#aerin x raine

[vicissavior]

BLADES 3 THIS YEAR??? OH MY GOD

[lilyoffandoms]

Blades Drabble - Aerin x Raine

Warnings & A/N: Nothing that’s not canon compliant. Angst no happy. For @oh-so-youre-a-nerd. Totally thought I had posted this weeks ago.

Raine jolts awake. His heart racing, his breathing short, adrenaline coursing through his body. It takes him a moment to remember where he is. He’s here, it’s familiar. Not there, it’s not suffocating. There is still pain, always pain, but it is not that searing pain, it is an empty pain.

The night is still late, dark, but not in the oppressive way he remembers feeling in his nightmares. Stars still paint the sky above him and those fires remind him that he is in the realm of Light. They are visible unlike in his nightmares. He recognizes the constellations and realizes he could find his way home if he wished, unlike there, unlike in his nightmares.

He lays and listens to the night around him. The lonely wind shifting the sands into smooth patterns. The same sun-warmed sand, now cold beneath him, with the temperature having dropped considerably lower than when they had settled in for the night. But it feels familiar. It feels comforting in its own way, not like the bone-numbing coldness of there. Not like his nightmares.

He rolls onto his side and watches the fire dance in the breeze before him. Tyril having clearly kept it lit throughout his watch. Across the firelight, Raine recognizes the shapes of his travel companions.

He frowns. Shouldn’t he call them his friends? Didn’t he call them his friends yesterday? He worries that thought in his head. When did he stop calling them his friends?

Only yesterday he would have called them his friends. But yesterday was so long ago, wasn’t it? Yesterday was exactly a year ago, a long time for all of them, his friends. 

Time. 

Giving them plenty of time.

Time to find new friends.

Time for new adventures.

Time for new lives. 

Time to forget him. 

Time to move past him.

He groans and rolls onto his back again, running a hand down his tired face before rolling from the fire to look out into the night.

This dark is different from the other dark he is all too familiar with now. Somehow that dark feels like it’s crept into him. He supposes that makes sense. If you spend so long in one place, it can seep into you and find a home in all the unmapped corners of your being. And shadow thrives in those hidden corners.

A year.

A year is a hell of a long time.

Time.

Time to find yourself changed. 

He saw it in all of them but it didn’t feel real. It felt otherworldly. It felt like a parallel world where his friends looked like his friends, sounded like his friends, but with subtle changes that he could chalk up to a year having passed without him.

He’s alive, that’s what matters. Or at least that’s what should matter, he tries to remind himself. But he had to save himself. No one came for him. He crossed the known realm and another realm to reach his brother but no one could be bothered for him.

They didn’t cross the realms, they stayed where they were comfortable. Mal in Whitetower, continuing to thieve his way through every noble’s treasury. Nia in Whitetower, continuing to serve a religion that sought its wealth and importance on the backs of the poor. Imtura, continuing to look for entertainment at the bottom of every cup and the edge of every blade. Tyril, continuing his mission to better the elves and their kingdom while strengthening his own house. Kade, continuing his organization of the vast libraries of Whitetower that undoubtedly contained the knowledge needed to save his brother.

Not one of them bothered to look for more than a fleeting moment in time. Had they at least spent a few months searching for a way to save him or had it been merely weeks? Days? Hours?

It didn’t matter, what mattered was that no one came. Not one of them.

Then there was Aerin.

At one time Raine would have believed that Aerin would have come for him if he had been free but Raine had ensured his imprisonment by returning him to the Light realm and his father’s justice.

In a way, Raine supposed, he had sealed his own fate. The one person in the realm probably capable of freeing him from the Shadow realm was stuck behind bars because of his sense of moral superiority. He had wanted justice, wanted to show Aerin that there are consequences to each action we take.

Would Aerin have saved him from the Ash Empire if he had been allowed to remain in the Shadow realm?

“Fuck,” he whispered into the cold desert night.

If it wasn’t the consequences of his own actions now in the empty void of this all.

No. No he would not have.

Raine refused to believe that Aerin would have saved him even then. For the truth was, Aerin runs. 

He had shown Raine his true feelings when he left him alone in the bed they had shared with nothing but a note filled with platitudes and zero explanation. 

The real truth was staring him in the face as he looked over the emptiness of the desert.

No one would have come for him.

No one cared to risk that for him.

No one. Not for him.

He was alone. And that truth remained.

He is utterly alone.

——————————

Choices Tag: @storyofmychoices @aallotarenunelma @inlocusmads

[antarees-8]

Blades of Light and Shadow 2 Raine x Aerin

Just some of my favorite moments with them ･ᴗ･

[talasintahan]

i will always be there for you, raine. always.

aerin x raine for an art trade with @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

[lovehugsandcandy]

like a ghost into the fog

Pairing: Aerin x f!MC, Blades of Light and Shadow

Ratings: Explicit/18+/N*FW (the last part contains sex, maybe swearing?)

Word Count: ~4,600

A/N: Title from 'Round Here' by the Counting Crows

Summary: 5 times Aerin and Raine weren't reunited and 1 time they were

i.

The desert is boiling, even at night, and Raine lacks both the motivation and strength to set up a tent. Instead, she merely unfurls her bedroll directly onto the sand and plops down, exhaustion both physical and mental making even another step just out of reach.

She waits, until she can hear Tyril's quiet rhythmic breath, until Imtura has settled and stilled, as the darkness surrounds her like a shroud. Then, the tears start, slowly at first, tracing down the slope of her cheek, and then faster, harder, until she realizes that dehydrating herself in the middle of an endless desert is foolish, but she can't stop her eyes from pouring out onto the sand below.

Of all the troubles she knew she would encounter in her quest, the sudden disappearance of the fallen prince hadn't even registered. But now that it's happened, she can think of nothing else.

Swiping at her cheeks, she turns her attention to the night sky over her head. Above, where there had been only darkness, pinpricks of light work their way through the night. At first, it's one star, then two, and then a blaze, constellations popping from the atmosphere faster than she can count. It’s dizzying, the swirl of stars above her head in the desert’s open void; the sobs slow, then cease, tears drying in the omnipresent heat, and each new bloom of light sparks a bloom of hope.

She can see The Lovers, tied together in the southwest sky, while Nithrax stands guard in the north, and she can trace each constellation as clearly as if they were ink on parchment, clear sky a canvas for the points of light and images of the Gods above her.

And finally, above her, the crescendo of this nighttime vision—a shooting star, sweeping overhead, brighter and brighter as it flies across the horizon. Her breath stalls, waiting, as it peaks in the distance, before its arc descends and slowly, gradually, it fades away.

She releases the breath she was holding, and the exhale sounds like prayer in the night. Maybe the star was a portent. Maybe the journey would ease. Maybe they could close the rifts. Maybe her heart could heal. And maybe he would find peace, in whatever shape it took.

Maybe the stars would align for them again.

And with that hope, underneath the blanket of stars twinkling to her, she finally sleeps.

Only seven miles away but a world apart, Aerin tends the fire outside his tent, poking at the tendrils of flame with a stick. It’s quiet in the woods, with only the stray chirp of a cricket or popping of tinder to keep him company, but he’s still alert, attuned to the surrounding darkness. Horrors can emerge abruptly in the night, he knows it as well as anyone, and a battle alone amid the moonlight would be far more treacherous than if he had companions at his back.

Raine.

The name comes to him unbidden, and he pushes it away. He can’t help her; Gods, he can’t help anyone, least of all himself. All he can do is keep the small fire alive and ponder his next move.

Once the blaze is stable, he leans back in a huff, rich grass buffeting his head, and gazes up through the trees. Past the rich foliage, he can just see a few stars, light fighting through the gauzy clouds, and he tries to focus his mind on his next move when he sees it—there!—peeking through the trees, moving above him, a curving light far above the atmosphere. 

He’s seen shooting stars before, a few, huddled alone and shaking amid the castle towers, but this is different. Its light is pure and bright even at distance, and he can’t take his eyes off of the sparkling trail.

Some ancient peoples thought that shooting stars were foreboding, predicting evils yet to come.

Others thought they promised good fortune to all who were lucky enough to see them, sprinkling magic and luck through the trailing sparkle.

He watches the star’s graceful orbit across the sky until it’s blocked by the trees above, disappearing in the ceiling of green, and he wonders what fortune the star would bring to him.

ii.

It feels like an eternity that he’s been traveling alone but Aerin knows it’s only been about a week (8 days, 7 hours, and 13 minutes since he stole away in the night - he’s not counting but the ache makes it impossible to ignore just how much time has passed). In that time, Aerin has learned how loudly his thoughts echo in the dark, how quickly rations are depleted when he doesn’t have access to simple shops, how vile the word ‘traitor’ is when hissed by those who catch sight of him.

He’s learned how important it is to stick to the shadows.

His hood stays over his head, tightly, hiding his hair, and when he bows his head, he can sneak by unnoticed, skirt the edges of crowds as he moves through the small towns that dot the coast.

He’s in such a small town, an hour south of Port Parnassus, huddled in the back booth of a dingy tavern. His companions - past companions - would be at home here, particularly the thief; the room is full of shadowy corners and the patrons pay him no mind, lost in their own dealings and trickery. He sips his ale, slowly, lost in thought; the din doesn't permeate his senses, not even when the door opens and a blast of cool ocean air sweeps the room.

He doesn't hear the jangle of coins, misses the awed voices ('the Hero of Morella'), doesn't recognize the hushed tones across the room.

When the door opens again, he again doesn't notice, lost in his own world, in the shadows (is the darkness in the tavern or is it in him?). 

He just sits and thinks and aches.

iii.

Aerin's fingers linger over the familiar bottle, asphodel in liquid form, vial cool to the touch. The shelf is lined with stopped bottles, reagents, tinctures, salves, and balms. He grabs the ground evenbloom, looking at the label while debating which would be the best investment of his dwindling stash of coin, when a bell rings from the front.

"Hello, travelers!" He ignores the shopkeeper's greetings until he hears the response.

"Hello!" Nia's ducelet tone rings out and, even now, months since he has seen her, he knows it is her like he knows his own hand. The vial almost falls from his grasp and he rushes to return it to its place. "You have an amazing shop! We just wanted to look around, if we may."

We. And footsteps, multiple. Nia's not alone. Aerin is torn - the desire to peer around the corner, to catch just one glimpse, is sudden, overwhelming. He's already started tiptoeing down the aisle before he stops.

"I'm almost out of herbs," Mal says. Aerin can't breathe, freezes in place. He just-

"Is your chest still bleeding?" Tyril asks and Aerin cannot stay to hear the rest. He glances around and, right there, behind him, is a small doorway. He makes a break for it, footfalls as quiet as possible, dodging past a surprised employee before pushing out the back. 

The doorway leads to an alleyway, and he sprints faster, following maze-like corridors until he's sure he's free of the group. 

Unfortunately, one cannot outrun guilt.

He stops only when he is halfway across the city, chest heaving in exertion in a side alley. The cobblestones are uneven under his feet, and the buildings around him are covered in soot, but it's a shadowed place to hide. He sucks in a breath and sputters, smoke from the butcher nearby catching in his lungs. This is absolutely pitiful behavior, unseemly even for a former prince, even for one who's fallen from glorious heights to tragic lows, and he slumps against the wall, ashamed.

He can't- he can't be seen. He has no excuse, nothing of worth to share, nothing by way of explanation, and the world to atone for. His legs give out and he sinks to the ground, amid the dirt and grime, and buries his head in his hands.

He doesn't move until after nightfall, when the darkness around him provides comforting anonymity, when he can vanish into the darkness.

iv.

It's ridiculous. Raine knows how foolish it is, so she keeps her mouth shut, leaves her friends to enjoy the festival, and slinks through the crowds. She knows there are many festivals throughout the small towns that circle the capital, occuring often, ale flowing for days, so it's a nonsensical desire but she sets her sights on a small tent at the edge of the fairgrounds. Purple and gold striped flags flutter in the gentle wind as she steps closer to her goal.

She's almost there, fifteen yards away at most, when a flap of the fortune teller's tent opens, a hooded figure emerging to slide quickly into the crowd.

Her heart catches in her throat. She couldn't be sure, but it almost- it could have been-

Her feet move before her mind catches up, sprinting towards him. She doesn't have a plan and doesn't know what she would say or demand or, in her weakest moments, beg. She just moves, her legs charging forward, dodging through the crowd, pushing past tourists and townsfolk alike. At one point, a vendor pushes a cart into her path, and she leaps, soaring through the air only to vault over the wares, never missing stride, keeping the deep green of his hood in sight.

Her heart pounds, legs straining with the effort as she catches up, closer, ten yards, then five, darting around a small child and diving forward, shoulder to the small of his back as her hands wrap around his waist. They fall forward into a pile of limbs, bystanders gasping as they roll together, head over feet, their momentum landing them sprawled in front of a cart selling ales and liquors.

“What by the Gods are you-”

She leans over and tugs the hood off his head. “Aer-” The word dies on her lips as blond hair emerging in a messy tangle. It’s not him. She sags against the earth and only her pride prevents her from weeping. It’s never him.

“What is wrong with…” The man trails off, pushing up onto his elbows as his glare softens. “Aren’t you the Hero of Morella?”

She doesn’t feel heroic now, side smeared with mud, palm scraped from her tumble. Words don’t exist to describe the mortification and loss she feels; she pushes up to her feet, head hanging down. “I’m sorry; I must have confused you with someone else.”

And she flees.

Across the fairgrounds, Aerin drops a pair of coins into the palm of the fortune teller. If she recognizes him, she doesn’t say a word; her eyes widen for an instant before she beckons him to sit. He settles into his chair, nose wrinkling as the incense wafts through the room, and wrinkled fingertips slowly turn his hand.

“I see a betrayal in your past. It cuts you deep, to this day, regret like a stone holding you down.”

"This is sounding very familiar," he drawls. "Repetitive almost."

She continues on as if he said nothing, finger tracing a path across his palm. "You had a decision to make recently. I see the crossroads, here." She points to something, but Aerin only sees flesh. "Did you make your decision?"

He blinks. "Yes." He wishes he felt as sure as he sounded.

"Good." She turns to his other palm. "For your future-"

"Dark and full of terror? Unyielding pain?"

"Don't you think you've had enough of that?" she chides. "I see knowledge. It's always been important to you, knowledge, learning, but it's critical now. She needs it."

"Who?" 

She ignores his question, but he's certain he already knows the answer. Everything always comes back to Raine. "There is knowledge only you hold that needs to come to light." Her hand tightens in his palm. "She needs to know."

"What… what knowledge?"

Her face is imploring, but she doesn't answer, only dropping his palm against the table. When it becomes apparent she’s finished, he turns to leave, but her voice stops him midstride. "One last thing, Prince-"

"Former Prince."

"-she has forgiven you."

He pauses, narrowing his eyes, hand clutching the tent flap behind him. "Really."

"She has."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Do you really?" Her stare is hard. His chest suddenly aches, a dull pain right in the center underneath layers of scarring and recrimination; he can't help shivering at a memory of lips ghosting across his scar. "The question is," she continues, "have you forgiven yourself?"

There's no answer he can give to that question, no reply in any realm that could come close to encompassing his complicated feelings on that subject. He only turns, slipping out of the tent, vanishing into the crowds and the night.

v.

Raine is tired, the type of exhaustion that seeps into weary bones and lingers, a perpetual twinge embodying her every movement. They are no closer to ridding Nia of shadow, and, as days pass, her condition worsens, more and more of her time and thoughts spent in a haze of darkness. She is tired of fighting, tired of worrying, and, right now, wants nothing more than to sink into the exquisite bed in this palace room and stay there until the problems of the realm are nothing more than memories lost to the passage of time.

She crosses the room, intending to do exactly that, but pauses at the sight of a parcel on her bed. It's small, wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine, folded piece of paper balanced atop. She tilts her head. Is it clothing? Is there some royal party she had forgotten about?

The top of the paper is blank, but, when she unfolds it, the first word makes her start, paper falling in a gentle sway onto the plush carpet.

It's not the word. Her name is a perfectly logical start to a letter. But the writing - neat, regal. She knows that handwriting, knows it like the back of her hand, has traced those lines while huddled away in her tent, unsteady fingers walking over the consonants and vowels more times than she can count.

She stoops to get the paper, and it trembles in her hand; she takes three steadying, deep breaths- inhale, exhale, breathe- before she continues reading.

Raine-

I apologize I cannot give you this in person; though, of all the apologies you are owed, perhaps this minor one is all I can yet provide.

I told you I would be there if you needed me and my understanding is that, perhaps, that time has come. I know better than most how to remove shadow corruption and, while I am loath to dredge up these particular memories, it seems like you need them now more than ever.

Please find everything you need within this package. The ritual is complex, difficult, but if anyone can succeed, it's you.

Yours, always,

Aerin

She looks around, blinking stray tears from her eyes, but the room is empty. With the halls teeming with knights and guards, it should be impossible for anyone to sneak in, but he knows this castle better than most and, in particular, this room, the one he chose for her before, before, before. That he could slip in, past the guards, past her friends, and find this very room? The security risk alone should concern her; instead, she is almost comforted. Even in an opulent cage, even in her darkest times, he can still reach her. 

She wishes she could have reached him, too.

She opens the parcel with shaking fingers: a large book, three tallow candles smelling slightly of sage, a gilded cloth wrapped tightly around the blade of a stout knife, a pink crystal glowing softly in the candlelight. Her fingers pause over each one, taking in the gifts he left for her, imagining that the warmth of his palms still lingered over the items he so carefully wrapped.

Once she has examined each and every one, she cracks open the tome and begins to read, exhaustion gone as she drives toward a solution. 

i.

It's not obvious, but, by now, she knows the signs. The movement of the door, a whisper over silence and just enough to make her stir. The change in the air, barely perceptible by her skin but just enough to make the goosebumps erupt on her arms. She groans. Why is he here? The coronation is tomorrow!

"What do you want, Mal?"

A throat clears behind her. "Not Mal. Though I apologize if you were expecting him."

She sits up so fast that the sheets fly from her torso, pooling around her as she peers into the darkness. She's in a nightgown, the chill of the night prickling her skin, but she's wide awake now, too stunned to be embarrassed. Her breath is caught in her throat as there's one footstep, then another, and finally, he's appearing out of the shadows, a dreamt-of apparition made solid before her eyes.

"By the Gods," she murmurs, edging to the side of the bed, her bare feet finding the stone floor as she takes him in.

He looks tired, dark smudges under his eyes, slightly pale, but well, alive, pulling back his hood to nod a greeting. "Raine. I just wanted to congratulate you on your coronation tomorrow."

"Aerin. Where have you… what have you…" She stands, toes curling to steady her trembling legs, sheets slipping to the ground. Tomorrow, she is to be Queen; she truly should be far more articulate. "...you're here. In Whitetower."

"I've been here for a while, actually."

"Yet you never made my way to visit me?"

His smile is wry, and the blush that flits across his cheeks is so familiar that she can almost pretend to feel its heat warm her palms. "I wanted to. The whole escaped felon and enemy of the realm situation puts a damper on social visits, you know."

"The documents are already drawn. I'm going to pardon you. Tomorrow. After…" She trails off as he blinks dumbly at her.

"I-  I'm not sure that would go well with your citizenry."

She can see through him in a heartbeat, his foot scuffing a jagged trail against the floor. "You saved Nia." She takes a hesitant step forward and, when he makes no move to flee, continues closing the distance. "I don't care what anyone has to say about it, including you. You are worthy." She takes care to stress the last word, but he only shakes his head.

"No, you saved her; you were able to complete the ritual."

"With your guidance. Your faith in me was not misplaced, Aerin."

He shrugs one shoulder. "It never was."

"And mine was not misplaced in you." She watches him through her lashes. Up close, he embodies all the memories she clutched so close in the night. Tangled curls trace down his forehead, sloping over eyes brimming with intelligence, and the pout of his lips is so intimately familiar that her stomach lurches. "Did you-" She could curse the hitch in her voice. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

He glances away, avoiding her gaze; moonlight filtered through the clouds highlights his face, and his eyes glow like gemstones. "I… there is still more work to be done."

"Always," she murmurs. "But are you going to stay? Here?" The 'with me?' is unstated, but it roars with the throb of her heart.

His gaze is slow to find hers again, but when he finally catches her eye, he looks hesitant yet forthright, equal parts young prince beside a lake of Light and hardened soul who battled darkness within. And, as always, he can hear her heart as if it strums in his own chest. "If you'll have me."

She can't hold back, not now, not when he's close enough to touch, and his hazel eyes peer cautiously at her underneath soft curls. She takes the last step slowly, closing the distance until they share a space, her hand skimming the front of his tunic as the room, the coronation, Gods, the utter realm fade away, and there is nothing but Aerin and his hand rising to sweep over her cheekbone.

"Raine… you have no idea how-"

She doesn't wait for him to finish the sentence, as she has some idea—every idea—that his nights away have been spent like hers, longing and yearning. She cannot yearn any longer, pushing forward to taste the way his lips part under hers, to relish the way his palms cradle her cheek. Every needy sound from his mouth is swallowed by her own, and she drinks them all in, eagerly, pulling him even closer as if a lack of personal space could ever make up for the previous distance, when she spent sleepless nights just wondering if he still lived.

She pulls back as moisture falls on her cheeks, and she's surprised to feel tears pooling in her eyes.

"Raine?" His fingertips are tender as they wipe away the lingering tears tracing her cheek. "Are you - what's wrong?"

"I thought you would never return. I thought you wouldn't come back."

"I told you. I wrote… I said that I would be there if you needed me."

Her fingers grip the front of his tunic tightly, fabric straining in her hold. "I did need you! I did! We journeyed through both realms, over and over, and you weren't-"

He dives forward for another kiss, rougher, unrestrained, his hands finding her waist to drag their bodies together. "You didn't." His lips brush her cheek before traveling to the shell of her ear, the side of her neck. "You didn't need me. You defeated the Ash Empire. You saved the realm."

"I still needed you." Her fingers find his chin, so she can raise his head and stare intently into his eyes. "Aerin, I need you."

The sound that slips past his lips is raw, undignified, but she doesn't have a second to react before his lips again meet hers, and it's a blur of movement and sensation. One instant, he's kissing her until her lips tingle with it; the next, his tongue traces the straps of her gown, and her knees buckle so fiercely that he needs to hold her up, cradled against his chest as he continues his careful ministrations. His hands cup her waist as he prods her backwards, until the back of her knees collide with the mattress and she falls onto the feather mattress.

He follows her down, bracing himself over her, but his lips never leave the curve of her shoulder, lower, tracing the skin right at the edge of the lace, his lips worshipping the slope of her breast with a reverence she only felt in dreams.

She shifts as insistent hands tug, nightgown pulled over her head, vanishing along with her good sense and any vestiges of propriety. "Gods, Raine, you're-" His words fall into a groan as her own hands make quick work of his clothing, the tunic falling to the floor. She pushes, hard enough that shock flits over his face before she scrambles over him, and she can feel the hard lines of his body as her thighs bracket his.

"Maybe I will keep you like this." She touches the mark at the center of his chest, tracing the tendrils of scar tissue as they whorl across tender muscle and skin. "Make it so you can't just disappear."

"I won't." His tone is so assured, so confident, that her hand stills.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

She can't meet his eyes; she only stares as her own unblemished fingers stroke his scarred skin. It's huge, so close to his heart, and it strikes her that removing the stone could have been yet another of the endless ways he could have been lost to the dark. "Don't say that."

"Why? I mean-"

"The last time—" Her voice hitches, and it's pitiful, embarrassing, how easily the Hero of Morella is undone. "Last time… you said… you…" She can't continue the train of thought,  lost in the memory of his lips drawing trails of lies across her skin, "and you left."

"You know why I left."

"I know. I understood. I just didn't know if you would come back."

Aerin grabs her hand, raising it to his lips for a kiss that would be almost chaste if it weren't for their utterly indecent position. "I will always come back."

"Prove it."

His answering kiss is all-consuming, fire licking down her spine and forming a pool of heat in her stomach. She moves, carefully, a slight shift; his mouth falls open as she slides down, slowly, every inch a revelation. As she rocks into him, his hands don't stop, pulling her down for devouring kisses that makes her toes curl, palms sliding down her back until every vertebrae sings, hand circling her hips and then lower until he is the entire world and she can only bask in every sensation of pure rapture.

He remains a quick learner as his fingertips become reacquainted with her body. Her legs shake with every touch, and it's too much, she can't bear it, teeth digging into her lips to muffle the sounds of pleasure building at the pit of her stomach. It only takes one more thrust, one more twirl of his thumb, and she's flying, falling, release sparking from her core and outward through her limbs. Her vision goes white, blind to anything but the line of his neck as he cranes his head, deaf to all but the moan from his lips.

She rolls onto the bed beside him, draping an arm across his torso as her breathing slowly returns to normal. When she's cogent enough to make sense of the world, she's shocked to find him staring at her.

"I'm not going anywhere." Aerin's voice is calm and measured. "Not unless you ask."

She props her head up on an elbow to stare into his face. "Why would I ask?"

"Escaped felon, danger to the realm and all the Light touches, remember?"

"You will be pardoned." Her mind shifts to tomorrow, to the pageantry that awaits. "Would you want to be more? More than just free?"

"What?"

"Would you want…" She tangles her hand in his hair. "You know much more about royalty, the duties of ruling, how to manage a kingdom."

“No.” He cuts her off, her hands still among his curls. “We both know what happened when I had power last. I’m not-”

“You’re not who you were.”

"None of us are."

It's a conversation for another time, her future as Queen, his future as the man he was always meant to be. "You know," she says, laying down again, over him, and his heart beats a steady rhythm in her ear. "Nia will be pleased to see you. She always said you would return."

"She was always too trusting."

She huffs a laugh against his chest. "Unfortunately, the reunion will be short lived. Imtura will cut you in two."

"Oh, yes. Your heroic friends. I almost forgot what it was like to have my life constantly threatened."

"They're joking. Mostly. Will you play nice with them?”

“Probably not.” The smile flits across his lips, charming and sure, and she’s desperate to taste it again but is desperate for one more assurance.

“Will you really stay?”

Aerin pauses, holding her gaze so she can’t look away, can only wait with bated breath for his response. His voice is low, single word imbued with every ounce of royal gravity he possesses. “Always.”

[choicesficwriterscreations]

Thank you to our creators who have submitted their Top 5 fics of 2023! I know this is a terribly difficult task. After all, I did it myself! But I've always felt this list was the more important of the two - it's not about the numbers; it's about the works that nourished their creator's souls and brought them joy. So, thanks to each of you for sharing with us! Links to all stories can be found below the break!

@aallotarenunelma ✒️

Moonlit Hearts (IL/ID Crossover/AU) - Original Characters

Childhood Memories (ILW) - Lincoln McQuoid x NB!MC

Close to the Flame (ILW) - Lincoln McQuoid x NB!MC

Another Sun Will Rise (ILITW) - Dan Pierce x MC

Indigo Blood (ID) - Cas Harlow x MC

@angelasscribbles ✒️

The DeFacto Queen (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake x MC, Liam x MC

A Fervid Fixation (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake Walker x MC

The Dark Kingdom (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake x MC, Liam x MC

In Your Room Masterlist (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake Walker x Leo Rys

Laws End (TRR) Ⓜ️- Drake Walker x MC, Liam Rys x MC

@baldwinboy5ive 🎨and ✒️

Aerin Prison Visit (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

The Right Path (BOLAS) ✒️- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

Name on the Wall (BOLAS) ✒️- Aerin Valleros x F!MC

Bye-Bye Baldur (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valleros

Aerin x Raine Fanart (BOLAS) 🎨- Aerin Valeros x MC

@cariantha ✒️

All He Wanted (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Hey Stranger (OH) Ⓜ️ - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

For You, I Will (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

War & Peace (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

A Solid Strategy (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@coffeeheartaddict2 ✒️

Everybody Hurts Sometimes, Ch. 7 Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey, MC

Love in all Forms (OH) - Ethan Ramsey, F!OC, Tobias Carrick

Power to Overcome (OH) - F!MC, Aurora Emery

Everybody Hurts Sometimes, Ch. 15 Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey, etc.

Desire Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@inlocusmads ✒️

Past Lives (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Music for the Lost (and Found) (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

The Feverish Itch (Guinevere) - Guinevere, Queen Artura, F!Lancelot

Cross Your Heart and Set it Ablaze (COP) Trystan Thorne x F~!MC

The Bow That Burned Bright (BOLAS) - F!Elf!MC, Kade

@jerzwriter ✒️

A Mother's Journal Ⓜ️(WTD) - Eli Sipes

What's Forever For Ⓜ️(OH/AU) - Tobias Carrick, F!MC

Breathe Again (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

A Bit Dark (OH) - F!MC x F!OC

I Do, Me Too (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@ladylamrian ✒️

Welcome to the World of Night (NB) - NB Side Characters

A Meeting in Wyoming (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Towards the Future (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Duty & Pleasure (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Sweet & Tender Hearts (NB) - Original Characters

@liaromancewriter ✒️

La Vie Avec Toi (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC, Sienna Trinh x M!OC

Late Shift (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

The Reluctant Valentine (OH) - Sienna Trinh x M!OC

When the Clock Strikes Twelve (OH/AU) - Sienna Trinh x M!OC

Breaking News (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@moominofthevalley ✒️

The Haunting, Part 1 (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Turpentine (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

The Girl With the Glass (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

I Will (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Future Days (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@peonierose ✒️

Wildflower (OH) - Keiki Lahela x M!OC

Kintsugi (OH) - Original Characters

Summer's Kiss (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

I'm a Sucker for You (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

Rose All Day (OH) - Bryce Lahela, Keiki Lahela, OCs

@stars-are-within-me ✒️

The Rain (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Reflections (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros

A Day Off (COP) - Trystan Thorne x MC

In the Gray (COP) - Eveline Goncharov, Maksim Thorne, etc.

The Lonely Prince (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros x MC

@storyofmychoices ✒️

Shadows & Deceptions: A Royal Murder Mystery (Crossover/AU)

Can I Have This Dance? (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

Shadows of Hope (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

The Quest for Daenarya (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

Dealing with a Narcissist (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@tessa-liam ✒️

Smoke & Mirrors, Ch. 11 Ⓜ️(TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

Cappadocia Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

Marabelle, Ch. 2 Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Turning the Page, Ch. 5 Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Ti Amo Molto Ⓜ️ (TRR) - Liam Rys x MC

@trappedinfanfiction ✒️

Fast Break, Epilogue (OH/AU) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

What's in a Name? (COP) - Trystan Thorne

Crossroads Ⓜ️(OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

By Your Side (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

A New Neighbor (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@zealouscanonindeer ✒️

Dangerous Games Ⓜ️ (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Naughty & Nice (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Like Whom? (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Roots (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Drunken Nights (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

[baldwinboy5ive]

wrote a very very stupid Aerin x MC fic, and then I wrote another one, and then I went like this, and here it is. These fics have nothing to do with each other and aren't connected.

The Right Path

Pairing: Aerin Valleros/F!MC, Blades of Light and Shadow Rating: T Word count: 1637 Summary: Aerin and Raine just having some thoughts about how Aerin's awful life got them to where they are now. Or something.

I am tagging @lovehugsandcandy @lilyoffandoms @malthemagnifisent because they requested (or demanded haha) a tag, and @oh-so-youre-a-nerd because you said you wanted even CRUMBS of Aerin haha

“Raine?!” 

It was an utterly foolish thing for him to call out: she wasn’t here. He had left her behind. 

But it didn’t really matter what one calls out in the middle of the woods in pitch black darkness, all alone, just so long as something is said to startle away whatever creatures of the forest were out there, shifting and rustling in the bushes, ready to attack. 

Aerin slowly let the tension drain from his body, and as the seconds ticked by, it became apparent that whatever was lurking in these woods had likely run off. 

He slumped down, and sank to his knees, down there on the forest floor, and told himself for the hundredth time that he was making the right choice. 

He had to be - because the alternative was letting her down. And it was the thought of her that kept him going. Raine was what got him standing, moving, and pushing through. 

He hadn’t stopped thinking of it, their one night together. How much she meant to him. How she made him feel like he meant so much to her. How they’d finally come together that night in his tent at the festival, the way she looked at him as she moved underneath him, with their fingers intertwining and mingling, different but same, like the letters of their own two names. 

Even now, he couldn’t believe that she had wanted it to happen. That she seemed to look at him without seeing the misery, the corruption, the weakness he’d shown in succumbing to the Dreadlord. It was like he was someone brand new when he was with her. 

Because before her, there had been a rottenness inside of him that he wasn’t sure had ever died. 

It reminded him of the time he had wandered through the forest by the castle when he was a younger boy, trying to gather the herbs he’d read about in the library. He was intrigued by healing herbs - not that he truly needed any in the palace, in which so many medicines were available, but he wanted to prove to himself that he could identify them, and put to practical use the knowledge he’d gained from his books. Not long after gathering several bunches of herbs, his foot had fallen straight through an old, decaying log. It broke apart to reveal a mass of grubs inside, all squirming to get away from the open air, writhing like mad to crawl back into the rottenness and decay of the log and ground underneath, writhing as though in pain, to escape and hide away from the goodness and light of the world. 

That was who he had been before her. 

---

His words echoed in Raine’s head as she lay in her tent. She could hear the soft sounds of her fellow travelers sleeping in their tents all around her, and knew she should be resting for tomorrow’s journey, but her aching heart kept her awake. 

She remembered it so clearly: the moment everything changed, and Aerin revealed himself a traitor and a liar - sweet, pitiable Aerin, who she’d spent so many quiet moments daydreaming about as she and her friends hiked and trekked to Undermount, and navigated the city and its intense political theatrics. Quiet moments of solitude she’d steal for herself to wonder if she would ever see him again, if their mission would allow them the time to seek him out when they traveled to Whitetower for the final Onyx Shard.

And see him she did. She saw a bitter, vengeful man, who said of the way he had spread the Dreadlord’s corruption throughout the realm, “Guilty as charged. Easy enough to justify it as accompanying my brother on his stupid trips. A mayor here, a scholar there… Why, in just a few years, I’ve recruited dozens!” 

That was what he had been doing when she met him. 

If not for Aerin falling to the Dreadlord’s temptations, would Raine never have met him? Would they never have crossed paths, that morning in the Deadwood? 

Perhaps the Dreadlord would have slithered into the mind of some other pitiful, lost soul. Someone she never would have fallen for. 

If Aerin had never suffered the life that he did, maybe he never would have had any reason to pledge himself to the Dreadlord. He was royalty, after all. He lived a life of comfort and riches, and never worried whether his next meal would be coming or not. 

But none of that mattered when Aerin hated the life he had in the palace at Whitetower. He should have been happy there. He should have been treated like the royalty that he was. He was supposed to have been enjoying all of the comforts of palace life, doted on and adored by others, cared for, and beloved. 

He had never enjoyed the kind of life that was envied by those who grew up like Raine, or her fellow adventurer Mal, or any number of the others who lived in the slums of Whitetower. 

It was a life that he was denied. A life he should have had, and would have had, if not for the brother that made Aerin’s life a living hell. Through a lifetime of bullying, abuse, and belittling, Baldur effectively drove Aerin to a place of isolation, and stole from him a chance at happiness. 

Maybe if things had been different, if Aerin’s neglectful father had been better, or if Baldur had been somehow forced to fix his heart, or if there’d never even been a Baldur at all, then Aerin could have had that beautiful and happy life. 

And then he never would have left his idyllic royal life, and never would have met Raine. 

Would she be brave enough to give him that if she could?

And even if she were, would she be selfless enough to give him that life that was stolen from him?

Raine thought of her adoptive father, the old farmer who raised her and Kade. She loved him. But there were times - those quiet, alone times - where she’d cry to herself because the reason she had him in her life at all was because so much had been taken away. 

Her parents. Her brother’s freedom, stolen for so long. Her own life - an entire year’s worth in the Light Realm - taken by the Ash Empire. 

Would she really give up Aerin, too?

That ache in her heart grew stronger. 

Raine shook her head to clear her mind, and sat up. It was a silly thing to ponder, anyway. There was no point in asking these questions. Mastery over time itself was not something about which any of the magic users around her had ever spoken. But how implausible was it, really? There were so many people who thought they had all the answers, so many who thought they understood magic, when in fact they were looking at only a piece of the whole puzzle. There was so much she and others still didn’t know. 

She thought about the way that Nia so often spoke of how calming it could be to work with her Light magic. Maybe Raine needed a little of that right now. 

Raine conjured an Orb of Light, and, for the first time since discovering her magical abilities, felt something unusual bubble up inside of her alongside the Light. It wanted to join the Orb of Light. She couldn’t explain it, but she could feel it. Something in her wanted to be with that Light. She could feel the power of it. 

So, she let it out. There was no doubt that what she was now releasing from her hands was Shadow - and as soon as it joined her Orb of Light, the two balls of magic disappeared from sight, but their feeling remained. A strange warmth overcame Raine’s body, and she suddenly felt just a little bit more at ease. 

It didn’t, however, lessen the pain of how much she missed him. 

The invisible magic she’d just created made her wonder just what else she could be capable of. She knew then that she could never let go of him. Maybe it was selfish. But everything Aerin had ever endured was what led him to her. She couldn’t lose that, and she would do everything she could to have him back in her life. 

——

Aerin kept going for as long as he could until exhaustion overtook him. He finally slowed down, and put up his makeshift tent so he could rest for awhile, before continuing pushing on. He could not change what he’d done in the past. All he could do was whatever was now in his power to make it up to Raine. 

He was so full of regret for how he’d hurt her. 

So full of regret. 

So many mistakes. 

But were they truly the wrong choices? 

How could they be, if that path he’d chosen back when he was miserable and broken was the one that had led him to Raine? 

Didn't that make it the right path?

Knowing what he knew now, of the depth of how he felt for her, and how she felt for him, would he have chosen differently? 

Wouldn’t he do it all over again the same way, even if it were just for that one night together, that one shared night on the outskirts of Riverbend? He would, wouldn’t he? 

Even if it all meant that their world was at the brink of destruction, caught in the crossfire of whatever grudge or quarrel the Old Gods had with the Ash Empire? 

Did that make him weak? 

As he began to drift off to sleep inside his tent, he admitted to himself that he didn’t know. 

…But then again, with the fate of the world at stake, and no true guarantee he’d ever see her again… wasn’t Aerin better off not knowing? 

[choicesjanuary2024]

MASTERLIST || WELCOME || PROMPTS || RULES || HOST

Listed in alphabetical order by artist name. If I missed adding one on this list, or missed reblogging, please let me know.

@aallotarenunelma

Chronicles of a Crimson Summer 11 (ID Fic & Edit, Cas x MC)

Songs that describe my pairings (ID & It Lives Songs)

@dutifullynuttywitch

Starlit night (WtD Fic, Troy x MC)

@inlocusmads

chosen family (CoP Fic, Trystan)

hello, goodbye ~ jimmy rose (CoP Fic, Jimmy)

laplace’s angel (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

meeting at a crosswalk (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

slam poetry (MAH Fic, Stevie x MC)

@jerzwriter

A Different Fate - Final Chapter (OPH Fic, Ethan x MC)

A Little Mess (OPH Edit, Tobias x MC)

A New Perspective (OPH Fic, Tobias x MC)

A Tipsy Winter Tale (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Clucking Amazing (OPH Edit, Ethan x MC)

Different Destinations (OPH Fic, Tobias x MC)

If the hat fits… (CoP Fic & Art Commission, Trystan x MC)

It Always Starts Somewhere…. (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Pen-sive (OPH Fic, Ethan x MC)

Pietro & Azul (OPH Fic, Tobias x MC)

Stress Reduction (OPH Fic, Tobias x MC)

The Morning (WtD Fic, Eli x MC)

Trystan’s 2023 Holiday Recap (CoP Edit, Trystan x MC)

Twenty-Five (WTD Fic, Troy & MC)

@ladylamrian

A Prince for the Holidays (Blades Fic, Aerin x MC)

His Barbie, Her Ken (Nightbound Fic, Nik x MC)

Loyal to be Royal (Nightbound Fic, Nik x MC, Garrus x MC)

@liaromancewriter

Daddy’s Girl (OPH Fic, Ethan x MC)

Making It Work (OPH Edit, Ethan x MC)

Miami Nights: Before and After (OPH Edit, Ethan x MC)

New Year Wishes (OPH Fic, Ethan x MC)

Whatever It Takes (OPH Edit, Ethan x MC)

@lilyoffandoms

Alex as the Winter Princess (Nightbound Art, MC)

Aerin x Raine (Blades Art, Aerin x MC)

Aerin x Raine (Blades Art, Aerin x MC)

Ash Clark (ILITW Art, OC)

Captain Pandrosion Elara (AtV Art, Sol, Meridian, Kepler, MC)

Casey MacTavish (OPH Art, MC)

Coffee Date(s) (CoP Art, Trystan x MC)

Detective Lilah Rose (CoP Art, MC)

Ethan (OPH Art)

Gabriel Rose (CoP Art)

Imtura Tal Kaelen (Blades)

Inspired by Mal x Daenarya (Blades Art, Mal x OC)

Kajsiab (Alpha Art, MC)

Kieran (TCH Art)

Lancelot x Guinevere Silhouette (Guinevere Art, Lancelot x MC)

Leaf, King of Birds (TCH Art)

Lilah Rose (CoP Art, MC)

Luca O'Rinn (ID MC)

Mal Volari (Blades Art)

Marianna Howard (Desire and Decorum Fanart, OC)

Nia Ellarious (Blades Art)

Nora Rose (CoP Art, MC)

Sabastyan Thorne Case File (CoP Art)

Saini Rusanen (ID Art, MC)

Tatum x Aubrey (FA Art, Tatum x MC)

Together We Win (Blades Art, MC)

Trystan (CoP Art)

Tyril Starfury (Blades Art)

Wallace (Blades Art)

@lovealexhunt

Happy New Year (RCD Fic & Art Commission, Thomas x MC)

Helios - Emma’s Arylu (TE Art, Familiar)

#plantlove (OPH Fic, Bryce x OC)

Post Christmas Bliss (RCD Art Commission, Thomas x MC)

Spread Joy #841 (Blades Edit, Mal)

Tuneless Wonders (TE, Fic & Art Commission)

Valax (Blades Art)

@peonyblossom

Hades of House Nightbloom (Blades Art Commission, MC)

I Wasn’t Built For Iceland (AME Fic, Carson x MC)

We’ll Figure It Out (Untamable Fic, Kit x MC)

@stars-are-within-me

In Her Arms (CoP Fic, Vasili, Juliana)

The Skies (Blades Fic, Imtura, Ventra)

@tess-liam

Turning the Page (TRR Fic, Liam x OC)

@thosehallowedhalls

A 2AM Christmas Tree Farm [1/2] (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Babysitting the Demonic Duo (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Home without - Part One (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Progression (CoP Fic, Trystan x MC)

Tabloids, or a story in 5 headlines (CoP Fic, Trystan x Emma)

[vicissavior]

Uhm… oh my god??? I have no clue What it is but omg???

[lilyoffandoms]

My January Challenge Masterlist

I’m challenging myself to draw a little something for each prompt for @choicesjanuary2024. I started back in December and have fallen behind a bit but I’m gonna keep at it as best I can. So this is for me to keep track of all the ones I’ve completely finished.

Day One: Mal x Daenarya Silhouette (Blades for @storyofmychoices)

Day Two: Detective Lilah Rose (CoP for @storyofmychoices)

Day Three: Winter Princess (Nightbound for @ladylamrian

Day Four: Leaf, King of Birds (TCH)

Day Five: Lancelot x Guinevere Silhouette (Guinevere)

Day Six: Tatum x Aubrey Silhouette (FA)

Day Seven: Ethan (OPH for @peonyblossom)

Day Eight: Kieran (TCH)

Day Nine: Aerin x Raine (Blades for @oh-so-youre-a-nerd, abandoned sketch)

Day Ten: Nora Rose (CoP for @inlocusmads)

Day 11: Tyril Starfury (Blades)

Day 12: Saini Rusanen (ID for @aallotarenunelma)

Day 13: Sebastyan Thorne Case File (CoP)

Day 14: Trystan x Nora (CoP based on this by @inlocusmads)

Day 15: Mal Volari (Blades)

Day 16: Nia Ellarious (Blades)

Day 17: Kajsiab (Alpha)

Day 18: Imtura Tal Kaelen (Blades)

Day 19: Luca O'Rinn (ID for aria-ashryver)

Day 20: Aerin x Raine (Blades based on this by lovehugsandcandy)

Day 21: Together We Win (Blades MC)

Day 22: Eva Archer (WTD MC for @dutifullynuttywitch)

Day 23: Lilah Rose (CoP MC for @storyofmychoices)

Day 24: Wallace (Blades)

Day 25: Letter from Dad (CoP based on this by @inlocusmads)

Day 26: Marianna Howard (DaD OC for noesapphic)

Day 27: Ash Clark (ID OC for @aallotarenunelma)

Day 28: Trystan (CoP for @stars-are-within-me)

Day 29: Gabriel Rose (CoP based on this headcanon)

Day 30: Casey MacTavish (OPH MC for @jerzwriter)

Day 31: Trystan x Gabriel (CoP)

[livelaughlovecassie]

Book: Blades of Light and Shadow

Pairing: Princess Valax x Nia Ellarious

Rating/Warning: General, mentions of injury

Summary: Getting to know people is a new experience for Valax. She’ll figure it out, slowly but surely.

A/N: Utterly feral about them, pumped out a small fic!! I hope y’all enjoy

There’s something exceedingly familiar about Nia’s touch now.

She knows it apart from the rest without looking- the distinction isn’t hard to make. Raine’s is like her- all encompassing, Imtura’s hearty and welcoming, Tyril’s betraying his learned elegance, Mal’s always accompanied with a grin (never to be trusted, Tyril warns), Aerin’s unsure of itself. Nia’s stands out in a category looping into others- a gentleness not learned like Tyril’s, halting as Aerin’s if she breaches whatever imaginary boundary she’d set up. When she relaxes though, Valax feels something different, commanding. Nia’s touch is one of somebody who’s learned what they want, give her enough time and her touch is equally as magnetic as she is.

It’s ridiculous, to spend so much time catalouging such a thing as touch. No need to be familiar with subordinates, reminds her mother’s voice.

Familiarity with friends, she corrects. Something Raine once deemed essential- and she’s not one to skimp on the essentials.

“I hope this isn’t hurting you-” Nia worries, bringing Valax’s attention back to the touch behind the spiral. “It’ll heal without any issues, but it can be rather uncomfortable.”

“Even if so, complaints about pain would be useless” she informs her, tucking her leg slightly. Had they not taught this during her training as a priestess at the temple? She can’t imagine a profession that requires the advice more. Nia’s told her few stories, but she never did need much information to understand things- she knows enough. For a place where others choose to unburden themselves, its workers are surprisingly discouraged from the practice.

The flow of Nia’s shadow doesn’t so much as falter at this, healing the admittedly inconvenient scratch. She can feel the difference in her use of it now- she relishes in the lack of restraint. Familiarity led to comfort- Nia wields what she once deemed the worst of herself as though it’s an old friend. Following this line of thought, her hand wanders, finding Nia’s leg. Not total unrestraint, but a bit of indulgence as she rests her hand.

“Not always” Nia offers, and Valax yet again finds her attention diverted. It’s disconcerting to be near Nia, she’s never sure what to focus on. She often deigns to watch her lips- (she’s not oblivious to why it garners childlike giggles from Raine and Mal, she informs them so one night, but such trivalties are between the two of them)- she can’t deny enjoys the flush of Nia’s cheeks when she realizes she’s been noticed in such a way. “Complaints bring attention to the problem. We don’t do ourselves any favors by repressing things”

Valax’s eyes flick to her lips again.

“Repression, restraint. Coveted traits, to ask my mother. But I suppose that there’s sense in that” she allows, flexing her arm. Perfectly healed. “I’d still be suffering otherwise. Thank you- for the musings and the healing”

Nia’s responding smile is slightly strained as she waves a hand dismissively. “It’s a pleasure to be able to help.”

[inlocusmads]

countdown to 2024 - artists edition

Okay but like four is too few of a number to shout out but I'll still try my best! @choicesfandomappreciation

@cassie-thorne: Max's art is literally the best and I love her work so much! She puts out bangers after bangers and I absolutely loved watching her style evolve and grow this year and I'm looking forward to seeing it next year too! I especially absolutely love how Max tackles lighting and backgrounds in her work, like it's so unique and each piece tells its own story too. Some of my favourites: The Barbie Premier, Aislinn!, be gay solve crimes, themm and Cameron x Astrid

@fairymatchmaker : Joy's art is actually a masterpiece, like this is not just your everyday artist sorcery-shenaniganing, this is like the chad version. I absolutely love love love how they draw outfits and poses, like their attention to the small things is just insane. Thank you for sharing your wonderful art and being around in the fandom! Here are some of my favs: Waiting for Trystan , the Crimes MCs and F!Trystan's fits

@mydemonsdrivealimo: MJ's stuff exhuberates this 'cool' energy, like my guy, you could actually design those energy drink logos or comic book covers because each piece is just SO FUN, okay? I'm def looking forward to how it'll be in 2024. (tattoo-shop au when??) Some of my favs: Jensen in weird lil tees, THE PIRATE AU, jenseeennnnn and virtually everything (I'm especially a fan of MJ's little doodles like this and the cutest thing ever)

@hydn-jpg: I love Hayden's work partially because each piece of art has its own fanbase (as it should). Last year I got a giveaway piece from them and it is still something I look back frequently because it's just so goddamn beautiful. Some of my favourites from them: just follow my lead, this adorable pick-up line, literally everything they'd created for the expression-memes this year, long time no see partner and okay, technically this is cheating but this is a piece from 2022, but this portrait of artura is just i'mma cry okay?

@oh-so-youre-a-nerd: Thia's work is nothing short of frightening (affectionate) witchcraft and I mean this in the most sincere way possible lmaoo. I still have a lot of their stuff to explore, stalk and fan over, but their Raine artwork is just S-tier for me, like look at THESE THINGS: The villain arc, head empty still thinking about this, Trystan in a flowy lil dress and ofc their entire Raine x Aerin stuff because that's either the most depressing, poetic thing ever or a massive serotonin boost. I hope to see more of your stuff on my dash next year <33

@erixafleur: I came across Erica's work after lurking in the Blades side of the fandom and I loved their MC Raya's redesign so much! Plus I loved the art style too because it gives me Disney animation vibes. I hope to explore your work even more next year! Some of my favs include: This vanity fair-themed art and oh my god their eyes, it def gives 'i'm so judging you' and I'm here for it XD , the cutest owlbear sketch EVER and this piece of Raya & Tyril

@rosefuckinggenius: Rose's been a consistent force in the Choices fandom and I absolutely live for their work, okay? And I'm not just saying because I received this UNIT of an art piece from them for Trys and Nora - like I'm still in just awe. I'm also such a fan of the fact that their work is just really soft (if I can describe it that way) to look at - like I'm a sucker for soft colour palettes, okay? My favs include: this Beelzebub piece (not Choices but yknow what how about i put it in here anyway?) and this piece for @jerzwriter featuring Eli's family .

***

And like a huge shoutout to basically all artists in the fandom! You guys have actually inspired me to like not go down several rabbit-holes trying to find faceclaims and moodboards and instead, try to make some of my own art and see where it goes! It is so fun! Thank you for being super inspirational, kind, understanding and just pure awesome and I hope 2024 is just as kind and gentle to you guys <33 Much love and cheers!

[aria-ashryver]

Aria Ashryver - Choices Fic Masterlist

🖤 IMMORTAL DESIRES 🖤

m!Cas x m!Gabe x nb!MC (Luca O'Rinn)

Snow In Crimson, Starlight in Gold (Masterlist)

Moving Day

Breakfast Roast

m!Cas x m!Gabe

When the Dark Comes, Leave a Light (Can be read as a part of the Starlight timeline or as standalone)

This Pretty, Poisoned Chalice

Cas Learns to Dance (SICSIG drabble)

f!Cas x f!Gabe

Whatever You Say, President Adalhard (Pt. 1)

Misc. Characters

Swipe Right (drabble ft. Lewyn and the young Venandis)

Chroma (drabble ft. Venandi OC, Delphine Taylor)

🗡 Blades of Light and Shadow 🗡

Aerin x m!human!MC (Dorian Silvertongue)

I Cannot Bear To Hold You With These Unworthy Hands

Tyril x f!human!MC (Raine of Riverbend)

Woven Threads and Winding Roads (Pt 1&2)

Woven Threads and Winding Roads (Pt 3&4)

Woven Threads and Winding Roads (Pt 5&6)

Link to MC Masterlist

[lovehugsandcandy]

bound

Pairing: Aerin x f!MC, Blades of Light and Shadow

Ratings: Explicit/18+/N*FW

Word Count: ~1,700

A/N: so @oh-so-youre-a-nerd posted this and I just. Whew. Wow. Ok then.

Summary: Ties that bind.

"Could I perhaps have my hands unbound?"

"No." Raine doesn't even turn towards him as she spits out the answer, buying her hands in the fastenings of the tent and tying them roughly. Annoyance and anger seep into every knot she creates.

Aerin sighs, and the bed creaks underneath him as he sits. "I told you, I am sorry, but I needed time to… I knew you would have questions-"

"I have more than questions!"

"But atonement required that I be out of your way while-"

Raine flicks her braid off her face, turning to fix him with a steely gaze before purposeful strides bring her to his side; his hands are limp in his lap, captive in brown rope, and the beginnings of chafing mar his wrists. While he cuts a pathetic figure, it does not dissuade her anger. "While you left me after the night we spent together."

"That… was less than ideal." He at least has the sense to look abashed.

"Less than ideal?!?" Gratefully, the magic crafted to keep his person in the tent also captured sound, so none of her friends could hear her shriek.

His wrists flex, arms raising as if to reach for her, before sagging against his thighs, regret flashing over his face before he looks down. He fiddles with the rope binding his hands together, and his shoulders sag as he sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Sure." 

"Raine, I assure you-

"You were running away with great reluctance?"

His head bows, but his eyes cut to her through lowered lashes. "Do you enjoy using my own words against me?"

"Well, you leave me such a surplus of choice examples."

"I was of no use to you when I left. You heard the fortune teller; I needed to-"

Her palms shove before she can reconsider, lashing out, hard; without use of his hands to balance him, Aerin falls against the bed, curls pooling against the pillow. 

He smirks. "The maturity of the Hero of Morella astounds." She doesn’t think, just moves, grabbing his bound hands as his eyes widen in shock. Prodding him supine, she lifts his arms over his head. It takes some shuffling; there is a hook by the bed, originally intended for a pack, but it makes a fitting place to drape the rope over. She slides his binds over and, though he flexes experimentally, the rope holds firm.

"Really, Raine?"

"If you will not stay put, I will make you stay."

"Like a kept animal?"

"Like a kept something." She chuckles darkly before her lips turn down, finger trailing down the smooth skin of his forearms before digging in roughly, appeased as he winces, muscles tensing against her nails. "I'm furious at you." 

"You have all the reason in the world." She glares, but he doesn’t flinch, soft and calm until she sags against the bed.

“I just… I was worried.” It had been weeks, and, with no word or sign, she had feared the worst. “I’ve seen the worst this realm can offer.”

“Raine… I’ve been the worst this realm can offer.” The anguish is painted clearly across his brow; even in the dim light, sorrow and guilt war behind his eyes. "I don't blame you for being angry, for worrying. I just ask… I needed to think. Please, don’t lose your trust in me for that.” He blinks up at her, lashes feathering against his cheek, and she is torn between her exhausting rage and pure relief. “I am on your side. In whatever way you will have me." At this, she softens somewhat. The sincerity in his voice, his eyes - she always knew he needed time. She has long lost all doubts of where his loyalties lie. Her heart twists, anger ebbing into something indefinable, pain and sadness and compassion twisting their tendrils deep into her soul. She loosens the grip on his forearms as she shifts to straddle his waist; as her hips settle, the flash of desire in his eyes is undeniable.

“Does that mean you will stay?” She’s sure she knows the answer.

“Right now, I’m not sure I have a choice.” The sarcastic tone cannot hide the way his body responds underneath her; she can feel him twitch right when she is seated, but she remains still, only staring down from above.

When it is clear he will say no more, she grinds her hips down, every point of her body warming where their skin meets, clothing unable to contain the heat between them. “That’s not an answer.”

"I'm not sure that this punishment is having exactly the effect you intend."

She rolls her hips, and the shock of pleasure has her biting her lip. "I think it's having exactly the effect I intended."

"If this is how you greet me after I flee-"

Raine grabs his jaw, leaning over him until she can spot the flecks of gold hidden in hazel eyes. "I will not let you run again."

"I won't." His voice is grave. "I have no desire to leave your side."

There's no possible reply, no response to the truth imbued in every word. All she can do is lean down again, lips finding his, and it's rough, needy. Her teeth dig into his supple flesh, and the answering groan reaches so deep into his core that she can feel his ribs tremble beneath her palms. She rucks up his tunic, hands frantic to get closer to the delicious sound, and he returns her fervor, craning his neck to seal his lips against hers. His arms twist, but he cannot escape the hold.

"Raine… Raine, please." She swallows the words as her name rolls from his tongue. "Untie me."

"No."

"I want to-" His voice breaks, keening as her teeth find the tendon in his neck. "- I want to touch you."

"No." Her lips travel lower, tracing the edge of his tunic to where his shoulder peeks out. "You left."

"I returned."

Her hands are rough as they travel across his chest, down to his hips, marks of her fingertips slow to fade against pale skin. She makes quick work of his pants, and his hips obligingly lift as she tugs until he is bare to her, disrobed and open in every way. Sliding to the side for mere moments to remove her own clothes, even the seconds where she’s not touching him leave her bereft, unmoored.

Once her own tunic has been tossed aside, she straddles him again as his eyes rove ravenously over every inch of skin.

“Raine,” he says, and it’s like the breath of prayer into the night; the only refrain she can give is silent, mouth open on a soundless gasp as she steadies herself and slides lower. This noise, the sound from the back of his throat, this is prayer, salvation and benediction in the curve of his waist, his fingers twining desperately in the rope. Her body answers like a hymn on the wind. After all, they are bound by shared trials, and she will never be closer to a person than this, bodies joined closer than any shackle in all the realms.

Her hips move, almost of her own accord, sinking lower with every thrust as her body reawakens, becoming reacquainted with the feel of skin blazing-hot against her thighs and the whimpers that come unbidden from his throat. Her thighs clench around him, fencing him in so he can't move, hands and hips a taut line, bound and at her every mercy. 

And, luckily for them both, something about Aerin makes her merciful. Whether it's their past, or the pain that flashes over his face when that past is unearthed, or the blush that spreads across his cheeks to reach his ears, she cannot stop bringing their bodies together, over and over.

She braces herself over his chest and he tracks every move of her body: the sway of her breasts, her hand as it trails down her stomach. Her fingertips graze where their bodies move together, flush and as one. Aerin stares, rapt, as every stroke of her fingers brings her higher and higher, blush spreading across her chest, his teeth digging into his lip as her nerves awaken in full force.

"Please, Raine. Please." The word falls from his lips mindlessly, hands shaking in the rope. "Please."

"It’s not very princely to beg."

His eyes on her are wild, feverish, and his voice is low. "I care not. I would do anything. Give anything. Anything, Raine, please." In that moment, she knows he would - do anything, become anything - and it's that thought that finally pushes her over the edge, muscles tensing and releasing in a delicious dance until there are only stars in her vision and his voice pleading her name; she rides the wave until it's too much, it’s all too much. She can't stay upright anymore, collapsing against his chest.

When she returns to this realm, he is peppering tiny kisses against her hairline, the only part of her that he can reach with his hands still above his head. His heartbeat is slowing in her ear, hers a mirrored tempo, and with it comes some semblance of reason.

"You left me." She lifts her head, and his gaze is soft, worshipful.

"I came back. I will always come-"

"No." Her hands find his curls as she stretches languidly over him. "Just don't go."

He nods, gaze never leaving hers, and the movement of his head is reverent, sure. "Could I… could I perhaps have my hands unbound now?"

She eyes him, tunic hiked up above pale torso, pants crumpled against his legs, hazy gaze fixed on her. "Fine." She reaches over to unhook his hands and, with quick work of her fingers, the rope falls to the floor. "But you can't- ooof."

In a flash, his hands are on her hips and her back is flush against the bed, Aerin hovering over her with a saucy grin lighting his features. "Thank you. Because now that I am free, I am planning on paying you back for that."

"Ah." His hand clutches hers, tightly, body an inferno over hers. She asks, "With interest?"

"Of course. We have plenty of time for that... don't we?"

“Because you’re not leaving?”

He squeezes her hand. “I’m not leaving.” 

It’s a whisper more powerful than any rope.

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC F/AotW - Mar 24 - 30, 2024

✒️ = Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨 = Fanart Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+ 🏳️‍🌈 = LGBTQIA

AMERICAS MOST ELIGIBLE

Bianca Sandoval x MC Fanart 🎨by @lilyoffandoms

BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW

Birth ✒️| Tyril Starfury x F!human!MC - @petalouda85

Blades MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈 by @oh-so-youre-a-nerd

I Trusted You 🎨| Aerin Valleros x F!human!MC - @erixadraws

Tyril Starfury x F!human!MC Fanart 🎨 by @lilyoffandoms for @petalouda85

BLOODBOUND

Be An Amazing Mother ✒️| Adrian Raines x MC - @stanathanxoox

Gaius Augustine Fanart 🎨by @gaiuskamilah

Kamilah Sayeed Fanart 🎨 by @gaiuskamilah

CRIMES OF PASSION

Gridlocked ✒️| m!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @inlocusmads

Hidden Romance ✒️| m!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @storyofmychoices

Home ✒️| m!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls

Lofi Beats To Supress Your Anxiety To ✒️| m!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @inlocusmads

So Was it Honestly the Best? ✒️🏳️‍🌈| m!Trystan Thorne x MC - @choices-ceri

IMMORTAL DESIRES

Incident in the Ghostland (Chapter 8) ✒️Ⓜ️| Cassius Harlow x Gabe Adalhard - @dreamscapingsblog

IT LIVES ANTHOLOGY

Andy Kang Fanart 🎨 by @artbyalz

Noah Marshall Fanart 🎨by @payroo

Noah Marshall x MC Fanart 🎨🏳️‍🌈by @payroo

NIGHTBOUND

Peacock Princess ✒️| Nik Ryder x F!MC - @ladylamrian

OPEN HEART

Complete Open Heart F/AotW List

THE PRINCESS SWAP

Main Characters Fanart 🎨by @lilyoffandoms

RED CARPET DIARIES

Thomas Hunt x F!OC Fanart 🎨by @/artbyainna (IG) (C: @storyofmychoices)

THE ROYAL ROMANCE

The DeFacto Queen (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x MC, Drake Walker x MC - @angelasscribbles Chapter 5: Come Together

Capitulo 3: Adios New York ✒️| Liam Rys x F!MC - @belencha77

Capitulo 4: Bienvenidos a Cordonia ✒️| Liam Rys x F!MC - @belencha77

Capitulo 5: Noche Especial✒️| Liam Rys x F!MC - @belencha77

Once Upon a Time, Book 1. Ch. 1 (Part 7) ✒️| Liam Rys, Drake Walker, etc. - @fadingreveries

WAKE THE DEAD

Close Call ✒️| Troy Hassan x F!MC - @dutifullynuttywitch

CROSSOVER FICS

Bloodbound/Open Heart

Immortal Desires / Open Heart

The Meeting ✒️| Original Characters - @ezekielbhandarivalleros

Immortal Desires/Murder at Homecoming

Murder at Homecoming: Harlow Part 4 ✒️| Cassius Harlow x MaH F!MC - @korgbelmont

Murder at Homecoming: Harlow Part 5 ✒️| Cassius Harlow x MaH F!MC - @korgbelmont

Murder at Homecoming: Harlow Part 6 - Finale ✒️| Cassius Harlow x MaH F!MC - @korgbelmont