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soralinklokidottirofmirkwood · 2 years ago

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The Hobbit x baby elf reader (both male and female versions.)

Age: newborn after the eagles saved them from Azog the Company meets one of the greatest treasures in Middle Earth who happens to be the prince/princess of a rare species of elves.

These are fanfics from my old wattpad account I had trouble with the verification process it won’t let me comment, post or reply so I had to delete it but I managed to start a new with tumblr I saved my fanfics from my old wattpad on the notes app.

Male version:

No one's POV:

The company of Thorin Oakenshield had continued their Journey to Erebor after Thorin had recovered from his injuries. As they are in an open field they are shocked to find what appeared to be a battle field, dead orcs, wargs and elves with normal and unusual hair colors. From the looks of it there were no survivors that is to the eyes of men.

They began picking up the bodies to bury the elves so they can be put to rest but doing so the sound of crying is heard, Bilbo walks over to the dead couple a she elf with silver hair and a fair complexion, holding her protectively was a male elf he assumes is her husband with midnight blue hair and a tan complexion. the crying seems to be coming from them, when he got closer he saw something moving through the she elf's arms "Ohh my." He said gently moving her arms to reveal a bundle of white blanket.

Bilbo managed to remove the bundle from the corpse but when he did so the crying got louder. He moved the blanket reveling to his, the dwarves and Gandalf's surprise a baby elf! A male elf to be precise he looked just like the male they assume was his father but his hair faded to pastel blue at the tips. When Bilbo held him the little boy opened his eyes to reveal that he had two different eye colors, one eye was the color of starlight while the other was the color of amethyst. Thorin was enhanced by those eyes that held so much innocence and curiosity within them. He was a sucker for children and he had heard that elves couldn't reproduce very often like dwarves and that they are very protective of their young like dwarves "By my beard! Your a pretty thing aren't you little one?." Gandalf asked picking up the child who was looking around in curiosity "We should take him with us." Thorin said "Even thought he's an elf he's just a child who just lost he's family." Dwalin said placing a hand on the elflings head earning a squeal from him "What's that on his wee neck?" Ori asked. Gandalf saw a gorgeous silver crescent moon necklace with a sapphire around the boys neck and gasped "A pendant of power. You are the prince of the moonlight elves my boy." Gandalf said holding the boy protectively making the dwarves gasp "I thought they disappeared centuries ago after the war in the first age." Balin said eyeing the necklace around the child's neck "The boy is more special then I thought." Dori said "I think the boy has a name though. Look at his blanket." Oin said pointing to the blanket. Thorin took the corner of the blanket to see a name Y/N engraved in F/C threading "Y/N I like it." Bilbo said smiling fondly at the elfling.

Not wanting to waist anymore time the company continue their journey to Erebor with their newest addition in Gandalf's arms. The boy was a true angel, he slept the whole night, he was only fussy if he was hungry, needed a change or a nap but he seems to have a severe trauma with orcs after they killed his parents and the guards with them when they saw Orcs on the cliff side.

After they arrived at Beorn's home Y/N seemed to be fond of the skin changer dual to his size "Hello little fawn." Beorn said gently holding Y/N who was squealing from the butterfly on his little nose "Your very energetic Y/N." Beorn said letting out a deep chuckle. The company arrived to Mirkwood in order to get to Erebor but they had to stay on the path. Fili, Kili and Ori were watching Y/N with Fili holding him while the two brothers and youngest dwarf made you laugh.

All was peaceful until the spiders attacked.

Thorin held you protectively after Bilbo cut them all free but Bilbo was no where in sight anymore like he just disappeared and all Morgoth fell lose when the woodland elves came and killed the rest of the spiders and take them in for questioning "My prince they have a child!" one of the elves said taking you from Thorin "What are you doing with a child filth?" The blond asked taking you into his arms! When he did he removed the blanket to see to his surprise that your an elfling "DID YOU KIDNAPPED THIS CHILD?" He shouted to the dwarves upsetting you "Legolas please." A she elf with red hair said "I'm sorry little one." Legolas said gently cradling you thus calming you down "We shall move out." Legolas said carrying you "You have beautiful eyes little one." Legolas said "Look at his hair." A black haired elf said pointing to your midnight blue fading to pastel blue hair making Legolas look at it as well "So unusual." He said running his fingers through your hair while you just poked his cheek in curiosity like the innocent little bean you are "HE'S SO CUTE." A she elf gushed at you making you giggle at the attention you where receiving earning chuckles from the adult elves.

When you reached Mirkwood palace

you received more attention although you didn't like to many eyes on you so you whimpered "What's wrong little one?" Legolas asked hearing and seeing your discomfort "Oh it's ok little brother." He said with a smile 'I hope Ada will be gentle with him.' Legolas thinks to himself walking to the throne room after his father finished interrogating Thorin Oakenshield. Legolas stops in front of massive double doors with two guards blocking them, upon seeing him the guards bowed and opened the door for him. Once he was inside the Throne room Legolas sees his father. King Thranduil sitting on his throne with his signature bored expression until he saw you in his sons arms "That child." Thranduil said in awe getting up from his throne and slowly walking towards you and Legolas. He gently placed his hand on your head making you giggle from how big his hand is compared to your little head earning a small smile from the king as he gently took you from the prince "Where did you come from little one." He asked looking into your starlight silver and amethyst purple eyes until his eyes landed on your necklace "You are of the moonlight elves." He said holding it in his palm as you cooed at him until a growl came from your stomach making you whimper once again "Ohh don't cry little brother." Legolas said while a maid came in with a glass bottle of elks Milk in hand.

Thranduil takes the bottle and begins feeding you then burps you.

With your stomach full you fell asleep in the kings warm arms making him smile warmly at how tiny you are in his arms "Good night little star." He said gently kissing your head as he watches you close your eyes with a little squeak.

The next morning Bilbo managed to free the dwarves and grab you without the elves seeing him with help from his lucky (cursed) ring of course.

Long story short in Laketown Bard and his children love you, When Smaug attacked Sigrid held you the whole time, during the battle of the Five Armies you stayed with the Bardlings, after the battle everyone survives and makes peace, Thranduil adopts you as his new son after Legolas heads out to find Strider, Thorin and Thranduil mended the alliance between Elves and dwarves and as for you. You became the new prince of Mirkwood after Thranduil adopted you and everyone is wrapped around you chubby little finger.

Female Version.

No one's POV:

Bilbo managed to remove the bundle from the corpse but when he did so the crying got louder. He moved the blanket reveling to his, the dwarves and Gandalf's surprise a baby elf! A female elf to be precise she looked just like the female who they assumed was her mother but with her father’s hair and skin and her hair faded to pastel blue at the tips. When Bilbo held her the little girl opened her eyes to reveal that she had two different eye colors, one eye was the color of starlight while the other was the color of amethyst. Thorin was enhanced by those eyes that held so much innocence and curiosity within them. He was a sucker for children and he had heard that elves couldn't reproduce very often like dwarves and that they are very protective of their young like dwarves "By my beard! Your a pretty thing aren't you little one?." Gandalf asked picking up the child who was looking around in curiosity "We should take her with us." Thorin said "Even thought she's an elf she's just a child who just lost her family." Dwalin said placing a hand on the elflings head earning a squeal from her "What's that on her wee neck?" Ori asked. Gandalf saw a gorgeous silver crescent moon necklace with a sapphire around the girls neck and gasped "A pendant of power. You are the princess of the moonlight elves my girl." Gandalf said holding the girl protectively making the dwarves gasp "I thought they disappeared centuries ago after the war in the first age." Balin said eyeing the necklace around the child's neck "The girl is more special then I thought." Dori said "I think the girl has a name though. Look at her blanket." Oin said pointing to the blanket. Thorin took the corner of the blanket to see a name Y/N engraved in F/C threading "Y/N I like it." Bilbo said smiling fondly at the elfling.

Not wanting to waist anymore time the company continue their journey to Erebor with their newest addition in Gandalf's arms. The girl was a true angel, she slept the whole night, she was only fussy if she was hungry, needed a change or a nap but she seems to have a severe trauma with orcs after they killed her parents and the guards with them when they saw Orcs on the cliff side.

After they arrived at Beorn's home Y/N seemed to be fond of the skin changer dual to his size "Hello little fawn." Beorn said gently holding Y/N who was squealing from the butterfly on her little nose "Your very energetic Y/N." Beorn said letting out a deep chuckle. The company arrived to Mirkwood in order to get to Erebor but they had to stay on the path. Fili, Kili and Ori were watching Y/N with Fili holding her while the two brothers and youngest dwarf made you laugh.

All was peaceful until the spiders attacked.

Thorin held you protectively after Bilbo cut them all free but Bilbo was no where in sight anymore like he just disappeared and all Morgoth fell lose when the woodland elves came and killed the rest of the spiders and take them in for questioning "My prince they have a child!" one of the elves said taking you from Thorin "What are you doing with a child filth?" The blond asked taking you into his arms! When he did he removed the blanket to see to his surprise that your an elfling "DID YOU KIDNAPPED THIS CHILD?" He shouted to the dwarves upsetting you "Legolas please." A she elf with red hair said "I'm sorry little one." Legolas said gently cradling you thus calming you down "We shall move out." Legolas said carrying you "You have beautiful eyes little one." Legolas said "Look at her hair." A black haired elf said pointing to your midnight blue fading to pastel blue hair making Legolas look at it as well "So unusual." He said running his fingers through your hair while you just poked his cheek in curiosity like the innocent little bean you are "SHE'S SO CUTE." A she elf gushed at you making you giggle at the attention you where receiving earning chuckles from the adult elves.

When you reached Mirkwood palace

you received more attention although you didn't like to many eyes on you so you whimpered "What's wrong little one?" Legolas asked hearing and seeing your discomfort "Oh it's ok little sister." He said with a smile 'I hope Ada will be gentle with her.' Legolas thinks to himself walking to the throne room after his father finished interrogating Thorin Oakenshield. Legolas stops in front of massive double doors with two guards blocking them, upon seeing him the guards bowed and opened the door for him. Once he was inside the Throne room Legolas sees his father. King Thranduil sitting on his throne with his signature bored expression until he saw you in his sons arms "That child." Thranduil said in awe getting up from his throne and slowly walking towards you and Legolas. He gently placed his hand on your head making you giggle from how big his hand is compared to your little head earning a small smile from the king as he gently took you from the prince "Where did you come from little one." He asked looking into your starlight silver and amethyst purple eyes until his eyes landed on your necklace "You are of the moonlight elves." He said holding it in his palm as you cooed at him until a growl came from your stomach making you whimper once again "Ohh don't cry little sister." Legolas said while a maid came in with a glass bottle of elks Milk in hand.

Thranduil takes the bottle and begins feeding you then burps you.

The next morning Bilbo managed to free the dwarves and grab you without the elves seeing him with help from his lucky (cursed) ring of course.

Long story short in Laketown Bard and his children love you, When Smaug attacked Sigrid held you the whole time, during the battle of the Five Armies you stayed with the Bardlings, after the battle everyone survives and makes peace, Thranduil adopts you as his new daughter after Legolas heads out to find Strider, Thorin and Thranduil mended the alliance between Elves and dwarves and as for you. You became the new princess of Mirkwood after Thranduil adopted you and everyone is wrapped around you chubby little finger.

#mirkwood elves #platonic #the hobbit #legolas #thranduil #tauriel #king thorin #baby reader #bilbo baggins #the company of thorin oakenshield #gandalf #female child readers #male child readers

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merlot-and-chardonnay · 3 months ago

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A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 66

Masterlist

Chapter 65

Brief content warning for allusions to casual frat bro brand homophobia (you'll know it when you read it).

------------King's Landing: the Red Keep---------

You sang a soft elven lullaby, effectively putting the children into a trance until they fell asleep just in time for their afternoon nap, even if they did not understand the words.

While this arrangement was a far cry from your last one- that one heavily involving you being tormented and assaulted against your will at the hands of the Rogue Prince- it didn't exactly change the fact that once again, you had become something of a prisoner in the Red Keep. While Aegon and Otto haven't explicitly stated that you were a prisoner, there was the unspoken fact that Aemma was on their opposing side, and if you didn't tow the line, you could very well end up being treated as a hostage, one to use over Aemma's head if to force her to renounce her loyalties to Rhaenyra.

You honestly couldn't give a care who would ultimately sit the Iron Throne if a civil war were to break out. After everything you've been through, after the literal hell you've been subjected to at the hands of Daemon and his family, none of that meant anything to you anymore...but you had a feeling that it probably meant something to your daughter, as she was still part of this family.

Only time would tell.

You walk out of the nursery as the nursemaids came in to carry the children to their beds and tuck them for their nap. No doubt that once they wake, little Jaehaerys would be expecting the Lady Lark to sing to him.

Look, he's a cute kid and all, but he was starting to get a little too demanding with his singing requests and it's barely been three days since you were brought into service again. The cute factor was starting to wear thin, and it hasn't exactly been helped that his father had stopped by every now and again during the days and actively encourage you to play for his son, even if you had exceeded the number of songs you could go through in a day. Even a young Rhaenyra wasn't this demanding as this little boy, whom was presumed to be the heir to the Iron Throne.

You lean against the door, feeling you were at your wits end, and starting to hope Aemma was doing better at Dragonstone or wherever she was at this moment. You may have heard from word of mouth that a dragon that matches Cirillia's description was seen flying towards the North, making you assume Aemma may have gone in that direction. No one has deigned to tell what it could mean, but part of you remembered exactly what and who resided in the North. If Aemond was sent to Storm's End to broker a marriage between himself and one of Lord Baratheon's daughters, it was safe to assume Aemma was sent with similar intentions, by Rhaenyra, to broker a marriage with the current Warden of the North (you do have some vague memories of meeting the late Lord Stark when he was summoned to King's Landing to acknowledge Rhaenyra as Viserys' heir).

If that was indeed the case, you could only hope this Lord Stark wasn't as chauvinistic or emotionally constipated as you've made Aemond out to be.

Right on cue, you see a familiar figure approach you, a nervous and absentminded look on his face. "Ivan," you greet the half-elf, taking him by surprise. "Oh ah, Lady Lark, uh I mean (y/n), I mean-" "You can call me by my familiar name if you want," you assure the knight. "Alright then," Ivan nods, "when exactly did you get here?" "About three days ago," you tell him, "His Grace has appointed me personal troubaritz to his children...and he has appointed my brother as the new court jester." "Oh Seven Hells," Ivan mutters.

"Are you okay, Ivan, you were a little jumpy back before," you point out. "I am as well as I can be, my lady," Ivan assures, "I just...a lot has happened recently and...it just feels so overwhelming." "I can understand that," you say with empathy, "so, I take it you are now sworn to protect the king and his family." "That is what the oath I swore to the Kingsguard dictates," Ivan confirms, "the king...or perhaps the queen..."

You look back and forth, knowing the walls might have ears, "you may want to take care what you say," you warn, "don't want anyone accusing you of treason." "I am well aware," Ivan huffs in frustration. "Ivan, what's wrong?" "Nothing is wrong!" Ivan exclaims, "I...I just, *sigh* forgive me, my lady. I need to tend to my duties."

You were taken aback as Ivan hastily departed from your presence. You wondered whatever was going on, the half-elf would be able to sort it out before it consumes him. Part of you wondered if it had to do with Ivan's clandestine trip the brothel the day you and Jaskier arrived at King's Landing, wondering if someone had caught Ivan and had possibly made threats to expose him...or if perhaps him keeping his elven blood secret for as long as he was starting to to get to him. It wasn't exactly a healthy thing having to suppress a natural part of one's identity for the sake of self-preservation. If one did it for too long, it would start to eat them from the inside out.

"What's going on with Ivan?" you hear Jaskier question as he approached. You look to see your brother was dressed up in the court jester ensemble, having to look the part as well as playing it. "I wish I knew," you say, "how about you? How are things going as the king's royal fool?"

"*sigh* I...I don't want to talk about it," Jaskier huffs. "That bad huh?" "Worse," Jaskier exasperates, "I don't just have to perform for His Royal Highness, I have to also perform for his...lickspittle fraternity knights. The way these BOYS behave, it's giving me traumatic flashbacks to when I came across similar sorts back at the Oxenfurt Academy. If I have to put up with another casual sword/sausage swallowing joke at my expense, I am going to lose it." "You haven't exactly kept it a secret that you do on occasion swallow swords," you point out. "That is different," Jaskier points out, "that was self-deprecating humor that IN NO WAY punched down on others more put upon than myself. Ugh, I swear, these people, I just...ugh!"

You sigh, understanding your brother's frustration, "hang in there, Julian," you try to assure, "We'll get out of this one way or another. I figure it doesn't take too much to entertain the king and his sycophants." "Oh no, not at all," Jaskier assures, "again, fraternity knight mentality, low brow humor that panders to the lowest common denominator is all it takes to bring the house down with this sort. Especially after they've consumed a copious amount of wine and mead to the point where they are belching their lungs out and passing out...I just really wish they wouldn't blow them at my face."

"Oh Julian, I am so sorry," you lean into Jaskier, giving him a comforting hug, "my big brother is really struggling right now, it seems." "You say that, but you don't really mean it," Jaskier deadpans, "what about you? How are you enjoying you new position as nanny?" "I'd enjoy it more if the heir to the Iron Throne wasn't demanding the same damn song a hundred times in a row," you deadpan back, "Even Laenor and Laena Velaryon weren't this demanding with the sea shanties."

"I don't suppose there is any chance Aemma will be able to get us out of this mess," Jaskier brings up, "or hey, why not try and figure out a way to send a message to Geralt to help us out...again." "*sigh* I don't think it will happen this time" you lament, "we're on our own for now, brother."

"*sigh* I was afraid of that," Jaskier sulks. "I'm just glad I'm not alone this time around," you say.

At that moment, you hear Aegon laughing with whom you assumed to be the fraternity bro knights as he walked down the corridor your way, making Jaskier stand straight. "If he asks, I'm not here!" your brother hastily flees in the other direction.

You were about to call out to Jaskier, not wanting to deal with those lickspittles on your own, but to your somewhat relief, it was only Aegon. "Your Grace," you greet with a light curtsy. "Lady Lark," Aegon greets back, "I take it my children are taking their naps." "Yes, Your Grace," you confirm.

"Hmm," Aegon tilted his head lightly, "usually it takes a little longer for them to fall asleep at this time of day. Jaehaera especially. But it seems your siren's calls have a certain effect over her and her brothers." You steel yourself, not sure what Aegon was thinking of as he looked you up and down. You hadn't seen Aegon since he was still a baby. But a lot has changed in 16 years...and you still weren't sure what and who Aegon has grown up to be, all you knew was that the Hightowers made him king, that he married his younger sister and had children with her...and he had a strong penchant for excess cups of wine every now and then.

"Will you walk with me, Lady Lark?" Aegon requests. Him being king, you didn't exactly have much choice but to accept his request and follow, wondering what Aegon would have to ask of you.

-----------------Storm's End---------------

"I hope accommodations have been to your liking, my prince," Floris Baratheon says as she takes a seat next to Aemond, and though Aemond could not see the woman as she was sitting in his blind spot, the prince could sense she was doing her best to be as sultry as possible.

Aemond couldn't blame Floris, or any of her sisters for that matter, as they vied for his hand. To wed a prince would be considered the highest honor. On the far end of the dinning table sat Lord Borros Baratheon himself, looking towards the prince as he expectedly waited for Aemond to make his decision on which one of Borros' daughters he would wed.

Internally, Aemond wished it wouldn't have come to this. He had no desire to marry any of the Baratheon daughters, but it was expected of him. Otto had made it clear, they needed Borros' support, and seeing how ambitious and power hungry the Lord of Storm's End was rumored to be, securing an alliance in the form of a marriage pact was the best way to go about it.

"Any of the four will do," Aemond's grandsire told him, "woo her and wed her, and Lord Borros will deliver the Stormlands for your brother..." Aemond had refused at first, making it clear he had no desire to wed any woman except for his cousin Aemma. "Princess Aemma is a traitor to the realm," Otto had pointed out, "she made that clear the day she fled King's Landing with the Princess Rhaenys. I showed leniency when I offered terms to your half-sister to broker a betrothal between you and her eldest stepdaughter. But so far, the princess Rhaenyra has given no answer...and now there have been whispers the traitor princess has sent ravens to the other Great Houses, to Riverrun, the Eyrie, Winterfell, and Storm's End. We can only assume Rhaenyra and her followers have made their choice and acted accordingly...now we must do the same." "Grandsire-" "You will fly to Storm's End," Otto spoke with finality and authority, "you will treat with Lord Borros and offer to broker a marriage pact between any of his daughters. End of conversation."

And when Aemond refused to budge from his stance and remain in his chambers in King's Landing, Alicent was the one who coaxed Aemond to make the flight to Storm's End, when she brought up that two dragons had been spotted flying towards the North...one of those dragons was confirmed to be Cirillia.

Upon hearing those words, Aemond had to assume Rhaenyra had Aemma fly North with either Jace or Luke, most likely to broker a marriage pact with the Lord of Winterfell. Aemond didn't even want to consider the remote possibility that Aemma would actually offer herself to Cregan Stark as a potential suitor...he refused to believe Aemma would willingly lay with any of those unrefined, Northern brutes, even if it would accomplish securing an alliance for whom she believed to be the true monarch of Westeros.

No, Aemond thought to himself...Aemma would never be willing. It was all Rhaenyra's- and probably Daemon's- doing. Aemond remembered what Otto told him when he returned to King's Landing, what Daemon said in response to the offer to broker a marriage between Aemond and Aemma (though Otto used less crude words then what Daemon had responded with).

In some ways, it almost felt like history was repeating itself; Aemond professes his love for Aemma, to which Aemma agrees to wed him when the time was right...only for Daemon to interfere in some way and form plans to send Aemma off to wed someone else.

The North is so far away...did Aemma inform either Daemon or Rhaenyra of hers and Aemond's dalliance the night before the coup? Was she sent to the North to wed Lord Stark as some kind of twisted way to get her as far away from Aemond as possible? It had to be, there was no other explanation.

Aemma wasn't like one of those women of the night from the Street of Silk. She is a princess and was a maiden when he laid with her the first time, she wouldn't give herself to any man except the one she loved (again, keeping in mind Aemond doesn't know about Aemma's Continental trysts during their six years apart). Sure, they weren't married when they laid together that night, but Aemma made it clear that she reciprocated Aemond's love and affection and had expressed a desire to wed him the morning after. It had been meant to be.

If only Aemma hadn't been led astray by Rhaenyra's poisonous influence that came between her and Aemond.

So here Aemond was now, at Storm's End, treating with Lord Borros Baratheon, who was more than happy to welcome Aemond into his home with feasts and tourneys and hunting parties, all with the expressed hope that Aemond would choose one of his daughters to wed and become part of the Royal Family.

With the knowledge of where Aemma likely was at this moment, Storm's End was the last place Aemond wanted to be. Internally, he desperately wanted to take Vhagar up North to catch up with Aemma and Cirillia, hopefully before they reached Winterfell, and drag Aemma back to King's Landing with hopes that maybe this time he could get Aemma to see reason. He didn't care if Aemma would be too stubborn to accept that Aegon is the true ruler, he would do whatever it took to keep Aemma at his side, even if he needed to confine her to her rooms and chain her to the bedpost until she accepted the truth of it all. She may not forgive him for that...but perhaps any anger she would hold would eventually be swayed when they married and Aemond would make good on his promise to take her to Toussaint afterwards. He would even suggest her mother and uncle and even the witcher come visit while they were there to sweeten the deal.

In the present, Aemond held a look of indifference as the Baratheon ladies continued to vie for his hand even after that the meal was concluded. He would need to choose a girl eventually. Aemond has already been here longer than was necessary, and he couldn't stall for much longer.

The prince was sorely tempted to just stop this charade altogether, put an end to this endless peacocking, tell Lord Borros to fuck off, and take Vhagar and fly North to reach Aemma and fight off whichever of her stepbrothers had accompanied her so as to break Rhaenyra's hold over her by professing his undying love for her.

Instead, Aemond looked to the women. When the prince was first welcomed to Storm's End, Borros had been quick to introduce Aemond to the man's daughters. Cassandra is the eldest, though Borros insisted Floris was the prettiest of his daughters. There was also Maris, whom Borros recommended if Aemond wished for a clever wife. Aemond had internally scoffed at that; he could have found a pretty AND clever wife in Aemma. But Aemma was not here.

So, making eye contact with the Lord of Storm's End, Aemond informed the man he had decided he would choose to broker a marriage with his daughter Floris. Borros didn't seem all that surprised when Aemond made this announcement, probably figuring Floris' attractiveness and feminine wiles had already given her a leg up over the rest of her sisters.

At this point, storm clouds were gathering outside. Part of Aemond hoped Vhagar was fairing well outside, no doubt the old girl would be happy to return to King's Landing after this. The feeling was mutual for Aemond, but he was still held up by Borros, who was now trying to get Aemond to set a date for the wedding while also negotiating the dowry. Again, Aemond was sorely tempted to roll his eye, end this charade, and tell Borros to fuck off. But he held his tongue and allowed the man to continue with the negotiations.

To Aemond's relief, one of the knights approached Borros, letting him know a messenger had just arrived...from Dragonstone. The messenger was let in, and Aemond saw exactly who it was...Lucerys Velaryon, also known as the Strong boy who took Aemond's eye back on Driftmark the night he claimed Vhagar.

Aemond kept a cool gaze, though he was internally seething. Yes, he was still furious at Luke for taking his eye and getting away with it...but he was also angry at Luke- or more specifically at that bastard's mother- for taking Aemma away from him, for leading her astray, for making her turn traitor and making her turn down a marriage prospect with him in favor of sending her North to woo and wed Lord Stark instead.

Since Aemond couldn't direct that particular rage and hatred at his half sister...he would instead target that same hatred at his eye-taking bastard nephew.

-------Winterfell-----------

It was the Hour of the Wolf.

Aemma was sound asleep beneath the furs in her guest chambers when she felt herself drift into the dream realm. When she opened her eyes, the princess found herself in a place between space and time.

Realizing what was going on, Aemma was quick to look around, expecting Ciri would be present to speak to her as they have done once before. She had some hopes that perhaps Ciri would inform her of the vision she saw that concerned Aemond and what he was fixing to do in the near future.

"Ciri?" Aemma calls out. No answer. Aemma searched in all directions, hoping the person she was looking for was present.

"Ciri?!"

"Caedmill, Silverlark," a familiar male voice finally catches Aemma's attention. Aemma jumped lightly, turning to face the elven sage. "You," Aemma's expression turns sour when she made eye contact with Avallac'h, "where is Ciri?" "You need not worry for Zireael," Avallac'h assures, keeping a stoic appearance, "for a change of pace, I have taken it upon myself to open the connection between us while she keeps watch for the Red Riders."

"How nice of you," Aemma deadpans, sensing this might be Avallac'h's way of keeping Ciri from speaking to Aemma concerning that vision she had about Aemond.

Avallac'h in response maintained his stoic appearance, one that Aemma could not decipher. "I know we share a mutual acquiescence in Ciri," the elf speaks, "but I do not believe we have properly been introduced." "Is that really necessary?" Aemma huffs. "It is," Avallac'h insists, "my name is Crevan Espane aep Caomhan Macha, but for the sake of simplicity, I go by the alias-" "Avallac'h," Aemma finishes, "a sage of the Aen Elle. I know."

"More than a sage," Avallac'h corrects, "I am what the Aen Elle refer to as Aen Saevherne, a Knowing One." "Well then," Aemma says, "what things does a Knowing One know of, if I may ask?" "Many things," Avallac'h simply states, "none of which concerns you at the moment, save for what is relevant to our present objective." "Does that include the vision Ciri saw of the man of love?" Aemma challenges, "do you consider that irrelevant to me? Or is it irrelevant to our current objective?"

"Have you reached the Wall yet?" Avallac'h asks as if he didn't even hear what Aemma just asked.

"No," Aemma shakes her head, clearly frustrated that the elf just blatantly ignored her, "I am at Winterfell right now. I was sent to treat with the Warden of the North to broker a betrothal with him."

"I see..." Avallac'h mutters, before addressing Aemma directly, "time functions differently in this space then it does in your world or in mine. There is no way of telling when Cirilla and I will reach the same location. You must not delay, Silverlark. I would urgently insist you continue your journey up North without further delay."

"Urgently insist," Aemma repeats, still thinking back to her last vision, how quick Avallac'h was to end the connection and the way he practically banished Ciri from that dream before she could say anything more. "...did you say similar things to Ciri in Tir na Lia?" Aemma brings up, "prior to forcing her to share a bed with your king?"

"You don't trust me," Avallac'h states, to which Aemma scoffed at the look of offense the elf held on his countenance. "You have given me no reason to," Aemma points out, anger in her eyes, "I've seen what you did to Ciri in my visions. How you held her prisoner, refusing to let her go UNTIL she bore a child with the late king Auberon." "I did NOT hold her prisoner," Avallac'h insists, doing his best to conceal his frustration with Aemma, "I would advise to not let your emotions get in the way of seeing reason. What happened with Zireael and my king was nothing like what your mother was subjected to at the hands of your father."

"What I saw in my vision said otherwise," Aemma scoffs, "Ciri was put in a position where she couldn't refuse, same as my mother." "We made a deal," Avalllac'h explained, "Ciri was meant to pay the debt that was owed to the Aen Elle, courtesy of her descendant, Cregennan of Lod. Only once that debt was paid, would Ciri have been allowed to leave."

Aemma saw a flashback to this Cregennan and Lara Dorren, the way the two met and fell in love, the tragedy that befell them, and the child Lara bore before her untimely passing.

"I take it you saw a vision of Cregennan and Lara Dorren just now," Avallac'h states, bringing Aemma's attention back to him. "You saw?" "Only bits and pieces," the elf admits, "though I did not have to look with your gift, for I was there when it happened. As you can see, it was not pleasant for both parties involved. The Aen Elle lost...a rare jewel that day, along with the Elder Blood...which to my surprise was somehow passed to you by way of Zireael that day in Kaer Morhen."

"You sound surprised," Aemma states. "More or less," Avallac'h reluctantly admits, taking a good look at the princess, "As Aen Saevherne, I have the ability to look into the past AND the future, see many possible different outcomes...but I could never have foreseen what would become of Larra Dorren's gift how it was...mutated, made more perverse than it already was when it was passed to the d'hoine."

"Fuck you too," Aemma sneers, "I never asked to possess your fucking Elder Blood, and as far as I'm concerned, it's been more trouble than it's worth."

"I would advise you say your next words carefully, Silverlark," Avallac'h warns, expression tottering on the side of dangerous. "Pfft, or what?" Aemma scoffs, growing impatient with the elf's arrogance, "you think you know so much, but you clearly don't know everything if YOU couldn't predict that Ciri was capable of passing her gift onto someone else. You can't even predict WHEN you and Ciri are to reach the Wall. Sounds to me that The Knowing One doesn't know so much after all. Must be bitter medicine to swallow if you can't hold such a high honor over those you deem inferior."

Avallac'h charged at Aemma, fast as lightening, catching her off guard as he harshly grabbed her face, pulling her close enough for her to see anger and rage simmering in his grey eyes, "your human emotions are trying my patience," he speaks in a dangerous, low tone, "you speak of things you know nothing of. You know not of what was lost to the Aen Elle, to ME, the day Lara Dorren left this world. You know not of things that are to come, save for what you and Ciri have seen together...you know nothing of how this world will someday be destroyed by the coming of the White Frost."

Aemma struggled to pull herself out of the elf's grasp. "When I caught wind of the mysterious Targaryen princess, what she held inside her essence, I was enraged, I saw it as an affront to Lara's memory," Avallac'h continues, "I had formed plans to find this princess of inbred ancestry...and end her life before her gift would finally come to fruition."

Aemma stopped, a look of terror shown on her face as the elf kept his gaze, a brief flash of the past coming to her to reveal when Ciri challenged Avallac'h the morning after her first night with Auberon, claiming that the deal was done since she laid with the Alder king even though he had done nothing, only for Avallac'h to threaten her and accuse her of defiling Lara Dorren's name by acting the way she was- less like her elven matriarch and more like her human patriarch.

"The only reason I did not follow through was because of Ciri," the elf spoke, a little more calmly this time, "She was the one who made the case that with the proper training, you could hone the mutated Elder gene within you. She made the case that together, you and her could work together to stop the White Frost before it destroys this world and all the others."

Finally, Avallac'h loosened his grip, allowing Aemma to shove him away. "So...the only reason you spared me at all was because I could potentially be useful to you," Aemma realizes, "if this is your way of trying to get me to trust you, you're doing a bad job at that."

"Believe whatever you wish," Avallac'h says, acting as if he didn't just threaten her not more then mere moments ago, "it will not change the fact that if we do not reach the Wall before Eredin does, it could well have potential dire consequences." "...are you referring to the Dance that is to come?" "I am referring to more than that," Avallac'h shakes his head, "I am looking at the bigger picture, beyond the coming Dance of Dragons. Are you willing to do the same, Silverlark? To look beyond your family's squabbles and aid Ciri and myself to save this world and mine as well as the many other worlds that have not yet fallen victim to the bitter cold of the White Frost?"

"I don't even know what the White Frost is," Aemma huffs, "you haven't even told me anything about it." Avallac'h made an abrupt glance to another direction, as if he heard someone or something coming towards them, "in due time," the elf said, "but for now, we have run out of time. You must do what you came to make the journey further North. If not for me, or for the world, then do it for Ciri."

---------------------

Aemma woke with a gasp, eyes wide as she sat upright on the bed. She quickly looked around, sighing in relief when she realized she was still in Winterfell.

Part of her was going back to her vision, what almost transpired with Avallac'h, how quick the elf took offense to the point where he essentially threatened her with bodily harm (though Aemma wondered if that was remotely possible to something like that in a dream state when her physical form was separated)...when he brought up the fact that at one point he had planned to seek her out so as to eliminate her as one would the blight. It was clear the elven sage saw her as useful for now, but before that he had seen her as an abomination, and one that needed to be destroyed so as to preserve the sacred memory of the woman he once loved before losing her to another.

Despite their conversation, Aemma still had no reason to trust Avallac'h, even if he was fighting on the opposing side as Eredin and the Wild Hunt...but she trusted Ciri. And if the world truly was in danger because of this so called White Frost that was supposed to plague this world soon, and if Aemma and Ciri were the only hope of preventing this impending apocalypse, then she would need to put aside whatever uneasy feelings she had for Avallac'h for the time being.

On that cue, the door opened, and Sara walked in, "Oh! My Princess!" the woman exclaims, "thank the gods." "Sara?" "You are awake," Sara says with relief, as she approached Aemma, "we were all starting to worry." "Awake? I don't understand," Aemma frowns a bit, "Why was everyone worried-" "You don't know?" Sara frowned back, "Princess...you were asleep for three days."

"Three days?!" Aemma's eyes widen. Looks like her conversation with Avallac'h was longer than she anticipated. The elf did say time functioned differently in that place between space and time.

"Where...what of Jaecerys?" "He is well," Sara assures, "At least from what I heard." "...what do you mean?" "He...the prince was worried for you when...when you refused to wake," Sara explains, "and...he made it explicitly clear that you were to be well cared for if and when you awake...before him and my lord brother returned." "Returned? From where?" "The Wall," Sara answers, "something has come up there that required my brother's presence. Prince Jaecerys accompanied him on his journey."

Eyes wide, Aemma hastily began to move about the room, "princess?" Sara tries to stop Aemma, "princess you shouldn't exert yourself right now!" "I need to get to the Wall," Aemma insists, hastily gathering her sword and anything else she might need for the journey. "Princess?"

Aemma ignored Sara and kept hastily rushed to the divider to change out of her nightgown, but Sara stopped her, "princess, what is the meaning of this? Why this sudden need to go to the Wall?" Aemma saw the way Sara looked at her, thinking the princess had gone mad. "I...I don't know how to explain it in a way that wouldn't presume you to think me mad then you might already," Aemma admits, "but...I had a vision in my sleep. Something is going to happen there in the near future. I don't know when but it will occur when our brothers are present there. And...I could not foresee their fate..."

Sara's eyes widen, realizing Aemma may have indeed seen the future. "If that is the case..." Aemma gave Sara a surprised look. "I don't know if I should indulge in this madness," the Snow woman admits, "but if what you saw was the future...we should get you prepared then."

Aemma sighed, realizing Sara didn't think her as mad as anticipated. "The boys will already have three days ahead of you if you are to make it on horseback." "I can catch up to them on my dragon," Aemma points out. "Easier said then done, princess" Sara points out, "a late summer snow storm is approaching from further North. I'm not sure what experience your dragon has with snow storms, even light ones such as what is coming."

Aemma sighed, knowing that even though she has experience with snowy weather, Cirillia has never had to brave such obstacles before. As urgent as this all was, she couldn't put her dragon in that kind of position just yet. Sara had a point...Aemma would need to go on horseback. Cirillia could still follow though.

Aemma nods and goes behind the divider to change her clothes.

After a quick breaking of her fast, and quickly packing whatever provisions she would need, Aemma was escorted to the stables and mounted the horse offered to her. "May the Old gods watch over you," Sara bids as farewell. "May Destiny be in our favor," Aemma says back before she guides the horse towards the road to the Wall.

As expected, Cirillia saw Aemma depart from Winterfell, and the she-dragon followed suit. And as expected, as the snow started to fall as Aemma rode further North, the dragon began to slow down- almost to the point where the she-dragon was grounded- not appreciating how much colder it was getting compared to being in Winterfell.

Aemma prayed to the gods- the Old gods specifically- that this was not an omen of the impending arrival of the Wild Hunt.

---------------King's Landing------------------

You stood in anticipation and some trepidation as Aegon led you to the solar in his new chambers, having you take a seat while he went to pour himself some wine.

"I realize I had...not express an apology for the night of our first encounter, Your Grace," you bring up. "Think nothing of it, my Lady," Aegon says with an amused smile, "it's all in the past. I have completely forgotten it. I have no regrets for any decisions I've made concerning you. You seem to be good for my children, Jaehaerys especially. He adores you." "Yes, I...suppose he does," you say, still trying to decipher why Aegon wanted to talk with you in the first place.

You look to see the model of Valyria was there still intact, the same model you've seen Viserys work on every so often whenever you would bring Aemma here to visit him. You had some memories of when Viserys would take Aemma from your arms and sit her on his knee, telling her stories that had survived the Doom and been passed down from their ancestors.

Aegon took notice of the way you stared at the model, "you recognize that?" he asks. "I do, Your Grace," you confirm, looking around, "...I uh, I used to come in here every so often with Aemma, whenever the late King Viserys wished to spend time with his niece."

You took note of the way Aegon's mood turned sour at that statement. He took a considerable gulp of wine in response. "I have yet to decide if I want to keep this in place or not," he admits, taking you by surprise, "Part of me has half a mind to just crush it all into dust."

"I imagined you have some fond memories of this," you say, rather presumably, "I remember your father being borderline obsessed with this passion project of his, to recreate a scale model of Old Valyria to as close to accurate as what the real thing was like before the Doom." "Pfft, my father never bothered to show me any of this," Aegon scoffs, "he never cared for anyone in his family except for Rhaenyra...and Daemon to a certain extent."

Now that took you by surprise even more, "I...I have some trouble believing that, if I'm being honest." "Really?" Aegon scoffed again, taking a smaller gulp of wine this time, "you never noticed how...father fawned over Rhaenyra? Never having bothered to show even an ounce of affection for the rest of us? Nothing I've ever did was good enough for that man. He had 20 years to name me heir, and of course he would change his mind right when he was at death's door. I know deep down...he never liked me."

You frown a bit at that cryptic statement, "I didn't know it was like that," you admit, "forgive me, Your Grace." "You seemed to be under the impression he actually care for me," Aegon notes. "Well, it has been 16 years," you point out, "I'm certain a lot has changed in that time...but from what I have seen, it wasn't always like that." Aegon raised an eyebrow at that particular statement.

"It's just... I remember when your father invited Aemma and myself to King's Landing for your second nameday," you further explain, "I remember when we arrived at the kingswood, how Viserys held you up in his arms for all the lords and ladies to see. How everyone sang your praises. 'Aegon, Second of His Name on his second nameday. It was a joyous occasion for all who attended."

Aegon pondered that memory of yours. He, of course, had no memory of that day, so he would just have to take your word on it. You've given him no reason so far to lie to him, despite being the mother of a traitor.

"You are right on one matter," he says, "a lot had changed since last you were here. I have...no memories of my father showing that kind of love and affection for me as I grew into a man. And mother...well, I suppose she has her own way of...expressing her love for her children."

Again, you were taken by surprise. In some ways you kind of expected Alicent to be a little standoffish in the way she raised her children, given she was practically a child herself when she first became a mother. But to hear how much Viserys neglected the rest of his children, save for the child by his first wife...

"Mother tells me you have been through much," Aegon changes the subject, taking you away from your current train of thought, "she told me that...you did not abandon your daughter of your own volition as...some people in this keep would believe." Conveniently not mentioning that Aegon WAS one of those people, and also leaving out that he had some choice words in the past to describe you that he blatantly said to Aemma's face that resulted in her pulling him by the hair and punching him in the face.

"You loved Aemma?" "...she was my child, your Grace," you point out, "I carried her, I gave birth to her, and I never regretted it. I love her very much."

Aegon was silent for brief moment; there was nothing in your eyes to suggest there was nothing genuine in your statement, "Let me be the first to say express how sorry I am for your loss. Must not be the easiest thing in the world for a mother to be forcibly separated from her child and miss out on watching her grow into a woman."

"Thank you, your Grace." "Please call me by my name," Aegon insists, which surprised you even further. What kind of game was Aegon playing? It wasn't quite like the games Daemon played when he first brought you to court, you didn't exactly have any reason to believe Aegon saw you in that way...but it didn't exactly make you feel any less unsettled. What things have happened in the last 16 years that Aemma had yet to disclose to you when she was growing up? "...if that is what you wish...Aegon."

You could've sworn you saw Aegon smile when you said his name, part of him entertaining what the past could've looked like had you remained in the Red Keep, if you stayed here and raised Aemma...would some of that motherly affection have been given to him when he was growing up?

"Since we are being so familiar with each other," you bring up, "I must confess I was a little surprised you had married your sister Helaena. Last I was here, I was under the impression a betrothal had been brokered between you and my daughter."

Aegon felt himself go pale at that question. What was he to say to that? That his mother called off the betrothal because of that incident? That the reason said incident was incited at all was because of those unsavory words he said to Aemma concerning her mother? Words that made her mother out to be some kind of mutant loving whore that will spread her legs for any man that will have her?

As if the gods had actually sought to take Aegon out of this situation, a dragon's roar reverberated across the skies of King's Landing. Hearing said dragon, Aegon rushed over to the window. It didn't take much effort to realize it was Vhagar returning from Storm's End...along with her rider.

"I'll have to tell you of that story later," Aegon says, relief that he had an excuse, and hoping you would forget his promise on that, "right now, I have to greet my brother and and ensure our alliance with the House Baratheon has been secured."

While Aegon walked out, you look outside to see Vhagar circling the sky several times as she made her descent to the ground.

You didn't know why...but you felt a sense of foreboding from the way the old dragon roared in the sky. It sounded like she was mourning...regretful even, if dragons were even capable of expressing that kind of emotion.

Something in your gut was telling you something bad was going to happen...if it hasn't happened already.

Chapter 67

#hotd #the witcher #house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #oc #jaskier #otto hightower #aemond x oc #lucerys velaryon #jaehaera targaryen #aegon ii #the Lady of Larks #avallac'h #crevan espane aep caomhan macha #sara snow #ciri

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officialleehadan · 3 months ago

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Pack Swiftly

Hello darlings! Today's story was brought to you by Zingowner! Darling, thank you so much for all your support!

Prompt: Forest Fell

+++

Something had gone badly wrong, and nobody was telling Elarria what had happened.

It wasn’t her father. It wasn’t Yalla. It wasn’t her.

It could only be Felmarin.

He wasn’t dead. She would know about that already. Kithali and the bodyguards he hired would have certainly told her if her Elvish lover was dead. They would know before almost anyone else and they wouldn’t keep secrets from her. Felmarin also couldn’t be well either. He hadn’t sent word, through Kithali or anyone else, and had not appeared as he always did for lunch. He was busy, but he never missed a meal with her and Yalla.

And he had not appeared himself.

It was time to take action.

“At my side,” she told the two assassins who were assigned to her protection. She caught the eye of the four assigned to Yalla. Her sister was napping for now, and was entirely enamored with her new playmates. She would be safe while Elarria handled things. “Stay with her. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Yes, Princess,” they agreed, bound now by fondness as much as the oaths Kithali took of them when he hired them. Elarria nodded once, and made for the door. It was time to get some answers.

Her first stop was Kithali’s office.

“What happened?” she asked without preamble and took a seat across from the startled spy. He was a good ally, and one she was glad to have, but she wasn’t about to let him keep information from her, particularly when it had to do with the elf-king. She needed Felmarin, both as an alliance and as the one she was rapidly falling in love with, and she wasn’t about to let him go without a fight. “Where is Felmarin?”

“Only took you three hours to notice. Faster than even my most pessimistic guess. I commend you,” Kithali said. There were stress-lines around his eyes, and he was tense all over. Whatever it was, it was worse than Elarria feared. “What gave it away?”

“He always eats with us in the afternoon,” Elarria said and fixed him with her best glare. It didn’t phase him much, but it made her feel better. “The few times he was going to miss a meal, he stopped in before, or after, to tell me why. His absence speaks louder than any words. Now stop dodging the question.”

“We don’t know,” Kithali told her, more honest than she expected, given everything. Telling the truth did not come naturally to Kithali. “The last time anyone saw him, he was heading out into the gardens. There are signs of a fight, and blood, which the healers say is his. He probably killed at least one of his attackers. There’s a good deal of blood that isn’t his, although they took their wounded, or dead, with them. They had at least one mage. He’s good enough at green magic to handle a few attackers, but he’s not a battle mage.”

“And where is he now?” Elarria asked as she swallowed down the icy fear that sank through her throat into her stomach. Alive was better than dead, but if they took him, whoever they were, Felmarin was in far more danger than she feared. “Is there any word?”

“None,” Kithali said grimly. He poured a cup of tea for her, added a healthy dash of brandy from his flask, and handed it over. “Watch out, that kicks like a mule, but it will steady your nerves. It hasn’t been long enough for demands, yet, if we’re going to get any.”

There was, unspoken, the worry that there would be no demands. That Felmarin was taken for other purposes. The blood of a king was valuable, and whoever was working to build the war between their kingdoms might simply want the tensions to rise beyond control. Felmarin was the only one holding back the elves from sheer madness on the battlefield. If he was murdered as their Magician Queen was, the war would blaze far out of control.

“Time is short, then,” she said to herself, fingers tight around the cup that warmed her palms. “We have to find him before they kill him, or go to ground. What do we know?”

“Almost nothing beyond what I’ve told you,” Kithali said, although it was clear he was angered by the admission. “They were good. Very good.”

“And the assassins we’ve hired know nothing?”

“Nothing useful.”

Elarria looked down into her tea, and then drank it in a single long gulp. It burned, from heat and the brandy, and she welcomed the pain.

“There’s a human trick,” she said when the burn faded and she felt less like crying. There would be time for tears. Now was not the time. “But I imagine Elvish mages can do it too. If there was a battle mage, they left some of their magic around, yes? It lingers for at least a day, as I remember.”

“It can, why?”

“If one of our mages can gather it, or Felmarin’s, up into a crystal, can we use that to track them? My tutors said magic calls to magic.”

It was vague, but she didn’t have anything better to offer. She wasn’t a mage, or a warrior. She wasn’t even a monarch. She was a princess, and a hostage.

But she loved Felmarin, and she wouldn’t give up on him without a fight. They had time, she hoped. Not much but some.

“We can try it,” Kithali said slowly. He was no more mage than she was, but he knew more about magic. More importantly, he could give orders to the castle mages, and she couldn’t. “I’ve never heard of it being done, but at this point, any lead that gets us closer is more than we have. Go back to your rooms for now. I’ll be by as soon as I have the mages working on it.”

“What should I do there? I hate being useless.”

“You pack what you and Yalla need,” Kithali told her with a dark glint in his eyes that spoke of greater worries. “If they can take his Majesty, they can reach you both, and without his protection, the council will turn on you. My duty is to make sure neither of those things happen. Go on, and be swift. We leave within the hour.”

+++

Forest Fell: (FULL COLLECTION)

Oath and Offer

Enemy Met (Subscriber Only!)

Plan of Kings

Smoke and Chaos (Subscriber Only!)

Flash Steel

The Moon in her Hair

Healer King (Subscriber Only!)

Fighting Chance

Spy Home (Subscriber Only!)

Old Liar

Name your Price (Subscriber Only!)

Shine Within (Subscriber Only!)

Armies Crossing Crossed (Subscriber Only!)

Unknown Power

Waking Specialties

Stolen Moment

Before the Council

Blood Oathed (Subscriber Only!)

Entangling Vines

Pack Swiftly (NEW!)

+++

MASTERLIST

#Writing #Lee Hadan #fantasy #scifi #spilled ink #writing prompts

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lady-of-imladris · 1 year ago

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CHAPTER 6 - PUNISH YOU

Synopsis: Thranduil and his Queen struggle with their new role as parents and with each other.

Word count: 2.5k

Pairings: Thranduil/OC

Warnings: slightly smutty? Mention of depression, disordered eating

Additional tags: spanking. I'm sorry. If pregnancy, childbirth or little kids in fanfiction are not your thing, don't worry, I am mostly brushing over it!

Link to the chapter overview

And maybe it's the past that's talking Screamin' from the crypt Tellin' me to punish you for things you never did So I justified it - The Great War (Taylor Swift)

The birth of Prince Legolas was the most joyful day of Thranduil’s entire reign. Every elf in the kingdom was celebrating for days. Anarríma was jealous of them. She had to remain in bed, recovering from childbirth while simultaneously caring for the child, and everyone else could simply dance and get drunk. Elrond had departed a few weeks after the birth, returning home to Celebrían and his sons, but as soon as word of the birth reached Loríen, Lord Celeborn jumped onto a horse and sped towards Thranduil’s realm.

The King was unsure about his feelings toward the child. Children had always made him feel a bit uneasy, they were so small and fragile. Everyone had always told him that it would be different with his own son, but they had all been wrong. Queen Anarríma felt the same way about their child, Thranduil could see it in her eyes when she looked at Legolas. They both loved their son dearly and either would gladly give up their life for him, but neither of them had any experience with raising babies.

When Lord Celeborn arrived, Thranduil could swear the light of the two trees illuminated his face. He was their saviour. Thranduil was finally able to return to running his kingdom, Ana was free to take as much time as she needed to recover, and both of them got enough sleep. Celeborn departed after well over a year. It was a sad day for all of them.

Over the years, the King and Queen grew more comfortable in their roles as parents and everyone would say that the little Prince was the happiest child there ever was. When his parents were holding court, he could often be found happily napping on the throne. His laughter filled the halls all day, but the little boy was also full of mischief. When the Lady Galadriel finally had the chance to visit her grandson, he smiled at her and reached his arms up towards her, only to yank on her long golden hair as she bent down to pick him up.

Queen Anarríma, who had taken frequent trips to Loríen before the birth of her child, found herself increasingly caged in her own home. She barely slept anymore, feeling restless all the time. The Queen had lost most of her appetite and nothing seemed to give her any joy. Thranduil had not noticed, he was too busy ruling the kingdom, the golden cage, in which he kept his golden Queen. One night, as she was picking at her dinner, she declared her intentions to Thranduil. “I will be going to Loríen for a few days. It is Ada’s birthday and I have not seen my parents in such a long time.” The king looked up from his dinner and regarded her with a puzzled expression. “No,” he stated curtly. The queen almost dropped her fork. “What?” “No,” he repeated.

“Thranduil I did not ask for your permission.” The King reclined in his chair. “You may not leave the forest. I forbid it.” Anarríma rose from her chair so furiously that it almost fell over as she pushed it back. “You cannot lock me in here. You have no right to keep me from leaving.” Thranduil rose as well, trying to keep his composure, he clasped his hands behind his back. “I can and I will. We have a son, you cannot just abandon him.” His tone of voice carried an accusation that left a bitter taste in Ana’s mouth.

“You were gone for an entire week last month,” she reminded him. Thranduil shrugged. “That is hardly the same.” “How is there any difference? We have an army of maids, Legolas would not need either of us,” Anarríma argued. The truth was, that the Queen tried not to let herself love her son. She couldn’t help it, he was her child, but she knew that Legolas should not need her, could not need her. One day she would be gone. Thranduil was silent for a moment as if he could hear her thoughts. “He needs you. Please, Ana. Don’t go.” Thranduil was tired of arguing. He left her standing there and went into the forest to clear his head. He did not return until the early hours of the morning, but Anarríma did not notice that. When Thranduil returned, she was gone.

Deep down in his heart, Thranduil knew that she had to go, but he was the King and he had commanded her to stay. And she had disobeyed him. He was furious. Angry at her, at himself, at the fact that he could not just simply come with her. Just the three of them visiting some family. Without the army of guards they had to bring along for safety reasons. He sighed deeply as he lay down on the bed, trying to get at least a few hours of sleep. Anarríma had left him a note. He let his fingers glide over the black ink. “Goheno nin,” it stated in her usual elegant script. Forgive me.

Ana had not been stopped by her maids when they saw her pack a few things. The guards in the stables had not stopped her either. Nor had those at the gates. She made it to Lothloríen undisturbed, except by her own thoughts. What would Thranduil do when he found out she was gone? Her husband was not merciful, she knew that very well. He was the kind to send people to his dungeons if they so much as looked at him funny, especially since the incident with the dragon. Leaving the kingdom against his will was much worse, but she was his wife. Even though she knew that he could not simply send his Queen to the dungeons, the thought did not calm her, on the contrary, it only unsettled her even more. Anarríma had no idea what would await her when she returned home.

Lord Celeborn’s birthday was a small gathering. Not even Elrond and Celebrían were there and the Lord and Lady were surprised to see their daughter arrive in the early morning hours. “Anarinya?” Celeborn approached his daughter warily. She looked as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Tired, weak, haunted by something. Or maybe someone? “What are you doing here seldënya?” He wrapped his arms around her protectively. “Happy Birthday, Ada,” Ana murmured into her father’s shoulder. Celeborn chuckled softly. “We both know that’s not the only reason you came.” He pulled away and smiled softly at his daughter. “Come, let us go inside and have some breakfast, you look like you have not eaten in days.”

All troubles seemed forgotten back in the comfort of home. She had missed her parents more than she cared to admit. Breathing seemed easier here, where she was just Ana, not the Queen, not the King’s wife and not the Crown Prince’s mother. The food here did not make her nauseous. In Lasgalen, the mere thought of eating had made her break down crying more than once. She did not know why it happened and she did not know how to fix it. And Thranduil could never know, which is why she often told him that she had already eaten without him. Anarríma spent two entire days with her parents, walking the peaceful forest she had grown up in, but she knew she could not remain.

Thranduil had debated sending someone after her, even going himself had crossed his mind. But his wife had run away from him. She needed to make the decision to come back of her own free will. Thranduil tried to discreetly ask his wife’s maids about why she left so suddenly, finding himself shocked at their response. Since the birth of Prince Legolas, the Queen had been a ghost of her former self. Apparently, she had not returned her sister’s letters in many months, she had stopped doing anything except work. Sometimes, she wandered aimlessly through the halls of their home in the middle of the night. Thranduil was furious at himself. He had not noticed any of it. How would she ever choose to come back to him if he had been so neglectful?

When Thranduil’s guards came rushing in one evening to tell him that the Queen had returned, he dropped everything and ran. He almost spooked the horse as he came to a halt, just in time to grab his wife by her waist as she dismounted. “You’re home!” he exclaimed excitedly, still hugging her from behind, burying his face in her neck. “You’re not angry at me for running away?” Ana asked, slightly ashamed of the way she had left him. Thranduil chuckled and swept his wife off her feet, carrying her off to their chambers. “Would it be easier for you if I were angry with you?” Anarríma let her head fall against his shoulder and sighed. “Yes, I think it would.” Thranduil was silent until they were behind closed doors. He knew that his beloved wife was struggling and he did not know how to help her.

He cleared his throat. “Your parents are well?” Ana nodded. “That is good to hear,” Thranduil continued, “and you had time to take care of yourself for a few days? You have slept? Eaten something?” The queen looked up at her husband in shock. Had he known all that time? As if he could read her mind, Thranduil shook his head. “Your maids told me a few days ago. I am so sorry, Ana. I should have known, I should have done something to help you,-” “Don’t,” she interrupted him, her voice shaky. “Please stop.” Thranduil gently cupped her cheek and tilted her face upwards, carefully wiping the tears away with his thumb.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The king sounded heartbroken. Another thing that was her fault. She closed her eyes and the tears fell silently on her cheeks. “You already have an entire kingdom to take care of. I thought that I could fix this, thought that I could fix me. But I can’t, Thranduil.” When his wife started sobbing uncontrollably, Thranduil felt more helpless than ever before. So he just wrapped his arms around his wife and held her. Time seemed to stop around them. The king did not know how long they stood there. It could have been minutes, hours, days even. Anarríma calmed down slowly.

Thranduil’s mind was racing. Ever since their altercation at dinner, things had not been good. They did not usually disagree on matters quite so intensely and he had a feeling that their usual method of resolving conflicts would not work this time. This was not a problem they could just ignore that would eventually go away on its own. A new solution needed to be found so they could put this behind themselves for good. The king was softly stroking his wife’s hair when he decided to tell her about his solution. “I cannot let your disobedience go unpunished.”

Anarríma wrestled herself out of his grasp abruptly. “What?” Thranduil looked at her as if nothing were amiss. “I am the king. You disobeyed my orders to remain here.” “You intend to throw me into the dungeons?” Thranduil huffed a laugh. “Of course not, you are my queen, it would be unseemly. But I must punish you somehow. Bend over my desk.” He turned his back to his wife, who was still processing what he had just said. She was still standing in the middle of the room, staring off into nothing as he brushed the neatly stacked mountains of paper off his desk in one smooth motion.

The noise made Ana jump and turn to him. He just stood there, looking at her expectantly, holding out his hand for her to take. Anarríma hesitated. Would this be it? Thranduil’s solution to their problem, never to be mentioned again? It was worth a try, she decided, stepping forward and taking his hand, letting him lead her to his desk. Anarríma felt her hands shaking as she gripped the edge of the desk, digging her nails into the wood as one of Thranduil’s hands applied pressure between her shoulder blades, forcing her to lay down, face pressed against the cold surface of the desk.

“Count them for me,” he commanded icily. Anarríma was still too frozen to say anything as she felt the cool air hit her legs as the King moved her dress out of the way, bunching it up around her waist. She almost jumped as she felt the warmth of Thranduil’s palm against her backside, gently caressing her. Her reaction made him chuckle cruelly. Torturing her was too easy. “Do you have anything to say for yourself before we begin?” he taunted. Was he seriously expecting her to apologize to him again? Ana refused and before she was able to adjust to the absence of the comforting weight of his hand, it was replaced by a sharp sting that made her wince. “One,” the Queen whispered.

He seemed to become harsher as her punishment went on, Anarríma thought. Or maybe it was the precision of every slap landing on exactly the same spot broken up by his gentle caresses that caused the intensifying pain. It was amid the counting and the yelps and gasps she attempted to hold back that Anarríma realised that the tears running down her cheeks were not the only thing that was wet. It felt wrong to be turned on by this. As if her body was betraying her. “One more,” Thranduil’s voice brought her back into the moment, “you’re doing so good for me.” The pain of the final slap felt good, the Queen decided. Still, she would never admit it out loud.

“Ten,” she finished her counting, attempting to push herself off the desk, but finding herself being pushed back down. “Not so fast,” Thranduil scolded. “But you said-” “I know what I said, there is just something I need to check first.” Just as the Queen was about to ask him what he meant, she felt his hand slide between her thighs. Shit. There was no way of hiding it from him anymore. He wiped his fingers on her thigh and allowed her to rise, grabbing her waist to turn her around. She was blushing furiously, looking down at her feet, letting the skirt of her dress fall again, pretending to smooth out the wrinkles.

“Ana,” Thranduil drew out the first syllable of her name, “did you enjoy your punishment?” The Queen did not know how to react, choosing to simply continue feigning interest in her clothes. He hooked a finger under her jaw, tilting up her face until she met his penetrating gaze. She shook her head slowly, causing him to grin maliciously. “Liar.” Anarríma finally let out the giggles she had been holding back, taking a small step forward and resting her head against her husband’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head atop hers. “Do you think we’ll be alright?” she whispered after a while, almost inaudibly. Thranduil sighed contently. “Of course we will.”

Please consider reblogging or leaving a comment <3

I'm so sorry for the long wait! I literally hate summer so I have been suffering! And also whenever I don't have anything to do for university, I just end up doing nothing. Don't ask me what I did the last two months because I literally cannot tell you. Anyways. I can't promise it's getting better anytime soon, but I will certainly try my best!

Everything Taglist: @fenharel-enaste @nevermcre TGW Taglist: @queenmeriadoc @spnbandwagon1019 @somebirdortheother @hc-geralt-23 @legendary-maddie @vellichormybeloved @bookflowersnerd

You can join my taglist here <3

#lady-of-imladris fics #fanfiction #lotr fanfiction #lord of the rings fanfiction #the hobbit fanfiction #thranduil fanfiction #thranduil #thranduil x oc #sorry guys i am a slow writer

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greypetrel · 2 years ago

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Son of Hell long to the sky, Lift your spirit, set it free 🎶

I read one too many tag about Little Brother the Inquisitor's mighty (in presence, not in size) steed that I decided to quickly draw him a villain origin story.

He's also an over-achiever, because he also became the war horse for a noble Knight (Enchanter) Lady. Mama would be proud.

More lore about this chaotic neutral equine under the cut!

So, he was born in Orlais in the house of a random Comte. And they started to train him as a war horse, because his father was the prized stallion that brought the latest Comte into battle. Except, he had other ideas. He's too intelligent for his own sake, started challenging the trainer and be A PROBLEM. He was deemed not worthy to spend the energy of because he was not docile, and destined to working task.

e wasn't treated well by any means, until a certain elf saw him trying to bite of the pole of the carriage he was attached to. Bite the person who hit him. She fell instantly in love and used the money she was allotted by the Inquisition to buy him (refusing the perfectly tamed and prized hart a clan sent her because yes yes the hart is pretty but it was a gift out of fear and THAT HORSE HAS CHARACTER I LIKE HIM.

Training him was a long and tiring job, he had no trust left in people and his defense choice was FIGHT. He bit Aisling, bumped her on the ground, acted up, be impossible to deal with, be the nightmare of the stables, hinder her while cleaning his box and feeding him, once he scared her shitless by laying on his side and pretending to be dead (it turned out it's his favourite position for naps). She... Stayed there. Going from simply staying in the paddock with him and doing nothing to bother him, with apples if he wanted them. To slowly, SLOWLY, being accepted. She grew on him like moss. became his friend until he let her ride him and work with him.

Lavellan named him Isa'ma'lin, also known in Common as "Little Brother" because she can't be bothered explaining and correcting pronounciations every time.

Such a sanguine horse proved himself to be really valuable in battle: he's not scared by much of anything, he WILL attack enemies, made a name for himself in the Western Approach as "The horse who likes biting Venatori in the arse". Add a Dorian in a lot of discomfort around him because who knows if he can tell good from bad Tevinters (he can, but he also relish in him being scared).

If you ask Aisling, he's the "Best horsey in the whole wide world". Which is a highly unpopular opinion in Skyhold. New staff in the stables needs to pass a fire trial: if they stay after feeding him and act well when finding him in a "carcass mode nap", they're officially hired.

And as for yesterday's post: They both survived, Cullen is in Little Brother's good graces and he allows him to pet him (Cullen does some very good scritches, so he's friend). BUT, the horse is a prick with a bad sense of humour. If he sees you scared, HE WILL ACT UPON IT AND PRANK YOU. So. (he didn't buck, they both survived, Solas could return back to the rotunda taking away the first aid kit he brought with him)

#horses #little brother the horse #comics #digital art #dragon age #dragon age headcanons #dragon age inquisition #doodle

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modern-inheritance · 4 months ago

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Rough Day (MIC Chat)

(I'd love to turn this into a short but I think I'd get caught up in descibing Saphira's thought process and miss out/go another direction) Sometime during The War, in the limbo of timeline hell. Saphira: *doing a bit of a wander around 'her' portion of the far more sparsely tented side of camp* Saphira: *stops, midstride, pulls back a bit and looks down* ??? Arya: *laying facedown on the ground in some tall grass and strong sunlight* Arya: ... Arya: *muffled, sounding very tired, never lifting her head* Hey Saphira. Saphira: Having a nap, or a breakdown? Arya: Very astute of you. Yes. Arya: I have had...I have had a very...very rough day. Wait, what day is it? Saphira: Solas Rest. Arya: Oh. ...I've had a very rough three days. Saphira: Are you well? Physically? Do you need me to get Eragon or Glen? Arya: No, thanks. I'm good here, just...just going to gather my thoughts. Connect with nature. Eat some dirt. Saphira: ...If you're sure. Arya: Yep. Saphira: *pauses again* Saphira: *gently takes the back of Arya's combat jacket in her first few front teeth, drags her kitten style over to a shaded patch of grass and deposits her there* Arya: Thank you. Saphira: You have picked a nice spot for a breakdown-nap. I shall join you. Arya: Aw, thanks. And Saphira just sorta proceeded to half nap half defend this dumbass elf having multiple in-the-field Recall episodes. Chatting with her between them like 'so, what's new with Yaela, she's been rather smitten with that auburn haired smith that's got his forge set beside Horst's.' 'The downdrafts have been particularly fierce, there's rain coming soon.' 'I think Eragon needs to get more cardio. Should I chase him?'

Iunno I want these two to be friends really bad. In MIC, it's not shown quite as much yet, but Saphira's a little on the fence about Arya when they first start traveling after Gil'ead. Even though she recognizes her mind, there's this unsettling feeling about her (likely, I think, from the high levels of 'dragonblood' Arya has and her just being so different and dangerous from anyone else they've interacted with so far) and Saphira does take some time to completely trust Arya with Eragon, taking even longer to fully accept that Arya's there to protect her as well. Eventually they do become really good friends, bonding over battlejoy and protecting Eragon's dumb ass and Saphira does realize the lengths Arya's going to go to keep them both safe after the Star Sapphire incident.

And while Saphira never really understands the results of Gil'ead on Arya's mind, she understands pain, she understands some of it from Eragon's later PTSD manifesting, and she also recognizes the more animalistic side Arya (and other elves, though they prefer to tamp it down) displays when she gets distressed. Saphira knows an injured dragon can and will lash out, understands how much more stress it puts on them when others see them vulnerable. So Saphira treats Arya more like a very small, very scaleless dragonling. She's welcomed in to the Thunder, if you will. They're both the odd women out, and sometimes it's just nice to sit together and shake their heads at the men and boys and share knowing looks. ...even though half the time they don't know what exactly they're saying with their eyes, they just know it's the same thing.

I am...not making sense. Friends. I want them to be friends.

#mic chat #mic chats

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greyias · 2 years ago

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So, I promised @captainderyn pictures of my old lady elf in LOTRO, although this is like several months later after the big expansion/prelaunch sale weekend when I rolled her up, because I get easily distracted.

Her name is Anariel, a High Elf who was one of the veeeeery first elves to travel to Middle Earth, so there is a small chance she is actually older than dirt because of this. Anyway, she's a war veteran who was once upon a time, so badass she saved Thranduil from giant spiders, rode with Gil-Galad, and routinely just did everything it seemed on the battlefield in the Second Age*. Then she got oopsie stabbed by a Nazgul, and sort of took a three thousand year nap and lost 100 in-game levels???

As you do.

And then she wakes up and Elrond is all "o hai, you slept so long that you forgot how to walk so here's a butter knife to defend yourself** ", and then hands you a "Third Age for Dummies" book because she slept through an entire era and tells his sons to take grandma to the bus stop so she doesn't miss her boat to the Elvish retirement home.

* - This opening sequence actually was pretty nifty to play when I did, as I'd just finished watching the ROP finale, and really played into the feels for all of the characters introduced in that show.

** - I'm paraphrasing. It's been a hot minute and a completely different computer since I played the intro sequence. But I did have a butter knife equipped when I logged in today. So. Um. Thanks for that old buddy?

Then the twins got her to the old elves casino bus and were like "Well, have fun Grandma! I know we said we'd see you off but we're going to do something else. Don't do anything we wouldn't do! And especially don't miss your ship!"

Then she hallucinates a bunch of conversations with dead people, which was sad until suddenly she just started talking to an invisible Elrond who to my admittedly limited Tolkein knowledge is not dead, so maybe her going to Elves Retirement Home isn't such a bad idea? But imaginary Elrond & co said "nah it's boring there, you should go make trouble here"

And then she did.

Some of Grandma Anariel's favorite past-times include:

Getting lost on the map, because wayfinding in that game is stupidly difficult. It's okay though because the game gave me a title for it:

It knows me so well.

She also likes leaping off tall cliffs and hills instead of taking the properly marked paths, and T-posing her way to the ground:

And then limping along painfully for a good long while:

She's also learning modern technology, and is starting to figure out how to take proper selfies

Anyway she was asked to go find an Elf Lord's son, found his bag instead and was like "Um sorry bro?" so now she's off to apparently start a war with the dwarves???

Slow down, Grandma! Middle Earth is clearly not ready for you to have woken up from your nap.

Anyway, I hope you like her @captainderyn. She might wind up burning the whole place down at this rate.

#grandma anariel #i THOUGHT about making grey for like 0.5 seconds #but honestly #grandma anariel is 1000x funnier #and i wasn't even joking about any of the above #that's the actual opening quest for high elves #like elrond seriously gives you a fucking butter knife to defend yourself #and your 3000+ year old armor #that no one has washed #the cape on it is literally in tatters and barely holding together #i gave her a nicer cape for her photo shoot #lotro #lord of the rings online #thank you all for talking about the spring festival #you reminded me the game exists and i should log in #although i probably shouldn't let anariel go there #i think at the rate she's going #she might spike the punch or something

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siriannatan · 2 years ago

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yet ANOTHER 'fWhip can't take care of himself and refuses to rest' - ScottfWhipJimmy

You guys said you wanted this so I wrote it :} (I might have been watching Martyn's vault hunters streams as background noise...)

Jimmy's favourite part of the emperor's meets at Grimlands was when he could leave and no longer listen to Joel complain about how the count was dressed. Mostly that it did not suit a noble, not to say an emperor with the Crown. Who cared if fWhip lived his life in dusty and muddy, too-big-for-him coats and falling-apart scarves? Jimmy certainly didn't, especially since the whole conflict between them has ended.

"I think I left my notes," he sighed to Lizzie, Joel and Scott.

"I'll wait here," the elf said, already leaning against a wall. They did have a meeting scheduled to talk about some stuff - mostly so Scott could have a break from his brother and advisors.

Since Lizzie and Joel had their own things to get back so they left - Lizzie did threaten Scott to make sure Jimmy was not hurt. Not that many things could hurt an eight feet tall demigod who could at will strike all his problems with thunder. And so Jimmy hurried back to the meeting room.

To his shock fWhip was still there. Jimmy expected he went to discuss some WRA business but he was just slumped in his chair. "Sorry, I forgot my..." Jimmy started to apologise, just in case fWhip was actually doing something important, but froze when the Lord Emperor... snored and shifted a bit.

Was he really asleep or messing with Jimmy? When would he fall asleep even? The meeting ended barely like five minutes ago. And now that Jimmy was thinking about it fWhip did look a bit tired and even yawned a few times. But to fall asleep this fast? He must have been exhausted. And... maybe looked a bit cute all wrapped in his coat, scarf and draconic wings with his mouth slightly open. But no matter how cute he looked or how comfy the chairs in the meeting hall were it was probably not the best spot for a nap.

He did have Scott waiting for him but there was no way he was leaving fWhip like this. So after grabbing his papers and shoving them into his bag Jimmy gently shook fWhip. "fWhip? Don't you have a bed somewhere?" he asked just quiet enough so anyone walking past the room wouldn't - hopefully- hear him, and shook the half-dragon.

Nothing so plan B it was - calling Scott so he was not annoyed he had to wait and explaining the situation to him.

Scott was quickly back in the meeting room and sighed as soon as he saw fWhip. "He's overworking himself again," he said and poked fWhip. Not even his cold hands could wake the slumbering dragon. "I found him like this a few times back when Rivendell was in the WRA," he explained. "He'll overwork himself and then sleep in the most random places. Like the top of his workbench and then pretend he's fine. We definitely should move him somewhere more comfortable."

Luckily they were literally inside fWhip's manor so all they had to do was find a bed. Any bed. And put fWhip in it. All while avoiding any staff and guards so they would not alert fWhip's siblings and allies. They wanted to put him somewhere comfortable. Not start a war. Luckily they didn't have to wander too much and there wasn't that much staff in the manor. Maybe because of the meeting?

"I think it might be fWhip's bedroom," Scott hummed looking about as Jimmy set the sleeping count on the bed. "Looks like no one slept here in a while," he explained but Jimmy had a different problem.

"Scott? He's not letting go of me..." Jimmy whispered, at this point afraid to wake fWhip up. And got pulled even closer as fWhip mumbled something in his sleep. Low and growly but illegible. "Scott? Help... please..."

"How exactly am I supposed to help? I'm sure you're strong enough to break out," Scott chuckled. "And it's nice to see you two not arguing without Gem and Lizzie around," he added and sat on the bed.

It was a mistake as fWhip's arm which was not holding Jimmy hostage for fear of breaking the count's limbs, grabbed his long braid and pulled him into the hug. Mumbling something just for a second and shifting with an annoyed half-growl until he was comfy enough between too shocked to resist Scott and Jimmy.

"I think we're stuck here," Jimmy whispered, giving up and cuddling fWhip. He was not fighting long, covered in deep dark red scales tail wrapped around his leg. Scott sighed and said nothing but also gave up to the tight grip the living furnace that fWhip was, had on him. It was quite a pleasant change from the constant chill his affinity for ice magic came with.

*several hours later*

fWhip had no recollection of ever leaving the quickly tossed together by his staff meeting room and going to bed. Or Scott and Jimmy ever joining him as pleasant as it was to be stuck between them despite Jimmy's sharp scales and how cold Scott always was. His dragon part was happy and it took him a second to register that he was purring. Not something he did often, growling at annoying people was a more common presentation of his dragon instincts.

"Had a nice nap, sunflower?" Scott hummed, shifting a bit but not pulling away. "You're purring..."

"It's cute," Jimmy yawned from behind fWhip pulling both of them to himself. "Morning, firecracker."

fWhip could only hum as his dragon brain melted in all the affection. Dragons were as he discovered shockingly clingy and cuddly which made his day-to-day life a bit miserable as it made him constantly touch-starved. It was so bad he wasn't even questioning why Jimmy and Scott were in his bed anymore. Just hoping they'd stay a bit longer.

#my stuff #my stories #fanfiction #empires smp #empiresshipping #empires jimmy #empires scott #empires fwhip #esmp

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ladyswillmart · 2 years ago

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Overhead, the skies over Yondershire appeared a velvet cloak, smooth and soft, violet-black—the real blue-ribbon stuff of hometown poetry festivals.

Poetry is fine enough, Arlen thought, although he did like pretzels better. He chewed thoughtfully.

Night skies are also fine enough by their lonesome, especially in the Shire, especially in June. Nevertheless, how kind that someone, perhaps some celestial elf-maid, thought to spatter a million stars across the whole thing, and they even twinkled a little. It wasn’t an overt twinkle, Arlen observed, nothing too ostentatious but sort of like the way the Elbow’s Bend Inn studded their pretzels with those big crystals of salt.

They were simply better with the salt, but beyond taste and texture, there was some other quality to a coarse salted pretzel that he could not adequately describe. He continued to chew, lamenting his own lack of vocabulary: What kind of bard should have such profound difficulty describing his love for a pretzel?

While revelers milled around him and his company, the crickets purred wordlessly in the wildflowers. Suddenly seized by curiosity, Arlen looked up at the other elf who had joined them earlier, an apparent close friend of Hivallion’s whom he identified as “Gildor”, last name Something-or-other that Arlen forgot after his first ale. Their reunion was all laughing surprise and “How long has it been?” with a lot of very large numbers being bandied around and then a strange shift, smooth as the sky above, into what Arlen could only assume was their native tongue.

Arlen was never good with elven languages and he was even worse with large numbers. No no, he was better with pretzels, much better, or at least he thought he was.

“So,” he finally spoke up, now that he felt suitably merry. “Who is Hivallion, anyway?”

Gildor registered surprise, as the elf in question napped nearby, where some hens milled around a patch of black-eyed Susans, delivering the occasional curious peck.

“He is your tutor, is he not?” he replied, then smiled, as warm as the breeze circulating the garden, ruffing everyone’s hair. “Oh, I see. You want to hear the story from an old friend, eh? Well, I suppose you picked the right person to ask. I have known Hivallion since he was quite young—since I was quite young, really. We are roughly the same age, I would wager.”

“Are you really? What did he do, way back when? I mean, Did he ever do anything, uh, I dunno, adventurous...? Foolhardy?”

“Foolhardy!” Gildor laughed a little. In his hand, he balanced a half-full tumbler of scrumpy. “Well, foremost he was well known among us as a scholar, albeit one who spent most of his time out and about, if that should count as adventurous in your book. His field of interest primarily lied within our environment, especially its creatures, especially the small ones, especially those with wings. Oh, birds, butterflies, bees, bats, snails...”

Arlen stopped chewing momentarily. “Snails? Those don’t have wings.”

“No, my friend. No, not anymore, not anymore, sorry to say...”

Arlen eyed the elf’s tumbler; perhaps he too was feeling a bit too suitably merry. “Say, did he ever wear armor like that? Like yours? All shining, like the moonlight?” he asked, deftly changing the subject. “Did he ever go to battle?”

Gildor nodded. “Indeed. Well and often, though war never suited him. For certain occasions he would wear a jerkin of finely tooled calf, and over that, a breastplate of...” He took a drink as he reminisced. “...oh, it was some kind of metal scale like the belly of a fish, shining pale blue like—yes, like the moonlight, like a reflection of the full moon over the Belegaer.”

Ah. Now that was some poetry.

If only such wonderful words could somehow become applicable to the ineffability of pretzels...

“I wonder if he still has it?” said Arlen. “Reckon I’d like to see that. Maybe try it on m’self...”

“His mother likely keeps it, if Hivallion himself knows not where it is. Still, you should ask him about it. Whenever he wakes,” said Gildor, muttering as he offered his slumbering friend a spare glance. “Honestly, old as the blessed sun and he still can’t hold his drinks...”

#lotro

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regarding-stories · 2 years ago

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The Ever-Changing Story (Part 2): SAO's changing characters - Asuna

In the preceding part I talked at length about how Sword Art Online (SAO) continuously overwrites itself with new stories overwriting details and plot points or facts of older stories. And that may seem rather nitpicking as most readers happily go along with the changes and mostly forget about the inconsistent parts of older stories.

But there's one part where this comes to a head, and I think it will more and more as the Sword Art Online Progressive (SAOP) series continues. To repeat, that is a series that tries to retell the story of the liberation from castle Aincrad floor by floor, starting with the first and ending with the 75th. (Or so was the author's original intention.) Now there are reasons why this may never work - unless the author choses to overwrite these reasons as well, of course. But that is not the main "problem" - rather it is the fact that the SAOP characters have taken on their own life and it will be hard to get this genie back in the bottle.

Oh, soooo many spoilers going forward!

Asuna's plot (kinda, sorta, 2023 edition)

Asuna's plot could be outlined as follows (considering and including all retcons, including SAOP, so far):

Asuna and Kirito team up on the first floor and become a party of two, a highly competent duo that helps beat floor bosses (SAOP 1-8)

As the "Elf War" questline ends, there's some sort of rift between them, 9th floor forward (unwritten and only alluded to)

Asuna decides to disband the party with Kirito on the 25th floor and joins the new guild "Knights of Blood" - this supposedly happens after having been with him in a party for four months (from the timeline given in the "Hopeful Chant" story, but events still unwritten)

We meet Asuna again while clearing on the 40th floor with her guild - she is heartbroken when seeing Kirito at his lowest and suppresses a wish to run after him ("Hopeful Chant" side story)

Asuna duels Kirito during the boss raid meeting for the 56th floor (from some Material Edition magazine story, not sure this is written as story but published as manga, still mentioned in the timeline of "Hopeful Chant", though. Contradicted at other times - SAO retcontinuity at its best!)

On the 59th floor Asuna takes a spontaneous nap next to Kirito as she finds him chilling by the wayside (SAO 1 and SAO 8)

Asuna encounters Kirito after his adventure with Lisbeth, and it is implied she's been going on dates with him, only he may not realize that it is actually dating (SAO 2, clearing is supposedly at 63rd floor)

During the clearing of the 74th floor, Asuna invites Kirito over to her apartment to cook for him. She also forms a party with him (SAO 1)

Kirito and Asuna (and Agil and Klein) defeat the 74th floor boss, and Asuna confesses her love for Kirito after he almost died (SAO 1)

Kirito stays the night over, and Asuna wants to take a break from her guild, Kirito gets dragged into guild business, has to duel Heathcliff, and ends up as a member of the Knights of Blood (SAO 1)

During a training/evaluation mission Kirito gets almost killed by an orange/red player. Asuna assumes it's all her fault and promises to leave Kirito alone, only for him to kiss her. These events lead to the marriage proposal and them leaving for the 22nd floor on honeymoon. (SAO 1)

Before conducting their actual marriage, Kirito and Asuna go on an adventure to find the missing cottage they wanted to buy. (SAO 22)

There is teenage romance and a mystery plot involving a ballista that they both get dragged into. ("Sugary Days" series of side stories)

Kirito and Asuna meet Yui and lose her again (SAO 2)

Asuna beats a big fish monster and they have to return to the frontline anyway, and they arrive in time to get enlisted in the very challenging 75th floor boss fight with (SAO 1)

Kirito unmasks Heathcliff, they duel. Asuna absorbs Heathcliff's killing blow, "dies." Kirito "dies," yet somehow beats Heathcliff. Game is beaten, player logout begins.

Asuna completely accepts love-death during the final moments of the game.

And that concludes the events of the actual Aincrad story arc involving Asuna directly. As you can see, most of it is a wild hodge-podge of various sources, and a lot of them, yes, most of them written after the first novel - which contained the ending.

A few contradictions

Even as late as "Hopeful Chant" the duel between Asuna and Kirito (5.) seems to be canon, even though it has been largely forgotten about in terms of the actual written stories. ("Hopeful Chant" was written for the "Ordinal Scale" movie which takes places after "Phantom Bullet" but before "Alicization".) And it is heavily contradicted by SAOP 5, where even the thought of dueling Kirito makes Asuna highly anxious. This will play a role going forward in this discussion when it comes to character continuity vs story continuity. (Asuna also mentions she "wouldn't last a minute" in a PvP duel with Kirito in SAO 2 - as if that had not already happened in her timeline.)

Practically everything Asuna says to Lisbeth (7.) about Kirito makes no sense after the events of SAOP - or "Hopeful Chant". According to Lisbeth, Asuna has changed in the last two to three months, alluding to the events of (6.) where Asuna took the nap next to Kirito on a sunny day. (Asuna would "later" - actually in SAO 1 - go on to declare this was basically when she fell in love with Kirito.) Yet it's clear that she has deep feelings for Kirito in "Hopeful Chant". But even without that, she describes Kirito as "strange" and basically mysterious. But while Kirito and Asuna supposedly have drifted apart at this point and she doesn't know about some important events that shaped him, he clearly is no mystery to her. Not after basically spending a full four months at his side, day after day.

This is a general "rule" of the SAO timeline by now. Once introduced in a story, characters stay around, even if many of the details surrounding their introduction gradually get worn away. Take Liz for example. The bookends of her story with Kirito are visits by Asuna. But as we saw and will see, the Asuna visiting her in the beginning of the story doesn't exist as such anymore (because her character arc got shifted) whereas the Asuna at the end of that story probably still does - though even she hardly matches up with the Asuna from SAOP. But Asuna and Liz stay around, even if the threads that bind them into the story loosen to the point of unraveling. Even if the things they said to each other no longer make sense.

I would like to say that the core of the characters remains the same, but this is only gradually true, and depends heavily on what you understand as the core of a character. Even defining traits erode over time, at least that is the case for SAOP. You could, however, also argue as the characters change they do for the better.

Asuna's original character arc

Asuna undergoes a few changes during the events of SAO 1 (in order of story chronology):

At first she's only focused on beating the game. She sleeps barely and badly.

After the key encounter her goal shifts towards getting close to Kirito. (She still cares about beating the game, but being with Kirito becomes higher priority.)

After almost losing him in the 74th floor boss battle, she wants to protect him. She applies for a leave to be only with him.

After the leave is denied, a traitor in the midst of her guild almost kills Kirito. Seeing herself as incapable of protecting him (though she saved him) and actually endangering him, she wants to leave, exposing for the first time a streak of valuing his life over her happiness.

Kirito and Asuna get together and go on a honeymoon. She is now torn by her two goals - her duty to beating the game, and her desire to be with Kirito and keep him safe. They both decide to be together for good they have to beat the game.

In the final confrontation with Heathcliff/Kayaba, Asuna sacrifices herself to protect Kirito, putting his life above her own.

Now, in true Kawahara fashion, we learn of (1.) only in hindsight, when Asuna tells us as audience and both Nishida and ultimately Kirito. (In the anime we get hints of how obsessed she is, though.)

These details together actually make the romance sufficiently convincing. The initial Asuna can't enjoy life, and being with Kirito adds that quality back to hers, opening her heart.

There are elements of beauty in this arc, actually. Asuna's goal to beat the game, her duty, never goes away. Originally only to return to "real life," but with no real knowing why she struggles so. She basically obeys a "should." She's not content or fulfilled, though.

That goal returns, but it shifts. She finds contentment in her love for Kirito, so beating the game combines with her love for him - she looks forward to be with him in "real life." It's the same goal, but now there is a strong underlying motivation. She found a why.

There's a deeper theme here underneath - before you can transcend the world, you need to first become of the world. Later on, at the end, she and Kirito become entwined as their bodies dissolve, a symbol of achieving unity and union.

This point is driven home in SAO 2 as well, when Liz remarks on how obsessed Asuna had been and how she now takes days off, does not only talk about quotas to fulfill or dungeons to beat. She turns from a one-issue person, from a one-track mind to a more healthy person. This is reinforcement of a central change of her character.

Asuna is then a character that seeks contentment, the things her heart wants (partnership, love, the feeling of safety, a home), and the things she needs to do. This is also evident in her business with the guild. There's actually no reason she couldn't have walked away except for her sense of duty and the social conventions, and also Heathcliff manipulates Kirito - a socially inexperienced person - to his own ends.

There are qualities that remain throughout the series - Asuna is hard-working, but after meeting Kirito she is no longer so driven, to the dismay of her mother especially. But in general she's most likely to obey the social forms, though it somewhat reflects in other female characters as well, and the expectations on girls in Japan (I assume). After all Rika/Liz also is introduced as a hard worker and girl with good grades (in SAO 2). Kirito's adoptive sister Suguha is an extremely determined Kendo champion. If we take Shino/Sinon into the account, almost all females that Kirito meets seem to have seriously focused lives. (Can't say about Keiko/Silica. The much later introduced Alice could be characterized to border on mono-mania, reinforcing the theme even more.)

The Progressive Asuna

To say that SAO Progressive speeds this dynamic up would be an understatement. Kirito meets Asuna on page 1. Her hard-working and duty traits are in full force - she basically is exhausting herself in the pursuit of a death wish, going into the dungeon for days at a time, fighting in a reckless and risky style. She displays the extreme competence we hear her described with throughout SAO and already is a skilled fencer. But she's basically resolved to die by going down fighting.

The reasoning behind this is that her life as she knew it has failed. She's been on a difficult track of tests, exams, passing muster - and she has always prevailed before. But after it had been drilled into her that this is what life is about, she suddenly finds herself locked into this game, unable to pursue those goals. All she can think of are the shame and ridicule this would bring. It's clear that a whole framework holding her life together is collapsing under strain.

But there are two sides to this. It's hinted at that going into SAO had a certain lure to her, and in a way it's serendipitous, getting her off the straight and narrow path and into the unknown. She just can't accept that fact yet. Asuna is about to get a new life, actually "get a life" altogether, by being trapped in a game of death.

We see much evidence that this Asuna is similar to the Asuna we find in SAO Vol. 1. The amount of sleep she gets is similar (3 hours at most), she's pained by insomnia and dreams only of the real world when she can find sleep. She shows the compulsive streak to beat the game. She can't even permit herself to enjoy anything, considering everything as fake and unreal - except sleep (ironically), figuring that sleep was something her brain actually engaged with the same as before.

But this is also a different Asuna, even if subtly so. The Asuna we meet in SAO Vol. 1 has a stylish apartment, has mastered the cooking skill, is popular and has friends (though we barely see evidence of that, the only person she ever interacts with besides Kirito is Liz - and that in Vol. 2). The main series Asuna enjoys food, is out in public, has some form of social network, she comes across as quick to judge at least once. She also comes across as strong-minded and maybe proud, it's hard to say. (We don't see enough of her before her arc transforms her.) If we trust the timeline (and we shouldn't) she duels him first over a point of contention, then tells him off for taking a nap. Talk about bristly!

The Progressive Asuna is an absolute loner, talks to nobody, eats because she has to, knows nobody, and is filled with self-loathing, shame, and embarrassment. That's the Asuna of Aria of a Starless Night, at least. When she lashes out at somebody it's because of the pain she feels inside. The main series Asuna seems to have her life together. The early Progressive Asuna is a shell going through the motions.

Now one could assume that another 60 or so floors could change one into the other. But there are differences that redefine the dynamic between her character arc and Kirito, and SAOP is basically a guarantee that her original main series character arc can't really happen. (You wouldn't know that from the anime as it skips - probably because it was unwritten as of then - Rondo for a Fragile Blade, the meatier 3rd story of SAOP Vol. 1.)

The Inciting Incident

What triggers Asuna's character is in both cases - technically, at least - having a nap. Or rather a full night's worth of sleep. Main series Asuna finds Kirito lounging around on a lazy, perfect summer day and spontaneously joins him and finds the bliss of eight hours of truly restful sleep. You could say this is the bliss of finding something touching your soul, something you've lacked, and from then on she follows her bliss, and through her original character arc.

Progressive Asuna slumps to the ground, exhausted, a fate she always accepted - something that would normally mean death. But Kirito - not revealing how (initially) - brings her to safety, all the way through the labyrinth. He basically lies to her (and probably herself) about his motivation, explaining it yet as another selfish act (to get her map data), something we will see a lot of also in The Isolator series. But the reality is that he goes to a lot of trouble and possibly danger to extract another player from a situation that could kill her. Even though that is a major event, it's not treated as such. It betrays Kirito's whole self-image as wrong, but that's another story.

Speaking of "not treating it as such." In SAOP Kawahara really starts to heavily hint at deeper emotions at work that the characters are barely aware of. When Asuna first meets Kirito's gaze for real, fireworks supposedly go off in the back of her brain. But we're not told more. There's no further explanation, but we can safely assume that this is the igniting spark that only will grow in terms of her fascination with him. It's artful, actually, as a lot through the series there are implications, things that don't get explained, that the characters in their inexperience cannot understand. We as the readers will see through the eyes of one character and get our own chance to interpret the actions and words of another character, but no direct insight into their feelings and thoughts. (The viewpoint switches between the two, especially initially, and always to emphasize these moments of seeing the other "from the outside." It's never an accident which character experiences a scene. We see the inside we're supposed to see and the outside we're supposed to see. And inevitably we'll see less of Asuna as else her dynamic that I'm getting into below would collapse.)

But back to topic.

Asuna on speed

This Asuna will go in lightning speed through her character arc, but in a different way. When originally she already had certain interest in cooking and expressing herself this way, even sensual enjoyment is now basically brought to her by Kirito. He now shares food with her, not the other way around. The Asuna we meet in the main series actually knew full well she could get Kirito's attention through food (leading to memes like this one). We don't know if she perfected the cooking skill just to accomplish this, but it's rather unlikely.

Kirito now becomes a sort of beta tester sensei to Asuna, and she quickly overcomes her reluctance to live in this world, we see evidence she sleeps much better (and that sleeping in Kirito's bed can help if insomnia recurs), enjoy food, gains friends (Argo, Kizmel, etc).

Even more. The main series Asuna had a stubborn compulsion to beat the game, but of a different kind. She's unfulfilled but capable, and convinced beating the game is the right thing to do. Aria of a Starless Night Asuna is essentially suicidal, convinced she cannot beat the game, and only seeks death in a way that doesn't dishonor her - she wants to die with the dignity that she didn't hide away and lose herself. The drives of these characters are different, their goals, too, but they are also similar. They look similar on the outside, but are different on the inside.

Part of the difference is used by Kawahara to give her another character arc, building the strength we later see her have. This comes with rather ridiculous self-deception as Asuna holds out on sending Kirito a friend request (which she clearly wants, and even experiences some suppressed jealousy about) until she's strong enough. But nobody claimed the human mind is easy territory. So Kirito and Asuna engage in a dance of self-deception, where he tries to suppress his feelings for her because he wants her brilliance to be set free and see her stand proud at the front of beating the game, pulling others into her wake. And Asuna wants to prove her worth to Kirito. And nobody asks themselves if that's what they really want, need, or need to do. Perfect drama and hijinks material!

Progressive Asuna needs Kirito even more as her catalyst, but once the process is in motion, boy is she on fire. Remember, this Asuna is 1.5 to 2 years younger. But her entanglements with Kirito quickly mount, even to a degree that the author himself comments about it in his afterword commentaries. By the end of SAOP Vol. 8 we are at the end of the 7th floor, but the Asuna we meet is already in the stage where protecting Kirito is placed above concern for herself. She asks to be turned into a vampire to be better able to be with him and by his side, protecting him.

She's basically shortly before the end of her character arc. There's no way to rejoin this Asuna with the Asuna from the main series and pretend that's going to work. She already does all the things she will do later - like finding pretenses to be close to him without ever admitting that this is based in romantic interest. All that is missing is one big "You almost died. What would I do without you?" moment. (Not to mention that other characters can clearly see the chemistry between the two and just chuckle at their claims to the contrary and self-deceptions.)

Off the rails

This is a rebooted character. She has one half of her arc preserved (coming to find fulfillment in love, coming into the world) but vastly yanked forward in time, experienced at a different time in her life, in a different place, lacking all that solid identity she built. Her duty motivation doesn't show, instead she wants to show herself as strong and worthy. But, what for? Does she secretly, without admitting it to herself, want to prove she's worthy to be by his side?

Now that's a classical Kawahara - see SAO Vol. 22. The love you seek was there all along. Complicated inner self-deceptions aside, all the actions these two undertake betray their love. Shenanigans occur, but this series shows currently no signs to go back on the rails of the original plot outline without some serious drama. Drama shocking and painful enough, it might kill the core dynamic of this enchanting, adorable series instead.

While Kawahara's characters pay lip service for getting there - see Kirito's constant claims that he will need to let her go to let her shine - it would prove heart-breaking, and quite likely character-breaking. Right now their arc together only accelerates in one direction, carrying the whole series with it, spreading light-hearted cheer. After all, this duo is together day and night. How many SAOP novels would one want to read that just portray them as growing apart? Of hurt and building distance?

Speaking also for myself, given the dynamics of the series and similar books, you could probably temporarily drive them apart, but only to pay the reader off with resolving that conflict sooner than later. At its heart SAO is a love story under outside adversity. And so far, SAOP is a love story as well, and at the very least it's the story of friendship and trust and taking risks for others. It doesn't work so well with driving the main pair apart.

If the pre-established, "canon" plot points get their way, then this line of books will hit an ice berg. Somewhere around floor 8 and 9. Kawahara set himself up for this. But will he do it?

But even if he does - what these characters can never do - not if SAOP is canon - is experience their firsts again. As Kawahara changes the past, it sends shockwaves to the future. We may never see the results of that unraveling, but by accepting SAOP events into canon, Kawahara will have to resolve this conflict eventually. Or fully commit to SAOP being its own dynamic, its own thing. So far he has not been shy to override existing canon for the better story, for the more satisfying characters. Will he do so again?

"Rondo for a Fragile Blade" Asuna

To drive the point home a bit more... I finished re-reading SAO Progressive Vol. 1 last night - which comprises the stories of Kirito meeting Asuna / beating the 1st floor boss (Aria of a Starless Night), an interlude expanding on Argo's character (The Reason for the Whiskers), and the story of beating the 2nd floor (Rondo for a Fragile Blade). This is, by the way, the only time SAOP manages more than one floor (boss) in one volume. I highly recommend it, I absolutely love this book.

When I said that SAOP goes "off the rails," this comes into full force in the 2nd floor story. After temporarily separating for a few days, Asuna finds a reason to team up with Kirito again. This mirrors the Asuna of the main series' chapters about the 74th floor, where Asuna invents reasons to team up with Kirito only, and basically gets her way by surprise. She holds the initiative here. When reading it, I never get the feeling that she considers this to be a temporary thing or something she does on a whim. It's more like the highly intelligent and socially capable Asuna brings her "A game" when interacting with Kirito, sees an opening, and pounces. It matches how her fencing is fast-paced and exploits the weaknesses of her opponent. She makes a clear move here.

Then Asuna initiates a gesture of intimacy, holding Kirito's finger "for luck" during the attempt to upgrade her beloved rapier. At the same time she goes to a sort of Tsundere archetype - when she notices (with "mind/face reading" as usual) that Kirito tries to interpret the gesture - she abrasively tells him off, contradicting her behavior in a way even obvious to our first person protagonist. This is a very typical Progressive Asuna behavior - initiating a meaningful behavior, like touch, while claiming it has no deeper meaning, but still initiating it all the same. The truth of her trust in Kirito as a person reveals itself when they walk away as he consoles her for the loss of her weapon - and she fully holds its hand, which she formerly herself defined as crossing a line. She crosses the line because her emotional need overrides her desire to conceal, maybe even to deceive herself about her actions. The Asuna we see here is ambiguous. Maybe she deceives herself about her feelings or maybe she puts on a show for Kirito, probably both, making her more complex and satisfying than a Tsundere archetype would typically be.

As a side note, I don't think the feelings Asuna (and actually also Kirito) experience are necessarily in the context of teenage romance, though they could also be and sometimes are. But how I experience the story it's a love that transcends friendship, a deep abiding love for the other that's loyal and derives comfort from the other's presence, a love between the souls. Maybe this love is in conflict with their personalities, their beliefs, their social cues, and maybe not. Whenever Kawahara writes from Kirito's standpoint, he artfully communicates ambiguous cues from Asuna. All the key romantic scenes happen from his vantage point so we don't know.

You might remember that even in the main series Kirito is described, also by himself, as "clueless" and "dense" when it comes to female attention. Hell, he's a boy lacking significant interaction with the other gender when we meet him. In the main series this culminates in Klein, Agil, Klein's guild, and Asuna standing there, grinning knowingly, when Kirito denies he's being seduced. Everybody sees what Kirito is the last to know - that Asuna's game is to envelope and embrace Kirito until he's hers, and that she already won that game. Everybody can see it but him and Asuna is being confirmed as the seducer we knew her to be all along.

This receives its first shout-out in this SAOP story - by Agil, as a sort of connector between the scenes, between the two series. He is present, he's seen both of them before, he has high opinions of them as people - he already is basically a friend. And he calls out the pair after the boss fight, to both their denials, in a scene that is entirely too funny and lovely for its own good.

So, we have Asuna "tricking" Kirito in teaming up with her, providing a reason to begin the partnership but then simply going on. We have Asuna initiating gestures of intimacy while denying that they mean anything. We have others calling out both on what's becoming pretty obvious - that they are meant for each other. But by far the strongest step forward in her character arc, almost skipping to the end in one go, happens during the boss fight.

Kirito and Asuna both get paralyzed as she dodges out of the way of an area attack, and lunges after her to give her an extra push, endangering himself against reason. They're both doomed. They are paralyzed, at the risk of being abandoned by a faltering raid group. Asuna is sprawled over Kirito as the effect makes their bodies drop, and when Asuna asked him why he's doing that, he can only say that he doesn't know.

All of a sudden, the scene transforms, hitting me with its tranquility:

"And for reasons that once again were a mystery to me, she smiled gently, closed her eyes, and set her hooded head against my shoulder."

This is a tremendously powerful moment. They're in the path of death, and Asuna goes into it with full acceptance. Not because she has a death wish, just accepting the inevitable, and apparently comforted by Kirito's presence. If she has to go that's how she wants to go. The closing of the eyes in the face of danger and death is deep acceptance, the head on his shoulder is both intimacy and a sign that she finds rest and peace in this place, with him, at his side, when she can allow it. It's probably one of the strongest moments in all of Kawahara's work. It mirrors the love-death scene at the end of SAO Vol. 1 when Kirito and Asuna dissolve together, as union, when again she doesn't fear death, but finds peace in dying with him.

In other words, we have skipped right to the end. For a moment, Asuna has gone through her whole relationship arc with Kirito, except he tried sacrifice himself for her. When it comes to souls, actions can speak louder than words.

Possessive Asuna

Not to ruin the moment, but there's one more thing to speak about in terms of this volume. Asuna displays a possessive and jealous quality throughout, shooting death stares at people when they suggest their relationship is anything less than it is or "threaten it." If somebody calls her out on it, she will deny it three times before the rooster crows. But she will not accept anybody lessening it.

Of course all we see are things from Kirito's point-of-view again, leaving us to interpret her cues, but also goading and deceiving us with his own views. Kirito is an unreliable observer. Don't trust him!

We basically know since The Reason for the Whiskers that Argo already enlisted in Kirito's harem of unrequited love. Again, this is communicated through subtle gestures, her hugging him from behind. And when it gets too intimate and borders on the risk of her making a move on him, he does one of his nervous turns to basically spoil the mood. But Argo calls him out on it, labeling him a "coward" under her breath. She knows exactly the power of the moment. We don't know if Argo has romantic experience at this point, but she seems to understand boys rather well, and Kirito bumbling his way out of a powerful moment is not lost on her.

Like every other girl in SAO in general, Argo has a coping strategy. Argo's is being a merciless tease. This fits her personality in general, she loves putting people on the spot, embarrassing them, but she always does in a good-natured way. She redefines her feelings into calling herself "Big Sister," a bit probably to save face, but also calling Kirito out on his immaturity. But it's a role that permits love and friendship.

It also initiates one of the several incidents where Asuna displays a sense of possession towards Kirito, fully in force in Chapter 9 of that story. Argo repeatedly teases Asuna out by teasing and confusing Kirito:

"Ohh? Why don't you tell Big Sister what you want?"

"Just remember this: Big Sister prioritized her feelings for Kii-boy over her rules of business."

Each of these statements are met with an icy reception by Asuna. This a sort of shadow duel between the two characters. Argo lets on at the beginning of the scene that she basically can tell that there is something between the two. (Cue inevitable denial.) She then consciously switches into teasing mode, probably to get a reaction. She loves playing with Kirito and his reactions, true. But this seems to be a mental duel between two girls to provoke a reaction - though not one cold intent, at least not as I see it.

Both girls are more aware of complex rules governing behavior in social dynamics (something which Asuna explicitly claims for herself in the story), and we get a hint here that Argo caught on to one dynamic in particular between our leading couple - I mean temporary partners. (Sorry, Asuna.) It is that whatever Asuna feels towards Kirito she cannot speak its name. If she spoke out in this moment, it would be terribly embarrassing for her. It would provoke her into a situation where feelings would have to be admitted, called by their name, and accept the consequence. This is what Asuna's denials are all about. She does not want to do this. So all she can do is glare. And Argo is teasing her - both for her own amusement, but likely also to draw Asuna out. As if to say "Okay, you can have him. But do so already."

Of course, from a series standpoint, Kawahara cannot do that. Not because of the main series. But because he clearly recognizes the value of this tension, this coming together and pulling apart, this betrayal of true feelings followed by obscuring ambiguity. Because the readers hungers for more. It beats all the drama in the game easily, being one of the true strong points of Progressive.

Asuna also bristles when Kirito calls himself a solo player. Like hell you are! Nobody is allowed to call these two a couple or even partners, but Asuna will take offense when you call them anything less and deny her. That's a rock and a hard place to be between. Poor Kirito, how can you do right? (And the answer is: You never do wrong by touching Asuna's heart. She's no ice queen by any definition, after all.)

From here on out it's all "downhill" for Asuna, she will reinforce several of these traits like on a slippery slope throughout the Progressive series. This is a dance, one of those were the dancers come apart and together. The series aims for powerful moments, but in doing so, these characters take on a life of their own for good, and their driving dynamic becomes the heartbeat of the series.

Looking forward

I was going to talk about the Asuna of "Hopeful Chant" next, but this is getting too long by far. So we'll probably see another installment focusing on Asuna soon. Especially as I read those books. (Damn, they're good.)

What I can say is that I feel that Asuna will need new character arcs moving forward. These could indeed arise from the drama, but we have to see if the end of the Elf War quest in future installments will deliver that. Right "now," at the end of SAO Progressive Vol. 8, we have seen almost all of Asuna's original character arc. It's implied we have seen everything of it except actually dying. By SAOP Vol. 8 she's willing to outright chose risk of death to protect him, she will not shirk back from risk when he does, and she doesn't mind dying if it is at his side. How much more powerful can her actions get?

I'd love to find out. Stoked!

#sword art online progressive #sword art online #sao #characters #retcon #asuna #asuna yuuki

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