You know what’s something that still surprises me? That there are people in the fandom who would root for, accept and predict that Harry and Lara can/will fall in love in the course of the year leading up to the wedding.

Like, fine, you’re a shipper of that pairing, and maybe there’s some basis for it, but wouldn’t that be too short of a time, considering EVERYTHING that happened so far until BG?

laurabeatrix:

If Harry could feel all the wounds and the pain of the people under his banner in the night of Battle Ground, did they get to feel his pain in return? And you know what pain I’m talking about here. It would also explain part of the reason why people didn’t want to even go close to him. Maybe he was thinking they were afraid, but maybe they just knew how fucking raw he had felt, and the size of the real pain he endured that night. It wouldn’t be weird for him to misinterpret things.

@bluestockingbaby That’s an interesting point, I didn’t think about it that way, I just interpreted that the people following his banner were people finding in Harry a figure behind which they could gather and rally and canalize their own feelings of rage and stuff. Though, one does have to wonder how much of that was Mab’s influence, but I didn’t read it as Harry having an influence on them directly. Interesting.

It is true that Harry spends most of the books after Changes thinking about how things directly affect him and how everything fits or doesn’t into his own little selfish worldview and story, which is my gripe with the treatment of the way in which his romance with Murph finally comes to pass. I think he loved her, just not well enough, he took way more than he gave and it cost her her life in a way. And what pisses me off about Murph’s death is that it’s probably going to be used to get Harry to learn the lesson that he needs to be more thoughtful about others.

If Harry could feel all the wounds and the pain of the people under his banner in the night of Battle Ground, did they get to feel his pain in return? And you know what pain I’m talking about here. It would also explain part of the reason why people didn’t want to even go close to him. Maybe he was thinking they were afraid, but maybe they just knew how fucking raw he had felt, and the size of the real pain he endured that night. It wouldn’t be weird for him to misinterpret things.

Harry/Karrin shipping time… drabble

Just a short little something that had to get out of my head.

Title:The Victor

Set sometime in the future.

Harry’s POV

The Victor

The blast threw me back several feet, the brick wall I landed against hurt my back, really bad. I heard bones cracking. I couldn’t breath.

I had weakened my opponent, but the Outsider was still standing, while I desperately tried to draw oxygen in my lungs and every muscle in my body felt like it was burning up.

But I had to stand up again. Too much depended on it, on me.

I stood up, barely. I had to, soon the gates would open completely and all would be lost, forever. I wouldn’t have any more chances, this was the last one. I had to make it count. I gathered what was last of my power, I focused. And I saw the other Outsider coming at me from the side, he’d reach me before I could finish casting my spell, and in the middle of it there wasn’t much I could do to defend myself. I would fail.

Then, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A flash of golden light blinded me for what felt an eternity and when I could see again, I saw her by my side; small, beautiful and fierce, Karrin. When my attacker reached us, he didn’t stand a chance, it seemed to cost her no effort to deal with him.

And after, she remained at my side, actually stepping closer to me, I felt her hand slipping into mine, the one that wasn’t busy with the spell.

“What-? Murph?” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I’m here.” She said and gripped my fingers harder.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

I felt her stand on her tiptoes, her lips coming close to my ear and she whispered, “I’m choosing the victor.”

A surge of energy went through me in that moment, of strength that I thought I didn’t have. I held on tighter. I focused all the energy left in me and the renewed vigor I had found, and I threw my spell. And for a while after, there was nothing.

When I opened my eyes again, my vision filled with her, her blue eyes, her golden hair, she was cradling my upper body in her arms, wherever she was touching me, I was warm.

I lifted a hand to her rosy cheek, and touched her with weak fingers.

“Did it work?” I asked.

“Yes. You won.” She replied, her voice soft.

“You’re here.” In awe.

“I am.” She said with a smile.

“Are you taking me with you?” I asked her, hopeful.

“No.” She said, and the word hurt. “It’s not time yet.”

I closed my eyes again. And I went back to the dark.

When I woke up again, I was in my bed, in my castle. I felt terrible, but I was breathing, I was alive. I was also alone. For a moment, I feared it had all been a dream, but the ache in my body told me that, at least a big part of it, hadn’t been.

I slowly got out of the bed, got dressed in some clean sweatpants and a t-shirt, and went outside the bedroom. I could hear voices, I followed them, on weak legs, holding onto the stone walls. When I arrived at my destination, what I found was a wonderful sight, my friends, my family, all gathered together, looking a bit worse for wear, but overall safe and well.

And among them, she was there, Karrin. She hadn’t been a dream either.

I don’t know where I got the strength to walk as fast as I did to meet her, but I managed. I said no words, because there weren’t any that could express everything I felt. All that I could do was to show her. So, there, in front of all gathered, I took her in my arms, and she let me. And I kissed her, and she kissed me with equal passion.

And she never left after that.

And there was never another battle that I couldn’t win.

The End.

@anguisette90@aurelianpen@xserpx@over-a-rainbow@21incognito@anotherramblingfangirl@harry-so-scary@knightoflight57

What if…

Harry puts his foot down and doesn’t agree to marry Lara, because he’s already engaged with Murph (he gave her diamonds), and though Murph for some reason can’t leave Valhalla, he gets to visit, because he’s already died a couple of times. And so, like those leyends and myths and stuff, he’s the wizard who’s promised to a divine female being (valkyrie in this case) and so that’s how they keep the relationship going?

Harry/Karrin shipping time… fanfic (15-6-1)

So, not much new here, because of the fragments being posted before, but here it is, officially, we being Broken Mirror Part 6.

(also, let me know if you wanna get tagged on these updates)

.

Title:Broken Mirror Series - The Lord (Part 6)

Pairing: Harry Dresden / Karrin Murphy

Timeline: A year + after Battle Ground (for references to the books, though it takes place in an alternative universe where things happen in a different order)

Rating: M (for s*xual situations and violence)

Summary: It’s been a bit more than two weeks since a Titan attacked Chicago and Harry joined forces with the Accorded Nations to defeat her. The city and its people suffered a lot of damage as a result though, and that included Murphy’s house. In order to provide a house for his daughter, Harry offered Murphy to live in his castle, and she accepted. Now, will Murphy be comfortable with the situation, watching Harry’s activities from up close? Will they be able to live under the same roof in harmony for Evie’s sake? Or is the situation a ticking bomb?

Disclaimer: All belongs to Jim Butcher, I’m just playing around in his sandbox.

Murphy’s POV

Total chapters: probably 6

Chapter 1

Broken Mirror Series - The Lord (Part 6)

Chapter 1

I was sitting at the small table next to the window, eating a few pieces of fruit, pears. Harry had learned that they were Evie’s favorite, and now there were always some in the kitchen. I was indulging while trying to read a book. I kept getting distracted by the image in front of me though. Harry was laying on the couch, asleep, with Evie on his chest, her little head tucked underneath his chin, his arms wrapped around her tiny form, holding her gently. They were napping, with peaceful looks on their faces. It was such a beautiful image. An image that represented something I’d craved to see for so long, my child and her father together, sharing everyday life.

Before, Harry had been in and out of our lives, sharing just a few moments. When he was around, he was always good with Evie, but that was never as often as it should have been. Now, for the past week and a half that we’ve been living together under the same roof, things have changed. Every day, we would wake up, have breakfast, lunch and dinner together. I would stay with Evie, in the castle, because there wasn’t much I could do with my busted knee; Harry would sometimes go out, to take care of things around the city, whatever that meant, but he was always back as soon as possible, to be here with us, to spend time with her, more than he ever did. My daughter now knew what it was like to wake up and go to sleep with both parents around. Sometimes, it even felt like we were a family.

The battle with the Titan had left a big mess; so many had died, so much was destroyed. The Accorded Nations had agreed to help, Molly told me, at the insistence of Harry, its newest member. He had gained a lot that night, the respect of some and the fear of others. If he was known before as someone to be mindful of, now there was no doubt that he was a real force. After all, it was he who defeated the Titan.

After my moving into the castle, I communicated with Butters mostly through radio or phone, the castle had a couple of working landlines, and we’d talk about what could be done, coordinate with the people in the Paranet, see if there were ways that we could help; and sometimes to update the list of our people that were missing. Molly came to visit me a couple of times too, to tell me about what the Council was doing, tell me whatever she knew that Harry was not telling me. Surprisingly, Harry didn’t protest having a member of the White Council in the premises of his new home. But then, he wouldn’t, and he shouldn’t. We had worked out a deal before I came to live with him.

I would only do it for Evie. Our house had been one of the casualties of the night we fought the Titan, there had been damage to my room and hers. Harry had promised to take care of it, he had the money to do it. I had never asked child support from him or anything else, he never offered, probably because he knew what my answer would be. But this time, for once, for Evie’s sake, I was willing to accept what he had to offer. So, he’d helped me salvage what we could from the house, promised to deal with the damage and took Evie and me and our stuff to his brand-new castle. We’d stay until we had our house ready again. It had started to look like it’d be a while though, there was so much property damage in the city, so much to rebuild, workers and materials were scarce.

Harry and I were not a couple, wouldn’t be one. This wasn’t us giving the relationship a try again because of Evie. No, I was still with Kincaid, even if long distance now, since he’d gone back to Switzerland with Ivy. Harry and I would just try to live under the same roof and co-parent, and give Evie some stability and a place to live safe from whatever dangers were still out there. It was a temporary thing. And it all had started just a week and a half ago, yet, it felt longer somehow, and images like the one in front of me, made it feel like I could get used to the arrangement. My daughter and her father, they both looked so sweet.

I noticed my baby girl stirring suddenly, looking around with sleepy eyes until she found me. She started wiggling, wanting to come to me. I saw Harry’s arms tightening around her, instinctively, holding her in place, so she couldn’t escape him.

“Mommy.” She whined.

It hurt to stand up, but I had to go and rescue my child. I made it to the couch and Evie extended her little arms to me, wiggling desperately, with impatience of a child. I chuckled as I got my hands around her and tried to pick her up, I couldn’t. Harry’s arms had tightened around her for a moment before he jerked awake, his eyes alert, his posture almost aggressive.

“Harry… Harry, it’s me.” I told him gently. “Harry.”

“Mommy.” Evie repeated, wiggling some more.

Maybe it was Evie’s voice what broke through Harry’s confusion, but he finally relaxed his hands, letting her go. I took Evie and smoothed her hair and kissed her soft cheek.

“You’re done sleeping baby girl?” She nodded. “You want to eat something?”

“Yes! Eat!” She said, enthusiastically, and I had to smile about it.

I limped back to the table and sat down, a considerably harder task now with a child in my arms. But I managed.

“Do you want some pears, honey?” I asked her, knowing full well the answer.

“Peeer!” She practically screamed. And I heard Harry groan from his perch on the couch, as he tried to wake up fully. Evie bounced on my lap.

“What do we say?” I asked her. She was still very young, but she was at the age where she was a sponge, ready to learn everything, so it was important to start imparting good manners on her. She looked up at me and said while smiling the sweetest smile ever, “Pweese.”

I leaned down to kiss her hair and passed her a piece of fruit and she started munching happily on it, making sounds of complete delight as only an infant can make. I turned my gaze to Harry, now sitting on the couch, looking intently at her, he had a gentle smile on his face. Then his eyes moved to mine and stayed for a dangerous second. I looked back to my child again.

I heard him take a deep breath and I saw him stand up in the periphery of my vision as I gave Evie more fruit.

“I have to go. I have a… business meeting.” Harry said. Harry would usually leave the castle for some time, supposedly to go and join the other forces that were helping the city. He was acting like one of the good guys. He never offered much information though, and I didn’t ask much. I had to admit, I didn’t want to know details of such things yet, in case I didn’t like them. Maybe it was a bit naive, but I wanted to give things a chance to work out. Harry had never talked about “business meetings” though, so that was new.

“Ah.” I didn’t say more.

“I should be back in time for her dinner and to get her in bed.” He told me as he walked to us and knelt down in front of us.

“Daddy! Peer!” Evie told him and practically shoved the half-chewed piece of fruit in his mouth. Harry hated pears, always had, but god bless him, he opened his mouth and took the fruit from her with a smile. In the brief time we’d been living together recently, I had discovered that he had a terrible time refusing her anything. If it was up to him, he’d probably spoil her.

He swallowed the offending piece of fruit, with a difficulty that Evie was too young to notice, and then told her, “I have to go now, my love. See you soon, okay?” He tucked a curl behind her little ear.

“No!” Evie replied in a firm, almost upset tone, surprising us both. Harry actually did a double take.

“No?” He asked her, his voice soft as it only was with her.

“Daddy, no go.” She said, even more sternly than before.

“Oh, baby, daddy has to go now.” I intervened. “But he will come back, right?”

“Yeah.” He said, and I noticed that he barely got the word out.

“No, daddy stay.” Evie insisted. Oh, boy, this could get ugly.

“No, daddy goes. But daddy comes back, later.” I told her.

“No!” She said again, a frown marring her face. I could see Harry’s face transforming too, getting visibly upset, the frown on his brow deepening too. So, I hauled my daughter off my lap, sat her on the table in front of me, and started tickling her until she was giggling madly.

I rained kisses on her pretty face and told her, “Look, baby girl, we have so many pears to eat.” I held one to her and she took it. “And we’ll play with mister bunny, yes? And with your blocks? We could build a tree, or a house? How about that?”

Bright blue eyes stared back at me, not entirely convinced of my argument.

“A house is nice.” Harry chimed in. And she looked at him, her eyes curious.

“Oh, we can build daddy a house!” I said to her in a conspiratory tone.

She seemed to think about it for a second, and she repeated, “A house”.

“A house for daddy, yes?” I told her.

She nodded slowly, still not entirely convinced, but at least the crying had been averted for the moment.

I looked at Harry pointedly, hoping that he would get the hint and use the chance to go. It took him a second or two to react, but instead of going immediately, he got closer and asked her, “Make me a house, my love?”

Brown and blue eyes met for a moment, and it was like watching two people fall in love, he smiled, and she smiled around the piece of fruit in her mouth. And finally, she seemed to settle, nodding in agreement.

He took a deep breath and then leaned in, put a gigantic hand on her tiny head and kissed her forehead. I noticed him inhaling deeply, taking in the baby smell.

“Okay, goodbye, my love. Be back soon.”

For a moment, I saw him hesitate, move as if he was about to do to me what he just did to Evie. And if he had, I wasn’t sure if I would have pulled away or let him. Before I could decide, though, he straightened, stood up and walked out of the room. Evie and I watched him go, and it felt a bit strange, a bit… bitter.

“Bye, daddy.” Evie said.

I turned to look at her again, and kissed her forehead too, and we sat there and finished the pears together. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out, playing. I managed to read some, and I talked to Butters; the list of the missing grew five more names long.

—

Harry was late. He was supposed to come back for Evie’s dinner time; he didn’t. I had waited for a while, played with Evie a little longer, buying him time. It was unusual for him. He wouldn’t leave the castle for long, and when he did, he was always back in time for meals. After all, he was the one preparing most of them.

Our rooms were on the first floor. Three contiguous rooms, his in one extreme, mine that I shared with Evie on the other, joined by a room in the middle that functioned as a living room, dining room, playroom and everything in between. He hadn’t wanted us to stay on the ground floor for some reason. I wasn’t in a position to argue much. But the kitchen was in the basement. With my busted knee, I couldn’t come and go as I pleased, so he had taken on the duty of cook for all of us. And as such, he always made sure to be around for that. Something must have happened. I’d tried very hard not to start worrying and instead I had occupied myself with making dinner for my child.

It had been a bitch to get down the stairs of two full floors and minding a toddler at the same time, but somehow, I’d managed. I’d gathered the ingredients and got some chicken and vegetables ready, a good dinner for her and for me, and Harry if he arrived for it. I was about to start feeding Evie when I heard him coming down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen, I noticed he had a bruise on his cheek, and a somber look in his eyes. So, yeah, something had happened during his… meeting.

Evie hadn’t noticed any of that, of course, all that she knew was that her father was home. She practically screamed her little lungs out in sheer joy, calling out to him, and when he looked at her, his face transformed. He smiled and quickened his steps to reach her, taking her out of her chair and hugging her tight against his shoulder. She hugged him back with as much strength as her tiny arms allowed her.

They had always shared a bond, regardless of him not being around much for big chunks of her life so far, but since living under the same roof and spending much more time together, that bond had grown stronger. They were absolutely smitten with one another. I imagined it was like that for every little girl and her father, at least for a little while, where they were each other’s favorite person. I’d had that with my dad once, a very long time ago, before I lost him. It was really heartwarming to see my daughter enjoy that too, even when a part of me was afraid that one day she’d lose it as well.

“Sorry, the meeting got… complicated.” Harry said to me.

I looked pointedly at his cheek. “So I see.” I served the food on three plates and pass him two of them. He set one for himself and the other in front of Evie. “Everything alright, though?”

“Yeah.” He said and started feeding Evie. Maybe at lunch time he would have let her try to use the spoon, but that usually ended up with a bigger mess to clean up. It seemed like he wasn’t in the mood for that.

We ate in silence for a while, and then he broke it by saying, “I’m going to hire someone.”

“What?”

“Someone to help around with cleaning and meals and stuff. When I’m not around I don’t want you straining yourself. You should be focusing on recovering, not doing any hard labor.”

“It’s just dinner.” I protested.

“Yeah, but you have to come down two floors, with our child to care for too. It’s not good for your knee.”

“I–”

“I know, you don’t want a stranger. Don’t worry, she won’t be. I have someone in mind already.”

I was stunned for another second before my mouth finally decided to form words. “No.”

He sighed. “Why not?”

“I don’t even know this person.”

“It’s someone reliable.” He countered.

“You don’t just take those kinds of decision unilaterally.” I said, maybe more harshly than I intended.

“We’re not married, remember?” He said, casually. “This my house, I say I want to hire someone to take care of things when I’m not around. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“It is a problem if they’re going to be close to my daughter.”

“Our daughter.” He said emphasized. “Again, is someone I trust.”

“Well, I don’t know them. And I’m Evie’s mother, I get a say in this. Don’t start pulling shit like this on me.”

He snorted and then said in an acidic tone, “What shit? Wanting to take care of things?”

“Yeah. Like you did when you put a freaking spell on me.” I said, without caring at all for my tone either. That shut him up though, and he averted his gaze, going back to feeding Evie, who was looking at us with very big, innocent, blue eyes. I sighed. “Please, Harry, don’t just make decisions that could potentially affect Evie without telling me first. That wasn’t the deal.” I said in a much more even, gentle tone.

He sighed too. “I just don’t want you to have to worry about things if I’m not around. You need to rest and recover now.”

“I know.”

He was silent for a moment and then continued, “And as much as I want to just stay here with you, I can’t, there are things that need to be done. Tell you what, let’s give it a try, a test run. If you don’t like the person, then we think about someone else, or something else, okay?”

He wasn’t exactly wrong in what he wanted. I really couldn’t do much on my own yet, and if he wasn’t around to help and take care of some things, I’d be forced to strain myself constantly, looking after everyday things that weren’t much but added up when one was seriously injured, and caring for a very young child at the same time. I had reservations about including some stranger into our lives, but Harry was trying to do what he thought was right. It wasn’t a bad thing. So, I nodded “yes.” And he did the same in return.

We finished the rest of the meal in silence. And after, he took care of the dishes while I slowly marched upstairs again with Evie. At least she was having fun climbing the stairs one by one with me, while she sang a song that only she knew the lyrics to; I was pretty sure she had made them up. Of course, it was taking forever, and it wasn’t her fault exactly.

It was taking us so long, actually, that Harry had finished in the kitchen and was climbing up behind us before I realized it. As we started the second flight of stairs to the first floor, he told me, “Wait.”

“Hm?”

He came closer and picked Evie in his arms but passed her to me. “Hold her.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” He said, with a look on his face that said, “please don’t fight me on this too.” For once, I didn’t want to, I just wanted to be in my bed. So, when I had Evie secure in my arms, Harry got his hands around my waist and underneath my thighs, being very careful to support my knee and he lifted me up, cradling me in his arms while I cradled Evie. I let out a little yelp, Evie giggled.

“Harry!”

“Shush.”

“Harry, but–”

“You weight nothing. Shush… Let me do it.” He said it so very gently that I stopped protesting. He carried Evie and me back to our living quarters. There, he set me down very carefully on the couch, and started fussing about with the pillows, putting one underneath my knee, another at my back. And for a moment, while he did that, his eyes met mine. I noticed the bruise on his cheek again.

“What happened to you?” I asked him.

He gave me a half smile. “Nothing important now.”

I was about to insist, but Evie started squirming around, trying to get off my lap and the couch.

“Daddy! Daddy!” She said, reaching up for him.

He turned his attention to her and took her off my arms and set her on the ground, in front of him. “What is it, my love?” He asked as he combed his fingers through her curls.

“House, daddy, house!” She said, taking his hand and pulling him along to the corner of the room where she had her tiny table with her tiny chairs, and the plastic containers full of toys, a few old ones that we could rescue from home and some new Harry had gotten her.

In the damage to our house, we lost a lot of clothes and furniture. Fortunately, Evie always carried with her Mister Bunny, her favorite rag doll, one Harry had gotten her when she was just a baby, so he had been safe. But a lot of other toys were gone. Harry had tried to compensate for that loss, of course. He got her three more of those rag dolls, so now she had a whole family of bunnies, a new tea set and the fake food that went with it, a couple of alphabet and numerals puzzles, lots of building blocks, coloring books and crayons, and at least a dozen storybooks. It was enough to keep a young child sufficiently entertained. 

The house we had built with the blocks sat on the little table, ready for when her dad came home so that she could show him. He had asked her for it, and she being his dutiful daughter had been excited to comply to his request. It was adorable. As it was adorable to watch Harry bent down in half holding onto her little hand as she pulled him along with her. She was so tiny compared to him.

I could hear them talking softly to each other. “Look, daddy!”

“Oh, that’s so pretty, my love. So pretty, thank you.”

And she continued explaining to him how she made the house, I suppose. Half of her words were still baby gibberish, but he understood her, or at least was very good at faking it. I smiled and decided to close my eyes for a moment, listening to them talking in the background.

I fell asleep at some point; I had been more tired than I had realized, and I didn’t even feel it when Harry had picked me up and carried me to my bed. But he must have, because when I opened my eyes again, I was in it, with Evie soundly asleep beside me, like every night. Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed, next to me. He was holding a glass of water and a bottle of medication that I needed for my knee.

“You forgot.”

“Right.” I said as I sat up and took the bottle, grabbed a pill and then drank the water, before passing them all to him again. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He stayed sitting there for a moment, studying me. “Are you going to remain mad at me about the spell?” He asked finally.

“You shouldn’t have done it. So, maybe I will.”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head as he left the glass and the pills on the nightstand.

“I will not apologize again.”

I shrugged. “That’s your prerogative.”

He chuckled, then surprised me by putting his hands on each side of my face and leaning in, resting his forehead against mine. “I was trying to protect you. You and her, I will always do anything to protect you.” He whispered, with an edge in his voice, hard and uncompromising.

“Anything is such a dangerous word.” I replied, in a whisper too.

“Maybe, but I don’t care.”

“That’s just as dangerous.” I said, a bit overwhelmed by his intensity.

“Maybe too, but when it comes to you, I rather be wrong than sorry.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I moved one hand over one of his.

“Harry, where did you go today? Why did you come back hurt?”

He shook his head against mine. “To fix some things.”

“What kind of things?”

“I don’t think you want to know.”

“Harry…” I warned.

“Karrin…” He mirrored my tone.

I groaned. “You’re so frustrating sometimes.”

“Says the woman who contradicts me even when I’m trying to be nice.”

“Jesus, define nice Harry.”

He chuckled again. Then he tilted my face up to him, and we were so close, and his lips were so close and for a second he leaned in, and I thought I’d get to feel them on my lips in the next breath. But instead, he kissed my forehead, very gently, his lips soft but pressing firmly against my skin. And then he let me go, grabbed the pills and the water, and headed for the door.

“Goodnight, Murph.” He said giving me one last look.

“Goodnight, Harry.” I replied. And then I lay down on the bed again, my heart going a bit too fast, my skin feeling a bit too hot. In the fog before sleep took over again, thanks to the pills, I thought that I should really call Jared soon.

The next day, I did try to get in touch with Jared, but I had no luck. We’d last spoken a couple of days after I’d moved into the castle. He’d called, wanting to check that the telephone number I’d given him was real and working, and that Evie and I were doing okay with Harry. After that though, we hadn’t had many chances to talk, different time zones, busy schedules, we were all settling into our new realities. I tried again for a couple of days but still couldn’t reach him. And a couple of days later, whatever concerns I might have about him and Ivy got replaced by another more urgent worry, Evie got sick.

To be continued…

@anguisette90@aurelianpen@anotherramblingfangirl@21incognito@phygers@over-a-rainbow@xserpx@harry-so-scary@patrickdiomedes

Small rant about that Battle Ground moment

What bugs me about Karrin’s death is quite a number of readers are fine with it bc it shows that anyone can die and mortals are deadly or some kinda bullshit.

It’s safe to say the fandom would be pissed if Thomas or Michael or Marcone or even a pre Winter Lady Molly randomly got shot and killed halfway through a book by a stupid cop. No one would be saying that it was a oddly fitting end. But a lot of the Dresden fandom has always had a weird dislike of Murphy.

I wasn’t super attached to the character (blame Joe Abercrombie for my avoiding getting too invested in characters) and I was even fine with the idea of her possibly dying. If it was handled well. It wasn’t. She takes down a damned Jotun despite being in poor shape and barely healed after the beating from Nicodemus. Then Rudolph just offs her because he’s a frightened, stupid and sorry excuse for a human being.

Then there’s Butters attempting to chill Harry out by explaining ‘Rudolph’s’ side of things. I know it’s set in 2014 but with a real world release in 2020 after 4 years of ever increasing police violence, it feels gross. So many murderous cops have used excuses like they felt threatened or afraid and it all gets swept under the rug.

So Murphy gets a shit death that a number of fans are fine with when they’d react with outrage if any other main supporting characters got offed like that AND the story has the supporting characters try to make Harry and the reader empathize with her cop-murderer.

It’s so bad. Jesus Christ. Would it have been so difficult to give her a fitting death scene IF she had to go? Shiro got a fitting death and so did Morgan, even Deirdre’s death felt better handled than Murphy’s. Deirdre. The incestuous, psychotic host of a Fallen who has committed countless horrific acts gets a better death than one of the main characters.

My only comfort is knowing she’ll likely be back for the big apocalyptic trilogy. Ragnarok will be one of the end times scenarios happening there so I feel certain the rule about her being unable to return until she’s forgotten will be thrown out.