600 Watcher Special: The Morrigan x Male!Reader - Illusions of the Ideal Dream

The Ulster Cycle of Celtic Mythology of Ireland holds many great tales, mostly those centering itself around the life and death of Setanta, more famously known as Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster. The Ulster Cycle, like many other books containing myths, also had some side stories one can read if they so choose. One of these lesser-known myths is the story of the love between Y/n L/n, who would later slay the Fomorians and their demonic king Bálor, and The Morrigan, Phantom Queen.

Before Y/n would be more famously known, maybe just as famous as his friend Cú Chulainn, for slaying the Fomorians, he was more recognized for his myth with his love for The Morrigan. During your average, run-of-the-mill day in Ireland, a small village had a bustling community, even if it was a small one, and coming out of one of the small homes was none other than a farming boy and fisherman, Y/n L/n. Back then, back before his relationship with The Morrigan bloomed to benefit him magical powers, he was just like you and I...normal. Plain. Not special. Today, while his mother and father tended to the farm land they had, he had decided to go to a special fishing spot nearby in the forest that has fish the size of a sword! As he walked into the forest, he remembered when he was a child what his mother and father had told him. "Y/n, whenever you hunt in those forest when you come of age, take great care that you respect the wildlife there." They would say. "If you leave even a single piece of your kill behind, Cernunnos would take that as a sign of disrespect and hunt you down to the ends of the earth."

From there, Y/n double checked to make sure not a single piece of an animal's parts is wasted, sometimes he might find a way to use the carcass if necessary. He usually did things like these because of the fear of the existence of Cernunnos being out to get him if he didn't was present from a young age. However, his parents failed to mention another who resides and observes the forest to a lesser degree. As Y/n went deeper into the forest to find the river stream that carried large fish of various types, a crow was watching his movements ever so carefully, as if the crow was looking to replicate Y/n down to his very footing. The crow is one of the many forms The Morrigan can take. The Morrigan is said to house the consciousness of three beings or made of three beings, leading to her or rather, their observant behavior. The Morrigan, had taken an interest in Y/n. The reason was because she could not get a clear indication of the fate that would befall Y/n, which completely baffled her to no end.

A wild card when it comes to fate was something she deemed impossible, yet here Y/n was to make that which was once was impossible, possible. The Morrigan could read Cú Chulainn's fate, so why couldn’t she read Y/n's? That was the goal that drove the Morrigan and after flying down out of sight and behind a tree, she took the form of a young and beautiful seductress and sat down near Y/n's sack of food and water as he was fishing in the river nearby, almost sort of like a camp site without the bonfire.

Y/n: If you want food or drink, help yourself. Don’t worry about me, I won’t be here long.

The Morrigan (Disguised): Oh, no, it’s fine. I always see you come here and I always wondered why. Now, I know you fish for your meals.

Y/n: My family owns a farm not too far from here. If you want, I could bring you over.

The Morrigan (Disguised): Do you also have a place to stay in your village or home?

Y/n: I think so. We could make room, if not.

To make herself less inconspicuous, The Morrigan reached inside his bag and pulled out a loaf of bread and started to bite down on it. However, as she was eating the bread, she began to see why she couldn’t get a bead on Y/n's fate. The reason why she couldn’t or more appropriately, wouldn't read Y/n's fate is because she doesn’t want to. The times The Morrigan had seen Y/n enter the forest and fish was enough time for her to fall in love with him, since this wasn’t exactly their first encounter, for The Morrigan had disguised as a variety of animals and people and all of those disguises were helped by Y/n in some shape or form. His pure heart, she didn’t want the pain of something so pure die a violent death if that was his fate.

So, she didn’t. The Morrigan gave herself excuse after excuse after excuse as to why not to read Y/n's fate. She wanted the illusion that she could love someone and be loved back, have kids, grow old and die peacefully in each others loving arms.

Wouldn’t you want this too, when you’ve read the demise of those who met with you? Y/n was the light in her darkness and she wanted that light preserved for as long as possible until the light fades to darkness, for all things are born and return to darkness. If that darkness is bloodied or not, is what The Morrigan sees.

As the sun starts to set on a peaceful day, Y/n caught one last fish and decided to head home, The Morrigan following beside him as they walk through the woods.

Y/n: I never asked what your name was, miss. I’m Y/n.

The Morrigan (Disguised): Macha.

Y/n: Macha? As in the goddess Macha?

The Morrigan (Disguised): I must admit that my family are a strange bunch.

Y/n: *chuckles* Aren't we all entitled to something like a strange family? Come, let's eat.

Emerging out from the other side of the forest was a small village whose name has been lost to the passage of time and translation. The Morrigan saw nothing out of the ordinary when it came to the small farming and hunting village that Y/n had lived in, but the people's faces spoke a different tune when it came to greeting her and any other person that happened to pass by their vision. Instead of getting strange, yet indifferent looks or looks of a lustful sort, The Morrigan was greeted with smiles as wide as ever and waves from kids and adults alike. The Morrigan had never felt so...so welcomed before in her life, usually because people that knew about her feared her and ran away from their fate.

Walking into a small, two-story home, The Morrigan was hit with a very fragrant aroma of meat being cooked over a flame.

Grizzled Male Voice: Oi, Y/n! Is that you?

Y/n: Yes father. I brought a guest with me today. She'll be staying the night.

Y/n's father: "Staying the night" huh? No funny business, you hear?

Y/n: Father!

Y/n's father: I'm just kidding. Have a seat, you two. Food'll take a little longer than expected, with our new guest.

The Morrigan (Disguised): Sorry for the inconvenience.

Y/n's father: Bah! It's fine lass. We end up sleeping after this, so having an excuse to stay up a little longer is more than welcome. Besides, *covers right portion of mouth with hand and whispers* we might be able to bring out the ale.

Y/n's mother: I heard that, you know?! I'm not deaf!

Y/n's father: Yeah, you're stupid! It's about time we had a drink with our son! And he's brought over a girl!

Y/n's mother: All the more reason why NOT to drink!

Y/n's father: By the gods woman! Just a little drink wouldn't hurt the poor boy!

Y/n's mother: "A little" is a cup by your standards! And "a cup" is an entire keg!

As Y/n's mother and father do some healthy arguing over whether or not to bring out the alcoholic drinks out onto the table, Y/n leaned over to The Morrigan's ear and began to whisper to try and not be too intrusive into his mother and father's pointless argument.

Y/n: *whispers* They usually make up by the time food hits the table.

The Morrigan (disguised): *whispers* Do they normally argue about stuff like this?

Y/n: *whispers* Usually, whenever friends come.

When the time to sleep came, Y/n and The Morrigan had to sleep in the same room, due to the short notice of The Morrigan's arrival. Out of courtesy, Y/n allowed her to sleep in the bed while Y/n pulled out spare blankets and pillows from his closet and slept on the wooden floor, after making it comfortable of course.

The Morrigan (disguised): Are you...okay sleeping down there?

Y/n: I've slept on worse. Besides, a woman like you should rest easy for your long travel ahead. Don't worry about me and good night.

Blowing out the candle, as darkness consumed the room, Y/n was knocked out and slept soundly and silently, the perfect setting for The Morrigan to reflect on her thoughts while disguised as a normal woman and slept. Her feelings for Y/n were true and she could certainly see where exactly Y/n's kind behavior had come from. She opened her eyes and looked at Y/n's sleeping form and thoughts formed in her head, most of them were very...sexual in nature. "No! That isn't how love works!" She argued to herself in her thoughts. "I want him to love us naturally, for who we are."

And so, The Morrigan did. While still disguised in as the beautiful seductress, she continued to help Y/n and his family by doing some tasks they deferred to her to increase productivity or tagged along with Y/n in hunting or fishing. Her actions hadn't gone unnoticed for the heart that beats within Y/n calls to her. Y/n had gotten to experience The Morrigan's emotions and beauty like no other mortal that had encountered her before, yet there was still this source of...untruth. In case it wasn't already obvious, Y/n had loved the persona The Morrigan had created and not with The Morrigan herself and the woman in question had also seen this a couple of times beforehand.

That is why, on one day, The Morrigan had dropped the disguise and left a note in the room they slept in together to tell Y/n to come to the forest because she had already hunted down the food and wanted some evaluation on her kills. Complying with the note had said, Y/n trekked out to the forest, occasionally calling out The Morrigan's fake name as the crow was watching him and flew and landed behind him. The crow soon turned into The Morrigan and Y/n heard the sound of footprints behind him. Curious to see if it was the woman he so longed desired after, he turned around and got an answer, well, sort of an answer.

Y/n: You look...familiar...

The Morrigan: Perhaps you would recognize us in a *transforms into her Macha disguise* more familiar form?

Y/n wasn’t shocked like The Morrigan had expected him to be. He was more curious than anything and gave her a questioning look.

Y/n: If you’re not Macha, then who are you really and did you do anything to me?

The Morrigan: We are The Morrigan. And we wouldn’t dare do something to you.

Y/n: “We”? But—never mind. Why did you follow me back home Morrigan? If it wasn’t to do anything to me, then there must be another reason why.

The Morrigan: We…we’ve had encountered each other before, under different circumstances. Each time, you have done something to warm our heart. We…we fell in love with you.

Y/n: *blushing* L-love?!

From Y/n's perspective, the woman he fell in love with turned out to be a magical being comprised of three people. You can understand why he’s a bit shocked hearing that same magical being reciprocate feelings towards him.

Y/n: U-uhhh…

The Morrigan: Do you not love us? We understand learning this is a bit of a shock, so we will give you time to digest this new information.

Y/n: I don’t need more time because I know my answer.

Grabbing The Morrigan’s wrists and slowly drawing her ever closer to his figure, Y/n seized The Morrigan’s lips with his own. The two would soon wed and pursue a life of peace and prosperity.

However, I am sure you are curious as to the fate of Y/n. Well, a different tale tells the fate of our Fomorian slayer.

As the Fomorians had fallen one by one, all that Y/n had to kill was the demon king, Bálor of the Evil Eye. It had been foretold that if Bálor’s evil eye were to open, the world ends. The grass and lands burn, the seas would boil, and the skies would rain down fire. As long as Bálor of the Evil Eye was still alive, the world wouldn’t be safe from danger and Y/n couldn’t bare to live with himself if he let this threat pass. Along with Cú Chulainn, the two raised their swords high as if it could cut the very skies themselves, unaware of how their glorious lives would be shortened.

Y/n had to give up many of what he had treasured dearly, two of these things would be his wife The Morrigan and his beloved young daughter D/n. The Morrigan had slipped into a new life with relative ease, although she did have some help from Y/n. The house they shared had easy access to a river to wash clothes or for D/n to play in. Washing anything clothing related was hard for The Morrigan to get used to because of the context she was used to, but Y/n helped her get over that.

Today, The Morrigan and D/n were washing and drying clothes by the river. For a long time, it was just those two who lived in the house since Y/n was out, slaying Fomorians or other creatures that would be a threat to his family. As The Morrigan was washing clothes by the river, she noticed something…peculiar about one set of clothes. “Where have we seen these before?” she asked herself as she washed them carefully. “Who was wearing these?” As she took out the clothes, her mind figured it out too late. The clothes had belonged to Y/n and she had discovered her worst nightmare at that moment.

The Morrigan is known by many names, one of these names is the Washer at the Ford. At rivers, she washes clothes of the men about to die violently in battle. As her eyes widened, she heard a demonic scream off in the distance nearby as the demon king Bálor screamed bloody murder and fell with a sickening thud, not before lifting his javelin and stabbed down into a person she could only fear it to be, as her ears, as well as her daughter’s ear heard the scream of a grown male before Bálor had fell, dying to his wounds sustained by his opponent.

D/n: Mother, what was that?

The Morrigan: Go inside and don’t come back out until I return!

Without a second wasted, she ran into the forest and when she was out of sight of her daughter, she had transformed into a crow and flapped her wings as hard as possible in the direction of the screams. She flew into an open area and saw a large trail of blood that led to a body that had a missing arm and the body was aimed towards the sky, as the person was drenched in blood too.

She landed and transformed back into her normal form and ran up to the body, her worst fears realized when she saw it was Y/n, on the edge of death and still clinging onto what little life he still had in him.

Y/n: Oh…it’s you. Now I won’t have to die alone…

The Morrigan: No! Stop talking! We’ll save you! We’ll—

Y/n: It’s too late…Morrigan. At least…I killed…the last of them. Morrigan…

The Morrigan: Yes?

Y/n: I’m…I’m so sorry…

The Morrigan: *tears forming* Sorry? Sorry for what?

Y/n: I haven’t been…the greatest husband…or father….I left you and D/n alone…for so long…and now, when we see each other, I’m dying in your arms… and D/n isn’t around…

The Morrigan: *starts crying* You made us happy. You were the best we could ever ask for…

Y/n: Can I have…one more kiss…before--?

The Morrigan didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence as she placed her lips onto his, kissing him for as long as Y/n's life was dwindling at a rapid rate. When she could no longer feel him trying to kiss her anymore, she patted her lips and started crying into Y/n's shoulder, as she had never felt so much pain from suffering at the hands of fate.

During her sobbing, she could feel a hand being placed onto her shoulder, as she slowly looked behind her and saw Cú Chulainn with the Gáe Bulg in one of his hands, giving The Morrigan a look of sorrow.

The Morrigan: Cú Chulainn, what do we do? We’ve never experienced this before…

Cú Chulainn: Take his body back to his family. They deserve to know what happened. I’ll help you through it.

The Morrigan: Thank you…

Cú Chulainn: His death…it hurts me too Morrigan. He told me that he wanted to have another child with you when he came back.

Much sorrow had befallen The Morrigan with the death of Y/n. She was left without her husband and lover and D/n would be raised without a father. No longer could she sleep in the same bed in the same room because she would feel something was…amiss and she’d remember Y/n and feel nothing, but pain in her heart.

She had thought she could live the life she had dreamed of: a loving husband, beautiful children, and a house over her head. She had the cold, hard fact hit her hard: any who meet with The Morrigan were doomed to a violent end, for Cú Chulainn would share a grisly end months after.

The Morrigan sought after a person she could love and a family that loved her, after seeing people die for God knows how long. A being that knows death and strife only desires a life that us in modern times take for granted.