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welovewarcraft · 4 months ago

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Lakeside Meeting

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Fates

Pairing: Iago/Zola

Content warnings: Nudity, not accurate to Fire Emblem magic maybe, a little OOC maybe

Summary: Zola decides to walk through a forest in the early morning. During his stroll, he encounters something most surprising.

Just great. Yesterday was absolutely… fantastic.

Zola trekked through the dark forest. He usually didn’t leave Castle Krakenburg whenever he was feeling upset, but today, he felt like he needed to get out for a while to alleviate his anxiety.

King Garon just had to be in the worst mood last night (but then, when was he ever feeling a bit happier?). What luck! It was frightening enough to merely be in the presence of the fearsome Nohrian king. It was even more terrifying when King Garon reprimanded Iago for his most recently failed mission… in front of Hans and the royal children, no less! The pinnacle was when King Garon decided to take out his anger on Zola and Hans, assigning them dangerous missions to make up for Iago’s failure.

It was just awful.

It must have been especially grievous for Iago. How humiliating is it, as the intimidating, cunning, and fearsome tactician of Nohr plus the king’s right hand, to be reprimanded by his superior in front of an audience?

All Zola could do was watch with concern as Iago tried to maintain his neutral expression while he bore the brunt of many condescending faces.

For a moment or two, Zola wished he could’ve taken Iago away from everyone else to comfort him.

The illusionist would’ve visibly grimaced at the thought right then and there if King Garon couldn’t see him. What a ridiculous idea. As if Iago, of all people, would allow Zola, someone who was beneath him, to talk to him in such a manner.

Zola sighed as dawn was about to break in Nohr. He had an hour or two to cool off some more before carrying out the treacherous deeds Garon desired of him. Why he decided to walk through a forest far from the safety of his castle quarters was beyond him. That meeting with Garon must’ve shaken him badly. It was foolish, as bandits and other ungodly creatures lurking in the trees could ambush him, but the illusionist felt compelled to roam the woods anyway.

Besides, he brought his tome with him as he tried to clear his head and quit feeling so insecure. He could fight off some unsightly brutes.

A bit up ahead, Zola spotted a clearing of a lake. Rays of sunlight graced the still waters. Though the dawn in Nohr paled in comparison to what it must be like in Hoshido, it was still a beautiful sight nonetheless. He walked toward the lake and decided that he would sit in contemplation and stare at the lake.

Gazing at the water already instilled a sense of tranquility, alleviating some of Zola’s burdensome emotions. As he stood at the edge of the lake and was about to sit down, he spotted a pile of clothes nearby.

Strange.

The mage picked up one of the articles curiously. He tensed at the possibility that maybe a wolfskin was nearby to leisure themselves with a swim or bath. Who would take a dip in a lake at this hour? His grip on his tome tightened and he got ready to walk back into the trees.

But then he saw something, or someone, move into the water at the corner of his eye. Zola tried to look for bushes to hide behind but found that they were farther away from him than he wanted. Would he be fast enough to duck behind them before the figure spotted him?

The individual swam out toward the lake. They swam gracefully with broad strokes. As they reached the center, it became clear that the figure was male, and the illusionist noticed that he was dancing… or perhaps performing some kind of… water magic? Zola could not help but hold his breath for a while. It was so mesmerizing to watch…

And it was too late to duck behind those bushes now.

The dawn’s rays graced the man and his sensual movements. His long, dark hair and pale skin glowed under the sun’s gentle radiance, and his back was turned toward the illusionist. When he twirled, Zola could not see his face because of his long hair. His fingers glided across the water's surface, and Zola swore he could sense some kind of energy from them.

As Zola stared, he couldn’t help but notice something.

Is that…?

The figure then submerged himself underwater before Zola could confirm if the figure really was who he thought he was. Zola waited expectantly for him to pop back up.

There’s no way it could be him of all people. Why the hell would Iago pleasure himself with a swim in a lake and perform some watery magic while dancing so… beautifully? Though the illusionist found no issue with it, the thought of Iago engaging in such an activity was so ridiculous that Zola could’ve cackled right then and there.

Secondly, why would he concern himself with that kind of magic? He was so skilled in other branches, and why would he want to spend some of his time with water magic when he was so busy? For a mage as talented as Zola, even he admitted that his knowledge of water spells, despite his experience with ice magic, was… somewhat limited. What could water magic possibly offer the war effort that others did not? It made him consider researching it later to see what could be so useful about it.

He realized it had been a while since the figure submerged himself underwater. Zola waited. The illusionist was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to see whatever dances the man was doing now. He looked so beautiful in the light of the early morn hours too…

The mage waited a bit more before he felt a pinch of concern. It’s been quite a while…

Zola cautiously crept forward a bit, tome clutched to his chest. Hopefully, the man didn’t accidentally drown himself while practicing water magic. Though he would likely be fine underwater, Zola still felt the need to check on him. Opening his tome, Zola prepared to perform a spell.

Since when did he care so much about-

Suddenly, something emerged from the water and jumped at him with a splash.

Time slowed down as Iago leaped from the water. His arms were stretched behind him and… he was completely naked!

It felt like Iago cast a spell on Zola without using his tome. It was just… wow.

Iago’s narrow, crimson eyes gazed into Zola’s wide, green ones; all the latter could do was gawk with his mouth open. It was difficult for him to pinpoint an emotion in Iago’s face but he knew one thing: there would be consequences to bearing witness to Iago in such a… plain state.

But if Iago truly did not want Zola to see, why would he reveal himself disrobed?

Nohr’s grand tactician landed gracefully on his feet in front of the shorter mage like a cat. Zola could see him more clearly now. Iago looked flawless in the morning glow: long and drenched hair, pale and wet skin… water dripping onto the ground below.

Better not look down!

Zola did not need much help with that, as Iago looked down to Zola’s level, who stiffened up and blushed. With such intense eye contact, looking elsewhere was deemed impossible.

“S-S-Sir, you’re n-n-n-n-n-!”

“Save your breath.”

Iago walked past Zola and once the younger mage got a full view of Iago’s bare ass, Zola instantly looked away and became deeply flustered again. Iago stopped and remarked, “I didn’t take you to be the type to be up so early in the morning.”

Well, Zola certainly didn’t think that of Iago either. He took him to be a night person.

“I-I-I j-just wanted to t-take a str-str-stroll! That’s a-all!”

Gods, he was stuttering so much. Can’t Iago just put his clothes back on already?!

Zola was aware that this one-time thing of going out so early might look suspicious, but he could also wonder the same about Iago! ESPECIALLY NAKED. However, he was too afraid to voice his question.

“Hm. For a stroll, you’ve been standing in one spot for quite a while,” Iago remarked. “You were mesmerized by a dancer in the water though. I can’t blame you for that.”

Zola could hear a faint smirk in Iago’s voice when he said that. What a revelation to discover that Iago was a dancer… and a fantastic one at that.

“Y-yes, s-s-sir!”

“And it seems that you were not only rendered speechless, but you have also been an absolute deviant.” Iago pointed at Zola.

“H-huh?!”

Iago pointed down at Zola’s hand, who looked down to see what he was holding. It was Iago’s braies. Zola let out a small shriek.

“AAH!! IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!!”

Zola swiftly stretched his arm out with the braies in his clenched fist, urging the other man to take it. The smaller mage could not bear to look at the tactician. As if it couldn’t have gotten any worse! Iago chuckled before bursting into a laugh. He unfolded Zola’s fist and took the braies from him. The skin-on-skin contact was too much for the small illusionist, who was forced to take a few deep breaths.

“You look absolutely hilarious when you’re flustered.”

Iago walked toward Zola and bent down in front of him. The smaller mage was sure that his face was even redder than a tomato now. And then Iago leaned towards his ear.

“You better not tell anyone about this, understand? It would be a pity to… deal with the second-best mage in the kingdom,” he said lowly.

Did Iago just compliment and threaten Zola at the same time? The small illusionist swore that he was going to faint. He just couldn’t take this anymore!

“O-of course, s-s-s-sir!”

No telling anyone about King Garon’s right hand doing water dances while naked in his free time! Got it!

Thankfully, Iago backed away. Any moment longer, and Zola would’ve passed out on the spot. The general mage dressed himself and then turned to look back at the illusionist.

“I’ll see you at the castle. Until then, farewell.”

And with that, Iago performed a spell and disappeared. Zola was left standing in shock with a blush still visible on his cheeks for a while before completely regaining himself.

This day had been dismal so far, but now it has gotten a bit more interesting.

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Check AO3 for my notes. PLEASE IT HAS MY THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THIS IF YOU WERE WEIRDED OUT BY THIS FIC!!

Also braies are medieval boxers.

#fire emblem fates iago #fire emblem fates zola #fire emblem fates #fire emblem if #fe14 #fe fates #iago fire emblem #zola fire emblem #fe iago #fe zola #iago x zola #someone help whats the ship name for iago and zola

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fushigidane · 1 year ago

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various fe fates premise/worldbuilding rewritey ideas i've been pondering...

since i've been replaying conquest recently and am once again frustrated with this game's writing

first, as a way of making garon non absolutely definitively evil AND bake anankos's involvement into the game's base premise, having garon NOT kidnap corrin intentionally. corrin is separated from sumeragi on that business trip after their party was attacked by vallite soldiers as anankos wanted to either kill or retrieve his child. corrin is found by nohrians and brought to windmire when they are found to have dragon blood... POWERFUL dragon blood. they suffer the same memory loss like canon. hoshido asks for corrin back, garon refuses since their draconic blood isn't that of the dawn (or even dusk) dragon and he is concerned hoshido wants to use them as a weapon or otherwise does not have their best interests in mind. garon does not believe that corrin is hoshidan because they don't even LOOK hoshidan

corrin still going to the northern fortress but not out of malevolence. it's genuinely for their own health. the attack on sumeragi awakened corrin's dragon form for the first time, but without a dragonstone, they were unable to control it as in canon. they CONTINUE to be unable to control the instincts, which were often triggered by the stressful environment of the concubine wars, so garon sent them far from castle krakenburg to avoid more incidents for their and other's safety. visiting was restricted for a while, but as things settled they were seen often by garon + their siblings.

corrin knows their vague origin, that garon isn't their actual father, but still acknowledges him as such (and garon acknowledges them as their child). they also remember how bad things were during the concubine wars and are both accepting of why they were sent there and somewhat hesitant to leave

more general things of garon being a semi decent father. the manga had a really good part where garon recognised leo's mother in him for an instant and called him that. more please

because of garon being less definitively evil, the hoshidan Throne Of Truth being a way to purge anankos's influence and expose garon's TRUE self i.e. save him rather than expose anankos as in canon. this may be an idea raised by corrin/azura but perhaps even better would be for it to be GARON HIMSELF'S plan as he tries to rid himself of possession without anankos catching on. this being his plan in all three routes but only coming to fruition in conquest... where the throne doesn't work as planned and garon is killed when anankos is brought to the surface

garon being possessed by anankos in the first place as he tries to research what was going on with corrin. he reached many correct conclusions but unfortunately walked right into anankos's grasp. he doesn't want to be possessed, tries to resist the possession (directly and in more subtle ways as in above) but as time goes on, the more his condition degrades

fun idea => awakening trio being accepted so easily by garon as they are a) informed of valla etc., able to steer xander/camilla/leo from the same trap garon fell into with anankos and b) POTENTIALLY able to slow down anankos's possession of him?

an exploration of what the 'skies changing' mentioned in revelations even IS. it is the act of hoshido's sky becoming dark and nohr's becoming light (or vice versa). canon states it happens 'once every few decades', but nobody really knows when it will occur as there is no way of predicting it

the skies changing defining the way both nations act.

nohr, deprived of fertile land and harvest, conquers other nations to gain the resources they need to survive. inequality and poverty is rife as its citizens scramble for the limited available sustenance. even the royal family does not live in luxury and are themselves well-acquainted with not being able to secure food

hoshido, with bright skies and plentiful harvests but knowing that no matter what they do their prosper is temporary, stockpiling resources in preparation for their oncoming long night. its citizens are satisfied but on guard, particularly the older ones that recall its former famines. the royal family, understanding the duty it has to its own citizens when night falls, is reluctant to send aid to other nations. a particular incident is when mokushu had an outbreak, hoshido refused to send medical supplies despite them being allies, which is what caused mokushu's current disdain towards hoshido.

the skies changing is why the two nations have never been able to coexist. even though hoshido currently exists with a surplus, and there could well be enough resources at any given time to adequately support BOTH nations, there is no precedent for either country ever sharing their sustenance when they can access it. neither country will make the first step because there is no guarantee that the favour will be paid back when the skies change again.

garon and mikoto's rule being equally informed by past precendents and desire to survive/fear for the future respectively

garon, as alluded to in canon but never shown, is-slash-was a very good ruler that did a very good job maintaining order in the country, ensuring nobody least of all the royal family is permitted to hoard while others are left to starve. things have only degenerated in recent years as anankos's possession has taken its toll on his ability to rule and food shortages continue to worsen. YES he conquers nations but certainly in the past only when trade deals failed or were unviable => nohr had plenty struggles with these as it is currently unable to offer much except manpower and protection, which not all nations need or appreciate. nohr's view is that they would rather conquer others than allow their own citizens to starve, and for a long time garon has been appreciated by his citizens for doing what must be done

mikoto being cautious above all else, very aware of and fearing what's to come as described above. further, her coldness towards other nations being informed by corrin's kidnapping and sumeragi's death--which she believes was done by nohr. azura, by the way, was still kidnapped in retaliation for nohr's alleged actions.

mikoto also should not die in the prologue. just saying. she should be allowed to stand equally with garon as a good yet flawed ruler that is unable to see past the present and make the necessary first step to a better future

lots of general themes about smaller nations on the continent always being pushed around by the two superpowers' squabbles over resources

#95% of my ideas are nohr-focused bc i only care about nohr. sorry. that's where my blorbos are #(did not even finish birthright)#some of my ideas are informed by various fe fates rewrite videos i've watched => shoot me an ask if you want links they're pretty good #this game has such an issue tho with moral greyness or to be precise its FAILURE at moral greyness #birthright is the only reasonable choice nohr is so LAUGHABLY evil #and i have not even touched iago and hans yet because oh dear #that's a subject #ahem #fire emblem #fire emblem fates #fe14 #fe fates #corrin #corrin fire emblem #garon #garon fire emblem

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