunch of comics. Busiek does this a whole lot in his work -- there's a reason you can buy an annotated edition of Marvels -- and, yeah, it happens here too. Just know that there will be references you're not getting, if you're new to comics.

Anyway. So Busiek's run actually starts out with an Arthurian arc, #1-4, "The Morgan Conquest." The name is a dead giveaway. Yes, Morgan le Fay is back. Again. For once, Doom is not involved.

The Avengers are all back from their sojourn on Counter-Earth after fighting Onslaught -- don't worry about it -- and mysterious things are happening. There are a lot of monster attacks. So pretty much everyone who has ever been an Avenger is summoned to the mansion, at which point we learn from Thor about some mystical artifacts that are being stolen. (They are the Norn Stones and also the Twilight Sword. That sounds like something from a Zelda game, doesn't it?) The Avengers go to try to stop this, end up in Tintagel, and then they run into Mordred. He wants to capture Wanda, presumably for Magic Reasons. Morgan le Fay casts a spell on all of them, reshaping reality. Yes, all of them. Surprise!

So now all the Avengers are living in a medieval castle and/or town; Morgan is their queen, and thanks to the power of mind-control they are all basically living in Ye Olden Times. The Avengers are all some variety of knight, except for Wanda, who is chained up in the dungeon so Morgan can steal her magic and use it to fuel all this reality-warping.

Wanda calls for help, and that snaps Steve (Yeoman America!) out of the mind control (or altered reality or whatever you want to call it) pretty fast, because Steve's always been very good at resisting mind control, and then Steve promptly goes and snaps Clint out of it, because I guess Steve is also good at inspiring people to snap out of mind control. "Oh, man!" Clint says. "Not another alternate reality! Not again!" (I assume he's referring to Counter-Earth? Maybe?)

So Steve and Clint go around reassembling the Avengers and orienting them as to reality. They get Jan and Monica easily, but then Steve insists on trying to get Tony because, I guess, he likes Tony and would really like to hang around Tony, who is half-naked and asleep in his bedroom, and certainly I am reading nothing whatsoever into this. Clint tells Steve it's not going to work. Tony has historically been fairly susceptible to mind control; it was only pretty recently at this point that he'd been doing Kang's bidding in The Crossing. But the more serious impediment is that this is Tony Stark and he would obviously like to LARP being a knight forever and ever. Tony, therefore, does not believe Steve, and throws him and Clint out of his bedroom and into the barracks.

"Iron Man's a good guy, normally," Clint says. "But he's waaay too into his whole nobleman/lord of the manor trip. That spell musta hit him right where he lives!"

Clint speaks the truth, clearly.

Anyway, they go around and manage to make pretty much every Avenger in the room other than Tony snap out, and attempt to rebel against Morgan while Tony is stil fighting them because he is Still A Knight. There's a lot of punching, because some of the Avengers still aren't free; they weren't ones Steve found.

The day is saved when Wanda manages to channel Wonder Man and break free. This gives the Avengers a fighting chance against Morgan and the Avengers are all lending Wanda their power when Tony finally snaps out of it and is on the side of good.

Then they take Morgan down, go home, and attempt to figure out which of these thirty-nine people should be on the active Avengers team. Hooray.

But that's not the end of Morgan le Fay showing up to screw around with Tony's life! There's more to come! Not much, but there is one that I know of, and at least one more memorable reference.

(I haven't read all her appearances or anything, but one of them definitely involves Tony; I can't swear that he doesn't appear in any of the other books Morgan shows up in, but it'd be a cameo for him, because I only know of one more arc that she's in in a book that Tony stars in.)

In a few more years, we have now entered the part of Marvel Comics history where Brian Michael Bendis writes all the Avengers books at the same time for, like, seven years running. It was sure A Time. There were a lot of word bubbles.

And the thing about Bendis is, Bendis looooooves Doomquest. If you're familiar with the very end of his tenure at Marvel where he made Doom be Iron Man after Tony got knocked into a coma in Civil War II, you have probably figured out already that he likes Doom. But he also likes Doomquest, specifically.

I mean, if nothing else, the giant splash page in The Confession where Maleev redrew the climactic Doomquest fight while Bendis had Tony talk about how deeply meaningful to his understanding of the world this all was -- and how it allowed him to predict Civil War -- was probably a big clue, right?

As far as I am aware, Morgan le Fay makes exactly one more appearance in Tony's life. And that's in Mighty Avengers vol 1 #9-11. Only one of those issues is named, so I'm going to assume the arc is named after it: Time Is On No One's Side.

You remember Mighty Avengers, right? The deal with the Avengers books at the time was that after Bendis exploded the mansion and made the team disband in Avengers Disassembled, the main Avengers book was no longer called just Avengers. Instead, the main Avengers book was New Avengers, and that was the only Avengers book. Then Civil War happened, Steve got killed, and New Avengers became the book about what was left of the SHRA resistance (i.e., Steve's side) after the war. So about halfway through New Avengers, Mighty Avengers starts up, and Mighty Avengers is about an extremely fucked-up and grief-stricken Tony Stark trying to run the official government-sanctioned Avengers team, with Carol's help. This is the comic with the arc where Tony turned into naked girl Ultron. You remember.

So, anyway, there's this Mighty Avengers arc where Doom is Up To Something (there are symbiotes and a satellite involved) and somehow Tony and the Avengers end up in Latveria, punching Doom. Also, by the way, Doom is visiting Morgan in the past because he likes her. The Avengers attacking his castle made him have to come back to the present, so he's kind of cranky. And he fights Tony, and in the course of the fight, his time platform explodes and sends Doom and Tony and also the Sentry to... the past.

This is one of those times where you should definitely look up the comics if possible because the way the past is visually indicated here is that it's colored with halftone dots the way you would expect old comics to be colored, although they have modern shading and color palettes. It's very charmingly retro.

So the three of them are stuck in New York in the past, and naturally they would like to leave. There's one person in this time who has a time machine and it is, of course, Reed Richards. Doom and Tony have a lot of banter in this arc; I think it's entertaining.

Sentry has to be the one to break them all into the Baxter Building because of that power he has where no one will remember him. So they do that, travel forward in time, and end up in Latveria in the present again except Doom is gone and also things are currently exploding where they are.

Doom, of course, has made a side trip to visit Morgan again and he asks her to help him build an army, because I guess this is what their relationship is like. So the rest of the Avengers are captured by what look to me like Mindless Ones and are in a cave in magic bondage, because comics. Jess comments that at least they aren't naked, because she too is remembering that memorable New Avengers trip to the Savage Land. Doom threatens Carol in some creepy sexist ways and eventually it turns out that Tony and the Sentry are fine and everyone kicks Doom's ass. Business as usual.

And the last page of the arc is Morgan alone, wondering where Doom is. So technically Morgan and Tony don't come face to face here, but I think she counts as being at least partially responsible for ruining Tony's day here. And then Secret Invasion happens and Tony has a very, very bad day.

There are a few more Morgan appearances after this, but, as I said, I don't think any of them involve Tony. She shows up in Dark Avengers, apparently, which was one of the post-Civil War Avengers titles I didn't read, and I know that recently, on the X-Men side of things, she's been in Tini Howard's Excalibur one, which I have only read a little of. No Tony there. Just a lot of Morgan and Betsy Braddock and Brian Braddock and the Otherworld.

If you are interested in Morgan's other appearances, you might like this Marvel listicle that is Morgan le Fay's six most malicious acts. I pulled some of the Darkhold backstory from their discussion, but it's not really focused on Morgan and Tony.

So there you have it! That's everything I know about Tony's love for King Arthur and every run-in I know about that he's had with Morgan le Fay! One of two terrible people in Tony's life named Morgan! Actually, I don't think we've seen Morgan Stark in a while. I wonder if he's alive. There should be a Morgan & Morgan team-up. I should probably stop typing and post this.

The tl;dr point is that you should all read Doomquest and its sequels, especially Legacy of Doom. They're great!

#posts i actually wrote

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probably-haven · 3 years

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Spoilers Galor ...... it is time.... for me to do what ive been considering for quite some time

this is my arguement... on why, whether romantically or platonically, i think you should ship or bro-ship,...... Childe.... and Albedo

HERE ME OUT I SWEAR PLEASE IT MAKES SENSE IN MY HEAD- JUST GIVE IT A CHANCE! rarepair shipping is painful- join me

OR DONT EVEN IF YOU DONT WANT TO GIVE THE SHIP A CHANCE I DO A LOT OF ANALYSIS ON ALBEDO AND CHILDE’S CHARACTERS INDIVIDUALLY, AS WELL AS THE FATUI, THEYRE METHODS, AND THE RELATION WITH MONDSTADT- AND OTHER STUFF- just- if you like reading different analysis-es of the game or ship material or anything-

please just consider skimming it possibly-

so for the first section of my argument, i will cover why this is a largely feasible possibility, so let’s set the stage

- Childe is from Snezhnaya, and he is shown to have a large amount of ties to his home, including but not limited to; his family, ice fishing, and just a large number of nostalgic references in his voice lines.

- Because of this it’s a pretty common occurrence that he finds himself feeling homesick, as with many of the other Fatui.

- This is why he, like many of the other Fatui, so frequently visit and camp within Dragonspine, where the cold snowy atmosphere serves to remind them of home and the things they left behind.

- also in his birthday letter, it says he canonically visits Dragonspine, but explaining it this way gives it feeling

- so considering that he would be in Dragonspine relatively often, and given the large number of Fatui camps in there regardless, it’s pretty clear he’d have heard of Albedo. So onto Albedo (unfortunately i wasnt there for his event so i dont have as much fuel, but it is what it is)

- there’s a few things that need to be asked first- It’s pretty clear that Albedo must have some interaction with the Fatui given the sheer number of them that camp in Dragonspine. Evidentially, he’s still alive so the question is why? and there’s a few possible explanations for this.

- He just sneaks around a lot or avoids them (this i think is unlikely, as it would limit his actions while conducting experiments as well as the places where he’d be able to conduct them, which isn’t a big deal, but when there are other options I don’t think this is the one he’d pick) - He just pulls a traveler and kills them (i don’t think he would do this except for as a last resort, he’s rather disconnected from any sense of empathy yes, but his time is better spent elsewhere. If it comes to that, it comes to that and he will, but he wouldn’t do it as his first option) (also i dont use geo characters much so idk how good he’d be at breaking their shields in this case) - The Fatui don’t bother or attack him out of their own choice

- i think the third is the most likely, which sounds dumb but hear me out.

- something that is stressed time and time again during the mondstadt archon quest is the fact that nobody wants to increase the always present strain on diplomatic relations between Mondstadt and Snezhnaya. - Sure the Fatui do not care very much about this and have many ways to get around this. Signora attacking Venti (technically not a diplomat, and by disappearing she had plausible deniability; traveler’s words against her own, and really both traveler and Venti weren’t supposed to survive that, hence “leave no trace”), or the Fatui constantly attacking the traveler, (who’s canonically travelling alone with only Paimon, always on the move and encountering many unfamiliar dangers, not hard to clear up) - However despite this, I still believe that Albedo’s safety(and by extent that of Sucrose and Timeus) on Dragonspine is maintained by a mixture of political agreement, situational convenience, and Albedo’s own actions

- its difficult for this to work but i believe it’s the most likely answer, combining all three possibilities that i mentioned above. - Albedo is an official Knight of Favonius, so his death would cause a pretty dramatic commotion, and since he’s been in Dragonspine for as long as he has, if he was found dead outside of his lab- or suddenly disappeared, the first person to blame would be the Fatui.

- “But Flurp! what about the stuff you mentioned earlier, with Senora’s attack and the Fatui always going after the traveler?”

- context is key. The traveler is a traveler, and Venti was a necessity to achieve their goal. The traveler is also a huge threat to what they are trying to do, since the Fatui have probably heard of their accomplishments. Them attacking Venti was inevitable, no matter the strain it would cause. The fact that the traveler was there as well was merely coincidence in my opinion

- again “leave no trace” means the intent was that both the Traveller and Venti weren’t meant to survive. This is important because if the traveler disappeared, they would have vanished shortly after finishing what they had to do in mondstadt and thered be no reason to suspect anything had happened to them, just that they had moved onto Liyue.

- Venti would pose risk, but again, the pros outweighed any risk it could have posed to their relations.

- with the Fatui regularly attacking the Traveler, again, that’s easy to clear up and would be difficult to pin on the Fatui, assuming how long it would take to realize they were gone (because despite helping so many people, its still natural to assume they’ve just travelled elsewhere)

- Albedo on the other hand, is technically a legal official, because of his high rank in the knights. He is also only ever really found in Dragonspine and Mondstadt the city. And he is well familiar with the dangers of Dragonspine, so if he were to die there it would be assumed to be either at the hands of the Fatui, or one of his own experiments.

- Thus attacking him is very high risk(unlike the traveler), and since he has nothing to do with their plans, low reward(unlike Venti).

- So most likely he doesn’t needlessly interact with the Fatui, but should an experiment need to expand into the space of one of their camps, it’s likely he would need some kind of documentation to do so. At the same time, Albedo himself would also not be able to harm the Fatui who frequent the mountain. I TOOK WAY TO LONG TO EXPLAIN THAT UGGGGHHHHHHH anyways

- So set the stage, Childe is visiting Dragonspine, right? And he hears from whichever Fatui Camp he happens to stop in about the one Knight of Favonius that they keep seeing around Dragonspine, the one who just last week came to them with a stack of documents saying they would have to move their camp, it’s annoying but they have orders not to attack him.

- and then there’s Childe, who’s been living in Liyue, surrounded by people who basically fear Dragonspine as if its some kind of deadzone, and he just assumed that for anyone not from Snezhnaya, thats exactly what it was. He assumed nobody but the Fatui would dare even visit there, let alone be there as frequently as whoever this person was.

- And he’s got to be pretty important for there to be orders not to attack him, right? - cue Childe’s unique brand of curiosity, so he asks more, apparently the fellow has a geo vision, and had been spotted taking down or even just lurking by a number of Dragonspine’s dangers as though it was merely routine - cue flashback to when he first met the traveler, instantly hesitant, hostile, and potentially even afraid towards him as soon as he realized he was Fatui, even before revealing himself as a harbinger.

- so what was it about this guy that made him so convinced he could walk into a Fatui camp alone, order them around, and still walk out alive. Even Childe could admit how underhanded the Fatui were at times, their true orders could have been anything

- He’s not just going to leave now, no. So he asks more questions and figures out that they did at one point scout out his lab while the Knight was out, and give him the location. He’s a harbinger, what are they gonna say “sorry sir, can’t tell ya” no, these bitches see him with the same amount of fear they’d have for Dotorre or Scaramouche or La Signora or any of the others- you don’t just tell a harbinger “no”

- So anyways Childe decides to check it out

- in the case that Albedo’s mid experiment in his lab when this happens, he’ll probably assume it’s a Knight, since the Fatui haven’t tried anything in quite some time and would just send off a quick “I am in the middle of an experiment right now, I would prefer not to be disturbed” - and Childe would laugh at his voice because let’s be honest, he thinks of himself as a Chad and it just sounds “weak” to him, and then the scenario leads into what would happen even if he wasnt mid-experiment

and now a look into Albedo’s perspective

- let’s assume that the Knights heard about the Traveler’s role in what happened in Liyue, since it’s kind of common knowledge that Childe was the one who did it, and the traveler doesn’t exactly try to hide that he fought Childe. So considering how often the knights and the Fatui clash, and what happened with Signora, they would likely ask the traveler about it, in order to be better prepared, and for that same reason i feel like the traveler would tell them some of it.

- so in this situation, it’s likely that Albedo would recognize him and likely know an amount of his combat abilities, and the thing with the fake seals of permission/Osial, but I don’t think the Traveler would have given told any more than that

- so here’s Albedo, surrounded by Fatui camps, knowing that he knows more about this Harbinger than the other thinks he does and assuming that Childe knows more about him himself, but just how much does he know.

- it’s the first time one of the Fatui has come to his lab in- he doesn’t know how long (other than the occasional instance of a wounded member risking the encounter in a moment of desperation. He’s observed that those who wield hydro have never been present in any of these instances, and are most likely designated as healers, but he isn’t in the best position to find out.) - and the fact that the first Fatui to come to his camp(out of anything other than necessity) is a Harbinger, is certainly very off putting, as he knows that Childe most certainly has the ability to change the orders of the Fatui around him whose cooperation with him is something that he recognizes as very fragile

- and he knows it’s unlikely, in the back of his mind he keeps recalling that this specific Harbinger is the one who resurrected a dead god for the purpose of destroying a city (flashback to the famous “if I destroy Mondstadt” line) but he reminds himself that it’s highly improbable and thus illogical to jump to that conclusion, but he is nonetheless very on edge with Childe’s presence

- However, as with the rest of the Fatui, his hands are legally tied, and unless Childe moves to attack him, any move he makes would only serve to reflect on the rest of the knights

- As such neither would attack the other in this scenario, though Childe would very much want to, and Albedo would very much be prepared to. - and both of these people are very observant (Albedo in the general sense and Childe in the ‘reading body language for combat’ sense) so both of them are completely aware of that, though Albedo would probably acknowledge that it may just be a result of his own paranoia

- However, unless Childe has orders otherwise, he tends to approach interactions with a more amiable attitude, extending his hand and introducing himself as “Childe,” less flamboyant than normal, because yes he’s extra, but not an idiot, he’s not gonna say “hey girlie, hold still” when the guy obviously has his hand tensed like that, “discretely” ready to reach for whats assumed to be a weapon, a melee one based on the position, sword or polearm probably

- Albedo, isn’t really one for pleasantries though, he has a number of things he still needs to do, and he does not want this Harbinger in or nearby his camp. “I’m aware” he says, giving his full attention, so as not to be caught off guard, and to get this over as quickly as possible. “I assume you have some purpose behind this visit. I am rather busy at the moment, so i would prefer that we keep this interaction brief.”

- and Childe is a little shit who still doesn’t know how to associate violence and hostility with any kind of bad vibes so he just laughs and holds up his hands “relax relax, I’m not here on business, no need to be on edge, right?”

- But Childe has a tendency while speaking to, knowingly or unknowingly, give his words a rather ominous tone. That and the fact that Albedo is in his lab, one of few places in Dragonspine where any misfortune that might befall him could be pinned on his own experiments keeps him from letting down his guard just yet.

HOWEVER i cant do dialogue... and this isn’t technically a fanfiction so i can summarize-

- Childe is basically all like “so why the shit are you in dragonspine comrade? i thought yall hated it”

- and albedo is all “experiments and this is where my lab is, is ” but like- not key details cuz he isnt going to reveal stuff to the fatui

-and Childe basically be like “ why up here, isnt there other places,” cuz he legit doesn’t get it. He gets that his mindset isn’t the norm, so he’d assume Albedo would want to do anything to avoid Dragonspine and its dangers like what seems to be the norm for what most people hes interacted with have generally agreed

- and Albedo says some flowery words for like oh “In the pursuit of knowledge if one allows themselves to be dissuaded by potential dangers, then they will find it quite difficult to progress beyond that which is already known”

- which, is important cuz it reflects Childe’s mindset on getting stronger, so he’s like yeah, checks out, and being the extroverted shit he is, he has the guts to ask “aren’t you gonna ask why im in dragonspine?” or something because honestly he likes talking about himself, and thats a topic that doesnt have to do with the fatui so it’s an easy way to make conversation.

- and Albedo, who has by now slightly relaxed just enough to resume preparing the experiment he was preparing before Childe came in. and all passive aggressively is like “The same as the rest of the Fatui, most likely. Now if you don’t mind I do have a number of experiments to conduct and I’m afraid it can get rather dangerous, so it would be best that you take your leave now”

- and Childe gets the message that he’s essentially being told to fuck off but he’s also cheeky as shit and absolutely loves to test his luck so he’d be all “I thought you said not to be dissuaded by potential dangers” sounding all proud of himself for using the other’s words against him

- and Albedo doesn’t have time for this so he just turns back towards Childe, same tone and same face as before, and repeats “it would best that you take your leave”

- Now Childe doesn’t see this as a challenge persay, but he sees how easily it can turn into one, and speaks the two cliche words “make me”

- but Albedo is also a little shit and just turns to resume his experiment, letting out a sigh “Stay if you’d like. I didn’t consider this possibility but I may have to request my lab be made off limits to the Fatui. A shame, I didn’t plan to return to Mondstadt for quite some time”

- and Childe, he’s decently smart- and he knows a number of things, 1 the other harbingers are gonna be pissed if they find out he caused more work for them again, 2 this individual is interesting and he very much wants the opportunity to fight them in the future, and 3 he’s not involved in politics and should Albedo follow through, the Harbingers wouldn’t give 2 shits if he asked them to try and get the change reversed.

- and so he leaves, but he’ll be back

- Albedo’s threat may have given him the upper hand for now, but it also served as a challenge he wouldn’t forget. - of course it’s not really that big a deal though, just if he’s ever in Dragonspine again and there’s nothing nearby to kill, he’d keep it in mind, and hey, best case scenario he can get more information to contribute to the Fatui

OKAY

- so now that Childe is gone and Albedo is able to reflect on the interaction, at first he’s just relieved nothing bad happened

- within the following day he reflects once again, deciding that the Harbinger most likely wasn’t lying about his intentions, he truly did seem seem to merely have been curious as he had claimed

- in hindsight he also realizes that conversing with him may also allow him to confirm or deny a number of the theories he had on the Fatui, or perhaps raise more questions for him to look into that he had not yet considered... or at least it could as long as he was careful about how he asked.

- AND THUS there a few more meetings, many are purely conversational, each trying to get knowledge from the other while being fully aware that the other is trying to do the same - not the type of battle Childe is used to, and it does get boring at times, but it’s all part of the game so he persists

- and eventually, as Albedo recognizes this as a regular thing, he begins enlisting Childe’s help in a number of experiments. Just figuring that since he’s doing an experiment and Childe is there regardless, it’s the most efficient option. That and it keeps the more dangerous questions to a minimum, often redirecting the questions towards alchemy, a much safer topic that he does not need to step so carefully around in order to discuss.

- There comes a point where Childe decides to point out the fact that Albedo most often has him help out with combat-requiring aspects of his experiments, and questions why

- Albedo, figuring it was obvious, reminds him of the conversation a few visits ago, where Childe mentioned his drive to get stronger, and(to requote) said that if he didn’t feel these opponents were sufficient to increase Childe’s strength, he could always bring in a couple Oceanids to fight. He then points out afterwards that ruin guards are a bit easier to fight with a bow

- Mixed responses from Childe including but not limited to - quickly refusing in the language of hydro vision panic, followed quickly by - oh, so he’s been trying to help this whole time, to- - how the fuck would he bring Oceanids to Dragonspine, is that even possible? - followed by curiosity

- and so he brings up the point that he’s never seen Albedo fight, which is a shame. “If you can’t take them down on your own just say so, no need to make excuses.” because heck yeah he’s going to taunt him, I mean this is Childe

- which of course Albedo returns with “If you want to see me in combat, follow your own advice” because of course, by now he knows about Childe’s combat obsession, like you don’t need to know him that long to figure it out, its kind of obvious.

- but he recognizes the intention, so he finishes what he’s doing checking what he needs for his future plans before exiting the lab, Childe following behind him, eager to see his future opponent in action

- so albedo goes to a ruin guard/grader/hunter(one of those), because otherwise it’s hilichurls or abyss mages and he knows enough to be able to tell that’s not exactly the kind of opponent Childe meant, and he would prefer not to have the topic brought up again, if he knew how to avoid it.

- so Childe stands back and Albedo, who is well accustomed to having to defeat the enemies in Dragonspine in order to get components for his alchemy knows exactly how to kill this bitch cuz honestly, the number of these guys he’s probably killed for research purposes is astronomical, so it’s done rather quickly and methodically, as if just another part of routine, exactly the way that it had been described when Childe was first asking the Fatui at that one camp about the alchemist.

- And that interest/intrigue that had started in the side of Childe’s mind and grew over time into one of the reasons(tho not the main reason) that he would often go to Dragonspine... it multiplied exponentially

- cue a few more visits and a new turning point occurs

Klee

- Childe comes to visit, and upon arriving at the lab he sees a child

- cue Childe approaching again, amiable grin on is face “and who’s this young lady” - because it’s literally canon that he’s good with kids

.....

- but Klee isn’t any kid

- and Klee was there for the briefing so she has just as much information on Childe as any of the other higher ranking knights - and only that much information

- a short time later they’re cleaning up the scattered remains of what was Albedo’s last experiment, lucky that the explosion was set off near the entrance so the damage wasn’t too extensive

- “Please don’t tell Master Jean, Dodocco said he was sorry”

- Cue Childe’s “I’m not a bad guy... okay I’m kind of a bad guy” quote - “but I mean no harm, I’m a friend of Albedo’s”

- and Albedo’s standing there like when I agree to that but he wants to see how this plays out

- and I’m really unfamiliar with Klee’s characterization, but you get the point Childe is canonically god at kids, he’s gonna learn that Klee’s basically Albedo’s little sister, Klee’s gonna get attached to him and remind him of his siblings back home, Childe’s interaction with Klee is basically what gets Albedo to start actually somewhat trusting Childe as opposed to just using him from a metaphorical distance and subtly helping in ways that wouldnt really negatively impact the knights

- and now that hes no longer actively distrustful his mind is more open to actually becoming attached, as he now begin to recognize that that which he initially believed to be mere manipulation tactics was actually just... Childe being genuine, or as genuine as a person can be in their situation

OKAY OKAY OKAY NOW THAT ALL THAT IS ESTABLISHED I CAN GET INTO THE DYNAMIC

- so theres the obvious things i already mentioned, like their mutual extreme drive to improve in their respective fields that separates them from others, even within their own respective groups/organizations which already(to an extent) separate their members from most others

now lets talk about this point specifically

- both Childe and Albedo are capable of helping each other grow in their respective fields.

- two things that have the potential to cause Childe trouble and lessen his combat ability and the problems with his delusion and his foul legacy transformation

- these two things are things likely unlike anything that Albedo has been able to study before (tho delusions he might have some experience with- but it’s unlikely) and it would likely be able to expand his knowledge, were he given the opportunity to experiment them, while simultaneously helping childe improve his strength

HOWEVER

- both of them know just how fragile the relationship(whatever it is) between them is, how quickly tensions can shift and orders can change, so in order to protect both the other and themselves they both understand that actually going through with this wouldn’t truly be safe and both sides could get in trouble for it

- because no matter what they do there will always be a constantly present risk hanging over their heads, but ill come back to that

- Dragonspine - in a lot of Albedo ships, the other character has to go through the effort of going to Dragonspine, which tends to serve as an obstacle for the relationship to be overcome (exception of sucrose and... idk do people ship him with Timeus? just in case, recognizing them both as potential exceptions) - However, in the case of Childe, who legitimately enjoys coming to Dragonspine, he wouldn’t hesitate to visit Albedo - with most it becomes “wow, i haven’t seen Albedo in a while, gee, i wish he’d come down the mountain, nonetheless i am a good lover so i shall make the harsh trek to see my beloved” - with this bitch Childe tho it’s more like “oops, feelin’ homesick, Imma see how Albedo’s doing, hope he’s made progress, wonder if Klee will be there” or “Wow I haven’t seen Albedo in awhile. Finna finish up these fatui duties real quick and head over, if i say im checking on the Fatui stationed there, I dont even have to ask to go on leave” (he gets in trouble for not officially asking for a day off anyways)

-anywho, Childe is largely used to interacting with the Harbingers, who always seem to have some other secret second layered plan of sorts that he’s not always informed about (ex: him being intended to fail when he summoned Osial, but being kept in the dark about it), which conflicts with Childe’s relatively straight forward nature - Albedo also possesses the potential to be similar, however he doesn’t often see the need for such things, preferring to be frank about his goals and expectations, so unlike with his fellow harbingers, Childe knows that when Albedo tells him something or asks something of him, what he’s being told is usually exactly what actually is true/intended. And if it’s not, Albedo is the kind of person to explain that it’s something he can’t tell him, which he understands, since he has his own share of things he cant share because of his Fatui alignment.

- there is going to be an interaction where at some point Childe is rambling about his family back home, and Albedo questions him about what they look like, a few days later handing him a surprisingly accurate drawing of his siblings - “I did have to try to check appearance with the traveler but unfortunately they weren’t in Mondstadt, do I do hope there aren’t too many inaccuracies” - Homeboy doesn’t cry(probably) but he gets really fucking close - cue socially isolated Alchemist boy misunderstanding and trying to apologize, which Childe responds to by just hugging him- because both of these boys are touch starved and honestly they fucking need it.

- and now that Childe knows Albedo doesn’t actually have a significant boundary on physical affection, as with most Childe ships... it happens a lot

- headcanon that Childe tends to just lean/rest his head on things like a dog. - additional headcanon that Albedo tends to have a need to keep his hands busy at all times - so just cue the scene where Albedo is working on experiments as usual, Childe watching from behind with his head rested on his shoulder and Albedo just absentmindedly playing with his hair with one hand while the other continues with his work

- also talking with Albedo gives Childe a a lot of harmless fun facts and he loves rubbing it in they’re faces when he gets to correct one of the other harbingers on something because of this

- Albedo does also have a tendency to overthink things though, and Childe’s more straight forward mindset gives a new perspective that helps him work around issues more often than he would have expected

- Also Albedo’s love language is totally words of affirmation (i will die on this hill, he doesn’t even realize he does it probably). So he wouldn’t hesitate to sincerely thank or praise Childe whenever he helps or does something good. And Childe is a Fatui, most of the praise he gets is from the subordinates who admire him yes, but also lowkey highkey fear him, and especially after all of Liyue knows he summoned Osial basically, he is pretty damn starved for affirmation and praise and wouldn’t even notice just how much until Albedo gave that to him. - like Childe is over here melting into a puddle of fluff and Albedo probably wouldn’t even realize what he’s doing, he’s just stating his observations out loud

- Childe and Albedo making a pinkie promise, Childe does the little Snezhnayan chant, and Albedo’s gaze just shifts slowly towards the nearby frozen lake in intense concern

- They go ice fishing with Klee who introduces Childe to fish blasting and it’s a whole new world of possibilities now. Albedo has many regrets.

- the harbingers have all basically figured it out by now and are concerned about security but mostly they just mock him for it - the Fatui stationed in Dragonspine however, probably know because 1 they’ve seen Childe with Albedo almost every time he visits, and Childe brags about it regularly - at this point a majority of them ship it and needless to say Albedo’s risk of death via Fatui has gone down significantly, and it’s had a surprisingly positive benefit on relations between the knights and Fatui overall

- the Knights took a bit longer to catch on, since Albedo isn’t exactly in Mondstadt all that often, but it’s the city of freedom, what are they gonna do? say no? again, they are concerned about security risks, but trust Albedo to recognize what should be withheld.

- also its canon that Childe enjoys cooking, and Albedo has a line about like... let me look it up rq- It’s his “Least Favorite Food” line which talks about how he doesn’t eat at restaurants cuz he has a small appetite and doesn’t want to waste food, which is unfortunate cuz then he has to spend time making his own food - idk its kind of small but i just saw it and thought it was kind of a cute detail

- Childe is a chaotic bean and we love him for it - on the other hand Albedo is more calm and patient, able to put up with this, and realistically, he has enough experience with Klee to not accidentally put him out or down or otherwise dampen his natural personality...... it’s just when the two of them get together that Albedo experiences true fear.

- Albedo: I have an idea for an experiment but the Jean has suggested that the risk is- - Childe: you should do it! - Albedo: -that the risk is too great and has disallowed me from continuing it - Childe: Oh? well she can’t tell me not to it, now can she? - Both: *mutual gremlin noises*

anyway... im probs gonna add more to this later.... I’m just really bad at coming up with ship dynamics- so my main point in this is to get people to realize that it possible and that it could work- because there is... nearly 0 material on it- and i just think it has the potential to be so wonderful but I do not have the potential to make it that way. Like it has the potential for so many different dynamics and iconic moments and theres so many reasonable ways they could meet and just so many possibilities and im just really hoping to show the ship to more people because, y’know, it’s rare and i want them to suffer from the lack of content too, because I’m just a kind person like that.

i would have put it under a cut if i could, but i have no idea how to do that so... apologies...

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

The other talk

Summary: Ginny’s happy moment with Harry turns awkward when his mother catches them. (A prequel/sequel to The Talk 2.0)

For @Jilyjilyjily and @prettyflores that requested this moment, and for @madhulika18 that wanted more Jily views of Harry and Ginny after the war. Hope you enjoy :)

Warning for mild very soft smut, so it’s rated M.

Read on AO3 or below the cut:

_____________

When Ginny was six, she broke out in her family’s broom shed, chose a random broom and though she had never done it before, she took flight. She fell ten seconds later, almost breaking her arm, but it didn’t matter. Those ten seconds in the air had been the happiest of her life until then; she had felt free, exhilarated, somewhat powerful. She could fly, despite what her brothers teased her about.

She’d thought that nothing would make her feel happier, but then Harry had kissed her and Ginny had updated her lists of favourite things in the world.

Harry made her feel exhilarated and powerful and like she could do anything, even when they were closed together, his arms around her in a way that Ginny couldn’t escape easily if she tried to. She supposed she should feel claustrophobic, without air, but there was only freedom in kissing Harry - freedom and that warmth inside her, the blood pumping furiously in her veins and the shivers through her body as Harry’s lips moved from her mouth to her neck, sucking the skin there just as he knew she liked.

A part of her felt marvelled at the fact that he still remembered, even though it was one year since the golden sunlit days of the first part of their relationship, when they’d enjoy any free time they had on empty classrooms, isolated places on the grounds, or, even once, on a broom cupboard.

Maybe, just like her, Harry could not stop thinking about their time together even when he was off on that quest of his.

A moan escaped her lips and Harry laughed lowly - Ginny could feel the laugh on her skin just by the change of his breath and she had a mind of calling him a prat, but then he moved to the place just below her ear and all thoughts were gone, replaced by her need to stretch her neck and give him more space.

Sooner than she would like, his lips were looking for hers and Ginny returned his kiss, letting her hands roam freely through his chest, scraping at the edge of his shirt until she lifted it as much as she could, feeling his naked torso, the soft hair on his chest. Harry attended her silent request, stopping the kiss just so he could take out his shirt entirely.

Ginny had seen this chest before, but she felt she could never really get used to that new scar over his heart; her eyes met Harry’s - he looked apprehensive, as always, so she pulled him back to her, kissing him with as much energy as she could, her hands dancing around his torso, willing him to understand she didn’t care about his new scar anymore than for the others he had - just like she never cared for the one on his forehead.

When they were snogging like that, she wanted him to feel only like a normal guy kissing his normal girlfriend on the normal bed of his room.

‘This looks a bit unfair’, he whispered against her lips.

‘Hmmm?’

‘I have one less piece of cloth’.

She giggled, stopping the kiss to lay on the bed, while Harry moved just a little away, taking in the sight of her. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, so Ginny thought his vision was suffering, but his eyes sparkled, much greener than usual. Ginny watched him back, admiring the way his lips were swollen from kissing her, his skin darker and flushed.

'I can't help if I am smarter', she teased. 'It's only up to you how much cloth I wear'.

There was a flash of desire on his eyes, but Harry's hands were careful as he rolled to her side, looking very patient as he started to open the buttons of the shirt Ginny had carefully chosen that day for that effect. His eyes didn't really leave her face until he finished open her shirt and she took it off.

And then his eyes fell to her chest and they shone darker still.

Ginny felt her heart beating faster than ever. It was not the first time he'd seen her like that - thanks to a combination of Invisibility Cloak, late night trip and an open classroom in the third floor of Hogwarts -, but ever since then had been scars from her year at Hogwarts and still some faded marks from the battle. Despite knowing how he felt for her, there was always this nervousness as Harry contemplated her body - too many what-ifs and insecurities and -

'Merlin, you are beautiful', he whispered, his voice shaking with evident want and Ginny felt the seeds of doubt being pushed to the farthest place of her mind.

She bit her lips, giving him a lopsided smile, and took her hands away from Harry's body enough to take out her bra.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and felt her own desire raising even more as she saw Harry admiring her naked chest, his eyes burning brightly as he contemplated her breasts.

'Ginny, you -', but he was obviously at loss for words.

She put her hands around his neck, burying them on his dark hair, and Harry obliged her request once more, lowering his head and kissing the top of her breast, softly, as if tasting her. She arched her back, breathing heavily, until her breath caught as he rolled his tongue over her nipple.

'Do it again', she asked, her hands grasping his hair, and now Harry placed his mouth all over her nipple, sucking it lightly, and Ginny didn't mind moaning this time.

But she needed more.

She put her hands over his chest, stopping him, and Harry let out a cry of despair when he broke away. She ignored it, concentrating on changing places with him. Harry grinned when he understood what she meant, sitting on the bed and helping to place her on his lap, his hand just above the curve of her arse, holding her.

Ginny suddenly wished she was wearing a skirt instead of her jeans.

She kissed him on the lips once more, enjoying that sweet intoxicating taste that was so Harry, but it was not enough - and Harry seemed to think the same, because he broke away first, lowering his head once more in search of her breast while he raised a free hand to touch her other.

And then she moved on his lap, enjoying the friction of the jeans, until she felt Harry. It was not the first time she'd felt him hard during their snogging sessions - but that had been at Hogwarts, and not on his bed in his empty house.

That thought sent a wave of adrenaline through her, filling her with ideas. Her heart beat impossibly quicker and Ginny felt like that time she first took flight - slightly afraid and close to something that knew it could be really good if only she tried to.

Her hands were trembling, but she took them out of his neck to lower them to his waistband, opening the button of his jeans.

'Gin…', it was a warning and a challenge and a pleading.

She could ignore the first one and fully accepted the other two. Harry let out a moan, loud and painful and full of pleasure, as she traced him, even though it was over his trousers and she had a mind of somewhat returning the pleasure he was making her feel…

'Hey!'

It was the instinct of always running when her mother cried like that that made Ginny jump and break away from Harry, her hands automatically grabbing the first cloth she found - his shirt - to cover herself.

But when she turned around, it wasn't her mother. Of course not, they weren't in her house.

It was Lily Potter, her green eyes as dark as Ginny had seen on Harry before, though she would never mistake the fury on Lily's face now.

'What do you think you are doing?'

'I -'

Ginny was usually very good at thinking under stress, but there were no words for her now.

At her side, Harry looked from her to his mother with a frown.

'What does it look?', he asked, sounding annoyed.

'Like someone lied to me about spending the day studying at home', Lily replied, equally upset.

'Mum - you knew Ginny was coming'.

'For dinner, you said. If that's what you are doing alone on the house -'

'I am in my bedroom!'

'Which is still in my house, in case you haven't noticed'.

'Lily', Ginny called, trying for her nicest voice, though it didn't seem to help. Lily turned to her without any shadow of a smile. 'I - we are so sorry, we just lost the notion of… of time'.

'No, we are not sorry', Harry disagreed, and Ginny fought back a grimace. He wasn't helping. 'We were doing nothing wrong, the door was closed and if I could have any privacy at all -'

'You can choose your own privacy when you have your place', replied Lily, her words hissed. 'And right now, I expect you downstairs to start dinner. And -'

'I am not a child - you can't really -'

'I expect you to be wearing your clothes when you leave this room', Lily cut him, making him flush, and she turned in her heels to leave the room, making sure the door was left ajar.

Ginny let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and, making sure there was no way she could have been seen, she returned Harry's shirt, taking her own things. Harry was crossing his arms, looking annoyed, and he just blinked when Ginny raised and offered him her hand.

'Harry?'

'What are you doing?'

'Going downstairs to start dinner?'

He pressed his lips.

'You don't have to - she can't just tell us what to do like if we are kids -'

'She is your mum', Ginny said calmly. 'She gets to tell you what to do'.

'I am not a child she can just ground - I’m an adult now -'

‘Well, I’m not’, Ginny noted, her voice teasing, but Harry didn’t smile.

‘She is not your mother’.

No, Ginny thought, she is just the mother of my boyfriend. Much worse.

'Come on, Harry. Let’s not make this worse, please?’

Harry was still grimacing, but he took her hand. Ginny raised her eyebrows at him when he ignored the shirt she had returned to him, going chest-naked to the kitchen, and Ginny could not question his intentions when Lily entered the kitchen too and saw him like that.

Her lips were pressed thin, in a line that would make Professor McGonagall very proud, Ginny thought.

But despite her obvious annoyance, there was a hard decided look on Lily's face, and Ginny knew she would talk to Harry later - considering what she had caught them doing (or almost doing), Ginny had a fair idea of what it would be discussed and she was pretty sure she didn't want to be part of it.

She could never look Lily and James on the face again if she had to endure them giving them a sex talk.

'I will be going', she said quickly, just as they finished putting the pie in the oven.

'No', Harry's angry expression broke into a pout. 'Don't go, we will watch some movie or - I am sorry for how we broke off things -'

'Hey, it's ok', she assured him, not daring to hug him in the eyesight of Lily. 'I will see you tomorrow'.

There was a loud cough and Ginny blushed just as Harry frowned at his mother once again.

'During the family lunch', she added loudly. 'With everyone. Not hidden. Fully clothed'.

Harry didn't seem to rejoice in this fact much.

'Is that supposed to make me feel better?', he replied, and there was another cough from the door of the kitchen, where Lily was casually leaning, her face sober.

Ginny sighed. These two were too stubborn to their own good sometimes.

'See you later', she said, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on his cheek; but Harry turned his face, his lips capturing hers rather hungrily, in a way that would have let Ginny dizzy if she didn't know he was doing it just to upset his mother. She broke away, shaking her head at him. 'You are mean, Potter', she whispered, entering the fireplace and letting herself vanish in the middle of green flames.

_____________

There were a lot of things Ginny meant to do, but being in the kitchen alone with Lily Potter was not one of them - at least not for a few days, until she was sure that story was well past them. She would even endure James and Sirius taking the mickey out of it, just so it was clear to everyone that being caught snogging Harry in his room was water under the bridge.

Well, not everyone. She would rather her parents - and brothers, for good measure - didn't know ever.

And Ginny couldn't help herself to be tense anytime she saw her parents talking to James and Lily, even though everyone seemed normal. Harry had been much happier when she saw him that afternoon, kissing her softly in the lips like nothing had happened the day before.

Ginny envied him in that.

'Could you take the treacle tart to the garden?', Lily asked her distractedly.

'Yes, Mrs. Potter', she answered without thinking, and Lily turned to her with an expression Ginny didn't wait to understand.

She took the treacle tart, but before she could leave the kitchen, Lily stopped in front of her. Ginny bit her lip, glancing briefly at Lily; she looked more concerned than upset, but Ginny couldn't be sure.

'Ginny', Lily started, her voice softer than the day before. 'I didn't mean to scare you yesterday'.

Ginny put the treacle tart back on the table, before turning to Lily, careful not to show any emotion.

'I wasn't'.

'You sort of run away, and Harry -'

'He thought it was your fault', Ginny guessed, half-amused with Harry's concern for her. 'No, I just figured that… maybe you needed to talk to Harry alone about... things'.

'You are smart, aren't you?'

'Clearly not enough', Ginny mumbled, not sure how to deal with Lily's apparently good mood. 'If we got caught -'

'Oh, I truly don't want you two to get caught again', Lily agreed, shuddering. 'But we… we talked to Harry. Set some rules just so nothing of sorts happens again'.

Ginny nodded, somberly.

'And… well, I won't share this with your parents'.

There was a rather knowing tone on Lily's voice, and Ginny blinked at her, surprised.

'You won't?'

'I won't betray your secrets. And I am sorry for how I reacted yesterday. It was a little overwhelming'.

'No, it's me who should ask sorry, I shouldn't -'

'You are young and in love and… I know how it feels. I should not have got so….'

'Upset?', Ginny suggested tentatively. 'Angrier than Mum that time Harry and Ron stole a car?'

Lily laughed.

'So maternal, yeah. I just forget sometimes Harry is old now - you will understand when you have your own kids'.

'Oh, no', she sighed, then she flushed. 'I mean, I don't think of kids yet, so please let's not -'

'That's fine, 'cause I don't want grandchildren just yet either', Lily interrupted her, with a smile. Then Lily looked away carefully. 'But - if you want to talk about it - potions or stuff - I don't know if you talked to Molly -'

'No! I mean, Mum talked to me, you know, the basics, but you don't have to worry. I… I talk to Hermione about it and trust me, she knows more than enough about the theory'.

Lily looked to the garden, an amused smile on her face.

'Just theory?', she repeated, watching Ron and Hermione talking to each other, his arms around her waist as they enjoyed the summer day.

Ginny kept her face neutral. She wouldn't betray Hermione's secrets.

'Well, I am glad there is someone you can talk to', Lily added, and Ginny believed in her. 'In any case, whatever you want to talk about - school, or any worry, or even complain about Harry -, I am here'.

'Thanks, Lily'.

Lily beamed at her, and just like when Harry grinned like that, Ginny felt compelled to beam back.

'And please, don't ever call me Mrs. Potter again'.

Ginny laughed and, together, they returned to the backyard.

#eyes glistening #hinny #Jily supports Hinny #harry and ginny #hinny fanfiction #Jily Lives AU #jily lives is a happier world #t: fanfiction

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ruthoakenshield · 3 years

Text

Thorin, Fili, Emma and the Unusual Arrangement - Part 8

[Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7]

This tale is for 18+ readers only.

If smut, angst, fluff, backdoor entry, oral (m&f receiving), and threesome offend you, do NOT read below the cut!!!

In this Alternate Universe Hobbit tale, Thorin and Company find an injured Dwarrowdam in the wild who is alone. They take her into the company and heal her, insisting that she stay with them so she stays safe. During the quest, Thorin, Fili and the Dwarrowdam find themselves in an unusual arrangement out of necessity and by the will of the Dwarven god, Mahal. What is the unusual arrangement? Will the arrangement work out? Will the line of Durin survive the Quest and reclaim Erebor?

(I do not claim ownership of any of Tolkien’s characters, languages or places, nor do I claim ownership of Tauriel’s character. )

“Ready for the teasing?” Thorin asks them. Fili groans and you giggle. “Fili, you are not allowed to share any of this with Kili. Not until the night before he gets to experience his special ‘coming-of-age’ day.” Thorin tells him. Fili nods, knowing Kee won’t be happy about that. You giggle. “So, did it help having a sneak peek, Fee?” you tease. His eyes get wide and his jaw drops. “YOU KNEW?!?!” he exclaims.

You and Thorin just smirk and raise an eyebrow.

Fili’s face gets beet red. “It’s okay, Fee. You were going to see it all anyway.” You tell him. “Sorry, we were just curious. We didn’t mean to, but we stumbled on you two and I guess we just got kind of captivated by it.” He says bashfully. You giggle.

Thorin chuckles and opens the door. Balin stands and chuckles. “Done already?” he asks with a grin and a wink. “Oh, we’ve been done since, what, 1p.m.? We just decided to smash Dwalin’s record while we were at it.” You quip and see Balin’s jaw drop. He laughs and pats your hand. “You’re gonna give these two a run for their money, Lass!” he chuckles. You just grin and chuckle.

“So, what’s the new record for cumming with backdoor adventures?” Balin inquires, now curious. You three smirk. You pull Balin over and whisper. “25” and he roars laughing. “HOW???” he asks. You grin. “It helps when you can come back-to-back multiple times.” You reply with a smirk. Balin roars laughing. “Oh, Lass, you are a treasure! Dwalin will never let Fili live this down!” he tells you three. Fili just beams and holds your hand happily. “We were just having fun, Thorin was the one keeping track of how many times it ended up being!” you giggle. “We’d have kept going, but I was finally getting sore, so we stopped for a while.” You tell him.

Balin chuckles. “Oh, to be young again!” he quips and laughs. “Come on, let’s break the news to them and let them collect their bets.” He tells the three of you. You and Fili are giggling as you walk down the hallway. “Thank you, Em, for doing this for me.” Fili says quietly. He kisses your hand and grins. You give his hand a squeeze. “My pleasure.” You say with a smirk. He grins.

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The company is all sitting around the table talking waiting for news of you and Fili from Balin. “So how much longer ya think they’ll be?” Bofur asks. “They’re done.” Balin says rounding the corner and stepping into the room. “May I present, Fili, son of Dis, an official adult Dwarrow.” He says with a grin and Fili comes out from behind you and Thorin and steps forward, red faced and grinning from ear to ear.

The Dwarves all cheer. “What took ya so long?” Bofur teases. “Oh, we were done by 1 p.m., but decided to see if we could beat Dwalin’s record since we were having so much fun…” Fili says with a smirk.

Dwalin raises an eyebrow. “Oh, Really??? And did they beat my record, Thorin?” he asks seeing the smirk on Thorin’s face. “Yup.” Is all he says. Dwalin’s jaw drops, “WHAT?!?” he asks. The rest of the company are all cackling. “SO, Fili, what’s the new record?” Nori asks, rubbing it in to Dwalin that his record has been beaten. Fili grins, “25” he says raising his head with a proud smirk. The company’s jaws all drop. “25?!?!?!” They all exclaim and look at you in awe.

You giggle. “It helps when you can cum back-to-back, multiple times.” You giggle, your face beet red. They all guffaw and come to congratulate you and Fili. Dwalin’s laughing and can’t believe you two beat his record. “You sure it was 25???” Dwalin asks Thorin. “Definitely.” He replies. “When Fee is having to repeatedly beg her to relax and let him cum cuz she’s gripping him so hard, I’d say it counts.” He whispers in Dwalin’s ear. Dwalin roars laughing and nods. “Okay, fair enough!” he replies with a chuckle.

While everyone’s pulling Fili over to the table to congratulate him and shower him with praise, Bilbo comes over quietly and hands Thorin a soft cushion. “For Em… to sit on. I’m sure she’s sore after all that.” He giggles. Thorin smiles. “Thank you Bilbo.” He says quietly and shows you over to the table. Thorin slips the cushion onto the bench and then has you sit on it. You let out a happy sigh when your derriere lands on something soft and you spread your skirt so no one can see it easily and you smirk and mouth ‘thank you’ to Bilbo. He grins and gives you a wink.

Oin chuckles and comes over and hands you some tea. You look puzzled. “It’s an extra dose since you were a bit more active than usual.” He explains. “We can’t take any chances until after things settle down in Erebor after it’s reclaimed, and the Dragon sickness is dealt with.” He whispers. “There’s also some pain relievers in it, and no, they won’t make you sleepy this time.” he informs you with a wink.” you nod.

You sip on the bitter tea, and must be making a face since Bilbo’s giggling and looking at you. Sighing, you chug it and hand Oin the cup. Thorin chuckles and you sit there leaning against Thorin, feeling glad that the training is over. You’re sore, and your entire body aches from all the positions Fili had you in. You grin at his creativity.

Watching the company sitting around bantering and demanding so and so pay up now that the event is over and it’s time for the losers to pay the winners. You giggle at the banter back and forth. You’re glad they aren’t picking on you too much. An occasional good-natured jab, but for the most part they show respect and leave you alone, grateful that you were willing to do this for Fili.

Thorin holds you in his arm, he can tell you’re tired. He hopes you’ll be up for a little more activity. It was hard for him to watch you being ravished by Fili all morning and most of the afternoon, he wanted to join in so badly, but knew he couldn’t. He was surprised it didn’t turn him on more. He wonders if it was just because he was more concerned about your safety and making sure Fili didn’t hurt you. In either case, he wants to join with you for a while, even if it’s just parking his member in you and holding you.

He holds your hand and nestles his fingers between yours. The two of you enjoy visiting with the others and before you know it, Bombur is putting supper on the table. You giggle at how hungry Fili is. He is eating like he was a starved Dwarf. “Slow down Fee, you’re gonna make yourself sick!” Kili tells him. “What? I’m hungry! I got my exercise in and now I’m starved!” he exclaims, and everyone cracks up laughing. “How come Em’s not eating like that then?” Kili asks. You giggle. “Cuz I just got to lie there and enjoy it. Fee had to do all the work!” and everyone roars laughing.

You grin and finish eating. “Well, I’m needing some rest after this busy day I’ve had.” You quip and move to stand. Thorin catches the cushion and tucks it against the table leg. “I’m going to retire for the night.” You tell them. You move to step away from the table. Thorin goes to get up, but you stop him. “I’ll be fine, Love. Spend some time with the company and don’t let them tease Fee too much. You both can come join me when you’re ready for some cuddles. I’m going to just have some quiet time, relax and soak in the tub for a bit longer and then lie down.” You tell him.

Thorin sighs. “Okay.” He replies quietly. You caress his weathered face gently. And give him a kiss. “I know what you want, Thorin. Just be patient. You’ll get it.” You promise. He kisses you back and you saunter off to the bedroom.

You stop in the bathroom to ‘empty out’ your ass, feeling incredibly full since Fili filled you almost non-stop all afternoon in there. You sat for a good five minutes rubbing your belly before you felt the pressure decrease and the cum finally stopped draining from your ass. You sigh and clean yourself up and head to the room to soak in the tub.

Oin and Balin watch the exchange and come over after you left. “Em alright?” they ask quietly. Thorin nods. “Just tired and a little sore. They were having fun once Fili met the requirements and she decided to go soak in the tub for a bit and have some quiet time and Relax.” He says quietly.

“Thorin, I have some herbs she can put in the water to help with the aches and pain. Would you mind if I brought them to her and showed her how to activate them?” Oin offers. “No, I won’t mind, Oin. Go ahead.” Thorin replies. Oin goes to where his pack is and gets the herbs and puts them into a cheesecloth pouch and ties it shut. Then he heads off to the bedroom area and knocks on your door. “Who is it?” you ask. “It’s Oin, Lass. I have something you can have in the bathwater to help with the aches and pain.” He offers. “Just a minute.” You say and climb out of the tub. A groan escapes your lips as you move around. You wrap in a towel and unlock the door.

Oin comes in and explains that Dams who are chosen to do what you did, are often sore afterwards since they are usually using up the entire day teaching the lad the ways. He shows you how to put the sachet into the hot or warm bathwater and let it steep for about 10 minutes, then take it out and soak for a half hour or more. “You’ll be feeling better by tomorrow morning. Just make sure you drink plenty of water.

If it starts to burn when you use the restroom, let me know. Some Dams end up with a bladder infection from all the friction irritating the wall and bladder.” He explains. You nod. “Thank you, Oin.” “Thank you for doing this for Fili, Em. We weren’t sure how Thorin was going to teach him when we realized he was going to reach that milestone on the journey, and we had no Dam to ask to help teach him. I am glad we found you and that you were willing to do this.” He tells you. “You were an answer to many of our prayers to Mahal.” He says. “Now, I’ll leave you to your quiet time.” Oin says and he brings the pitcher of water over and sets it on the chair beside the tub and puts your cup with it, then heads out.

You sigh and unwrap the towel and climb into the tub again you toss the sachet in and let it float around in the tub while you soak. You figure it had been in there for more than ten minutes, so you pull it out, give it a squeeze and plop it on the floor. Then you lie back in the water and rest your head against the tub, letting the warmth surround you. Quickly, you fall asleep and that’s how Thorin and Fili find you a few hours later.

“Awwwee, she looks so cute like that!” Fili says softly Thorin smiles and nods. “Fili, turn the blankets down on the bed and then grab the towel and let’s get her out of the tub, that water’s got to be cold by now.” Thorin says. Fili nods and Thorin locks the door then strips out of his clothes. He leans over the tub and dips his arms into the cool water. He slips them under your legs and around your back and gently lifts your glorious, naked body out of the water. He holds you over it for a couple minutes, letting the water run off of you. “Fee, come squeeze out her hair so it’s not dripping all over.” He instructs.

Fili does as he’s asked and gets it all squeezed out. You wake when they start to dry you off and you open your sleepy eyes. “Oh, hi! Did I fall asleep in the tub again?” you ask. They both chuckle and nod. You giggle and let them finish. “Come on, Love, let’s get you to bed so we can cuddle you.” Thorin says. You nod and he carries you to bed. Fili scrambles up and giggles. This bed is huge! I bet we could fit Kee and Bilbo in here too and still have room to sprawl!” he exclaims. “Nope. No more Dwarves or others in my bed! Two is plenty for me!” you exclaim. They both laugh and pepper you with kisses.

You grin at their ministrations and you sigh happily. “Are you up for a little more exploring, Em?” Fili asks. You giggle. “You two are insatiable! Tell you what, I’ll lie here and you two have fun exploring and figure it out.” You tell them. They both laugh and nod.

They talk for a few minutes discussing what they want to try. Thorin wants to be in your main entrance and Fili decides he wants to feel your lips on him again. They ask if that’s okay and you nod, not sure how they’ll do it, but you decide to leave it up to them to figure out.

They put you in the middle of the bed so they can both easily move around you, and you’re positioned on your back. Thorin reclines beside you and caresses you and worships your body for a little bit getting you ready for another round of lovemaking. Fili kisses your face upside down, making you giggle, he caresses your neck and plays with your hair. Once you were warmed up and slick, Thorin pulls his fingers out of your cave and licks them clean, then slowly enters you, making you let out a toe-curling moan.

Both Dwarves moan. “Ooohhh, I like the sound of that!” Fili says with a grin. “I wonder how many times we can make her do that tonight and tomorrow?” he asks. Thorin smirks. “A lot.” Is all he says. He slowly thrusts in and out of you, knowing you’re sore, and just wanting to take it easy with you. He nugdes your leg up and lets it dangle over his thigh as he caresses it. Fili gives him a minute then looks down at you.

You gaze up at him and reach up and caress his member. Pleasuring him with your hands. He moans and lets you do as you please. You pleasure Fili with your hands for a bit, then you take him in your mouth, so he is hovering over your head facing Thorin. You put your hands on his hips and guide him how to thrust shallowly into your mouth while you tease him with your tongue. Once he is used to that, you gradually work him to the back of your throat just before the gag reflex area.

Fili is a moaning mess, thoroughly enjoying your mouth on his dick. He feels your tongue toying with the top of his dick and his sensitive underside of his dick rubbing along the bumpy roof of your mouth.

Thorin is chuckling as he watches and lazily thrusts in you. Once you were ready, you relax your throat and caress Fili’s hips and give him a quick pull forward, pushing his shaft in past the gag reflex area and his and Thorin’s eyes both get huge as they can see the outline of Fili’s dick on your throat as he presses into it. You moan and Fili’s eyes roll back, as he lets out a groan in reply, “Ohhh, Sweet Mahal!” he exclaims. “Oh, Em, Honey, this feels amazing!” he tells you as his hands hold your head gently. He slowly thrusts in and out of your mouth enjoying the feeling. When you need to breathe, you tap his hands, and he gently pulls out.

Thorin and Fili’s eyes widen in wonder as they are watching your throat move as Fili pulls his dick out and just does some shallow thrusts letting you breathe. When you’re ready, you pull on his hips and he does a quick thrust to get past your gag reflex and then sinks back into your throat, making it swell again. Thorin reaches up and gently places a hand on your throat and Fili does some shallow thrusts. Thorin’s eyes open wide when he can feel it. He looks up at Fili and chuckles.

Leaning back, he rests his hand on your low belly, feeling his own thrusts into you. “The skin in these two places must be thin since we can feel the movement through them. I can’t feel it here when I take her in her back door.” Thorin says, musing. Fili shrugs and rests his hand gently on your throat feeling his dick move up and down your passage.

You tap his fingers, and he pulls out letting you breathe. He enjoys this for a while as does Thorin, then Fili pulls out and shifts to lie beside you. Thorin leans forward and reclines on the side of you, still buried in your main opening. They both lie there on either side of you, each caressing half of your body. The sensations confusing your brain and nearly make it short circuit.

Moaning quietly, you enjoy their soft touches. “Em, can I try to enter your back door while Thorin stays in your main opening?” Fili asks. You think for a minute then nod. “Just take it slow.” You say. He nods and grabs the bottle of lube. He pours some into his hand and rubs it on himself and uses the rest on your rear opening after turning you onto your side. He curls up against you and takes his dick and uses it to massage your opening. Thorin watches carefully to make sure you aren’t hurt.

You moan softly feeling the pressure and the caresses. “You alright?” Thorin asks. You nod. “Feels good, he’s just using his tip to massage it.” You reply. Thorin nods.

Once Fili feels you start to relax, he slowly adds more pressure. Little by little his tip slips in. when it finally slips past the tight ring, you both groan. “Ooohhh, soooo tight, Em!” Fili groans. “Aaaaahhhhh, Oh, Fili! Give me a minute.” You say panting a little as it stretches you, and keeps you stretched like that.

It feels tighter now since Thorin’s already stretching the wall that your ass’s tunnel and your main cavern share. Fili stills and lets you adjust. He caresses your rear and your leg while he waits, once you are ready you nod, and he slowly starts to press in further. He groans and stills, then pulls back a little till his tip is at your entrance again. He slowly presses in again, and groans, then cums with a moan. “Ooohhhh, you feel so much tighter, Em!” he groans and rests his head between your shoulder blades panting a little. Thorin shifts and thrusts a little bit, making all three of you moan at the feeling. He grins and stills.

Slowly Fili starts to delve deeper into your ass, cumming a second time with a low moan. “Sooo fucking tight, Oh Mahal, Thorin!” he groans. Thorin just smirks and gives a few shallow thrusts. You and Fili moan again and Fili is clinging to your back like a backpack. Finally, he gets himself fully sheathed and sighs happily. Your eyes roll back, and you moan, “Ohhhh, Thorinnnnn!!! I feel so over-stuffed with you both buried so deep inside me!!!”

Thorin and Fili both grin. “Now what?” Fili asks. “Just relax and enjoy it.” Thorin replies. Fili nods and lays his head next to you on the pillow. Once Thorin feels Fili right on the other side of the canals’ wall from him, and sees Fili settle and still. Thorin starts to slowly thrust in long, slow movements, getting you both used to the sensation. Both you and Fili groan, long, low groans of pleasure as the sensation is drawn out by Thorin’s slow, long thrusts. Fili feels the pressure decrease on his dick as Thorin pulls out. He sighs a little and then lets out another long, low groan as Thorin starts to press back into you. Thorin groans a low, rumbling sound as he feels Fili’s dick caressing him through the wall separating the two passages.

Thorin does this for a while, taking his time, getting you all used to the feeling. Fili cums again from the sensation and groans. He starts to pull back too as Thorin presses in. The shifting and changes in pressure have you moaning in low, rumbling moans of their names, making them both turned on. Fili slowly starts to match Thorin’s strokes, alternating them so you are only filled by both of them for a few moments between each stroke.

Your moans get more urgent and you start to beg them to go faster. They look at each other and Fili lets Thorin set the pace, and he matches it. Little by little they thrust faster letting you dictate the pace. You’re panting and can’t believe they are both taking you like this at the same time and it’s not hurting. Your mind is slowly being blown by them and you are losing the ability to think coherently as they slowly tighten the coil deep inside you.

You’re whimpering and begging for more. You reach out and tug Thorin to come closer. He shifts his body against yours and you wrap your arms around him in a hug. He chuckles since that is how Fili is holding you, except you’re facing away. Thorin picks up the pace and again, Fili matches it and soon they are both pounding into you and grunting like boars. They both cum with a loud groan and you cry out feeling them both cum together and fill your two canals with heat and a throbbing sensation that is slightly different, which triggers you to cum and grip them both tight. They both groan and wait for you to relax and then they start to thrust alternating again. Starting the whole process over again.

You lie there panting as these two Dwarrow take you gently and give you mind-blowing pleasure as they fuck both your holes at the same time. Fili grins and sees a smug look on Thorin’s face. He chuckles and starts to pepper your shoulders and across your back with little kisses while Thorin caresses your front.

You moan even more and cry out, “Ohhhh, yesssss, oh, you two!!!! Moreeee!” you beg and they both grin and pick up the pace. Soon their paces get off as they start to lose rhythm as the pleasure gets almost overwhelming for them and Fili comes first with a growl and a powerful orgasm that has him seeing stars and feeling like lead almost immediately. The force of his cum shooting into you along with his throbbing triggers your climax and you groan, “Oooooohhhhh, Feeeeee, oooooh, Thorin, don’t stop!!!”

Your climax clenching down on Thorin makes him lose rhythm and he growls as he feels your walls tighten and start to milk his length. He rumbles and groans and tries to keep thrusting, but his orgasm hits him like a ton of bricks, and he growls and cums with a strong climax as well, he paints your walls with his warmth, throbs hard inside you making Fili moan at the sensation and annoyed that he can’t move to make it stop. His tip is near where the pressure from Throin’s cum is hitting your wall, and with every load hitting the wall, it sends the sensation into Fili’s tip.

You lie there panting heavly, feeling warm and sweaty pinned between two Dwarrow who are like furnaces. You groan and roll Fili off of you a little and he moans still feeling like lead. His arm flops down off your side and he doesn’t move. Thorin lies there panting heavily. “You… alright… Love?” he asks between pants.

“Just too warm.” you reply. “You two… are like… fucking… furnaces!” you exclaim. He laughs and nods. “You won’t have to worry about being too cold, Sweetheart, once we’re back on the road. Fee and I will keep you warm.” Thorin tells you.

You nod. “Rest now, love. You too Fee.” Thorin tells you both. He pulls out of you for a minute to grab the blankets and pulls them up over the three of you and makes sure to hang onto the top two since he knows Fili is a ‘blanket thief’. And will end up grabbing them all if he doesn’t hang onto them.

Thorin lies down next to you and enters you again. Making Fili groan and turn to cuddle you, thrusting into you then stilling. The three of you fall asleep quickly. Both of your Dwarves buried to the hilt inside of you.

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The next morning, Thorin is surprised that the blankets are where he left them. He opens his eyes and realizes Fili hasn’t moved! He’s smiling in his sleep, curled up against you with his hands nestled in your hair and his face almost buried in it. Thorin chuckles and wonders if Fili was such a restless sleeper because of his soul longing for you all his life. Thorin thinks about his own sleep since joining with you and he realizes his sleep has improved as well. He grins and lies there happily joined with you still. His morning wood buried deep within your lush, warm walls. You’re throbbing ever so slightly and a contented look on your sleepy face. Thorin kisses your forehead and brings an arm over you and Fili and embraces you both.

You wake to quiet low, murmuring and the feeling of being stuffed so full it makes you groan. You feel the fullness shift and start to alternate slow thrusts. As Thorin and Fili both see you start to wake. “Mmmmmm” you moan. “Morning, Sweetheart.” Fili murmurs in your ear and nibbles on it. “Morning Fee.” You mumble. “Morning Love.” Thorin says, kissing your forehead. “Morning Thorin.” You mumble, still not opening your eyes. “How did you sleep?” Fili asks.

“Mmmmmm. Good.” You moan. “Soooo fullll! Ohhhh!” you moan. They both grin. “Would you like to try a different position, Sweetheart?” Fili asks. You nod.

They both slowly slip out of you and Thorin rolls onto his back and Fili hops off the bed and goes to wash himself so he’s good and clean.

Thorin takes the bottle of lube and slicks himself up and pulls you to lie on your back on top of him. “Just relax, Love, let me in.” he purrs and slowly presses into you. You’re still quite stretched from Fili and you moan, while he easily slips in and buries himself deeply after a few good thrusts. He waits for Fili to finish and then Fili climbs back up and looks at how you two are laying, “Mind if I move some legs around?” he asks.

You shake your head. Fili moves Thorin’s legs so he will be able to thrust up, then Fili drapes your legs over Thorin’s so you are spread wide, your legs hanging to the outside of Thorin’s. Fili kneels down and grins. “There.” He says, seeing Thorin already buried to the hilt. “You’re welcome, Uncle.” He teases. “Kept her nice and stretched for you.” He jokes with a cheeky grin. You giggle and then groan as Fili leans over and rubs his member along your opening. Thorin rumbles as well since it grazes the underside of his sack.

Slowly Fili enters you and all three of you groan with pleasure. Once Fili’s sunk balls deep in your cave, they start to thrust, and your eyes roll back, and you let out a tantalizing moan that makes their toes curl. “Ooohhh, Honey, you sound divine!” Thorin rumbles. “I like that sound from those wonderful lips.” He rumbles in your ear. You let out another moan like it and both Dwarves reply with their own as you three all get turned on. They quickly find a comfortable rhythm and soon are dragging delectable sounds from your mouth as Thorin sucks on your neck and shoulders leaving marks and Fili is kissing you and marking your front and toying with your breasts.

You’re writhing between them as their sacks incessantly graze that patch of skin that Fili had used to make you cum repeatedly to help you beat Dwalin’s record. You feel the coil quickly tightening, when suddenly Fili slows wayyy down and you cry out, “NNoooooooo!” he grins. “Ohhh, Honey, we can’t let you cum this soon!” he purrs. “I promise, we’ll make it a mind blowing one when we do let you cum, okay?” he coos. You whimper and nod.

Thorin chuckles and starts to thrust slower too. Once you’ve calmed, they grin and start all over again, bringing you to the edge of climax again, getting you to nearly come undone when Fili, then Thorin both slow way down. You whine and moan again. They both chuckle and Thorin brings your arms up over his head, links them behind his neck, and holds them there, caressing and kissing your arms, then nods at Fili. He grins and starts to suckle your breasts as firm as you’ll take. You writhe under their ministrations as they continue to piston in and out of you at varying speeds now and different random depths, each Dwarf seeking to pleasure you in his own way.

The variance in depth, rhythms, being held down by Thorin and Fili’s incessant suckling of your breasts has you panting and begging for more. Fili grins and brings a hand up to cover your mouth as you are getting quite loud. Thorin grins and murmurs. “Oooohhh, does our little minx like this?” he purrs. You let out a wanton groan that curls their toes and sends them into a fucking frenzy with you. They both wrap you in their arms, one at the top of your chest and one at your hips and they both take you fast and hard till the three of you cum hard with a variety of cries, moans and growls in a mind-blowing climax.

The three of you lie there panting heavily, everyone feeling like their bodies are lead. Thorin groans and manages to roll the three of you to your sides, so all the dead weight wasn’t on him and you three lie there in a heap of arms and legs and bodies intertwined as your males throb incessantly deep inside you, flooding you with warmth and filling you full.

You recover first and lie there between two heaving chests. Unable to move since they both are draped over you and Fili’s head is nestled under your chin and Thorin’s is directly behind you, their arms draped over you where they had held you in tight hugs. Thorin’s warm breath ghosting the back of your neck and shoulder; Fili’s ghosting your chest. You lie there grateful for these two, and feel incredibly loved and cherished, safe and protected.

Thanking Mahal for them you lie there sweating between them as they radiate heat keeping you warm. Your arms are still lifted up around Thorin’s neck as he holds your upper chest, just under your breasts, and you start to play with his hair. He groans and you feel his dick jerk inside you. Grinning, you give them both a squeeze ‘down there’ making them both hard almost instantly and they both growl. You’re giggling and Fili finally is able to lift his head and gaze at you.

He starts to pull out of you slowly, making you whimper till his tip is just inside you. Thorin rumbles and shifts, then lets out a low, rumbling moan as Fili thrusts inside you and buries himself to the hilt in one quick thrust. You groan his name, and he grins, then repeats. Pulling out slowly, then a fast thrust into you. Your head tilts back against Thorin’s and he murmurs. “Mmmmm. Feels good, doesn’t it, my Sweet?” you can only nod and he chuckles. Then his hands begin to wander and caress you as he starts to do just short thrusts.

The two toy with you for the morning, trying different combinations of thrusts and moving your legs around into different positions, seeing what works and what doesn’t. They grin mischievously when they discover that if they keep your legs wide, you aren’t able to move much and Fili raises your legs, letting Thorin hold them as the two of them take you and the tilt of your pelvis lets them angle in deep and pleasure the back wall of your main cave and quite deep in your back door.

Grinning, you start to swivel your hips as they work you like this and both males’ eyes roll back and they groan wantonly, “Oooohhhh Emmmm! Ohhh, Honey, Keep doing that!” and you stop. They both growl and Thorin’s grip on your legs tighten. You giggle and he gives you a hard, deep thrust. You grin and swivel your hips again, making them both groan. Then you stop. Again, they growl.

“If you two think you’re the only ones who get to tease, you got it all wrong my dear Dwarves.” You quip and squeeze down hard on them both, stopping all movement. They growl and look at you. You smirk and let them go. “Just remember who’s really in control here.” You tease. “I can make you stop and keep you both from cumming whenever I want.” You remind them.

They both look at each other and growl. They start to take you fast and at varying depths and rhythms, messing with your senses. “Not if you are nearly blissed, Love.” Thorin rumbles. You grin and clamp down immediately stopping them. They groan and you giggle. “Is that SO? Honey, part of MY training was learning to do THIS at any point during intimacy, even just before climax.” You tell them both. “That way I can stay in control of what is done to MY body.” You inform them. They look at each other then you, surprised. You just smirk and quickly do a relax-squeeze-relax combo on them, making them both groan and their eyes roll back. You smirk and release them to continue.

They both sit there stunned for a moment at this new information. You giggle and swivel your hips, snapping them out of it and making them both moan as you start to rhymically squeeze them both, then release. Fili grins and starts to thrust and swivels his hips making YOU moan at the sensation of the two combined swiveling movements. Then Thorin starts to thrust and alters his rhythm and depth, making your senses reel and you begin to heavily pant. “Ooohhhh, yesssss, ohhhhhhh, feelssss amazinggggg!” you moan. They grin and start to do it faster. You start to pay attention to their breathing and their sounds, and wait for them to teeter at the edge. When they get there, you clamp down hard, stopping them from cumming. They groan and beg you to let them cum, but you just keep holding it, letting the sensation fade.

Once you feel they’ve calmed, you release them and they growl, “You little tart! Ohhh, you’re gonna pay for that.” Fili warns. Thorin smirks and nods. “Mmmmhhhhmmmm!” and they start to take you fast and hard. You are a moaning mess, and they are near climax again and you clamp down and make them growl. Thorin’s had about enough of it and smacks your ass. “That’s enough, Em.” He rumbles. You release and they start all over again. This time you let them climax.

Suddenly you don’t feel like this is fun any longer and as they lie there panting, you pull them both out of you, climb off the bed and wrap up in a bathrobe and step out of the room. You are thankful no one is there sitting outside your room, and you slip into the bathroom and lock the door. You do your business, then wipe and sit there and quietly cry wondering why it is okay for them to repeatedly deny you to cum all day yesterday, but it’s not okay for you to deny them a few times. Your ass still hurts from the smack Thorin gave you and his scolding made you want to cry. You decide to stay in there until you hear them both leave, having had enough of them both for a while.

----------

Fili and Thorin lay there huffing and puffing from the latest round of intimacy with you, when you suddenly get up, pull them out of you, and leave the room after wrapping in your bath robe. They frown but still feel like lead and can’t move yet. They start to worry though, when you don’t come back after a few minutes. They look at each other and frown. “We didn’t hurt her, did we?” Fili asks.

“No, I don’t think so, Fee, she’d have said something.” Thorin says with a frown. “Why hasn’t she come back then?” Fili asks. “I’m not sure.” Thorin says, still pondering things. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up and dressed. Bombur will have breakfast ready soon.” Thorin says. Fili nods and they both wash up and get dressed.

Both Dwarves are frowning though, when you still have not returned. “You don’t think we upset her somehow, do you?” Fili asks. Thorin shrugs. “Just give her some space, Fili.” He says. Fili nods and they head out of the room and down the hall. Thorin stops at the bathroom and knocks, “Em? You in there?” he asks.

You freeze and hold your breath when you hear Thorin knocking. When you don’t answer, you hear Thorin try the handle, finding it locked, he frowns and hums, they continue on. You sit there and cry quietly, wrapping your arms around your middle. You hurt from their romp with you this morning and being used for Fili’s training all day yesterday. Getting up, you peek out into the hallway and quickly slip back into the bedroom and lock the door.

You remove the bathrobe and slip into the cold bath water, wishing it was warm. You’re glad, though that the water is still in there with Oin’s herb concoction. You try to relax and let it seep into you again. You quietly cry feeling unhappy now for some reason. You decide you’ve had enough sex for a while.

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Thorin and Fili come out into the dining area and everyone looks up. “Morning.” Balin says, “Where’s Em?” he asks. Thorin frowns. “She didn’t come out here?” he asks. Balin shakes his head. “Hmmmm.” Thorin hums and doesn’t say anything more. He sits down and ponders, wondering where you went. Fili moves to get some coffee from Bombur. He suddenly remembers Bombur is married and quietly explains what happened this morning and how you just suddenly got up and left the room. “She’s feelin’ upset ‘bout sumthin’.” He quietly tells Fili. “Just give her some space. She’s probably quite sore after yer training yesterday and yer romp last night and this mornin’. She might just need a break from havin’ sex for a few days, Fee.” He explains.

Fili nods, “Oh, okay. Thanks, Bombur.” Fili says quietly. He feels bad they upset you and wonders why you didn’t say anything. He frowns and hands Thorin a cup of the coffee he got for them both.

“You two alright?” Bofur asks. “We’re fine, Bofur. Don’t mind us.” Thorin says. Bofur looks at the two of them not buying it, but lets it drop. Oin quietly gets up and frowns. He slips off to his pack to make your tea and comes back in the room. He goes to the kettle over the fire and pours the water in, then lets it steep for a few minutes. He pulls the tea bag out and tosses it into the fire.

When you still haven’t appeared, the Dwarves all start to get a little worried. Thorin gets up and goes to see if you are in one of the other bedrooms. He checks each room and discovers the bathroom is now not occupied, he goes to check your room again, and finds the door locked. He knocks and calls for you, but you don’t answer. He sighs and rests his head against the door. “Sweetheart, I know you’re in there. Please, let me in so we can talk and work out whatever is bothering you.” He says quietly.

No answer. Thorin wonders if you just fell asleep again. Figuring you were just tired, he leaves you alone and goes back to the dining area. When he returns and doesn’t have you with him, Fili and Balin frown. Balin looks at Thorin with a questioning look. Thorin shrugs and sighs. He sits and ponders your odd reaction, but says nothing. “Uncle, are you sure Em’s okay?” Fili quietly asks. “I don’t know, Fee. It seems she’s back in the bedroom, but has the door locked now and wouldn’t let me in. She may have just gone back to bed and is sleeping and just didn’t want to be disturbed and didn’t hear me.” He says. “Just let her be for a while. We can try again later on after breakfast.” He says quietly. Fili frowns and nods.

Beorn comes out of his room and into the dining/kitchen area yawning. “Morning Dwarrow.” He murmurs. “Morning, Beorn.” They reply. Beorn moves over to the fire and pours some coffee into his huge mug from his coffeepot. Bombur had asked Beorn to show him how to make it in his coffee pot which the shape changer happily did. Beorn sits down in the corner of the room in his huge chair and looks around. “Where is the little female?” he asks. Thorin cringes. “She is still in her room. I suspect she is just tired after yesterday.” He replies. Beorn chuckles. “I hear it went well yesterday.” He states with a grin.

Fili’s face gets red, and he nods. Beorn chuckles. “Wore her out, did you?” he asks. Fili grins and nods, “It appears so.” He replies. Beorn chuckles again. “Congrats.” He replies, then Bombur starts to serve everyone breakfast.

When breakfast finishes and you still have not appeared, Fili goes to check on you and finds the door locked still. He knocks and calls for you and you still do not answer. He frowns and is getting worried. Fili comes walking back into the dining area then grabs Kili and says, “Come with me, I need your help.” And the two head out into the sunshine. “What is it Fee?” Kili asks as they round the corner of the house. “I need you to help lift me up so I can look in the window of our bedroom. I think we did something to piss off Em this morning. She has locked herself in the bedroom and won’t let us in.” he tells his Brother.

Kili frowns hearing that but agrees to help him. They find a bench and carry it over, so it is under the window. Fili climbs on it, but still can’t reach the window. Kee, climb up and let me stand on your back. I think I should be able to see in then.” He says. Kili nods and climbs up. He kneels and gets on all fours and curls up in a ball. Fili climbs up on his back and stands. “Can you raise me up a little more, Kee?” he asks. Kili uncurls and is on his hands and knees. Giving Fili a few more inches.

Fili looks in the window and sees you laying in the tub, your eyes are red rimmed, and you look up at the door and frown, then look back down and just sit still. Fili climbs back down. “Yup, she’s upset with us about something.” He says. Sitting down beside his Brother. “How do you know that, Fee?” Kili asks.

“She’s sitting in a tub of cold water, instead of letting us drain it and refill it with warm water. Her eyes are red rimmed, and it looks like she’s been crying. And she looked up at the door, froze, frowned, then looked back into the tub. I’m guessing someone knocked on the door and she was just refusing to answer it.” Fili explains.

“What happened that she’s upset?” Kili asks. “That’s just it, Kee, we aren’t sure what we did to upset her like this.” Fili says rubbing his beard.

“Uncle says to just give her some space and let her be.” Fili tells Kili. They both sigh and decide to head to the trees and pick some apples for Bombur to use for lunch, hoping he’ll make apple pie. Thorin and Balin come around the corner of the building as the two boys reach the tree line and chuckle watching them trying to get at the apples.

Thorin sighs, “I don’t understand why Em isn’t letting us into the room, Balin.” He says quietly. They see the bench and walk over to it. “Maybe she’s still sleeping, Thorin.” Balin suggests. Thorin sighs. Then he climbs up on the bench, stands on it on his tip toes, and looks into the window. He sees you in the tub, you’re moving around, massaging your aching joints and he sees your shoulders trembling and you turn your head enough as you look at the bed. He sighs seeing your eyes red-rimmed and tears trickling down your cheeks.

He turns and sits down with a sigh. “No, Balin, she’s awake.” He says. “She’s sitting in the bathtub of cold water, her eyes are red rimmed and she’s got tears trickling down her face.” He says quietly. “I don’t know what we did to upset her though.” He sighs and rubs his face, frustrated.

“Hmmm,” Balin says, sitting next to Thorin on the bench. “Mind telling me what you two did with her this morning?” he asks. “Maybe I can help you figure it out.” He suggests.

Thorin tells him what happened and Balin frowns. “Hmmm. It sounds like she might have been just trying to do the same to you two that you had been doing to her, Thorin.” He states. “Thorin looks confused. “You said the two of you would bring her to the edge and then not let her climax, and then let it dissipate, then pleasure her again. Isn’t that what she was doing to you two when she clenched down on you both. Denying you both the ability to climax, and waiting till it dissipated?” Balin points out.

Thorin groans and nods. “She may be upset because you got mad at her for doing that, Thorin, especially if you gave her a swat on the rump and chastised her for it.” Balin explains. “You have been ‘practicing’ on her a lot the last few days, she may be getting tired of it for a while and might need a break.” Balin explains. “Too much of a good thing can spoil it if you overindulge.” He reminds Thorin.

Thorin nods. “You’re right, Balin. We owe her an apology.” He says. “How are we supposed to do that though, when she won’t let us enter the room?” Thorin asks. “Just give her some time, Thorin. If she hasn’t come out by lunch time, I’ll knock and see if she will let me in. If she does, I’ll talk with her, if you’re alright with that.” Balin offers.

Thorin sighs and nods. “Thank you, Balin. If she lets you talk to her, tell her that Fili and I are sorry for upsetting her and I’m sorry for swatting her rear and reprimanding her. We didn’t understand that was what she was trying to do.” Thorin says. “I will do that, Thorin. Try to enjoy the rest of the day. We’ll need to be leaving tomorrow morning though. We can’t risk too many more delays, or we won’t reach the mountain in time.” Balin reminds him. Thorin sighs and nods.

They get up and go their separate ways to find places to relax.

~~~~~~~~~~

*More chapters to come. Feel free to leave comments, and to reblog.

*Let me know if you want to be added / deleted from my Thorin Oakenshield Tag list.

Tagging: @void-ace @xxbyimm @deepestfirefun @criminaly-supernatural @fizzyxcustard @legolaslovely @thewhiteladyofrohan @gossip-girl-of-middle-earth @talktothemoon2-blog @shutupthorin @thethorinoakenshieldsimp @thefanficmistress @dumbassunderthemountain @anki-of-beleriand @twobirdsonesong @thecurioussimmeruk

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electronicdelusionstarlight · 3 years

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Boethia’s Bidding

Many people remember Mephala’s cut quest from Skyrim, about Baalgruf’s kids being corrupted by the Daedric Prince’s whispers and slaying their own father. It leads to a general worsening for the hold since Baalgruf’s brother is a far worse Jarl than him, even if he does instantly join the Imperials as soon as he gains power, and ends with you betraying one of the few Jarls who trusted in you from the very start in a far worse way than you would be able to do in Vanilla by siding with the Stormcloaks.

Everyone knows about that cut quest.

But how many people even ever heard about Boethia’s Bidding till this post came along?

Boethia’s Bidding is a cut continuation quest for the vanilla Boethia’s quest, Boethia’s Calling. After slaying her former champion and gaining the Ebony Mail, the prince will appear to you and ask you one final show of power and loyalty to them.

You will need to go to Solitude, and slay Jarl Elisif as she’s wrecked by Paranoia and fear at the plots happening all around her.

It’s a very stealth/speech oriented quest. Boethia’s machinations have left Elisif a nervous wreck, locked up in her room and armed in fear of potential assassin, unwilling to see anyone, the security in the palace tripled.

You will either sneak inside (in which case if they find you in a “forbidden” zone the guards will turn hostile) or you can talk your way inside to the steward, and convince to let you talk to her as her friend/thane, or even become her personal bodyguard, all the while being escorted by at least ONE guard.

It seems like an interesting, stealth/assassin oriented quest honestly, but I’m not here to talk about this.

So, you get inside Elisif Room, posing as her bodyguard, and she tells you this.

Image Description: Elisif Direct Quote from the cut quest: "I'm glad they finally believed me. About the assassin I mean. It's been so hard since my Torygg passed. No one takes me seriously. So how's this work exactly? Do you just kind of stand there on the look out? That's what Bolgeir does. Well, he sort of looms more than stands. Bolgeir's loyal, but even he doesn't do what I ask. Case in point, this whole assassin thing. Well at least I have you now. Look at me ramble... Well, I guess I'll go about my business sulking in here. You can stand over there in the corner watching for assassins."

No one fucking takes Elisif seriously. Ever. The steward will berate her suspicions when you ask him about assassins, and everyone will simply go “grief must have make her go mad, poor girl.”

Everyone underestimates her and shit, and you MIGHT think this quest is trying to remedy on that, especially since her worries are funded, instead it seems the only way you can end this quest is by killing Elisif.

After you do it, Boethia will appear and congratulate you for your doing, and... seemingly give you nothing but their respect. Erikur (The thieves guild plant) will become the new Jarl of Solitude, hence him having Jarl dialogues and the Jarl title in game (I always assumed he was supposed to be the Stormcloak Jarl, but this makes it even worse somehow).

The quest is unfinished so we don’t know what would Elisif’s death bring to the also unfinished Civil War questline.

We have to keep in mind a couple things tho, such as Boethia’s shrine being very close to Winshelm, and Stormcloak Alligned guards and soldiers commenting on how their cause seem to have been favoured by “Daedric Nobility” itself... when they are not calling Elisif a bitch rotting in oblivion that is.

Since we know for a fact from Elder Scrolls Legends lore that Boethia was directly supporting the Thalmor War Effort, it’s not difficult to say who actually asked the prince for Elisif’s death, or why would they decide to support the Stormcloaks in such a way. Erikur, the new Jarl who has close commercial ties with both the Dominion, the Empire, the Thieves Guild AND the Stormcloaks, is ALSO heavily implied to have had an hand in the assassination, without however tying it to the Dark Brotherhood for some reason.

We can also be glad they didn’t decide to add this quest to the game either. Elisif is already an INCREDIBLY wasted character in Vanilla, to waste and ruin her even more by simply fridging her out of nowhere and with no reward, only to then have her be cursed by her enemies as the man who plotted her murder seats on her throne all smug about it.

There is also another thing we need to keep in mind however, and that’s for the possibility that this, again, unfinished quest is missing other possible options. Boethia tells you a very specific line when you finish this quest after all:

Image Decription: “Remember always this: You need answer to no authority, neither mortal, nor divine... As you will it, so it shall be.”

The divine part is particularly important. Boethia is demanding for you to do their bidding (title drop), yet at the same time they claim everything should be done by your own free will. Maybe there IS a way to finish the quest without killing Elisif, to spite the Deadric prince by your own free will and not kill her.

Erikur is involved, so say there actually IS an assassin in the Blue Palace among the many, seemingly useless thanes and housecarls in Elisif court, among all her servants or guards? Maybe you have to beat them to the time to kill Elisif, or in turn you can also save her from them. You save Elisif, expose Erikur who is put in Jail/executed, his sister becomes the new Thieves Guild Plant for their missions, and Elisif now either trusts you alot and is willing to follow your advice and shit, or better yet has finally understood that she needs to be her own woman and shit, meaning that if this happens before season unending in season unending she will be far more assertive and will be far more proactive alongside Tullius, but in case of Stormcloak victories she will also die (In which case Erikur gets in power) as she attempts to assassinate Ulfric and probably dies in the process. (which you can stop or not, in which case the rebellion is in shambles even if Skyrim is indipendent now, and everything sucks even more than it would under Ulfric since the next in line for the throne is Galmar).

Either way after you find the second assassin and actually save Elisif (Maybe have hearts and apples involved for some nice Snow White symbolism? Important for later), either gaining her trust or making her a shrewder ruler as a result, maybe even both, Boethia will appear to you when you are finally alone.

They will congratulate you to have “outplotted” the lord of plots, much like Hircine congratulates you for hunting the hunters during his own quest, and for having followed your own free will, especially after having literally murdered a guy who had started doing the exact same thing (following his free will rather than Boethia’s orders), which would make you either incredibly stupid or incredibly far sighted, since now Elisif is on the path to become a ruler following the spirit of Boethia’s teaching, if indirectly, and you will be her trusted advisor, the only one who believed her when she realized there was a traitor in their midst, giving you (and Boethia as her champion) much power in turn.

Of course, this is me giving Todd way too much credit. The quest was probably as set up as it was in the scripts to the letter because Bethesda can’t stand the thought of a Girlboss winning, it was just never implemented, and all this new way to end it was never intended to exist, but you know, it’d be really nice if we did something with Elisif outside of the way she’s already treated in canon.

It’d be cliche in a way, and it’d be not as well written as I wished it was, but it would still be SOMETHING MORE than the way she’s treated in canon.

You know... Elisif the Fair... becoming Elisif the Girlboss. Under Boethia’s blessing. And with the Dragonborn kneeling at her side as her vizier and enforcer.

A Wicked Hunter befitting of the Fairest Queen of them all.

Wouldn’t that be rad?

#skyrim #elisif the fair #elder scrolls #tes lore #skyrim lore #skyrim mod #there's a mod that puts the cut quest back as it is unfortunately #boethiah #boethiah's calling #boethiah's bidding

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fictionadventurer · 3 years

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@lady-merian, Well, now you’ve made me curious. How does each chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe end? I’m going to use the same categories I used to classify the Hunger Games chapters, but there are a few things that alter how these endings function in this book.

Genre: This is a portal fantasy, not an action-adventure book. To borrow terminology from Orson Scott Card, this is a Milieu story rather than an Event Story. The tension comes as much from exploring a new world as from navigating a plot, so a lot of the revelations and narrative changes aren’t going to be as dramatic or devastating as they might be in a more intense narrative.

POV: Rather than a first-person narrator, this book has an omniscient narrator who can show us things that the main characters don’t know about. This means that chapter endings are classified by how they function for the reader rather than the characters, since we know things that the characters don’t know.

The Categories

Bombshell: A surprise event or revelation occurs that’s outside the characters’ control. We want to turn the page to see the fallout from it.

Cliffhanger: Something is about to happen or be revealed, but we’re not sure what it is yet. We turn the page in the hope of learning this new information.

Tension-builder: We’ve just learned some new information that makes the situation more difficult or stressful.. It’s sort of a long-term cliffhanger--we know this is going to have an effect on the story, but not necessarily at the beginning of the next chapter.

Initiative: Characters are about to or have done something to take action.

Resolution: Main conflict of the chapter has been successfully resolved.

The Chapters

Chapter 1: Lucy has just entered Narnia and seen a faun. The faun is startled by her and drops his packages. Bombshell.

Chapter 2: Lucy comes back to the spare room and announces to everyone that she’s alright. Resolution.

Chapter 3: The witch demands to know what Edmund is. Edmund says he doesn’t know what she means, and says he’s at school, but it’s the holidays now. It’s a very odd place to end a chapter, since the next chapter picks up with the same argument, and this is the second time that the Witch has asked what Edmund is. I’ll call it a Cliffhanger, since we’re waiting to find out what the Witch means by asking “what” Edmund is.

Chapter 4: Edmund and Lucy are going back to the wardrobe. Edmund feels sick knowing that his siblings are on the side of the animals and he’s sympathetic to the witch. Lucy says, “What fun we shall have now that we’re all in it together.” A nice little bit of irony that serves as a Tension-builder.

Chapter 5: The four children hide in the wardrobe (and they don’t shut the door, because you never shut yourself in the wardrobe). Cliffhanger.

Chapter 6: Edmund and Peter argue if they can trust their guide, and Edmund points out that they don’t know the way to get back home. Bombshell.

Chapter 7: The children have just finished a meal with the Beavers and Mr. Beaver says it’s time to get down to business (and that the snow means no one will find tracks if someone’s trying to follow them). The gentlest form of Cliffhanger. We’re about to get an infodump, and we turn the page to learn the answers to questions, but it’s not a dramatic need-to-turn-the-page-now kind of tension.

Chapter 8: They’ve just found out that Edmund has gone to the White Witch, and the Beavers tell them they have to flee immediately. I’m going to call this a Bombshell, because Edmund’s defection is a huge surprise to the other three, and the announcement that they have to leave feels like an extension of that surprise.

Chapter 9: Edmund has just told the witch where his siblings are, and the witch orders her sled without bells to be prepared. Tension-builder.

Chapter 10: After everyone enjoys tea and sandwiches in the cave, Mr. Beaver tells them it’s time to move on. Initiative.

Chapter 11: The dwarf tells the White Witch that winter has been destroyed and it’s Aslan’s doing, and the Witch says anyone mentioning that name will be instantly killed. Tension-builder.

Chapter 12: Peter, still shaky after killing the Wolf, kneels before Aslan and is dubbed Wolf’s-Bane. “Whatever happens, never forget to clean your sword.” Peter has just been prepared for the coming war. Initiative.

Chapter 13: Aslan announces he’s made a deal and the Witch has renounced her claim on Edmund. When the Witch questions his promise, Aslan roars, and she flees for her life. Resolution.

Chapter 14: The children cover their eyes as Aslan is killed. Bombshell.

Chapter 15: Aslan brings the girls to the Witch’s home and they find themselves in a courtyard of statues. A resolution, because Aslan is alive, the journey’s over, and they’re safe, but as I’m reading it, it feels like a mild Cliffhanger, because we’re still curious about what Aslan’s going to do next.

Chapter 16: Aslan’s forces join the battle; Peter’s tired forces cheer, Aslan’s forces roar, and the enemy gibbers. Cliffhanger, since we’re not told how the battle goes, but an extremely joyful one, since it’s clear that circumstances are on the side of good. (And the first line of the next chapter tells us the battle was over in minutes).

Chapter 17: “And that is the very end of the adventure of the wardrobe. But if the Professor was right it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.” Resolution of the whole story, but with a tantalizing promise of more.

Observations

The children are pulled along by the narrative and make no decisions for themselves (at least in the chapter endings). Even in the two chapters that end in Initiative, other characters are telling the children what action to resolve upon: Mr. Beaver tells them to keep moving after tea and Aslan tells Peter to go forward in the fight. And in both cases, they’re just continuing actions that have already been happening: the flight from the Witch and the battle against the Witch’s forces. This is part of the function as a middle-grade portal fantasy. First off, they’re children, who usually need authority figures to tell them what to do. Second, the characters are just vehicles to explore the world; we don’t need to explore their struggles with finding the right course of action. We just need them to go along for the ride so we can see more of Narnia.

Only three chapters end with neat Resolutions: Lucy coming back from meeting Mr. Tumnus, Aslan sending the Witch fleeing in terror, and the very end of the book. The first one serves to set the tone: this is a place where you can go on wild, fantastical adventures, but don’t worry because you’ll get home safely in the end. (It’s like those two chapters are a miniature form of the entire book). The second one gives us a moment of triumph before the ultimate, heartbreaking defeat of the story’s lowest point. And the last one is there because the book has come to an end (though we do get imagination-firing sequel promises).

The tension-builders all relate to the villain’s wider plot. They all relate to Edmund, and two of them come when Edmund is with the Witch and separated from his siblings. This makes sense, because the villain’s plot is the only large-scale thing happening in this otherwise very immediate quest story. The story isn’t driven by tension between the characters (except the tension introduced by the Witch). It’s a very concrete “we need to go here and do this” kind of story, which provides more opportunities for the promises of immediate resolution that we get from cliffhangers and bombshells.

The cliffhangers are all very mild. It’s not “oh no, are they going to be okay?” It’s a much gentler, “I want to find out what happens next” or “I want to find out what’s going on.” We turn the page, not necessarily because we’re worried about the characters, but because we’re curious. This makes sense with the portal fantasy structure. The story is driven by that sense of wonder and curiosity.

The bombshells are the hardest-hitting moments of the story. And this story provides plenty of opportunities for them, since the children aren’t the ones driving the narrative. The four bombshells actually provide some of the turning points of the story according to Seven-Point Story Structure.

Plot Turn 1(The character’s world changes): Lucy discovers Narnia in the wardrobe

Pinch 1 (forces the characters to action): Learning that they don’t know the way home forces them to continue with the adventure, but the third bombshell is the actual pinch point that forces them to act, because Edmund’s defection is what them to flee from the Beavers’ home.

(Midpoint is Peter joining the battle after meeting Aslan)

Pinch 2 (lowest point): Aslan’s death

This function of the bombshells makes sense according to the demands of the structure. The midpoint occurs when the characters move from reacting to taking action, so it can’t come from a bombshell, but the Plot Turns and Pinches happen when the characters are faced with events that are outside of their control.

All this is fascinating to me, because we have an story where the main characters make almost no choices, yet the underlying structure is still present and still satisfying. The characters aren’t driving the story; they’re just swept up into it, yet it works because a portal fantasy is driven by wonder and curiosity. We’re the ones going on this adventure, swept up by the story with no control over where it goes, so the story functions best when the characters themselves lack that control. The story’s momentum comes not necessarily from life or death stakes, but by the readers’ curiosity to know what happens next or what’s around the next corner. And yet, because so much of the story is outside of the characters’ control, we have opportunities for bombshell revelations that provide the story structure. There are a couple of odd chapter endings, but Lewis knows what he’s doing, and can keep up the tension in a way that’s appropriate for the tone of the story. No wonder this book has become a classic.

#the chronicles of narnia #c.s. lewis #the lion the witch and the wardrobe #adventures in writing

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tearsofgrace · 4 years

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Running on Fumes

welcome to another episode of codas that fix nothing and actually make it worse!

thanks @fandomstuff67 for the title idea :)

word count: 1.5k, tags: mcd (mentioned), cas’ deal, ep 15.15, coda, starts immediately after end of ep

also on archive!

“Dean, in case something goes wrong… there’s something you and Sam need to know.”

Dean felt his mouth go dry but he held Cas’ steady gaze. That fire, that rage Amara wouldn’t shut up about burned inside him, but it was easier with Cas now. He could tame it, even if he couldn’t put it out.

“What?” his voice was tight, but it was still controlled. For now.

“Jack,” Cas took a breath, “His plan- we can’t do it.”

“Okay?” Dean said, his brow furrowing as he took another step toward Cas, narrowing the already small distance between them.

“Dean, if Jack kills God, he also kills Amara-”

“You know I was kidding when I said she and I used to have a thing, right, man?” Dean interrupted. He wanted to lighten the mood, to get rid of the pain in Cas’ eyes because he couldn’t take it, couldn’t see Cas so lost.

Cas barely reacted to his words, just gulped and held his eyes. “He kills them both,” he continued, “But he also kills himself.”

The flames leapt higher, licking at his lips, leaving harsh words on his tongue. But Cas’ eyes were so wide, so vulnerable that they died back down almost immediately. He couldn’t do this to Cas. “What do you mean?”

“He’ll create a bomb within himself, and when it detonates-”

“No more God,” Dean finished.

“Exactly.”

“You’re right then,” Dean said simply, running a hand through his hair.

“What?”

“We don’t let him do it. We’ll find another way.” The words were empty. He bit his lip. When he kept the anger down, he didn’t like what filled its place. It would be so much easier, just to black out. To shout at Cas, something he would regret later, and let red fill his vision. But he’d said he would do better, he had to do better.

So instead he almost collapsed as the crushing weight of disappointment and sadness hit him. They doused the flames somewhat, but his shoulders slumped and the fight left his body.

“Dean?”

He realized his eyes were on the floor and he looked up to find Cas’ face just inches from his own. He didn’t pull up.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he breathed. Cas just looked into his eyes, head tilting slightly as his eyes crinkled inward. “I can’t- the lying, and the secret, and the- all of it. Why didn’t Jack just tell us? We could have helped him earlier.”

If it had been anyone else, if they hadn’t been so close together, he might have missed it. Might have missed the way Cas’ eyes widened just slightly and his lips fell open a fraction of a centimeter more. That’s when his heart fell down into the raging fires below it.

“What?” he spat.

Cas’ face was completely controlled now, and for a moment Dean wondered if he was seeing things, making something from nothing because his nerves were strung out across a line miles long. But he hadn’t. He knew Cas too well.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing. Dean, we aren’t going to let Jack do this.”

Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I know that, Cas, but- there’s something else. What’s going on?”

“What?” Cas said stiffly. “Being back to square one in our quest to defeat God isn’t enough for you?

“We’ll figure something out, just like we always do.” Cas went to speak but Dean cut him off, “Please, Cas. I can’t do anymore fucking secrets.”

Cas took a deep breath and Dean watched as his chest rose, filling with air. Everything hung suspended, and a voice in the back of his mind warned him that his fractured world was about to shatter into pieces. Then Cas released his breath in a heavy sigh.

“I made a deal.”

Dean gulped, his mind whirling through the possibilities, trying to find the best one. “A deal?”

“With the Empty. It was going to take Jack and so I traded my-”

“Dammit, Cas.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t- he needed Cas.

“You would have done the same.” Cas sounded petulant, confident. But when Dean looked up his eyes were wide and watery.

“No I wouldn’t have.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but they both knew he didn’t mean it. The next part he did mean. “I couldn’t have left you.”

Cas smiled painfully, blinking quickly. “You would have saved our son.”

Dean gulped and held back a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Every goddamn time, the only way was sacrifice. And then the others were left behind to pick up the pieces. Self-sacrifice was selfishness.

“So, what? We defeat God and then you- you die?” Dean choked out, his thoughts swirling too fast for him to process.

“No,” Cas said. Dean felt a glimmer of hope. But it didn’t last, the hungry flames in his soul immediately licked it up, letting it fuel them, and his heart rate kicked up as anger settled over him. Why hadn’t Jack told them? Why hadn’t Cas told him? Why was he destined to lose his family again and again?

“I won’t die until-” Dean flinched at the word and Cas started again. “The Empty won’t come for me until I’m truly happy, Dean. It could be years.”

The anger simmered out again, resuming its steady burning in the pit of his stomach. His thoughts stopped spinning and he just looked at Cas, tears now prickling behind his own eyes. “Until,” he took a breath and looked down at the floor. “Until you’re truly happy?”

Cas nodded once, his eyes now guarded.

“You’re not happy?”

“Dean, we’re fighting God. The creator of- well, everything. Happiness isn’t part of it.”

Dean wanted to let it slide, he really did. It had been a long day, he needed sleep, and Cas looked terrified. But he couldn’t process right, couldn’t think straight. His son had been about to kill himself to save the world, still was going to if they didn’t stop him. And his best- no… how could he even describe who Cas was to him? But he couldn’t lose him.

“You’re never happy?” he pressed.

“Dean-”

“You’re home, Cas. You have Jack, you have Sam, you have me. Why are you not- I mean, are we not enough?” His voice broke on the last word and he hated the way Cas’ face fell. But he couldn’t- he had to know.

“Don’t do this, Dean.”

“Please-”

“We,” Cas’ voice was heavy now, and he left space between every word, “have to defeat Chuck. And make sure the world, and Jack, survive it. I do not have time to worry about my happiness, and you certainly don’t.”

Before Dean could answer, could even let himself hear what Cas had said, the angel stalked from the room.

Which left Dean standing there, his hands hanging loosely at his side. So much had happened today, so much he could be thinking about. Cas was right. They had a mission, and they couldn’t afford to be side tracked. But there was only one thing in his mind, one thing worth dwelling on.

He didn’t make Cas happy. He wasn’t enough for Cas. The pain of that was somehow nearly as bad as losing him had been. And now, how was he supposed to wish for Cas’ happiness when that would also be wishing for Cas’ death?

And Cas dying, he couldn’t do that again. Last time it had nearly destroyed him. He needed Cas like he needed air. But it didn’t matter. Because now, even if they defeated God and saved the world, Cas could never be happy, or he’d be gone.

Dean turned back to the table and grabbed the bottle he’d left there. He was going to skip it tonight, he’d been trying to cut back. But there was too much. It was all hopeless, pointless, stupid. A part of him wanted to leave this sorry world to deal with it’s own problems, let Chuck play his game however he wanted while he sat in a dark room drinking until he wasn’t there to see it.

But he didn’t let that win. He let the anger rise up, drowning everything else out. Fuck Chuck for turning his world into this mess. Fuck Chuck for preventing him from ever telling Cas how he really felt in the fear that by some miracle it would make him happy. Fuck Chuck for ruining their entire lives for sport.

He couldn’t deal with the heartbreak. The worry for his son. The fear for Cas’ life. The crushing hopelessness that had wrapped around him so tightly he would never be able to untangle himself with it.

That was all gone, burning in the flames of his anger.

And he was going to let the flames consume him. He would stay in their safe heat, in their protection, until he could burn Chuck to the ground.

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#ope #look it's sad #mcd #spn fanfic #supernatural fanfic #spn fan fiction #destiel fanfic #deancas fic #destiel fic #destiel ficlet #my writing #spn spoilers

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something-very-special · 3 years

Text

they ran over the seals

More Replicant playthrough observations and general nonsense under the cut. For reference, up to the keystone quest; completed the Forest of Myth and Junk Heap.

This fucking game I swear to god.

A vaguely coherent ramble about sidequests An observation about sidequests in general in this game -- and I don't recall if I ever voiced this somewhere public or it was just a personal observation from my time with the original -- is that the quests in the first half of the game are all relatively easy to complete. There's that one asshat who wants 10 goat hides, but other than him, most of the sidequests are either very much based on finding characters, or gathering a sensible number of items that are either relatively common, purchasable, or given a guaranteed spawn for the duration of that quest.

The sidequests everybody remembers having to do are in the second half, where everybody is demanding and awful and I'm sorry ten MACHINE OILS do you know how goddamn rare those are? They're goddamn rare.

(We'll not discuss Life in the Sands.)

This is generally agreed to, in the technical vernacular, 'suck'. And it's always funny that the most interesting sidequests are the ones with very minimal requirements (Yonah's cooking, getting Popola drunk, the Lighthouse Ladoh my god everything's gone blurry I'm not crying you're crying who am I kidding we're both crying). That particular aspect of the design also feels intentional, not really gating your ability to progress the really meaningful or funny sidequests behind an unreasonable number of rare items. The other aspect of the design is that these quests are not meant to be completed in a single playthrough; most of them are single-stage and just absolutely unreasonable, but if you're going through the game four times you have a... reasonable chance of getting everything you need more or less naturally.

Nobody does that but I think that was the intended design. I think it's a good idea, although the execution of expectation is flawed so I don't really blame people for saying those sidequests suck. (Although I will in turn blame people for saying the sidequests suck as a blanket statement. Yeah getting that guy who burned his kitchen down a billion Broken Motors is aggravating but did you not find that old man's dog? Speak to Ursula on her death bed? Solve a murder? Then again I think tracking down that rotten son who's trying to get away from The Family Business only to learn his father is a con-artist and get literally no reward is the height of comedy so maybe I'm not the greatest point of reference.)

But that asshole in Facade can get bent. I can't exploit my garden properly, jackass! I am no longer a god of time. (I kid, of course.) (This guys sucks even when you can fix your clock.)

Forest of Myth It didn't even occur to me to wonder how they would incorporate the comprehensive voice acting into the Forest of Myth. I like how it plays out, although I wish the voices maybe had a fade as you went deeper into the dream instead of just cutting out at some point, especially for the lines where the characters are being ascribed actions by the narrator that they themselves aren't doing near the start of the Deathdream. But it's just delightful to go back to it. The second half of the game really sticks in your mind both for emotional reasons and because you play it at least three times per full playthrough of the game, but the first half is just so much fun.

Protip: Talk to everybody after you've finished the dream sidequest. Weiss tries to dissuade you. Don't let him dissuade you. I'm still delighted by the Mayor; "We're building a statue of you, made of solid gold. I know you don't own a horse, but we're going to put you on a horse."

I forgot about Yonah being a disaster chef Papa Nier's reaction to the stew is better. Brother is still funny but Papa Nier just expecting to die is comedy gold.

For anybody curious, the joke about the cakes is that Yonah made 'fruit cake' using some of the worst possible fruits for cake-making. If only she'd thrown a tomato into the mix, too.

Lighthouse Lady Every time. what the fuck is a canal I'm aware of the addition of the new-old content but it didn't occur to me until Popola suddenly starts nattering on about fixing the canal when I'm expecting Yonah to talk about a penpal that oh, yeah, I guess Seafront would have had something going on the first half that would play into the second half? (I assume it does. Be weird to introduce these characters just to have groundwork for an added sidequest. ...but it was a cute sidequest.) But look Popola my boy is supposed to be in the next area I visit could we-- I mean he's on the way could we just-- no-- fiiiiiiiiiine. (It was short and sweet, though, and I appreciate that the couple's love is exemplified by them both calling Weiss a floating magazine in tandem.) On a related note but was I the only person suddenly concerned when the sidequest completion maxed out at 50% and not 51%? I had to double-check with a guide just to make sure, since I've spent the last decade telling people to make sure you hit 51% before going on to Part II.

MY BOY I love that nowadays, Emil is everybody's son. But I really wish I could go find somebody only familiar with Automata and just watch their reaction. (I'm guessing there are streams out there that fulfill this but man I'd love to get it in-person.) If you're only familiar with him from Automata this has to be a mindfuck.

Personal anecdote, but I've had the privilege of playing NIER with somebody else almost every time I've gone through it. I had a wonderful experience of doing a replay some years back with somebody who had experienced it with me before but didn't have the most solid memory of the beginning (and had actually missed the entire weapon's lab the first time through). I get to the boy at the piano introducing himself and the 'Wait, what?' was a thing of beauty.

MY ANDROID This was a welcome mindfuck for me; finding Sebastian and having him 'reactivate' in such an unnatural, mechanical way. I don't recall if it was ever officially confirmed that Sebastian is an android (I know that it's just understood that this is the case but I'm not I can't recall a specific one) but the little flair they added to his animation caught me completely off guard. I liked it!

Destroying the food source A lot of people will cite a major inciting incident for the game as being when the protagonist heading back into the village and killing the child Shades just outside the entrance. This moment is such a great bit of subtle foreshadowing that's so easy to miss... but kind of joining that, just before the Knave of Hearts attacks, I realized that the Shades out on the Northern Plains are clearly ramping up for an assault of their own by murdering the sheep. The sheep population at this point is decimated (which is great when you realize you haven't gotten the Sheepslayer trophy and you're about to enter Part II and you don't know if the boar drifting minigame got carried forward with the inclusion of 15 Nightmares). You go out onto the Plains and you will find not only small clusters of sheep left behind instead of the vast, terrifying herds from the start of the game, but until you get their attention the Shades are prioritizing killing the sheep. (Also annoying because that doesn't count toward my sheep murder number.) The Shades will be out there also killing sheep earlier on, but since the whole map is in Overcast mode after talking to Yonah it's especially prevalent to go out to the Northern Plains and seeing the slaughter. And I realized-- they're cutting the Village off from a primary food source. Shades don't eat and they don't have any beef with the local ungulates (at least, no more so than anybody else does), so why are they hunting down the sheep? To deprive their enemies of resources. Sheep are extinct by the timeskip. It's actually really clever of them, and a really clever indication of their sentience and intelligence before it's fully verified.

"Let's get these shit-hogs!" Everything about the way Kaine and Emil interact across the entire game is perfect I will brook no argument this is objective fact.

Emotive Rectangles I wrote an essay about this before but it really bears repeating that the job the original animators did with this scene is just phenomenal. The way Weiss drifts, flits, flips, fans his pages, drunkenly swerves, shoots around the room in defiance... He's a goddamn rectangle, but there is so much emotion and personality in this scene just based on the movements conveyed through a what is effectively just a box. Ten years later and triple-A titles with full facial capture don't have this much seething personality. I really have to give props to the cavia animators, wherever they wound up. That studio could really put some subtle love and care into their titles, utterly unnecessary and easy to miss but you can tell that whoever was working on it was giving it their all. The books are probably the exemplification of this, but every time I go into Seafront and visit the seals I can tell that the guy on seal duty was having just the best day. They made Emil so pretty There's an FMV cutscene right smack in the middle of the original game after the battle against Noir. I understand why it was a necessity on a technical level, but it always looked pretty out of place and a little uncanny valley compared to the rest of the graphical fidelity. That's no longer a necessity so this cutscene is rendered in-engine. I admit I was actually curious to see it redone this way and it looks fantastic. I single out Emil since he is the focal point of cutscene and because his particular high-poly model had some pretty weird difference from his in-engine model, but he and Kaine both look great. But, like, it's almost mean how pretty he is.

They made Brother Nier so pretty Yeah okay you got me he's kind of hot. Kaine's expression when she wakes up and looks him over is... significantly easier to read now. Good voice, too. (Ancient rumors tell that one of the issues with international releases of RepliCant was that they couldn't find an English VA with a voice that 'fit' Brother Nier. He sounded good out the gate but hearing him growl "Let's go TAKE CARE of those KIDS" during the thief sidequest-- I got chills. It sounds so silly but there's a kind of percolating fury to that delivery. Papa Nier was like frustrated but mostly disappointed dad; I felt like Brother was going to take care of those kids, and nobody was going to find the bodies. Younger Brother Nier just never stops looking goofy to me but Older Brother just looks great in motion, between the alterations they made to the movement and just the entire weaponry system. The distinction between the two halves of the game was always a little odd in the Gestalt version-- not odd enough to really raise eyebrows if you didn't know about RepliCant, but of course you can tell that this age gape between the optimistic doe-eyed dogooder and a man largely ruled by his fury and calloused by tragedy is what the timeskip was going for. Swab me down and call me Ishmael, it works. Younger Brother wasn't quite clicking with me-- not because of any writing or voicework issues, but I've got Papa Nier on the back of my mind and it's impossible not to compare and contrast the delivery and dialogue between the two. I know that this is intentional, too; Younger Brother is supposed to be that happy-go-lucky video game protagonist, always doing the right thing and helping people, in order to contrast against the man he becomes. Even just edging into Part II the effect is dramatic and it recontextualizes Younger Brother into a much more effective overall character. And let me reiterate, I enjoyed my time with Younger Brother just fine, I have no issues with him. But he's up against Well Meaning Big Dummy Part I Papa Nier. No contest. And I'm excited to see where Older Brother goes from here.

Speaking of voices I mentioned this before but the delivery on the character's lines is different. The entire game was re-recorded and quite a few lines are still pretty similar to the original, but there are some that are... definitely different. Part of this is a difference in the relationship between characters based on their life experience and ages-- Weiss is much more of an ass to Younger Brother but has a much more even respect for Older Brother (neither of which are like the rapport he established with Father). Some of Kaine's lines feel more aloof, dismissive, and almost tired in the front half of the game. I haven't really gotten to a point to dig into Emil's rapport with the other characters, but the delivery feels more hesitant and uncertain (which I think is more in line with his Japanese VO, but I'm prefacing that on an untrained ear and a presumption rather than recent memory). It's been interesting to see not just where hey adjusted dialogue (and how-- there are some lines that didn't need to be rewritten), but also how they adjust tone and delivery. Dealing with Younger Brother is one thing, but as I said, I'm very excited to see what's different in the second half, especially being much more familiar with that part of the game. Speaking of Voices! Halua got dialogue! I... preferred when it was inferred (and the implications of "I'll always be watching over you" are borderline malicious given the results of their fusion dance, yeah THANK YOU HALUA this is GREAT). Halua's delivery also felt a little too innocent and upbeat both for the situation and when compared to her narrative voice in The Stone Flower, where she comes across as much more cynical and cold. But given what she's been through and the nightmare she's finally escaping I guess she's allowed express happiness. She's certainly earned the right to having a spoken line. No matter what. Every fuckin' time.

"Here we go." This was always a great line to kind of ease in to the officially-official start of Part II-- every time you start up a New Game+ you're greeted with Emil musing about his conflation of Halua to Kaine, and then the phrase "Here we go". There's a lot in that one line. On a personal level he's grounding his thoughts in the moment and steeling himself for what comes next and pushing through his pain and sadness and fear. Whatever Nier told him in the facility he's still terrified, desperately terrified, that Kaine -- who was the one who told him his life had meaning -- is going to reject him. And why wouldn't she? Ultimately they don't know each other, not really. He understands at that moment that his relationship with Kaine is based on confused memories of his sister, that maybe the bond he thought they established isn't actually real. As soon as he frees Kaine he's going to have to confront her, like this, and how could she ever-- she won't-- but he can't just leave her. Whatever happens next. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. (God it matters.) "Here we go." On a meta level, that's our introduction into the second half of the game. The first half is all prologue. This is where we'll be spending the rest of our time, even to the point that 'New Game+' skips straight ahead to this moment. Now that we've finished the establishment, this is where it all builds and where it all matters. Here we go, audience. The ride starts now. You get up to this point now in Replicant. You get the same lead-in. My dumb ass even whispered "Here we go", because I can't help myself. And he says, of course he says--! "Anyway." ... ...a-anyway? What the hell kind of line is that? "Here's some deeply personal musings that are also an indication of my own discomfort as I babble to myself just to fill the void so I can stave off thinking for just a few more seconds. ANYWAY." What a... bizarre decision. Just bizarre.

Upgraded melee combat The introduction to the armored Shades always feel kind of rough-- the defenses on those Shades are significantly higher than anything you've faced and the new weapons you're given to combat them just aren't that good. (If you got lucky you could have a fully-upgraded Faith by now, which is nearly three times as powerful as the 'heavy' two-handed sword you're given; if you downloaded the 4 YoRHa pack for Replicant you've probably been able to upgrade one of those weapons once, which are also a really nice strength boost that leaves the freebie heavy swords and spears in the dust). As an introduction to the new weapon types it always feels like rough going. But then you get a chance to get decent weapons and the combat system truly opens up, and compared to the first game you really feel it. At this juncture I would always just bustle off to Facade and grab the Phoenix Spear and never look back-- the raw power compared to the rest of your arsenal coupled with the triangle dash is basically the bread and butter of the rest of the game. It's not exciting, but it's effective. No more triangle dashing, which was deeply disappointing... but both weapons definitely feel good. I am also somewhat ashamed to admit that it wasn't until now that I realized attacks weren't just about rhythmic input-- you can hold the attacks down to do different charged hits and combos depending on when you execute them in your combo, similar to Automata. I, uh... I felt a bit dumb. But hey, wow, it's a welcome adjustment and it makes all of the weapon types feel equally valuable for different purposes. I never liked using the heavy blades in the original release because they just felt too slow for the damage output they did, even if their 'point' was mostly to sheer off armor (and they definitely felt too slow for use in crowd control). Now they're still heavy and slower, but not to the point that you're basically leaving yourself open just trying to attack. Spears now do crazy sweeping combos and multi-hits. Both of these properties were borrowed from Automata and I find myself prioritizing melee combat and almost forgetting I have magic because honestly it just feels intuitive and fun. I feel like Kaine and Emil might have gotten a power boost as well? Not that I can really confirm this but going into some of the Junk Heap rooms I'd focus on killing a few robots in the corner and then turn around and just see a field of item drops and no more robots. Don't take my word on that, of course, but they felt a little more effective, and a placebo effect is still an effect. "You're staging a protest? That's fun!" Emil. Rebel without a cause. Will not hesitate to kill you if you trespass on his property. (Might explain the statues in the courtyard, actually.) I'll have to double-check this dialogue because I definitely remember more of a melancholia before we get to roasting marshmallows. I think Papa Nier actually offers to talk to/implicitly threaten the villagers to let them in the Village whereas Brother offers to sleep outside with them... which is actually kind of funny. In the former it comes off as Emil and Kaine maybe kinda-sorta not wanting to be allowed in the Village for their own reasons (they're not happy reasons but they're reasons nonetheless) and reassuring Father that no, it's okay, it's fun! The latter is almost telling Brother to stay inside because he'll ruin their sleepover.

(They're absolutely having giggly girl talk about him outside the gates, 100%.) they ran over the seals All I want in Seafront is to enjoy the music and run out to the big beach and hang out with the last living seals and they put a fucking pirate ship on top of them. Oh, wow. Gideon. Wow. OG Nier featured a Gideon that tried to keep himself together and then had fits of mania. You'd be concerned about him during some of the dialogue but generally speaking he came across as... functional. The delivery on all of his lines is now so insanely murder bonkers, like every line he's addressing you like you're already chained to the wall of his serial killer dungeon and it's glorious. I don't know if the distinction between the games is deliberate (in that Gideon in Gestalt was just more even-keeled between his 'rip 'em apart' snarlings and was always just totally nutso in RepliCant) but I do appreciate it. It's a good mirror to Brother Nier's own anger, which only ever seems to be mollified when he's talking to his friends (even kindly accepting sidequests there's a pretty consistent -- not universal, but consistent -- air of barely-bridled frustration). The other characters that Brother encounters are various reflections of himself if things had just been a little different-- Gideon was a representation of the kind of obsessive madness that would have eaten Brother alive if he hadn't had his network of support. Gideon's constant fury and bloodlust even bleeds into him just saying "What can I do for you?" He has no anchor to keep himself sane, nobody to stay human for; he's all mania, all anger, and he only takes any real interest in Brother on his return because he sees an opportunity to act out his vengeance. After defeating Beepy and Kalil he even goes so far as to not only blame Beepy for killing Jakob, but for also killing their mother, which is patently insane but really speaks to how far his justifications and fury have taken him. Papa Nier responds to his anger toward Beepy by basically backing away slowly and saying "Oookay then". Brother, however, actually commiserates; "That's enough. [...] We get it. We really do." This is definitely one of those moments where Brother's context works better than Father's; he absolutely sees himself in Gideon. He completely understands him and sympathizes. He recognizes the madness of his own quest, he sees where it could take him, and there's a resignation when he speaks to Weiss: "Revenge is a fool's errand." "...yeah." Papa Nier has a similar delivery and similarly implies that he understands how terrible his quest is, but there's something decidedly haunting in Brother's sympathy. Also just verifying something on the wiki and this bit of 'Trivia' really jumped at me:

Gideon is the only character to only cause the deaths of other characters. In his case, he caused a platform to crush Jakob and ordered the deaths of P-33 and Kalil, with P-33 surviving.

Metal AF.

#NieR #NieR Replicant #Rambling #He will always say 'here we go' in my heart #And that's probably a serious medical condition

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zutarasecrettunnel · 3 years

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OK I did it I updated my Zutara Week chapter fic. This idea was inspired by the Day 6 prompt for this year, "Spirits".

Story summary:

The war is over for everyone but Katara, who keeps seeing the scarred face of the boy who sacrificed himself for her and for the world everywhere she looks. When she finds out why she is experiencing these so-called hallucinations, she may be led right into a trap centuries in the making.

Here's chapter 2 of Your Face, I See.

You can also read it on AO3.

Teardrops marked her path like breadcrumbs as she made her way through the empty streets of the Fire Nation capitol. She raced toward the palace, desperate to believe that what propelled her was just another hallucination, albeit much more terrifying this time. She wasn't even sure the voice that sounded so much like Yue had been real. Why had she talked about Tui and La? Why had her visions of Zuko intensified? Why could she now hear his voice? She was convinced that her mind was lost, reduced to ash by the flames of Sozin's comet.

Katara threw open one of the grand, heavy doors of the palace. Her feet pounded into the lacquered wood floor, aching with each impact. Her breath was frayed, lungs inflating jaggedly as she struggled to take in the breaths needed to recover from her long, swift escape. Her passage through the daunting royal halls was blighted by tears and dim torchlight. She wiped at her eyes pointlessly as she pressed on.

The many-legged monstrosity had not followed her. She ran from her fear, her grief, and her doubt. She ran aimlessly, toward nothing in particular. She ran straight into something solid but soft.

"Master Katara?"

At first she didn't want to hear another voice, but when it's owner registered in her mind, she turned her chin upward to meet the surprised gaze of Fire Lord Iroh. His face was gaunt but kind, his half-illuminated expression full of concern. She blinked slowly, finally able to gain some clarity in her blurred vision. This was the first time she had seen this man since the joyless coronation ceremony held shortly after the end of the Hundred Years War. He had used the duties of the crown to avoid the younger war heroes almost completely, only holding audience with Aang and even then infrequently. The reluctant ruler had lost his lust for life with the loss of his nephew. He operated only in duty now.

He gazed at her, confused at her sudden appearance in a misplaced palace hallway. At her silence, he tried again.

"Master Katara? What are you doing in this part of the palace, especially so late at night?" His tone was doleful and flat, but not accusatory. He sounded tired, and uncharacteristically old.

She tried to maintain the facade she had so carefully cultivated over the recent months. She tried to reinforce the levies of her fears and sadness. With the sound of Iroh's broken spirit, the waterbender was overcome. Her emotion spilled over the dams she had built like a tidal wave.

She launched herself at the man's midsection, burying her face in the silk of his robes. She soaked them with all of her pent up mourning, all of the anguish, consternation and madness. Iroh stood for a moment, unmoving, before finally pulling the crying girl into an empathetic embrace. She sobbed, openly and fiercely, the sounds eventually trying to form words that were finally ready to come out.

"I can't stop seeing him."

Iroh resisted the urge to pull away from the soggy girl at her admission, instead placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. He waited a moment before calmly asking the question he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer to.

"Can't stop seeing who?" It was at that point he felt her tug, removing herself from the sleeve of his robe to look directly at him.

"Zuko."

Iroh took a small step back, regret clear in his features. The suspicion had been present in his mind since the girl spoke her first sopping words to him in the darkness, but to hear it caused his latent guilt to come roaring back to life like a tigerdillo. At the same time, the tidal wave of emotion in Katara had begun to recede. She couldn't continue to meet the old man's forlorn gaze. Her wind-tangled hair fell around her shoulders as she studied the floor.

"He's been haunting me ever since. . ." she paused, sniffling hard, before continuing quietly. "About a week after he. . .after he died."

The aged Fire Lord pondered for a moment. Silence hung between the two figures huddled in the opulence of the royal chambers like the fine tapestries on the wall. Iroh was slow in his words as he responded, returning to the sagely demeanor that had defined his character prior to the end of the war.

"Grief. . .does many things to people," he started, stroking his beard. "It can often feel like a negative spirit hanging over you, or a curse. You most of all were connected to the. . ." the older man lost his words at this point, but regained them after a moment, "the loss we all suffered. You were there. You were. . ."

Katara didn't lift her head or move from the spot as Iroh found himself unable to finish his statement. "In any case, I'm sure you wi-"

The water tribe peasant demonstrated her knowledge of and respect for Fire Nation customs as she pointedly interrupted it's ruler.

"I only see his face, always just staring at me. But tonight he called my name, asking me to help him. Begging me. But this time there was a monster and-" the words tumbled out of her as she faced Iroh again, only coming to a halt when he grabbed her by the shoulder.

"What kind of monster?!" His whisper was a shout in disguise.

"I-it crawled. It had so many legs, like a giant centipede. But it had his face," Katara felt her eyes stinging again as she recounted the features of the miscreation that had poached the scarred visage of the fire prince. "I don't know," she shook her head, hands on either ear, "I didn't look at it too long. I ran straight back here."

The already feeble posture of the lament-laden Fire Lord continued to cave. It was as if Iroh had lost his footing on the thick wood of the palace hall.

He uttered one syllable, his eyes unfocused. "Koh."

Katara let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding on to.

"Who-what is Koh?" she hurled her question more forcefully than she meant to. The possibility that she may not just be going insane had slipped from her weeks ago.

Iroh turned from her, waiting before speaking. "The face stealer, a nefarious spirit," he replied. The wizened old firebender muttered to himself quietly while Katara attempted to process what had already been said.

"A face...stealer?" the information settled into the young girl like a stone in a lake. "You mean it. . .he. . .Zuko. . ."

The waterbender quieted, a different kind of storm brewing inside of her. Her voice was a low rumble when it came from her next.

"Do you mean to tell me that this. . .Koh. . .stole Zuko's face in the spirit world and has been haunting me with it ever since?"

Iroh placed a palm on the crimson painted wall of the palace hallway, steadying himself on this renewed grief.

"It would appear so," he replied softly, sadly.

"So how do we save him?" Again her inquiry was hushed, a murmur of hope too scared to make itself known.

"We don't."

The Fire Lord's voice was a scratch in the darkness as he uttered the short response, as if the words themselves burned in his throat like his element uncontrolled.

The growing thunder in Katara rumbled louder.

"What do you mean 'we don't'?"

"Master Katara," Iroh began, "this spirit is dangerous."

She stared intently at the older man, her lips a thin quivering line of a response not yet ready to be released. In its stead, the tired ruler continued.

"When I was a younger man, after I lost Lu Ten, I entered the spirit world to find him, to bring him back. It took many months of study, and in trying to find my way in, I also found knowledge of Koh the face stealer, a spirit who can take your face if you show any hint of emotion in his presence," he explained, "If you go after him, it will only be to give him your face, too. I do not know of a way to defeat him."

Katara stood firm. The sadness that had hovered over her like a stormcloud for months finally snapped, and the waterbender unleashed the full power of the anger that now coursed through her like the lightning that had been its origin.

"Dangerous? I've been haunted by this spirit for months. I've been seeing Zuko's face everywhere, and I thought it was just guilt, just sadness, just me going crazy because he died saving me. He died saving me and for what?" she cried, her emphatic syllables echoing through the chamber. "For me to do nothing? For me to be afraid? Even if I can't bring him back, I can't leave his spirit like that. He risked it all, his country, his future. . ."

Her words slowed as the tempest within her drained itself. Her voice broke and quieted again as she finished her thought.

"I can at least risk my face. I can at least. . ." She felt her own fingers lightly touching her left cheek as she trailed off.

Her companion waited, ensuring the storm had passed before issuing his decree.

"I forbid it."

The assertion was strong, an uncharacteristic order more suited to the Dragon of the West than the grief-stricken old man he had become.

"You will lose yourself in this doomed quest. Do not try to go after Koh, Master Katara," he softened, adding one final thought to his order. "I will have the fire sages and the healers work to find you a remedy for this influence. You shouldn't see him again."

Tears flowed freely from the girl's eyes as she refused to allow them to look up at the man in front of her.

"I will go to them in the morning, Fire Lord Iroh," she responded weakly, "now I am tired. May I please be excused to my chambers?" He bid her the leave she requested, but not before placing both hands on her shoulders in a gesture of comfort to the wounded girl.

"I promise you will have peace, my dear," he said calmly, his own pain present in his tone, "the sages have access to vast libraries of spiritual knowledge that will be used to heal you of this affliction. "

He barely heard her mutter a thank you before she bowed and quickly made her way down the grand hallway.

#zutara #zutara week 2021 #zutara fanfiction #my fics #zk fanfiction

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prettyinpymtech · 3 years

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If You Don’t Mind

Part 1

Detective!Din Djarin x Fem!Reader (1920s AU)

Summary: When the famed Darksaber is stolen, Bo-Katan employs the help of her best detectives to solve the case.

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of an injury.

A/N: I’ve been watching so many episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries and I was inspired to write a new series for Din! (And yes, I know the GIF is Javier, but that’s kind of the look I imagined for Din when I was writing this.)

MANDALORE’S PRIZED RELIC HAS VANISHED! KRYZE ASSURES THE DARKSABER WILL BE FOUND!

The headline echoed throughout the crowd. Folks from all over town had gathered along the front steps of the museum, ignoring the severe downpour to catch a glimpse of the hectic investigation in front of them. The sight offered very little to observe, but that did not deter the crowd in their quest to find some sort of amusement to share with their friends in conversations afterwards.

Struggling to maintain order among the masses was a young officer stationed at the very top of the steps. He barked his orders and some composure had finally reached the scene, but the officer paced back and forth with concerns that it would not last for long.

And it was exactly why he stood in your way with an outstretched arm when you stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t come in here. There’s been a crime.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I’m here.” The officer did not budge, however, and you offered a business card in his direction. “Y/N L/N, private detective.”

He examined the piece of paper with slight interest and shook his head once more. “Look, ma’am, we already have our best team working on this case.”

“And yet no one has been able to solve the crime.”

The officer immediately turned his attention towards the voice and a tense silence unfolded among the crowd as Bo-Katan emerged. Her repute among the people of Mandalore varied from family to family, but everyone agreed that her presence alone commanded a great deal of respect.

In a brief moment you were escorted inside with little protest, leaving the poor officer alone with his own efforts to keep the people away from the museum.

“Has it been like this all morning?” you asked.

“It’s that damn paper. Some reporter heard all about what happened before the officers even showed up and we had a huge crowd already waiting outside.”

The hallway was a frenzied mess of men and women in uniforms and you tried not to laugh as many of them turned in another direction when they noticed Bo-Katan marching forward. Her crossed expression and fiery red hair certainly stressed her authority, but you had learned to overlook her temper. She was a rather close friend and had been among the first to recognize your efforts as the city’s only female private detective.

“So, what can you tell me?”

“I’m sure you heard most of it by now,” replied Bo-Katan. “Someone broke into the museum last night and when we got here the Darksaber was missing.”

She guided you towards a platform in the middle of the museum’s entrance, where a velvet cushion now sat without a Darksaber to show. The surrounding expanse remained untouched, with no signs of an apparent spontaneous affair. Whoever had done this had made sure to employ both strategy and precision in their efforts.

“Any witnesses?”

“Just the guard that was stationed here last night. You should have seen the bruise she got.” A fierce look overcame Bo-Katan’s expression at the mention of one of her own suffering from an attack. “They ambushed her before she could get a good look at them.”

“Where is she now?”

“I sent her home once the officers finished their questioning.”

With no other witnesses to provide evidence, you asked Bo-Katan for a moment to wander through the hallways to look for clues. She relented in your request, of course, and retreated to her office where a group of reporters were eagerly waiting for her company.

The polished marble walls directed you to a narrow passageway usually reserved for curious guests. There was no one there to admire the paintings of Mandalore in its initial glory and there were no signs of what had occurred the night before. You were just about to return to the front entrance when you caught a glimpse of a man leaning against one of the nearby pillars with a notepad in his hand.

“Morning, detective.”

He didn’t even look up from his notepad. “You’re late.”

You bit your lip in an unsuccessful attempt to hide your smile, amused by his observation. During your first week as a private detective, you had made it a point to arrive to an investigation long before any officers could arrive to interrupt your work. Detective Din Djarin had only expressed slight annoyance in the beginning but, over time, he had accepted your work and had even encouraged others to recognize it as well.

The months that would later follow often found you in Din’s company, though your professions often prevented you from spending too much time together. You refused to complain, however, and found any moment with the detective quite enjoyable.

“Got caught in all of the excitement outside,” you explained. With a teasing smile, you added, “Have you been waiting for me all this time?”

Din rolled his eyes, but he didn’t answer. He only met your gaze with warm brown eyes and a charming smile that always left you feeling dizzy.

“So,” you said, hoping he wouldn’t notice the nervousness in your voice, “what do you have so far?”

He cleared his throat, the professional front returning to his expression. “Not much. The only witness we have is Koska Reeves and she was too shocked to answer any of our questions.”

“There doesn’t seem to be any clues here, either.”

You both decided there was nothing more that could be done and soon walked back to Bo-Katan’s office. She had just finished dismissing the last group of reporters when she took notice of your return. “One of you better have something for me.”

Din gave you a weary look before forcing himself to meet Bo-Katan’s stare. “We’ve looked everywhere, Miss Kryze. There are no signs of any apparent break-in at the front entrance, and the only other way they could have gotten in is through the back door. I think you need to accept that one of your own employees stole the Darksaber.”

“There’s a back door?” you asked.

Bo-Katan nooded. “That’s right. But I already told your friend here that the back door can only be opened from the inside. And Koska would never do something like that.”

Intrigued by this new piece of evidence, you immediately left the office in search of the supply closet. Din and Bo-Katan exchanged inquisitive glances, surprised by your haste, and hurried to follow in your footsteps through the narrow hallways.

The small storeroom was tucked away in the far corner of the museum-a perfect escape from prying eyes. You opened the wooden door, surprised to find it unlocked, and stepped inside to inspect the floor.

“What are you doing?”

You met Bo-Katan’s bewildered stare. “If the back door was used for the crime, and you’re confident that it wasn’t one of your employees, then maybe we should consider that it was one of your guests that committed the crime.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Do you usually keep the supply closet unlocked?”

“We’ve never had any reason to keep it locked.”

“I think someone walked into the museum during visiting hours, hid in the supply room until you closed-“

“And opened the back door for their friends,” finished Din. The same affection from before returned to his eyes as he joined you inside the supply closet to help you search for clues. You were both mindful of the close proximity and he had reached for your hand more than once to prevent your fall after bumping into each other, though you could hardly voice any complaints for his warm touch.

Shocked as she was from the newfound implication, Bo-Katan watched the two of you exchange apologies with amusement in her eyes. Such obliviousness among Mandalore’s best detectives was certainly an entertaining spectacle and she was just about to comment on your unawareness when you lifted something in your hands.

It was a round pin no bigger than a coin, with black lines etched onto its white surface. You presented it to Din as he cursed at the sight of it. “Do you recognize it?”

You had never seen such rage fill his eyes as he stared at the pin. “It was one of Gideon’s boys.”

“Gideon?”

“He belongs to the Galactic Empire, a cruel band of ruffians that like to cause trouble here in Mandalore,” answered Bo-Katan. “He’s been trying to steal the Darksaber for years. We haven’t heard from him in so long that I almost believed he had given up his irrational claim. I shouldn’t have been so foolish.”

A number of questions gathered on your tongue, but in that moment a reporter rushed in with a few questions of his own, and Bo-Katan was obliged to respond to his demands.

She met your stare with an all too familiar ire in her eyes. “That Darksaber has been in my family for generations. I have no idea what Gideon wants with it, but I can’t imagine it’s good. Please promise me you will find it.”

“I promise we’ll do everything we can.”

It wasn’t quite as reassuring as you wished it could be, but the words were enough to comfort Bo-Katan before she turned to greet her correspondent. Determined not to disappoint her, you returned your gaze to Din with a fierce resolve.

“So, where do we start?”

He shook his head. “I’m going to go down to the station and see what I can find. I’ll give you a call if something comes up, but I think you should let me handle this for now.”

“That’s it? I thought we were going to solve this case together.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Is this about your officers?” It was no secret that many of Din’s colleagues disapproved of your collaboration with their renowned detective when it came to imperative cases. But Din had never allowed such critiques to interfere with his work and you could not comprehend why he was so hesitant to accept your offer. “I’m sure they’d be willing to allow my company this one time-“

“It’s not them I’m worried about.”

You scoffed at his remark. “I can handle myself just fine, detective.”

“I know you can, but if you take this case then you’re putting yourself in more danger than any one person should have to face.”

“And who’s going to look out for you?”

Din didn’t answer your question and instead stepped closer. The close proximity surprised you, but you could not force yourself to evade his presence as you caught a glimpse of something so familiar and earnest in his stare. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but with a shake of his head he stepped back and a look of doubt immediately overcame his features.

“I’ll give you a call if something comes up,” he repeated and soon left you alone without another glance in your direction.

You were too stunned to discern his manner and you decided that you would have to solve the mystery on your own, with the pin in your hands to serve as your only clue.

#the mandalorian x reader #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #din djarin #star wars imagine

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