#his dark materials fic

[flowerpotmage]

mist & rue

It is night in a new world, and you've lost a dear friend.

notes & etc: reader, lee scoresby, and john parry. oneshot. HDM series. canon compliant with events of book 2. ambiguous relationships. angst!! more writer commentary at the end. 584 words. on Ao3 here

It’s unreasonable to have expected your choices to take you down any other path than this. You were always going to find yourself here.

Mist touches your skin, permeating through the relatively thin layers of your clothing and down through to your bones. You’d like to say that the cold air numbs your distress, shocks you enough to calm down and jolt out of it, but… truthfully, it has little effect on why you’re here, crying and swallowing shaky gulps of air with your arms around yourself and a silver turquoise ring in your fist. You don’t notice the osprey dæmon that soars overhead.

The soft sound of familiar footsteps draws another shuddering breath into your lungs, your hand wiping shaky and surreptitiously—you hope—at your cooling tears. You want to greet him, as you normally would, but you know your voice would betray you. Although, if he’s here right now, he already knows, and you’re taking much too long to say anything anyhow, and he’d be an idiot not to know anyway—

He comes to a stop near your shoulder.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he says in that smooth, enigmatically charming voice of his. “Sayan saw you, and I thought you might appreciate an ear.”

Your dry chuckle is exceptionally soggy, and you take a deep breath to steady yourself, breathing it out through your lips with closed eyes.

“Jopari,” you greet, looking out at the foreign stars. “It has been an exceptionally trying time. I don’t think I was ready.”

“Ah,” he says, and you can hear the rueful smile in the sound. “I don’t think most of us are.”

You turn to look at him over your shoulder. “John.”

You’ve come to know him well over these last years. Sayan can journey far, that’s true, but even a shaman with a witches dæmon is reluctant to part too far with their own very self, and shamans and witches alike need unassuming individuals to be their knowing eyes and hands in far off lands. None of you would never have gotten this far otherwise. So you understand immediately.

“You knew Lee would…” your throat closes up on the words.

“I did. I'm sorry.”

The tears come fresh, the heat of the saltwater on your face due to more than mere thermodynamics. It’s as if the anger at the man by your side is finding the only escape it can, through the water of your eyes, leaving room for growing dismay.

“Come back to the camp,” he says, nothing but gentle. “You’ll catch cold and we’ve a ways to go yet.”

You turn away again, looking down at the small furry body of your dæmon by your boot.

“Ah, so I will be continuing on further?” You regret the spiteful comment as soon as it leaves your mouth.

“This is not the world you’ll stop in,” John Parry says, cryptic as ever.

You turn to face him, the stones making their small sounds underfoot. He looks at you, sharp eyes apologetic. “I know you were close with Mr. Scoresby,” he says. “If there had been another way—”

“Then we wouldn’t win, in the end, would we?”

One side of his mouth lifts, once again rueful.

You sigh, and nod. The two of you walk back to your small, humble camp, and John, Jopari, Stanislaus Grumman and all his names, sits with you in silence by the fire. Before you know it, he will be dead, and you will be left behind to tell his son about him.

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

i have sooo much fun facts about this reader in my head all of a sudden. in my mind they were a little bit in love with lee (a longtime friend) and john (platonically? romantically? we'll never know about either of these for either fella and neither will they bc theyre kinda messed up about it all!!) and they work with john and the witches towards asriel's big plan to Kill God. yippee!!

[zomeszone]

This is a random His Dark Materials fic I quickly wrote. I have written fanfiction in the past but this is my first His Dark Materials fic. It's a small moment where Lyra's and Will's futures are connected

This is on AO3 with a few edits

As they entered the theatre, Lyra made sure Pan had his seat. It was in contrast with everyone else in the theatre. They had their daemons touching them, some even curled into their sides. Lyra was more dressed up for the occasion, in a white blouse with a light tan skirt which had a small petticoat built-in with ankle boots, her favourite bag over her shoulder.

Films were invented a year before but it was the first time a cinema had opened and was open to the public. Lyra was eager to see the first film they showed to see how similar it was to that one time, years before with Will. Looking around, people were more dressed up than she was. Lyra knew that moving pictures could happen and it was common to go in Will's world. To everyone else in her world, it was a brand-new thing and they were known as 'moving photograms' but Lyra chose to always call them 'films'

The only other seemingly open seat was on Lyra's right side. She wished Will was occupying that seat and sat with snacks she would steal. Pan and Kirjava on the other side of them, watching the film like their owners, and their tails entwined.

As it started, Lyra expectantly looked to her right, hoping that Will had somehow figured out a way to get there. Instead, there was a llama daemon sitting there. If Will was in the land of the daemons, they would've been buzzing that they could watch movies in Lyra's world!

In his world, Will had sat down on a first date with a girl named Imogen. They met when the guy Will had briefly dated had introduced them on a night out. They'd agreed to it after Will had broken up with James. Will and Imogen had a horrendous Pizza Express dinner, in which they didn't seem to get along. He hoped that "Back to Black" would distract him from her.

Imogen was the polar opposite of Will in every way. She wanted to be in the middle of everything when he was more comfortable blending in. He knew that opposites could complement each other, but he and Imogen just clashed. She was a bit on the taller side with short ginger hair, wearing a black dress with a yellow overshirt and yellow high tops. He was in his go-too random t-shirt with dark jeans and fleece combo with his old faithful trainers.

He sat in his seat with Imogen on his right and an empty seat on his left. As the sound of Amy Winehouse's voice filled the theatre, he looked at the empty seat, thinking to himself, "Lyra, look at this!"

A lesbian couple was sitting on the other side of that seat. One of them had bleach-blonde hair and was sitting where he envisioned Pan and Kirjava being. He liked the idea of their tails being tangled together.

[mithrilwren]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga) Word Count: 11,322 Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Sanji Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Developing Relationship, Roronoa Zoro and Sanji Bickering, Misunderstandings, Consensual Daemon Touching, Whole Cake Island Arc Spoilers, Childhood Trauma, mentions of past daemon/animal harm, Protective Roronoa Zoro, Protective Sanji (One Piece), Trust Issues, Angst with a Happy Ending

Sanji and Zoro don’t get along. Their daemons, Sanji is disturbed to discover, do.

My gift for @akwolfgrl for the One Piece Secret Santa 2024 (@op-secret-santa) exchange! I ended up going with ‘Daemon AU’ from your list of favourite tropes, but I also took a little inspiration from your second wish (about a small, cute creature stealing from Sanji’s pantry). I really hope you like it!

[dreasdreams]

Lord Asriel x Marisa Coulter moodboard

"She and your father, they fell in love as soon's they met."

[idkaguyorsomething]

The Problem of Susan Fic Recs

For many reasons, The Last Battle is probably the most contentious addition to the Narnia canon. The standout, though, has to be the infamous Problem of Susan, wherein the Pevensie children are all killed in a train crash and brought to Narnia 2 Electric Boogaloo aka heaven, then declare that Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia because of her interest in “lipsticks and nylons”. Hardly any time is spent on this, but the implications have been the ground for a lot of argument and discussion. What exactly would happen to Susan, and should it have happened? Over the years, dozens of fic writers have thrown their hats in the ring and weighed in on the subject, making the Problem of Susan almost a prism for the fandom: everyone shines through it a bit differently, resulting in a wide spectrum. Here’s some of the highlights under the cut.

http://shedletsky.com/blog/the-god-who-loves-you

Starting with the fic that coined the term, written by Neil Gaiman himself, this fic is a reflection and deconstruction of the idea that Susan would be able to find Narnia again by delving into the trauma that the experience of losing all her family at once as well as the social injustices that a young woman of her time would’ve faced, something that the narrative of The Last Battle never really addresses. It took off for a reason, as it presents a lot of good food for thought, but it’s also got some pretty weird shit that can feel like it’s conflating adulthood with edginess. Well worth a read for all the points it raises, but if you’re fond of canon you probably won’t like the way it takes a hammer to it.

Now this one is exactly what you’d want to read if you wanted some feel-good time. This story is probably the closest to how C S Lewis would’ve written Susan’s return to Narnia, detailing her rediscovering all the things she put away as well as what led up to her rejecting Narnia in the first place. It falls more to the end of being almost uncritical of canon, with the focus on Susan basically having the same sort of religious rediscovery that C S Lewis himself had in his life. Because of how she was treated in canon, that can be pretty frustrating, but the ending feels nothing short of joyous.

Swinging back to the other end of the spectrum, this fic is very critical of the idea of The Last Battle being a pretty happy ending for everyone, unambiguously stating that life is always worth living for all the Pevensie kids. It explores what their lives could’ve been like if they didn’t die, being a rebuttal of C S Lewis’ themes rather than a continuation of them while feeling equally as happy as the fic directly above.

And this story feels like a midway point between the above two. It dives really deep into the emotional damage that Susan would’ve suffered before and after the train crash in some absolutely gorgeous prose, showing both her and Aslan with great sympathy while maintaining that what happened to her is not a punishment in any way. Bittersweet and very, very good.

Heading back towards the more critical end of the spectrum, this fic presents a Susan who is not interested in finding Narnia again, only her family. She is very much a character straight out of an ancient myth rather than a teen trying to make sense of a senseless situation here, filled with determination as much as desperation. It’s probably the closest fic on here to having something close to a plot as well as a character study, with the exception of The Queen’s Return and one other:

Being a crossover with what’s pretty much the antithesis of the Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, it’s probably easy for you to guess which side of the spectrum this story falls on. It’s more of a HDM story than a Narnia one, but the two worlds blend together surprisingly well, and it gives us a rare look into a Susan who’s lived decades of her life when the story picks up. She’s pretty much the Professor and it is fascinating, as is everything left to interpretation by this gem of a fic that is ambiguous yet deeply satisfying.

¡And here’s Susan as a Doctor Who companion! This isn’t directly a Narnia story so much as it is one about two people much older than they look mourning the loss of their worlds, with a Susan who is a queen wise beyond her years. Reading it is like taking an ice shower. It doesn’t hold back on the grief, and as a result it manages to feel honest as it reaches a warm ending.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/24311

Despite also being a crossover, this is in some ways the opposite of touch the sky with two arms. Susan is more of an everyday young woman than a queen, and [SLIGHT SPOILERS] Narnia itself does feature directly. But y’know, that’s part of what makes fandom so interesting. Not everyone is going to have the same take on everything, and the ending of this leans more happy than melancholy.

¿A shipping fic that’s also a crossover with Peter Pan that features neither Neverland or Narnia? Yes, this one probably has the least to do with Narnia or Aslan, but it tells a very compelling story about living life and growing up, something that isn’t perfect but can be good if you find someone you want to spend your life with. Susan Pevensie and Wendy Darling are a really good couple, pinky promise.

Technically more a series of ensemble oneshots, but Susan features very prominently in a lot of them, and they will make you feel every feeling that everything else on this list might’ve given you. Satisfaction, devastation, simple joy, just go give it a shot.

[runawaymarbles]

handbinding project: He Says He Is An Experimental Theologian, part 1 of @bicatperson's WTNV/HDM crossover.

This is a remake of one I did three years ago (lent it to a friend, he moved, making an entirely new book seemed like less work than coordinating with the friend of a friend he left it with.) The original typeset was a 6x9 so I had to readjust it to fit 5.5x8.5, and I also changed out the symbols so they'd print more easily. The new ones are a font made by the wonderful rosed from the Renegade Bindery discord.

Fun fact: the arrangement of the hands on the cover also correlates to specific alethiometer symbols because I got that in the weeds about it all.

This cover was a motherfucker and a half because heat transfer vinyl is out to ruin my life: on the original version, I applied the spine art it to the fabric before putting it on the cover, so that I could make sure it was centered. I then tried to use the same HTV to put the symbol on the cover, which did not work no matter how many times and how much heat I tried. (I realized later I'd forgotten to heat the cover first.) So then I tried to peel it up, and it didn't come all the way, so I took that cover off (hooray for wheat paste) and tried putting the vinyl on the fabric before I made the case. despite measuring multiple times, the circle ended up waaay off center. Possibly because I was trying to do this at 11pm. Eventually I just went to Joann's and bought adhesive vinyl, and only adhesive vinyl, even though there was a sale and all vinyl was 40% off. I ended up having to replace the beehive with the night vale eye, because the beehive symbol was a bunch of little lines the adhesive did nOT like, but I think the Night Vale eye looks better anyway.

[thedemonofcat]

In the final trial to become a witcher, their dæmons are severed from them. Geralt recalls his dæmon, Dandelion, looking at him and promising to return one day. Elsewhere in Lettenhove, a baby named Julian was born.

Julian Pankratz, better known as Jaskier, had always been different. He was born without a dæmon, a rarity that marked him as unique. Perhaps this peculiarity drew him to Geralt, the witcher who found the bard's lack of a dæmon intriguing.

Unknown to either of them, Jaskier is actually Dandelion, keeping his promise.

[tragicotps]

Young Masriel au [part 1: First meeting]: Recently returned from one of his expeditions, Asriel plans to crash one of Edward Coulter's exclusive dinner parties for networking purposes. At the door he's greeted by a mysterious and attractive young woman, who turns out to be married to the party host and coincidentally one of his biggest political rivals.

[horsegirlwarcrimes]

I have come back am I allowed to ask about more WIPs from your list. I am so so curious about "Shen Yuan Gets Two Daemons", the intersection of daemons with transmigration is so interesting to me. (I may be back again later but I am trying once again to not do So Many Asks At Once)

omg thank u for the continued asks!!

for this fic, the concept is that when shen yuan transmigrates into shen qingqiu, he takes over the OGs body but not his soul. therefore ergo, shen qingqiu is gone, but his daemon is still there. shen yuan reluctantly makes a deal with the og scum villain's daemon—xiu ya won't turn him in for the body snatching if shen yuan works on finding a way to resurrect shen qingqiu. shen yuan's own soul is very excited to suddenly have a body of her own AND a bonus brother.

Shen Yuan returns to the world of the living with a scream.  Not his own, as it turns out. He awakens laying in bed, something warm and soft and weighty laying in his chest. There’s a soft thump thump thump that beats in time with his heart. For a moment, he feels perfectly at peace—like the best ASMR ever, sending tingles through his whole body and making every muscle relax.  That’s when the screaming starts.  Shen Yuan shoots up and instantly regrets it. The weight on his chest goes flying off with a discontented noise, and the room spins around him. He’s caught between a need to get up, to find and soothe the source of the sound, and an arresting vertigo that steals the air from his lungs. The result is him flailing half way out of bed in a tangle of—silk?  Two large, firm hands catch him around the shoulders.  “Shidi, please, stay in bed. Everything will be alright. I’ve called for Mu Qingfang. A-Su is doing what she can. Just stay still.”  Shen Yuan doesn’t recognize the latter name, but the former pings something in the back of his mind. He looks up blearily as those hands gently press him back into the mattress.  The man leaning over him has a broad, handsome face that, combined with the dark eyes and gentle, worried crease to his brow, immediately puts Shen Yuan in mind of his older brothers. He allows this to be his excuse for folding right away, letting himself be manhandled back into bed even as half of his brain is clawing for him to move, to help. He looks over the man’s shoulder, searching for the source of the agonized screaming. It sounds like someone is being murdered. What he finds is a sight his mind can’t fully comprehend. There is a large dog in a corner of the room with its paw holding something down. The thing under its paw is a shifting mass, leaking strange golden dust. One moment there is fur, then feathers, then scales. It screams all the while.  “What’s wrong with him?” Shen Yuan asks blankly.  “I’m not sure,” the man says, “but we are going to fix it.” His eyes look sad.  There is a little scrabbling noise, barely audible over the creature in the corner’s yelling. A fluffy white cat jumps onto the mattress and climbs up onto Shen Yuan’s chest.  “Ah,” he says, and his hands instinctively come up around her. She must be what he accidentally flung away before.  She makes a sleepy grumble and gets comfortable. Shen Yuan finds his energy and his ability to comprehend his surroundings fading rapidly, now that she is there, warm and solid in his arms. He bats away the human hand that reaches for his wrist absently.  “Xiao Jiu, that—”  The man next to the bed looks strangely horrified as he drifts off. Shen Yuan has no idea who he was talking to.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi, Steph. I'm hoping you can help me find a fic I read years ago. I'm pretty sure I read it before S3 came out.

It's an AU in a world where everyone has some sort of companion animal. John's companion is a friendly dog. Mycroft has a beetle he keeps in a metal tube welded shut in his pocket. He says she feels safe and secure that way (spoiler, that's a lie). And Sherlock just. doesn't. have. one.

This is super strange because everyone has one. If someone's companion animal ever dies, the person generally goes insane and dies too. John and his dog once in a field tries to see how far apart they could get from each other before it became unbearable.

Sherlock also talks to and touches John's dog. It's generally frowned upon to touch someone else's companion animal.

The only other things I remember are that there's a scene where Sherlock and John have cornered a suspect, and Sherlock shoots the suspect's companion animal. John is flabbergasted. And there's a big reveal about why Sherlock doesn't have a companion animal of his own.

Hi Lovely!

OH GOSH, this sounds SO familiar; I THINK it's a His Dark Materials or Daemons AU... Here is what I found doing a tag search on my MFL list, perhaps it's one of these?:

Asteroidea Series by etothepii (E, 16,253+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || His Dark Materials Fusion || Daemon Sherlock, Untagged Stories) – In the pocket of his trousers, next to his phone, Mycroft carries the standard-issue steel capsule meant for protecting arthropod daemons. When people ask about it, he smiles and tells them she's not fond of the light, or of people other than himself. This is a lie.

Unsettled by AxeMeAboutAxinomancy (E, 33,879 w., 10 Ch. || HIs Dark Materials AU || Daemons, Dark Themes, Non-Con) – Sherlock's dæmon hadn't settled. Once John realised that, so much made sense. Though so much else didn't, because it practically wasn't possible. Part 1 of the The Utmost Edge of Hazard series

The Republic of Heaven Series by Blind_Author (E, 128,844+ w. across 3 works || Series WiP || His Dark Materials / Daemon AU || S1 Compliant, Witches, Bears, BAMF John, Mutual Pining, Oblivious John, Evil Moriarty) – John and his dæmon, Amarisa, have never quite fit in, largely because she settled as a wolfdog. Sherlock and Raniel are similarly isolated, mostly because the woman they call Mummy is a witch. These two men and their dæmons end up sharing a flat together and the rest, as they say, is history. And with a witch-clan out for John's blood and a man known as Moriarty emerging from the shadows, they're certainly not going to be bored.

=====

I haven't read any of these, but my money is on the "Asteroidea" series given the description mentions the stuff you're looking for!!

If anyone knows for SURE, let us know!!

I hope one of these are it, though, Lovely!

[beauregardstaxicab]

My Soul In Your Hands: A Coldflash 'His Dark Materials AU'

Teaser for the first part of a new fic I'm getting ready to post on AO3! It'll be one long one-shot.

“Can’t really blame the kid for giving you up,” Leonard said as he pulled off his goggles. “You or his brother? Come on! I put him in a tight spot. Same kind I got you in right now.”

He pointed at Barry to emphasize his point. It was difficult to see clearly with Barry’s face in the shadows, but he could tell he was glaring back at him. Leonard smirked and opened his mouth to continue, but he got distracted by a strange buzzing sound. 

It was loud in the silence of the moonlit forest, and as he peeled his eyes and looked around, he saw something moving quickly around the circle, particularly around Barry. It looked like Barry’s dæmon was an extremely large bumblebee.

Well, that’s adorable, Leonard thought with a grin. 

“Can’t really stop me now that I know who you are,” Leonard continued. They taunted each other back and forth a bit, and Leonard ignored the way Ruby was getting stirred up by the incessant buzzing and started scurrying around Leonard’s feet. 

“I won’t let you keep stealing whatever you want, whenever you feel like it. It needs to end.”

Leonard stared him down and said, “Can’t do that. It’s what I—” 

Suddenly, Barry’s dæmon flew right in front of his face and hovered there. The moonlight poured over her and Leonard’s breath caught as her vibrant green chest radiated like a handful of emeralds. No, she was even more beautiful than that. 

He’d never seen a hummingbird so close before, though he’d seen plenty of pictures. It was amazing how small they were and yet held so much power in their little wings. They were nothing more than a blur… just like Barry.

“Hallie, come back.”

She zigzagged a bit in front of Leonard’s face first, and he got the impression that she was sassing him. He didn’t mean to smile at her, but it was difficult. A person’s dæmon was very telling of who they were. The ravenous racoon at his feet was proof of that. He couldn’t wait to dissect this later.

As she flew back to circle around Barry, Leonard blinked, feeling like he was awakening from a trance. He tried to remember what he’d been saying, but Barry was quicker.

“Then find a new line of work.”

Leonard shrugged. “Don’t want to.”

“Why’s that?”

“The same reason you keep running after guys like me. The adrenaline. The thrill of the chase. I love this game, and I’m very good at it.”

“Then go play it somewhere else.”

Barry opened his mouth to continue, but he frowned and looked to the left. Leonard followed his gaze and rolled his eyes. Ruby was climbing a nearby tree, stopping occasionally to reach her grubby little hand out at Hallie. 

“Ruby,” he said in a warning tone, but she just kept growling excitedly as she scurried onto a branch to get closer to the hummingbird flitting around her. He glared at her and snapped, “Ruby!”

She looked back at him and hissed. Barry’s eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth, hiding a grin. From the way Hallie was staying just outside of Ruby’s reach, Leonard almost thought she was baiting her. Barry didn’t seem to have the guile capable of that, but it made him wonder.

As the branch under Ruby began to snap under her weight, Leonard sighed and trudged over to her. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and hauled her down. She screeched and fought him off, but he kept a firm hold on her as he went back to the spot he was in. He could deal with the pain it inflicted on himself, but he knew he’d be hearing about it later from her. It was her fault though for acting like an idiot in front of his nemesis.

“Sorry about that,” he said, dropping her unceremoniously at his feet. “She likes shiny things.”

Barry put his hands on his hips and cocked an eyebrow. “Can’t say I’m surprised by that. What were we—?”

“I said I wasn’t about to quit being a thief.”

Nodding, Barry said, “And I was about to tell you to leave Central City.”

“Can’t do that either. I love it here.” He breathed in the cool, night air and said, “This city is my home.”

Barry reminded him of what he was capable of as he slowly walked closer to Leonard. Barry put an emphasis on stopping Leonard from killing or hurting anyone else, particularly those closest to him. It came as no surprise. He always knew Barry’s priorities always revolved around protecting human lives, something that was so easy to exploit.

Leonard cataloged every little thing he said while vaguely noting how handsome Barry was now that his face was no longer in the shadows. He should really mess up his hair more often.

“... I’m putting you away.”

Leonard’s eyes trailed down Barry’s body. Flash meant it as a warning, but it wasn’t a bad deal. He was good enough to do what he loved without killing anyone else, and he already had the leverage he needed against him. 

“I guess your secret’s safe, Flash… for now.”

He was a little disappointed when Barry reached back to pull his cowl over his head, indicating the end of the conversation. They cleared everything up, sure, but he bet he could needle a bit more out of him with a bit more talk, more than Barry intended to give away. He’d already given Leonard a lot, after all.

Once Barry’s head was trapped in his red condom mask, he saw Hallie sticking closer to him as if she was waiting for something. Now that she wasn’t moving so quickly, though, Ruby scampered closer to Barry and jumped up and down a few times, trying to snatch the hummingbird out of the air. She couldn’t even get close to her.

Barry stared down at her and then looked up at Leonard. “She’s not trying to eat my dæmon, is she?”

Leonard simply grinned back. Barry rolled his eyes and cupped his hands. Hallie swooped down and cradled herself between his palms, and Leonard watched intently as Barry slipped her into a special compartment on his belt.

He hummed. “I was wondering why you needed such a big belt since it wasn’t the most… aerodynamic embellishment. I just figured you were compensating.”

Barry huffed out a laugh. “I’m not really the compensating type.”

“No?” Leonard asked with a tilt of his head.

“Regardless, she’s well protected,” Barry said in a colder tone as he shot Leonard a warning look.

He held up his hands. “Relax, Flash. I’m not a nice man, but as a thief I have an admiration for aesthetics. I’d never harm a little jewel like that.”

Barry’s lips parted, but he said nothing. 

Leonard looked around and said, “Oh, I don’t suppose you’d give me a ride back to town, would you?”

Barry grinned and sped off, leaving Leonard and Ruby alone to fend for themselves. He couldn’t say he was surprised. 

“The Rogues,” he said, chuckling. “Cute.”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun,” Ruby grumbled as she sat on her haunches and glared up at him. “Why’d you have to spoil mine?”

“Sorry, Rubes. That’s one jewel you can’t keep.”

She huffed. “We’ll see about that.”

“How about I go sneak you some emeralds from the local jewelry store instead?”

“Nooooo! I want to play with her. She’s pretty and soft and her wings go brrrrrrrrrr. I bet she’d feel great in my mouth.”

He tilted his head. “You actually want to eat her?”

“No! I just want to hold her in my mouth. There’s a difference.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, grimacing. He walked toward her and held out his hand for her to grab hold of. Once she had him, he swung her up on his shoulder and began walking in the direction of the city. 

After a few minutes, he said, “Don’t forget the rules, Ruby. No touching other people, and no touching other dæmons, unless—”

“We’re going for the kill, which I guess is out now, too.”  She hopped into the hood of his parka, curled up, and heaved a big sigh. “Spoiling all my fun.”

“Now, now… We’ll still have plenty of fun.” He smirked as he remembered the tension crackling between him and Barry as he stood close to him, the challenging look in his eyes. “We’re still playing the game, Rubes. It’s just that the rules have changed.”

[rhaized]

Golden Auroras—Chapter 36 (Completed Fic!)

At looong last over ~5 years(!), I've finally finished my multi-chapter fanfic Golden Auroras, which features Mrs. Coulter tagging along with Lyra throughout the events of The Subtle Knife:

Comprehension entered Lyra's gaze now as she glanced from Mrs. Coulter to the monkey to the portal and then back again. Pan fluttered back down to the tip of her shoulder, leering over at Mrs. Coulter, too. "I suppose there's no way to avoid it," Mrs. Coulter said after a few beats, aware of the Magisterial forces inching closer and closer. "We'll have to go through." — or— What if Mrs. Coulter had seen Lyra on the mountain in Svalbard, and what if Lyra had been too tired to fight? A story of Mrs. Coulter and Lyra sticking together through the events of The Subtle Knife, in which Mrs. Coulter wants to be better.

You can read the chapter here, and check out the first chapter if you haven't come across it before!

This fic has been a fun one to write, and I've written it across several periods of my life from a 25 year-old PhD student living with my mom during the pandemic to (currently) a 30-year old academic with a house engaged to a wonderful woman (and our dog currently snuggled next to me as I post this update).

Life is so wild, y'all. It's quite an adventure, just like this fic. I'm so happy to have finally had the time and muse to finish it and to make my grand return to the world of HDM and fanfc writing :)

Thanks so much for checking it out, if you do, and happy new year to all!

[chaosandwolves]

I feel incredibly stupid

I just rewatched the golden compass movie and googled why there was never a part 2 and.... I just found out that the "His dark materials" series is exactly that story!???

WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS????

Like I even read the first book but I never knew that's what the series is called

Omg wtf

WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS???

On the bright side... Got a new series to watch... So I guess... Yay?

Edit:

Wait... James McAvoy stars in this???

Again....

WHY DID I NOT KNOW THIS?

[littleredwritingcat]

Brilliant writer is brilliant.

Check it out, y'all!

The Lion, the Witch and the Leather Waistcoat pt. 6

His Dark Materials (show) Rating: Explicit 18+ only Pairing: Lee Scoresby x OFC Words: 6k Chapter: 6/8 (pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3, pt. 4, pt. 5)

Warnings: Mentions of physical abuse, minor character death.

Also on AO3

Summary: After spending the night on the beach with Lee, Sophia makes a very personal decision – surprising both herself and the rest of their little travel party.

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Sophia woke a little before dawn when Byron gently nudged her cheek. She scrunched her nose as his whiskers tickled her.

»Breakfast?«, he whispered, so not to wake Lee who seemed to be still asleep under the blanket next to Sophia.

There was a thin layer of dew glittering on the fabric, but the underside was dry and warm, and Sophia did not particularly feel like untangling herself from the aeronaut to meet to the morning air.

Sleeping on his long trench jacket had not been unpleasant. She vowed never to make fun of his outfit again.

There would be dew on her clothes that were still hanging off the branch where she left them last night. Great.

Apparently, having multiple orgasms a day compromised her usually sensible traveller’s habits.

At least the cloudless sky promised a clear morning. Sophia hoped that their »weather angel« had ordered them nothing but brilliant sun to accompany them as they continued up the river.

Then again - no, she told herself, as she rubbed her eyes. You cannot control the weather.

Despite what Lee said, that horrible Doctor Haley person had that right, if probably not much else. The bizarrely abrupt weather change they had experienced on the river must have been a very rare, but ultimately natural phenomenon.

It had to be.

They had just all been too exhausted and too relieved to resist the urge to see it as something almost miraculous. Even Lee, who spent most of his time in the sky (or, perhaps particularly Lee, given his state).

And isn’t that always how it goes? Sophia thought. Someone under stress meets something looking wicked, and slowly you start believing in manna from above. That’s how they get you.

Although…

Right. Breakfast.

Oh, to be in a hotel and to be able to simply order plates of eggs and bacon, like yesterday morning … A day and a million years ago.

Now, her and Byron would go hunt instead. Small prey, only. A bit of seasoning from the forest. Something reasonably nourishing that would not take hours to cook over a fire.

Sophia was good at making a meal out of little. And seeing as no one had come for them, she figured they could risk making a fire in daylight.

»Do you always get up this early?«

Sophia, who had quietly sat up, about to sneak out from underneath the blanket, turned to Lee. He was lying on his good side, squinting up at her.

She was relieved to see that the swelling around his eye had gone down considerably and that he was able to open it. It was predictably bloodshot, but so far, so good.

»When I’m on the run with wanted aeronauts and in charge of breakfast, then yes, I do«. Sophia smiled down at him. »But you should get a bit more rest. Fastest way to heal«.

Lee yawned. He reached out to stroke her arm with the back of his fingers.

»I’m as good as new. Slept like a baby after last night…«

His fingers wrapped around her wrist, and he tried to pull her down to him.

Sophia resisted.

»Oh, no, you don’t«. She shook her head at him. It took considerable effort to not lie down next to him again, pull the blanket over their heads and melt in his arms.

Lee gave her his disappointed puppy look. Sophia did not yet know him well enough to gauge if it was a bit, or simply the way he looked when he did not get what he wanted.

Either way, it was stupidly cute.

She dipped her head down to him and kissed his lips before he could say anything, then got up. She was only wearing her panties, and when she stretched her arms over her head, softly swaying from side to side to loosen up her muscles, Lee rolled onto his back to watch her.

The puppy look gave way to that gaze.

And that Sophia knew the exact meaning of by now.

She put her hands on her hips.

»Like what you see?«

He caught that she was quoting him from their first evening, and he smiled wide. A hint of a wolfish glint in his eyes.

»Oh, I think you know I do…«.

»I don’t mind hearing it again«.

»Come down here and I’ll show you instead«.

»Sorry, can’t do. Besides, baby sleep or not, don’t tell me that those ribs of yours aren’t still sore«.

»Not at all. You must have healing powers«.

It was a barely disguised lie, delivered with a smirk and a wink.

“Yes, well, even so. Byron and I will go find us something to eat”.

“Fine”. Lee sighed, but he was still smiling. “Thank you”.

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When Sophia and her daemon returned to their little camp an hour later, carrying a couple of quails and a handful of greens, Lee was up and dressed in pants and his shirt and making them a fire.

From his black wet hair shimmering in the morning sun, Sophia guessed he had gone for a dip in the river. It had been two days since she washed. Two days in which she had had a whole lot of sex and adrenaline pumping through her system.

She was definitely jumping in the river while Lee watched their food.

He helped her pluck the game (Sophia was pleased to note that he was efficient about it), and then she left him by the fire while she walked to water’s edge, stripped out of her clothes without looking back at Lee – who was undoubtedly looking at her – and waded right in.

It was cold but as clear as the night before, and she hurriedly dove under the surface to get the worst of it over with. She refused to squeal in front of the aeronaut.

And as soon as she was all submerged, it was heaven. Her hair floated around her, and the freshwater felt silky smooth around her body. The remains of the stress of yesterday seemed to be washed away with the gentle current.

She swam for a bit, diving and surfacing, before returning to the riverbank where Byron sat and waited for her, careful not to get his paws wet. One of very few differences between them. But even without having been in the water himself, he felt the same sense of refreshment, and blinked warmly at Sophia when she rose out of the water.

»Nice?«

»So nice. It’s so still you can see little swarms of fish«.

»Fish would have made for a good breakfast as well«.

»Wanna help me catch some?«. Sophia grinned at him.

Byron scrunched up his nose (as much as a lion can scrunch).

»No, thank you. Besides, I think the human punching-bag up there is actually doing a decent job with the birds«.

The daemon nodded towards Lee who was still sitting by the fire, evidently trying his best to give Sophia some privacy and not gawk at her naked form.

Her blanket was next to her clothes, though. She had forgotten to take it herself.

»Did you…?«.

»He did«.

Sophia smiled as she dried herself off. Still the perfect gentleman.

He beamed at her when she sat down next to him by the fire a few minutes later.

The morning sun was out and between that and the heat from the fire, the cold dampness of the day before already seemed a distant memory.

»Found a way to turn those into bacon yet?«. Sophia gestured to their food over the fire and gently bumped Lee’s arm with her shoulder.

»Oh, this will be the breakfast to end all breakfasts«. He grinned at her. »They need some time, though«.

»Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, there aren’t many half-cooked birds roaming around these parts«.

»I don’t mind. It’s nice just baking in the sun here for a bit«.

Lee snuck an arm around her back. It felt so natural. Sophia leaned against him.

»Besides«, the aeronaut continued, »I have a strong feeling we’ll find our guy pretty soon. Even if we don’t rush off just yet«.

He was gazing peacefully into the fire.

»I have the same feeling«, Sophia said, only then realizing that it manifested itself as something more than wishful thinking.

She still refused to believe that an entity was actively weaving a spell over the weather itself but rational as she was, Sophia could not deny the sense of someone waving them towards their destination.

»I wonder what he’ll be like. If he’ll even want to see us«, she mused. »As I told you, from what Serafina said he has a part to play and information to give, but she was characteristically vague on whether he needs…convincing«.

Lee grunted.

»He better want to see us. I did not risk my perfect complexion for some cuckoo shaman to slam his door in our faces. I’ve had my week’s share of obstinate eccentrics«.

»And if he has the object, whatever it turns out to be, then you’re on your way to Lyra first thing…«.

»Yup«.

»I wish my path was as clear«.

And I wish it ran parallel to yours, she wanted to add, but did not.

Would they be saying goodbye to each other tomorrow already? Or the day after, with Lee heading to one far corner of the world (if not another world altogether) and Sophia to another?

It seemed as likely as it felt impossible.

Lee’s arm around her tightened its grip a little. Was he thinking the same?

If they parted now, would they ever find each other again?

Too many questions.

Sophia had no practise tracking someone across different worlds. The thought alone was absurd, yet no longer mere fiction, if Serafina was to be believed.

Asriel had managed to rip a hole in the sky, defying both the Magisterium and nature. Who knew if other parties had already copied his trick?

Who knew if someone on the other side had?

And still you don’t believe in something as comparatively mundane as a little weather magic, Sophia’s conscious taunted her.

Her and Lee sat in silence, both lost in thought. The aeronaut had still not revealed anything more about his run-in with Marisa Coulter, and Sophia still did not want to press him on it.

She also still did not trust that Coulter would not find a way to have Lee followed. Or that the Magisterium would not put out a warrant for him.

It was hard to imagine how the aeronaut would retrieve his balloon undetected.

Byron was lying on the sand on the other side of the fire, watching Sophia. They locked eyes. Sophia could almost hear his voice in her head, telling her to focus on their job, their safety.

A girl can multitask, okay?

That was when she decided.

Byron searched her eyes with a questioning expression as he detected a new train of thought in his human. He was on to her within seconds.

Really? Are you sure? His eyes seemed to ask her. He looked from her to Lee, who was still far away somewhere. Or perhaps attempting to use telepathy to speed up the cooking of their food.

Sophia gave Byron a small nod.

She took a deep breath. It made Lee turn his head.

»You alright?«

»Yes. I am. But, Lee, there’s something I want to talk to you about«.

She straightened up and shifted so she was facing him. Lee had to retract his arm.

»Okay-y?«. A hint of apprehension bled into his eyes.

Sophia reached for her jacket next to her on the sand and found the little secret compartment sewn into the lining.

Across from her, Byron followed her closely. Hester was sitting next to him, her long ears pointing straight to the sky.

Sophia pulled out a small pendant on a double chain. It was shaped like the head of an arrow and its smooth silver surface shone in the sun.

She held out her palm to show it to Lee, who leaned a little closer to see but did not reach for it.

The pendant had no inscriptions on it, no gems, only a small hole for the chains.

»Serafina gave this to me when I was a child«, Sophia began. »I’ve known her for that long«.

She had goosebumps. In fifteen years, she had never shown this to anyone. Never talked about it.

She did not much like looking at it even now.

She turned the pendant over in her hand, then held it between her fingers and showed Lee its secret:

That it was in fact two pieces held together like magnets.

Sophia separated them and let a chain dangle from each hand. The pendants swung towards each other, trying to reconnect.

»What is it?«, Lee asked. »A magnet?«

Sophia handed him one, and the aeronaut carefully took it.

»In a way, yes. When pulled apart, the pieces will try to find their way back to each other. But unlike a normal magnet, these point to each other no matter how far apart they are. Like a compass«.

She tapped a finger to the tip of the piece she was holding.

»Hold it flat in your palm, and it will move to reveal the direction«.

Lee’s eyes went wide.

»Isn’t that something …«. He held up his piece to the sun to study it closer.

Sophia watched his face closely for any signs of gambler’s greed. She found none.

»And it’s witch-made?«, Lee asked.

»I actually don’t know«.

»Why did Serafina give it to you?«

Sophia closed her fist around the pendant and took another deep breath.

Lee looked back to her.

»I’m sensing there’s a story here«.

»There is«.

»You don’t have to tell me if-«

»No, it’s okay«. Sophia surprised herself. She had not meant to give him the full context. It was not necessary.

But whether it was because she was holding the pendant again for the first time in a very, very long time, or because Lee’s eyes made her feel both safe and seen, the story now wanted out.

Even so, she turned so she was facing the fire once more.

»When I was growing up, my father was a man of influence in the town we lived in«, started. »A rising politician of religious fervour who was set on becoming the county’s official representative at the Magisterium senate in London. And for a good number of years, it seemed like he was well on his way to making it. He had many lucrative connections, and a couple of times a year, he would even hold meetings with Serafina’s witch council. That’s how I first met her«.

Sophia idly slow spun the chain of the pendant around her fingers, then unspooled it and started over, as if it was a thread to the past she could pull on.

In a way it was.

»Obviously, they weren’t aligned, her and my father«, she continued, »but back then the witches of our region still hoped to find a way for their contrasting world views to co-exist without violent conflict. A fragile treaty between the powers of the old world and the growing influence of the Magisterium«.

»I was very little when Serafina first came to visit, and she seemed like this otherworldly figure who floated down from the sky to talk to my father. I was in complete awe of her. And she was very kind to me and my brother. Whenever she wasn’t locked in a meeting somewhere with my father, I could feel her eyes on us, and it made me feel so special. I’m sure it annoyed my father though…«.

Sophia paused. It wasn’t until she felt Byron sit down next to her that she realized he had gotten up and walked around the fire to be closer to her.

»My brother, Soeren, was four years older than me. He wasn’t like other children«.

Her voice sounded strange. It was like she was trying out the words to see if they were real.

»He was born with poor sight and hearing. And inside…inside it was like he stayed a small child. By the time I was seven and he was eleven, I was the one watching over him when we played outside in the fields that surrounded our town. If he wandered off, he often got confused and I would have to go find him. The world didn’t make a lot of sense to Soeren so most of the time, we would stay in our own, he and I and Byron and Soeren’s daemon, Ela«.

The names were thick on Sophia’s tongue. She drew her knees up. Byron shifted uneasily next to her.

»To my father especially, Soeren was a disappointment. An embarrassment. The firstborn, who was supposed to have been carved in my father’s own arrogant image was a strange, broken thing that would never carry on the family name«.

Bitterness made her throat tight. Without looking to Lee, she thought she sensed him stiffen.

»When my mother got pregnant again, my father hoped for a ‘normal’ son, of course. Got me instead. After that, he was done with children. Rarely spoke to us and when he did, he never had anything good to say. When I was six or so, he was beaten by a member of his own party in a local election, and that’s when the drinking started. Our mother was milder, but in a strangely detached way. If Soeren was a disappointment to my father, then I suspect my mother’s entire life turned out to be disappointment to her. She had come from a wealthy family down south, bet on my father to make it big in London, and then instead got stuck with a souring drunk in a far-away town when his career dwindled. But Serafina continued to come by«.

»Soeren and I would be playing in the fields, and suddenly there she was. I didn’t understand at the time that it was just us she was coming to see, long after the witches had ceased doing business with my father. She had really taken to Soeren, and she knew that we were mostly left to ourselves. And then one day she gave me this«.

»For your brother not to get lost«, Lee guessed, correctly.

»Yes. Even if Soeren got turned around when we were outside, he would know to follow the arrow back. It gave him a feeling of safety, and it saved me from having to run twice as far to find him. It helped us countless times«.

Sophia could see her brother as clearly before her as if he had been sitting right there with them by the fire. His round blue eyes that got more and more foggy as he got older, his mousey hair that was always a mess, always had grass or leaves in it if Sophia did not comb it or wash it for him (the latter always took a great deal of arguing, but it was not like their mother cared about Soeren’s appearance if Sophia gave up).

She could hear his laughter and see his huge, toothy smile that was so full of undiluted joy when they played together, even as the world held all kinds of dangers around him. Sophia could feel the weight of his much bigger head on her shoulder when she read to him before they went to sleep in the bedroom they shared.

When Soeren was fourteen, Ela had settled as a mole to no one’s surprise. Her little cooing was as soft as her short, downy fur.

Sophia’s brother was different, but he and Ela were not broken. They were beautiful.

Sophia had wanted to scream at their father whenever he scowled at Soeren as if his son was a changeling scurrying around the house.

»What happened to him?«, Lee asked quietly, and Sophia was brought back to the now.

»This«. She held up her part of the pendant. »This happened to him«.

She swallowed.

»One winter’s day the year Soeren had turned sixteen, he left the house to go meet me as I was coming back from school. Soeren did not go to school himself, and he wasn’t supposed to go out alone in winter. He knew and understood that, but something must have happened that day that made him do it anyway. Our house was a bit outside of town, at the end of a winding gravel road that cut through the countryside and a stretch of forest, but Soeren had walked it a million times with me. Only I wasn’t coming straight home that day. I had gone with some kids from the school to try out their new sled, and after that, I took a shortcut over the fields. Soeren just followed his arrow, of course, and probably didn’t pay attention to much else around him. He hadn’t even put on his scarf…«

Despite of the fire in front of her, Sophia could taste the frosty air on her lips. She continued to have frequent, horribly vivid dreams of what came next.

Sometimes the chain of events would play out differently in the dreams, but the outcome stayed the same. Byron would wake her whenever he sensed her slipping into another nightmare, but not always soon enough.

Lee was quiet while she collected her thoughts.

»I spotted him when I came to the top of a hill. He was wading through the snowy fields with Ela tucked somewhere inside his coat. I was too far away for him to see me and too far for Byron to take his bird form and fly to him. Between us was a lake that we both knew well. We used to look for frogs there in summer and play on the ice in winter when it would usually freeze solid. It had that year, too, and just the day before, Soeren and I had crossed it together. He probably thought of that when he walked out on the ice. What I could see from where I was standing, and he couldn’t, was that in the middle of the lake, dark circles had formed since we were last there. There had been a change in weather during the day, and even though the snow kept falling, the temperature had started to go up slightly«.

Sophia wrapped her arms around her knees. At her side, Byron was as miserable as she was at relieving the day.

»I was yelling to him as loud as I could while I was running through the snow. The further down the hill I got, the deeper the snow got, and it felt like one of those dreams where you try to run, but your body can hardly move. My legs were so heavy. And Soeren just kept walking out onto the ice. Finally, Byron turned into a hawk and flew ahead of me. It felt like my heart was being ripped right out of my chest, but the only thing we could think of was that we had to stop Soeren before he reached the middle of the lake. By the time I stumbled out on the ice myself, Byron had reached him, and Soeren stopped and raised his hand to wave at me. He was laughing because he had found me all by himself. I was going to shout at him to lie down on his stomach to distribute his weight more evenly on the ice. I could just about see Ela peek out from the collar of his coat. And then they went through. From one second to the next, they just disappeared«.

Sophia looked into the flames without seeing anything. She felt surrounded by the same crushing silence as she had been in those fatal seconds when the world stopped.

 »I ran to the hole and went in after him. Didn’t even think to take my coat or boots off, I just jumped in. The water was so cold it was like having my skull pierced by needles. Byron made himself into a bear, by far the largest shape he had ever managed at that time. It shouldn’t even have been possible, but he did it. He smashed the ice around the hole to make it bigger as I dove, and then he went in after me. Somehow, we got Soeren up, but he wasn’t conscious. And then we had to carry him home. I was almost paralyzed with cold myself so Byron couldn’t sustain his bear shape, and Soeren was a lot bigger and heavier than me«.

Sophia wiped a tear from the corner of her eye before it spilled and cleared her throat.

»By the time we got home, Ela was gone«.

»I’m so sorry…«. Lee moved closer but seemed unsure of whether to reach for her or not.

On the other side of him, Hester crouched on the sand, ears flat against her head, eyes shiny and sad. She did not know what to do with herself either.

»Yeah, well«. Sophia’s voice was croaky. She felt utterly hollow inside. Hollow and cold.

»Through it all, he still had the pendant in his hand. The chain was wrapped around his wrist. Our mother pried it from him when we got home, but she didn’t know what it was, so in the confusion of it all she didn’t pay it any attention«.

Lee was now looking down at the piece he was still holding in his hand, no doubt wondering whether that was the very same one. To the unfamiliar eye, the two pieces looked identical, but Sophia could tell the difference just by running the tip of a finger along the edges.

She was holding Soeren’s.

»My parents stopped speaking to me altogether after that. I don’t know if they blamed me, or if deep down they felt regret. Two years later, I left home, and I haven’t been back since«.

»You ran away?«

»No, I just took my schoolbooks out of my rucksack, packed a few of my personal belongings in there instead, and walked out the front door. Nobody stopped me. And as far as I know, no one has ever tried to look for me«.

»How old were you?«

»When I left? 14. Byron shortly after we hit the road«.

Lee looked past Sophia at her daemon, as if he was seeing the lion in a new light.

For a few minutes no one spoke.

»I called for her, you know. Serafina. When Byron and I were carrying Soeren back from the lake. I called for her till I had no voice left, and then I whispered her name over and over. She didn’t come. Not until days later. Since then, she has showed up every few years. Sometimes with a task for me, sometimes because I think maybe she feels a small sense of guilt. I can’t say I didn’t once blame her. Although…I don’t know that something wouldn’t have happened to Soeren a lot sooner if she hadn’t given us the pendant«.

Sophia buried a hand in Byron’s mane. He responded with a low, calming purr.

»Serafina once had a son herself«, Lee said quietly.

»What? She did?« Sophia’s head snapped up. She turned to face the aeronaut. This was the first she had ever heard of it.

»Yes. He died in a pandemic when he was still a child. The father was a gypsie. He, Coram, told Lyra the story, then Lyra told me on the night the severed gypsie child died«.

Sophia nodded slowly. The morning before, Lee had mentioned that sorry event when he told her of his time with Lyra.

Serafina had lost her boy. Her special affinity for Soeren clicked into place. Yet another detail out of the many, many details the witch had never shared with Sophia.

She now wondered if Soeren had looked like Serafina’s son, too.

»This is perhaps going to sound weird after everything I just told you, but I was thinking that maybe you could hold onto that«, Sophia said to Lee, pointing to the pendant in his hand.

One half of her could not believe she was doing it. The other pressed forward.

»Just until we’ve completed our…mission. Missions«, she added.

The aeronaut’s brown eyes went even wider than before when she told him of the pendant’s powers.

»What? No, I can’t do that. It’s yours«. He made to give it back to her, but she closed his fingers around it.

»Just as a safety precaution. In case… something happens«.

When Lee hesitated, she added, »For both our sakes«.

»You mean in case I pull a stunt like yesterday?«. The aeronaut lifted an eyebrow, but the jokey tone that usually accompanied it failed to materialize. »I can assure you I have no intentions of-«

He stopped mid-sentence.

Something appeared to dawn on him as he looked into Sophia’s eyes. More than ever, she hoped they were on the same page.

»Are you sure?«, he asked finally, his voice a lot softer.

Sophia nodded.

»Absolutely«. She managed a smile. »You can always give it back to me when this is all over and we’re sitting in a bar somewhere with the shaman toasting to having saved the world«.

Lee smiled back. »Okay. Deal«.

Instead of putting her piece of the pendant back in the little compartment in her jacket, Sophia clasped the chain around her neck. Somehow it felt more appropriate to wear it like that when the pieces were separated.

Lee kept turning his over between his fingers.

»You know, we have more in common than just our striking good looks, you and I«.

He glanced back at Sophia. Solemnity coloured his small smile.

»Yes?«

The aeronaut sighed.

»I can’t believe I’m bringing him up twice in less than two days, but, yeah, my father wasn’t exactly too proud of me either. Never failed to remind me«.

His jaw clenched and he looked into the fire.

»Some of those ‘reminders’ I still carry with me to this day. I wasn’t much older than you when I got the hell out of there. Left Texas for good«.

»I’m really sorry to hear that. And you mother?«

A pained expression crossed his face.

»She couldn’t stand up to him. Didn’t dare. It came back to haunt me. Leaving her there, I mean. But I’m pretty sure that if I’d stayed, it would have ended up with either me or the old man dead«.

He said the last part matter-of-factly, an unusually hard edge to his words.

Sophia reached for his hand. Lee closed his fingers around hers.

Then he shook his head and let out a mirthless laugh.

»And wouldn’t you know it, turns out our friend Marisa Coulter has a similar tale«.

»Huh?« Sophia’s brows came together. »What do you-«

Lee nodded.

»When she tried to wrestle information about Lyra from me yesterday, she ended up giving me a handful about herself instead…«.

»Marisa Coulter told you about her childhood?«, Sophia asked incredulously. »Why?«

»She didn’t. Not exactly«, the aeronaut said. »She threatened to torture me to get what she wanted. I told her my dad had already instilled a first-class tolerance for pain in me. That he beat me so senseless when I was a kid that…«

Lee hesitated. His hand in Sophia’s flexed. She thought of that solitary tear streak on his face and her heart hurt.

»…That I almost felt grateful when it came. Grateful for his attention. And then it was like the mask peeled right off Coulter’s face. Took half her years with it too, till she looked like a scared kid about to cry. I knew then and there. When I probed her, she almost lost it before storming off without a word«.

Sophia was speechless.

»I guess there is some twisted logic to it. Not that that excuses any of the horrible things she’s done…«, Lee was saying. »Not everyone turns out as wholesome as the two of us, huh«. He squeezed Sophia’s hand and gave her a half-smile.

Pain inflicted by a loved one had always been an efficient way of unmooring a young soul.

Any soul, for that matter.

Sophia needed to fill her lungs with fresh air, away from the smoke.

Lee had let go of her hand to screw the metal cap off their water bottle. He found it empty.

»I’m gonna go fill this up«.

He grunted as he got to his feet, a hand pressed to his side.

Hester hopped after him on the sand towards the water.

When they were out of earshot, Byron leaned against Sophia. »Are you okay?«, he asked.

»Yeah«. Sophia closed her eyes for a few seconds and stroked her daemon’s fur.

»I think you did the right thing«, the lion said.

»I think so, too«.

»There’s more to him than what he wants the world to see«.

»I know«. Sophia gently poked her daemon. »You’re warming to him«.

»I still want you to stay focused«.

»I will. We will«.

She looked to the water where Lee was kneeling, filling the water bottle. Next to him, Hester was saying something. Lee nodded.

He took a few long sips from the bottle. Then he straightened up and stood looking out over the river.

Sophia got up and went to him. The weight of their shared moment had made her sure of what she wanted to say next.

She touched his arm.

»Lee? I-«

The bottle made a soft thud on the sand as the aeronaut let it drop so he could take Sophia’s face in both his hands. He kissed her softly on the lips.

A long, slow kiss.

When their lips parted Lee let his arms drop to his side. Sophia could tell from the way he knitted his brows that a myriad of things were probably going through his mind. He drew in a breath and looked at a point somewhere above her head.

Avoiding her eyes.

»Okay. Here goes«, he said, and Sophia felt a prickle at the back of her neck.

»It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m not great at this…«

He gestured back and forth between them, still without looking at her, and Sophia’s heart sunk so low into her stomach it might as well have stopped.

»I haven’t been lucky with…«

Once more, in stark contrast to the smooth-talking version of him Sophia had met the first night, he was fumbling for the words.

»I haven’t been lucky with people to be perfectly frank. Never for long, anyway. I count a polar bear as my closest friend and before Lyra, I probably wouldn’t have put my life on the line for anyone besides him. But now…«

He looked back at Sophia.

»The kid has not just given me purpose, she has given me hope. Real hope for the world. And for some crazy reason Serafina actually thinks I can be of some use, despite of how fast I fucked up the first time she entrusted me with keeping Lyra safe«.

He ran a hand through his hair. By now, it had dried in the sun and since he had not yet worn his hat today, it was more voluminous than ever.

»I’m losing count of the crazy situations Hester and I have found ourselves in recently, but this is a time for bold moves. So, I’m going to be bold in this, too. No time like the present, right?«. He attempted a grin that did not disguise how nervous he was.

Sophia realized she had been holding her breath.

»I like you, Sophia. I really do. Even if we’ve only known each other for a minute here«, Lee was saying. »And it scares the hell out of me«.

He tentatively reached for her hand. She stepped right into his space and put her arms around his neck instead.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

»Right now, nothing is more important than helping Lyra fulfil her fate. But I don’t want to say goodbye to you«, he whispered. »Not tonight, not tomorrow. And if we’re forced to, which I realize we may be, I don’t want it to be forever. That’s the honest truth«.

Every one of Sophia’s cells were brimming with relief. She smiled up at him. »I feel the same. We’ll figure it out«.

Standing on tiptoes, she planted a kiss on the side of his neck, and he shivered a little and hugged her tighter. When she pulled her head back, he caught her lips with his own.

Sophia lost track of how long they just stood there with their arms around each other. At their feet, the river lapped serenely at the beach.

»Besides«, Lee said, when they finally broke the kiss, »I can’t let you go before taking you flying. I promised you I would, and I am nothing if not a man of my word… Well, mostly«.

He winked at her, restored to his old self.

»Lee Scoresby, you are that and so much more. So much«.

Sophia smiled into his warm eyes, and the aeronaut blushed.

He cleared his throat.

»Let’s see about that breakfast, shall we?«

»Let’s«.

They walked back to the fireplace; Lee’s arm slung around Sophia’s shoulders. As they sat again, Hester and Byron exchanged subtle, knowing looks.

High in the sky above them, a bird circled slowly.

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.

.

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Thank you for reading!

The journey will continue shortly ... (she said cheerily, having spent an unprecedented three weeks on this chapter. It won't happen again).

[thatonecrookedsmile]

From the depths of the studio - where darkness prevails and the voices of the puddles grow louder - a message is echoed to the rest of the world. A promise filled with hatred and,at the same time,with conviction. Words coming from someone who was more than confident that their blasphemy would come true.

A message that is directed to one creature,and one creature only...

"I will become the very being You never could be"

----- "A Promise Sent from Below" - Return to the Studio AU.

Oh hey, I have an AU, I forgot about that (lie)

I've had a similar idea in my head for a month now. It wasn't possible to do it last month, but no problem. May would make more sense. I did something with this little guy for 414 last year, and I wanted to do something with him again. April 14th of this year would not be possible, but May 14th or 15th? Oh yes. These dates are better because it was between these two (actually it was the 14th I think, but I consider both dates) days that I created this guy above! Consider this drawing a celebration made for…well, me. Of course, he wasn't created with the design above in mind. His original, main design is quite different from this alternative (and less original) iteration. The drawing above shows his current situation in the "current" moments of the RTTS AU.

His creation, which dates back to 2020, was the result of some Bendy-related thoughts of mine intersecting on the day. These being about new things in canon lore that came out at the time (plus speculation about this new information), a theory that at the time I started to understand better (which maybe based on the drawing, you probably know which theory I'm talking about ) and a funny bug found in one of the games (do you remember Ghost Bendy by any chance?) And then,boom. I created Atlas. I remember at the time I was thinking of other names for him because Atlas was just a codename that I had in mind to refer to him while I thought of a definitive name for the guy. But the codename ended up sticking. Plus, Atlas is a cool name and I wanted to give an OC that name.

Even though some details changed over time, I think I eventually managed to solidify his place in the AU. Not that his story is 100% thought out and completed. Hell, my AUs that I have are still not 100% thought out either, so what to expect from their characters. But I think that, currently, I have at least decided on the general idea of his place and purpose in RTTS, and I am happy with what I have come up with.

I don't know when the next time will be that I will show him again. In general, showing things from my AUs is not and probably will never be my strong point lol. But I'd like to draw him again eventually. So uhhhhhhhhhhh, one day. When that "one day" will be, it's up to you to decide

Happy Birthday Atlas. You and your other 2 alternative versions are cool to think about. Here's to another 4 years of chaos for you. 🙌

I can't believe it's been 4 years now, damn.

[kaizsche]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

CHAD POWERS

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

SCREAM QUEENS

NORMAL PEOPLE

HIS DARK MATERIALS

MR. PLANKTON

BLOODHOUNDS

MOON LOVERS: SCARLET HEART RYEO

BAD AND CRAZY

LITTLE WOMEN

VALORANT

LOVE AND DEEPSPACE

HONKAI STAR RAIL

SILENT HILL 2

TWISTERS

SET IT UP

HIT MAN

TOP GUN: MAVERICK

ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE

BATMAN V SUPERMAN

MAN OF STEEL

THE FLASH

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

SPEAK NO EVIL

ANYONE BUT YOU

ALIEN ROMULUS

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

DEVOTION

THE RUNNING MAN

LOVE IN THE BIG CITY

FRESH

GLEN POWELL

DAISY EDGAR-JONES

TWISTERS PRESS

TWISTERS FEATURETTES

IN THE END (IT WILL BE JUST US)

LET GO, LOVE. I'LL CATCH YOU.

STELLARIS-ARCHIVUM

THE MONSTERS IN HER HEART

HAPPY GLEN POWELL DAY!