#i prefer reading on ao3 so linked there if crossposted

[vicioux]

ICHIHIME FIC RECS

i can't believe i've been reading ichihime fanfics for literally 10 years ✌️ my favorite flavor is definitely pining with a touch of angst, but i am also a sucker for just them giggly all over each other! thank you bleach TYBW anime revival for bringing me back to these two cutie patooties and an even bigger thank you to all the writers that have been keeping the fandom alive all these years (especially in the earlier days back in the wild wild west of ff.net and LJ lol) y'all are amazing 💖 happy reading everyone p.s you can find the rest of my fic rec lists here

🍓 alternate universe 🍞

THE BRIDE OF THE DEATH GOD by caledon A plague descended upon the village, and to appease the God of Death they offered him a bride as a sacrifice.

THE DEVIL'S PLAYTHING by marshmallowbirb High-schooler Kurosaki Ichigo discovers that he isn't as human as he once thought - and neither is his classmate, Inoue Orihime.

THE RELUCTANT BRIDEGROOM, DEATH by marshmallowbirb On a sunny summer morning, the young goddess Orihime gathers flowers on a hillside.

STARCROSS'D by child of the ashes In the vampire palace of Los Noches, there is no greater curse than beauty, and no greater crime than love.

NEXT VISIT by aurona x She can see him only with autumn comes, that man of the deep blue tree. And over the years, her love for him grows.

MOTHERHOOD by ashe flyght Orihime's family is financially unstable. So when Japan's most in demand actor, Kurosaki Ichigo offers her an unusual job will she accept it?

FINE LINES by lastlynotleast Ichigo is a tattoo artist and Orihime has skin he could draw on forever.

🍓 multichapter 🍞

THE BOND BETWEEN US by ritsu-san Post Ch. 352: Ichigo and Orihime are left to figure out this strange bond they share.

TIL DEATH DO US PART by marshmallowbirb Deemed too powerful, Ichigo is sequestered in Soul Society after defeating Aizen. Ten years later, one of his human friends dies.

THE CLOCKWORK SWITCH by sesamerolls (1 // 2 // 3) “Kurosaki-kun?” She wanted to bite back her words. This person couldn’t be him. He was a few inches taller, broader, and manlier than the youth who gave her daifuku just minutes before.

🍓 oneshots that will make you feeeeel 🍞

DEMAGNETIZE by ghosty If opposites attract, then what does that mean for us?

TACTILE by mrhooty Orihime has accepted that her boundaries will never be respected, but Ichigo is too good of a friend to allow that.

AFFIRMATION by sesamerolls Ichihime from the beginning to the end.

HOME IS WHERE THE SUN SETS by awkwardspaceturtle Using the word ‘beautiful’ didn’t seem like enough; nothing he could ever say out loud would tell her how she really looked in his eyes.

BUILD A HOUSE IN PARADISE by zabiume Ichigo and Orihime move in together.

PAPER HOUSES by zabiume Mostly, he just wanted to know if she was okay, if she was eating well and passing her courses and if, when she went to bed at night, she had someone to smile about.

PROMPTFILL by zabiume Truth serum induced angst.

PROMPTFILL by captainrukias-husband Ichigo writes a poem for Orihime.

TEMPTARE BEAST by mayelisa As Orihime watched in horror as Ichigo took on that form again, she had a sinking feeling that this day wouldn't turn out at all like she had planned.

MEMORIES IN THE RAIN by garden of magnolias If I were the rain, could I connect with someone's heart, as the rain can unite the eternally separated earth and sky?

ALWAYS SUMMER by folle Orihime is calling, calling, and Ichigo doesn't know how to not answer, except in the most important way.

BECOMING WHOLE by lovelycollision He loves her in various ways, during different stages of his life. It's after the war when he realizes that he's in the third stage, otherwise known as the beginning.

🍓 outside POV looking in 🍞

ELEVATING by sesamerolls “Okay, let’s theoretically agree Ichi-nii has a girlfriend,” said Karin, resting her palm underneath her chin.

SIMPLY BY MEASUREMENT by sesamerolls When it first began, he pretended not to notice.

PROMPTFILL by scribblles Ichigo screwed up his befuddlement into a distinctly grumpy expression. “For your information, I wasn’t daydreaming, I was thinking. Worrying, actually. And it’s about a friend. Who… happens to be a girl.”

🍓 funny fluffy oneshots 🍞

OF MICE AND MEN by garden of magnolias Ichigo realizes that getting rid of a mouse in his and Orihime's apartment is a lot more complicated when it involves his girlfriend.

I REJECT! by scribblles Keigo has a rare moment of inadvertent correctness.

RUMOUR HAS IT by fictionaryplace Ichigo and Orihime have important news, but decide to have a little fun with their friends and family before coming clean.

DELAYED REACTION by crystal dawn Orihime is feeling under the weather. Against his better judgment, Ichigo suggests she visit his father's clinic.

ICED FRAPPUCCINO by hedonysms Ichigo and Orihime get a coffee. Ichigo is simultaneously an emotional sap and a horny, utterly repressed man.

STARTING FRESH by kay sincere Ichigo doesn't have a resolution for the new year himself. But it does come to his attention that his friends could use his help.

NOSEBLEED by deathberryhime Where that little smile would have done more damage than intended to.

OUR BREATHS IN PERFECT HARMONY by iwillhaveamoonbase When Ichigo's friend talks about a cute girl at a bakery, Ichigo agrees to introduce them with no idea that the girl in question is his girlfriend.

WELL WISHERS by adverb_slut It turns out that shinigami are not so great at gift-buying, especially for a four-week-old baby.

THE ART OF SHIPPING by alice hattercandy In which, everyone ships. Even Ichigo.

🍓 anything and everything by these authors 🍞

SESAMEROLLS CAPTAINRUKIAS-HUSBAND ZABIUME (tumblr // ao3) SCRIBBLLES CRYSTALDAWN / MARSHMALLOWBIRB (ffnet // ao3) ORIHIMES RITSU-SAN (more on their LJ sunburnt-wings) TRAGICOMEDY (more on their LJ explicates)

[hispg]

Between royalty and vows

Pairings: Prince! Leon x Fem! Reader

Summary: A forced marriage, a fate set in stone, nothing could change that.

In the world of royalty, there were no choices, only obligations to fulfill. What you didn't expect was to become engaged to a renowned prince, ready to succeed the lineage.

Until that moment, you still had some hope that everything would work out, maybe it wasn't so bad. But it would be a shame if your future husband had a mistress.

Wouldn't it?

Wc:3.4k

Warnings: slow burn, angst, hurt/ comfort, cheating, arranged marriage, eventual smut, one-sided love, affairs, manipulative behavior from Leon, (I'll put more once things start to progress).

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

An: Sooo there is the new chapter! I was so anxious to write it and post it! In all honesty, this is the chapter that I most liked to write(so far).

I've been receiving some dms about creating a taglist, so I'll do it from the next chapter and on. If you're interested in entering the tag list, you can dm me or comment on any chapters of this fic, and I'll add you. For the ones who already talked to me, I'll put you on the list already, so you don't need to message me again!<3

Also, I'll start to crosspost this fic here and on Ao3, for the ones who prefer to read in there. Here's the link Ao3. Eventually, I'll post all chapters!

Chapter 5: Pretty lies

The heavy rain outside was no bother to the couple in bed, just as the cold was no problem that couldn't be solved with the intimacy that had just been shared under the covers.

There he was, lying with his lover, Ashley. Warming another woman's bed, offering her the warmth that his body emanated, the love that made her heart beat faster every time.

Both were nude, without the slightest concern for anything, all that mattered was what had just happened in that room. The closeness they shared, the oaths of love spoken between each kiss, between each embrace.

They had just made love, done something that was yet another symbol of the compromising union they contained.

Leon hadn't gone back to the castle as soon as he arrived back from his trip, he had gone to his beloved's house, a hidden place that only they knew where it was, only the lovebirds met there.

It was their love nest.

The same place where Ashley gave herself to him for the first time, the same sacred place where they made love whenever they could. The place where they loved each other deeply, where they didn't have to hide anything.

Ashley lay with her head on Leon's bare chest, while he had one arm wrapped around her and the other stroking her blonde hair.

The only sound in the room was the wood cracking in the fireplace and the soft breathing of both of them in that bed.

The clothes were thrown about, the silk covers hiding their shame, but if Leon was being honest, he couldn't think of a better place to be.

Because he felt at home every time he was with Ashley, even if he knew it was wrong.

And he was screwed if anyone found out.

"Are you staying?" Ashley asks in a whisper, taking the opportunity to place a soft kiss on his chest.

Leon gives her a blown smile, looking at her tenderly, "I'd love to. But you know I can't."

It was already too bold of him to come to this place to spend time with her, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't go along with her every whim.

Especially as the wedding was approaching, and he was dead if he didn't show up.

She sighed helplessly, knowing full well that this would be the answer from the start. But in all honesty, what did she expect? Despite her misfortunes, she was the mistress.

"I promise I'll try to see you more, mh? My wife won't be the problem, don't worry." Leon reassured her, kissed her on the forehead and got up, soon he would be getting ready to leave.

Although he wanted to be with her for even five more minutes, he would give all the money in the world to make it happen.

"Does she know about us?" Ashley asked, picking up the blanket and covering her bare midriff.

That was enough for Leon to clench his eyes shut, buttoning his pants as he stared at her.

"She can't even conceive of it. You know our deal." It was a good deal for both sides, not least because Leon didn't even want to imagine what Ashley's father would do to him once he found out what he and his daughter were doing behind closed doors.

Ashley then sighed, the blonde strands falling across her forehead as she thought for a moment.

"Do you think you can still see me after you're married?" She asks softly, almost embarrassed by her own question.

"I'll always find a way, don't worry." He says, the sincere smile that became the perfect proof that he was saying this from the bottom of his soul.

It was always a painful farewell, but Leon knew it was necessary for him to do it. Once he'd put all his clothes back on, he turned to Ashley, taking her in his arms and planting a gentle, passionate kiss on her lips. He also made a point of pressing his body against hers to leave his cologne on her.

It wasn't enough to have his smell on the silk sheets, he needed to leave his mark on her too.

Goodbyes aside, he knew he had to leave, the sun was rising, and if he wanted to get back to the castle before it was too late, he had to leave now.

As he took the steps to leave the small chalet in the Italian countryside, where no one suspected them, he took one last look at his beloved, giving her a broad smile as he said goodbye.

Watching Ashley go all wobbly as he walked out the front door. She sighed as her lover left, waving to him and looking dreamily out of the window.

Leon walked up to the discreet carriage that was waiting for him in front of the cottage, besides the coachman, there was Leon's faithful butler, Ausdret.

And also his worst accomplice, the butler who always covered up everything Leon did, no matter how stupid it might seem or be.

"Your Highness." Ausdret greeted, leading Leon to the carriage.

"It's good that you're here." Leon replies back, tucking himself into the small carriage.

His butler nods and sits down on the opposite seat, facing Leon. Even though Ausdret knew that no one could put a halter on Leon, he was still trying to talk some sense into his young, dim-witted head.

"Your Highness do you not think it is inappropriate to maintain this relationship?" Ausdret asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Leon scoffed, narrowing his gaze at the poor butler, acting as if he had said the worst blasphemy that could be heard.

"Come on, you're a braggart too. Don't act like you're a kind gentleman with exemplary decorum." Leon retorts, crossing his legs as he fixes the buttons on his shirt once more.

Ausdret couldn't help but sigh, trying his best to make Leon understand how problematic it would be to keep all this up.

"Prince, you have a fiancée now. This relationship is no longer suitable." The butler said once again, pausing and emphasizing his lines, it wasn't possible that this was so difficult to understand.

"Well, it'll last as long as I want it to. You know better than that." Leon says, an unparalleled coldness in his voice, it was obvious, this subject was not up for discussion for him.

Ausdret always thought that this was just a youthful romance of Leon's, in fact he never thought that it would thrive for so long, for years. Leon was a man who could have any woman he wanted, not only because of the power he possessed, but also because of his beauty.

However, what the butler couldn't have guessed was that Leon would fall in love with Lady Ashley, a princess from another place. A likely romance, but love doesn't work properly in royalty.

"But Your Highness-" Leon interrupts Ausdret before he can continue.

"I am the prince, and you collaborate with me." Leon begins, his voice becoming an authoritative, voracious whisper.

"As I'm your highness, you must agree that you didn't see anything unusual. That I was on a business trip these last few days." Leon says, his gaze narrowing once more on the servant.

What could Ausdret say? He had always supported this boy, and even with a lump forming in his throat, he wasn't going to do any different again.

The butler knew that this situation wasn't fair to you, nor to Ashley, it would only end up with broken hearts and a quarrel that couldn't be undone.

Perhaps Leon was too young to understand this, but at some point fate would catch up with him.

"So? Did you see anything?" Leon asked, almost daring him to give an answer that was the opposite of what he wanted to hear.

"No, Your Highness. I didn't see anything suspicious." Ausdret replied under his breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head in denial.

"Good." Leon grumbles back.

The journey wouldn't take long, but Ausdret already knew that the rest of the way would be filled with the ache of an inconvenient silence.

You knew you'd end up getting into trouble with your recent actions, but that still didn't stop you from going ahead with them. At that moment you were in the grassy fields on the outskirts of the castle.

It was easy to get here, you just needed the help of Chris and your maid, Evelyn. Nothing more than a silly little lie to disguise your departure.

The view was beautiful, you felt almost at home in a place like this. You were sitting on the horse while Chris guided the animal, walking through the grass carefully while also keeping an eye on you.

You couldn't tell if you were approaching Chris out of hurt ego, or because he was someone incredibly interesting and good to have around.

Perhaps you had combined the useful with the pleasant, because in all honesty, you couldn't deny that you were enjoying all this time with Chris, even feeling more at peace with yourself.

"Well, at least you escaped the tea party." Chris jokes, looking at you with a smile.

You nod, smiling back at him.

"God, I can't imagine what it would be like to spend another afternoon with Mrs. Hisltons!" You grumble, frowning as you remember all the tedious conversations the lady has put you through.

Chris couldn't help himself and laughed out loud, looking at you with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Oh, tell me about it. As soon as I got here, she gave me a good lecture on why I should get married." Chris says with a playful tone, walking slowly with you through the pastures.

You smiled a little, petting the horse as a question popped into your mind.

"But, forgive me for being impolite, but why haven't you gotten married yet?" You asked calmly, giving him the opportunity not to answer if he didn't want to.

"Nothing in particular, I just haven't found any suitors that catch my eye." He says, without much ado, getting straight to the point.

You'd think someone as cultured as him would want a woman who knew a bit more than just dresses and jewelry. Completely fair and understandable.

But you still can't help thinking that Chris was alone by choice, it wouldn't be the first time a man had preferred being alone to being married.

"I understand, but is it something you're thinking of doing? I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive." You say with a peaceful smile, trying to get to know the man you've grown so close to over the last few days.

Chris then paused and pondered, thinking of an answer that would measure up. But he couldn't think of anything more sincere than:

"Yes, I intend to." Just like that, or any other explanation.

But you saw his eyes light up a little when he looked at you for a brief moment, making you quietly gasp.

You then returned your gaze to your surroundings, the countryside that was such a contrast to the life you had. Which was far from peaceful.

Although you knew it shouldn't take you so long to get back to the castle, as they would probably notice you were gone, you could stubbornly stay here with him.

With Chris, the man who had been giving you so much comfort recently.

Chris then looked at you with a charming gaze, helping you off the horse. His hands found your waist, steadying you as you got off the animal.

Feeling his heavy, manly hands on your body made you feel something different, but you preferred not to mention it. Not least because you were being completely inappropriate for a dame.

You allowed yourself to feel the ground beneath your heels, removing the footwear from your body, feeling the grass between your toes.

The thought of returning to your new home was already distant, you could even swear that you forgot about Leon for just a moment. You forgot about the fact that he was coming back today.

And that he would be back around noon. And it was almost two in the afternoon, he was probably already at the castle by then.

But well, what would be the point of sneaking out of the castle with the Duke if not for a bit of confusion.

"You know, this is turning out to be one of the nicest afternoons I've had." Chris says, smiling and following you as you walk across the lawn.

"Oh, yes. It's nice to get out of that place for a bit." You say, looking at the sun, which is already descending.

Chris followed you, keeping an eye on every step. And you even saw out of the corner of your eye that he tried to take your hand, but hesitated to make such an intimate gesture.

You even heard the trumpets sounding in the distance, announcing the prince's arrival, but nothing that made you move from where you were.

And well, from the way Chris stood next to you as you watched the landscape of the field, he wouldn't leave until you asked him to.

At one point, you thought it would be better to leave, perhaps so as not to cause Chris any trouble. But the moment Chris's fingers touched your cheek, and he tucked a lock of your hair behind your ear, something in you sparked.

It was impossible to hide the red tinge that appeared on your cheeks, as well as the way you just ignored everything else. Everything seemed right.

You were surrendered, and you didn't want to leave this man's side. What on earth were you doing?

Why did you feel so torn? It couldn't end well.

"Where is she?" It was the first question Leon asked as soon as he set foot in the castle, finding it strange that his fiancée wasn't here to greet him.

"The princess isn't feeling well, Your Highness." Evelyn, the maid who helped you escape, answered.

Leon wrinkled his eyebrows, glancing at the door of your chambers, he hadn't quite believed that excuse.

"Tell her I'll come and see her. She doesn't have to leave her room." Leon says, looking at the way the maid was beginning to shudder.

"She's really not well, Your Highness-" Leon didn't care how much the maid protested, he went ahead and went to your bedroom.

He opened the door without any manners, looking around as he searched for any sign of you. But he was disappointed when he found your bed empty, the room perfectly tidy and untouched. You hadn't been in that room for a while.

Your lie was already falling apart, as they say lies don't go far.

"Where is she?" Leon asked once again, this time more coldly and authoritatively, demanding an answer.

"I don't know! She was here this morning." The maid manages to stutter, unable to face Leon.

Leon clenched his fists, frustration and irritation taking over his feelings. You were getting out of hand, it wasn't enough that you'd been so bold with Chris, now this?

Even though he was away, he knew everything that was going on in that castle, and he couldn't let it continue the way it was.

Who did you think you were?

"Have her searched all over the castle." Leon demanded, leaving your room to look for you.

As soon as Leon saw that the maid hadn't moved a muscle, he added:

"Immediately." His voice was a low grunt, capable of sending a chill down anyone's spine.

The maid moved quickly, warning the other servants about the princess's 'disappearance', and they all stood by to look for you.

Nothing. They looked for you in every corner of that castle, every room, every space you could be in. And they found nothing, not a single sign of you.

Leon was fulminating, realizing that you and the Duke weren't in that castle. And you probably weren't close.

"We haven't found her, Your Highness. The princess isn't in the castle." One of the servants dares to speak, trembling at having to address the prince.

"What do you mean she's not in the castle?" Leon muttered, looking out the windows while trying to find you somehow.

And Leon had to stop himself from gritting his teeth as he watched the scene with his own eyes. You came in through the back door, a delicate hood over your head to disguise your identity.

You were sitting on Chris's horse, smiling happily as the man led the horse inside. You seemed so close, so intimate.

Something about it made Leon go crazy, he can't say, but some strange feeling rose in his chest and made a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

What were you thinking? You were a lady, Jesus! You should behave like one.

"You are dismissed, return to your duties." Leon says to the other servants, leaving no room for questions.

Drastic situations call for drastic measures, only then will you be able to understand your place. And how you should act as a future queen.

Leon waited, right in the center of the main hall, he decided he would act as if he hadn't seen anything. He felt his breathing quicken, heard the sound of his heartbeat in his ears.

He didn't know if it was anger, disappointment or something else.

You didn't realize he was there until you saw the pair of blue eyes looking you up and down, for some reason sending a shiver up your spine.

"I was worried about you." He was the first to speak, approaching you without a second thought.

"Excuse me, Your Highness. I needed some fresh air." You say, your voice smooth as silk, sweet as honey.

You needed to act as if nothing much had really happened, as if you hadn't gone off with the Duke alone, without letting anyone know.

Even more so, going out alone with a man.

Leon narrows his eyes, placing a hand on your waist, pulling you close. His touch made you gasp, your eyes widen and your breathing hitch, at the same moment you felt your breath mingle with his.

For a moment, you looked at each other, his penetrating gaze causing an incomparable flush to rise to your cheeks. His hands on your body, one holding your cheek, steadying you to do what he wanted to do.

What was he going to do? Oh, you realized it in the next second, when you saw his face coming closer to yours. His nose touching yours, and then, that's when…

He kissed you.

His lips against yours, his hand holding you firmly and preventing you from moving. It was unconscious, instinctive, you moved your lips in sync with his. Your arms wrapped around his neck, and you sealed this moment with the warm intimacy of a kiss.

It wasn't sincere, it was carnal.

The world around you seemed to stop, you were focused on the warm feeling that took over your body, the way the heat of the moment enveloped you. Your body molded itself to his so well, it was so perfect.

As if it was meant to be.

It was painful to separate your lips from his, your mind in a whirlwind of emotions. Was it real? Had he reconsidered? Maybe he was going to give you both a chance?

You were a very dreamy girl perhaps, those endless dreams that you wished from the bottom of your soul were real, that you clamored for to come true at some point.

But oh, that little act, it was far from a dream.

When you regained your senses, you looked around and saw a group of high-class ladies staring at the two of you. The dreamy looks and sighs they gave when they saw the couple, the passionate couple.

In the corner, you saw the king and queen, smiling approvingly at the two of you. They were proud.

A show off.

Reality weighed heavily on your mind when you understood. It was nothing, it was a show off, an exhibition. The momentary magic wore off and gave way to the bitterness that once again fell upon you.

Whose fault was it? Yours, for having once again believed in the foolishness that was Leon's chance of seeing you beyond being a prize. Or Leon, for toying with you in such a way?

In any case, what a shame. The taste of his lips was imprinted on yours, the sensation of his lips against yours was still so vivid. So real. You felt loved in a few seconds, putting yourself in your place soon after.

With one simple action, Leon reminded you of who you belong to, legally, and also reminded you of your place. Of your obligations to him, he came out the winner once again.

Damned bastard.

[dianneking]

The Set-Up - Miranda/Reader (Top of the Lake: China Girl)

Crossposted on AO3 - if you prefer to read it there, follow this link!

Summary: Reader is crushing hard on Miranda, and yet somehow ends up on a date with Robin organized by none other than Miranda herself. Light angst, mostly Miranda being a hot mess tbh.

Tags: Mutual pining, jealousy, fake relationship, spying on people, Miranda being a clueless hot mess (as per canon), lil’ bit of angst, matchmaker!Robin, height difference, smoking, present tense, second person pov, ungendered reader.  Words: 3767

The Set-Up

You watch as Miranda enthusiastically waves goodbye at Detective Griffin before coming to lean against the wall by your side. Wordlessly you offer her a cigarette out of your pack, and she accepts with a muttered Thank you, sticking it immediately between her lips and lighting it up. Maybe it’s because you are somewhat more tired, maybe it’s because today she looks particularly happy and it tugs at something deep within you, but today’s the day where you throw caution to the wind and ask her what you have been ruminating on for quite some time.

"So, what's the deal with you and Griffin, huh?"

"We're on another case together. It's a good one."

"Only that?"

"What else?"

"Come on, Hilmarson, are you really going to make me ask?"

"I... I don't understand what you mean."

"You two seem pretty close, that is all."

"We sorted out our differences."

"Isn't that just great?"

"What's wrong with you today? You are being more waspish than usual. Didn’t take enough smoke breaks?"

"Don’t try to change the subject. Are congratulations in order? Are you two an item now?"

"What? No!"

"...if you say so."

"We really aren't! She's like my sister or something. Is that what was pissing you off?"

"Of course not! Why would I care if you and Griffin were hitting it off?"

"Oh my god, it is. You are jealous."

"No I'm not"

"You so are!"

"Am not"

"Are too!"

"Piss off!"

You shove her playfully, but doing so makes you painfully aware of your height difference, and you feel suddenly very small and nervous. If your crush for Miranda is so evident that even herself can call you out on it, you are worse off than you thought you were.

You try to sneak a glance up at her, and you see her beautiful face corrugated in a frown, as if trying to piece together a puzzle. Has she already figured out everything? Maybe you should consider making a tactical retreat before you dig yourself too deep into a hole. But at the same time, you are not willing to give up any time the two of you spend together.

Damn. She's so out of your league it's not even funny, you think, watching how the warm glow of the afternoon sun shines through her blonde eyelashes. You should probably have been more careful in letting your feelings known, you think as the silence stretches on uncomfortably. Now there's going to be that embarrassed little dance of her trying to let you down and you telling her that it's okay (it's not), you understand (you do), and that you hope you two can still be friends (you really, really do). You are not ready to give up your smoke breaks spent together, all the laughter, the jokes, the heart to heart talks. Miranda is the brightest part of your day, and you'll be damned if you'll do anything to hurt your friendship.

 "Hey I... I think you might have a chance, you know?"

"What?" You barely manage to choke out. Is she…

"Yeah, Robin is single you know. And you are witty and smart like her, you two would get on like a house on fire."

Oh no.

The implications of that sentence hit you like a cold shower. Is she really that clueless or is it some sort of joke? She's not the person to purposefully try to hurt you by mocking your crush, you know her well enough for that. You know she means well, and yet your heart sinks as surely as a rock in cold water. She's totally misunderstood, but that in itself is an answer.

"Miranda, that's not..."

"You know what? I can set you two up for a date!" She whips her phone out before you can try to get in a word, her tongue peeking out of her lips in a show of concentration as she types away. You try your best not to stare at her mouth as she does so, but you are entranced. So much so that you miss your only occasion to stop her.

"There you go!" she announces with a satisfied smile as the phone pings with Griffin's answer "She says she's up for grabbing lunch with you at Tony's tomorrow if you pay for it."

You try to swallow your disappointment, but it stays as a bitter knot in your throat. She might not be dating her detective partner, but she for sure isn't interested in you, if she's so quick to try set you up with her. She looks down at you, with so much excitement shining on her face that for a moment you get lost in those sparkling blue eyes. She's so gorgeous, and sunny, and kind. You really cannot be blamed for falling for her. It's just your usual rotten luck that she only sees you as a friend. So much so as to play matchmaker for you.

And you are so desperately in love with her that you cannot bring yourself to burst her bubble, to be the reason that her infectious smile drops from her lips, and so you don’t say anything. You don’t tell her that when the two of them storm through the station on their way to another case, or when they lean together, their heads close as they look at the computer screen together, it is not Griffin that you can’t take your eyes off from.

"So, what do you say?"

"Uhm…sure, I guess…"

“But of course, that’s what friends are for, isn’t it? You go get your girl!”

You shrug, trying to squash down the hurt that the word friend carries. You might as well go to this lunch with Griffin, hopefully you might be able to pull out of her whether Miranda is seeing someone else. Not that that would change much, would it? You should start trying to resign yourself to the fact that you really have no chance with her.

Also, Miranda looks positively giddy with excitement at having set the two of you up. Not when she has so resolutely stated that she only thinks of you as a friend. You are not going to make a fool of yourself confessing feelings that won’t be welcome and would only make your interactions awkward. Grabbing a bite with Griffin is for sure the lesser embarrassment of the two. Or at least the least damaging for your friendship. Because even if you can't have Miranda as your girlfriend, you are going to fight tooth and nail not to lose her as a friend.

 You only hope that Griffin won't be an arse about it.

“Why are we even here? Didn't you have a huge crush on Miranda?”

Obviously, it had been too much to ask for.

“...”

“I’ll take that as a yes. So why let her set you up with me?”

“If you knew that already, why did you agree to this date?”

“I wanted some free lunch.”

“Oh wow. Way to make someone feel appreciated, Griffin.”

“And I was curious.”

“Were you?”

“Yeah, I wanted to see what she sees in you.”

“Nothing much, probably, if she tried to peddle me to you at the first chance she got.”

You try to keep the bitterness out of your tone, but you still bite viciously into your sourdough sandwich, and you can hear Griffin scoff.

“Oh please, it's obvious that she's pining for you just as much as you are for her.” You can feel yourself burning with embarrassment. Still better than the alternative, you remind yourself. It's just a lunch.

“I might even believe you if she hadn’t just put me firmly in the friendzone, so please, Griffin, can you drop this and just enjoy your free food?"

 Miranda tries not to feel guilty as she peeks beyond the wall corner to watch her two colleagues through the window of the café. She just wants to see how the date goes, that's all. Since she's the one who made it possible and all of that, she feels somewhat responsible for it. Like a fairy godmother for your budding relationship. Her friend and her work partner hitting it off…that has to be a good match, right?

Everybody agrees that Robin is the absolute best detective in the station. And you...well, you deserve nothing but the best. And if you two work it out, she won't have to share her free time between the two of you, right? The three of you will be able to hang out together all the time, and all will be just grand. One big happy family.

She can see the two of you in conversation, and cannot help the nervous tapping of her fingers on the wall she's hiding behind. She can see you shrug, an embarrassed grimace on your face. She can see how red your ears have turned - she can't get over how cute you are when you blush. For all of your tough talk, she thinks affectionately, you really are just a big softie. Have you already told Robin of your crush for her?

What will her reaction be?

Maybe Robin will reject you, and of course Miranda will be there to help you through your heartbreak, to comfort you as you had done for her when her affair – it’s a relationship, babe – with Adrian had crumbled like a sandcastle built too close to the ocean. Because that’s what friends do for each other, right? And Miranda is very happy to be your friend.

She absolutely is.

Really.

It's just that…

It's just that sometimes she allows her mind to run free, and she finds herself wondering how it would feel for once to hold your hand as you lean against the wall outside the station side by side, how your hair would feel if she buried her hands in it, how your lips would taste if she were to… No. She really shouldn’t. You're her friend, and she's pretty sure normal people don’t think about kissing their friend.

Unless they have romantic feelings for their friend. And she surely doesn't. Does she?

…

Fuck.

She totally has romantic feelings for you.

How hasn't she noticed? How long has she been feeling this way towards you and mistaking it for friendship? Suddenly she feels like bashing her head against the rough brick wall. How could she have been so dumb? She has even helped to set you up with Robin! Wow, good job, Hilmarson. Great. Couldn't she have realised it like two days ago? Even for her standards - she's the first to admit that she has messed up multiple times in her life - that's one major cock-up.

 “See? She's totally into you as well, she's even spying on our date.”

“That might just be because she is curious. If she wanted me, why would she try to set me up with you? Come on, Griffin, you must be smarter than this. Aren't you supposed to be the best detective in Australia or something?”

“Ha-ha, such a flatterer. Look, I know what I’m seeing. And lucky for you, I’ve got an idea.”

“Lord help us all.”

“What if I pretended to go along with it?”

“Griffin, I am flattered, but I thought we had already been over how I'm not interested in you.”

“That's why I said pretended, genius. She’ll see us together, get jealous and realize her feelings for you.”

“She won't. You might be a decent detective, but you suck at relationship advice. Oi! Remove your hand from mine, this is ridiculous.”

 She shouldn't still be here, Miranda thinks, and yet she can't seem to be able to rip her eyes away from the way Robin has grasped your hand above the coffee table, her face opening in a lopsided smile.

This isn't fun anymore. Not since she's realised how badly she has fucked up in helping you two out. Miranda swallows, her eyes never leaving Robin as she slides out of her side of the booth and moves to sit beside you. She's never seen that sort of playful grin on Robin's face, unless she was totally hammered, and to see it when she's sober, and on a date with you of all people… Robin wants you too, doesn't she?

Well, of course she does. I mean, look at you, you are lively, smart, funny, attractive, and Robin might be many things, but she for sure isn’t blind or stupid. She has to know how much of a catch you are.

Miranda can only watch helplessly as Robin - the same Robin who refuses all sort of affectionate contact, struggling to even hug her own daughter - is leaning into you, nuzzling your neck, and whispering something in your ear. You jolt up as if electrocuted, and turn towards her, shock clear on your face. What has she said to you? Miranda feels like she's going insane, stuck on the outside looking in.

And then Robin chooses that moment to plant a kiss square on your lips.

Miranda turns tail and flees.

 “What the fuck, Griffin?”

“It's gonna work, trust me. I know Miranda.”

  Miranda leans against the wall next to the station, in what over the years she has come to think of as your spot. If she closes her eyes, she can almost fool herself into thinking you’re by her side, as you always are, cigarette dangling from your lips, always ready with a sarcastic quip, or a funny retort. Except you're not there. You're still on your stupid happy date, that she had pushed you into, like the moron she is.

She's been chainsmoking since she came back from spying on you, and the longer it takes for you to come back, the more harshly she pulls in the smoke between her teeth, trying to lessen her stress. Trying not to picture what you and Robin could be doing that's taking the both of you so damn long.

She tries to ignore the painful constriction of her heart at what her traitorous mind conjures up. The mere thought of Robin's small hands safely ensconced in your bigger ones, of her mouth exploring yours as Miranda had been dreaming of doing even before she recognized her feelings for you, of the two of you hugging or worse, makes her want to scream at the top of her lungs and hit something.

But she can't.

You're her friend, she should want you to be happy, shouldn't she? And if that means stepping aside and supporting you in your relationship with Robin, of course she'll do just that. Because Robin is the one you're interested in and there's nobody on earth Miranda can think is more different from her than Detective Griffin. Robin simply is everything Miranda has never been: petite, professional, smart, careful and precise. It's no wonder you like her and not big, clumsy, helpless Miranda.

Miranda, who's a terrible friend and cannot even support you wholeheartedly in your new budding relationship.

Miranda shakes her head, dropping the butt of her cigarette to the ground and moodily stepping on it. She should be happy for you, should be grateful to be allowed to be your friend, it's not like she has  a whole lot of those anyways. The sooner she starts to accept the fact that there's no hope for anything more between you two, the better it'll be for her poor heart.

She just didn't expect it to hurt so much.

But what's taking you so long? Is that how it's going to be from now on? You and Robin, so wrapped in each other that you forget about Miranda, leaving her alone once again, cast aside, begging for scraps of affection from her friends?

She can feel the tears filling her eyes at the mere thought.

 "You're back! How…how did it go?"

Miranda’s smile is too big, her eyes too watery for it to be sincere. For the first time you allow yourself to hope against all hopes that maybe, maybe Robin has a point.

But maybe you are just seeing what you want to see.

“Are you alright, Miranda?" Her laugh is high, nervous and ends up in a sort of hiccup as she clumsily claps you on the shoulder, rocking you with the strength of the impact.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be, there’s a new, blooming romance in the station! And between my best friend and my partner, to boot! Isn't that just grand? Are you gonna tell all the others about it, or should I tell them and save you the pain?”

Her happy-go-lucky voice is so fake it twists your heart and almost makes you miss what she has said.

“Nonono, there will be no telling anything to the others!”

The last thing you need is for the whole fucking station to think you and Griffin are an item. You wouldn’t hear the end of it. It’s already bad that Miranda thinks that. And hopefully you can somehow clear that up.

“Is that something Robin asked you? Does she want to keep you as her dirty little secret? You shouldn’t settle for that! You deserve more!” She gesticulates wildly at this, her hands cutting the air with agitated gestures, as she defends your honor against imaginary slights.

“That’s not it, Miranda. It’s just-“ But she cuts you off before you can get a word in.

“You shouldn't hide your feelings! You two are totally made for each other. Go be unapologetically together!”

"Why are you so adamant in pushing us together?" You finally snap, irritatedly. She's not making any sort of sense. She's trying so hard to get the two of you together even if it's obvious that she's not happy in the least about it. And even though you are starting to think more and more that this might all be a huge misunderstanding, it cuts to hear the woman you love trying so hard to set you up with someone else. What if Robin wasn’t right? What if Miranda really only saw you as a friend and nothing more?

"What do you mean? Didn't the date go well? You sure looked like you were hitting it off pretty well, and you took your sweet time, too." She mutters the second part softly, as if it has come out of her mouth without her really wanting to, then promptly blushes a deep red.

You always found her adorable when she blushed.

"Miranda, I need to know it, why were you spying on us?"

"Oh god, you saw me? I… Uhm I…I just happened to drop by Tony's, I had totally forgotten that the two of you were there. So I uhm hid, because I didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for you. Hehe, that’s all."

"Is… Is it possible that you might like me?" You throw all caution to the wind because really, at this point you need a clear answer.

"No!" She answers too quickly "Of course not! You are my friend. I like you as a friend!" Hope stirs once again, but you don't dare to believe it quite yet. Not while she keeps denying everything.

"Miranda, you are many good things, but you are a terrible liar."

She suddenly rights herself from where she was leaning against the wall and makes as if to move towards the station.

"Well, I…I need to go. I just realized that my lunchbreak was over like five minutes ago and I-"

You stop her, a hand on her wrist, and a pleading tone to your voice.

"No, please. Stay. I…"

She stops, but she stays with her back to you. When she speaks, her voice wavers ever so slightly.

“You don’t have to spare my feelings, I know what you want to say.”

“You…do? ‘Cause it seems to me that this is all a huge misunderstanding.”

“Of course. A misunderstanding. Sure, that’s one way to put it. Just another big clumsy mess, made by big clumsy Miranda. I guess we’re used to it by now, aren’t we?”

She turns now, and you are shocked to see tears streaking down her face.

“That’s not what-“

“It's OK,” she interrupts you once again, angrily wiping the wetness off her face as she looks at you with a solemn, sad look into those beautiful big blue eyes of hers, “I know that you like Robin, I would never do anything to ruin your chance with her. You really make a perfect couple, I am serious about it. I just need a little time to adjust.” Her voice is picking up speed, as if it's impossible to stop now that she's started, “I am so grateful to have you as a friend, it's not like I expected you to return my feelings. Hell, I didn't recognise them for what they are until I saw the two of you together. And I would never let something like that ruin our friendship. Everything can stay perfectly the same, even if you are with Robin and…and I know I am a terrible friend that has fallen for you after setting you up with your crush but I want you to be happy and please don't hate me."

You blink under the onslaught of words she's unleashed on you, and when she abruptly stops, all that can be heard in the small alley to the side of the station is her heavy breathing, as if she had just run a marathon. Her shoulders are shaking and you can't see her face, dipped as it is into her collarbone in shame.

Your heart breaks at seeing her like this, at the sheer thought that Miranda could believe even for one second that you hate her.

You stand right in front of her, cradling her red, downturned face in your hands, tilting it ever so slightly up from where it was staring at the pavement, so you can once again look directly into her beautiful blue eyes, now swimming with tears and swirling emotions.

She's such a mess, you think affectionately. But she's a lovely mess with the biggest of hearts, and you wouldn’t want her any other way.

"Miranda, I could never ever hate you. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I… I think I love you."

"As…as a friend?"

"No, dearest, no, not as a friend."

And you hope there's no mistaking your intentions now as you press your lips to hers in a kiss that the both of you have been daydreaming about for way too long to admit.

Liked it? You can find more of my fanfiction on my masterlist!

[planet-dusk]

─── WELCOME TO ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ ᴅᴜꜱᴋ !

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[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

I know I've got a couple of you that prefer to read on ao3. Good news! I'm crossposting!

Here you go: link

Only 2 chapters up currently, work in progress, new platform growing pains, iykyk.

I'm waiting a few days bw posts for visibility, and also doing some light editing as I post, so the whole thing won't be available over there immediately (not to mention that I *just* figured out how to painlessly post, dear god)

But it will be soon! :D

[nasuversekinkmeme]

hey man, im new here, read the rules and everything. couple questions. -not-a-degen-anon

if i write to fill in a prompt on tumblr, do i need to put it into the nasuverse kink collection on ao3 like that recent medusa prompt that was sent.

for fanart in general, i do sketches so im not sure how that'd work, like a 1-2 page comic or fanart of said characters doing stuff w.o dialogue? but in general for art, if i fill a prompt i still gotta tag it onto the ao3 collection you guys have ?

for old prompts on ur dreamwidth smth, should i still add that onto the ao3 collections?

do you necessary want us to tag you on tumblr for any claims or stuff we did for the prompt, like i have an acct but i barely use this site since its been 6 years. also, since you guys crosspost on ao3 for any stuff that was filled/done should i sent you a link for a completed work i did if you guys didnt see it or reblogged about it? if things get buried

Hello anon!

The ao3 collection exists for three reasons:

Archival. When people want to look up the fills that have already been filled, a lot of them find it easier to go on a full ao3 list you can sort by tags and such, rather than on tumblr where you have to wade through every fill ever made to find what interests you.

So that I, personally, can see it, and crosspost it here. Usually, people directly message me here when they've done a fill. But sometimes they don't, and so the only way for me to know a fill exist is if something new has been added to the ao3 collection. If you make a fill, but don't add it to the collection & don't inform me of it, I will not crosspost it here (because even if I see it, I will assume you don't want to be put on blast for whatever reason. Privacy is important.)

(Not relevant to your question but) so there is a way for people to send prompts/do fills that does not rely on tumblr.

What I mean is: adding your fill to the ao3 collection is optional. If you don't want to add your fill there, it's fine. Plenty of people do fills outside of ao3 (namely art fills, but we've gotten some fics via tumblr and google doc too) and can't add them to the ao3 collection. That's fine too. I would prefer of you added your fills to the ao3 collection because it makes things easier for me as a mod, but don't worry about it. It's not mandatory. This applies to the dreamwidth prompts too, if you fill a prompt from there you can add it to the ao3 collection, or not. Up to you.

Likewise, you don't need to tag me on your fills. It's just one way people have to inform me that they've done a fill. If you'd prefer send me an ask with a link to your fill, that is perfectly fine. (Or use the submission box, this one does not require to be logged on tumblr, it might be more useful to you?)

TL;DR: The ao3 collection + tagging me on tumblr are just ways to inform me a fill exists, if you want to do things differently that's fine by me. If it's been a few days and your fill still isn't up, feel free to send me a message, it's possible I missed it.

I hope I answered all your queries. If I was unclear or missed anything, feel free to ask for clarification, I will gladly provide c}:

[featherwriter]

QUESTION TO FOLLOWERS:

Would you like me to continue posting fics on tumblr?

If so, please give this post a like so that I know there's an audience here still!

Ok, some longer thoughts on this question below:

Recompense is finished! Wow what a fic. Literally five years ago I started that thing, but it's finally done and I've had a real burst of creative energy and have been writing on the sequels to it!

However, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth my time to continue posting fics over here on this blog. For those who follow me elsewhere, you may have realized that my Archive of Our Own account gets fic updates from me more regularly than this blog does. While I do try to crosspost most things over here eventually, it's usually quite a delay. (Fanfic.net is more delayed than that, I admit my FF account languishes more than the others.)

Part of the reason for that is that I tend to do more formatting here to try to make things easier, given that tumblr is not a website innately designed to host multi-chapter fanfics, so I tend to make navigation buttons with links at the beginning of end of my fics here, and a masterpost that compiles all the chapter links together. I also like to make little gif banners to set the mood of the fic over here, for presentation's sake.

That said... I'm wondering if all this extra effort is worth it. Do people actually read fics using this blog or this page? Or do most people simply use AO3 these days anyway and I'm doing a bunch of extra effort for not much gain. Would you prefer that I just link to AO3 instead of posting fics in full here?

I'd love to hear actual feedback on what readers would prefer, if people have any for me. Or simply give this post a like if you want me to keep posting here. If nothing is heard, I may stop doing all the fanfic posting here, and simply consolidate to AO3 alone.

Regardless of results, you can almost always expect that the most up-to-date fics from me and first releases are going to continue to be on AO3. For example, Recompense (which is part 2 in this very old series, A Crow's Rescue) now has a fully complete (if short) sequel on AO3, Requiem. And part 4, Renaissance, is also starting to have chapters posting, which I expect to continue for a bit!

Would you like me to post Requiem and Renaissance over here as well? Or is it easier to just link to them? Or do people not really care about fics on tumblr anymore?

Please let me know! And for anyone who reads my fics, thank you so much! As any fic writer knows, comments, kudos, and likes are the fuel that keeps us going, knowing our stories made somebody else smile.

[obeyourlord]

I Thought There Was Only One Avatar Of Envy?

All my works will be crossposted onto my ao3 account as well, so if you’ve read this before, it’s because I posted it there as well.

Here’s the link if you’d prefer to read on ao3

TW: Mentioned eating disorder, suicidal thoughts, mentioned self-harm and obsessive/yandere behaviour

Despite Mammon being a social butterfly, he didn’t have any friends. Not real ones, at least. Be this due to his bad reputation, his past as an angel that most pure-blooded demons weren’t found of or some other reason, nobody wanted to be his friend, much less associated with him. It hurt the first few years but he realised that he didn’t need friends, so he was alright (no, he wasn’t). And he totally didn’t jump at the chance to have a friend.

It was a bad day for Mammon, he had woken up late and couldn’t get any breakfast, but it didn’t matter, (it’s not like he ate much anyway) it wasn’t important. Mammon got the results back in curses and hexes where he got a very low mark, almost failing the course! He knew Lucifer would get on his case for it. Probably something about setting an example for other demons to follow even though his standards were too high, even for a demon lord. Not only that, but he forgot his lunch money in his rush to leave so he couldn’t eat all day (not like it was the first time he hadn’t eaten) and, to top it all off, he didn’t look at the forecast for Devildom so he didn’t bring his umbrella.

So done with the day, he found an abandoned classroom to hide in to wait out the rain. His brothers had already went home without him so it’s not like they would be any help (moving forwards without him and leaving him behind again, why did everyone leave). Mammon couldn’t say it was just a terrible day, he had too many in a row to call it just a day. These bad days occurred more often than good ones and had been going on ever since he came to Devildom and it was only getting worse the longer he spent there. Maybe it would be better if he left, Mammon thought to himself. That was his breaking point.

Mammon let himself cry for the first time since Lilith’s death or was it the first time Lucifer punished him in Devildom? Who cared, that wasn’t important. He knew if Lucifer saw him he’d say it wasn’t proper for a lord to cry over something so pitiful as a bad day and how it would stain Diavolo’s reputation if he kept that up. Then he would punish him for having feeling. Through his sobbing, he didn’t hear the door open nor the footsteps until he felt a hand place itself on his head.

“Are you okay?” Asked a voice in a gentle tone.

Embarrassed at being caught during his pity party (why he thought it was good to do it in school was beyond him), Mammon tried to wipe his tears away before looking up and putting on his usual grin. If it wasn’t for how red his eyes were and how he was sobbing intensely, nobody would suspect he had been crying.

“Of course I’m okay!” Proclaimed Mammon before finishing with his self-appointed title, “I’m The Great Mammon!”

Now that he was looking at the person, he realised it was Mephistopheles, President of the RAD Newspaper Club. Or was until he was forced to step down. Out of everyone, it had to be the biggest blabber mouth in the school.

“No, you’re not okay,” Mephistopheles stated. It didn’t take much observational skill to see Mammon was upset, it was just a matter of why.

So, after ages of convincing Mammon to confide in him, Mammon, against his better judgement, told Mephistopheles everything. From his brother’s punishment, his brothers’ insults, his struggle to eat, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm and more problems. He described how it hurt that the brothers he had raised almost singlehandedly, and only singlehandedly in the case of Satan, pushed him away like he was nothing to them, a nobody. How it hurt the big brother he always looked up to and was encouraged by only saw him as a burden anymore.

Throughout the explanation, Mephistopheles only listened or asked questions but never interrupted. Once the rain died down and Mammon obviously wasn’t done with his rant, they both took to walking around Devildom and even went to get bufo egg milk tea. Mammon got his in the flavour hell poison honey whilst Mephistopheles got his in green tea. After, they went to Madam Screams where they got a couple chococrunch and hell cream cat tongue cookies.

They both walked and talked until it got darker and was close to midnight. Instead of leaving him to find his way back to the House of Lamentation, Mephistopheles invited his new friend to come and spend the night at his house. It made Mammon’s heart skip a beat. He was allowed to go to someone else’s house? He trusted him to not steal? When they were both at Mephistopheles’ house and Mammon laid down, he felt warm in more than one way. If this was what it was like to have a friend, then he never wanted it to end.

That night was not the last Mammon spent at Mephistopheles’ house but was the first of many. It didn’t matter if Lucifer chewed him out the first time for not telling him when he was stayed over or that he was staying over too often, it was always worth it in his eyes. It’s not like Lucifer had any reason to complain except to be a bitch since Mammon’s grades had been getting better. Mephistopheles was really smart and taught the material in a way Mammon could understand better. Perhaps he had been spending a lot of time at Mephis’ house to the point where he had a toothbrush there and clothes but how could he stop?

The brothers were furious that Mammon had this new friend who he was spending all his free time with like he used to with them. And it had to be Mephistopheles of all people! Being replaced by a smart or charming demon was one thing, but the school creep who got kicked out the club he started due to him going off the deep end? It was more than insulting to the brothers.

Mammon used to barge into Lucifer’s office and demand his attention and Lucifer missed this part of their routine, even if he was too prideful to admit it out loud. He loved Mammon worrying over his well-being and even going as far to pamper him with his favourite foods and drinks. He remembered in the Celestial Realm when he wasn’t too prideful to ask for help that Mammon would relieve him of some of his paperwork so he could have more time with the rest of his siblings.

He tried to concentrate on the paperwork sat in front of him but it was too hard. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was expecting Mammon to bust through the door to his study and drag him out claiming ‘he needed to eat or else’ and Lucifer would happily follow along this time. But the time staring at his door went by and still no Mammon.

Mammon was too busy with that Mephistopheles he’d befriended. It left a bad taste in his mouth that he’d been replaced so easily. At first, Lucifer was happy he made a friend because Mammon started to leave the house more often, the quiet leaving Lucifer feeling relaxed now that Mammon stopped causing a ruckus in the house every few minutes. But now he hated it.

Mammon, his favourite brother, the cutest in his opinion, the worrywart motherly type was now stolen by some underserving, low-levelled vermin. Lucifer was especially distracted by these thoughts after what he saw in the hallway at RAD. Mephistopheles was being handfed food by Mammon, food that only took Lucifer a glance to know Mammon had made (the same lunch he made all of them when they had fallen to Devildom) and Mephistopheles was enjoying it too much. In his opinion, he shouldn’t be enjoying that treatment at all, Lucifer should.

It only got worse when Mephistopheles kissed Mammon’s cheek. And while Mammon was busy flushing red and stuttering (that adorable stutter he’d do when Lucifer complimented him), Lucifer saw red.

Before Lucifer knew it, a possessive growl rumbled in his throat, his demon form unfurled for all to see, claws bared as if to strike down that unworthy Mephistopheles and rescue his Mammon. When he realised that he was in his demon form, Lucifer took a deep breath. He had to calm down, after all, he was the avatar of pride, not the avatar of envy. That was Leviathan’s job.

Leviathan was currently playing games in his room and it was the best! He was having so much fun! There was no Mammon to drag him out of his sanctuary and away from his precious anime. Or to play with him and make him lose with his scummy skills. It was better with his online friends, not some noob. It was perfect!

But not really.

Mammon brought Levi food and drinks, would make sure he went to bed at a reasonable time and would drag him out to touch grass. Ever since that Mephistopheles came, he ruined everything. Levi’s player two never played with him anymore. Usually, it was Mammon who approach him but he approached Mammon. And then Mammon said he was busy!

Levi stewed in his thoughts, completely abandoning the game he was playing in favour of this jealous train of thoughts. Just then, his phone pinged with a notification from Devilgram. Levi usually didn’t bother checking his feed unless it was from one of the important accounts he followed but anything to distract him from his loneliness. If only he checked who posted beforehand.

It was Mammon’s account and the photo was of him and his new ‘bestie’, Mephistopheles. But what they were doing made him go into a jealous fit. Mammon and Mephistopheles were playing a game, a game called Ruri-Chan’s Battle Royal, the same game he asked Mammon to play.

Leviathan could admit that he was jealous, he was the avatar of envy so he wasn’t embarrassed by it unlike most. And there was nothing he was better at than being envious. Especially when someone else had something he wanted.

Satan was angry. Nothing was new there but the reason for his wrath was. Instead of Lucifer or some inconvenience being the cause of his ire, it was Mephistopheles’ fault.

Satan had more time to sort out his books without Mammon running wild and distracting him. And after the shipment he got of new books he just read, it was getting too hazardous to leave them on the floor. He had embarrassingly tripped up more than once. He remembered Mammon always reminding him to put the books away once he was finished with them whenever he thought it was too messy. So, he cleared out a day in his schedule to order them back onto the shelves by genre, author and alphabet, in that order. As he was placing the books to different sections for genre, it was inevitable he would find some old books he had forgotten about.

The one he found was a book of memories, more ones of him as a child and Mammon, or Mammy as he called him back then. He had read that it was something families did in one of his books so Mammon had entertained him. Flipping through the happy memories, Satan smiled. Reliving them again was what he now wanted to do all day; he could finish sorting the books tomorrow. Now he just had to find Mammon! Oh, yeah. He was with his new friend, Mephistopheles.

Satan spent all his free time at school in the library reading one of the many books he had picked. Being in the library had perks such as a quiet space to read, books, being able to hear what everyone was doing, secrets being spilled, Mammon reading aloud- wait. Mammon reading? Getting up and turning a corner, Mammon was reading to his new friend, Mephistopheles. At the time, Satan thought nothing of it but now he remembered, it was just like how Mammon read to him when he was a child.

Being too angry to do anything but plot the murder of that trash daring to steal away his Mammy, he didn’t immediately realise he wasn’t just angry but jealous. He was the avatar of wrath, not envy! Though, he thought, it didn’t change the fact that he might as well be the second avatar of envy.

Asmodeus, on the other hand, had gotten ready and went to The Fall, he had a good time with some women there which is to say he had sex with them. For the first time in a long time, he barely had enough condoms. Mammon always reminded him to bring them but he wasn’t there.

Asmodeus wasn’t shy about missing Mammon, he had been telling his older brother whenever they saw each other. Which wasn’t often. He even invited the second born to his special spa day followed by a night at The Fall, an event he rarely allows others to accompany him to. And what did his brother say? Well, he was grateful of course and immediately fawned over how amazing and generous his favourite younger brother is!

Except he didn’t. In fact, he blew him off and said he had more important things to attend! And what was that? When he finished his orgy and was walking back from one of his favourite spa days in recent years, he saw a familiar head of white hair.

It was his brother with Mephistopheles. He blew Asmo off for that unattractive worm? How appalling! They were both having so much fun and Mammon was smiling. It was a bright smile, the same one that was said to light up the room in the Celestial Realm. When was the last time Mammon had smiled like that? Since the Celestial Realm?

Looking in the mirror, the self-deprecating thoughts that Mammon had helped him conquer years ago returned. Except they were targeted in a different way. Ones how he wasn’t good enough, he couldn’t compare to Mephistopheles, not when all he did was insult Mammon. Even though he was the avatar of lust, all he felt currently was envy for the bond shared between Mephistopheles and Mammon.

Beelzebub had been eating Mammon’s dinner that he didn’t eat anymore due to him having it with Mephistopheles. He remembered that dinner in the Celestial Realm wasn’t mandatory but the brothers spent time with each other because they wanted to. Once the brothers fell to the Devildom, Mammon forced each of the brothers to spend time together once a day eating. It was to help them get used to the changes that the new realm had and to make them get used to the new brother they had gained. It slowly became tradition to sit around and eat breakfast and dinner together, Lucifer did chase the others up if they weren’t there so maybe it was more mandatory.

But now the person who made this happen seemed to not care about it anymore, like he would rather spend his time with someone else than his brothers. It made sense as he was insulted most of the time that any of the brothers saw him but it still hurt Beel to be replaced. He didn’t insult Mammon, though he didn’t help him either.

Mammon always gave Beel more food than the others when it was his turn to cook, even so far as half of his own plate all because of Beel’s voracious appetite. That’s why it hurt him to see Mammon giving food to Mephistopheles instead of him and patted Mephistopheles’ head just like he used to do to Beel when they first fell. He felt hurt to see someone else be looked after by his older brother instead of him anymore. He wished to be given food by his (favourite) older brother.

For the first time since their fall, he didn’t feel hunger for food but the affection given by Mammon specifically. This need grew, causing him to try and fill this new hunger with food instead of affection. (And if he was more affectionate with Belphie, who would complain?)

It didn’t work.

Beel was so hungry for Mammon’s affection but couldn’t receive any due to Mammon never being there anymore. Beel had gone looking every day for the past two weeks but could never find Mammon. It was like he didn’t even live there anymore! (And that thought more than one made him curl up on Mammon’s bed and cry.) It made him panic, not being able to fill the void with food, making Belphie worry. He was jealous that Mephistopheles got what he wanted.

Instead of being the avatar of gluttony, it seemed he had replaced Levi as the avatar of envy.

Belphegor didn’t realise that Mammon wasn’t around there anymore since he was asleep at every opportunity he could get. It wasn’t until Beel had come in crying in the middle of a panic attack that he noticed. And now that he knew, it was hard to forget with all the damage Mammon left behind.

Lucifer wasn’t taking care of himself, too busy waiting for someone else to do it. A someone who was taking care of someone else.

Leviathan was going outside and bringing in random people to game with, post how much they were having on Devilgram then that demon was never seen in the house again. It was obvious he was trying to make someone jealous, even though that someone didn’t care.

Satan was more irritable than usual, which was hell, but would cry in his bedroom when he thought he was alone over pictures of someone he was waiting to be comforted by. That same someone who had abandoned him.

Asmodeus was taking more modelling gigs, going out more often, all to be noticed. Noticed by someone who wouldn’t look his way anymore.

Beelzebub was eating and crying, not being able to fill that empty space. A space left by someone who might not come back.

That someone was Mammon.

Belphegor looked around at his brothers and decided they were a mess that he was going to fix. All he needed to do was bring Mammon back and it would all go back to normal, he would also get to sleep in peace. It was a victory for everyone!

So Belphie started his mission to make the house normal again and it wasn’t going well. He started sleeping in Mammon’s room with Beel to catch him once he came back. But he never did. He then interrogated all of Mammon’s friends, or at least the useless idiots he was with in RAD, only to find out that they hadn’t been hanging out with him ever since he became friends with Mephistopheles. He had no leads other than following Mammon after a class that they shared to drag him back to the house. It was at the end of the day so he wouldn’t get in trouble if he went home.

Following Mammon, he was joined by Beel who also wanted to see Mammon and Satan, who’s animosity almost got them caught as it was sensed by Mammon. He looked in all direction to find the aura but he wasn’t able to find it, he shrugged it off and continued. Along the way, they also collected Levi who was too invested in watching Mammon to comment about how this was like one of his anime. And Asmo, who for once accepted that the attention wasn’t on him. Even Lucifer joined although he said it was to keep an eye on them.

When Mammon saw Mephistopheles, he ran up to him and jumped in his arms, hugging him towards him like his life depended on it. Instead of throwing him off, he held him close like he meant the world. This was unacceptable! How dare he hold their Mammon with those underserving hands! And that joyous laugh he let out should only be for them!

Belphie hadn’t experienced the same envy the others did so he hadn’t understood but now he did. It was a twisting, ugly feeling that made him want to rip out his squeezing heart. He had to get serious now if he wanted to bring Mammon back.

Leviathan was overwhelmed by the envy coming off his brothers, it was influencing his own which forced him to transform into his demon form. Levi really wanted to rip that fucking cunt away but he couldn’t, not when he looked so happy. Even if it made Levi sad. He hadn’t seen Mammon look that way for ages and he would let him stay that way for awhile longer.

“Hey, does Mammon look different?” Asmo asked. Levi was glad he wasn’t the only one to notice.

Now that everyone was looking, they could see the difference between the Mammon they knew and this Mammon. Mammon’s uniform for once wasn’t messy and it seemed like he had a black shirt underneath instead of the teal they were used to. Not only that but it seemed that Mammon had a clip in his hair, a yellow, glittery one in the shape of a star. The biggest difference was how happy Mammon was in front of Mephistopheles.

The brothers watched them from the shadows as the oblivious pair hugged, laughed and smiled together. It wasn’t until that wretch pushed Mammon’s hair back on his forehead and kissed it did the brothers jealousy peak. Almost akin to a hivemind, the 6 demon lords shared one thought.

“We must take back our Mammon at all costs.”

[simplytheevebest]

SimplytheEveBest on Archive of Our Own

When I started this blog, I had absolutely no expectations about how it would go or what I would do. I expected to reblog photos and videos of Eve Best and scream into the void about the headcanons and AUs and fic ideas I had because unlike the other things I'm interested in, none of my friends are interested in Fate and I have no one to talk to about it with. I didn't really expect that anyone would interact with my posts, or engage with my headcanons, and I didn't think I'd have the courage to post any of my fics until my cousin and I made that deal.

Well.

You guys have exceeded my expectations. Not only have I gotten reblogs with amazing tags, I've been blessed with the kindest, sweetest compliments about my writing that have had me on cloud 9 for days and had great additions to and conversations about my headcanons!

Thank you ❤️ from the bottom of my heart. This is a fandom of overwhelming talent and encouragement and support for its fans and creators of content and I am so blessed not only to be a part of it but to have those kind words directed at me!

Thanks to the suggestion of @travelingtardis seconded by @astrid-v and @moonplant I have gotten an Ao3 dedicated to publishing my Fate fanfics! I wish I could've posted this sooner but I had to wait almost 2 whole weeks for my invite link I mean damn, but that means lots of new readers and writers for Ao3 which is so exciting! Everything that has been posted here to my tumblr has been crossposted to Ao3 now and everything I post going forward will get a mention on my tumblr but be posted exclusively to Ao3 (unless there are those that prefer reading on tumblr then I can do both).

Thank you again to all of my followers, my mutuals, and anyone who's ever interacted with my post via likes, reblogs, and comments. They all mean so much to me and I can't wait to post more ❤️

Note: This is not my main Ao3 account thus I'm not caught up on all the bookmarks and subscriptions for the Fate fandom that I should be, but I'm working on it.

[sapphireswimming]

Hello! I just saw my old FF.Net account listed in your post of Danny Phantom authors to check out in FF.Net (Shibby-One). I read through the discussion of FF.Net preference to AO3 from back in the day (I was 14 in 2004 when DP premiered, lol) and was wondering if, in your opinion, the fandom would enjoy if I re-post those old tics to AO3 vs having them waste away in FF.Net?

Oh hey!! It’s exciting to hear from you so I’m really glad you came across those posts :D

Yeah, I think it would be really great if you cross-posted your fics to ao3!

A couple other phandom authors have recently cross-posted their works and it:

Improves the Danny Phantom archive (last time I ran the numbers about 75% of fics weren’t on ao3 which is kind of sad to think about since ao3 is more and more becoming The Place To Read Fics)

Makes it easier for newer fans to find and interact with your work (a lot of people don’t go to ffn unless they’re pointed to specific fic recs that are only posted there so if stuff isn’t on ao3 there’s an increasing chance that a lot of people just... haven’t and won’t ever read it)

So I know that it can take a lot of time to cross-post stuff and not everyone wants to upload all of their older fics on ao3

But if you’re considering it, I think it’s a really good thing to do to preserve your work in a stable place and build up the body of Danny Phantom fics where people are looking for it these days!

[dianneking]

In Her Arms - Queerplatonic Miranda/Robin (Top of the Lake)

This is my entry for @duckprintspress​‘s May Trope Mayhem 2023 Day 1: Queerplatonic Relationship. As soon as I read the prompt/trope, I thought of my favorite underrated pairing, so I hope you enjoy! Crossposted on AO3 - if you prefer reading it there, link is in the title below.

Tags: Spoilers for Top of the lake: China girl season finale, Hospitalization, Gunshot wound (mentioned - not graphic), Coma, Jealousy, Infidelity, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending.

Fandom: Top of the Lake: China Girl - Pairing: Miranda Hilmarson/ Robin Griffin - Wordcount: 1052

In Her Arms 

It's a split second decision: she doesn't stop to think, she doesn't - for once - let the voice of reason convince her that she shouldn't, that coworkers that barely know each other don't simply jump into each other's arms. She just jumps, as instinctually as Miranda has opened her arms, expecting nothing less than for Robin to trust her. 

Surprising even herself, Robin does. 

That's why Robin is now enveloped by Miranda’s strong arms, being held against the blonde's chest and being deposited so very carefully on the warm sand. 

Miranda’s arms linger a little longer than would be normal, and at the same time they leave too soon. It all lasts too little, and yet to Robin it feels like a lifetime. She can still smell Miranda’s delicate soap scent lingering around her, mixing with the saltiness of the seaside air. It is as if Robin has found something in those arms, something she didn't know she had lost. 

"There you go!" comes the cheerful voice from up above her head, and Robin tries to once again focus on her job, on her professionalism, pulling her usual mask back on her face. But as she looks up, she can see a warm understanding in the deep blue eyes above her, and that shakes her even more than the unexpected hug did. 

*

"What is she to you?"

Adrian looks at her accusingly from across Miranda’s hospital bed, pain and regret distorting his face. For a man who's still married to his wife while trying to build a family with Miranda, he sure doesn't make much of an effort to hide the jealousy in his voice, Robin notices. 

Hypocrite. As if he was the only one allowed to care. 

But Miranda wouldn't want her to lash out at him, however much Robin wants to - he was supposed to be the one directing the mission, he was the one supposed to have contingency plans and safety measures in place, he was the one who should have kept Miranda safe - so instead she focuses on his question.

What is she to you? 

Robin thinks of the ease with which Miranda reached over and held her hand while they walked side by side. She thinks of the tears that they have shed together. She thinks of Miranda’s arms around her, holding her, grounding her, keeping her together. She thinks of the special, secret smile that lit up the constable's face when her eyes found Robin's from across the room.

"She's my friend." The word feels wrong in her mouth - to reduce what she had with Miranda to simple friendship feels unfair, especially now - and yet, theirs was not a romantic relationship either, was it? Miranda had Adrian, after all, and Robin...well, Robin didn't need anyone else.

"A friend she'd take a bullet for."

"As I would for her."

"I wish you had." 

Robin's eyes travel along Miranda’s body, looking so uncharacteristically small under the bandages, the tubes and the wires that keep her together - that keep her alive - and finds that his words don't hurt her as he probably wanted them to. 

"I wish I had too."

*

He stops visiting after a while, and Robin is both relieved and angry. Relieved not to meet him anymore - the tense silences in the hospital room wore her out more than the loneliness does - but angry, because how dare he abandon Miranda. Word around the station is that he patched things up with his wife and Robin can't help but think how heartbroken Miranda will be when she wakes up and hears the news. 

Because she's going to wake up. 

Robin squeezes the long, slender hand she's holding, as Miranda used to do with hers when she could feel Robin was upset. 

She's going to wake up and Robin will be there when she does. 

The nurses stop trying to make Robin leave the room when visiting hours end. The people from HR stop asking her how much longer her carer's leave will be. Robin stops counting the days. 

It feels as if her whole world is waiting with bated breath for Miranda to wake up. 

Robin keeps holding her hand, waiting. 

*

"Hey." 

Miranda’s voice is rough and crackly, her lips are chapped and her cheeks are sunken in, and yet her small, tentative, tired smile is the most beautiful work of art Robin could imagine admiring, her voice the sweetest song ever heard. 

She can now admit to herself that a part of her had been terrified to not be able to hear her voice, to see her smile anymore. 

She squeezes that soft hand once again, and this time the long fingers wrap around hers. 

"I had the weirdest dreams." 

And it's such a Miranda thing to say after being in a coma for weeks on end, that Robin can't hold herself back anymore and - carefully, delicately - hugs Miranda around her shoulders, and what starts falling from her lips as a laughter quickly turns into sobs as all of her fear, her sorrow, her guilt finally come out. Miranda’s hands come trembling up - even this small movement is such an effort for her - and land on her back, soothing, comforting.

*

When the doctors clear Miranda to go back home, with strict orders not to tire herself out too much, Robin puts her foot down and convinces her to come stay at her place - only for now, she reasons, until you get your energies back.  Miranda accepts, looking at her with that soft, understanding look that makes Robin stammer and bluster and remind her that it's just because Miranda needs someone to keep her in check otherwise she would overexert herself within five minutes of being home. 

Miranda doesn't say anything, and just smiles down at her, her eyes crinkling up as if they had just shared a secret joke. 

That evening, when she sees Robin bringing her pillow and linens to the couch, she's the one putting her foot down, and telling her not to be ridiculous and just come to bed. She holds her arms open, welcoming, and as Robin curls up against her side, she can't help but think of how perfectly she fits into the blonde's embrace, and she allows herself to simply bask in the happiness that she only finds in Miranda’s arms. 

Liked it? You can find more of my fanfiction on my fanfiction masterlist! 

[shadowdianne]

Fic writer review [Or a fic writer tag game if you prefer]

I was tagged by @naralanis and I can already see her grin all the way from where I am xd Thank you, dear, for the tag, let’s see what are my answers, shall we.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

*bursts out laughing* Adding both pseuds I have… 535 according to the account info but by counting them all I’m reaching 541 so I’m guessing it’s counting some drafts I need to re-find.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

I seriously hated you for this one xd I was going to do it by hand by I decided one-third there that I value my mental stability a little bit more xd according to the stats page back at a03 that number would be 1257884. It may be wrong. I think there should be a few more numbers up there but the majority of my works are one-shots so *shrugs* There’s also the fact that counting my ao3 things only is shaving off like half of it Xd Anyway, can we laugh at the fact that I’m a pain in the ass and that I’ve written a lot? More than I should have, that’s for sure

3. How many fandoms have you written for?

Trick question because I haven’t crossposted everything I wrote back in ffnet and I actually erased some fics from my account back there so the numbers are a little blurry there.

When I had the entirety of my work posted both in ffnet and a03 I had written for: Twilight (Bella/Alice) Glee (Faberry and there were a couple Pezberry and I don’t fucking remember the pairing name for Santana and Quinn), Harry Potter (Hermione/Ginny, Hermione/Narcissa, Hermione/Bellatrix) OUAT (SwanQueen and several oneshots focusing on the mad hatter and the blue fairy solely back at ffnet that were written in Spanish and never translated), I actually had a veeeery old au prompt of Frozen (Elsanna in where I wrote them as non sibilings), Rizzoli and Isles (Rizzles), Dishonored 2 (Emily Kaldwin/Alexi Mayhew), Lara Croft and Wonder Woman, Supergirl (SuperCorp/Supercat) I had a 100 one -or maybe two??- (Clexa), The Shannara Chronicles (Amberle/Eretreia [Or Princess Rover], Rwby [Blake Belladona/Yang], The Worst Witch (Hecate Hardbroom and Pippa Pentangle), The Half of it, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Madam Satan/Zelda Spellman) and… I think that’s it(?) I may be forgetting some but probably nothing important if I’m not remembering it lol.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

Ah, we are going to go there, uh? Xd My works are not the kudos and comment getting type Xd So I was quite surprised when I went to check this.

1: Cracked it I wrote this one back in 2017, it was a prompt done by an anon: Lena is nerding with one of her projects at home, mumbling mostly to herself because she’s stuck and Kara casually mentions how to solve the problem like it’s nothing. I really had some fun with this. It was back when some us, SQeeners were fully doing the jump between OUAT and SuperGirl (I mean, there had already been some crossover as for fandom is related but this when the girls were actually getting their conjoined voice within the fandom)

2: Dateless I honestly needed to check what this one was about but I think I can see why this one shot has the amount of kudos it has. It’s a short and sweet idea and responds to the Teachers Au that went SO well with SQ. Everyone thinks they hate each other and try to set them up with other people whilst they, in truth, are dating. I don’t remember if I wrote them as married rather than dating but despite being from 2017 as well is one cheeky enough to be cool Xd I probably would edit some lines now *shudders*

3: After you I truly didn’t expect this one to be top 3. Makes me think of a lot of things, if I’m being honest Xd. After you was a one shot written almost feverishly as an answer to the fabulous drawings that Sejic did of both Lara Croft and Wonder Woman back at 2018 or something. It’s just Lara and Diana being himbos but not at all with each other.

4: How about… How about is one I remember perfectly, it was my answer to the ending of the Half of it film. I had SOME thoughts about it, let’s just stop there Xd I really liked the film itself but I think and I thought at the time that my response to wishing for a final scene at the very end of the credits responds to me being in a different personal moment than the characters. I really wanted to explore my feelings about it and so I wrote about them finding each other again after some time passes. It was also something I wrote after quite the hiatus so I took it as something I could write about without focusing too much on the why.

5: Come to me

Ahh, SuperCorp Xd I remember this one actually. A friend of mine and I were talking about descriptions, and she mentioned quite off-handedly how she wanted a fic in where Kara’s back was described. I complied… more or less.

Fun tidbit, despite the big volume of my work is obviously set in ouat there’s only 1 SQ fic there as you can see, the others are either SuperCorp or the random one shots I created for Wonderwoman/Lara Croft and The half of it. *sighs in deep thought* I’m also not going to look too much into how almost all of the fics were posted and written back in 2017. Nope, not at all.

*Small voice screaming you peaked in 2017 and everything else is garbage jumps back and forth*

5. Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

I tend to always respond, yup. I truly value comments. I might have gone for spells of time in where I didn’t have the mental capacity to check in old fics because I truly didn’t know what to answer but I treasure every single comment and you all who comment know that I can start to ramble in the answers xd -sorry about that- I really really REALLY love interaction.

6. A fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending:

Ok, Nara, come on, this one is a catch for me. I’ve written angst in far too many fics to remember the angstiest one :P I have the most recent one, though, that is the easy one to think about: Goodbye.Written for @delirious-comfort. I’m just going to say “Kisses with their last dying breath” as an idea of what awaits inside but I’ve written about death and loss and angst quite a lot. There were some I wrote back to SQ with Regina needing to kill Emma during the Dark Swan arc that, to this day, I still love and some others in where Regina is the one that dies, again and again, trapped by magic while Emma watches. I have the loss in mental destruction form and… I REALLY like my angst y’know xd

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not counting Lara and Wonder Woman not really! I think it comes from the fact that I loooove worldbuilding as a whole and some pairings would require all my focus into making the world perfect which in turn would make me self conscious on the OOCness of it all.

8. Ever received hate on a fic?

*snorts* I’ve received hate due to the pairing I’ve written about, how I’ve written about it, the amount I’ve written, how slow or quick I can be, the usage of some tropes, the lack of usage of those same tropes… Let’s just go with: yuuuup.

9. Do you write smut?

I’ve written smut, yeah! But I can already see the pointed looks of some so let’s elaborate Xd I write smut when asked and sometimes when not asked but there’s a part of me I like to call a terrible tease that prefers writing the beginning of a scene, taunt it, focus on what happens before the sex scene per se as I find it more enjoyable to write. The process of escalation is always the best for me to see what can I do it by using both dialogue and descriptors tbh, so I tend to tease more than show.

9. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A few weeks ago I’d have said: Maybe(?) But trying to follow the trail of some other fics that had been stolen from some friends -I think it was me trying to find more about the page that stole something from your Nara!- I found some pages in where my fics had been reposted. In some it was stated that the person posting the fic wasn’t the author but I had never been contacted in order to see if I’d say yes to such a thing and in some others the page was locked up but I could still see someone was pretending to be the author. I did the thing and got some of those down.

Pointed note: Ask me if you want to post or translate or anything. I will look into you and answer you if you seem honest about the thing. But despite every joke and self-deprecating comment those 500 and then some fics represent MY time so very kindly I say fuck off to those who wish to steal from me and if I catch you… you don’t really want to see me angry, trust me.

10. Ever had a fic translated?

I’ve given permission to some, yeah, but never heard it back from them so I’m guessing it didn’t stick.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic?

I’ve written series alongside other authors as @stregaomega for example. And some others that are unpublished -looking at you @carsonnieve - I’ve also done collabs… but fics co-written in the sense of two authors same chapters I don’t have anything posted I’m afraid :P

13. All-time favourite ship?

*snorts*, I guess the obvious answer is SQ uh? And I do think they were the ones that allowed me to read and write SO much. The one I feel more strongly about, however, is Bering and Wells from Warehouse 13.

14. WIP you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

All of them counts as a valid answer? But if I only could finish one that would be Arcadia. With A forgotten Promise second and the one I did as an Assassins Creed AU third. (I don’t remember the name so there’s no link, sorry xd)

15. Writing strengths?

Uhhhh, you REALLY want me to say that? I don’t fucking know!! To me everything I write is garbage. I always try to go for the feelings so I guess. Dunno xd I’ve been told I’m good at worldbuilding and to be honest is what I enjoy the most.

16. Writing weaknesses?

Everything Xd Pacing? What I hate the most sometimes is dialogue, I would count it as a weakness but I’m always far too focused on description rather than dialogue. I don’t think it’s a bad thing per se but it’s something that I don’t do as much.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I’m conflicted. Always. Majorly because I think that having bilingual characters in fanfiction is portrayed and expected in a way that I don’t feel it’s honest with how bilingual people -us- talk. So if I go by what I know I do I think it’s not what readers hope to see when it comes to that and if I go for how canonically is hoped to be found I don’t think it’s logical. But that’s me and my overthinking Xd If I have the option I like to do it.

18. First fandom you ever wrote for?

Belice! Or Bella/Alice. Worst first fic ever but oh, well, I’m always saying that :P

19. What’s your fav fic you’ve written so far?

Uhh… Don’t make me do this XD Agh, I don’t know. I’ve always been very vocal about Metallic Ink because I let myself enjoy the process of creating a magic system almost out of zero and that was fun. Despite hating some of the writing process and that I’d do it differently now I think I’m going to stick with that answer. Or anything that had any steampunk-based undertone. To be honest I like more thinking of concepts, I had one in where Emma was a thief and it involved the robbery of a ring that was Regina’s one way ticket to freedom I then later repurposed that I adored thinking about so let’s go with…. Yeah, I love having the option of changing things up a little and focus on how characters would fit in different aesthetics for this one Xd

Annnd… these are four pages, gods. I’m just going to tag @waknatious @carsonnieve @stregaomega here and see what they do- Enjoy the questionnaire ladies :P

[free-pancakes]

16. Levihan (lol if ever they have) lovelots! 🥰

ahh i got carried away and ended up making it into a fic! thanks for the ask @innocent-ghost-demon <3

hope it’s not too angsty but “First and last serious conversation” for levihan... the angst was calling out to me i guess lol. i blame how ch 138 made me feel tbh

crossposted AO3 link here

ask prompt link here 

First and Last

“Ouch!”

“Just hold still, four-eyes!”

Levi firmly held her hand as he wrapped a bandage over it, pulling it taut against the splint he placed under her forearm.

“Levi, I have to go back, our comrades need our help down there! Seriously, I’m fine!”

“Like hell you’re fine, if you just calm down I can stabilize your damn arm, we can make it back—“ He heard the sounds of blades being pulled, and watched the steam of titan blood float past them. “—preferably alive.”

“But my squad, Levi, they need me! I couldn’t—“ She let a sharp gasp escape and winced in pain as Levi pulled the makeshift sling over her shoulder. “I couldn’t live with myself if they died just because I couldn’t stop that one abnormal titan, and got my dumb arm busted up trying…” She tried to squirm out of Levi’s grasp but he had her pinned down tight under his knees, knowing that she would try to fight with her injury.

Levi peered over the edge of the large tree branch they were balanced upon, staring at the 10m titans clawing at the base of the tree below. He turned back to Hange. “You’re lucky I even saw you and brought you up here, you idiot. Now stop moving or we’re gonna become titan shit.”

Hange hesitated, wanting to bite back the words lingering on the tip of her tongue as they were probably inappropriate for such a situation, but she couldn’t resist. She smiled up at him. “Levi, titans don’t shi—“

“Shut up.” Hange closed her eyes and let out a small laugh as he continued to tie her sling.

Suddenly the sound of Nifa’s screams echoed through the forest, which turned on the protective switch inside Hange’s brain. She began to thrash under Levi, tears beading at the edges of her eyes due to the pain of her severely broken arm. Levi almost toppled over the edge but he regained a firm grip on Hange.

“LEVI THEY NEED ME THEY NEED HELP I CANT JUST LAY HERE AND—“

Levi was overcome with frustration, and he accidentally yelled out the words that had been swimming in his head this whole time.

“Well have you ever thought that maybe, I need you?!”

Hange paused. In that brief moment, they both heard the sound of ODM gear reeling and a heavy titan smash into the ground—Moblit had taken Nifa and the two were safe.

Hange breathed a sigh of relief, and looked back at Levi, who averted his eyes from her gaze. A signal flare shot upwards, telling them that the expedition was over and it was time to swiftly make their way home before more titans appeared.

Levi calmly finished setting Hange’s splint and sling. Before Hange could sit up, Levi took his right hand, balled it into a fist, and lightly placed it over her chest, feeling her heart beat rapidly against his hand.

“I need you, Hange, okay?” He planted a soft kiss on her forehead and turned around, quietly motioning her to climb up onto his back so he can bring her down safely to the wagons below. She wrapped her injured arm gingerly over his shoulder and gripped tightly with her other arm. Nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, she felt his locks of hair tickle at her forehead, and felt the warmth of his skin under the film of sweat on each of them—she felt right at home.

“Okay, Levi,” she whispered into his ear, the love in her heart for him laced neatly between her words.

———

“Ouch!”

“Just hold still, shorty!”

Hange held his hand gently as she wrapped fresh bandages over it—the base of his two missing fingers had started bleeding again.

“Hange I can’t just lay here forever, I need to find Zeke.”

“Pfft how dense are you, Levi? Look at your condition!” She scoffed as she placed her palm onto his bandaged chest and gently pushed him back to a laying position.

“For everyone...” he thought of Erwin, and all their fallen comrades. Their friends.

He closed his eyes as Hange’s earlier words about living in the forest together danced around in his head, the temptation of a quiet life with Hange clawing at his heart. He almost regrets not saying yes—but it wasn’t fair for him to be so selfish. As much as he wanted her to rest, he knew Hange, and he knew that she would never feel satisfied knowing that she didn’t help where she was needed.

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were so tired, but she still managed to smile at him. He had to defeat Zeke. For everyone. For the small chance at a life with Hange.

He tried to stand up once again, but this time, Hange didn’t budge from where she sat on the grassy, forest floor. He wondered why she didn’t try to stop him, and why the hell she had a stupid grin on her face. He grit his teeth, and pushed himself up, limping away from Hange. He pressed on forward, though all his injuries made him feel like all his nerves were set on fire. He pushed onward, fighting for the paradise with Hange he imagined. He was maybe only 5 trees away from the clearing they had set up camp when his face suddenly felt hot and his vision began to blur—he felt himself falling, bracing himself for the extreme pain he’d feel when he’d hit the ground. But instead, he was met with warmth, kind and loving.

Hange caught him in her arms, and he felt her chuckle as his head laid against her abdomen. She carefully pulled him up and carried him back to where he was laying before. She quickly pressed a cool towel to his face, watching the wrinkle in his brow relax a little.

She ran her fingers through his hair, Levi feeling some of his pain wash away with her touch. “Figured I’d just let you tire yourself out,” she said with a hearty laugh. Levi was too exhausted to even scowl back at her, and of course, she noticed.

“Hey, don’t worry.” She rested her palm onto his cheek. “You’ll get your chance, I know it. The kids don’t need you right now, but I know they’ll need you later.” She looked off into the distance, but this time, Levi couldn’t tell what was on her mind—or maybe he was just in denial. She looked back down at Levi.

“What’s gotten into you? You know that you’re too injured right now. What’s on your mind, Levi?”

He closed his eyes, shielding the windows into his mind, shutting Hange out from reading his thoughts.

He could see it clearly, a beautiful cabin in the woods that the both of them built together. The smell of tea brewing mixed with the strong scent of pine trees hugged their noses, and the sound of kids giggling, and stomping into the home. Two little kids with messy black hair and light grey eyes wearing glasses rushed into the cabin tackling their mother to the floor. A mess of books and flowers collected from the forest were strewn all over the place, but Levi didn’t mind. He stared at her smile—her big stupid smile, and he crouched down to gather his little family into a hug.

“Levi.”

Her voice woke him from his fantasy, the scene escaping him like a lone leaf in the wind—it was right there in front of him, but he just couldn’t reach it.

She stared, head cocked innocently to the side, waiting for his answer.

And for the first time, Levi couldn’t keep his emotions in, a few tears escaping. He finally opened his eyes, letting Hange see. Hange peered into his eyes and saw his fantasy playing like a movie, vividly, right before her.

She balled her hand into a fist and placed it over his chest, feeling his heart beat against her hand.

She wanted the cabin too. Maybe… maybe they could have it after this was all over.

“You know me too well Levi, but I guess I ruined our little dream— I just can’t stay out of the action, huh?” She sighed, and laid down next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Let’s just lay here together for a bit, while we still can, okay Levi?” She pushed her lips against his forehead, leaving a kiss for him there.

He craned his neck to the right, and pushed his forehead gently against hers, and he let himself believe in their fantasy for a little while.

“Okay, Hange,” he whispered in response, the love in his heart for her laced neatly between his words.

[arrowflier]

Author Interview:

Thank you to my very talented friends for tagging me: @sickness-health-all-that-shit @thisaintmacys-bitch @iansfreckles @gallavich-x @abundanceofnots @energievie

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

99,198.  I have a ton of stuff not crossposted though, and my giant Gallavich file is over 210K.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Meet the Neighbors /489

Eighty-Seven Percent (Anatomy of a Heart) /263

Marriage, Mickey, and Milk of the Gods /250

F*ck the Stars /136

Ease my Pain /103

I have some Tumblr-only stuff that would probably knock that last one from the list, but I haven’t been cross-posting because I’m lazy and I feel like mostly the same people would see it anyway.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I did at first, then I stopped for a while because anxiety, but I’m trying to be better about it again!  I like to let people now I appreciate that they took the time to comment, because it does mean a lot, but sometimes my brain gets the better of me and then I stress about it being weird after too long, etc.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Nothing on AO3; I don’t really do unhappy endings since life sucks enough already.  On Tumblr I guess this one about Mickey as a kid, but I still went back and did a follow-up.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Hmm...if I go only by full finished fics I don’t have many choices lol.  Even though it’s otherwise rather angsty, I’ll go with Burn Out the Sun because it ends on pure wedding fluff.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Sort of?  I’ve used settings from Star Wars and X-men, and I have a ongoing fics that includes characters from Parks and Rec (These Undomesticated Wilds) and Jurassic World (Tooth and Claw).  No knowledge of the other universe is ever needed, though; it would just read like a regular AU without it.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not that I’m aware of, thankfully.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’m working on it!  I’ve been accepting requests for practice so I can include it in some ongoing fics where it makes sense to do so.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of, but I haven’t been around very long anyway.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I think it’s super awesome when people do that!

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope!  And I might be a little too controlling for that.  Unless you count that little writing game that was going around where we all wrote like a paragraph, that was fun!

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Changes when I stumble across new obsessions, but right now Gallavich obviously.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh gosh I hope I finish them all.  There are a couple I haven’t started yet though that might never happen, like the Cinderella and Little Mermaid AU concepts I’ve had for forever.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I never knoooow.  I say description because that’s what I like doing, though.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Also description lol. I fall into purple prose and keep it cause it sounds pretty in my head so who cares, but I know a lot of people prefer things straightforward.  It’s just not my style, though.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t trust myself to do it well.  I only did it once, and I cross-referenced like five different websites and was still a bit uncomfortable with it.  I’ve liked it when other people do it, though I do prefer when the translation is offered immediately (or as a link) so I don’t have to scroll down for it.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Shameless!  I’ve only lurked in others.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I’m thinking I’ll probably do something for Good Omens (Crowley/Aziraphale) during or after season 2.  My other ships are very aged and there wouldn’t be much of an audience anymore, if any.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

How about the favorite one I’m still writing: A tie between Snow White, Blood Red and Tooth and Claw because I get to play closer to my genre of choice.

I’m super late the the game because my parents’ wifi wasn’t strong enough for my laptop this weekend, so please ignore me if you’ve already been tagged or feel free to add yourself:

@sunnyian @howlinchickhowl @gardenerian @mickeysfreckles @suzy-queued

[gaeilgeoirgay]

I’ve decided to start crossposting some of my one shots here sooo here’s “Hour Of Peace”. It’s set in @inexplicifics Accidental Warlord AU :)

Summary: Aleksander of Velen releases Aren and the Witchers of the Manticore School welcome him home

Ao3 Link 

Onto the fic! 

Merten wakes to a loud banging on the door to the room he shares with Leocadie. Beside him, his spouse wakes too, and Merten calls for whoever it is to enter. It’s Zenon, the eldest of the Manticore trainees.

“Sir, sorry for disturbing you but the White Wolf has ordered that the School Heads must gather. According to Jaskier, your presence is especially needed, Master Merten.” Zenon reports and Merten nods, already leaping from bed. “Thanks, lad. Get the Manticubs together for training- you’re in charge until I tell you otherwise.” He orders and Zenon nods.

He leaves to go rouse the trainees and Merten turns to Leocadie, who had watched the exchange languidly. “Right then, my love, I had better see what’s going on. Come with me?” Merten asks and Leocadie rises to stand in front of him. They nudge at Merten’s throat and Merten bares his neck to let Leocadie breathe in his scent. They do it every morning, as a reminder that although the two of them have outlived most of their cubs, they still have each other.

They dress swiftly, armour strapped on and swords sheathed. Merten has a feeling that the meeting will be about their conquering of Redania, and he would prefer to be armed and ready. Leocadie joins him as they stride to the White Wolf’s meeting room.

The Wolf is there, along with his lovers and a few of the School leaders. Merten takes his place at the table, Leocadie beside him. The Wolf looks furious and the scent of anger from the rest of his School is thick in the air. They seem to be the only ones aware of what the meeting is about but there’s a piece of parchment held tight in the Wolf’s hand and Merten has a feeling it’s the reason they’re here.

Ivar strides through the doors and sits, nodding to the Wolf. Artek follows him and that makes their Council. “Thank you for arriving so swiftly. Milena here received a letter from one of her contacts in Redania this morning. The old Duke Velen has died and Aleksander de Velen has taken his seat. He is the one who wrote the letter. Geralt will explain the contents shortly but Master Merten, I would prefer for you to know first.” Eskel Amber-Eyed says and Merten feels an eyebrow raise. He’s only ever been in Redania when he was on the Path. What there could possibly hold his attention?

The letter is passed to him and he unfurls it and starts to read. Dear Milena, the letter starts and Merten continues. Oh sweet Melitele.

“Dear Milena, My grandfather is dead and I have become Duke of Velen. I knew he was a monster but dearest sister, I could not begin to imagine the horrors he has allowed under his reign. There is a dungeon under the Keep and three mages in Velen’s employ. Some fifteen, twenty, years ago, a group of mercenaries in my grandfather’s pay brought down a Witcher. They left his Medallion for his people to find and presume him dead so that King Vizimir, his Mages, and my grandfather could keep him captive to experiment on.”. Here the writing becomes even shakier than it already was and Merten cannot stop himself from reading, even though he can only think of one Manticore who has disappeared in the manner described.

“The Witcher I saw beneath the Keep is named Aren of the Manticore school but he is not the only Witcher kept captive there. The mages wished to create more Witchers using Aren’s blood and imitate the Trials yours go through. Over the years, they have captured and experimented on one hundred and twelve young Redanian girls. Only four survived the false Trials. Sweet Melitele, Milena, I snuck into the dungeons last night once I learned of their captivity, and they are so small. The eldest must be nearing sixteen and she is as thin as a child of seven. Aren of Manticore is covered in scars, even moreso than your Witchers. His voice is shredded and I can only imagine the horrors that caused a Witcher to scream so.”.

Merten has to stop then, unable to read more about what his cub has gone through. Aren’s beautiful deep voice, shredded from years of screaming. He understands the Wolves fury but he feels grief, deeper than any ocean he has ever crossed. He leans into Leocadie, trembling. He feels tears prick at his eyes and for the first time in decades he lets them fall.

His anger rises in him too and he vows to rip the throat from the mages who have done this to his cub. To his cubs, for if Aren’s blood is the thing that changed them, it means they are Manticores. They are his.

The mages will die and Aren will be freed, his girls with him. He’ll bring his cubs to Kaer Morhen and show them a world in which Witchers are revered rather than reviled, a world where they are safe. He will reunite Aren with Theo, Fili, Gregor, Jinsan even and introduce him to Zenon, to Yori, to Rilanth.

The School of the Manticores is small, but they take care of their own. Merten and Leocadie have stood at its head for centuries and Gods willing, they will stand for decades more. They will bring their cub home.

The parchment falls from Merten’s hand and their husband collapses into Leocadie’s side, tears falling from his eyes. Leocadie is startled but they wrap an arm around Merten anyways, picking up the letter. They wonder idly what could have caused Merten such grief- the whole School is currently in Kaer Morhen, no one out on the Path so death is ruled out.

The Wolves watch them sadly but the other Witchers seem as surprised as Leocadie is. “Leocadie, may I have the letter?” Eskel asks and they hand it back wordlessly. Eskel begins to read it out loud for the benefit of the confused Witchers around him and suddenly, Leocadie understands.

Merten is the Head of the Manticore School but Leocadie is their teacher too. Aren was one of theyr cubs and Leocadie had been so proud when he lasted so long on the Path. He had supposedly died only a few months before the White Wolf came up with his madcap plan and the grief he felt for Aren was compounded by the sting of regret that he hadn’t lived long enough to see Kaer Morhen become their home.

Aren isn’t dead though. While Leocadie had been mourning and then healing and moving on, Aren had been chained in the dungeon of a Redanian noble, desperately trying to protect the girls imprisoned with him, bleeding and hurting even as Leocadie was training new boys and laughing with Merten. Gods, Gregor had brought Aren’s Medallion back to Kaer Morhen and Leocadie had taken it as proof that Aren was dead and never looked for him.

Leocadie has failed him but he has a chance now to make up for it. They will free Aren and dispose of Vizimir and Leocadie will work for the rest of their life to earn their cub’s forgiveness.

Theo stares in horror at the dungeon around him. There are four teenage girls in a cage to the side, all of them scarred and starved. And in front of him, Aren lies bound to a table, blindfolded. He’s covered in scars, and Theo recognises only a few of them. He’s thinner than the youngest of the Manticubs and Theo feels bile rising in his throat at the sight of his brother’s ribs, some of them clearly broken.

The two outsiders confirm that they’ll stand by the Wolf’s decision to execute Vizimir and Master Merten calls for Theo to help him free Aren. He steps forward and slides his fingers gently under the strap around Aren’s right wrist before breaking the leather with a grunt of exertion. He swiftly does the same to the strap at his ankle before moving back up to help Master Merten break the godsdamned collar the Redanians put on his brother.

He pulls a knife from his belt and very carefully slips it between the collar and Aren’s throat as Master Merten snaps the iron links attached to it. Fili undoes the gag as Theo moves to slice open the blindfold. Master Merten is at Aren’s head as he blinks slowly, adjusting to the light after the blindfold.

The old Master gathers Aren into a hug and Theo smiles as his brother’s arms come up slowly to reciprocate. One of the girls in the corner calls out to Aren uncertainly and the Manticore stands up with Master Merten’s help, hobbling over to the cubs.

Theo follows and grins viciously when Master Merten kicks the corpse of the infernal mage as he passes. Theo’s boot comes down on the dead mages hand as he walks over to the cage. He may be as dead as his fellow but Theo feels a little better when he hears the crunch of bone.

Esra of the Bears breaks the lock on the cage and the girls stream out, crowding around Aren. Theo watches in approval as one of them grabs the head of the other mage and smashes it viciously. She’s a great Witcher already- the Manticores will be the luckiest school in Kaedwen if Aren’s girls decide to join them. Though even if he and the girls choose to never walk the Path again, its enough for Theo to have his brother back. Anything else is a bonus.

Zenon balances a tray of food on his hip as he knocks at the Pride’s door. They’re still wary of the other Witchers and thus far haven’t wanted to eat in the hall. Fair enough, the Hall can be overwhelming sometimes. Zenon still prefers to eat with the rest of the trainees even though the oldest Manticore trainees are encouraged to spend time with their already graduated brothers.

Elena opens the door and smiles when she sees Zenon. “Thank you!” She says cheerfully when he passes her the tray. “No bother, milady. The kitchens said they would send up dessert later, but since it’s cold they didn’t want it to melt before ye got a chance to eat it.” He says, explaining the minor decrease in food on the tray.

Elena nods in understanding and Zenon bows shallowly to her before turning to leave. Some of the other trainees hate Master Sasha’s courtly training but Zenon rather likes it. His parents had been travelling merchants before they were killed by a kikimora and Zenon had spent some time with nobles who were interested in buying from them.

As he’s about to leave, he’s stopped by a call from inside. “Come here for a second, boy. I’d like to speak with you.” Aren says and Zenon turns back around. He takes a step through the door, looks to the girls for permission and is granted it. “What can I do for you?” He asks politely and Aren squints at him. “You’ve been delivering food up to us since we got here but you seemed familiar to me even before that. How do I know you?” The elder Manticore asks and Zenon smiles.

“I’m one of the eldest Manticore trainees, sir. I had just joined the School when we moved to Kaer Morhen but I wasn’t offered to the Witchers nor a Child Surprise. My parents died by a kikimora and you were the Witcher who slew it. You saved my life and brought me to the Manticores.” Zenon explains and Aren snaps his fingers. “I remember! It was one of the last fights I had before the mercenaries. I’m glad that you made it through the Trials.” He says genuinely and Zenon blushes.

“You must nearly be done with your training, then?” Aren asks. Zenon nods. “Yeah, I’ll go out on the Path next year. Hopefully, I’ll do the Manticores proud.” He answers and Aren laughs. His voice is ragged but stronger now than it was. “You’ve been trained by the best School, boy, of course you will! Let me know when you head out and I’ll see you off. Feels good to know that the tiny stripling I saved became a full grown Witcher.” He says.

One of the girls crowds a little closer. “If Aren brought you to become a Witcher and his blood made us Witchers, then in my opinion you’re part of the Pride. I’m Zia and I’d very much like to fight you, little brother.” She says decisively and Zenon splutters. “I’m older than you!” He says indignantly and Zia laughs. “I’ve spent this long being the oldest, I’m not giving that up for a damn boy.” She says stubbornly and Zenon considers her for a minute.

“How about you stay the oldest sister and I’ll be the oldest brother? You’ll still be oldest at something.” He bargains and she regards him curiously. “Hm. I’ll take it but I reserve the right to mess with your hair. It’s a fucking rats nest.”

Fair enough, Winise stole his comb and he hasn’t figured out where the little bastard hid it. “Deal.” He says, holding out his hand. She takes it and they shake on it, his new sisters watching on.

Zenon goes to grab his dinner from the kitchens and comes back up to share a meal with his sisters and his Finder. It’s nice- he’s got a few little brothers in the trainees but he’s never had a sister, let alone four of them. He suspects they’ll make his life hard sometimes but honestly, he doesn’t care. He plans on taking a leaf out of the Princess’s book anyways. He wonders if the girls will like geese.

(the answer is a very emphatic no and he finds that out the extremely hard way. Still, Zenon wouldn’t trade his sisters for all the geese in the world. Even if their idea of retribution includes spiders. Gods, he hates spiders.)