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nightfall-writer · 5 months

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I have time

Thranduil x Reader

Word Count: 2k (Sorry)

Warnings: Canon Violence (Battle of the Five Armies war) The reader is pronounced dead. A bit sad, Thranduil cries. They are married, but Legolas is never mentioned. AU Thorin,Fili,Kili, and the elk live :D (please let me know if I forgot any)

A/N - Sorry for Thranduil x Reader again, I like the Character and couldn’t think of another one for the story to apply to. Also, I am not sure who is at fault for the gems in the movies, I’ve heard that the dwarves didn’t want to part and Thranduil didn’t want to pay the money, but I’m going with the first one! This may have to be 2 parts if you guys want a second part.

“War?” You asked Thranduil, “Yes, I want what belongs to me.” he replies. You know you cannot talk him out of it. It was supposed to be a gift to you but, they did not want to part with it. You understood where he was coming from but, thought all of this was a little overkill for gems. “I am assuming there's no talking you out of it?” You asked knowing if he sets his mind on something there's no likely chance of him not doing it. Although, you would be the person to convince him not to. “No, there isn’t” He starts, “I am rightfully claiming what is mine.” “I am coming with then” You reply. “Absolutely not, Meleth.” He says as he turns around to face you. “It should be done and over with rather quickly anyway, you should stay here.” He answered. “I am not letting you go alone, If you are doing this, I should come with you.” You replied. “I am not talking you out of this, am I?” He chuckled a bit. “No, you are not.” You grinned. Right before you two left, he checked again to see if you could stay behind. You being as stubborn as he was told him no and that you would be okay. You and you’re army arrived at the remains of Dale. You felt sympathy towards these people as they had to take refuge in the remains. You looked around as Thranduil and Bard chatted a bit. Afterward, You and Thranduil had decided for you to choose the spot for the tent. You would come to find him afterward. After He watched Bard try and reason with Thorin, he went to the tent and settled down a bit.

“Suited already?” Thranduil asked. “I do not like to be unprepared, you know this.” You replied while putting up your spared daggers. He slightly hums before grabbing a wine glass. “Mithrandir?” You questioned, “What are you doing here?”. Thranduil put his glass down and turned around. (Time skip a few minutes as I could not find the dialog of the talking) “Sometimes a storm is just a storm” Thranduil replies. “Not this time, armies of orcs are on the move. These are fighters who have been bred for war. Our enemy has shown his full strength” Gandalf argues. “Why show his hand now?” Thranduil replies. “Because we forced him, We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakensheild set out to reclaim the homeland,” Gandalf says before leaving, Bard follows as you grab Thranduils arm. “What if it isn’t nothing, what if it is truly a threat?” You asked. “Wizard's warnings cannot be taken so seriously, my love.” Thranduil and You walked out to meet with Bard and Gandalf who gave you a concerning look.

“Give the order, If anything moves from that mountain, Kill it,” Thranduil says. The guard walks off to give the order to the archers. You look at Gandalf who is in complete shock at Thranduil's harsh command. Thranduil turns around, “The dwarves are out of time”. Gandalf runs out to Bard, “Do you agree to this?, this gold is so important here, would you buy it with the blood of the dwarves.” Gandalf asks. “It will not come to that, This is a fight they cannot win,” Bard replies.

“That will not stop them” Bilbo states. This causes you to peek out of the tent and look at Bilbo. “You think the dwarves will surrender, they won't, they will fight to the death to defend their own,” Bilbo states. “The burglar” you whisper only loud enough for Thranduil to hear. “Is he?” Thranduil asks, “Yes, he’s the one who got the keys from the guards when they were busy being passed out.” You reply. Bard, Gandalf, and Biblo walk into the tent as you are stationed standing right next to Thranduil's makeshift throne. “If I am not mistaken.” Thranduil starts as he sits down. “This is the halfling, who stole the keys to my dungeons under the nose of my guards.” Thranduil stares at Bilbo as he says it. “Yes, sorry about that,” Bilbo replies. You smile a bit at the hobbit. “I came to give you this” Biblo says as he lays down something in a brown-ish cloth.

As he unwraps it, he reveals the Arkenstone and backs away. “The heart of the mountain” you gasp, “The king's jewel” Thranduil finishes as he can read your mind. “And worth a King's ransom... how is this yours to give?” Bard says as you all look at Bilbo. “I took it as my Fourteenth share of the treasure” Biblo answers. “Why would you do this?” You ask currently questioning the hobbit. “You owe us no loyalty,” Bard says as well.

“I'm not doing it for you. I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. They're suspicious and secretive, with the worst manners you can possibly imagine.” Bilbo starts and you cannot help but smile slightly. You find that from what you’ve read hobbits tend to be loyal and Biblo clearly shows it. “But they are also brave and kind, and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can.” Bilbo finishes. “I do believe that he will give you what you want in exchange for this. There will be no need for war.”

You and the others arrive in front of Erebor. You watch as they exchange words and as his cousins arrive. None of what they said truly bothered you until you heard his cousin say “I’ll split his pretty head open” You quit smiling and death stared at him. “See if he’s still smirking then.” Dain finishes. “Let them advance, See how far they get” Thranduil replies. You load your bow as Dain runs back to his army. As they start fighting you release your bow along with the rest of the army and see the arrows get shredded. You watch them coming closer and then hear rumbling. You and Thranduil exchange looks before seeing the Wereworms coming out of the ground. You look at them horrified wondering what on earth they are doing here.

“I have a plan!” You say while fighting next to Thranduil as you both start heading towards the remains of Dale. “Is it a good plan?” He questions as he kills the orcs off of his elk. You pause for a second causing Thranduil to glance at you. “I have a plan.” You say, but before Thranduil can tell you not to. You make a noise with your horse slamming on the ground causing the orcs to look at you. They charge you and as you run around a building you lead them back out into a line causing them to be killed easily. You lose track of Thranduil and cannot find him. You see the war dying down a bit and see the dwarves heading to where the leader Azog is. You quickly follow them on your horse unaware Thranduil is looking the streets for you.

As you see Fili being caught by an orc, You take out your bow and shoot the orc. This causes the orc to drop Fili and you run with your horse around the dwarves and catch him. You put him down quickly and start trying to kill the other orcs. You get off your horse and see Bolg as he tries to run towards you. You start attacking him but he slings you across into the side of the hill. You groan in pain but start making your way up.

Thranduil quickly made his way up the hill after hearing from a guard that he had seen your horse making its way up there. He looks around and sees the dead Azog. As he looks around more he sees Thorin, Fili, and Kili hugging. “They went that way,” Thorin says and points. Thranduil smiles and nods a bit and starts going that way looking for you. He sees your horse and leaves his elk with it. He makes it your way and hears you groan. He pulls out his sword and fast-walks towards you.

As he makes it around the corner he sees you grab the orc by its neck and spin around it. You let your foot hit the rock and push it. As you let go and land next to the orc. You breathe heavily and before Thranduil can come closer to you, the orc grabs you. The orc brings you with him as he falls. “No!” Thranduil yells before trying to grab you. “I'm sorry” is all he hears come from you before you go over the cliff edge. He runs up to the edge and looks for any signs of you. “No, no, no, please!” He starts panicking as he looks for you.

He comes down off the mountain visibly shaken, no one says anything to him as he calls what men he has left to make it home. Gandalf comes up to him and before he can say anything Thranduil cuts him off. “Was it worth it?” Thranduil asks Gandalf, “What-” Gandalf starts. “They’ve been killed to save your dwarves.” Thranduil finishes talking and walks off before Gandalf can say anything else.

Thranduil and his army make it back to Mirkwood. He announces what happened and heads to his room. He closes the door and stands in front of his bed. He feels his eyes starting to tear up and he brings his hand up to his mouth. He starts crying and falls down to the ground. He tries to muffle his sobs with his hand as he lets it out. Before he notices he falls asleep on the ground against his bed frame.

He wakes up realizing what happened and starts tearing up again. He looks outside and realizes it's about time for a meeting. He still agrees to go to hopefully distract himself. He ignores the concerns of his noblemen to sit out a few of them. He starts getting colder towards his people and hardly leaves the castle anymore. For the first few weeks, he barely ate. Most feared they would lose him to grief but to their surprise he started eating again. Most speculated that he wasn’t sleeping well and they weren’t wrong, he’d either stay up late finishing his papers or pass out to sleep.

After the first few months, he shut everyone out and remained cold. He didn’t know if it was caused because he didn’t want to feel the hurt anymore or was trying to act as the tough King he was supposed to be. Either way, this remained how he was for the rest of the months. He hardly talked in normal conversations anymore, he was either commanding or giving his input in meetings. Some started calling him “The Cold King” or saying he didn’t care about his people anymore.

He woke up realizing that it’s been 11 months since your death. They were gonna host a ceremony to remember you in the month. He couldn’t bear it, not having you by his side. “Meleth, please tell me this is one big joke on me,” he says quietly as he starts crying again. Before he starts sobbing he stands up and starts getting ready for the day. He makes his way to the throne room and as he enters he hears people gasping. He walks quickly and freezes as he looks at the person in the middle of the throne room. “Meleth?” He says quietly, you turn around and smile. “I’m home my love,” you say as you make your way towards him. “This has to be a dream” He mumbles. You touch his cheek as he leans into it, “It is real, I'm alive” You say. He hugs you quickly and doesn’t let go. You stay like that for a few minutes before he lets you go. You motion for you two to go to his chambers. As you both walk in as you close the door. “How are you alive?” He asks as you turn around to face him. “It’s a long story” You reply, “You conned me into thinking you were dead for eleven months.” He says. You wince a bit at what he says. “I have time,” He says.

#the hobbit #thranduil #thranduil imagine #thranduil x reader #thranduil x you #lotr

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galedekkarios · 1 month

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male oc (tav, durge) x gale fic rec list! ✨

in no particular order + heed the tags, ratings, and warnings before reading!

Beneath the read-more you'll find 40 recommendations with their summaries attached. Enjoy!

Anxiousscrambles' entire BG3 collection (17 Works).

You'll find lots of Gale x Durge, featuring Dreuer, a middle aged tiefling warlock (who I love so much). They've written about Gale and Dreuer's journey from the beginning to the end of the game, as well as their life after (and a little of Dreuer's life before, too). Both characters grow and develop across each fic, both as individuals and partners, and it's just so lovely to witness them both being written with such care. There's a bit of everything, too, when it comes to content.

the night so black that the darkness hummed by persephoning

Kidnapped on his way to Waterdeep, elven bard Ruadhán Riddon wakes up with a blinding headache, an illithid tadpole in his eye, and no clear way out of either mess. To his dismay, the magnitude of the situation only grows worse by the hour, but there's more good hidden beneath the darkness than he expects.

Ship to Wreck by Snailsnol

“Teach them spell shield, first.” Anyir instructs as he limps back to his desk. “Yes, but my issue is how. I can’t simply tell them to cast Spell Shield while I throw a fireball at them.” Anyir sighs like that’s a great disappointment. “And additionally, you are a proficient martial fighter, the throbbing of my thigh is proof of that and I cannot teach them any of the skills you or your siblings share.” “Oh-khay. Explain Spell Shield me like you would your students.” Anyir says, scooting his chair up next to Gale’s. He barely resists the urge to bump their knees together. “Speak, magician.” ----- After defeating the Absolute, Gale finds himself alone in his tower again despite extending a hasty invitation to the artificer, Anyir. He desperately tries to shove the disappointment from his mind and bury himself in teaching his students, but his fool heart clings to it like a web. Until one day he is no longer alone and realizes existing is much different when you aren't the only one doing it.

you say love, i believe it to the bone by alliancedogtags

"Gale," the paladin finally spoke, voice quiet under the crackle of the fire pit and the breeze in the trees around them. "Surely you know that with or without your magic, you are still an incredible man?" Gale couldn't answer that. He tried, mouth opening, but no words came out of it. His usual charm of words, the security blanket of knowledge, the comfort of a conversation's upper hand. There was nothing. Not when they were alone. Not when Mylo looked at him like that. his finger traced the muted purple line down the side of his neck. "Gale," Mylo repeated again, softer this time, and something laced his words. Not just something, no - a certain sadness that escaped in the pitch of his voice. Not even pity. Sympathy. "Great Gods, Gale. If only you could see yourself the way that I do."

Sage and Lavender (Series) by TheMoYouKnow

Evander: 42, Half Wood-Elf Ranger. Hails from the area just outside Baldur’s Gate. Gale: 38 (probably), Human Wizard. Famously from Waterdeep. One shot pieces written at random for different points in their timeline, but the series will always be reordered chronologically after a new piece is posted.

Gale & Devour (4 Works) by CaptainNautical.

The link features four fics for Gale x Devour, a Dragonborn fighter. Devour is a beautiful character, and his relationship with Gale is so tender and touching in every fic.

Ironfire by scarvenrot

But beneath Gale’s hands, and in his arms, the withering ache of muscle turned from burden to gift, because it called such a fount of affection out of him. Every stroke of his fingertips, each careful brush of lips against flesh was a balm against burns, ice to swollen bruises, warmth to the joint. Krull didn’t have the right words for it all. You make me feel strong, was all he could say. Stronger than I ever have. Was this how his mother had felt, Krull wondered, when she had come across that bumbling, balding man and his goat farm besieged by goblins all those years ago? Did he unwittingly charm her with his earnest humanity, his love for his little home and his modest life, his empathy for livestock that ran so deep that he called them his family? Krull had never asked, and he didn’t know. But he imagined it must have been so. That it was written in his blood for him to love a human being so fully, so simply, for every fragile piece of who that person was. *** A half-orc barbarian and a human wizard fall in love.

gale gets good dick anthology (Series) by auriadne

maybe a joke, maybe not. mostly home to m!durge/gale fic. (op chiming in to say that this is some extremely delicious well-written smut, just in case the "maybe a joke" bit threw you off!)

Taste You On My Lips by Djarfskald

Gale had only intended to impress Tristan with a bit of magic and show him how it felt to touch the weave in the ways he did. What Gale hadn't expected was what the tiefling showed him when they shared that moment. All Gale could think about was seeing more, and it turns his already interesting predicament into something wildly unexpected.

Under the Stars, in Your Arms by weenietime

Gale had never been sure that scales would be a feeling he'd yearn for, but now he was finding himself bubbling with desire to run his hands along the textured skin below him. The warm surface was rough against Gale's softer skin, his human form pressed against the chest of a Dragonborn. He didn't have to imagine Altid underneath him anymore, because he was actually here; his hands gently grasping Gale's clothed love handles as he laid beneath him, warm breath tickling Gale's neck. (Aka me needing to write my first Tav and Gale makin' love underneath the stars)

Devour by Sylpherna

Gale contemplates the destiny Mystra had ordained, while Estevan begs him not to follow through. They fight, and then they fuck about it.

Skornweave (Series) by BoilingHeart

A cleric of Ilmater with a dark past falls for the wizard of Waterdeep. Both find in each other not just a new meaning of life, but the meaning of love and passion.

Shelter (Series) by Iselea

A series about my dragonborn Tav and Gale of Waterdeep. Hailing from Alaghôn, the capital city of Turmish, Tavraskirno Marivaldi is a dragonborn who ventured far into the Sword Coast to visit his adopted human sister who had settled into Baldur's Gate, only to wake up in the nautiloid with a tadpole in his head.

let it bleed through my fingers, a treasure in my hands by blazeofglory

Gale tosses his head to the side, practically writhing on the bedroll, and River spies a glint of silver, almost lost amongst Gale’s lovely brown hair. His earring. Mystra’s symbol. River cannot abide by Mystra's mark on something that belongs to him.

Magic of a Different Kind by Girlfoxgirl

My Githyanki Tav Genos and Gale share an intimate evening sometime following their first experience in the Weave. Character development and smut.

Cooking Time by Tal_Art (Tal_Monarch)

Gale panics when he sees smoke coming from the tower only to find Tav has attempted to cook.

My Hand That Will Not Harm You by goddessofcheese

The tent fell quiet again as he moved his attentions over to the other hand. The worries he’d dredged up wouldn’t quite leave but he found them easy to drown out by focusing on Gale’s high knuckles. His pulse, steady and strong beneath his grip. The fastidious cleanliness of his fingernails. Every so often he looked up, to make sure he wasn’t pushing too much into the mystery pain of what the wizard had to live with, but was glad to only see him with his eyes closed for the most part, fully absorbed in the relief. Pride flitted into Zen’s chest at being able to give that to him. Pride and… something else. Something… now altogether unfamiliar. He wanted more. ----- Alternatively, Gale finally accepts some help with the pain.

Wizards and Evil Lizards by SunflowerRose22

On a whim, the Dark Urge sneaks into Gale's tent one night. He's been craving the wizard for quite some time now and has decided to make Gale his.

Crow and Seagull by Subaruchan192

After two weeks at sea, Gale and Karasu finally arrive in Waterdeep. Both are looking forward to finally starting a new chapter in their lives together.

Want is a Four Letter Word by Saccharine_smiles

“Why did you–ugh–you confounding man!” The fear is evident in his voice and his fingers shake from where they begin the incantations of healing he knows. His eyes squint in agony at seeing Tav bloodied and beaten beneath him and he swallows the cry that claws at his throat knowing that this was his fault. “I like it when you use big words,” Tav says, head lolling onto one shoulder as the warm, soothing feeling of Gale’s magic overtakes him. It is the softest touch he’s had since the last time Gale had reached out to him with kindness. He is still not used to it.

I Want To Hurt You (I Want To Love You) by Brittany_Hamato

“I want to hurt you,” Tav’s voice rumbled from his chest, making Gale’s muscles quake and his chest tighten. “Excuse me?” “With your permission, I want to break you. I want to take you apart, piece by piece, and take everything you have to give, then take just a bit more.” Tav sat closer, his hand trailing across Gale’s shoulder blades, sending trails of electricity over his skin. “Please, gods” Gale choked on the aborted noise, it wasn’t quite a word, but Tav heard him anyway. Tav moved in closer, pressing his lips to Gale’s pulse as he nearly whispered his desires. His hands wandered lower, one supporting his back while the other tangled in his folded hands. “Your goddess can’t protect you from me,” Tav snarled, teeth pulling threateningly at his earring before continuing back down his neck, “and my god wouldn’t take away my toy.”

Forward, This Book is Dedicated To, Epilogue by upwards_descent

Gale is a disgraced and somewhat washed-up professor at the local prestigious college when he crosses paths with a handsome stranger at the library. Would this be the romance he needed to fix the hole in his heart, or was he just needlessly putting his own soul on the line once more?

fall away by whenwindwhispers

The Shadowlands have made our beloved party gloomy. Some members are becoming irritated by the smallest of things. For Gale, he is drawing the line at dirtying his favorite robes any further, and Whisper has the perfect solution: why not carry him? In short: Gale discovers he really likes being carried by Whisper.

Gum on your shoe (Series) by Lintu

1: Gum thought he'd been cursed to face the worst scenario taught to him by his people. Perhaps maybe a ghaik tadpole was the ticket he needed to see the world. Small segments of my tav, Gum, exploring Faerun and bonding with his new found companions. 2: "Wow. That's some sleight of tongue. Never seen that before." Gale watched as Gum stood, stolen ring in hand. "I have," Karlach replied. "But that's another story for another time." 3: Gale was left drowning in misery, the egg he intended to fry for breakfast past burnt and stuck to his pan. The very knowledge that he had turned Gum down, pushed him into the spawns arms, made Gale want to scream. --- Gale and Gum navigate both tadpole removal, abolishing the absolute, and their relationship.

My Many Tavs (Series) by upwards_descent

1: A series of snippets revolving around my Tav (Cairros Elrûn, a woodland elf Evocation Wizard) and his lover, Gale. Hella gay, super cute, with some bits of backstory for my boy sprinkled in. 2: Another series of snippets, this time featuring Gale and my other Tav, Rizal Aganaad the swashbuckling elder tiefling bard. A bit more angsty, a bit more kinky, just as fun! 3: A third collection of snippets romancing Gale, now with added Dark Urges! Featuring Autumn A. Augustus, soon-to-be redeemed human Great Old One warlock

A Talk About Control... by Faetality

Gale wants to talk about his pursuit of a certain artifact. Kai’chrell finds himself less than enthused with the idea and the urge… well. It raises its head at the worst of times.

You are Beautiful, Like I've Never Seen by Eternal_Starr

“You’re worth something to me…” He promises. “Worth a lot to me. And you are important in this world, even if you don’t feel it…” He watches as tears begin to swell in Gale’s eyes before he blinks hard to push them back down. He turns to meet Altair’s gaze, a warmth glowing inside them. Silence creeps in again. Neither of them dare to break it. ----------- Gale feels his death will make his life worth something. Altair claims he's worth something now.

Gale's Folly by arcanewriter

“Another night, I want to show you my home. Waterdeep. Tonight .. can you just hold me?”

Well Rested by Lintu

The gang gets to Baldur's Gate and stays a night at the Elfsong.

don't accuse me of accusing you by sertuna

Elminster delivers a message from Mystra. Callesian gives his opinion on the matter. “If you have something on your mind, I'd surely like to hear it,” Gale spoke at last as they locked eyes. He paused in response, leaving Gale to witness the gears turning in his mind as he formulated a response. Every feeling that had been stirring within him that evening threatened to bubble over the edge. Callesian knew if he let out even an ounce there would be no slowing down. For all the good rapidly escalating emotions did a barbarian in combat, it wasn’t a conduit for rational discussions. At last, he settled on what to say. “No, I don't think you would.”

Silly, Silly Tav, Or: Gale Gets Buttfucked Through The Portal by faeblesmith

“It seems… unstable, somehow. Normally, magic this old is the most stable sort, with decades, centuries, even millennia of support. There must be something very powerful behind this mass of sparks. Just as Tav gets within arm’s reach, someone half falls from the portal. Ass first. Bare ass first. “Hello? A hand? Anyone?” Tav stares at the ass, unable to even think for a moment, let alone move to do anything about some man’s bare ass (and legs, quite a nice set of ass and legs at that) jutting out from… the sheer rock face on the side of a hill.”

The Stars Can't Compare by Brittany_Hamato

He wants to forget his goddess and Eliminster's words. Instead of worrying about the orb, or the decisions left on his shoulders, Gale wants to just spend a night watching the stars. Tav decides to distract him. Gale is definitely distracted and certainly not complaining.

Roar of a bear by Subaruchan192

Gale is awestruck the first time Karasu turns into a bear and due to this distraction, gets hurt. The bear gets feral and afterwards they share a moment of tenderness and maybe flirting- or whatever these idiots understand by flirting.

wordlessly and entirely by reddragoncrush

The hungers in Gale never quite died, but sometimes they were silenced. Or, perhaps, more interestingly, he hadn't done what he needed to sate them.

Even in Darkness by PerditionLaFey

Post- game end, Male Tav was injured and has lost their sight, maybe for good. Gale comes along to provide some much-needed comfort.

shake like the bough of a willow tree by deathishauntedbyhumans

They never last long like this, either of them. The few times they’ve made love directly after fighting something that has made an honest attempt to kill them have always been hot and dirty and rather to the point. Tav doesn’t mind, though— there have been other moments, other times where their lovemaking has lasted much longer, been much sweeter. This is different. This is… stimulation, for the sake of stimulation.

an incantation of tongue by sanquines (wraithes)

Gale's desires are a well untapped, the cool waters of his mind plagued with wanton ripples. In attempt to free himself of one man, he finds himself with two — a challenge even the prodigy struggles to wrap his mind and mouth around.

an abundance of moments by floralprintshark

Gale struggles with his feelings for Tav and talks to pretty much everyone about this except to Tav. (Tav called Suvi, they're a Tiefling bard with the urchin background)

Counting Sheep by Nightwang

“That’s not what I meant. I was thinking more of turning that big, beautiful brain of yours off.” “Oh really? Well now this I’d like to see. What great plan do you have, oh fearless leader? A sleep potion? Perhaps a nice chair to the head?” For the prompt Gale/Any - Cockwarming on the Baldur’s Gate Kink Meme

God of Ambivalence by SpaceMonkeySalsa

A tiefling Artificer trying to carve a new path for himself splits a large stone on a beach to discover something truly shocking: a wizard missing a hand and in need of a lot of help, and magical items. Lucky for the wizard, Elion happens to be a fount of magical items.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav #gale x durge #bg3 gale #bg3 #bg3 fic #fic #one thing about me is i be reading 🫡

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chaoticbardlady99 · 6 months

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Lethal Woman- Chapter 4 (Astarion x GN! Reader)

Background- You are a Nightmask Death Bringer who was kidnapped by a Nautiloid Ship. Along with 6 strangers, you search Faerun for a cure for the Tadpoles in your heads- before it’s too late.

Author Note- I changed up the backstory a bit because I finally made a Tav that I really love. I am going to post a picture of her- please remember that you can imagine yourself as whatever race, character, etc you want. This is just the character I envision as “Rowan”. (half drow with draconic sorcerer blood from your mother).

CW: Gore, violence, death, murder (JUDAS NO!)

Chapter Five

Chapter 4: Astarion

Auntie Ethel’s Tea house had been nothing short of a shit show.

Between the possessed fighters, mysterious exploding spores, and the museum of suffering- the groups morale was at an all time low.

The fight had been absolutely exhausting and Mayrina was not helping with her screeching the whole fight. Astarion had considered shooting an arrow at her cage and letting it fall into the abyss. Except, you kept his mind off of her plenty during the fight.

Astarion had stayed next to you in combat- you moved together to become a deadly duo. You both moved and dodged in the right ways so that the other person could move in close and keep the hag distracted. He enjoyed this little dance of yours and a part of him hopes that you’ll continue fighting this way together.

However, that is the least of his concerns right now. Astarion watches as Mayrina screams in horror as you resurrect her very deceased husband.

Astarion has to stifle a laugh as he looks at your face- your features twist into something resembling disgust and horror. Mayrina looks at you and you hold out the wand to her- dropping it gingerly in her hands. Mayrina walks away and leers at the party as she begins to storm off. You wave awkwardly.

“Uh, I hope you guys live a long life together,” you shout flatly.

“Darling,” Astarion pipes up, “I think that ship sailed a funeral ago.”

He hears you choke back a laugh as Mayrina shoots him a glare- he tries to suppress the victorious grin that threatens to consume his face.

Karlach’s belly laugh is contagious and Astarion can’t help but laugh along with her. You are trying so hard to keep a serious face while shamelessly giggling behind your hand. Gale, however, just pinches the bridge of his nose with an exasperated sigh. He spies Gale’s small smile as he takes in your laughter.

How oblivious, he smirks, Gale is quite smitten with you and you are not even aware of it.

Astarion takes the chance to wink at you. He watches as a nice shade of pink dusts your cheeks and the tips of your ears. He lets a seductive smirk pull at the corner of the lips as you look away from him and try to help Karlach gain her composure.

Gale glares at him as Astarion flashes a shit eating grin.

He noticed the wizard’s affections for you a few days ago when Gale had been showing off his magic. Gale had been looking at you like you put the moon in the sky. You, on the other hand, had been fidgeting and tripping over your words during the entirety of the interaction. At first Astarion thought you fancied Gale, but when he had brought it up to you- you had looked at him with horror.

“No, definitely not.”

“Oh? You were so nervous over there darling, I thought you were going to practically melt into the ground from his affections,” he teases, trying not to let the worry find its way in his voice.

If you have fallen for Gale- what the hells was he going to do? How would he be protected? Would all the time he has spent developing a rapport with you be for nothing?

An unfamiliar emotion wound tightly in his chest- he was also fighting the little voice in his head that screamed at the idea of your attention being on anyone else. He enjoys the time you give him and he didn’t want to lose that time to Gale of all people.

You sigh, “No, I’m not interested in Gale- I just…”

He stared at you expectantly as you continued to avoid his stare.

“Dahlia didn’t really allow me to have social relationships. She said it would just be a distraction. The only real relationship that I have had and can truly remember was with Tessa.”

“Who is Tessa?” He blurted out.

He had been dying to ask since the night of the fire, the night you had run through the woods after crying her name in your sleep.

You looked at him sadly, “Just someone I loved. We dated for a while. From the age of like 13 to 16 years old. Dahlia didn’t like it so she killed her. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

“Astarion?”

He snaps out of his head as you look at him with your hand on your hip- a quizzical eyebrow raised. He regains his composure and nods as if to say that you have his attention. You roll your eyes before flashing him a grin. He feels his chest squeeze tightly.

“Alright, you guys can go up ahead, I wanted to check out something really quick.”

“Do you want me to go with you, Soldier?”

You shake your head, “No, it shouldn’t take too long, I just didn’t take enough time to look at the Hag’s lair is all.”

Karlach and Gale seem content with this answer, but Astarion can tell you aren’t being entirely forthcoming.

As you part ways, Astarion slowly walks behind Gale and Karlach- waiting for your silhouette to be out of sight.

He stops and waits until Gale and Karlach’s voices fade away before following you. He snuck in between the bushes and the trees- not wanting to alert you to his presence. He knows you are more than capable, but a part of him can’t shake the uneasiness that fills up his chest whenever you leave.

The smell hits his nose first- metallic and sickly sweet. He scowls as his face contorts in disgust. Despite his better judgment, he keeps slinking forward. Your scent begins to intermingle and guide him to the source of the smell. He hears you voice and…

A man’s voice?

“So what are you hunting? Something exciting perhaps? Unfortunately, my companions and I have already killed the Hag, but you are welcome to pretend it was you,” you say, your voice sweet and flirty.

You are standing in front of a man- a Gur of all creatures. A low growl threatens to escape his throat as he watches the man eat up your attention.

“Nothing so dramatic. I’m searching for a vampire spawn.”

Astarion feels his whole body tense- if he had any blood in his veins, it would have frozen immediately.

If you were affected by what the Gur said, you didn’t show it. The confidence and sweetness looks so genuine on you that if Astarion didn’t know you, he wouldn’t be able to tell you were a socially awkward mess.

“His name is Astarion, but I fear he’s gone to ground. I was going to ask the Hag for help…” he says before offering you a pleasant smile, “but I’m sure I’ll find an alternative..”

You return his smile with ease. Astarion can’t see the emotions in your eyes, but the worry inside his stomach is beginning to rise up into his throat.

“So if you find this ‘Astarion’,” you start slowly with a hint of interest in your voice, “what are you going to do? Kill him?”

Why are you even asking that?

“No, I have orders to take him back to Baldur’s Gate,” he pauses, searching your face.

Astarion couldn’t see your face very well, but obviously something had changed.

“You wouldn’t happen to know this Astarion would you?”

The man’s eyes narrow as you pretend to think, tapping your chin with your index finger. A wicked smile adorns your face.

“For the right price I might.”

Astarion feels sick.

Maybe he has been misreading the situation the whole time. Maybe you had been tricking him and not the other way around. You got him to trust you by feeding him, spending time with him- getting to know him. He thought he was playing Chess while you play checkers, but obviously he was wrong. Your plan will succeed. However, your plan led to his death, not his salvation.

Astarion slowly reaches for his dagger- ready to jump both you and the evil Gur.

He watches as the Gur huffs in annoyance before pulling the coin purse from his pocket. Astarion shifts forward on his feet.

“It’s not much, but I-”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence. One of your hidden blades is buried in his right eye while the other is going up through the softness of his lower jaw, up into his brain. Astarion’s hand slips away from his blade as he slowly stands up to get a better view. You had certainly skewered the man- that was for sure.

“No hard feelings,” you say as you pull the blades from the man’s head- as you push him backwards.

The monster Hunter stares up at you, choking in fear as his own blood pools around him.

“I do know who you are looking for. Unfortunately, that means you are a complication,” you cock your head to the side, “by the way, you probably shouldn’t give people the name of your mark. Kinda leaves you open to being killed, but I guess you know that now.”

The man is hissing at you, trying to speak and you just stare at him until he calms down again.

Your smile is beautiful and cold, “Any last words?”

The man attempts to crawl away while his hands frantically reach for his belt where his weapons are. You step on his arm and Astarion hears the bones crack. The man lets out a gurgling groan.

“Well that was a bad choiceeeee,” you say in a sing-song voice before you unceremoniously dump a bottle of poison down the man’s throat- as if to add more salt to the wound, you pat his forehead and give him a cruel smile.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”

Astarion didn’t realize he was standing up, blowing his own cover, but he is too stunned by your actions to care. You had killed a monster Hunter for him.

The man is writhing on the ground for only seconds before he goes completely still. You let out a heavy sigh before looting him as Astarion continues to watch.

He hears you silently cuss as you dive into the man’s pockets. He hears you muttering something about a contract. Exasperated, you turn around on your heels and are about to walk when you stop dead in your tracks. You and Astarion stare at each other. The silence hangs in the air.

Your eyes soften when the initial shock fades and you give him one of your infamous lopsided smiles.

“I guess that Wyvern Poison from Nettie really works,” you chuckle, “I’ll have to let her know after the whole tadpole thing is taken care of. I can’t imagine she would be pleased that I used it for something other than its intended purposes.”

He wants to speak. He can tell you are waiting- he can practically smell the anxiety rolling off of you. Why you were anxious was beyond him. Why would he be mad at you? You just saved him for Gods’ sake.

When you realize he isn’t going to speak, you clear your throat.

“Well, let’s start heading back.”

________________________________________________

The walk home had been quiet and fast. Astarion watches as you collect your night clothes and head to the river to clean up. He pretends to be interested in the book he is holding as he contemplates the events of today.

His head is swimming with questions, but the one that bothers him the most is why. He hasn’t slept with you- hells he has barely even scraped the surface of his plan and you had brutally murdered an (arguably) innocent man for him. Astarion’s understanding of Deathbringers, specifically the Night Masks, don’t work for free and yet you haven’t asked anything of him.

There has to be a catch.

Astarion’s eyes shoot up from his book as you come walking into camp with Karlach on your heels. Your laugh sounds like music to his ears as Karlach does a crude impression of Mayrina and her husband’s future bedroom activities.

“Do you think it’s all still there? What if it falls off in side of her?”

Leave it to Karlach to ask the serious questions.

“Gods- do we even want to know?” Gale yells from his spot at the fire.

“My money is on it falling off,” Shadowheart says.

Quickly, the whole group is around the campfire besides Astarion. Everyone eats dinner while Karlach is enthusiastically describing the battle with the hag and the unfortunate end result.

Eventually everyone retires to bed. He sits on the edge of his seat as he watches you bid a quick good night to Karlach. You walk to your bedroll around the fire and just take in the flames. The agitation flares in his belly- you haven’t even made an attempt to talk to him since you got back to camp.

Oh to hells with it.

He gets up from his spot outside his tent and saunters over to the fire pit.

“Hello darling,” he says with his most charming tone, “this seat taken?”

You offer him a small smile and shake your head no. You turn your attention back up to the night sky. You both sit in silence like that for a while- Astarion pretending to read his book and you happily letting the flames warm your hands. Until the question bubbles up in his throat and Astarion can’t take the quiet anymore.

“Why?” he whispers.

“What do you mean ‘why?’” confusion paints your face as you lean towards him.

Why did you protect me? Why didn’t you turn me in? Take the gold? Lead him to camp and let him drag me away?

“I never thought I’d render you, of all people, speechless,” you say with a wide grin.

He can’t help but return your smile. He feels his eyebrows furrow as you give him your full attention.

“Why didn’t you take the money and turn me in?”

“Why in the hells would I do that!?”

Astarion winces at the aggression in your voice.

“Oh wait- no I’m sorry! I’m not-” you pause and take a deep breath, “I’m not angry with you Astarion. I just didn’t think you had so little faith in me.”

Despite your playful tone, he can still hear the hurt underneath.

“It’s not you- I just… I’ve never had anyone protect me before without wanting something in return.”

The sudden sadness in your gaze makes him squirm uncomfortably. The way you look at him makes him think you are peering into his soul- watching his secrets bleed through the facade he wears.

“Astarion,” his name falls off your lips like a prayer, “I don’t need you to do anything for me to protect you.”

Astarion’s eyes widen as he looks at you- searching for ingenuity, the lie. He never finds it, but he does find himself studying the planes of your face. Gods, you are beautiful. He won’t deny himself that truth, but the warm feeling in his chest makes it difficult to speak.

That pink dust pops up on your cheeks again as you notice his gaze. You look a little panicked and that awkwardness begins to appear.

You frantically follow up your statement with, “and besides, I feel like we fight relatively well together and we need all the hands we can get.”

Necessity- now that makes sense.

“Thank you,” the words fall from his lips softly, “no one has ever protected me before without there being a cost.”

Your gaze never leaves his- it’s his turn to look away with discomfort.

He continues, “I’ve always had to look out for myself so- thank you.”

Not even the sun could hold a candle to the smile on your lips.

“Of course Astarion. Don’t ever worry about not being protected- as long as you are with me, your chances of surviving are relatively high,” you contemplate for a second, “well unless you keep hiding Lae’zel’s daggers all over the place. I’m not going to stop her from retaliating.”

He let’s the warmth he feels dance across his features as he guffaws at you. That was another thing he had come to appreciate about you- it didn’t need to always be so damn serious.

“Darling,” he gasps, “I would never do such a thing. That is far too hilarious and I am a man of class.”

You roll your eyes at him, “Ah so Gale’s stretching mat just grew legs and walked off too then?”

He scowls, “if anything, I did us all a favor. Those ungodly groans at sunrise are enough to make an entire brothel blush.”

“Hm, apparently you haven’t been to very good brothels if that’s the type of behavior that embarrasses them?”

“Oh and you have?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“Hardly.”

He chuckles at the defeated look on your face and you stick your tongue out at him before settling back into your spot.

Astarion allows the overwhelming sense of calmness wash over him as he opens his book again. He attempts to read the first paragraph of the first page, but he can feel your eyes boring into him.

“Yes Darling?”

“What is the book about?”

Well that was unexpected. The last thing he thought you would want to talk about was his reading materials. Honestly? He had no idea considering he had picked up the book initially to look busy. He flips the cover over- “The World According to Bumpo”. Of course he picked the dumbest book to pretend to be interested in.

“I just started, but when I finish- I’ll let you read it-“ he says, “provided you give it back to me.”

“Oh, no that’s okay. Maybe you could just tell me about it?”

Astarion’s curiosity gets the better of him, “not a fan of the finer arts?”

You look at your hands and begin to pick at your nails.

“No, I just don’t… don’t really know how to read.”

Astarion wants to be surprised, but from what little he knows about this ‘Dahlia’character, it doesn’t shock him. Vampires will find any way to have the upper hand and you are very close to being as powerful (if not more so) than any vampires he has met.

“Would you like to?”

“Like to what?”

“ Learn how to read or-“ he clears his throat, trying to hide his insecurity, “or I could read it to you if you want.”

You perk up from your spot and cup your ear towards him, “I am all ears!”

He feigns irritation before he begins reading aloud.

#baldurs gate 3 #astarion x reader #astarion #astarion x you #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x tav #astarion romance #bg3 spoilers #bg3 #karlach

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racefortheironthrone · 2 months

Note

Which X-Men (or X-Men-adjacent characters) do you think are the best fits for each of the core D&D classes - in a sort of "using this character to illustrate what the class is" way? Leaving out artificer, if only because that's so obviously Forge.

This is hard, because I would describe a lot of X-Men characters as Sorcerors both in terms of how and where they get their powers, but also a lot of the subclasses work very well with the various mutant gifts. Most psychics (Charles Xavier, Jean Grey, Emma Frost) would probably work best as Aberrant Mind Sorcerors, for example (although Kwannon probably works better as a Soulknife).

For Rogues, there's no question that it Gambit, cher.

For (Berserker) Barbarians, it's absolutely Logan.

For Fighters, I'd go with Cyclops (a ranged Battlemaster who took all the Warlord manuevers).

For Warlocks, I'd go with Nightcrawler as a Fae Pact Bladelock.

For Druids, you absolutely go with Storm - although most likely, you'd build Storm as a Druid/Tempest Domain Cleric multiclass - although Rictor is not a bad pick either after he hooked up with [A] and got into mutant magic and druidism.

For Bards, I'd go with Doug Ramsey as a College of Lore guy. (And in keeping with the Bard stereotype, Doug's a transhuman bi-poly twink who's secretly a schemer and political operator behind the innocently slutty facade...)

For Paladins, I'd go with Betsy Braddock, since choosing between the Amulet of Right and the Sword of Might to embody the mystical bond between the land and Otherworld is very very much an Oath of the Ancients moment.

If we're going with Rangers, I would definitely go with Dani Moonstar as combining archery powers with animal companions - although I'm not sure whether she'd be a Fey Wanderer (heh) or a Gloomstalker.

For Monk, I would actually go with Kitty Pryde as a spin on a Shadow Warrior build, considering her time training as a ninja under the demonic Ogun and her current incarnation as the vengeful Shadowkat.

And for Wizards...that one is hard. Probably Amanda Sefton.

#xmen #xmen meta #dnd #d&d

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folklaur21 · 1 month

Text

Muggle Music & Movies

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x gn!reader

Summary: The son of one of the most Blood-Proud families in the Wizarding World gets caught with a Muggle device.

Warnings: None, just fluff <3

Word Count: 874

Draco Malfoy is part of the most notorious Pure-blood families of the Wizarding world. It's common knowledge that him and his family are not fans of anything Muggle. It's how they were brought up, and how their lifestyle will be.

You thought Draco was the same; cruel, cold, and extremely anti-Muggle. That was, until, you caught him in an abandoned classroom, in quite a compromising position.

"Oh, sorry Malfoy I didn't mean to intrude, what are you- IS THAT A WALKMAN?"

Draco Malfoy's head snapped up to look at you and he shoved the Walkman into the pocket of his robe, before sharply getting up and darting towards you.

"No, I don't know what you're talking about." He stares at you, questioning whether you are going to continue your interrogation. Obviously you are.

"Umm, yes you do! That was a Walkman, I had one for my 16th birthday a couple months ago. Why do have a Muggle device?"

At that comment, Malfoy shoves you into the wall, and covers your mouth with his hand. "Shut up." He realises how close the two of you are, and takes a few steps away from you.

"OK, you need to calm down. I'm just asking." You try to shrug off his reaction, but you still have more questions. "Why are you, of all people, secretly listening to Muggle music?"

Draco sighs and turns back towards you. "Do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially not my friends? And my father won't hear about this?"

"Yeah," you raise your eyebrows, "I won't tell anyone."

"The music is actually really good. My father wouldn't let me take Muggle Studies as a class in third year, but that Granger girl did, and I heard her talking about... Muggle things."

"OK, so you secretly bought a Sony Walkman?"

"I saw it in a Muggle charity shop in London when I was on my way to Diagon Alley. I just thought it would be cool. The gadget already had these songs on it." He shows you a list of 10 songs in a tidy scrawl.

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Creep - Radiohead Iris - Goo Goo Dolls Boys Don't Cry - The Cure Times Like These - Foo Fighters The Winner Takes It All - ABBA Wonderwall - Oasis I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi Girls & Boys - Blur

"Why do you care about me?" You hear Malfoy say, very quietly.

"Well, I care because you go around screaming bloody murder about Muggle-borns, and here you are on a Saturday afternoon, hidden away in an abandoned classroom."

"It's complicated. I actually think things like this," he pulls the Walkman out of his pocket, "are really cool. We don't have this kind of magic as wizards."

"I guess. I've never really thought about it like that." You walk over to one of the desks and sit on the table. "My mum's a Muggle, you see. I was brought up on Chocolate Frogs and Disney films."

"What are Disney films?" Draco asks, confused. "Is that like, another sweet?"

"Oh. My. Gosh. You've not heard of Disney? Or films, for that matter?" You suppress a small laugh.

"Well, I did just mention that my father was a controlling, anti-Muggle lunatic. So, no I don't know what films are." The coldness that you knew as Draco Malfoy started to peek through at this comment, but not enough for you to be deterred by his response.

"OK, I am definitely bringing in my projector. And a Disney film." You stop and think for a moment. "What kind of things do you like? Animals, magic, princesses?"

This was how you ended up in your dormitory on a Friday night a week later, led on your bed with Draco Malfoy, watching Bambi.

"What just happened? Where's his mum gone?"

You turn around to see Draco's eyes welling up, and looking confused at the moving picture on the screen.

"Umm, yeah, she dies Draco. The hunters got her."

"That's awful! This is a kid's film! What children enjoy this?"

Right. Maybe Bambi wasn't a good first choice for an introduction into Disney films. You definitely should have gone for The Little Mermaid.

"But, Draco watch."

The two of you finish watching the film, but Draco still seems hesitant.

"See Draco, it has a happy ending."

"Yeah, but his mum still died. How would you get over that?"

"I don't know Draco, but that's not the point of the film. It's about friendship, and development, and love."

"I still don't think it's acceptable for children." Draco huffs indignantly.

"Draco, wizarding children's stories involve RIPPING PEOPLE'S HEARTS OUT and even BEING MURDERED FOR POWER. How is this unacceptable?" You sigh, mostly joking.

Draco doesn't say anything to that comment, but a moment later he asks. "Can we watch another next week?"

You turn to him surprised. "Really? You enjoyed this? I thought you said it was unacceptable for children..."

"Yeah, but... I like spending time with you."

At this, you turn around and face Draco, looking into his eyes. "I like spending time with you too."

Draco pulls you in towards him, and your lips meet.

"Maybe," he thinks, "being caught with my Muggle music wasn't so bad after all."

#slytherin boys #slytherin #theodore nott #harry potter universe #y/n #harry potter #draco malfoy #fanfic #fanfiction #draco lucius malfoy #malfoy x reader #draco x reader #x reader #x y/n #x y/n fluff #x you #fluff #imagines

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wanda-maximoff-enthusiast · 2 years

Note

Hello! I saw that you said your requests for The Hobbit were open, which made me very excited because I love your writing style so much. May I please request for you to write something with Gandalf telling Thorin & Co. he’s adding someone to the company and them being very annoyed, and then Mr. Gandalf—in his infinite wisdom—referring to y/n as “she” and them flipping the frickity frick out because women are fragile and dainty and need to be protected (cue eye roll). Then upon meeting her, she’s a wee bit unhinged and wild and overall just Morally Gray Slightly Insane Badass? I’m thinking of Harley Quinn’s fight scenes from Bird of Prey where she’s just super kickass and efficient, slamming people into the ground and twirling her bat around like a baton.

I’m sorry if this is too specific! I’d love to see what you would do with this prompt. You can add any pairings you would like. If it doesn’t interest you, then I respect that, feel free to ignore! Thank you!

THIS IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION I think we need a little bit more badass (Y/N), come on guys

But yes, absolutely. This looks like it should have a part two, so if anybody wants that lemme know.

~Her~

the company x fem!reader (platonic)

Summary: Gandalf is adding somebody new to the company (albeit without telling Thorin), and the company are shocked when he lets one little pronoun slip.

Warnings: A bit of sexism (the dwarves think all women are quite meek and dainty), (Y/N) is an absolute girlboss so prepare for that

A/N: I'm rewatching the Hobbit atm. kili >>>>>>

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

Gandalf towered over the dwarves - and Bilbo - as he spoke rapidly to try and avoid the orcs within a nearby fortress. "I think now would be best to tell you of the newest member of the company."

The dwarves looked at each other, suspicious of the wizard's intentions. Thorin's dark brows furrowed above his eyelids.

"Go on." He said, voice firm and demanding.

"Well, I believe this person will be a very good addition. A trained fighter, a little crazy, albeit, but still a useful asset."

Thorin's crystal eyes glared at Gandalf.

"And how much of this did you care to inform me of?"

"Thorin, I assure you, this is all going to work out-"

"Can we, like, not be doing this right now? In a few seconds, a whole army of orcs is going to burst through those doors." Fili spoke up, pulling two daggers from his pockets.

Kili nodded at his brother's words. "Yeah, just cut to the chase, what does this 'new member' go by?"

"Well, if I am correct, her-"

An uproar of 'her?' and 'what is he on about's erupted from the dwarves, all of them waving their weapons mockingly, before Thorin raised a hand to silence them.

"You're trying to sabotage us." "Thorin-" "A woman? Really?" Gandalf's gaze averted to the fortress, listening intently of any sign of destruction, as Thorin continued ranting angrily.

"Women do not fight, they are more accustomed to sewing needles than they are swords, why would you- what in Mahal's name are you looking at?" The dwarf king turned, as did the rest of the company, to see the orc fortress burst into flames.

Fire covered the entire structure, but even in the blazing embers and smoke they could see a figure walking towards them.

"Who is that?" Oin asked, tilting his head to get a better look at the person walking.

Gandalf smirked a knowing smile as he watched the dwarves' awe.

"That, Master Oin, is the newest member of the company. I would like you to meet (Y/N) (L/N)."

Everybody watched in pure shock as (Y/N) walked towards them, twirling a bat in her hand as if it weighed nothing, a sinister laugh falling from her lips.

"H-Her?" Bilbo asked, the hobbit clearly rather intimidated by this strange human, to which Gandalf sent him a comforting smile.

Finally, she stopped in front of them, blowing a large pink bubble with her gum before popping it with her teeth and chewing it, mouth open in a wide grin.

"Her." She said, leaning on her bat as if it were an arm rest. Mahal, this journey just got a lot more interesting.

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SORRY THIS IS ALSO SUPER OVERDUE AHH

#the hobbit x reader #the hobbit #the company x reader #thorin oakenshield x reader

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mikathemonster · 1 year

Note

Idk if I’m doing this right but can u write fluff of some kind with dialogue prompt #1 with Kili x fem!reader? Whatever comes to mind, if not no biggie, thanks sm!!☺️

"a ‘spark’ of an idea"

author's note: this one was actually really fun, considering i decided to use an old WIP to write this! I apologize if the pacing feels a bit rushed, I've been writing while sick with covid :( (based on this post)

Pairing: Kíli / Female Human Reader

Word Count: 1,198

summary: despite being Gandalf’s apprentice, you yourself cannot conjure any magic. but that doesn’t stop you from trying to prove yourself to a certain dwarven prince...

content warnings: fire, sparks, smoking

DO NOT REPOST OR COPY. MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT.

“Gandalf, we have a problem.” You said, out of breath from running to hunt down the wizard.

“And I suppose you expect my aid in this issue?” The grey wizard said, blowing smoke from his pipe. Oh, how you wished a puff of the old toby would help you. But alas, this problem was bigger than simple weed from Southfarthing.

“Well yes, that was the idea,” you huffed, sitting next to him as you tried to regain your breath and your composure. You had hoped your mentor would be a little more gracious in your current time of need.

“I know very well of your problem, dear Y/N,” he said. “But it is yours to solve just as it was yours to create.” You groaned at his wisdom. Of course he already knew what you had done, he was a wizard! All wise but ever mischievous, was he. You had learned that well from traveling with him here and there as his apprentice, his aid.

“Then can you at least lend me a branch over here?” You said, a little frustrated. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Another puff came from the old grey man as he blew terrific smoky shapes into the air. “My suggestion is simple,” he said. “Put your foot in front of the other and start walking. No problem was ever solved by laying about and whining.” Rather short than his usual pep talks, but you didn’t have the energy to pry. He must have a lot on his mind, you thought.

And that’s how you found yourself storming in the direction of the forges, intent on requesting backup to help with your plan. Backup, you thought, in the form of a certain toymaker and miner.

You searched the many workstations within Erebor’s grand forges, the heat of the halls causing a heated glow about your face as you desperately worked to seek out the dwarf with twin curled braids.

“Bofur!” You called out, running to catch up with the dwarrow who seemed like he was gathering supplies for his next projects. “Bofur, I need your help. We have a problem.”

“Ah, Y/N,” the older dwarf smiled as he saw you. Always a good day to see a friend, he thought as he stopped what he was doing. “And it’s another Monday, what’s your point?”

You drew in a breath, fiddling with your hands as you swallowed your dignity to explain the situation. “So, I was playing a game with Fíli and Kíli, and we were all taking dares from one another when Kíli dared me to perform magic in front of him.” You said.

“You can do magic?” Bofur asked. You shook your head.

“Not at all!” You said. “But I couldn’t say that in front of them, so I told Kíli that if he met me here tomorrow night, I’d conjure fireworks for him.”

“Why didn’t you just tell the truth, lass?” He said.

“Because!” You whined. “You’re all master crafters and fighters and skilled in practically everything! I wanted to have some sort of special talent.”

“Oh, come now, Y/N,” he said, frowning. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re already quite special yourself, you know?”

“You don’t have to flatter me, you know,” you said, sighing. Bofur shook his head.

“I’m serious! It takes quite a deal of strength to be able to put up with those two,” he grinned, pushing you with his elbow teasingly. “Come, we can talk more in my workshop. It’s a bit stuffy in here, eh?” You nodded silently, following him.

A few twists and turns later through the great bedrock halls led you to Bofur and Bifur’s toyshop, the shelves inside littered with works in progress and completed toys of various types. Bofur set his collection of parts down on a huge table that was covered in scrolls and blueprints before he turned back around to face you, giving you his full attention.

“Now, lass,” he said. “What do you expect me to do to help you?”

You drew a breath, knowing you were going to sound crazy. “Alright, here’s my plan.”

And the stage was set! It took all day yesterday to fully plan it out with Bofur, but you were ready. And quite excited! Gods, you just couldn’t wait to see the look on Kíli’s face when you pulled this off. Now all you needed to do was keep your cool and stick to your script, which you hoped Kíli would goad you into easily.

Soon, he was meeting you at the entrance of the Great Forges, an eager grin on his face as the lights of the fires lit both of your faces. “Y/N, you won’t hold out on me, will you?” He asked with a cheeky smile, and you rolled your eyes.

“Oh, of course not! How could I dare to upset you? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a scene.” And with that, you turned away, quickly walking towards the forges, which were eerily quiet and empty tonight.

Kíli seemed to fall for your trap, raising a brow as he followed after you. “Where are we going?”

“Well you see, my magic is most powerful near fire,” you said, fibbing your ass off as you worried about how effective your plan would be. As soon as the two of you would enter the forge, you knew Bofur would set it in motion.

Kíli seemed to feel satisfied with this answer as he nodded. “I see, fireworks and fire makes sense.”

You nodded as well, glad he took it without question. And soon you both crossed the threshold, you threw your arms in the air, hoping Bofur would see the signal. It was time to begin.

“What are you doing?” Kíli asked, coming up close behind you.

You threw a playful smirk, trying your best not to give away how nervous you were. “I’m just warming up.”

“Then by all means,” he said, taking a step back to give you some space.

And with a big breath, it was time to begin. You rubbed your hands together, creating a warm friction as you kept up this little pretend of yours. You threw your hands up in the air, stretching your arms as high as they could go, and with a large crashing sound, sparks flew everywhere from a balcony high above. A curtain of glowing orange sparks fell on both sides of you, bouncing on the stone floors once or twice before going dimmer and dimmer, and eventually out.

Kíli’s jaw practically fell to the floor, his attention fully transfixed on you as he gazed at you with awestruck eyes. It was so beautiful to see, and so captivatingly shocking that he hadn’t moved the gears in his mind enough to try and figure out what was actually happening. For right above you two, hidden on a balcony, Bofur and Bifur were busy grinding metal as silently as possible to create such sparks as they flew down to where you and Kíli stood.

“By Durin himself,” Kíli said. “I should have never doubted you.”

“Oh, Kíli,” you replied. “The show isn’t over yet.”

If you enjoyed this piece, consider checking out my masterlist, requesting a fic of your own, or leaving a tip on my page <3

#kili fanfic #kili durin #kili smut #kili x reader #kili #the hobbit fanfic #the hobbit fanfiction #the hobbit x reader #the hobbit imagine #the hobbit #lotr fandom #lotr imagine #lotr fanfic #lotr x reader #lotr

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tabitha42 · 26 days

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The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 3

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Morning came all too quickly. Her body still ached from the day before, made worse now by sleeping on little more than the ground. She could hear movement outside - seems the others were already awake, or some of them at least. The smell of food wafted in and was enough to finally pull her out of bed.

Outside the others were preparing for the day - sharpening weapons, readying armour, inspecting arrows. Gale sat at the campfire, cooking once more. “Saff!” he called once he saw she was up, beckoning her over. “I’ve saved some for you.” She wandered over and sat down next to him. He handed her a plate with some bread and cooked meat. Considering it was rations looted off of dead bodies cooked over a campfire, it looked pretty damn good. She thanked him and eagerly began eating. “We’ll be heading out with the others today to help search for the tieflings. Lae’zel thinks she knows what direction to go in,” he explained, filling her in on the discussions that had happened before she’d woken up.

��Ah… ok,” she said, a little bit nervous. “What about the camp? Shouldn’t someone stay to guard it?” “Shadowheart will stay here.” That took her by surprise. Even though Shadowheart had been pretty quiet last night, one thing Saff had gotten from her was that she was very determined to do whatever needed to be done to free herself of this parasite, and staying in camp for the day didn’t seem to fit in with that.

“Really?” she asked, glancing over at Shadowheart, who was eating her breakfast in front of her tent. “Yep,” he said, before lowering his voice and leaning in slightly. “Between you and me, I get the impression she wants to be in Lae’zel’s company for as little time as possible.” “Ah…” she murmured. Now that she thought about it, that matched up with how they’d been acting around each other last night. The two of them clearly weren’t exactly friends. “What about our stuff? Can we trust her with it all?” Gale shrugged slightly. “We don’t have much choice, unless you want to carry that backpack around with you all day.”

She certainly didn’t relish that thought.

“Suppose you’re right…” she muttered. Still, she wondered if this was really the best idea. Shadowheart looked like a much more capable fighter than Saff herself was…

Soon breakfast was done and the four of them were ready to go. “Good luck,” Shadowheart said with a wave as they were about to leave. “Do try not to get yourselves killed.”

“Same to you, darling,” Astarion replied. “It can be awfully dangerous in these woods all on your own.” “I can handle myself, don’t you worry.” With that, they were off. Lae’zel took the lead while the rest of them followed. “You sure you’re ok with this, Lae’zel?” Astarion asked after a while. “Two wizards and a rogue… we won’t exactly be joining you on the front lines.” Despite the apparent concern in his words, the playful nature with which he said them seemed to lack any real concern at all.

“I am perfectly content with that. Less people to get in my way,” she said confidently. Everything she said seemed to be confident, like she had not a shred of self-doubt. Given the stories she’d told them of Githyanki culture, Saff supposed anyone with any self-doubt wouldn’t have survived their training.

“Are you saying our dear Shadowheart got in your way?” Astarion asked, with the tone of a teenager wanting to start drama. “Shadowheart’s been getting in my way since we met her. I will fight better without her.”

Astarion glanced at Saff and Gale, now with the look of a teenager excited about the drama they’d started.

“Well if you can fight even better today we have nothing to fear.”

At this point Saff wasn’t sure if he was actually being sarcastic with everything he said or if that was just how he spoke.

The walk was long, interspersed with the occasional conversation. Astarion seemed quite chatty now, as long as the subject wasn’t himself. During the conversation she decided to tell them all to call her Saff, though mostly because it would be odd to have Gale call her one thing and the others call her another. But she hoped once she got to know the others more she’d feel as comfortable round them as she did right now with Gale.

It was early afternoon when they heard the shouting. Running to catch up with it they discovered what they’d been looking for - a large door, disguised with ivy, manned by tieflings atop the wall. Had it not been for the group of adventures outside the door shouting to be let in, they’d probably not have noticed it.

Then came the goblins. Hollering war cries, the group descended on them and the battle began. Lae’zel wasted no time charging in, and before Saff even knew what was going on, Astarion disappeared into the shadows. She might have thought he’d fled had she not seen an arrow fly out from his hiding place right into the skull of a goblin, before he quickly darted to another hiding spot. Next Gale ran forward and effortlessly threw a firebolt at one of the worgs as it went to attack a tiefling. His hand gestures were so quick she barely saw them. She’d never seen someone cast a spell with such ease… but she soon realised she’d been staring a bit too long as she suddenly noticed a goblin running towards her, taking advantage of her lapse in concentration. In a panic she quickly summoned a firebolt and threw it at the goblin, but her aim was off, and even if it had hit it lacked the power to kill, and the goblin easily dodged to the side. She tried to summon another, but her shaking hands couldn’t do the movements, and before she knew it the goblin was on top of her…

The goblin was slammed aside by a bolt of fire, leaving a huge clump of burnt flesh sloughing off the side of the corpse. She looked in the direction it came from to see Gale looking back at her, taking a moment to be sure she was ok, before quickly turning back to the battle, another spell in hand.

She knew in that moment she had to be better than this, and for now adrenaline drowned out the fear and she found herself running to Gale’s side to join the fight. It was mostly a blur, throwing firebolts and dodging arrows as the sounds of battle cries and dying screams echoed in her ears.

Then just as suddenly as it started, it was over. But she didn’t hear the celebrations of the survivors. She could still hear only the dying, the screaming. The cracking of bones and skulls, the thud of bodies hitting the ground, the stench of burning flesh. She heard voices, but the words were lost. Her hands shook, her heart raced, her ears rang, and all she could do was stare at the massacre in front of her…

Suddenly she was being pulled away. She didn’t resist - she couldn’t even register what was happening enough to consider resisting it. A familiar figure by her side, one arm around her shoulders, the other taking her hand, leading her away from it all. Then she was sat on a stone next to him in the quiet serenity of the forest.

“Saff? Saff, look at me.” His words gradually made their way through her muddled mind and his face came into focus in front of her, a look of deep concern in his eyes.

“Saff, can you hear me? It’s ok…”

She felt him squeeze her hand, and finally the visions of the battle left and she found herself back in the real world. With a deep gasp, as if finally being released from an iron-like grip, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Gods… oh, gods…” she whispered, her voice shaking as much as her hands. “Hey, it’s alright,” he said softly, gently rubbing her back. “It’s over now.”

After a long moment she finally opened her eyes again, and when she did they were full of tears.

“I… I… oh, fuck, what am I doing here…” she whispered in a panic. “I shouldn’t have come… I should have told you I can’t do this… you should have taken Shadowheart, not me…”

“Saff-” “I’ve put you all in danger, I’m just going to slow you all down, I can’t fight like you all ca-” “Saff!”

She went quiet, looking at him in surprise.

“I know this is difficult. Trust me, I do. The first time I ever found myself truly fighting for my life, I was terrified. But I also know that it gets easier. Don’t give in to panic and fear, trust and believe in yourself. You can do this,” he said honestly, squeezing her hand as he spoke.

She looked down, letting his words sink in. Gradually the panic faded, leaving just the warmth his voice gave her. Finally she wiped her eyes and nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice still shaking slightly. He smiled, giving her the time she needed. Eventually she took a deep breath and steadied herself. “Lae’zel and Astarion weren’t impressed by this, I’m guessing…” she murmured, dreading the judgemental stares she’d get next time she saw them. “I told them we would stay behind and loot the bodies. I’m not sure how much they realised what was actually happening,” he explained. “Oh,” she said in surprise. “Well… thanks for covering for me,” she said, realising what he’d done for her. “But still… I shouldn’t have let it get to this. I should have told you from the beginning. Someone who can’t fight doesn’t exactly make for a good travelling companion…” “Oh I don’t know about that. I’d still rather travel with you than with any of them.”

Again, she looked at him in surprise. “Really? But… they can all fight. You’d be so much safer with them.” “Perhaps, but a good travelling companion can do more than just fight. Most of travelling is, well, travelling, not fighting. It’s long and boring, and you make far better conversation than they do.”

She had to look away to hide the blush on her cheeks. Though she wondered if he saw anyway, given the way he chuckled.

“Still… I won’t be able to talk us out of a fight, if it comes to it…” She said quietly, feeling doubtful again.

“Then how about some lessons?” he offered. She looked back at him in curiosity. “You clearly have a fairly good grasp of the Weave, but you’ve never really studied combat magic, correct?” She nodded. “Then I shall teach you. And with as great a wizard as me as your teacher, you’ll be a powerful battlemage in no time.”

She was sure whenever he said something a bit full of himself like that it was intended to command respect, though all it ever seemed to do was make her laugh. Luckily, that was exactly what she needed right now.

“Alright, I’ll hold you to that. If I’m not throwing fireballs within a tenday I’ll blame you.”

“Deal,” he said with a smile, holding his hand out. She gladly shook it, feeling a bit more confident about this now. “The lessons start tonight, after dinner.” “I’ll be there,” she promised him, quite looking forward to it. “I suppose for now we’d better get back to the others before they realise something’s up.” “A good plan,” he agreed, standing up. She stood too and together they returned to the site of the battle.

By now several tieflings had come out and started looting the bodies for weapons and supplies. Saff tried to push the images out of her head as they walked past them and through the gate into the grove.

Once inside they met Zevlor, shaking his head over the unconscious adventurer he’d apparently knocked out in a moment of rage, who pointed them further into the grove where the others had gone. They found them talking to one of them men from the fight earlier, who had agreed to join their group in search of a cure. After a tadpole-induced vision of Avernus and quick explanation as to the one-horned devil they saw he introduced himself properly, and Saff's face immediately lit up. “You’re the Blade of Frontiers??” she gasped in excitement. A smile spread across his face, as if he’d been hoping someone would recognise him. “The very same. You’ve heard of me, then?” “Of course! I’ve heard all the stories! You’re fighting evil in the Hells now??”

“Indeed I am. Wherever evil lurks, I will be there to flush it out,” he said proudly. Lae’zel rolled her eyes, Astarion sighed, and Gale looked… just a bit uncomfortable with how much Saff was suddenly gushing over their newest companion. Not that Saff noticed any of this.

“We need to focus on the tadpoles,” Lae’zel reminded them. “Zorru. Where is he?”

“Ah, he’s over there, by the hut,” Wyll said, pointing to a tiefling further down the grove. “Let’s move,” she ordered, starting to head in that direction. “Quite the merry little party now, aren’t we?” Astarion said, referencing how many people they now had. Lae’zel paused. “You’re right. Five is too many. Once we leave here, we will attract too much attention.” “Well, I for one think we should explore all avenues,” Astarion continued. “How about you and I talk to this Zorru while they go talk to that druid healer the trader mentioned?” Lae’zel looked at the others, considering this suggestion.

“A pointless exercise, purification is the only way to cure ourselves. But if seeing for yourself that no others can cure us is the only way you will accept this, then very well. You three seek this healer in the grove - this Nettie. We will speak to Zorru. Return here when you are done.”

With that she turned off and headed towards Zorru. Astarion gave the three of them a look, then went off with her. Gale couldn’t help but wonder if Astarion had some ulterior motive to splitting them up like this… he’d probably never have guessed his motive was just to see what drama would come out of it after seeing how uncomfortable Gale looked just now.

“This way, then,” Wyll announced, leading them towards the druids.

#gale #bg3 gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale x tav

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plainlo-inthemorning · 9 months

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Thranduil’s secret

Pairing: Tauriel x Kili Rating: 16+ Warnings: Mentions of violence, emotional hurt (but fear not …!) Words: 1.800 k.

Disclaimer: Canon what canon? This is for all the lovers out there.

“They want to bury him”.

Snowflakes fall silently around them.

Nature attempting to softly smooth over the carnage.

“Yes”.

Her king remains standing a few feet from where she reclines on the frozen rock, hunched over the still-warm body of a future that has been so cruelly taken from her.

From both of them.

She could rage against Thranduil.

Blame his indecisiveness, his selfishness, for the death of the dwarf.

Had the king only dispatched his soldiers to the mountain, as both she and the wizard so implored him to do, trying to appeal to the heart he has forgotten how to use, much could have been different.

But grief has pushed the fight out of her. In its place is only hopelessness and a pain the like of which Tauriel has never felt before.

Legolas, her old friend, has left.

She did not notice when, or if he said something to her before turning away. At this moment, she has no space for him, either.

“If this is love, I do not want it”, she cries, hearing how desperate she sounds, as she looks to her king. “Please, take it from me”.

Thranduil does not move, but the icy unkindness from earlier has melted from his features. If Tauriel’s own eyes had not been filled with tears, she might have recognized her sadness mirrored in the king’s.

“Why does it hurt so much?” She cannot seem to stop herself, clutching Kili’s gloved hand in hers.

“Because it was real”.

Thranduil’s unwavering answer takes her aback.

She looks down upon the dwarf’s bloodstained face again. A single tear streak has painted a faint silver trail from the corner of one eye and down the side of his face.

She saw it fall when he died. When the orc’s blade pierced his chest.

Flecks of snow cling to his thick brown lashes. He is so beautiful to her, she thinks sorrow will tear her apart if she has to let go of him.

They just found each other. He gave his life defending hers.

Slowly, she bends her head and does what she has ached to do for days, what she should have done on the lakeshore when he pressed the rune stone into her hand.

She touches her lips to his.

They are still soft.

His are the first she has ever kissed.

If this were a children’s bedtime story, she would breathe life into him with her longing.

Only when Thranduil kneels on the other side of the body, does Tauriel remember the king is still there.

She thinks he will ask her to stand and come away, and is ready to protest, to cling to Kili. She will stay right here until his kin returns to claim him.

But Thranduil does not speak.

Instead, he does something very unexpected, his face suddenly a mask of concentration.

His strong brows have come together in a frown: He raises a hand and lets it hover over Kili’s head.

“What … what are you doing?” Tauriel has to swallow her sobs for the words to come out right.

The moment drags out.

The king lowers his palm to place it lightly on Kili’s chest.

Tauriel, wholly confused, idly wonders through her grief if this is the first time in all his many, many millennia that king Thranduil has touched a dwarf with anything but the pointy end of a sword.

“He is a fighter”, the king says quietly. There is wonder is his voice. “And he fights, still. So stubborn …”.

“W-what?!”

Thranduil looks up, meets her shocked eyes.

“His heart has stopped, yes. But his soul is still here. It is holding on …”.

Now it is Tauriel’s heart that nearly stops.

“How do you…how can you-”.

Her king’s attention has returned to Kili.

He answers Tauriel without looking at her.

“I have certain … gifts”.

In typical Thranduil fashion, the king does not elaborate, and his matter-of-fact tone does not invite questioning.

Yet for once, Tauriel is too gripped with emotion to be deterred.

“Can you bring him back?”, she blurts out. “Please, my king, please? If there is any chance … I … I would do anything. Please!”.

Bringing someone back from the dead is reserved for the most nightmarish, ancient evil magic.

Until recently, Tauriel had only heard nonsensical tales of the practise whispered, and even in those, the someones that were brought back, were dangerous, mindless shadow apparitions of their former selves.

But if what her king is saying about Kili’s soul is true …

Thranduil appears to hesitate before speaking but when he does, Tauriel feels as if he is reading her mind. She has sometimes suspected that that is indeed a secret gift of his. Another one.

“The kind of magic required to awaken the dead is not only forbidden, it is destructive to the natural order of the world. However, if the soul has not yet left the body-”

He pauses. Decides.

“It can be done, if done quickly. No matter the strength of the warrior, the soul will be forced to leave this plane soon after death has occurred. I do not know how this one is still here”.

Love, thinks Tauriel. She does not know if it is actually true, or if it is her hope speaking. He is still here because of love.

Then the other elf gasps. Thranduil regards Kili’s face with disbelief.

“Of course …”, he whispers. His palm flattens on Kili’s pierced armour, fingers spread out. “Elvish blood runs in his line. Many years back …”

Tauriel stares at her love. Her mouth opens and closes.

His finely defined face, the shape of his cheekbones, so different from most of his kin.

Except for his brother’s, and the dwarf king’s …

Impossible. Yet suddenly it makes sense.

Did Kili know?

No, Tauriel does not think so.

As for Thorin …?

“Tauriel”, the elfking says. His voice is even but insistent. It commands her full attention. “If I succeed in bringing him back to you, you must never speak to anyone of what happened here. Not a word, do you understand? Not to his kin. Not to him. Certainly not to the wizard … And not to Legolas”.

Something flutters beneath the deep timbre of Thranduil’s voice. A bottomless despair struggling to surface, to be recognized.

And Tauriel remembers what Legolas told her at Mount Gundabad. About his mother’s death there.

She draws in a breath as she looks into Thranduil’s blue, blue eyes, but the king holds up a hand, reading her like a book.

“No”, he says simply but firmly, and it is a no that silences her. A warning.

No.

The king then touches Kili’s forehead and closes his eyes.

Tauriel is squeezing the dwarf’s hand so hard her knuckles are turning as white as the ground.

Stillness.

And then the air seems to shimmer and fizz around them, thick with swirling magic.

The snowfall has stopped. Or it can no longer touch them.

Thranduil is muttering words under his breath that Tauriel cannot make out. He leans forward, long blond hair falling around his set face. The tips pool on Kili’s shoulders like a veil of fine silk engulfing him.

Time stands still, and Tauriel forgets to breathe.

She has no idea how many moments go by.

And then Kili’s chest rises, and his lips part.

And the dwarf gasps for air!

His whole body shivers as his eyes fly open to the sky, wild, wide, alive.

He is alive!

“Kili!” Tauriel cries out and takes his face in her hands.

Their eyes meet.

He blinks rapidly, like he has been pulled out of deep water. “Tauriel…” Shakily, he raises his hands to her face as if seeing her for the first time.

“Are you okay?”, he asks. His voice is hoarse but urgent. “The orc, is … is he-”.

“He’s dead. It’s over. We’re safe, we’re both safe”. Tears are streaming down her face. “I thought I’d lost you!”.

“I thought so too …” Kili looks at her with utter wonder and bafflement. Then he grimaces and reaches for the wound in his chest. “Ugh, this one hurts, though …”.

“He needs tending to and fast”. Thranduil stands. A tiny droplet of sweat glistens on his brow. Or perhaps it is a snowflake. Are they falling again?

“Tauriel, I would advise you to take him far away from here, and never look back, but …”

He speaks as if Kili was not there.

“What is-”. Kili tries to focus on the tall figure towering over him, but is too stunned, and in too much pain, to fully register what is being said.

Tauriel shakes her head at the elf king.

“He will want to stay with his kin. They have suffered enough loss”.

She thinks of Thorin. The dwarf king is dead.

Thranduil sighs.

“Yes, I anticipate he will want to do that …”

“Tauriel…”. The dwarf winces. She looks back at him. She will never lose him from her sight again.

She brushes locks of soft hair from his forehead.

Does not notice her elf lord leaving. She will never see him again.

“I had a dream that you kissed me”, Kili whispers, his eyes searching hers. “A kiss of love …”.

She smiles through her tears.

“It wasn’t a dream … my love”.

Despite his agony, a smile spreads on his face. A bright, wonderful, boyish smile amidst the hurt and loss. He will face them later.

“…Love”. He grins, actually grins, and tries to sit up, but Tauriel gently puts a hand on his arm to stop him.

“Do not move too much. You are badly wounded. We have to call on the others to come help, and patch you up…”

“Then come down here to me”.

He shakes off a glove. Weaves his fingers through her hair.

She dips her face to his.

He gasps when she recaptures his mouth.

His lips are still soft, but now they move, as well. Melting into hers.

He pulls her closer, his other, gloved hand finding the curve of her waist, and she has to remind herself not to crush his wounded chest.

She wants to drown in his arms.

When their mouths part, they stay nose to nose.

“Never leave”, Kili whispers. His warm breath tickles her skin.

All of him is warmth.

Home.

“I won’t. Never”.

High in the sky above them, eagles cry triumphantly.

She takes his hand. Presses the smooth, oval shape back into his palm.

“It worked, Kili”, she whispers against his lips, before kissing him again.

Deeply, hungrily.

For the third time out of a million more kisses to come over their many, many years together.

“It worked”.

Thank you for reading!

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delicatenightfury · 3 months

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Star of the Mountain Chapter 24

Warnings: fluff, angst, canon-level violence, spoilers for the Hobbit films

Pairing: OC x Thorin Oakenshield

Beta'd By: @mistys-blerbz

Author's Note: please do not steal my work! I do not own the Hobbit or the characters, but I do own my OCs and the parts of the plot that are not part of the movies. I have worked very hard on this fic. Please be respectful and do not steal.

Please comment, reblog, and like!

Masterlist - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Pleasantries with Gandalf were short-lived. The wizard seemed very anxious and dove right into what he wished to say.

“You must set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves,” he said. “War is coming. The sepsis of Dolguldor have been emptied.” Thranduil cast a lazy look over at Bard, indicating that he was not truly taking the Grey Wizard seriously. “You’re all in mortal danger!”

“What are you talking about?” Bard asked.

“I can see you know nothing of wizards,” Thranduil replied before Gandalf could. The elven king stood to pour a glass of wine. “They are like winter thunder on a wild wind rolling in from the distance, breaking hard in alarm.” He handed Bard a glass. “But sometimes a storm is just a storm.”

“Not this time,” Gandalf said. “Armies of orcs are on the move. These are fighters that have been bred for war. Our enemy has summoned his full strength.”

“Gandalf,” Oreliell said, stepping forward slightly. “Are you sure of this?”

The wizard nodded gravely.

“I have seen them with my own eyes.”

“Why show his hand now?” Thranduil questioned.

“Because we forced him! We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakenshield set out to reclaim their homeland. The dwarves were never meant to reach Erebor.” He led the elves and human out of the tent to look at the mountain. “Azog the Defiler was sent to kill them. His master seeks control of the mountain. Not just for the treasure within but for where it lies, its strategic position. This is the gateway to reclaiming the lands of Angmar in the north. If that fell kingdom should rise again… Rivendell, Lórien, the Shire… even Gondor itself will fall.”

“These orcs armies you speak of, Mirthrandir, where are they?” Thranduil asked.

Gandalf sighed heavily, unable to give an answer. Thranduil rolled his eyes and returned to his tent. Oreliell and Vedis looked at Gandalf.

“Are you all right, Gandalf?” Oreliell asked quietly. He looked rather beaten up. “Perhaps you can have Vedis take a look at your wounds-”

“I am fine,” he said. “Truly. Besides, we have much larger things to worry about than a few cuts and bruises, don’t you think?” He paused and looked between them. “How is the company?”

Oreliell sighed.

“They are all alive. But the dragon sickness has taken root in Thorin’s mind.”

Gandalf nodded gravely.

“Then we must think of a way to get through to him.”

“Gandalf, I’ve tried. He is my One and even I struggled to speak with him.”

“I understand. Nevertheless, we mustn’t give up.”

Oreliell smiled a little.

“You’re crazier than I thought to believe I would give up.”

Gandalf smiled back at her before returning to the tent. Vedis placed a comforting hand on Oreliell’s arm.

“All will be well, muinthel.”

Oreliell nodded and followed her sister to the tent. Gandalf was back to trying to convince Thranduil.

“Since when has my council counted for so little?” he asked. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“I think you’re trying to save your dwarvish friends. And I admire your loyalty to them. But it does not dissuade me from my course.” Thranduil rose from his chair. “You started this, Mirthrandir. You will forgive me if I finish it.” Oreliell exchanged glances with her sister as Thranduil approached one of his guards. “Are the archers in position?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Give the order. If anything moves on that mountain, kill it. The dwarves are out of time.”

Gandalf stormed out of the tent, clearly angered. Oreliell looked at the elven king, who still stared out at the mountain.

“You said that you would attack at dawn,” Oreliell said. “Would you be so heartless as to shoot while they are not expecting it?”

“They have been given their warning,” Thranduil said.

“And what about the warning Gandalf has given you? We have traveled many months with him. If what he says about the orcs is true, then I think we must at least consider his words.”

“Oreliell.” She glanced over her shoulder at her sister, only to realize that Vedis was no longer standing there. “You’ll never believe who just showed up.”

A moment later, Vedis entered the tent with Bard, Gandalf, and Bilbo in tow.

“Bilbo,” Oreliell said with a smile.

“I’m glad to see you’re all right, Oreliell,” Bilbo said.

“Who is this?” Thranduil said.

“Bilbo Baggins, the official burglar of the company of Thorin Oakenshield.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this is the halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards.”

Thranduil sat down in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly at Bilbo. The hobbit shuffled in place.

“Yes,” he said under his breath. “Sorry about that.” Oreliell glanced at Vedis, who was also smiling. They watched as the hobbit stepped forward, pulling something out of his pocket. “I came to give you this.”

He placed the item on the table and pulled away the cloth. Everyone stared in shock and awe.

“Oh my gosh,” Vedis murmured.

“The Heart of the Mountain,” Thranduil breathed, standing slowly. “The King’s Jewel.”

“And worth a king’s ransom,” Bard said. He looked down at Bilbo. “How is this yours to give?”

“I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure.”

Oreliell almost laughed in disbelief. She was stunned by his courage. But she couldn’t help but worry about what Thorin might do if he found out.

“Why would you do this?” Bard asked. “You owe us no loyalty.”

“I’m not doing it for you,” Bilbo told them. “I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. They’re suspicious and secretive, with the worst manners you could possibly imagine. But they are also brave and kind and loyal to a fault. I’ve grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Now, Thorin values this stone above all else.” Oreliell noticed that he glanced her way. “In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war.”

Oreliell glanced at the two leaders. Bard turned to Thranduil, still in shock at the hobbit’s actions. Thranduil looked at him for a moment before looking back at Bilbo.

“We will take this into careful consideration,” Thranduil said. “Someone will show you a place to rest for the night.”

Bilbo nodded. Gandalf ushered him toward the entrance, but the halfling suddenly stopped.

“I nearly forgot!” he said. He turned around and pulled a sheath far too large for his body. He handed them to Oreliell. “You left your swords back at the mountain. I figured you’d want them back.”

Oreliell looked down at the swords then at Bilbo. She was surprised that he had noticed and that he had brought them with him to give to her. She put her hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Bilbo. You did not have to do that, but I greatly appreciate it.”

Bilbo smiled at her then stepped out of the tent with Gandalf. Oreliell looked back at her blades. She had not really realized that she had left them in the mountain; her haste to leave made it slip her mind. But Bilbo had brought back both her swords and her pair of daggers.

“He is a brave hobbit,” Vedis commented.

“Yes. Much different from when we first met him. I just hope he stays safe tomorrow if war breaks out.”

Vedis put her hand on Oreliell’s shoulder. The two exchanged small smiles.

“The halfling is quite impressive,” Thranduil said, regaining their attention.

“Indeed he is. You also need better guards,” Oreliell replied, barely casting him a glance.

She heard Bard half choke on a laugh, but he tried to cover it with a cough. Oreliell smiled to herself. She didn’t need to look at Thranduil to know his eyes had narrowed.

“I noticed that both of you are without armor. If you are interested, I can provide both of you with sets for tomorrow.”

Oreliell wanted to roll her eyes. She wanted to ask why on earth he thought they would need armor if they were going to confront Thorin. But she knew better.

An army of orcs were on the way.

And she recalled something Thorin had told her long ago: “never underestimate dwarves.” She hated to come before the man she loved dressed for battle, but she wasn’t sure what kind of plan he had come up with to handle Thranduil’s army.

Oreliell sighed and glanced at Thranduil. She nodded.

“Then I shall make sure that you have it.”

He stepped aside to deliver the orders to one of his guards. Bard looked at the Arkenstone then at the sisters.

“What do you make of it?” he asked. “The stone.”

“Bilbo is right about it,” Oreliell said after a moment. “Thorin craves this stone more than anything. It is sacred to the dwarven people, the crowning glory and symbol of their house and power. Thorin will not be pleased to see it in your hands.”

“Our hands? Would you not carry this?”

“I barely want to look at it,” she admitted. “That rock has taken away more from me in the past few days than I ever wanted to lose. And that says a lot, for I have lost much in my long lifetime. Simply seeing me siding with you will create a reaction. I do not want Thorin to think that I have betrayed him further by taking that stone.”

Bard nodded.

“I understand. I shall speak with Thranduil to see what we shall do with it.”

“Before we get to that,” Thranduil said as he stepped back inside the tent, “I would like to have a word with Oreliell.”

Bard glanced at her before going outside. Vedis stayed a minute longer. She studied Thranduil for a long moment before looking at her sister.

“I will go inspect the armor we are being given. If you would like, I can take your swords with me?” she said.

“Thank you,” Oreliell said, passing her blades over.

“Let me know if you need me.”

“I will, muinthel.”

Vedis nodded and stepped out. Oreliell took a breath before looking at Thranduil. The elven king had remained standing and was watching her.

“{You risk a lot going with us tomorrow,}” Thranduil said after a long moment. “{Why do it?}”

“{Because I have already lost so much. And I do not wish to lose my betrothed as well.}”

“{Even after everything he has put you through?}”

“{Do not pretend you know him better than I do.}”

Thranduil motioned for her to follow him. They stepped outside once again to look at the mountain. The braziers were lit above the gate, but otherwise everything appeared normal. Oreliell couldn’t help but wonder what was going on inside.

“I want you to know that I truly do not want this,” Thranduil said. “While the heirlooms of my people are of great importance to me, this was not the outcome I had hoped for. I tried to avoid this when your company passed through my kingdom, but Thorin turned me down.”

“Because he still holds a grudge against you for what you did when Smaug first took the mountain. Or rather, what you didn’t do.”

Thranduil sighed. He turned to look at her.

“I want you to understand what it is you are risking going into this, what this could potentially do to you if things do not go smoothly tomorrow.”

“I am well aware what could happen, Thranduil. And that is why I must be present tomorrow. If something were to happen to Thorin, I would never be able to live with myself. I will protect Thorin with my very life.” She looked at the mountain again. “No matter what happens to me, he will live.”

#The hobbit #Tolkien #Thorin Oakenshield #Thorin #Thorin Oakenshield x oc #Thorin x oc #Thorin Oakenshield x elf oc #Thorin x elf oc #Thorin x elf #The hobbit oc #Fan fiction #Star of the mountain

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autumnbrambleagain · 11 months

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ultimately i think our real complaint with pathfinder wrath of the righteous is that its "difficulty" isn't so much "the enemies have very clever positioning and tatical advantages--how will you manipulate the situation to overcome it?"

it's not like the incredible oil refinery battle in Divinity Original Sin 2, where it gets WEIRD and you're fighting the environment and a new faction shows up and starts overrunning everything with weird resistances and forces you to outthink it, out-position it,

every single battle in Wrath of the Righteous is already decided long, long before the battle starts.

did you look your build up on metabuilds.quick? did you pick the Correct Feats and spells? did you reload the second combat started and then pre-buffed 30 different spells before combat began?

that's what defines the difficulty. is your build meta enough? did you read enough spreadsheets before this battle started?

i LIKED blackwater, I'll be honest. the super-high ACs meant i had to use spells i'd never used before, didn't NEED to use before, to deprive enemies of their AC bonuses! it felt like i was figuring out a puzzle, it was great, it was an outlier

im' on normal difficulty, which coddles and protects and forgives you. i'm on normal difficulty, and combat is either "i curbstop everything without trying, or i die instantly because i didn't get the gimmick right"

but on higher difficulties, there's no room to play with your build. in divinity you could be a teleporting assassin who dips into an elemental magic for extra fun, or a wizard just go full magic and you'll never be at a loss for things to DO. i put some levels of metamorphosis on my assassin just for the wings and tentacle slap, no problem. want a wizard who casts gun turret and then hits you with sword? that's fine.

in this shitty DnD inherited system you can't go "red mage". you can't casually dip. you can't do something Interesting. a sorcerer who spends a feat or two to use a cool sword? no. spell penetration. spell focus. you can't hit anything in melee after level 3 anyway so don't try. turn into a dragon? too bad, you still don't have the BAB to hit anything. you're a weak-ass nothing of a dragon.

the challenge isn't "here are all these pieces you can use--how will you use them to overcome the challenges before you?"

the challenge is "here are all these pieces. if you put them together in the right way you win. if you try to do anything fun with them you lose."

and for what? for what verisimilitude? ADnD had classes as CLASSES. you were a WIZARD. you had NO TIME to learn how to fight. your spells all had a dozen things to keep track of. you were a FIGHTER. at level 9 you literally get a Castle and a small ARMY as a class feature. as you leveled up you gained titles of nobility as a matter of course. you had to worry about taxes and harvests. of course multiclassing was hard back then--each CLASS was a career path. a druid leveling up had to do druid politics just to be ALLOWED to reach the next level. the fluff and crunch was INEXTRICABLE

but 3.x and 3.P threw that all out for the most part. just look at people talking about builds--they ALL talk about level 20 builds, and they're all ridiculous 3 rogue/1 monk/6 cleric/ 10 asshole builds that mix and match class features at will. i've seen it recommend that everyone take an entire level of monk just for the bonuses--ignore that it makes like, no sense everyone suddenly becomes an ACTUAL MONK. you don't just pick up the skills you pick up a level in the CLASS.

it so desperately wants to be a classless system where each level-up you pick what you get, but it can't escape its inheritance. it makes sense, to a degree--if you divide your time poorly in your study, you'll become not great at anything. a mediocre sword-fighter and a mediocre-wizard! but. but we're beyond ADnD aren't we?

why isn't it more gameified? I guess pathfinder 2 is more like that? i haven't played it, and i'm dealing with pathfinder 1 for WotR. taking a level of monk doesn't require you to add being a monk to your story--you don't need to find a cloister and dedicate time to it, you just pick the class to get the bonuses it gives you. why have it tied to classes at all at that point?

just like how multiclassing poorly leaves you unable to do anything well, picking both "classes are a career/lifestyle" and "classes are just a set of bonuses you get for this level" leaves the entire system poorly functional. you really can't do both.

why can't my sorcerer fight in melee when turned into a dragon? i don't have the BAB for it. how do i get the BAB for it? can i spend a few skill points per level to learn how to fight? no, i need to take a fighter class. retroactively all my experience is only into fighting. you can't multitask, you can't learn things outside your class--a sorcerer can't FIGHT with a SWORD! that's silly!

but a sorcerer can take a break for a level and become a knight, and a monk, and an alchemist, and a rogue. you can't be a sorcerer who sacrificed a bit of time mastering their magic to be competitive in a melee--that would make no sense! but you can be a sorcerer who stopped being a sorcerer and joined a convent for a short while and then became a squire for a knight for a week and now they can use a sword, sure. that's the option that makes sense.

just let adventurers be good at shit. let me block out two schools of magic in exchange for being able to fight in melee. let that just be a default fucking thing. you wanna make "classes" just a selection of bonuses you can freely pick from each level up, just let it be a la carte already. untie it from the canon. if everyone can take a level of sorcerer let magic just be something you can pick when you level up.

auroral oceans is a very different beast from a generic fantasy setting and the tabletop system im making for it is far from finished or perfect, but one of the base assumptions it makes is, if you're a player character, you're some kind of adventuring asshole enough that you can both: use a sword, and fire a gun, with enough competency that you can kill a person with it.

like yeah, someone who spends all their points on sword techniques is going to have more dice and way more options in a fight--a wizard with a sword just rolls their dice, a dedicated swordfighter has options to reroll a missed die or turn a point of damage into a disarm or a forced movement--but the wizard with a sword is still a dude with a sword and they can still fuck you up.

altho i guess it helps there's no generic "wizard" in the setting i guess the closest to wizard is worshipper of nirix who gets powers by virtue of emulating its example or like, a hwual channeler which is just a thing you can do it's fine

im off topic

my point is wow DnD fucking sucks and i wish it died from the meme pool already

#autumn rambles #pathfinder wrath of the righteous

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thelargefrye · 10 months

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THELARGEFRYE STUDIOS AT E3 // WIP CHALLENGE TAG GAME

rules : post the name of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips.

tagged by : @writingmochi wow, thank you for the tag! it was a nice surprise!!

there's... a lot so be prepared DJDHFJKSDHF i have it divided up by universes and aus. i'm probably missing some to be honest, but a lot of these i've been planning for like... two years now so yeah lol.

starseed franchise

dragon from the window – dragon au, will list planned chapters

quiet days ( yeosang focused )

dear moon, my best friend

umbra witch

homage heart ( san focused )

wicked witch ( mingi focused )

collision hearts ( jongho focused )

mephisto

the princess and her dragon

the little witch and the lost demon – miniseries prequel

song of fourteen years – atla au

book one, chapter 2

the white lotus - a what if chapter for mona

song of the past

library of illusion – mythical library au, five chapters left.

horror section : the devil was here

history section : a memory thorn

keeper of keys : the little mermaid

restricted section : the stone flower

epilogue

kaledia – rome inspired au, magic / supernatural au. a girl and a flower. still in early development.

moons of venus – space pirate au, treasure planet au. still in early development.

come back home – ateez lore au, dystopian au. currently remaking.

starseed on tragedy: when the world fell – apocalypse au for haru. still in early development.

body of eve – witch au. still in early development.

idealism – isekai au

ragnarok – spirit world au

truly sick – berserk inspired au, dark, fantasy, dungeons and dragons inspired.

joongfryeverse franchise

sweet sorrow of evil – evil queen au, collab with topaz. chapter one planned and needs to be written.

rose blossom – what if twilight academy (by topaz) inspired au, wizard au, wizard school au. woosan focused. still in early development.

other series

allergy – hybrid au. wolf!wooyoung, cat!f!reader, human!seonghwa for the first chapter. planned but not written.

carnage – monster!teez, smut, fantasy au. hongjoong's introduction chapter in the works.

love-heart-xx.com – pornstar au, director!hongjoong and actress!reader ft. other ateez members. chapters listed below:

the beginning

film with seonghwa

two doms teaching a sub how to dom another ( w/ seonghwa, san, wooyoung )

in a log cabin with husband!yunho

siren!yeosang

the outlaw : masquerade – vampire the masquerade bloodline inspired au, choose your own adventure. still in heavy early development.

death vision – demon au, office au, reincarnation au, historical / modern au. still in heavy early development.

seoul revengers – tokyo revengers inspired, high school au, gang au, time travel au. chapter names below:

the girl who leapt through time

june 2017

visage city – coven au, supernatural au. ateez x multiple ocs. chapters listed below:

the she devil comes

awaken the nap star

farewell, neverland

need the light

shooting star

broken melodies of my soul

puzzle moon

against the tide

untitled #1 – dark pictures anthology inspired au, supernatural au. still in heavy early development.

untitled #2 – werewolf au. same universe as honey cycle. planned but not written.

other one - shots

by the ocean – sea creature au (siren and mermaid), modern fantasy beach town au. merpeople!woojoong & f!reader, siren!yeohwa, and human!yungisanho. still in development.

untitled #3 – handler!wooyoung and fighters!san & f!reader, van smut, for topaz.

god's right hand – hero and villain au, soulmates, horror, dark.

untitled #4 – double possessed au. eve / lilith. college au. that's all folks.

keep my secrets and heart – husband montage au, single dad!idol!yunho, angsty. planned but not written.

midsummer night of the dragons – house of the dragons au, mature. still in early development.

other groups and misc.

seventeen werewolf fic – werewolf au, same-ish universe / au as the ateez au. still in heavy early development.

enhypen found family fic – fantasy au, supernatural, found family, no romance / all platonic relationships

seventeen addition

ateez addition

girl group

tags : @sanjoongie @invuwrld @flowerboykun @stardragongalaxy @ad0rechuu @seonghwaddict @little-lazuli @gummygowon and anyone else who wants to do it! also no pressure to the people i tagged! you're more than welcome to ignore this!

#ʚ・◞🍥 // tag game.

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nexxen24 · 1 month

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The Sunwalker's Respite

BG3 FANFIC

Spawn Astarion X Female Tav

Tav: Hanelly Calista, Wood Elf, Fighter, Eldritch Knight. Age 180, born just outside the human city of Calder.

Romanced: Astarion(succeeded the perception check to keep him as a spawn)

Synopsis: 6 months after defeating the brain and saving Faerun, Hanelly Calista is happy, she has everything she could ever want in the form of Astarion, the sarcastic and sassy Vampire spawn that stole her heart. But there's still something missing, Astarion gave up his place in the light in order to keep his soul and Hanelly knows that there has to be a way to get it back. When wizard extraordinaire, Gale Dekarios, finds a clue to a ring, it'll lead Hanelly and Astarion deep into the Underdark as they discover the beginnings of a deadly plot, one that could destroy the city they nearly died protecting. The quest will lead them to Astarion's found family, the six other vampire spawn and show them just how far one can go to protect the people they love.

Chapter: Prologue/6-8

NOTES: This story will stay strictly PG-13, some language throughout cause that's fun but nothing explicit. All of it will only ever be implied since I don't like writing smut. If you don't like the fade to black, stop right where it ends and find an 18+ fic to fill the void. The intention is to have this more character driven than just a small oneshot, hence the multiple chapters. Enjoy!

Prologue

Astarion

Baldur's Gate, Undercity, 54 Years Before the Absolute’s Demise

The Undercity of Baldur’s Gate was dark and damp, covered in rats and questionable substances and not the spot that you’d want to spend a lot of time in but it was the perfect spot for a vampire spawn looking to catch his breath. Astarion was crawling around in the Undercity, trying to avoid his own task of looking for new victims for his master, a man named Cazador that resided in a mansion in the Lower City. Astarion knew that if he came back with nothing there would be a problem but the young vampire spawn was also tired of following the rules, he wanted a break.

A tavern would be the ideal spot and a drink could steel his nerves but it was almost sunrise and sunshine and spawns didn’t tend to mix. So Astarion found himself in the Undercity, crouching near a river and blowing on his hands in an effort to warm them up. Baldur’s Gate wasn’t known for having warm winters and that one was particularly chilly and Astarion was dressed to lure unsuspecting upperclassmen, not for warmth.

“Try a fire.”

Astarion jumped up and pulled the dagger from his belt, holding it out in front of him in defence only to glare at the woman who spooked him since he recognized her.

“Maleera, why are you here?” he hissed and she shrugged, taking a seat next to him as he calmed his nerves.

“You didn’t come back, I managed to convince Cazador that I could find you. Do I need to remind you about what happened last time?”

Astarion shook his head, eyes shut tightly as he tried to ignore the flashes of darkness and chains and blood from the year he spent buried alive under Cazador’s mansion. If he didn’t return in time for his master to feed, another year of that was likely in his future and Astarion curled his hand into a tight fist, trying to calm down his nerves. Maleera let out a sigh, feeling for the young spawn and pulled out a small bottle of Baldurian whiskey she had been holding onto.

“Are you sure?”

“You need it more than me,” she said and he nodded in thanks before taking a long sip, feeling the whiskey warm him, satiating the memories at least for the moment.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, so…why didn’t you follow his rules?”

“I needed a break, there was this nobleman in a bar and he was perfect, visiting from out of town and drinking too much but he started mentioning his family, a fiance and I just couldn’t. I came down here for a break, thought I’d sulk back there tonight, maybe come up with some excuse or grab two.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way, Cazador would still retaliate,” Maleera said and Astarion nodded with a sigh, knowing that she was right.

“I know, I just wish that it was different,” he said and Maleera frowned at him. “I just wish that I could run as far as I can for the whole night and never have to see that damn vampire again…but…I can't. I'm trapped, we're trapped.”

“You know you can’t change it, not right now, Cazador’s hold on us is too strong, too great. If you leave then he’ll hunt you down and you won’t spend a year locked up with Godey, you’ll spend a lifetime.”

Astarion knew that Maleera wasn’t trying to crush his spirit, to convince him that all hope was lost, she was simply being realistic and had been with Cazador for over 300 years, almost double the amount of time that he had. She had spent longer than just her time with Cazador stuck in the dark since being born a Drow, stuck in the Underdark and fighting a generations long war was supposed to be her future, her destiny. According to Maleera, Cazador went to the Underdark looking for something and after he didn’t find it he came out with a new spawn, a 60 yr old Drow who assumed that life was about to get better. But it never did.

“I know,” he said and sighed, running a hand through his hair, white from either stress or just time he had no idea. “I’m not looking to escape, I just wanted a break. Just wanted a moment to myself.”

“Of course, I get that, it gets suffocating sometimes,” Maleera said and grabbed a discarded barrel so she could take a seat next to him. “Big cities were never my thing. Drow, especially Seldarine like my people, tended to stay pretty far away, kept to ourselves. This was a pretty big adjustment.”

“Has it gotten better?” Astarion asked and the Drow chuckled, formally purple now red eyes catching the dim light shining through an open sewer grate above them.

“No.”

“Yeah, same for me and I was practically raised here,” Astarion said and grinned but frowned when he caught sight of the grime and the darkness. “Well…not here…up there.”

“I could figure out that much,” she said and smiled at him. “Well…anyways…we should be heading back.”

“Uh…I will later today, there’s a tunnel that connects to the Palace, I can probably grab a wanderer on the way, someone no one will miss.”

“Don’t be too long,” Maleera warned and Astarion nodded, giving her a mocking salute as she went. “Keep that pretty head up, it’ll all work out in the end.”

“I hope you’re right,” Astarion muttered and watched as she returned to the shadows and once again left him alone.

He didn’t get up and start heading back right away but positioned himself in such a way that he could peer through a hole in the ceiling of the tunnel and stare at the moon. The sun wasn’t a big fan of spawn, it hurt to be around, was practically deadly but the moon was a welcome respite, a friend. The moon meant safety, the cover of darkness and a chance to see some actual natural light, the only natural light that didn’t hate him. Astarion was also fully aware of the fact that there were a lot of people currently staring at the moon and maybe one of them could assist him in one day, could change his fate and rid the world of Cazador forever. That also sounded like a daydream, like some trick that his psyche used in order to not let him get so hopeless after so many years of being stuck, trapped with that man.

But for the moment, for the smallest, most miniscule little moment he didn’t care and Astarion was at peace and tipped his head back. He felt the moonlight on his face, felt that he wasn’t alone and sucked in a deep breath, wishing he could stay that way forever.

Hanelly

The Moonhaven Inn, Outer Baldur’s Gate, 54 Years Before the Absolute’s Demise

Whenever I got stressed I found myself searching for the highest point I could possibly get and in the case of Moonhaven, that spot was the top deck, the highest spot they bothered to build in the tree and my safe haven. The deck was perched just under a collection of branches and since Moonhaven just so happened to be the biggest tree in all of Faerun, its branches shielded the deck from the weather but were just far enough away to let in some moonlight. I loved moonlight, loved sitting under it and contemplating life and was doing just that, memories of how I got to Moonhaven threatening to ruin the day and I needed some way to hold them off.

I was born in a small village about three hours from the giant tree called Venia that was populated by Wood Elves who protected the forests surrounding a large human city called Baldur’s Gate. Myself, a Wood Elf, was destined to follow in my father’s footsteps and protect the trees, become one with nature and eventually take my place as a Tree Guardian, keeping the forest as perfect as it deserves to be. But when Venia was overrun by the very forest we swore to protect, we fled along with my brother to a nearby human town called Calder. It was different and strange, they liked trees less than us and when I turned 100(barely 18 for humans) the forest decided to fight back.

All at once I was forced to choose between the home I had found and the place that I assumed was made to protect me, that I had been taught to protect since before I could walk. But the human’s of Calder didn’t give me much of a choice and I was clenching my hands into fists as I tried to block out memories of accidentally shooting my brother with a poison tipped arrow, of watching my father fall in front of me before I could even do anything, of watching all I had gained, all I had kept close crumble to dust in mere moments.

“Hanelly?”

I turned to find Stephan standing behind me, the current High Harper for Moonhaven, and moved a bit so I wasn’t curled into such a ball as he climbed up onto the deck.

“Stephan, hello, sorry, I just needed some time to myself.”

The moment that it all came crashing down was only thirty years ago but it felt longer even though three decades was barely a weekend compared to the lifespan of an elf. I had over 600 years left to live and back when I arrived Stephan was barely five years old and now he was a grown-up, running the place, ageing faster than I could ever dream of.

“No need to apologise,” Stephan assured and took a seat next to me, his large frame taking up a lot more of the deck than I anticipated.

“The memories, they come back to me sometimes and it hurts, I just wish that I could’ve done something.”

“You had no idea that they stole from the Mother Tree, no one could have predicted that,” Stephan pointed out and I sighed knowing that he was correct.

The whole reason behind why the fighting started was thanks to Harold Clive, leader of Calder who stole a branch off the Mother Tree to create the two limbs of his bow. The Mother Tree, the biggest tree in the land that was birthed out of a grand sacrifice and said to keep its people safe if they protected it, retaliated and every Wood Elf for almost a hundred miles made it their goal to kill Harold. My family got swept up in the human side of the fighting and I became a fighter, trained myself how to use weapons and was forced into the fight for the opposing side. If someone would’ve picked out that the bow contained stolen wood then the whole thing could’ve been avoided, the tree satiated and my family would still be alive.

Instead, I left right after the fighting stopped, wounded, practically on death’s door and stumbled upon Moonhaven where Simon Carver, Stephan’s father, took me in and brought me back from the dead. I always held onto the soldier background, that pack mentality but knew that starting from the moment I realised I was safe I was gonna fight for what I believed in, not the masses.

“At least I don’t have to fight for what I don’t believe in anymore,” I muttered and Stephan smiled in agreement, wrapping me in a side hug.

“No you don’t, the people of Moonhaven will keep you safe for as long as you wish, I can assure you of that. We’re in this together, Hanelly.”

“I want to start assisting the Harpers, I feel like I offer a lot that can be beneficial, especially when dealing with elves.”

“Being a Harper is a lifelong commitment, a lifelong pact to protect people, are you sure that you can uphold that?”

I knew that Stephan was looking out for me, making sure that I wasn’t making a rash decision and locking myself into something I was going to regret years down the line but I took some offence that he didn’t think I could do it. Most people at Moonhaven expected me to return to Venia since it had grown in the years following the attack, was back from the dead practically and elves tended to stick with other elves. But I didn’t want that life, I no longer felt connected to the woods around the tree or felt the same way that other Wood Elves did in nature regardless of my heritage. I was less elf after that battle, less connected and felt like I was some weird in between of a human and my former self, trying to figure out what side I belonged to more. Sure the Harpers had always been a little disorganised and no one ever really knew what they stood for but they felt like family, felt like a group of people that I could trust.

“I can do it, I can keep the oath,” I assured and Stephan smiled at me.

“Alright then, how about we discuss your role among the Harpers in the morning?” he asked and I nodded, wanting to spend some more time outside.

“Sounds good,” I assured and smiled, “thank you.”

“Anytime, thank you,” he said and patted my head before getting to his feet and walking off, heading down the ladder and leaving me to my thoughts once again.

I hate to spoil the happy ending but I didn’t manage to join the Harpers that next day since Stephan was killed by an assassination attempt during the night and I spent the next ten years trying to figure out who did it. It kind of soured my need to be near anybody and when I got back after killing a Bhaal Cultist that thought killing him was good fun, I locked myself in the room at the top of the tree and ignored everyone for a good decade. It was Stephan’s wife at his time of death, Clara, that convinced me to be something totally different from a Harper or a Wood Elf, to be just me. To take all that I had learned from being a soldier, from finding his killer and focus on protecting people that needed it, keeping them safe like I wasn’t able to do for him.

I spent twenty years being a protector and enjoyed it. It felt freeing and I was just making plans to teach more people how to join me when I walked down the wrong alleyway in Baldur’s Gate and found myself kidnapped, stuffed onto a ship full of Mind Flayers and everything changed. For nearly two months I worked with a reluctant party to fix the tadpole placed in my skull and free the realm from the biggest threat it had ever faced. I found peace in doing so, found a chance to do right by the world and guarantee that all who called the realm home could call it home for many more years to come.

I also found love, probably the most shocking turn of events when the High Elf that stuffed a dagger against my throat within five seconds of meeting me stole my entire heart and then some. Keeping him safe, making sure that he could also call the realm home was one of the hardest things I ever had to do but it worked out in the end, I took all I had learned and fought harder than I ever had before and he made it, he survived. He broke free and became his own person and learned that sometimes it’s freeing to let love back into your heart, sometimes it’s what you need.

But of course all of that is years away and for the moment I was sitting on the balcony, drenched in moonlight and smiling since it all felt perfect, all felt peaceful. I was decades away from meeting that said High Elf and had no idea that when I looked up at the moon and smiled, somewhere out there in a dark, musty sewer he was doing the same. We were a long while from being connected in the physical sense but still had managed to both believe in the exact same thing, that for the smallest moment when you find yourself staring up at the moon, you’re in turn no longer alone.

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