#aiden mertens

[cosmicriff]

Edited them into my flaminn kids for funsies

[inexplicifics]

I had a really bad really sad day (in that I didn't notice I missed a part of my philosophy exam until too late to do anything about it). Could I request a snippet of the Aiden and Sasha fic to make me feel better please?

With the caveat that some or all of this may get rewritten...have some Aiden and Sasha and Mantikittens:

“Hullo, Mantikittens,” Aiden says, and all four girls’ eyes go wide.

“Mantikittens?” the littlest one, Ada, says, and giggles.

Aren laughs, too, hoarse and painful but clearly amused. “Mantikittens,” he says, and whistles an affirmative note.

“Have you a favorite bird?” Sasha asks. “I’ve done one for each of the girls.” He tugs another piece of parchment out from under the one with the nuthatch, and Aiden marvels at the beautifully rendered shrike, heron, and kestrel.

“How about a pheasant?” Aiden suggests.

“Oh, yes, those are delightful!” Sasha agrees, and starts sketching, all four girls bending close to watch his quill. Aiden firmly suppresses the urge to bat at it as it moves. The bird takes shape almost like magic, going from nothing but a few lines to an unmistakable pheasant so swiftly Aiden can’t pinpoint the moment it slots into place.

“Shit, you’re good at that,” Zia says. “Never seen nothin’ like it.”

“I’ve been practicing since I was younger than Ada,” Sasha says. “When I started, I was quite terrible at it. And I still can’t draw much besides birds.” He makes one last little line, and puts the quill back into the inkwell Maja is holding steady. “There we go. One pheasant.”

“Looks like I ought to be able to pounce on it and bring it home for supper,” Aiden says.

“I’ll do better if I can get some paints,” Sasha says, shrugging a little. “Aren? Is there a bird you’d like me to draw?”

Aren makes a soft, thoughtful noise. “Eagle,” he says at last. “Flying.”

“I can do that,” Sasha agrees, and takes a fresh sheet of parchment, sketching out a broad-winged eagle soaring, so beautifully that Aiden almost thinks he can feel the wind lifting the bird’s wings. He hands it up to Aren when it’s done, and Aren whistles approval, eyebrows rising in astonishment.

“Please tell me someone’s offered you Swallow,” Aiden says. “We can’t all have been too fucking stupid to offer.”

“Too weak,” Aren rasps.

“Master Merten said it would be at least a week of decent food before Aren will be strong enough to bear the toxicity of Swallow,” Maja says.

“The food here is amazing,” Ada adds.

“Mistress Marlene and her cooks do a wonderful job,” Aiden agrees.

“Not spicy,” Aren sighs.

“Well, no,” Aiden allows. “It’s really just the Manticores and some of us Cats who like spicy food. I can get you some hot pepper if you like, we keep some on hand, and I know the Manticores have quite a lot in their cellar.”

“There’s a cellar just for the Manticores?” Elena asks curiously. “Is there one for each School?”

“No, just yours,” Aiden says. “Because your Schoolmates are the only ones crazy enough to lace White Gull with arsenic, and the rest of us don’t necessarily want to drink that, so it’s kept in a cellar just for your School.”

“With arsenic?” Maja blurts. “Why?”

“Because they like the taste,” Aiden says, shrugging. “White Gull’s technically a poison anyway. We can bear it. We just don’t let the humans try it.”

“I have been very firmly cautioned against ever trying Witcher-strength alcohol,” Sasha confirms.

“I want some,” Zia says.

“Eighteen,” Aren rasps at once. Zia scowls.

“We don’t let the trainees have any until they’re eighteen,” Aiden says, backing Aren up. “It’s not good for growing lads, so I can’t imagine it’s good for growing lasses, either. Even the other Mantikittens don’t get White Gull until they’re old enough.”

Zia’s scowl fades. “Fine,” she grumbles. “I guess if the boys don’t get to either, it’s fair.”

[on-a-lucky-tide]

WIP Update (WIPdate?): The Witcher King

Dandelion plucked a pheasant leg from his plate and wafted it threateningly in Aiden's direction. “You have a lot to learn about courts in the north. You scoff now, but think of the humiliation when all we have to offer at Geralt's side is wine, wheat and Metinnan silk. Culture, that is what we need to bring to those heathens. Culture.”

Geralt hummed thoughtfully. “They will have their own culture. We'll need to adapt to it.” Aiden nodded in agreement and the three of them lapsed into silence as they ate.

Indeed, Geralt had read widely for months. Knowledge was power, after all. But the more he read, the more unsettled he became by the stark contrast between the warm climes of his southern home and the frigid northern regions. They traded in the bizant, not the gulden. They worshipped Freya and the prophet Lebodia. Most of the official accounts had been dry and boorish, but Aiden had always been able to source texts that Geralt's tutors would blanch at. So Geralt's study of economics, faith and customs had been tempered with more exciting stories of prophets being eaten by dragons. Geralt had enjoyed one in particular, recounted by Addaria Bach, a dwarven musician from the Copparette, about how followers took Lebioda's remains from his sarcophagus during certain festivities to kiss them and, much like the dwarven poet, Geralt had been amused by the prospect of pious priests in silken robes kissing fossilised shit.

“What are you smiling at?” Dandelion asked around a mouthful of pheasant.

“Prophets and dragon dung,” Geralt replied blithely and Aiden grinned.

They saw the lazy evening hours away with inane conversation and a few songs on Dandelion's lute, before bedding down on their sleeping mats. The temperate was barmy and there was no sign of rain, so they had decided to sleep outside under the insect netting. Geralt stared at the glittering stars above his head and picked out the constellations one by one. He wondered whether the stars would look the same in the north, or whether they would be as alien to him as the currency and the faiths.

The crickets and crackling fires around the camp were soon accompanied by Dandelion's soft snores, and the camp quietened enough for Geralt to pick up on a conversation happening several metres away.

“Heard the beast's ruthless,” said one low voice. “Emotionless. Doesn't feel a thing. Only appetite he has is for the flesh, younger the better.”

Another soldier scoffed around his tankard. “Let's hope that Prince Geralt inherited that famous stamina of his great-granda Hugo then.” There was a round of raucous laughter, and then, “By the time that monster's finished with him, he won't be walking at all, let alone worrying about riding a horse.”

I'm meant to be working on Decembert and Geraskier stories, but my brain decided no. Instead, we've gone down a rabbit hole of lore and continued writing The Witcher King. Prince Geralt's on his way west to catch a boat from Cidaris to Pont Vanis in southern Kovir. He's doing a lot of introspection, worrying, you know, Geralt type things.

Lebodia's story is great. Not only was he worshipped by one of the last Manticore Witchers (Merten), but he feels a lot like the Continent's answer to Buddhism. Compared to the northern Pantheon (very Olympian/Nordic) and the Eternal Fire (very medieval Christianity, right down to the crusades), Lebodia promotes peaceful ways, simple wisdom and kindness. Literally, that's it. Here's a teaching:

"He who intends to walk the valley of darkness ought to bring a lantern with him. For he who sprains his ankle in the darkness will not walk far." –The Good Book; or, The Teachings of the Prophet Lebioda

He gets eaten by a dragon while trying to protect some villagers from it. Lebodia is known as the Great Beggar, and I guess this kind of reflects "higher society's" low regard for the religions and prophets of the peasantry, perhaps. But I like to think Lebodia's story would resonate with Geralt a whole lot. Kindness, practical wisdom, defending the innocent.

Now, Hugo of Rivia, my dearest boy. Hugo is distantly related to Meve or Reginald (the family trees are a little vague), but he is also Foltest's ancestor (which could potentially make Geralt related to Foltest, which... urgh, royal interbreeding). But Hugo! He got pegged by his wife so hard he couldn't ride a horse. Proof, I hear you cry.

Hugo of Rivia was the second Prince Consort of Bienvenu, queen of Temeria. Not much is known about him other than the fact that he fared much better than his predecessor, Ragbard, in the queen's bedchamber. Rumours were rampant that he had to work very hard to fulfill the expectations of the queen - hence the ever prying eyes and his rather famous reluctance for riding horses. (Witcher Wiki)

He's also reported to have died of "sexual exhaustion" trying to give the queen a second child, although his efforts were "heroic". There are many a rude song written about it and I'm sure Dandelion knows them all. As for the soldiers in the earlier excerpt commenting about Hugo's stamina, I'll leave the interpretation of their intent down to the reader. Either way, I want to slowly shed more light on Geralt's past and why his reputation at home (and his self esteem) is so very low.

With thanks to my partner in crime, @cylin-aka-ankamo, for ongoing support with this project. Go check out her Witcher King art.

[potofsoup]

The results of @inexplicifics‘ AWAU OC Characters Poll, with 157 survey respondents!

Top 10 are:

Milena

Aubry

Aiden

Livi

Sasha

Mouse

Zofia

Jan

Aren

Serrit

Which is surprisingly gender-balanced!

The ones that got votes but the chart doesn’t name are: Priscilla, Zia, Treyse, Cedric and Axel, Adelina, Elena, Ealdred, Shani, Guxart, Merten, and a write-in for Byrtel.

Dragonfly the Cat is tied with Nosy and Fears-Nothing the cats, which I think she’d be rather pleased by.

[geraltjaskierbigbang]

Title: Destiny Denied

Author: @sageclover61 and @hyrulehearts1123

Artist: @cassandrasartworld

Pairing: Geralt/Jaskier, Merten/Guxart/Vesemir, Lambert/Aiden

Rate: Teen and Up Audicences

Tags: Witcher!Jaskier, Mage!Jaskier, Renfri!Lives, Hurt/comfort, Stregobor is an asshole

Warnings: Violence, Violence against children, burns, scars

Lenght: 31054

Summary:

Stregobor created Witchers to be the perfect monster hunters, but they rose up against their creators and were not loyal to them. And so in revenge, Stregobor kidnapped one Witcher’s child of surprise, a young Julian Alfred Pankretz de Lettenhove. And yet, because of one small medallion that spoke to him, Jaskier’s loyalties were not to Stregobor, but to the Witchers who tried to raise him despite the distance.

Link to Fic

Link to Art

[ao3feed-geralt-jaskier]

by Hyrulehearts1123, sageclover61

Stregobor created Witchers to be the perfect monster hunters, but they rose up against their creators and were not loyal to them. And so in revenge, Stregobor kidnapped one Witcher’s child of surprise, a young Julian Alfred Pankretz de Lettenhove. And yet, because of one small medallion that spoke to him, Jaskier’s loyalties were not to Stregobor, but to the Witchers who tried to raise him despite the distance.

Words: 31054, Chapters: 6/6, Language: English

Fandoms: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, The Witcher (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Aiden (The Witcher), Lambert (The Witcher), Eskel (The Witcher), Renfri (The Witcher), Deidre Ademeyn, Coën (The Witcher), Vesemir (The Witcher), Guxart (The Witcher), Merten (The Witcher), Keldar (The Witcher)

Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Merten/Guxart/Vesemir (The Witcher), Aiden/Lambert (The Witcher)

Additional Tags: Witcher Jaskier | Dandelion, Mage Jaskier | Dandelion, Alive Renfri | Shrike (The Witcher), Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Geraskier Big Bang (The Witcher)

[msxr]

Known Witchers:

Notable witchers

Wolf School

Adon of Carreras[1]

Aubry[2]

Barmin[3]

Berengar[4]

Clovis[5]

Dermot Marranga[5]

Elgar[3]

Eskel

Frank[2]

Gardis[2]

Gascaden[5]

Geralt of Rivia

Gweld[2]

Gwen[2]

Gwidon[5]

Hemminks[2]

Klef[5]

Lambert

"Old Witcher"[5]

Osbert[5]

Rennes[2]

Sorel[5]

Thornwald[5]

Tjold[2]

Varin[3]

Vesemir

Voltehre[3]

Trained but not witchers themselves:

Ciri

Leo[4]

Cat School

Aiden[3]

Axel[3]

Brehen

Cedric[3]

Dragonfly[6]

Gaetan[3]

Guxart[2]

Jad Karadin[3]

Joël[3]

Kiyan[3]

Lexandre[1]

Schrödinger[3]

Treyse[2]

Viper School

Auckes[7]

Gerring of Kharkiv

Ivar Evil-Eye[3]

Kolgrim[3]

Letho of Gulet[7]

Mysterious assassin[7]

Serrit[7]

Bear School

Gerd[3]

Junod of Belhaven[1]

Ivo of Belhaven[8]

Griffin School

Coën[9]

George of Kagen[3]

Jerome Moreau[1]

Keldar[9]

Raven[10]

Manticore School

Merten[1]

Crane School

Stefan[11]

Unspecified School

Adela[5]

Chireadan[5]

Cormac[6]

Olivier of Gulet[3]

[maceikblog]

Co się dzisiaj działo? #88 29.3.2022

Krykiet, mecz jednodniowy:

Nowa Zelandia(204/3, Will Young 103*, Blair Tickner 4/50) pokonała Holandię (202, Michael Rippon 67 & 2/32) 7 wicketami

Australia (313/7, Travis Head 101, Adam Zampa 4/38) pokonała Pakistan(225, Imam-ul-Haq 103, Haris Rauf 2/44) 88 runami

mecz Twenty20: Malezja (180/3, Virandeep Singh 59*, Sharvin Muniandy 4/32) pokonała Papuę Nową Gwineę (172, Tony Ura 56, Norman Vanua 2/31) 8 runami

IPL: Rajasthan Royals (210/6, Sanju Samson 55, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/22) pokonali Sunrisers Hyderabad (149/6, Aiden Markram 57*, Umran Malik 2/39) 61 runami

Challenger w Lugano: Piotr Matuszewski/Gijs Brouwer-Mirza Basić/Damir Dzumhur 1:6 4:6

Challenger w Marbelli: Jan Zieliński/Hugo Nys-Yannick Hanfmann/Adrian Menendez Maceiras 4:6 2:6

Turniej ITF w Monastyrze: Michał Dembek-Hanwen Li 4:6 6:7(3)

Challenger w Oreiras: Daniel Michalski/Dragos Nicolae Madaras-Vit Kopriva/Adam Pavlasek

FIFA World Cup, kwalifikacje:

AFC

Japonia-Wietnam 1:1

Iran-Liban 2:0

Syria-Irak 1:1

ZEA-Korea Południowa 1:0

Oman-Chiny 2:0

Arabia Saudyjska-Australia 1:0

CAF

Nigeria-Ghana 1:1 (1:1 w dwumeczu, awans Ghany)

Senegal-Egipt 2:0 po karnych (2:1 w dwumeczu, awans Senegalu)

Algieria-Kamerun 1:2 po dogrywce (2:2 w dwumeczu, awans Kamerunu)

Maroko-DR Konga 4:1 (5:2 w dwumeczu, awans Maroka)

Tunezja-Mali 0:0 (1:0 w dwumeczu, awans Tunezji)

UEFA

Polska-Szwecja 2:0 (awans Polski na Mistrzostwa Świata)

Portugalia-Macedonia Północna 2:0 (awans Portugali)

Turniej ITF w Pretorii: Maja Chwalińska/Valeriya Strakhova-Mana Ayukawa/Joanne Zuger 0:6 4:6

Mistrzostwa Europy U21, kwalifikacje:

Polska-Węgry 1:1

San Marino-Łotwa 0:0

Energa Basket Liga: Asseco Gdynia-Spójnia Stargard 76:74

Puchar Narodów Afryki, kwalifikacje: Gambia-Czad 2:2 (3:2 w dwumeczu)

ULEB Eurocup: Joventut-Śląsk Wrocław 97:79

Turniej WTA w Miami: Alicja Rosolska/Erin Routliffe-rosjanka/Elise Mertens 3:6 6:3 9-11

EHF European League: Lemgo-Wisła Płock 28:31

[des-det-fo]

3 FANDOMS

RULES: Choose any three fandoms and answer the questions, then tag 10 people you want to know better.

Three fandoms:

⚽ Inazuma Eleven

🔪 Danganronpa

🐶 Adventure time

The first character you loved:

⚽ Shirou Fubuki

🔪 Chihiro Fujisaki

🐶 Finn Mertens

The character you never expected to love so much:

⚽ Tenma Mastukaze

🔪 Akane Owari

🐶 Princess Bubblegum

The character you relate the most:

⚽ Kazemaru Ichirouta/Fey Rune

🔪 Shuichi Saihara (?)

🐶 Finn Mertens

As for me, I would have chosen [to relate to?? In general?]:

(I'm not sure i understand this question)

⚽ Endou Mamoru

🔪 Kaede Akamatsu

🐶 Jake

The character you'd slap:

⚽ Desarm (only during the aliea arc)

🔪 Monaca Towa

🐶 Lumpy Space Princess? Sometimes

Three favourite characters:

⚽ Fubuki Shirou, Fey Rune, Kazemaru Ichirouta

🔪 Shuichi Saihara, Mahiru Koizumi, Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko

🐶 Finn Mertens, Flame Princess, Bmo

Character you liked at first, but don't like anymore:

⚽ None

🔪 Angie? A little bit

🐶 None

The characters you didn't like at first, but do now:

⚽ Tsurugi Kyousuke

🔪 Maki Harukawa

🐶 Ice King

Three OTP's:

⚽ Enkaze, Hiromido, Tenfey

🔪 Saimatsu, Kuzupeko, Sakuraoi

🐶 Bubbline (AT is such a show full of great platonic ships so idk)

Boy that was long! Thank you so much for tagging me @zafiro-satoshi-ieforever! That was fun

Tagging: @inazuma-art @soyokaze-step @vraberika @shawn-and-aiden-frost-9 @calmystorm-saltycandy if you'd like to (maybe someone has already tagged you or you've already done this but i didn't check!)

[cosmicriff]

flame baby warmups

[inexplicifics]

i decided to make a note of all my thoughts and questions about the awau and it turned out to be 1500 words long lmfao, so i won’t subject you to all of it, and also i don’t have discord so i’m sry for the tumblr ask spam, feel free to ignore or answer privately or whatever if that’s easier- i’ll hold onto most of my questions and theories bc i imagine most of them will be answered eventually, but i have a handful of ficlet ideas, so, in no particular order:

when they go on progress, i imagine them getting so utterly miserable without the springs, even with accommodations at noble houses, that they convince yen to portal them home for one night and right back to the road after a soak lmao

do they have a visiting bard at kaer morhen during the progress to keep morale from tanking when jaskier and the rest of the court are gone for so long? bonus points if it’s pris and she falls in love with aubry, although i imagine he’s on jaskier guard duty so she might have to stick around after they get back

would fucking love a bit about dara and his family visiting sometime

might be iffy, since thinking about it the first time sent him into such a nasty panic spiral, but i can imagine jaskier running across livi somewhere in the keep while dragonfly is out on patrol maybe, and she’s having a bad day and feeling terrible about her family, and jaskier sits with her and bonds with her about having been sold to monsters and sent to their deaths by their fathers, and how to take all that rage and pain and betrayal that never quite go all the way away and turn them into something good, something powerful, because nobody understands what she’s gone through quite as well as he can, and also bc even though everyone knows what happened to him, and even though he’s very happy now, sometimes it still hurts to never have been loved by his parents, and there isn’t really anyone at the keep he can talk to about it

i bet lambert (or aiden maybe) at some point thinks it’s very funny to call jaskier “the queen of kaer morhen” and jaskier either tries to drown him in the baths or embraces it shamelessly and starts calling himself that

i woke up one night like a week ago with the phrase “my moonlit lord and my sunlit lover; between you i shall never walk in darkness” repeating over and over in my head, so idk if that’s anything but it’s yours if you want it

before i fell asleep last night i imagined a whole ficlet start to finish about jaskier thinking back on his arrival to kaer morhen (maybe set right after livi’s arrival and that panic attack) where he remembers that first introduction and realizes that when yen said “you’ve been needing a court bard!” with a smile on her face it was the first time in his life anyone had ever said they needed him, and that moment was a turning point in his life, from unwanted, unloved julian to adored, important jaskier, even if he was too overwhelmed to clock it at the time, and he goes to thank her and hugs her and makes her cry and she yells at him bc she didn’t spell her makeup unsmudgeable that morning and is he trying to make her look a mess you dreadful darling man? and also aubry cries and hugs him bc ofc he’s standing guard in the doorway and hears the whole thing and when geralt and eskel freak out bc he and aubry both smell like saltwater when they come back he tells them why and they cry too and it’s a very snuggly supper that night (and if yen gets randomly mobbed with surprise hugs from most of the wolf school for a few weeks, that’s probably normal and not at all related)

how different, physiologically, are aren’s pride from other witchers? does triss ever try to stabilize the false trial mutagens, or do they never come to trust her enough? or is it not necessary bc they’re totally fine now that they’re getting medical care and also fed and bathed and trained?

are any of aren’s old manticore friends or training class still around? what are those reunions like?

a ficlet of merten telling the whole insane story of geralt and ard carraigh and kaer morhen and everything that’s come after to aren and the pride would be amazing

obv i’ve developed “needs sasha/aiden content to live” disease like everyone else smsldkjt the wolves that love aiden need to stick together!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

ciri’s interactions with the an craites give me life, would LOVE to see her with her little brothers!!

i would kill for a look at griffin and marika’s wedding- milena and lambert must have gone, right? were their parents there???? how did that interaction go??????? and a royal wedding is the sort of occasion geralt and his court would need to attend, especially for one of his vassals, so did the whole crew show up together? how fun was it?? did the witchers get to make bitchfaces at the de roggevens all night? do griffin and marika love each other?? are marika and milena back in regular contact now?

i would love to see yen’s pov (or aubry’s) of how that meeting with vizimir and lettenhove went the night before the treaty signing, that they both came back from looking so smug

anyway thank you so incredibly very much for sharing your work and humoring us and all you do, you really are a gem of a human being

Oooh, look at all the bunnies!

Let me see now...

-I think the Progress is going to be broken up into lots of little jaunts, with stops back in Kaer Morhen for hot springs and decompression and trading out who gets to be escorting the Warlord and his household, so yes, everyone is going to be Very Glad to be home again, if only for a day or three.

-Oh, having a visiting bard is a fascinating idea! Hm. I'm still working on what to do with Priscilla...I'll have to think about that.

-Jaskier and Livi should have a bonding moment, you are quite correct. Hopefully Jaskier will not have another panic attack if he's a little more prepared for it.

-Jaskier would wear that title with great glee and Geralt would spend the month until the joke stopped being funny in a constant state of About To Go Up Mountain because he's not a king. (Sure he isn't.)

-Oooh, that's an absolutely lovely line - moonlit lord and sunlit lover, wow, that's got some resonance.

-Aww, hugs for Yen, all the hugs for Yen! And that sounds like a wonderful ficlet!

-There are some differences, which I am still figuring out; one of them has extremely keen night-vision combined with strong light sensitivity, and another might actually be venomous, which is going to be fun to figure out. One of these days, they'll let Triss have a very careful look at them, and it's possible they might need some magical intervention/stabilization, but mostly having Enough Food and Decent Medical Care and Competent and Compassionate Training is going to help all of them a lot.

-Several of Aren's old classmates are still around and they are having Feelings. Not sure yet how they're going to deal with those.

-Oh wow, that would be a fascinating ficlet. Aren would spend the whole time going "And then you what now?" while all the girls, who know some of the story from a very different perspective, would be boggling at things that Aren isn't even blinking at. ("You just...went over the walls?" "What, like it's hard?")

-I gotta get that Sasha/Aiden fic to cooperate, but unfortunately I'm starting to think it needs a complete rewrite. Ah well, such is life.

-...Ciri with her little brothers would be adorable. Maybe she should visit Skellige.

-I am attempting to write a Griffin/Marika fic! So far I am three chapters in and they haven't actually met yet. So that's...a thing.

-Oooh I'm not even entirely sure how that meeting went. Aubry got to loom, though. He's good at looming, even if he doesn't use the skill often.

Thank you so much for these wonderful bunnies and questions!

[cosmicriff]

Flaminn kids! Aiden is the prince and future Flame King while Ember is following in her father’s footsteps in being a hero

[inexplicifics]

Can we get a little bit more of Sasha and Aiden? Please?

A small snippet for you! A note: Sasha thinks of Leocadie with male pronouns in this bit, because he hasn't yet been told otherwise. Once he knows better, he'll do better.

*

Aleksander has no idea how they would have heard that - it was only decided an hour ago - but he nods all the same. “I will be teaching courtly graces, if that pleases the White Wolf and his council.”

Merten grins. “Might have to have you do remedial courses for all of us. People keep calling us lords.”

“Ought they not?” Aleksander ventures warily. “You are the White Wolf’s knights.”

“Huh!” Dilan says, propping his chin on a fist. He’s a broad-shouldered Witcher with a shaven head, a scar across the bridge of his nose, and the fairest skin Aleksander has ever seen, a startling true white. “Is that how everyone’s interpreting it?”

“Yes, sir,” Aleksander says. “You speak as equals to great lords, you serve the White Wolf as his personal troops, you are his trusted supporters. It is assumed that you are all knights at the very least, and those few of you who are known to hold rank as his advisors must be great lords in your own rights.”

“Huh,” Merten says. “That explains a lot.”

Leocadie grins at Merten. “I wonder what rank a Head of School holds?” he asks, looking very mischievous.

Aleksander does some quick mental calculation. The Warlord is an emperor, roughly speaking, for he has kings sworn to him; that would probably make Eskel Amber-Eyed perhaps a prince or an archduke, and then Aleksander would assume the other members of the Warlord’s council and the Heads of the seven Schools would be… “I think you would probably be a duke, Master Merten,” he says.

“Lebioda preserve me,” Master Merten mutters.

Leocadie laughs. “Does that make me a duchess?”

“It makes you a menace,” Master Merten grumbles.

[inexplicifics]

5 please!!!!!!! And here’s some salad for the plotbunnies 🥗🍏🍎🍐🍌🍉🍇🍓🍒🍑🥝🍅🥬🥒🌽🥕🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

From the Aleksander/Aiden fic which is fighting me at the moment:

Merten grins. “Might have to have you do remedial courses for all of us. People keep calling us lords.”

“Ought they not?” Aleksander ventures warily. “You are the White Wolf’s knights.”

“Huh!” Dilan - a broad-shouldered Witcher with a shaven head, a scar across the bridge of his nose, and the fairest skin Aleksander has ever seen, a startling true white - says, propping his chin on a fist. “Is that how everyone’s interpreting it?”

“Yes, sir,” Aleksander says. “You speak as equals to great lords, you serve the White Wolf as his personal troops, you are his trusted supporters. It is assumed that you are all knights at the very least, and those few of you who are known to hold rank as his advisors must be great lords indeed.”

“Huh,” Merten says. “That explains a lot.”

Leocadie grins at Merten. “I wonder what rank a Head of School holds?” he asks, looking very mischievous.

Aleksander does some quick mental calculation. The Warlord is an emperor, roughly speaking, for he has kings sworn to him; that would probably make Eskel Amber-Eyed perhaps a prince or an archduke, and then Aleksander would assume the other members of the Warlord’s council and the Heads of the seven Schools would be… “I think you would probably be a duke, Master Merten,” he says.

“Lebioda preserve me,” Master Merten mutters.

Leocadie laughs. “Does that make me a duchess?”

“It makes you a menace,” Master Merten grumbles.

[inexplicifics]

EXTREMELY nosy anon (feel free not to answer this one): how do you identify gender-wise? Also, would you ever consider putting a non-binary character in AWAU?

Cisgender female, and I don't mind!

Leocadie of the Manticores, their alchemy teacher and longterm partner to Head Manticore Merten, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns; they'll be showing up in the Sasha/Aiden fic.

[inexplicifics]

Sasha sitting in the Manticores table as Merten request in a dinner and, out of the blue, Aiden screams from the cat table DON'T DRINK THAT, all the Manticores looks like "ops, sorry" and the Cat drags a confused Sasha to sit beside him and Livi "nope, you sit here now I don't want to explain to your brother the KING of Redanian why are you dead from poison"

(Sasha’s brother is the new duke, not the new king!)

But yeah, one of the things he’s going to have to learn very quickly is which pitchers have human-safe drinks in them.