#someone ordered femslash

[muutos]

the water ghoul sits in a chair, in front of the mirror in her room - yet, she's not facing the reflection. webbed fingers carefully & purposefully having picked up the wooden, shabby piece of furniture. turning it around before sitting within it, with a graceful bend of the waist. everything she does in some form, elegant. even if it's something one might not associate with regality. the dip of their chin as they regard it, or the way she swiped a webbed hand along the backrest when she circles it to sit down. but such is the way of the water. steady, calm - yet unpredictable.

back pin straight, gills are covered by the neck of their cassock - even when she's out of glamour. but she feels tight in the chest, & slightly uncomfortable revealing themself to the fire ghoulette like this... pale green skin & thick, spiraling horns. she doesn't look like other ghouls... the gentle mottling on her face from where scales were meant to go, & her small fish-like ears. not to mention the soft fanning on the end of her tail where spade was meant to sit, or the spinal fin on the tip of her neck. running down the length of her back. blinking rapidly at times, with hands in her lap -- the intent ghuleh continues to run a brush through her long, matted hair. snow white & meant for camouflage, the fish out of water has a body wasted on land... strong webbed paws perfectly poised on the floor, out of their spats. the only dress code violation they will ever readily commit.

brows pull with a hiss as one of the tougher spots is tugged on, wondering if it was a stray braid. a bit too close to a horn, the sensation is somewhere between pleasure & pain. she lets out an impromptu moan, also toeing that aforementioned line. hand coming up to cover their mouth - brows narrowing, whilst they straighten impossibly. mortified... "our apologies...." soft voice speaks, her hand lowering slowly back to her lap. "perhaps we should not have taken out our braids.." she says. pursing her lips, with a soft flush.

@vileincarnations / / starter i owe you <3

[just-antithings]

I absolutely support more people writing femslash, but, ya know, only if they want to. What sort of soulless content would we have in the end if someone only writes it via guilt trip like it's court-ordered community service or something?

Shaming people for writing slash won't make them turn to writing femslash. It will just discourage them from writing anything.

👆👆👆👆

[hpsaffics]

✨ WLW Wed: Cissamione (Part 1) ✨

A biweekly HP femslash rec list made by the lovely members of the HP SAFFICS (18+) discord server. See all previous rec lists in the WLW Library.

Currently: Hermione Granger/Narcissa Black Malfoy (see Part 2) Previously: Ginsy (see list)

—

💫 Hella Long (>100k) 💫

Extinction by @rubikanon [M, 200k]

Post-war adventure across the British countryside, Hermione accidentally falls in love with Narcissa Malfoy, classified missions and intrigue and dementors oh my, Ron isn't a jerk (what?! unheard of!), slow burn romance with a Serious Plot.

Blinding Lights by @16-pennies [T, 121k]

Hermione is left prisoner at Malfoy Manor, presumed dead by the Order and her days numbered by the Death Eaters. Against all odds, she discovers an unexpected ally...

The House of Black by Calliopeia419 [E, 102k]

Hermione studies for a PhD in English Literature and Drama, but struggles to pay the rent on the flat. Already drowning in work for her thesis, she contemplates accepting a job at the university library. But her supervisor Andromeda Tonks suggests an alternative - that Hermione take a part-time job with her sister, who runs a 'small clothes shop'...

The Ties that Bind by @belladonnainbloom [E, 102k]

Finally fed up with the useless advice of healers, Hermione is sure she'll never be able to remove the scar left on her arm by Bellatrix's knife. In a last act of desperation, she seeks out Narcissa Malfoy, now a veritable recluse after the war, in the hopes that she might know something… anything that could help.

—

💫 Long (10k-100k) 💫

Secrets of Stonehenge by Asgerthedemon [E, 82.6k]

Once again [Hermione] must save the world from mortal peril, so another Monday at the office. With the help of her friends and new girlfriend Narcissa, she faces off against the Creatures of Chaos, grudge holding journalists and a possessive ex. How will she make it through this trying time?

Dressed in Black by @habren [M, 31.3k]

Trapped in different cages, a surprising request leads to a series of Friday evening meetings that change Hermione's and Narcissa's lives forever.

She's Just a Boy by @looktotheedges [T, 28.8k]

Draco has been given a task by the Dark Lord. A task he can't refuse... Well. Narcissa Malfoy shan't let her son become a killer... She'll do anything for her son... Take his place at Hogwarts...and do the deed herself. Although she had not anticipated being a teenage boy being quite so difficult.

Sonnets & Submission by @storyof-eden [E, 26.5k]

Hermione was just twelve years old when she decided she would follow Harry Potter anywhere. At thirty, she never would've imagined it would lead where it did. To a BDSM club in the middle of London. To kneeling on the floor by her Mistress. To falling in love.

Silhouette by @maraudersaffair, SecondSilk, @sunflower-swan [E, 25.2k] WITH ART!

After the war, Narcissa is down and out and working as a seamstress when Hermione asks her to be her personal dressmaker. Narcissa agrees... The problem is Narcissa can't stop thinking about what it would be like to shag Hermione.

Love in the Eye of a Storm by @rattlesoft [M, 24.3k]

After the war, Narcissa Malfoy spends all of her time holed up in Malfoy Manor. Growing more and more dissatisfied, she takes a holiday to a mysterious island that promises no contact with the outside world. There, she encounters someone else in similar circumstances and a threat straight from her nightmares.

you say they're beautiful (but i can't breathe) by @evadwrites [T, 11.5k]

“It’s stupid,” Narcissa announces when Bella is finished talking. “Why would anyone choose to die for somebody who doesn’t love them back?”... It’s not until Narcissa falls in love with Hermione Granger that she knows for sure: she would let love kill her in a heartbeat.

—

🌙 Want more Cissamione? 🌙

Cissamione: Tag on Tumblr | Tag on AO3

WLW Library: Tumblr | Tag | AO3

[consistentsquash]

2023 HP Fic Recs

HP Fics written and completed in 2023 which I read and loved. My recs are based on my reading + taste.

Snarry

OTP!

For I Have Found Salvation by @lumosatnight

Severus is a priest, and Harry is the parishioner who may just make him break his vows of celibacy.

Enough said. Hot, wrong, dirty. So totally Snarry!!! Also with a twist you don't see coming! Rated E. 7100 words. From Snarry AUctober Fest 2023 collection.

  Snake Charmer by @perverse-idyll

Sometimes all Severus had to do was turn thirty-plus years of repressed hunger upon him, and Harry would start shaking.

They are total disaster failmarriage hotness! Feel really sorry for everybody around them. Like a lot! The opening line is giving one really bad vampire in Hunger so much for me :D :D It's like a snippet/draft from WARM my beloved! <3 3200 words. Rated T.

  Devotion by @danpuff-ao3

Is there anything more undignified than needing someone so much?

26000 words. Rated E. Maximum hotness. Maximum wrongness. Maximum dirty bad delicious Snarry. This is the longest HP fic I read this year and 100% worth it!!! I am a big fan of Danni's Snarry and this fic is one of my all time fav Snarries. From Snarry-a-thon 2023 collection.

  In His Bed by @givereadersahug

Jealousy flooded Harry at their familiarity with each other's bodies. Resentment at their ease in getting each other off — the passion, the eagerness, the joy. All so different from his relationship with Severus.

Harry is super Slytherin here! Using the memories in order to learn what makes Snape tick! I really loved the dirtybadhotness of this fic! 450 words. Rated E. HP Kinktober collection.

  Coda to "Soft Touch" by @perverse-idyll

He'd thrown the bait. Would Snape catch it? Yes, he would, and throw it back.

Soft Touch is the Most ethical Massage Therapy fic ever :D Dirty, bad, hot, wrong. So it's incredible to get this really sweet and wholesome coda. You can see the undercurrents of the more complicated themes but also really sweet. 3300 words. Rated T. This is as fluffy as PI Snarry gets :D :D

  Femslash

Nymphadora, Nymphet by @thistlecatfics

Could this woman be a relative of her mother’s?

Bellatrix/Tonks, Bellatrix/Andromeda. 20200 words. Rated E. From Women of the House of Black fest 2023 collection. Really hot, dirty, wrong on literally every single level :D Obviously I love it! The femslash Lolita fic HP fandom really really needed :D

  Candles Lit Against the Dark by @perverse-idyll

Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank/Minerva McGonagall. 13600 words. Rated G. My favorite fic of 2023. From Snapecase 2023 fest collection. Beautiful, beautiful fic which is kind of my personal epilogue for the books at this point. Lost count of rereads. It's packed with beautiful friendships, people focusing on the sweet instead of the bitter, people moving on together, people forgiving each other. It's an incredible fic with perfect execution on some classic tropes like matchmaking and friends who are going to help you whether or not you asked for it. Also some not so classic tropes like celebrating a female character's life/happiness/love being the center of a rich fic. Ultimately this is Minerva McGonagall's fic and I am so here for it.

  Once of Eden by eldritcher.

Lily/Eileen. 2000 words. Rated M. Poignant and super sharp character study of Lily. Lots of storms inside her head about her family/war/Petunia/Snape. This is right before her marriage but she has this feeling she doesn't fit into that life and she doesn't want to let go of her past. Like a lot of us, she's also seeing her past/childhood through these nostalgic glasses but at the same time she's also noticing adults in her life and has this bittersweet feeling that she's an adult now/making adult choices now. Serious Catcher in the Rye vibes. This fic has the Lily for me. Really like Harry, really Gryffindor. It's a really beautiful, sensitive, unique, powerfully human fic.

  Leather by @saintsenara

Tonks/Fleur, Tonks/Charlie, Tonks/Remus, Tonks/OFC. 2900 words. Legit character studies of bi characters are super rare in our fandom. I don't really go for self-discovery type fics but this one is whoa! Love, love, love and highly recommend this one. It's out and proud and amazing. <3 From Ladies of HP Fest Collection.

  Rare slash

Rare as in the only fic on AO3 for the pairing :D

The Ice Cream Man and the Potions Master by @squibstress

Florean Fortescue/Snape. 9000 words. Rated G. From Hoggywartyxmas 2022 fest collection. This is definitely my fav slash fic of the year <3 I feel like a lot of times especially with OTPs the preslash part is kind of assumed to happen in the background. This fic does an incredibly amazing job of setting up the preslash and it's just ultra convincing. New Snape ship dropped <3

Gen

Yeah, I read gen! Tbh I don't except when a character study fic or an author's writing style really grabs me :D

October by @ashesandhackles

Insanely amazing character studies. Rated G. The Barty Crouch Jr. character study, Disappointing Fathers, is probably my all time fav genfic with him. I came out of this super sympathetic for Barty which is something that never happened to me before. So well written and brilliantly characterized.

  Womb by eldritcher

3000 words. Rated M. Phineas Nigellus Black character study with a beautiful friendship with Snape. Dark and intense but the fic has my fav Snape resurrection of all time <3 From Snapecase 2023 fest collection.

  Birds of Paradise by eldritcher

2700 words. Rated G. Fawkes character study with a beautiful friendship with Albus Dumbledore. Really beautiful, ethereal fic. eldritcher can write non-human characters with their own "type" of emotional connect. Normally they use this superpower for writing interspecies :D But this is a beautiful gen fic. From Pandemic, my most beloved. Obviously each and every eldritcher fic has a really special place in my heart but Pandemic is just insanely generous giving something special at the right time when it was needed and it made a huge difference for me personally. Love and anarchy, always!

  The Octaves and the Circumsion of Our Lord by eldritcher

The Dark Lord is circumcised. Nobody knows how everybody knows, but everybody knows.

2300 words. Rated M. Regulus Black character study with a beautiful friendship with Kreacher. Dark and intense fic about Regulus getting radicalized but also showing how he actually buys into those beliefs. Normally I avoid Regulus fics because the characterizations just don't work for me. This is exactly how I imagine Canon Regulus.

  Al Najid by eldritcher

She has come here to make an example of this woman for the son to find. Snape should know that betrayal comes with consequences.

2800 words. Rated M. Bellatrix Black character study set just before she tortures the Longbottoms. A complicated situationship with Eileen. Dark and hot mess Black family fic.

Het

Oof. Literally zero reason to trust my hetfic recs but you got to trust me :D These fics are amazing!

Ariadne by @ashesandhackles

Surrealistic, beautiful character study of Cho. It's got Harry/Cho, Cedric/Cho for pairings but this is 100% her fic. 1100 words. Rated G.

Exploring Cho's feelings for Harry in wake of her grief for Cedric's death, with symbolism from myth of Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur

  Four Christmases Pomona Sprout Loved and One She Hated by @kellychambliss.

Aberforth/Pomona. 6800 words. Rated T. This fic keeps it real. I really felt her pain because when you are an adult making new friends is super hard! The BEST Aberforth Dumbledore Snarkiest!!!! <3 I am a big fan of how this author writes The Abe D! Actually I am a big fan of this author. FAVE! <3 A lot of times rarepairs can feel kind of hard to believe because the characters don't have canon time together. You are totally going to be convinced. ALSO BANTER. I love relationship progression with banter. Things get bittersweet because of the war but it's got a really beautiful earned happy ending <3 My fav het fic of the year. Best fic to end this list :D

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/728834339616538624/httpswwwtumblrcomdbssh718131292895674368lik#notes man I even saw a post going around some lesbian tumblrs (specifically the kinds of lesbian tumblrs who spend a lot of time agonizing over the existence of women who might be *technically* a 5.5. on the Kinsey scale using the label "lesbian" rather than "bi," oh the horror) trying to suggest that most people posting the "step on me" stuff aren't actually attracted to women. And like, I get that it's achieved meme status at this point, but iirc that was started by trans lesbians on Twitter who absolutely were extremely attracted to the female anime characters they were stanning. It's also like, such a specific and specifically sexual (kinky) thing to want. Why would someone express that who is somehow kidding themselves about their attraction to women? Why would a straight woman say that? Like, I *could* buy that a lot of the uwu slumber-party-style femslash that people are always complaining about, that some of *that* might be written by people who aren't as into women as they think/are doing the eat-your-veggies thing (though I do think those people are the minority, most of the people I know who write that stuff are very much attracted to women and even have female partners, they just have veeeeerrrry different tastes in what they want in femslash than I do, lol) but "step on me"? Suggesting that that's a thing that people who aren't "actually into women" say in order to be "performative" or whatever is just such a bizarre take. I don't get it at all. It apparently has something to do with the fact that they're talking about stepping on them instead of talking about boobs or wanting to go down on them or whatever, which is also a bizarre statement since pretty much everyone I know who posts "step on me" also talks about one of those other things.

--

It's the usual horror that other people were born kinky.

[blackbird-brewster]

CM Fanfiction on AO3

I'm a bit of a stats nerd, and I've been wanting to put this together for ages. The following are some statistics regarding Criminal Minds fanfiction of AO3. Do with this what you will, but if ever someone tries to tell me this fandom isn't misogynistic -- I will just point to this post.

I spent an abhorrent amount of time putting this together, hope it's interesting to other people. Please don't send me hate mail for my opinions.

Base Statistics

Total Fics Tagged Criminal Minds: 34,561

These stats were compiled by me on 20/06/23 via AO3's filtering system.

Note: These were taken at face value, meaning these numbers may not be exact. In order to get exact statistics, I'd have to stringently filter out things like mislabelled fics, spam, fics with multiple categories (to find pure slash, femslash fics), etc.

Tumblr will destroy the resolution of the graphs, just click to see full res :)

Fanfic statistics gathered from AO3, episode totals gathered from IMDB.

CM Fanfiction by Category

Most Popular Category: F/M (26.2%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 34,561

These totals weren't all that surprising, in a fandom that is largely obsessed with two men and no one else, I sort of expected this.

The only reason F/M has the largest amount of fics (vs M/M) is because 37% of all F/M fics are "Spencer/Reader". (More about pairings below)

If 'x reader' fics were excluded from the data, then the distribution would skew to: 34% M/M vs 24% F/M

Sorry, I just saw the 'other' category is the same colour as F/M on the graph. Other accounts for 2.3% of all fic categories

CM Fanfiction by Rating

Most Popular Rating: Teen and Up (30.3%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 34,561

I think it's interesting that the most popular ratings are Teen and General -- even though a huge portion of readers only read Mature/Explicit. There are absolutely incredible works that are rated Teen and General, and it's just a shame people don't read them as much as smut. That's probably the same in most fandoms though.

Top Relationships for Each Rating: General Audience: Spencer/Reader Teen and Up: Morgan/Reid Mature: Hotch/Reid Explicit: Hotch/Reid Not Rated: Spencer/Reader

It's no secret that this fandom worships Hotch and Reid above all other characters, but I think there's something to be said that a M/M ship dominates the Mature and Explicit ratings. Slash fic (M/M) has always been more popular than femslash (F/F) in pretty much any fandom, and the history of fetishization of mlm relationships in fanfiction (the fetishisation usually being written by cishet women, not talking about queer people writing queer fic) is always worth discussing.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Characters

Most Popular Character: Spencer Reid (19.9%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic:*indeterminate due to crossover (multiple characters per each fic)

No surprises here with the top three being the men who make up some of the most popular ships.

Notice how Jack Hotchner, a CHILD who was in 22 eps out of 300+ -- is featured in MORE fics than main characters (who were in multiple season) like: Luke, Matt, Tara.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 (BAU) Characters

Most Popular Character: Spencer Reid (20.5%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: *indeterminate due to crossover (multiple characters per each fic)

This one is filtered by BAU members only. Sorry, 'reader', this is about main characters only.

Notice how Gideon (45 total episodes, 2015 fics) and Elle (27 total episodes, 1371 fics) made the top 10 list even though characters who were on the show for YEARS missed out.

Main Characters not in the Top 10: (* denotes section chiefs. Bold denotes characters who appeared in more episodes than Gideon) *Erin Strauss (24 total episodes, 1361 fics) Alex Blake (48 episodes, 1190 fics) Tara Lewis (97 episodes, 1108 fics) Matt Simmons (49 episodes, 642 fics) Ashley Seaver (13 episodes, 279 fics) Kate Callihan (23 episodes, 247 fics) Jordan Todd (8 episodes, 130 fics) *Mateo Cruz (6 epsiodes, 88 fics) Stephan Walker (15 episodes, 66 fics)

All three men who didn't make the Top 10 are men of colour. Which is worth pointing out because the main reason Derek and Luke both made Top 10 is because they are popularly shipped with Reid. Outside of Morgan/Reid and Reid/Alvez -- I doubt they would have been tagged as much as they are.

Also worth nothing that Tara Lewis who appeared in 97 episodes, which makes her the EIGHTH highest billed character (above Luke, Gideon and Elle) -- doesn't even make the Top 10 most written about characters. She also happens to be the ONLY Woman of Colour on this list. Coincidence? Doubtful. She's also the ONLY canonically QUEER character -- and yet....even in the F/F tag she doesn't make top 5 (more about ships below)

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Relationships

Most Popular Pairing: Reid/Reader (24.5%)

Most Popular Character Ship: Hotch/Reid (18%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 20,873 out of 34,561 (*includes fics with multiple pairings tagged)

This was WILD to me. I knew that 'Spencer x Reader' fics (I grouped ones tagged 'reader' and ones tagged 'you' together for this graph) were popular but I wasn't prepared for how skewed this data was. I don't have much to say about it anything involving Reid tbrh

Only three out of ten top relationships DO NOT involve Spencer Reid.

For people who don't know: using a slash ( / ) to denote a pairing means the pairing is romantic, using the ampersand (&) to denote a pairing generally indicates a non-romantic relationship.

Notice the ONLY F/F pairing that made Top 10 was JJ/Emily (with only 10%)

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 M/F Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: Spencer/Reader (52%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 9741 (72% of the total F/M fics on AO3)

Look, I don't know what to say about this. It speaks for itself. This show had an incredible ensemble cast who were all integral to the show's success -- yet, the only character anyone cares about in the fandom is the generic white dudes. Misogyny at it's best.

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 M/M Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: Hotch/Reid (45%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 7870 (75% of the total M/M fics on AO3)

Again, no comment about the most popular ships

I was, however, surprised that Hotch/Rossi made Top 5

CM Fanfiction - Top 5 F/F Relationships

Most Popular Relationship: JJ/Emily (71%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: 2927 (65% of the total F/F fics on AO3)

For people who don't know: using a slash ( / ) to denote a pairing means the pairing is romantic, using the ampersand (&) to denote a pairing generally indicates a non-romantic relationship.

It's not surprising that JJ/Emily dominate the femslash category. They have always been the main femslash pair in this fandom. However, they only make up 49% of all F/F pairings!

I was surprised to see that 'x reader' fics took 2 out of 5 slots on this one. And I was especially surprised that Emily/Penelope made top 5. (I mean it's only 148 fics, but there they are)

Again, note how Tara Lewis (a canonically sapphic character) isn't a part of ANY of the top 5 pairings, even though she was in 98 episodes. That's a travesty imo. Tara/Emily trails at about the 7th most popular F/F ship with a mere 115 fics

In Conclusion...

Most of this was to be expected. This fandom has always praised the male characters while pushing the women aside, so the amount of works focusing on Reid and Hotch wasn't that surprising.

I think it's interesting how people tend to throw Jemily shippers under the bus (broad statement made via my 18 years in this fandom), because Femslash is by far the smallest portion of the shippers in the entire fandom. People just hate women

Do with this information what you will. This was mostly compiled because I've always been curious, and also I think it serves as an important archival tool for the fandom.

Please don't send me hate mail for my opinions.

Word Count & Additional Tags Information Below Cut

CM Fanfiction by Word Count

About 52% of all CM fics (34,561) are under 5,000 words

This was a really fun one to do, and was mostly included because I was curious. I think it'd be worth getting even more specific by trying to work out the average word count for all fics under 5,000 words.

Hey, if you're a marathon author with long works -- look at YOU!! You're a very small percentage in this fandom, and as someone who prefers long-form fic -- I am personally thanking you for your dedication.

CM Fanfiction - Top 10 Addition Tags

Most Popular Tag: Fluff (21.7%)

Fics Counted in This Statistic: *indeterminate due to crossover (multiple tags per each fic)

I honestly expected angst/whump/hurt/comfort to be first on this. I guess if you add up all the variations of those type of fics, they'd be top tag.

Obviously this one isn't ever going to be perfect, because tons of people either don't tag their fics, or they don't use the prescribed tags above. Still, I thought this was worth adding to the post.

For more stats please see my, [Tara Lewis Fic Stats Post]

[likecastle]

ST Femslash Week - 80s gay culture

A little ficlet about 80s gay culture for @strangerthingsfemslashweek, only slightly late!

Content note for a little bit of internalized homophobia/biphobia--nothing super explicit, more anxiety on both Robin and Nancy's part

The first time it happens, Robin bounds up the stairs onto Nancy’s floor and hears the unmistakable strains of Patti Smith. It’s loud enough that she can hear the lyrics distinctly—Oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine, Patti drawls. Well, Robin thinks, one of Nancy’s neighbors has good taste.

As she gets closer to the end of the hall, she realizes the music is coming from Nancy’s apartment. Only it can’t be Nancy, because Nancy’s never expressed anything but the vaguest interest any of the, oh, roughly six million times Robin’s gushed about how cool Patti Smith is. And I got this crazy feeling, Patti croons, that I’m gonna ah-ah make her mine.

When Robin knocks on the door, the music cuts off sharply, and she could swear she hears something crash over inside. A moment later, Nancy comes to the door looking flustered.

“You’re early,” she says irritably.

Robin shrugs and pushes her way into Nancy’s apartment. “They let me out for good behavior.”

On the kitchen table, she can see the cassette case for Horses, fresh out of its cellophane wrapping. Several more tapes are spilling out of a Rose Records bag—Joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman . . . if her eyes don’t deceive her, the Indigo Girls.

“They got you doing music reviews now?” Robin asks, leaving aside the fact that none of these albums are recent enough to be news, at this point.

Nancy’s cheeks are a wild pink, and she won’t meet Robin’s eye. “Just . . . trying something different.”

It doesn’t escape her notice that these are all albums Robin has talked Nancy’s ear off at one point or another in the past few years. They’re all albums she could have easily borrowed from Robin, if she’d wanted to. But she didn’t. So Robin props a grin on her face and says, “OK. Want to order a pizza?”

*

The second time it happens, Robin turns a corner in Women & Children First to find Nancy studying the back cover of Rubyfruit Jungle with such intensity that she doesn’t even look up when Robin almost runs into her.

“Hey, Nance,” Robin says softly, and Nancy jerks, dropping to book and then almost bashing her head on the shelf when she bends to pick it up.

“Hi,” Nancy says, fingers flexing around the spine of the paperback. “Robin. Hello.”

Robin can’t help grinning. “Howdy.” She gives Nancy a little wiggle of her fingers for good measure. “Sorry I scared you.”

“It’s not—you didn’t—” Nancy is blushing again. It looks good on her, Robin thinks hopelessly. “It’s fine.”

“I hereby offer you a free pass to scare the living daylights out of me at some undisclosed future moment.” She mimes handing over an invisible coupon, and Nancy, apparently too startled to resist her nonsense, pretends to take it, staring down at her empty hand with a bemused half smile.

There’s a knock on the window, and Robin sees her date standing on the sidewalk outside. “Oh, shit, sorry,” she says. “I’m meeting—someone. Gotta go!”

As she dashes out of the shop, she doesn’t think too hard about why she didn’t tell Nancy she was going on a date. She just didn’t want to make Nancy uncomfortable, that’s all.

And later, after her date is long gone, she doesn’t stay up into the early hours of the morning, wondering what it means that Nancy is checking out the lesbian fiction section of Robin’s favorite bookstore.

*

The third time it happens, they’re in Robin’s living room, deciding what movie to watch. Nancy is leaning over the bookshelf where Steve and Robin’s video collection lives, pulling out tapes apparently at random.

“What about this?” Nancy asks, holding out the sky blue box for Desert Hearts.

“Uh,” Robin says, and this time she’s the one who’s blushing, the heat rushing all the way down to her collar bones. “I’m not sure you’re ready for that one.”

“Why not?”

The truth is, Robin’s half afraid Nancy would notice how worn the tape’s gotten, that she’d realize how many times Robin’s watched it over and over. Maybe she’s a little afraid, too, of sharing something that has meant so much to her, only to find it doesn’t mean the same things to Nancy.

“That’s all right,” Nancy says, slipping the box back on the shelf. “I’ve already seen it.”

“You—what? Really?”

Nancy nods, her eyes back on the shelf, half turned away from Robin so that all Robin can see is her delicate profile behind a haze of curls.

“But—why?” Robin blurts out, before she can think better of it.

That gets Nancy to look at her. “Maybe I just wanted to try something different,” she says, and this time it’s not the self-conscious excuse it was in her kitchen. The words are almost defiant, almost a dare, and Robin really doesn’t want to be reading too much into this, but she has to know.

“Is that all it is? Just . . . curiosity?”

“Not . . . just.” Nancy comes over and sits next to Robin on the couch—not at the other end of the couch, like she usually does, but right next to Robin, so that their knees bump when she settles down. “You say that like it’s something trivial, to be curious.”

“For some people it is,” Robin says carefully. “And it’s OK, if that’s all it is, I just . . . don’t think I can help you with that.”

Nancy puts a tentative hand on Robin’s, her eyes so clear and blue this close up. “And if it’s not?”

Robin realizes she’s been holding her breath, and the remedy stings her lungs, almost makes her dizzy. “Well,” she says, “I guess we could find out together.”

[raparopa]

a/n: you won't believe who's still alive

a/n 2: I remind you that my English is still bad

a/n 3: PLEASE write if you want to see beautiful women from this series too (yes i write femslash)

warnings: murders? (?not romantic guys?)

jealousy

daemon targaryen

-good. daemon targryen psycho (my opinion, you know). if he has real feelings for you, then his jealousy, well, how to say ... he will not say this directly, rather he will mockingly hint to you that he is dissatisfied with this or that action of another person.

-I think he will actually react with ridicule. first he will humiliate the one who dared to disturb your peace of mind, this, of course, will attract the attention of everyone

-if the guy realizes that it's time to leave, the daemon will throw a couple of barbs at you after all this. if not...then god forbid someone meet with an annoyed daemon.

-do you remember the scene with velaryon? repeat it in your head with double brutality and ten times

-daemon - a man with an eternal sword in his hands. so I doubt that if someone knows about your connection with the targaryen, he will climb to you)))))

criston cole

- in my head criston cole-yandere. and do what you want with me ok? he is not a reserved person. he is a walking bomb that will explode from a small spark. he attaches too much to those he loves, and this attachment is not entirely healthy

-everything can make him jealous. EVERYTHING. did someone look at you for more than two seconds? did someone touch you? someone complimented you and you smiled? killing machine mode enabled.

-he will immediately get into a fight. if he doesn’t get into a fight, he will challenge him to a fight. if he doesn’t call for a fight, he will blow his head off, while no one sees.

-you are everything for him that exists. there is nothing else but you. after he has dealt with the threat on the horizon, in the form of someone else near you, he will be angry enough not to speak to you for several days, also suffering from his actions.

-everything you do should be directed towards him and only him. it is not discussed. and it doesn't matter who you are or what you are.

aemond targaryen

- looks at the opponent for a long time and menacingly, making everyone within a mile radius nervous. I think he's poking his knife into the table, making everyone JUST MORE nervous.

-long and absolute destruction of his opponent. such that poor alicent wants to turn into something round and roll away to hell from the king's landing. everyone is silent while the prince speaks. he deliberately ignores you and your presence, your entreaties, your requests. he has one goal - to destroy the one who thought too much of himself.

-I love this guy very much, but let's not deny that he has certain problems with affection and feelings (like all other relatives). he is very painfully worried inside himself that someone can steal you from him. he's so deeply insecure because of his eye...why does the only person he's revealed to prefer someone else?

-when he finishes talking, the person talking to you will be dead. typical outcome.

-and you? a serious conversation awaits you. and you will also get some unpleasant offers. unconscious of course. (followed by the meanest apologies)

aegon targaryen

-he immediately starts pouting like a small child. how DARE you be with someone else instead of him?! how dare someone steal you away from him?! how is that even possible?

-I think he even cries a little. just for a second. and then immediately orders to destroy the person who interfered with his personal happiness.

-he will be offended. and will be convinced that it is you who are to blame for this. you will not be able to find him for several days, and if you meet, he will defiantly pretend that you do not exist.

-yes, you will have to apologize on your own.

-and say that he is the most wonderful in the world. just say the sweetest things about him, hold him in your hand, stroke his hair, comfort him. and only then will you be forgiven.

[tippenfunkaport]

Ink and Dandelions (Scorfuma Flower Shop and Tattoo Parlor AU)

Perfuma's having a very frustrating day filling a bouquet order for her ex when an intrusion from the tattoo parlor upstairs leads to a meeting with just the right energy. (Fluff, 896 words)

Read on AO3

I'm sure someone has done the flower shop / tattoo parlor AU thing with these two before but they are so prefect for it, I just HAD to.

I originally wrote this for Sheratober / Flufftober and completely forgot about it so now you get it for Femslash February / Fluffuary!

[zutaralesbian]

Officially finished a first play through of all the romantic routes in book 3. Gonna give my review/thoughts on all of them. Probably a long post ahead because I have a lot of feelings even if no one but me cares lmao. (Obviously, spoilers under the cut)

The overall book

I’ve already seen someone in the tag say that this book had their least favorite plot but favorite relationship scenes. And I think I have to agree with that. The villains of this book just…did not intrigue me the way the villains of the first two books did. I’m not sure why but something about them didn’t hit. HOWEVER the romance and friendship scenes were excellent, the best of the series so far. And because I typically care more about characters than I do plots, that saved it for me.

Gonna ramble about the routes in order of the way I played them. (Since I only play the femslash routes, I’m going to be referring to the characters only by their female names in order to not complicate things. But obviously most of it applies to the male versions too.)

Ava

Ohhhhh Ava. My personal fave but the one that hurts the most lol. And this book (especially the ending) was no different. Though to her credit, we DID get a lot more from her than I thought we were going to get. Ava showed far more vulnerability in this book than she did in the first two books combined. From telling the detective her backstory (which was unbelievably sad btw. I totally get why she’s so emotionally guarded), taking the detective on that car date and letting them in on something that gives her personal enjoyment, and affirming to the detective more than once that she’s afraid to lose them.

And then….that kiss/confession scene. Like many others, I predicted that we were going to get a kiss only for Ava to take it back. But it DID kind of surprise me that she was so honest about it and did confess that she knew there was something between them. I kind of figured it was going to be an impulsive scene with no actual confessions. So this was better than I imagined. Still, it was a gut punch. And while I sympathize with Ava’s trauma and I don’t think she owes the detective a relationship, it is kind of coming off as her (unintentionally or not) playing with the detective’s feelings. So because of that I do think she sort of deserved the verbal smack-down your UB bestie gives to her towards the end. (In my route, Morgan accused her of caring more about protecting herself than she did about protecting the detective…and atm I’m kind of inclined to agree with that.)

I see Ava finally giving in at some point during book 4. Mostly because at this point…where else can her route go? They’ve kissed and feelings have been confessed. There’s no taking that back. It can only go up from here now, right? (At least I hope lmao). I���m wondering if the detective is going to move into the warehouse in the near future now that they’re officially a member of Unit Bravo? That could also be interesting on this route.

I love Ava and desperately want her to finally be happy. But she needs to stop sabotaging herself 😩

Favorite scene: The car date! I loved that we got to see a lighter, more peaceful side of her during it. Plus that wrist kiss 🥺

Morgan

While Ava is my favorite member of Unit Bravo, I do have to confess that Morgan was probably the MVP of book 3 specifically. Both her romance route and her friendship scenes were excellent in this book. Her character development is so apparent. I love how the detective steadily notices Morgan using less and less sexual innuendos in their conversations together as the route goes on. Not because Morgan has lost interest, but because she’s becoming legitimately afraid of the possibility of something happening to the detective…and grappling with the realizations that she really does not want to lose them. I was initially surprised by the lack of sex in her route, but the fact that there wasn’t one until near the end was really fitting imo. And at that point, it wasn’t just sex, it was making love. (Whether Morgan fully realized it or not). The route was just so emotional, in a way I wasn’t fully expecting.

I think at this point, Morgan knows that the detective is very important to her. She just isn’t fully sure how she wants to define the relationship. But I see her getting there very soon. I used to say that I saw Morgan fully giving in to her feelings before Ava (and I still think that) but maybe they’re both going to get there in book 4. Just Morgan towards the beginning/middle and Ava probably at the end.

Favorite scene: The shower scene. It was so tender and sweet. I loved that it was completely non-sexual and just Morgan helping the detective with their wounds. It’s possibly in my top 3 scenes of the series so far in general tbh.

Nat

I enjoyed Nat’s route this book way more than I thought I was going to. I like her character but her route has always admittedly been my least favorite…mostly just because I found it the least interesting. However, that certainly started changing here.

First off, it was surprisingly spicy. I already mentioned this in another post but I’ll say it here too. I find it very funny that Nat comes off as so scandalized by the sexual stuff in Morgan’s route but then in her own route…we get a potential outdoor sex scene, and one against a pool table lmao.

But outside the shallow stuff, I also liked all of the internal conflict with Nat. Her route is arguably the fastest burn. (I know Farah’s was kind of fast as well, but Farah at least hasn’t dropped the L word yet. At least not on my play through). Nat fell hard and fast. HOWEVER I think the reason for that might be because there’s a lot of angst coming in her route in the future. It’s obvious she’s keeping something about her past a secret from the detective…something dark. And she’s afraid that if the detective finds out about it, they won’t love her anymore. I’m very intrigued to find out what that is. My guess is she spent a period hunting and killing people before she joined the agency and found redemption. Whatever it is, it’s sure to be juicy.

Favorite scene: Their first sex scene. I loved that it comes right after the detective’s first love confession.

Farah

I saved Farah as my last solo route because I wanted to get some fluffiness in before delving into the pain the triangle was bound to bring me. And it definitely delivered. Her route had me smiling like an idiot throughout most of it.

But I also enjoy the complexities of Farah’s character. It’s very apparent that she has abandonment issues. Even though she’s obviously happy being with the detective, she also isn’t 100% sure that the detective isn’t going to eventually leave her, which breaks my heart. (And that’s probably part of the reason the L word hasn’t been dropped on her route yet). In a way, she’s almost as emotionally guarded as Ava and Morgan but she just hides it better. (Using a sunny and happy persona).

My hope for her is that she eventually gets to a place where she can talk to the detective about those insecurities. My guess is eventually, something big is going to happen that’s going to finally fully prove that the detective is in it for the long haul with her. Maybe she gets kidnapped and the detective goes through a lot to save her, or something like that.

Favorite scene: The movie date :)

Love Triangle

Not gonna lie, I’m not a huge fan of the love triangle. Partly because I always feel bad and making the decisions stresses me out lmao. But because I want to see everything, I have a detective for it.

The drama is heating up. Nat is beginning to realize there’s something going on between Ava and the detective, she just doesn’t want to accept it yet. And they’re starting to fight more :( I take solace in the fact that the author has already said that A and N’s friendship will be okay in the end, no matter what happens with the triangle. But I’m assuming we’re in for some more drama before things settle.

Being that Ava is my fave, I’ve pretty much always planned to have my detective eventually choose her, even though I feel bad about hurting Nat. But ngl, this book only further cemented that decision. I know there’s probably traumatic reasons why Nat is so overprotective of the detective but Ava was right when she said she was smothering them. I find Ava’s way of handling things (obviously wanting to protect the detective but also acknowledging they’re strong and should be able to get the chance to fight for themselves) far more attractive, personally.

(Side note: It’s interesting that there’s kind of been a role reversal between Nat and Ava on that front. In the beginning, Nat wanted to tell the detective the truth about the supernatural whereas Ava wanted to keep them in the dark. But now, Nat wants the detective to sit out of the fighting while Ava thinks they should get to be involved).

I’m wondering when the triangle is going to be resolved? My current guess is by the end of book 4, being that’s when I think Ava will finally give in on her solo route as well).

Basically, everyone in Unit Bravo needs therapy.

[moocowmoocow]

Femslash February 25 - Vulnerable

Margo x Irina [This is dub con, guys.]

Margo was summoned to Irina’s suite after negotiations ended for the day. She dreaded the inevitable confrontation after she asserted herself over Irina’s objections, revealed herself to Aleida and the world and took control of the Soviet operation.

Irina called her in. Margo was surprised to find her in her nightgown and robe, rubbing lotion into her hands. Until she spoke. “Margo, did you really think that there would not be consequences for your actions over the past 48 hours?”

Margo stood straighter, even as her hip screamed out in pain. “Everything I did, I did for the good of the mission.”

Irina rose and walked over to Margo and caressed her cheek. “But you forgot who employs you now.”

Oh, god. This is not what she expected the consequences to be. Irina reached up, removed Margo’s glasses and placed them on the side table. She closed her eyes and tried not to remember the last time someone had done that for her.

“Kiss me,” Irina murmured against Margo’s lips in Russian.

Margo tentatively did. And when Irina deepened the kiss, Margo let her. Irina broke the kiss and sat down on the bed. “Strip,” she ordered.

“What?”

“Strip. All of it. Off.”

With shaking hands, Margo slowly removed her clothing. She stood before Irina’s appraising gaze, completely bare. Irina nodded and then patted the bed next to her. Margo slowly limped over and laid down. Irina maneuvered herself to her side, placed a hand on Margo’s stomach and kissed her again.

She slowly brought her hand down to the juncture between Margo’s thighs and rubbed slow circles. “Did he ever touch you like this?”

Margo swallowed hard. “Who?”

“You know who.”

Margo shook her head.

“He’s a bigger fool than I thought.”

She continued her slow strokes and it dawn on Margo that she wasn’t going to let her leave until. She was good; Margo could feel her body respond despite herself.

She closed her eyes. She needed to think of something else and simply react to the sensations Irina was provoking in her. She would not think of him. She protected her memories of him, she did not need them any more tangled up in this mess than they were already.

She remembered when Irina promised that they would reach far into the cosmos, so with a gasp, she laid back and thought of space. Of Mars, of the asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter, the icy rings of Saturn, sideways Uranus, blue Neptune, small Pluto. As she left the solar system in her mind’s eye, she came.

“See. That wasn’t so bad, was it Margo?”

“No, Director.”

Irina waved her hand. “Go back to your room.”

Margo put on her clothing as fast as possible and fled.

[hpsaffics]

✨ WLW Wed: Bellamione (Part 2) ✨

A biweekly HP femslash rec list made by the lovely members of the HP SAFFICS (18+) discord server. See all previous rec lists in the WLW Library.

Currently: Hermione Granger/Bellatrix Black Lestrange (see Part 1) Previously: Fake Dating (see list)

—

💫 MEDIUM (3-10k) 💫

The Importance of a Due Date by @eile24downtown [E, 7.6k]

Hermione forgets to turn in her DADA homework for once in her life, and Professor Black is not happy about it. What kind of detention does she have in store for her brightest student?

shadows by @allaganexarch [M, 7.1k]

She had heard. Known. Been glad, even. In Hermione's opinion, death is nearly never better, never deserved, for who is to say when a person is beyond saving? Still, it's like seeing a ghost, or the beginnings of a nightmare.

Good Is Better Than Perfect by myladyriver [M, 7.0k]

Throughout their tryst, neither woman had ever committed treason to their side, nor had they demanded it of the other. They had never gone further than deliberately avoiding each other in battle, and now, Bellatrix had suddenly thrown that all out the window. She had betrayed her Lord, warned Hermione of His plans, and had just vowed to keep her lover alive, against direct orders.

light long gone and burning strong by @slashmarks [E, 5.4k]

Years after Voldemort's victory, Hermione poses as a foreign research consultant to infiltrate Bellatrix Black's home. She finds Bellatrix unexpectedly sympathetic.

Notes on a Page by EvaMcGregor [T, 4.9k]

Hermione is a magical historian who is given access to the Black histories by Narcissa. While reading she discovers a letter and annotations by the long missing Bellatrix Black. The more she reads the more she feels drawn to the woman.

Jinx and Counter by Zarrene Moss (Menzosarres) [T, 4.3k]

Twenty years after the war, Hermione confronts an old demon.

Scratches: Or, how I stopped worrying about being a dinosaur animagus and started using it to eviscerate Death Eaters by Useful_Oxymoron [G, 3.6k]

When Hermione Granger discovered her unique animagus form, she takes it for a spin in the Forbidden Forest and comes across someone unexpected.

—

💫 SHORT (<3k) 💫

Reset by Lyssandra_Med [E, 2.7k]

Time is such a delicate thing. What if someone broke it?

nineteenth by batteredandbruised [M, 2.0k]

"Bella changes her sheets–the new ones are satin. Black. Hermione finds it’s better on her hands when they’re curled in fists. " The organic chemistry professor at Cambridge has been whispered about since she joined. Hermione finds out why.

offer me my deathless death by charminglittledeath [E, 1.7k]

Bellatrix used one hand to steady Hermione, the other gripping the tattoo gun. “Deep, slow breaths,” she instructed as Hermione’s breath quickened, “Good girl.” Then, to her utter delight, Hermione let out a little whine.

Staring at Nothing by summerhuntresses [M, 1.3k]

When the changes start, Harry doesn't believe it. He doesn't want to.

Light and Dark by RedSneakers [G, 1.1k]

A brief take on Hermione and Bellatrix's relationship in the eye of a student. Set around 20 years after the battle of Hogwarts.

The Perfume and Suppliance of a Minute by Lillielle [M, 260]

Hermione is lost, and Bellatrix has found her. At what price?

—

🌙 Want more Bellamione? 🌙

@bellatrixfest | AO3

Discord Communities: Bellamione Cult | Bellamione Coven

Bellamione: Tag on Tumblr | Tag on AO3

WLW Library: Tumblr | Tag | AO3

[monstrous-femme]

Hey! [for the wip game] Can I ask you about the abandoned ones? If so, very intigued about the Soulmate one (it's low key giving me some bancy aka nancy/barb vibes and i want to find out if that's correct lol). Hopefully someone else annoys you about the Trobed one though, 'cause that just feels like something so different from your usual style imo, I'm very curious about that as well ngl haha ;*

sure! So I started this for femslash week last year since Soulmate was one of the themes, but in the mix of it all, this one went unfinished. I managed just under 300 words and the concept is that everyone has soulmarks, but it's actually something something shady government something and not actual soulmates. anyway Nancy was gonna have Steve as her soulmark but fall for Robin and this was all far too ambitious considering everything else I had on deck for femslash week

since it's so short i'm gonna post everything I had under the readmore-- bear in mind that i write out of order and often in short snippets when i'm starting, so this is several disconnected parts

Nancy’s seen her mother’s soulmark, seen the words Ted Wheeler printed on her like a brand. She watches her parents at dinner in the evenings, the minor rise and fall of her mother’s face. It’s supposed to be the best thing in the world, some sort of almost magic, like it’s your birthday every single day. But her mother, most nights, looks little more than resigned to her fate.

In the shower, Nancy scrubs at her wrist until it’s raw, but the words don’t fade even the smallest bit.

She thinks, accidents, she thinks, things that look like accidents. There’s a running list that she keeps beneath her pillow, tallying all the household items sharp enough to tear off skin: the kitchen knives, her dad’s razor blades, the sewing shears if she can just find the right angle to hold them at.

Steve Harrington is a nice guy. She sees him in the halls sometimes, next to a girl with sandy hair and button-down vests. It’s the girl who she’s spent the most time looking at. The way her gaze can go from sharp in seconds, how interesting she looks both ways. Her hair is fluffy some mornings, like she’s slept on it without brushing it later. Nancy imagines running her hands through it. She thinks it’d be soft, and maybe it’s okay that Steve’s her soulmate if it means she’ll get to meet this girl.

[danpuff-ao3]

Slash Podfic Recs

The world needs more podfics! And lucky for you, if you were on the hunt for some, I've found a few you might enjoy!

Narration is an artform all its own (and audio editing?? I don't even wanna think about that, not gonna lie.) Curl up in bed and close your eyes and let someone tell you a story. Or hit that "play" button and have someone keep you company, and entertained, while performing house chores! Listen to a story while on your morning commute.

A variety of ships for you, a variety of lengths. All excellent stories! All I ask is that you please leave some love for these creators if you stop by; podfics get so little traction compared to the written word. And even if all you can manage is a kudo, I'm sure it would be so very appreciated!

See also: podfics of my fics, Snarry podfics, and Femslash podfics.

Danse Macabre

written by doshu, narrated by Aspen_Gray. Harry/Tom. Rated M. 2 hours, 45 minutes. Angst. Non-linear narrative. Sad ending.

A last dance. A cold comfort against the inevitability of death.

Harry’s danse macabre began with Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. It only took him six years to notice.

Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property

written by Helenish, narrated by EosRose. Draco/Neville. Rated E. 3 hours.

Surely it is a mistake to allow a single youthful indiscretion to cloud an already promising career.

An Ode to the Loose and Wrinkly

written by RoozetteR, narrated by fire_juggler. Charlie/Severus. Rated E. 13 minutes.

Before Harry is brought to Grimmauld Place the summer before fifth year, Charlie sneaks away to the Burrow and blows Severus. That is all.

Of Comets and Counter-curses

written by Woldy, narrated by fire_juggler. Remus/Sirius. Rated T. 44 minutes. Traveling. Motorbike.

If the past is a foreign country, can travel help to resolve a troubled history? Dumbledore assigns Remus and Sirius a mission to explore three European cities, or perhaps to find each other. Written for the 2008 RS Games as part of Team Post-Hogwarts using the prompt 'Brothers on a Hotel Bed (Death Cab for Cutie)'.

Sympathy for the Devil

written by Writcraft, narrated by fire_juggler. Harry/Scorpius. Rated M. 40 minutes.

Scorpius has wanted Harry for years. So far, Harry has managed to resist. This Halloween Scorpius hopes to change his mind.

Never Unseen

written by HogwartsToAlexandria, narrated by JocundaSykes. Kingsley/Severus. Rated T. 12 minutes.

Saying he'd hoped the day Severus let him help would come would be overstating the facts, but Kingsley certainly was glad he'd been around the night the other man needed his help more than he needed his pride.

The Once and Future Headmaster

written by allthingsmagical, narrated by JocundaSykes. Albus/Harry. Rated T. 2 hours.

Never has there been a more hopeless crush.

Colourblind

written by Someone_aka_me, narrated by Lady Ravenclaw. Charlie/Draco. Rated T. 14 minutes.

"She says the colours will come when he is finally touching the person he is destined to fall in love with. She says that everything will change in the matter of a single moment." He is fourteen when the world goes sideways.

Slithering

written by astolat, narrated by Lazulus. Draco/Harry. Rated E. 2 hours, 30 minutes. Courtship. Snakes.

Draco found the nest down in the Manor’s cellars, while he was clearing them out.

Paranoia and Puns

written by You_Light_the_Sky, narrated by RuneLore. Cedric/Harry. Rated T. 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Harry makes three rules in order to survive his fourth year: 1) Watch the new DADA professor like a hawk, 2) Suspect all animals of being animagi, and 3) Avoid Cedric Diggory at all costs.

It's a shame Diggory didn't get the memo.

The Secret Language of Plants

written by Endrina, narrated by sephonered. Series. Remus/Severus; Draco/Harry. Rated E. Part 1: 3+ hours; Part 2: 7+ hours; Part 3: WIP.

“Just… tell me. Tell me what is going on, Snape.” What was going on was that Severus Snape had no trouble tracking down one Petunia Evans, now Dursley, to a little town in Surrey where he saw how exactly she was treating her nephew. Which somehow led to last night and Severus knocking on Lupin’s door with a toddler half-asleep in his arms.

Divination

written by smilebackwards, narrated by sisi_rambles. James/Regulus; James/Lily. Rated T. 8 minutes. Second POV. Sad ending.

Mars is bright.

Only One Word

written by EntreNous, narrated by smirkingcat. Draco/Remus. Rated E. 1 hour. Daddy kink.

Remus worries far too much what Draco thinks of the differences between them, until he discovers what Draco truly thinks.

Shall we descend once more, my Hades

written by megyal, narrated by smirkingcat. Draco/Severus. Rated E. 1 hour, 30 minutes.

[From the request: Later schoolyears, possibly seventh year | In return for killing Voldemort, Draco is given to Snape, to become his concubine. (Prompt: The Myth of Persephone)

[likecastle]

Ronance Femslash February - inseparable since childhood

Thanks so much to the anon who sent the prompt “inseparable since childhood”! I may have hurt my own feelings a little with this one--not so much because of what’s in the actual ficlet, but just wondering what it might have changed. Anyway!

I still need a few more prompts to close out Ronance Femslash February, so please send them my way! Anon asks are totally fine, and you’re welcome to send more than one prompt. Don’t be shy! You can find previous prompts I’ve filled here.

“You’d better still hang out with us, that’s all I’m saying.” Barb watches Nancy’s face go still in surprise, but she perseveres, because this needs to be said. “If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol—”

“Oh, gross,” Nancy says, just as Robin bounds up to them and practically trounces Nancy from behind.

“Who’s gross?” Robin asks, leaning playfully on Nancy’s shoulder.

Nancy goes stiff under Robin’s weight, a cornered expression on her face. “No one.”

Nancy hasn’t told Robin about Steve yet, despite Barb’s repeated warnings that Robin will flip when she finds out Nancy’s been keeping it from her. Still, Barb can understand why Nancy isn’t exactly eager to tell her about making out with the king of Hawkins High himself. Unlike Barb and Nancy, who mostly manage to fly under the radar, socially speaking, Robin tends to attract more unfavorable attention from the popular kids. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t look as clean-cut as Nancy and Barb do, or because the Buckleys don’t have as much money as the Hollands or the Wheelers, or maybe it’s just because Robin refuses to accept the prevailing social order as immutable law. But whatever the reason, Robin’s caught a lot of flack from Steve Harrington’s flunkies over the years, so Barb gets why Nancy isn’t falling all over herself to announce what Robin will no doubt see as a grave betrayal.

“Ohhh-kay,” Robin drawls, taking her weight off Nancy’s shoulder at last. She may not have the best grasp of social niceties all the time, but she’s hardly oblivious. She must have noticed the look that passed between them when she showed up, can’t have missed the tension in Nancy’s shoulders. “Did I miss something?”

“Just nervous about chemistry,” Nancy says, all the bubbly good humor of a few minutes ago evaporated. She turns to put her books away, as if it’s the only way she can think of to avoid looking at Robin.

“Ooh, what’s this?” Robin exclaims. Her arm shoots out to snag a folded piece of paper sitting at the bottom of Nancy’s locker. “Does someone have a secret admirer?”

“Give that back,” Nancy snaps, snatching the paper back from Robin and shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. “Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?” She slams her locker shut and brushes past Robin to hurry off down the hall.

“Was it something I said?” Robin asks blithely, more to the thin air where Nancy was standing than to Barb. Despite the attempt at a joke, Barb can see the hurt on Robin’s face, the way she cranes her neck to watch Nancy round the corner and disappear.

Barb sighs. This is the other reason she’s been insisting to Nancy that keeping things from Robin is a bad idea. The three of them have been practically inseparable since childhood, and they all know each other better than they know probably anybody else in the world, but there are still things they don’t talk about—like the way Robin looked sick to her stomach when Kyle P. asked Nancy to dance at Homecoming last year, or how self-conscious Robin’s gotten at sleepovers since the last time Nancy tried to give her a makeover. Barb doesn’t know how to bring it up, and Robin certainly isn’t about to say anything, but somebody needs to say something, or things are only going to get worse. “Come on,” she says, nudging Robin’s shoulder, “we’d better go or we’ll be late to class.”

[darkpoisonouslove]

Woman Like a Weapon

Summary: After her life was destroyed, Griffin has been offered refuge in the palace of Domino. Marion is keen on helping her protect herself but they still have to deal with the hidden land mine in the room – Griffin’s torn heart. AU.

Femslash February Day 5 - Weapons

Marion: Please, just take care of yourself. Griffin: Take care of me yourself, you coward. Marion: ...Oh, yeah?

AO3 | FFN

The padded vest constricted Griffin’s chest like a band of metal around it. Each gulp of breath was an extra burn in her muscles in addition to lifting the weight in her hand she wasn’t used to and blocking Marion’s own sword.

Dodging was impossible. She wasn’t fast enough and Marion didn’t make it any easier – always aiming for her middle to eliminate the possibility of ducking under her sword. Jumping back was too much of a retreat as she’d learned the first dozen times she’d found herself cornered against a wall with a blade at her throat.

Marion had the advantage of experience where non-magical combat was concerned. Griffin needed a different approach to give her the edge she was so desperately missing.

Their swords clashed again and Marion used all the strength she’d acquired in practice to push, force Griffin to the ground.

It wasn’t just her arms buckling. Her knees would give out any moment forcing surrender on her once again.

Unacceptable.

Griffin reached under her vest for the dagger strapped there.

Marion took advantage – shoved her back with both hands on the hilt of her sword.

Griffin refused to budge. Planted her soles firmly on the ground–digging into it painfully–to counter Marion’s skillful footwork. Her balance reached a precarious point. One wrong move and she’d tip over, stumble face first into the floor.

Her whole strength was already focused forward. Sinking the tip of her dagger into Marion’s vest would throw her off guard and give Griffin her opening.

She dived to the side to avoid both swords as she diverted her efforts onto the small blade in her other hand.

Conjured during a break, it was simply a lesson learned rather than a broken rule. In fact, she was planning on making it her new must-have accessory to eliminate any and all magic from the equation in the future, be prepared next time someone tried to leave her powerless.

Marion jumped in the opposite direction. Her sword fell away too.

Without a counter force, Griffin plunged forward.

Marion grabbed her forearm and used her inertia to spin her around instead. She slammed her into the wall and twisted her wrist until Griffin dropped the dagger.

Marion used her sword to knock Griffin’s out of her hand before pointing it at Griffin’s throat and stepping back.

Griffin sucked in a few erratic breaths before searching for her voice and the right words.

“I see that was never going to work,” she conceded. “You’d expect all kinds of dirty tricks from me.”

And then, just to return the hit her composure had taken, she added, “I would’ve surprised you more with a love confession.”

Marion’s lips parted but only a measured exhale came out. Not a muscle in her body twitched.

It was Griffin who had to struggle against the frown tugging at her mouth. She’d already suffered enough losses today, even more in the past couple of months, in order to add new ones to the list.

“Surprise attacks have been a not-insignificant part of my life from before I ascended the throne,” Marion softened the blow, always offering diplomacy in response to Griffin’s attempts at poking the dragon.

She’d been the heir to Domino before she’d been its queen. She’d been its weapon–magical and political–her whole life. Just like Griffin had been Cloud Tower’s, headmistress Annora and the faculty’s successful work resting on her monstrous power and her frightful maneuvers through a landscape rigged against them. At least they had.

Griffin lunged forward.

Marion’s sword clattered harmlessly to the ground to drown out Griffin’s steps but the sound only announced her victory louder throughout the room.

Marion stopped herself before backing a second step away. Her brows furrowed and her eyes were wide with something that was neither rage, nor surprise.

If Griffin let it go to her head, she could pronounce it admiration. The truth was that it looked much more like concern.

Marion confirmed her worst suspicions, “That wouldn’t work in a battle.”

Griffin smiled sardonically. “Of course, it will.”

Most people only ever wanted one thing from her – her absence. It made vigilance crucial – to pick out those who could surprise her with an intention different from that to hurt her. Those were usually the ones that she had to be the most cautious about so she’d learned to read people like books, find every bit of self-interest in their gaze–or respect, maybe even care for her–and use it to her benefit.

“It has so far. Every time.”

Marion’s thoughts visibly raced behind her eyes, frozen on Griffin’s form. “That explains everything.”

Griffin didn’t bother nodding. It was unnecessary to Marion and impossible for her.

All her magic draining into Cloud Tower’s veins had been an alarm for certain but it had failed to prepare her for what had come after. Watching all of her equally powerless colleagues–the twins–Headmistress Annora–get massacred would have left a scar already. But being the lone survivor–spared by Valtor to be his ticket to Marion’s home–was a curse.

She’d never cowered before, never hidden herself away behind walls and guards and such power–greater than her own–that barely even existed. The–metaphorical–minefield protecting Cloud Tower had been her doing but if she ever wanted to leave the Domino palace again, she’d have to choose between being a weapon and a victim. At some point one of those would become more bearable than her current-

A step forward and Marion reclaimed the positions she’d lost before, leaving her face to face with Griffin, their breath mingling. She took Griffin’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, uncaring of the explosion that could trigger.

The tension drained from Griffin’s muscles instead, when she didn’t have to hold a sword or her magic close to her chest to defend herself or scramble for words to explain away her actions to people that made it their goal to misunderstand her.

Marion cupped her cheek and leaned in to connect their lips. Her kiss was light as a feather on Griffin’s flesh. It was easy to push away and somehow easier still to accept. Her lungs weren’t straining against the confines of her own body or the room, against the hospitality she was supposed to betray and the helplessness forced on her.

Marion was tender but not so timid as to suggest hesitation. Her tongue slipped in Griffin’s mouth without fear of getting cut on the edges of her teeth. Her arms wrapped Griffin and pulled her so close she could feel every little motion, every bit of life in Marion’s body. She was allowed to touch it, too, Marion only encouraging the stroke of her fingertips on her collarbone with an enthusiastic moan.

Griffin allowed herself to relax in the kiss, sink into it. She let herself enjoy being treated not like a weapon, but like a woman.