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auniverseforgotten · 3 months ago

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I have read the snippets that you have of the pursuit of diarmuid and grainne au and i love It and was wondering of you had more to share?

Hey, sorry this took so long to reply to, I was waffling on and off about how to go about it! Read more bcus it got long dxfcgh

So for those wondering, the og post is here and it lays out the basics [alongside teatitty's posts that were the main insp I love u Tea], which are essentially that I really can't see The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne as a love story, tragic of otherwise, as Diarmuid says no from the very start, and in certain versions he resists as much as he can by making up several reasons why they can't go, such as Fionn having the keys or being unable to pass through a wicker gate, and at least in this one cries over being parted from his people, from the Fianna.

The Pursuit is both a comparatively younger myth and wildly out of character for Fionn, who is most often characterized as a benevolent protector to the people of Ireland, so I do want to note that while I fully understand some people preferring the original mythos Fionn, that's not really what is in this AU. He also isn't there to marry Gráinne.

NOW I DO WANT TO SAY. Thank you so much for your interest and for reaching out, I'm so happy you loved it aaaaaaa!!! ;;w;;

It means a lot to me that you enjoyed my snippets; I really posted it expecting it to just kinda die like most of the last line/sections I do, but several people seemed to really enjoy it and that means a lot to me! ;w; It is a different sort of fic for me, though, and it's one that I'm not overly confident in, so I don't know when, if ever, I would post it. Things also may change from the snippets as I work on it; for example, still trying to decide if Sadhbh is still present in this au, as that throws a lot of stuff off kilter that would have to be redone dfxchvg

That being said I do have a couple other sections! I'm not sure how good they are, but, well.

The attention is typical, at first. Diarmuid knows he cuts a handsome figure and dresses to match it, wearing fine velvet and leather with pearls and diamonds strung through his braid. But the longer it lasts the more uneasy he becomes. He's caught sight of her several times now: the high king’s daughter, Gráinne. His fingers itch to run over his love spot, to make sure it's still covered. Fionn is standing at his side, tall and broad, a far more winsome figure than his own. It's the work of a moment for Diarmuid to step into his shadow and closer to his side; an arm immediately drops around his shoulders, his friend jovial and welcoming. It warms his heart and soothes him all at once. If he stays like this, tucked away into Fionn's shadow, cautious and protective of his dearest friend, of his son and grandson by their sides, nothing will come of it. Inevitably it is noticed. Fionn's arm grows tighter before dropping to allow him to step further back, his smile slightly more strained. They continue to walk together outwardly unchanged; Diarmuid follows in his shadow until Fionn leads them into a sheltered corner, the others continuing on without them. Hands run over Diarmuid's shoulders, his arms, his sides, checking for injuries before coming back to gently cup his face. “What troubles you so?” Diarmuid looks to the side before he can stop himself, chewing his lip as he considers his options. He has never lied to Fionn and he doesn't plan on making it a habit now, but if he tells him the political landscape could face a massive upheaval. Fionn strokes his cheek, expression closed off; it's unlike Diarmuid to be avoidant with him. It’s unlike him to act like this at all. He knows Fionn is worried. “Is it still covered?” He asks, sighing as Fionn immediately runs his thumb over his love spot, a gentle, grounding touch. “Always. What happened?”

So a couple notes here, this is before anything happens but when Diarmuid has already noticed that he's being watched in an unsettling way; he's a Fae, he's beautiful, he's used to being stared at, but not quite like this. He also has a mole, a love spot, that makes women fall in love with him, which some versions of the pursuit imply is the sole reason Gráinne ever even approaches him. So aside from sounding a lot like victim blaming, the love spot in myth is actually on his forehead, and thus easily covered [and almost always covered, it caused him so much grief when it wasn't you think he would leave it in plain sight?] by his hair. Hence the concern here. "Solar how can Fionn's thumb reach-" man is quite literally half giant in mythos shhhhhhh let me have this uwu

Fionn and Diarmuid know each other very well so as soon as it becomes clear Diarmuid is not just stepping closer bcus he doesn't trust certain people around Fionn [unnecessary, Fionn would normally tease him about it] but is in fact uncomfortable it becomes an Immediate Pressing Issue to find out why. From there, not yet written out, it's a struggle of deciding how much Diarmuid wants to tell Fionn [he knows him, he knows if he tells him 'someone has been staring at me in a very unsettling way and I'm uncomfortable' it will become an Issue to be Addressed Immediately.

Next snippet is further along, after Gráinne already put the geis on him and forced him away. Very possibly subject to change, I don't...super love how it's reading now, but I do also like the concept even if I worry it doesn't fit Diarmuid's voice properly.

Diarmuid leaves signs where he can. Small things abandoned in the depths of night when Gráinne is asleep and unknowing, deniable in the light of day should ever she see them. Little pearls and diamonds from his braid, tucked where they will catch the light only if someone is looking for it. Scraps of cloth, a fleck of blood, three hairs caught tangled on a branch; imperceptible signs that will be clear as day to as skilled a hunter as Fionn. Desperate pleas, a trail of a weeping heart. Find me, it cries, fearful as he never before has been, please don’t stop looking. Even though he knows that the best way this could end is for Fionn to let him go. For Diarmuid to let Gráinne take him where she wishes and do what she demands because she is the daughter of the high king and Fionn doing anything in retaliation will only invoke his wrath. If she dies…she can’t die. She can’t. There is no way out. To lay a path, to allow his heart to hope for rescue knowing everything he knows is shameful. More than that, it’s a political nightmare. Gráinne is surely to wed a lord someday, someone far above Diarmuid’s own station, someone chosen to bring further peace and stability. He leaves a fish, uncooked and untouched, when he can. A message, a plea, a promise that he has not done anything untoward, that he will not do anything untoward. It will likely not be enough for her father, nor for her future suitor still yet unnamed. He wants Fionn to find them, to end this, to find a way to break the geis and let him come home. Yet he has to keep Fionn from finding them, because he has never seen his friend so angry. The one time they did speak, swift on the heels of their flight, Fionn was so far gone with rage that Gráinne would dare lay so much as a hand on him that Diarmuid hadn’t known how to calm him. He had barely even had time to draw his lance and intercept the killing blow before it felled Gráinne and threw everything into chaos. He cannot risk Fionn catching up again, not until he finds a way to calm his friend’s fury.

"Solar why would Diarmuid keep Fionn from killing Gráinne that makes no sense he doesn't want to be here at all." So you see. Gráinne is the daughter of the high king of Ireland. Fionn is the 'seventh king of Ireland' [ty Tea I love u Tea]. Aka, there are extreme political ramifications at play, which I lay out via Diarmuid but just for clarity here.

ANYWAY my main concern here is I don't want Diarmuid to come off as like...not quite woobified but like woobified. From a fate background I know that a lot of takes on Diarmuid write him a lot more submissive/subservient which I am not bashing, if that's what people enjoy, good for them!! But that's not the angle I go with Diarmuid at all, and that goes even more for mythos Diarmuid who is strong as fuck and typically able to weasel or fight his way out of situations. It's just that in this one there's a geis upon him that will kill him or otherwise fuck him up if he breaks it, so he is forced into a passive role. ON TOP OF THAT he can still think clearly over the ramifications of harm coming to Gráinne so he Needs to be careful, needs to be polite and repress the urge to fight back, to flinch away.

Included the fish mention because this person mentions reading the pursuit as assigned school reading, and that's where I saw the mention of leaving an uncooked fish to be like heyyyyyy promise there was no funny business okay? It does also mention a 'positive' of Fionn being portrayed in a bad light, that being that it humanizes him, but as said above, I'm stepping around that interpretation of Fionn dfxcvg

ANYWAY I HAVE LIKE. THIRTY versions of the pursuit up rn, two of which I need to actually check out from the internet archive bcus they are book form but hopefully also provide further analysis?

THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH FOR YOUR ASK AND INTEREST!!!! I'm sorry I can't give you like a timeline of when it would be done, or if it'll even be posted, but I hope these snippets are enjoyable, at least?

ALSO I KNOW SOMEONE REBLOGGED THE OTHER POST and commented I'M SO SORRY I NEVER GOT BACK TO YOU MY BRAIN IS BAD but thank you so much for reading also!!!!!

#solar screams #solar writes #pursuit au #diarmuid ua duibhne #fionn mac cumhaill #grainne #abusive relationship #that's between diarmuid and grainne #not really a relationship but the behaviors are there so i want ppl to block when they need to

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