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Listening to The Adventure Zone; surprise fic
There's a lot of fandom cross-pollination between Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, which makes a lot of sense -- they're both story-focused Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, a family of nerds playing their beloved games and sharing them with an audience -- but despite my love for CR, I'd been a bit reluctant to dive in to TAZ. But then I learned that the current campaign would be wrapping up soon (I understand it's recently done so), and I decided to give it a shot. I'd been listening to it every now and again as I had time, but it didn't suck me in as completely as Critical Role did... and then I reached The Eleventh Hour, which is the fifth main story arc. I'd noticed the GM's storytelling and the players' character work improving over time, but everything took a serious level up in the previous arc (The Crystal Kingdom), and early in The Eleventh Hour everything solidified, pulling me into the story to the point that I'm now dying to know what happens next.
It used to be that I never wrote fic for a canon that I hadn't finished, but anyone who knows me and my relationship kinks (specifically, separation and reunion) will probably not be surprised that I was taken by the urge to write about one particular scene. When we learned toward the end of Crystal Kingdom that Magnus has a lost love, my ears of course pricked up, to the point that I wondered if the old woman we meet at the beginning of Eleventh Hour might be Julia. It soon became clear that she was someone else, but my desire to learn more about Julia, and Magnus's relationship with her, was satisfied while whetting my appetite for more. So it's a no-brainer that I was drawn to explore Magnus's thoughts and feelings during his conversation with the Chalice.
I'm sure this moment has been ficced a thousand times, but I learned my lesson about looking for fic when I'm behind on a canon from Dragon Age. ;) So for now I'll just present my own quick take on the scene; maybe once I've finished the Balance storyline I'll revisit it with the full knowledge of anything relevant that happens later. Note, I'm still early in the arc that follows Eleventh Hour (The Suffering Game; I've only listened to the first episode) so please no spoilers for anything later in comments.
Title: Magnus Knows
Fandom: The Aventure Zone
Rating: All audiences
Wordcount: 735
Characters: Magnus, the Chalice, Magnus/Julia
Spoilers: Yes, through Ep. 48 (The Eleventh Hour, Chapter 8)
Notes: See above :)
As soon as his memories begin replaying around him, Magus knows, deep down, what the Chalice will show him. He knows.
Yet somehow it still comes as a surprise, a shock, a jolt of lightning to his very bones, when Julia walks into his workshop. His hands spasm into fists, his throat tightens, and he begins to tremble, a rush of love and grief and sorrow taking his whole body in its grasp.
"No," he whispers. He wants to scream, but a whisper is all he can force out past the enormous lump in his throat. "Oh, no. Jules. Julia. Oh God, no."
He wants to reach out and touch her, his Julia, his beautiful wife; he wants to turn away and no longer have to see, push the memory away, all the joy and pain together. It's too much; how can he feel this much?
But he can't reach her, and he can't look away. All he can do is sit at this table and watch the scene play out, fingernails digging into the flesh of his palm. Julia. Julia sitting down in the chair, teasing him, her eyes bright. Her face, her sweet voice, her hearty laugh, the way she looks up at Magnus when he wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. Did he appreciate that look, when it happened? It felt like an ordinary moment then; now it's a scene that haunts his dreams. He was so happy that day. He should've known it was too good to last.
Past Magnus kisses his memory of Julia, smiles, runs a hand over her glossy hair. "I love you, Jules." Now Magnus hears these words and tries to speak along, willing Julia to hear him again over the distance of time and death, but he can no longer force out even a whisper. If he speaks aloud, he will weep, and he refuses to lose a single second of Julia's face to the blur of tears. Then the moment freezes, and he mouths her name, the only word he has left. "Julia. Julia."
He should've known, should've guessed what the Chalice would say next. What other temptation could he possibly be offered, after all? And yet he is still unprepared to hear her to speak the words, to suggest that he could go back in time and save Julia, save Stephen, save Raven's Roost. He gasps, a tiny intake of breath, and finally manages to turn away from the sight of Julia to look at June instead. June, and the Chalice that sits on the table in front of her. The Chalice is empty, but Magnus imagines he sees it filled with wine, the wine that he and Julia drank at their wedding, the most wonderful day of his life.
He looks at the Chalice, over to June, back at Julia. Julia. He could do it. He could use the Chalice to turn back time, kill the mad governor instead of letting him walk away. Or he could find Calen's forces rather than going to Neverwinter, foil the ambush and save his hometown. Or he could insist that Julia and Stephen join him, come to Neverwinter to celebrate in his prize, keeping them both safe from harm. He can see it all, see it so easily. Magnus pictures Julia smiling up at him, Julia making fun of his bad jokes, Julia in his arms, Julia holding the baby they'd dreamed of having someday. His happy ending, just like the Chalice had said, the happy ending he had earned with hard work and too much blood. Didn't he deserve it? Wasn't this the hero's reward? Save the day, get the girl, and live happily ever after?
It is his dream, his life. He can save her, and get everything he ever wanted. The only thing he ever wanted. How can he possibly say no?
How could he ever look Julia in the eye again, knowing that he threw away every life he saved with the Bureau of Balance, that he forfeited the chance to save the world, just for her? For his own selfish need to have her back?
He could never tell her. But even if he never told her, he would know.
"God, Jules. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Magnus closes his eyes, hot tears spilling down his face, and he knows the only choice he can possibly make.
It used to be that I never wrote fic for a canon that I hadn't finished, but anyone who knows me and my relationship kinks (specifically, separation and reunion) will probably not be surprised that I was taken by the urge to write about one particular scene. When we learned toward the end of Crystal Kingdom that Magnus has a lost love, my ears of course pricked up, to the point that I wondered if the old woman we meet at the beginning of Eleventh Hour might be Julia. It soon became clear that she was someone else, but my desire to learn more about Julia, and Magnus's relationship with her, was satisfied while whetting my appetite for more. So it's a no-brainer that I was drawn to explore Magnus's thoughts and feelings during his conversation with the Chalice.
I'm sure this moment has been ficced a thousand times, but I learned my lesson about looking for fic when I'm behind on a canon from Dragon Age. ;) So for now I'll just present my own quick take on the scene; maybe once I've finished the Balance storyline I'll revisit it with the full knowledge of anything relevant that happens later. Note, I'm still early in the arc that follows Eleventh Hour (The Suffering Game; I've only listened to the first episode) so please no spoilers for anything later in comments.
Title: Magnus Knows
Fandom: The Aventure Zone
Rating: All audiences
Wordcount: 735
Characters: Magnus, the Chalice, Magnus/Julia
Spoilers: Yes, through Ep. 48 (The Eleventh Hour, Chapter 8)
Notes: See above :)
As soon as his memories begin replaying around him, Magus knows, deep down, what the Chalice will show him. He knows.
Yet somehow it still comes as a surprise, a shock, a jolt of lightning to his very bones, when Julia walks into his workshop. His hands spasm into fists, his throat tightens, and he begins to tremble, a rush of love and grief and sorrow taking his whole body in its grasp.
"No," he whispers. He wants to scream, but a whisper is all he can force out past the enormous lump in his throat. "Oh, no. Jules. Julia. Oh God, no."
He wants to reach out and touch her, his Julia, his beautiful wife; he wants to turn away and no longer have to see, push the memory away, all the joy and pain together. It's too much; how can he feel this much?
But he can't reach her, and he can't look away. All he can do is sit at this table and watch the scene play out, fingernails digging into the flesh of his palm. Julia. Julia sitting down in the chair, teasing him, her eyes bright. Her face, her sweet voice, her hearty laugh, the way she looks up at Magnus when he wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her close. Did he appreciate that look, when it happened? It felt like an ordinary moment then; now it's a scene that haunts his dreams. He was so happy that day. He should've known it was too good to last.
Past Magnus kisses his memory of Julia, smiles, runs a hand over her glossy hair. "I love you, Jules." Now Magnus hears these words and tries to speak along, willing Julia to hear him again over the distance of time and death, but he can no longer force out even a whisper. If he speaks aloud, he will weep, and he refuses to lose a single second of Julia's face to the blur of tears. Then the moment freezes, and he mouths her name, the only word he has left. "Julia. Julia."
He should've known, should've guessed what the Chalice would say next. What other temptation could he possibly be offered, after all? And yet he is still unprepared to hear her to speak the words, to suggest that he could go back in time and save Julia, save Stephen, save Raven's Roost. He gasps, a tiny intake of breath, and finally manages to turn away from the sight of Julia to look at June instead. June, and the Chalice that sits on the table in front of her. The Chalice is empty, but Magnus imagines he sees it filled with wine, the wine that he and Julia drank at their wedding, the most wonderful day of his life.
He looks at the Chalice, over to June, back at Julia. Julia. He could do it. He could use the Chalice to turn back time, kill the mad governor instead of letting him walk away. Or he could find Calen's forces rather than going to Neverwinter, foil the ambush and save his hometown. Or he could insist that Julia and Stephen join him, come to Neverwinter to celebrate in his prize, keeping them both safe from harm. He can see it all, see it so easily. Magnus pictures Julia smiling up at him, Julia making fun of his bad jokes, Julia in his arms, Julia holding the baby they'd dreamed of having someday. His happy ending, just like the Chalice had said, the happy ending he had earned with hard work and too much blood. Didn't he deserve it? Wasn't this the hero's reward? Save the day, get the girl, and live happily ever after?
It is his dream, his life. He can save her, and get everything he ever wanted. The only thing he ever wanted. How can he possibly say no?
How could he ever look Julia in the eye again, knowing that he threw away every life he saved with the Bureau of Balance, that he forfeited the chance to save the world, just for her? For his own selfish need to have her back?
He could never tell her. But even if he never told her, he would know.
"God, Jules. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Magnus closes his eyes, hot tears spilling down his face, and he knows the only choice he can possibly make.
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I really like your story. Poor Magnus. That was a difficult decision for him.