#daemon aus are so good we should all be writing this

[lokisprettygirl]

Rain to his Fire (Modern! Daemon Targaryen x Female Reader) (Non Canon 80s Au) (18+)

Read Chapter 6 here// Series Masterlist

Chapter 7

Summary: Amidst the chaos of learning the truth about Tanya, you meet someone from the past and things develop between you and Daemon.

Warning: 18+, smutty scenarios, crude language, description of Statutory rape, discussion of mental health (it's a fic based in a mental health facility), mention of physical assault, the fic would contain several mentions of several disorders like mpd, did etc, if something triggers you don't read, smoking.

As you heard the news about Tanya, your heart started to race and your chest began to feel tight. You knew that you needed a moment to yourself, so you hastily excused yourself from the cafeteria and ran hurriedly to make your way to the fourth floor to get to your room.

On the way you saw Daemon as he was being escorted for his session and the washed out look on your face concerned him to say the least.

As soon as you went inside your room, you locked the door and sat down on the bed to think about Tanya. Poor girl, she was suffering so much with her sickness while she was here. But she seemed so happy while she was discharged, she hugged you so warmly as if she couldn't wait to get out of this place, then what happened to her?

And Why was her body found near King's landing?

You were lost in all the questions when you remembered the note you had found under her mattress so you quickly got up and reached into your closet.

Reading the note now filled you with immense guilt and uneasiness, at first you had assumed that she was just paranoid of her environment, a mental health facility wasn't exactly a happy place to be in, you figured that it was one of her personalities just writing anything but now your heart felt sinking into your guts as you realized that the note could have been a distress call for help.

Perhaps she knew something, or someone who was trying to harm her. You felt nauseous about the implications of the note, perhaps you could have helped her if you had passed on the note to the police. You should have looked for her, why didn't you?

Tears rolled down your eyes as you remembered her sweet face, she was so young and kind and she didn't deserve whatever had happened to her.

That afternoon members of the staff were informed that the police would be interviewing each member separately, you had never been questioned by the police before so obviously it made you nervous.

You couldn't even breathe properly, at one moment it seemed as if you'd die of a heart attack like your mother did.

As you were finally called in, you went inside Dr Darren’s office, the investigation was being held there.

“Good afternoon” you mumbled as you sat down. There were two men sitting opposite you, a middle aged brown haired man and the other one with dark hair seemed younger, and he also seemed familiar for some reason.

"I'm Detective Hightower," the older man said, introducing himself and his partner, "Detective Criston." You nodded nervously and tried to take in a deep breath, but your chest felt constricted still..

"You seem nervous," Det. Criston Spoke as he offered you a glass of water. "Have a drink”

“I'm fine..i am just nervous” you spoke nervously,

“Don't be.. it's routine..we just have a few questions regarding Tanya Anderson” Your eyes teared up as Det. Hightower said her name.

“Sure” you were looking anywhere but at the officers and you wondered if they would see you as a suspect because you were acting really suspicious.

“You're tearing up, I can imagine it must be hard as you were assigned as her custodian, is that correct?” Det. Criston asked, his voice firm but professional.

“Yeahh”

You had tried so hard to control your tears but you failed eventually so you placed your hand over your eyes as you cried as silently as you could. Det. Criston got up from his chair and offered you the glass of water so you took it from him this time.

“Thank you and I'm sorry”

You mumbled meekly so Det. Hightower gave you a comforting smile.

“It's alright, take your time”

A minute later you finally took a deep breath and looked up at them.

“Okay I'm ready..thank you for being so kind” you said politely as you recovered from the outburst you had just now.

“No issues..so y/n..how long have you been here for?”

“Two years”

“Was Miss Tanya the first person you looked after, not just as a custodian but as a friendly companion as well?” Hightower asked so you shook your head in response.

“There are several patients I care for while I'm on duty, she was one of them but we definitely got along, she just seemed so out of place here when she wasn't suffering from her ailments” they looked at each other as you said that.

“What do you mean?” Hightower inquired,

“She seemed normal most of the time and then sometimes she would freak out out of nowhere, she was suffering from multiple personality disorder or something. Dr. Vis was treating her here at the facility” you told them so Hightower nodded his head as he wrote down your statement. Why did you have to mention Vis? They must know that already.

“Alright …did she ever tell you anything personal, about anyone trying to hurt her or just anything really?” Criston inquired so you shook your head.

“No, not really, she often talked about her childhood but never went into much detail.”

“Okay good, thanks for your time y/n, we will connect again if required” Criston said to you so you nodded and as you were about to get up you realized that now was the one and only chance you'd get to tell them about the note you had found, even though it might get you in trouble with the management.

“Can I ask you something?” you asked nervously so Det. Hightower gave you a slight nod.

“What happened to her? When did she die?” You asked them solemnly so they shared a look with each other.

“It's a classified information that we can't share just yet”

“Okay ummm the day after she was discharged from here, I was cleaning her room for the new patient and found this under her mattress, perhaps it can be of help”

Criston grabbed the piece of paper and as soon as he had read it, you saw the worried look on his face instantly.

“Who else knows about this?” Hightower asked you.

“Nobody” as you answered you noticed that he seemed instantly relieved.

“Thanks for bringing this up to us”

You nodded as they dismissed but as you stepped out of the office you heard Detective Criston calling your name so you turned around.

“Hey y/n..I think you didn't recognise me in there” You looked at him confused as he said that, he did seem familiar. “It's Cole, we went to middle school together.. perhaps the term rock boy would jog your memory?”

“Oh you're the boy that collected rocks ..oh i know youuuu” you smiled as you finally recalled the memory, it brought an unexpected smile to your face. “So detective huh? That's amazing... wow that's so cool” you said to him as you crossed your arms.

“Thank you..well i am still obsessed with collecting rocks though” You let out a small laugh as he said that.

“Why have I never seen you here before?” You asked him so he sighed deeply

“Because I just got transferred like a month ago, I was in Bradford before I got here” you nodded as he said that.

“Ahhh well okay..i better get back to my work now, but it was really nice catching up with you” you mumbled politely so he gave you a smile.

“Sure”

“Ummm if you find out something about her. Will you let me know?” You asked him so he nodded in response.

“Is there a number I can call here to connect with you?” He asked you so you nodded so he took out a pen from the coat's pocket and offered you his palm as a parchment.

“Uhhh okay” you chuckled nervously as you grabbed onto his fingers to write the digits on his palm before you mumbled a goodbye..

As you turned around you saw Daemon standing a few feet away from you with two guards holding onto him. He was staring deeply into your soul and it made you nervous.

“Not this guy again” you heard Criston mumbling so you turned around to look at him. Did they know each other? The events of the day were becoming increasingly strange. It was especially puzzling since Daemon wasn't even here when Tanya left so why was he being questioned.

You hadn't seen Daemon all day, so visiting his room directly seemed risky. Waiting until night, you knocked on his door once before sneaking into the terrace and walked towards the ledge, looking down. Your heart sank again as you thought about Tanya, imagining her final moments stirred emotions you didn't wish to face. You couldn't shake off the feeling of helplessness, knowing that you weren't there for her when she needed someone in her corner.

The scent of mahogany filled your nostrils before he had his arm wrapped around your waist so you turned around and hugged him tightly, finally letting the tears out. Caressing your head gently he then placed a soft kiss on your shoulder. Your fingers clenched around his shirt as you felt the warmth of his body, on a cold night he felt like a comforting bonfire.

“I found a note under the mattress, a cry for help and i ignored it..i thought she probably wrote it in her fits of paranoia, what if I had caused it…what if it could have been prevented if I had gone to the authorities or perhaps if I would have checked on her–” your lips trembled as you spoke, you had been keeping it all in since this morning and his hot comforting embrace was all you needed in the moment.

“Shhhhh it's not your fault alright? You couldn't have known darling..it's an unfortunate tragedy but you can't put the blame on yourself okay” you shook your head as he said that so he cupped your cheeks and wiped your tears “Hey look at me..not your fault, none of this is your fault” he mumbled softly so you placed your head back on his chest and nodded as you let out your tears until you couldn't cry any more.

Once your breathing leveled back to normal you pulled away from him.

“Why did they call you in for questioning? You weren't even here back then” you asked him, worry evident in your voice.

“I don't really know..why did that copper have your telephone number on his palm?” He asked you, a hint of jealousy visible and it made you smile a little.

“We went to school together..he remembered me” he squinted his eyes for a moment before he rolled them around in typical Daemon fashion.

“He's an arse” he grumbled.

“Why would you say that? Do you know him from before?”

“It doesn't matter..how are you feeling?” he asked as he shifted the conversation again.

“Okay..I'm okay” you mumbled softly.

“You should get out of this forsaken place once in a while” he said to you.

“And go where..do what?”

“Anything..you're young and beautiful, live your fucking life” you let out a chuckle as he said that.

“And do exactly what out there? Get drunk in bars and have sex with random men?” he grabbed the back of your neck as you said that, the smirk on your face only boiled his anger. He hated imagining that scenario in his head, a sight of you in some other man's bed, writhing and moaning underneath him.

“I'd kiss you right now if I wasn't your first kiss” he whispered against your mouth so you stifled the moan that was threatening to spill from deep within you.

“I have been kissed before”

“I don't think so”

The audacity. Not that he was wrong.

“It wasn't consensual but i have been kissed” his brows furrowed as you said that.

“Elaborate”

“You don't want to know trust me”

“I do want to know”

“Well long story short I was at party with few of my friends, I got drunk out of my mind and then started to cry because I was just sad.. really sad, about my life and I kept crying and this guy that I was dancing with kissed me out of nowhere.. and i hated it, I didn't like it at all” you mumbled hurriedly so he grabbed your cheeks between his palms. If he had enough information he'd have found the guy and perhaps beat him to pulp for touching you like that in your vulnerable advantageous state.

“I'm starting to see why you're so appalled by intimacy”

“I'm not against it..i just don't want to do it with every other fella” he smirked as you responded. He knew you would want to do it with him sooner or later, his ego was soaring these days due to that particular reason.

“Kissing a person you adore is a high darling, nothing short of a drug” he whispered in your ear so you pulled away from him to control yourself.

“You must have kissed many people then” you taunted him so he chuckled.

“Didn't really adore half of them”

“Well i didn't enjoy being kissed so–”

“Were you attracted to that bloke who forced himself upon you?” he asked strictly.

“No”

“That's why..you have to have the hots for the man who's into your mouth darling” you bit on your lips as he said that. You had definite hots for him and you wanted his mouth in yours.

“We should go”

Before we do something stupid you thought.

He stared at your lips for a moment so you placed your hands on his chest and nudged him slightly to get out of his warmth but you weren't really expecting what he was about to say next. Unpredictable as always.

“Sleep with me tonight” his tone was deathly serious and you couldn't deny how your intimate areas were tingling at the prospect of it.

“Are you joking?” you chuckled to hide your arousal.

“No ..I'm not joking, I'm not asking you to have sex with me, just sleep with me, in the same bed”

“That's not a good idea at all”

It was a great idea but a risk you couldn't take these days, besides you had never slept with a man you were attracted to before.

“I'll come to your window..nobody will know”

“No ..stop..lets go” you giggled as you dragged him along with you to take him back to his room.

Once you laid down in your bed, your mind shifted from thoughts of Tanya to those of Daemon, you wondered how it would feel to have him so close to you, his mouth rubbing against yours slowly and sensually.

The following day, you were assigned to clean room 390, formerly occupied by Mrs. Rodriguez, who had been discharged. This left you surprised, considering her frail mental state. While tidying up, the sound of the door opening caught your attention, and Doctor Vis stepped in, his presence intimidating and commanding like always.

“Good morning doctor” you mumbled politely so he gave you a smile and walked closer to you, you didn't even understand what he was doing or why he was looking at you like that but a part of you knew it couldn't have been about anything else but Daemon. Your life seemed to revolve around him only these days.

“Did you hear about the upcoming gala on Sunday?” He asked you so you nodded in response. The fundraising gala was traditionally held annually at King's Landing institution, offering a unique opportunity for patients, doctors, and staff to come together for one night, setting apart from the usual daily routine.

“I want you to take my…uhhh i want you to make sure that Daemon is on his best behavior at the gala” He said to you, making you all perplexed about his motive.

“How would I do that?” you asked him firmly so he smiled again.

“Just keep him engaged in conversations, think of it as a part of your duty and you'll earn a hefty bonus immediately”

Well the bonus would be nice but the entire situation bewildered you. Why did he only assign these extra tasks to you? Especially after that day when he had seen Daemon attacking you?

On the night of the gala, you chose to pamper yourself with a refreshing shower and meticulous grooming. After doing your makeup, you slipped into a black, full-length dress gifted to you by your mother, a piece you had never worn before, you never found the occasion for it.

You didn't dress up this lavishly for the previous galas as you really didn't care unlike this year. The dress featured thin straps that hugged your figure, a smidgen of cleavage on display, leaving you feeling both elegant but also slightly exposed. However you wanted to look sexy tonight, it was strange having such feelings, wanting to dress up for someone, getting all dolled up so he'd look at you differently and would perhaps make your knees tremble with his inappropriate touching and filthy words.

You enjoyed that feeling.

As you reached the main hall you felt everyone's eyes on you, especially your colleagues, they were not used to seeing you so made up.

There were plenty of influential people invited at the gala, it was a grand affair, alot to look forward to but your eyes wandered around to just see him, besides you had a job to do.

You didn't know what you were expecting but you definitely didn't expect to see Daemon in an all black suit that gave him the aura of a royal prince. Two guards had been appointed by the Viserys to bring him to the venue but as he entered Viserys gestured them to uncuff him from the shackles and then he gestured to you to keep an eye on him. The look hadn't gone unnoticed by Daemon as he walked towards you.

“Who knew you were hiding all this behind that granny dress you wear everyday” he mumbled as he neared you so you rolled your eyes.

“Who knew you were capable of wearing a two-piece suit?” you retorted making him chuckle in response

“You look gorgeous love” he muttered, a smirk playing on his lips,

“You look handsome” you responded honestly.

“Thank you”

“I'll get a drink” you turned around to get to the bar as you felt flushed under his intense gaze. As soon as you had your back to him he stared at your hips shamelessly while you walked away from him and cursed profanities under his breath, the dress hugged you in all the right places and his instincts were screaming at him to pounce on you right now.

To claim you in every possible way, show you what you were missing in your bed every night.

He was half a wild unruly creature and sometimes you made it really hard for him to keep that animal intact inside him, your alluring presence ignited the fire already burning within him, compelling him to satisfy that beast who just wanted to mate with his mate.

You made it really hard for him, literally and figuratively.

His eyes met with Shyla at the other end of the hallway but she quickly looked away as he approached you.

“It's my birthday” he mumbled as he stood next to you at the bar so you looked at him surprised.

“Really?”

“You can check my records”

“Why didn't you tell me all day?” You asked him so he rolled his eyes.

“I don't celebrate it”

“Why not?” you probed further to make him open up so he sighed.

“You need friends and family to do so.. didn't have any of that growing up” there was a hint of sadness in his tone and you felt your heart clenching at the sight of him.

“Well..how old are you now?”’

“35.. I feel ancient”

“I hear you” you hesitated for a moment before you spoke further,

“I have a job to do ..Dr. Vis have asked me to keep you in line and in return i would receive an early bonus” he chuckled as you said that, clearly amused.

“He's an imbecile” he scoffed

“True but he's being cautious, you areeee unpredictable” you admitted to which he responded with a smirk.

“Uhhhuh and that arse thinks a pretty little thing like you would get me under control if I wanted to go berserk right about now?” he asked arrogantly as he stepped closer to you. The scent of mahogany made your knees weak already and he hadn't even touched you yet.

“Perhaps I can do that” you replied confidentially as if to challenge him.

“You're overconfident love…I care about you but you can't tie me on a leash and have me wrapped around your fingers like a domestic pet” His words were affecting you in ways you couldn't even describe to yourself, you didn't think it was possible to feel so turned on by a man speaking to you so callously.

"Mhmmm, perhaps I would simply have to manipulate you emotionally." He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued as you challenged him again.

“And how would you do that?”

“Like this” you made a sad face and your eyes teared up suddenly as you looked at him with that pathetic puppy look on your face, his eyes softened for a moment before he realized that you were messing with him.

“Oh you little minx”

You couldn't help but grin at his response, feeling the sizzling chemistry between you, the flirting and the electric tension filling the air. The sight of him dressed so sharply added fuel to the fire, igniting a heat within your core. He then walked so close to you that there was not an inch of space left between your bodies, for a moment you worried about being seen like this but his words kept you hooked to him.

“Ask me to be nice and I won't disappoint you” he whispered in your ear.

“Will you be nice please?” You asked him softly so he caressed the bridge of your nose before he stepped away from you.

“You got it Princess”

And he upheld his promise, throughout the gala he was well behaved and polite with everyone, not that many people were interacting with him. He was misunderstood and he had done nothing to diffuse those rumors about him attacking Shyla. Sometimes you envied the power he had where he didn't give any fucks about his reputation.

Later that night you grabbed a piece of cake and made your way to his room, he had left the Gala before you and you didn't want to look suspicious so you waited for a bit before you stole the cake and sneaked out quietly.

Like always he had his door open so you entered immediately.

As expected, you found him standing by the window, his arms resting against the frame, the soft light of the moon bathing his silhouette.

“Happy birthday” you mumbled softly as he turned around and his gaze met with yours. The gentle flicker of the candle you had carefully placed on the cake casted a warm orange hue and he didn't know what it was about the gesture but it made him want to cry. All his adult life he had fought against emotions like these but with you he was failing miserably.

He walked towards you as he stared at you so you gestured towards the cake,

“Blow and make a wish” you told him so he chuckled and shook his head but his resolved melted as you made a pout, you didn't bring any fork so you cut the corner of the slice with your fingers and offered the sweet delicious treat to him, you weren't really expecting him to suck your fingers clean off the delicious cream. He grabbed the plate from your hands and stepped away from you to place it on the dresser before he approached you again.

“I want to touch you” he murmured under his breath and your heart ceased to beat for a moment.

“Where?” you asked hesitantly but evidently turned on by the husky whisper of his voice.

“Everywhere” he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to his chest so you looked up at him.

“You can't start touching me everywhere at once, it's …scary” you mumbled softly.

His fingers trailed up from your wrist and you shuddered as they caressed the curve of your shoulders, he messed around with the straps of your dress before he lowered them down, exposing your clavicle and a bit of cleavage, it wasn't really much but you felt as if you were all naked , you felt as if he could see right through you and the thought made you feel so aroused.

As his thumbs traced over your collarbone, your eyes rolled back in your head involuntary.

“Is this alright? Not too much, hmm?” he asked, his voice gentle but slightly mocking in your ears.

“No..not much..” the trembling of your voice betrayed the conviction in your words.

“Yet you're shaking like a leaf” he murmured as his thumb traced over the curve of your breasts, ragged breaths escaped your chest at the touch. You could feel yourself dripping in your thong. “Depriving yourself of such pleasures all your life? It's a shame darling, a woman as sensual as you was made to be ridden every night”

You silenced him with a gentle press of your palm against his lips as he spoke filthily.

“I don't want to be touched by anyone or everyone” you mumbled meakly as his hands wrapped around your neck like a necklace, his hold both possessive and gentle at the same time.

“And I would be honored if you'd allow me to savor a part of you that you've never shared before, my sweet girl. I promise to keep it safe, secure, and thoroughly pleased.” your eyes moistened at the sincerity in his voice.

“Mmmmhm? Kiss me then”

You looked him in the eye and cupped his cheeks as before you got angled up and pecked his lips briefly.

He leaned down and took a whiff of your scent before he sucked a mark on your neck, his lips then trailed up to your jaw and as he kissed the corner of your mouth, you felt your knees trembling with anticipation.

“Daemon” you whispered against his mouth as he cupped your cheeks.

“Mmm?” He asked, concern filled his voice as he didn't want to make you uncomfortable in the slightest.

“I …adore you..very much”

“As do i”’

With those words he then planted his lips on yours, your breath hitched in your chest as you gasped in his mouth, the wave of feelings that you experienced felt unfamiliar. This feeling that you had, you couldn't have anticipated it. It definitely wasn't the same as kissing your own hand as a child to practice kissing, and it definitely didn't feel as awful as it had with that man you didn't even remember the name of. He let go of your upper lips and looked at you for a moment,

“I'm not kissing you back am i?” You asked him between your bated breaths but he didn't answer, he smiled instead and leaned down to capture your lower lip into his mouth , his hands cupping your other cheeks as he pulled you closer to him.

The feeling of his warm big hands rubbing over the curve of your rear flipped a switch inside you right then and you reciprocated his movements, arms curled around his neck as you followed the rhythm of his mouth.

For the first time in your life you felt as if you were in a hazy dream, this feeling felt too good to be true, and for the first time your boring mundane life felt as exciting and as thrilling as those wild dreams you have had all your life. And it terrified you if you were being honest with yourself.

As his tongue slipped into your mouth you were a goner, the taste of him was something you could see yourself getting addicted to, it offered you a euphoric high like that of a drug as he had said, it felt intoxicating, but it was a high no other drug could ever compare to.

As the kiss deepened, he didn't pull away until he was gasping for breath, stealing the air from your lungs with each frantic inhale. Doubts filled your head, and you wondered whether the kiss was as magical for him as it was for you. Did he feel the fire burning within his soul, or was this moment merely a fleeting distraction for him?

“It is” he mumbled softly as peppered kisses all over your face so you looked at him confused “it is as magical for me as it was for you darling”

You still didn't understand how he was so intuitive, perhaps he had a strong sixth sense or something, considering that he was half dragon, you were still on the fence of believing it completely.

“Turn around for me” he asked you, his tone commanding so you hesitated for a moment before you complied. Then, the cool touch of metal wrapping around your neck caught you off guard, drawing a gasp from your lips.

Honestly you just wanted to kiss him again and then again.

“Daemon–”

“It's a gift…belonged to my mother” You turned around to look at him as he said that.

“I don't think I deserve it yet” you whispered softly so he placed his fingers on your lips to shut you up.

“Just keep it .. please”

“Okay”

He placed his forehead down on yours as he sighed so you tucked his hair behind his ears before you cupped his cheeks.

“What is bothering you?”

He wasn't the only one with strong senses it seems.

“Nothing” he mumbled as he grabbed the locket of the pendant between his fingers and contemplated his words before speaking “Don't put it on in front of Viserys”

“Viserys?” You looked at him confused so he nodded.

“Dr. Vis”

He had a full name? Why didn't you know that after all these years?

“Okay..why though?” Your puzzled expression prompted him to sigh again.

“He'd recognise it..it belonged to my mother” his answer only confused you further.

“Why would he know about this Daemon?” you asked him as the curiosity piqued, you knew Dr Vis had been treating him for a while but why would he know about the necklace you thought, it was personal. And that's when he revealed the truth about his relationship with the man you knew as Dr. Vis.

“Cause he's my brother.. he's my older brother”

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Taglist

@anukulee @ammo23 @littledark11 @stupidthoughtsinwriting

@daenny-t

[shadowynn]

| in love and lore | five |

pairing: ateez x fem reader (mingi and wooyoung focused, with some seonghwa)

genre: fantasy/daemon/soulmate au

warnings: mentions of violence, some cursing, yandere themes throughout

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

wordcount: 10.4k

a/n: and here we finally are. mc finally gets to meet more of the generals in person. :) i hope you all enjoy this next chapter and thank you again for all the love you’ve shown me and this series so far. i’ve had so much fun writing it and you’ve all helped keep me inspired to continue.

| four | five | six |

~

It lasted only three days. Three days of nearly continuous onslaught that passed in a hazy blur as you ran from one end of the city to the next and back again. You managed to catch an hour or two of sleep every so often, but the majority of the days and nights were spent on your feet, running to heal the injured soldiers and civilians in one section of the city before being carted off to another. While Suho and the majority of the other human healers remained at the infirmary to deal with the wounds of those able to be moved, the half-daemons were tasked with brewing as many health potions as they could. This task was short lived, however, as you had only managed to store so much of your blood before the attack began. Before the first day of the attack had come to an end, your stock had been deplenished.

You didn't let it stop you. Having no other choice and certain you wouldn't live past the battle anyways, you used your blood in its pure state to heal the soldiers who needed it the most. You did still attempt some subtlety in the act, filling up the empty vials you had on you when they weren't looking to ease the act of drinking your blood. And though some gave you strange looks when you proffered the unknown liquid, they disappeared when their injuries began to knit themselves back together.

Unable to stay away from the fighting, a guard had been stationed to you in an attempt to keep you from harm's way. The majority of the daemon forces remained on the other side of the wall, but it was impossible to stop the steady stream that breached them. While you had some basic training in self-defense, you were by no means a soldier and were nearly useless when it came down to a fight, especially against a daemon. And though the guard and the surrounding soldiers did keep you safe from the rare instances a daemon stumbled too close to you, you had still caught a stray arrow in the shoulder sometime in the third night. It had stung, but only put you out of work for a few minutes as the guard helped you pull it out so you could heal yourself and move on.

And then, it all came to a grinding halt.

One moment you were on the eastern ramparts healing a soldier whose abdomen had been slashed open and the next you were being ordered back to the infirmary when a ceasefire had been announced. At least, that's what the council was calling it, but you knew better than that. The council members were well aware the end was near and they didn't have the resources to win this fight. The ceasefire had been their last ditch effort to save themselves. They were surrendering in the hopes of preventing the entire city from burning to the ground with them still inside.

You were placed on lockdown in the infirmary on the dawn of the fourth day, unable to leave the premises but not really wanting to either. With a ceasefire now in place, the daemons had access to the city for the peace talks and you had no desire to run into or be seen by any of them. You knew they were in the city, the strange hole in your chest had been thrumming ever since the daemons had first attacked, and the uncertainty of what was going to happen now weighed heavily on your mind. While you held on to some hope you and your siblings would be kept safe from whatever was coming, you didn't know exactly how it would all work out, or if the daemons were even going to follow through with their promises.

What if they had lied? What if they had no intentions of keeping you safe? But then again, what if they had been telling the truth? What was going to happen to you then? Would they let you be like you had requested, or would they come for you? As nervous as you were at the prospect of your own demise, the thought of having to see another of the Seven, or even their king, let you just as terrified.

It didn't take long for your questions to be answered. In the afternoon of your second day on lockdown, the doors to the infirmary opened once more. Out of habit, you looked up from the soldier you were bandaging to assess the damage of the latest patient, but your breath hitched the moment you noticed the gleaming, black horns of the daemon in front.

He wasn't the same Black General from that night so many weeks ago, a bit taller than Seonghwa, but no less intimidating or attractive as he had been. It made you briefly wonder if their appearance had been a deciding factor when it came to being one of the Seven. If being that damn attractive was a requirement, All daemons held an unnatural beauty about them, an attribute that showed up in your own features, but these men were something else altogether. And the thought of them being selected based on something as vain as beauty would have made you laugh if it weren't for the position you were currently in.

"Shit," you swore, ducking behind the soldier you were attending to when the general's gaze swept through the infirmary. You couldn't stop the panic that had rose up inside you at his presence, heart race increasing at the thought of him being here because of you. It was crazy, ridiculous. What need did they have of you? Why would they waste the time of one of their generals to come fetch you? But the absurdity of it didn't stop your hands from beginning to shake.

Suho was the first to approach, talking with them for only a few moments before his own eyes began searching the room. When he caught sight of your crouched figure in the back corner, he called out your name and waved you over.

You couldn't stop the second round of curses from slipping out under your breath, and the sound of your name echoing through the now silent room was enough to send another wave of nerves coursing through you. The last thing you wanted to do was go over towards them, but you were left with no other choice when nearly every eye in the room turned your way when Suho called out for you once more.

"One second, please."

With one last deep breath, you finished bandaging the soldier in front of you before standing up and making your way over. You only hoped you looked more confident than you felt and none of them could see just how badly your hands were shaking at that moment.

"Do you need something?"

If they didn't notice your shaking hands, they were bound to notice the slight warble in your voice as you spoke. You were well aware of the general's eyes on your figure as you approached. You could practically feel them boring into you. But you did your best to ignore him for the time being and focused on Suho instead.

"As per agreement with the current status of the treaty talks and as a gesture of good faith, your council has agreed to send you over into our care for the time being and attend to our wounded." It was the general who responded, black eyes still unabashedly taking in your figure as you hovered behind Suho.

"How long will she be there?" Suho asked, and while his defensive nature might have read as annoyance at having his most valuable healer taken away from him for the foreseeable future, you knew him well enough to know he was simply worried for your own wellbeing.

"Until the king decides he has no further use of her." His eyes narrowed, disliking the tone or stance Suho had taken.

"It's okay, Suho." You put a hand on his shoulder, drawing the gaze of each man back to you. "I can take care of myself. Just do me a favor, will you? If you see Soomin or Hyunwoo, will you let them know I'm okay? And that I'll meet them back at the house as soon as I'm able." And though your tone was light, you still stumbled over your words at the thought of your siblings. You hadn't seen either of them since the attack on Maehwa had begun, and though you had received word that both of them were alive and well, you couldn't help but still worry about them. Unlike you, they didn't have the supposed protection of the daemons.

Suho nodded. "If I see them, I'll let them know. Just be careful out there."

"Aren't I always?"

You squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to convey your gratitude towards him, a hint of a smile popping up. You weren't quite certain you were heading to your demise, but it was a thought you couldn't shake. And if you were, and you never saw Suho again, you wanted to thank him for everything he had done for you. For all those years you had known and worked under him, Suho had treated you with a kindness not seen by many. Whatever the future held, you hoped he would not suffer.

"Don't worry, no harm will come to her under our care. She will be safe with us." The Black General's eyes had locked onto the exchange between the two of you, expression softening as you quickly began running through the current status of your storeroom with Suho. "Much safer than she had ever been among your kind. Daemons may hold grudges, but we also make sure to always repay those who have shown us kindness."

His eyes met yours, and you struggled to figure out how exactly his statement made you feel, words stumbling to a close. When he had stated you were being handed over to them for your ability and as a gesture of good faith, you had believed him. That they had purely come to you for your talents. For you blood. But now, you weren't so sure. As crazy as it felt, you couldn't help but now wonder if they had come today because they had wanted you. Not for your ability, but simply because they were finally following through with their promise to keep you safe.

The daemons had set up camp outside the city's walls and the long walk to reach it was spent in silence. You had a hard time not fidgeting with the ends of your sleeves as you walked beside the general, still trying to wrap your head around the true motive behind you going with them. His eyes often strayed in your direction, but he made no move to break the silence that had settled around you. You didn't bother trying to break it either. Despite the million questions burning inside you, your nerves kept you from speaking.

You had tried to play off your fears in front of Suho, but now that you were alone with him and the other daemon guards, you had a hard time hiding them. You didn't know what awaited you back at their camp, and as much as you didn't want to go with them, you had no say in the matter. It wasn't like you could try and run from them. Not only would that possibly void any agreement you might have had with them, but you wouldn't stand a chance against them if you tried. Even if they weren't physically stronger and faster than you, the general's daemon ability was a threat to you. You were well aware he had one. He had to have one for someone of his status, and if it was anything like Seonghwa's, you didn't stand a chance against him. You had tried to run before, after all, and look where that had gotten you. Absolutely nowhere.

Once you had reached the southern gates, the general waved away the daemons who had been accompanying you, ordering them to return to their original posts. Just like before, you found your nerves growing as you were left alone with one of the Seven once again, wondering what was going to become of you this time around. It wasn't until you had cleared the gates and were away from any prying eyes or ears that he finally spoke to you.

"I can see now why the others have seemed so smitten with you. When Seonghwa claimed you truly were the angel the rumors spoke about, I was skeptical, and yet..." His lip twitched, the shadow of a smirk appearing at the chuckle that escaped his mouth. "I see now why he was so upset when Hongjoong sent him to lead the assault at Yuchae. Along with why he was so quick on taking it once we had arrived here."

You remained quiet, too unsure of how his statement made you feel to think of a proper response. It seemed like a compliment, especially with the smirk that remained as he assessed your reaction out of the corner of your eye, but you had a hard time feeling flattered by it. Not when it came from him. Despite the thrumming in your chest that attempted to lull you into a sense of warmth and security, you could feel the power radiating off of him. His presence was nearly suffocating, the intensity of his aura unnerving. And without knowing just what he and the others intended to do with you, you figured it was in your best interest to keep your distance and hope their interest in you would wane when their need for you was over.

“Hongjoong said the past few days have been rough on you, so I’m under orders to only take you to the soldiers who are in the most dire need of your services for the day and then let you get some rest.” If he was upset by your lack of a response, he didn’t show it, continuing on with their plans for you without skipping a beat. “He said you haven’t gotten a proper night’s sleep in weeks thanks to those fucking pigs working you day and night.”

“They needed me,” you were quick to reply this time around, an edge of bitterness in your tone that matched the disgust that had laced his own words. While it was true you were exhausted and overworked, you hadn’t ever minded the long hours. A few more hours awake meant a few more soldiers that wouldn’t end up dead.

“And what exactly did they do to show you their gratitude?” he spit back with even more venom than before. “By threatening to have you killed for treason if you didn’t do exactly what they wanted when they wanted it?”

“And you would have treated me any more kindly?” While his words were true, you had a hard time letting him speak in such a manner when you knew for a fact things wouldn’t have been any different for you if you had been on their side. “You would have your men treat me as an equal among them?”

“You have done a great service to our king. If anyone were to treat you unkindly, they would pay for the disservice they had shown you.”

“Ah, of course,” you scoffed, his words doing little to comfort you. “You would have killed them the same way you would have killed me when I had been born a halfbreed. Or would it be more akin to the way you killed that lady when she threatened my life?”

“What were we supposed to do? Just let her live after what she said to you? After what she did to you?” He came to a stop, head shaking as he refuted your statement. “She resigned herself to her own fate the moment she fucking touched you.”

You took a step away from him, turning your head in an attempt to get your emotions back under control. There was a lot you wanted to say, but his words scared you as much as they angered you. A haunting reference to what the daemon had said to you that first night back home and a reminder she had only died because of you.

Anyone who so much as touches you will face the full wrath of the daemon king.

“You think us cruel for what we did, and perhaps we are.” A hand reached for your face, lifting your gaze towards him. “But if you knew what she had done. If you knew what she wanted to do to you, what she thought of you, you would know she deserved every ounce of cruelty we showed her. I only wish I had been there myself to add to it.”

“And what,” your breath hitched, struggling to speak as the intensity of his aura hit you again in that moment. A stark reminder of just who you were speaking to and how Hak’s fate could just as easily become your own if you didn’t reign in your emotions. “What was it that she thought of me? That I’m a traitor to my own people? That I’m a disgrace? That I’m nothing more than a lowly, dirty mutt? That I don’t deserve the life I have? And how wonderful it would be to watch me die?” You shook your head, eyes closing. “I knew exactly what she was thinking. It’s the same thing nearly everyone thinks of me.” Taking a breath in an attempt to even out your voice, your eyes opened once more and locked onto his own. “Both daemons and humans. So, forgive me, please, when I have a hard time believing you would treat me any differently. Not after everything you’ve put me through these past weeks.”

“I will admit things have not gone as smoothly as we had hoped, but if you’re expecting an apology for her death, I won’t give you one. None of us will. Not after what she did to you.“ He shook his head, expression set.

“Why?” If you had thought he was intimidating before, it was nothing to how he appeared now: every bit the Black General you had heard rumors about. Every bit the man you had envisioned them to be in your head. “Why are you doing this?”

“We promised you we would keep you safe. If we didn’t stop her from following through with her threat, we would have broken our word to you.”

“But, why? Why are you doing this for someone like me?”

“Because you saved so many of our men’s lives. Because you saved Seonghwa’s life. Would it not be wrong of us to not want to return the favor? To return the kindness you’ve shown us?”

“No, not when I’ve told you I don’t need you to.” You turned your face away from him, arms crossing along your chest. “Not when I requested for you to do the exact opposite and to just leave me alone. Not when you’re going to start killing people because of it.”

“You have siblings, don’t you, angel? How would you feel if it had been one of them who had been in harm’s way? How would you feel if it had been one of them who’s life was being threatened?” His tone had softened, the previous venom he had spoke with beginning to deteriorate. “We may not be related by blood, but Seonghwa is like a brother to me. Losing him would have been akin to losing a part of myself. And for a moment there, I thought I was going to lose him. I was so sure he was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. I was powerless to stop it, but then you appeared. You saved him and now I can’t help but feel that nothing I ever do will repay you for the kindness you showed us that night.”

“I can understand why you may feel that way, but I never needed to be repaid. I didn’t do what I did because I wanted something in return. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this.” You turned your face back towards him, hoping he would listen to you. “I do not need to be repaid for what I’ve done, but if you truly feel as though you are in my debt, then will you please just let me be? You’ve saved my life, and I appreciate the gesture, but please. I just want my life to return to what it used to be. I just want things to be normal again.”

“I’m sorry, angel. I am more than happy to carry out nearly anything you ask of me, but I cannot fulfill that one.” His hand raised to your shoulder, and though his words cut, genuine sympathy did seem to appear in his eyes. “You are so much more important than you could possibly understand.“

“Then help me understand.” Your eyes pleaded with him, begging him to clear everything up for you. To finally explain what was going on and whether you would end up dead by the end of it. “Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just let me go? What are you going to do to me?”

“I’m afraid I cannot answer those for you at this time, angel.” His hand squeezed your shoulder, a hint of a smile ghosting over his lips as he did his best to attempt to alleviate the frustration and fear you felt towards everything they had done to you. “But know that you are safe now. We won’t let anything else happen to you. We won’t let anyone else hurt you.”

It was impossible to fight the frown his answer - or lack of one - pulled out of you, and you had to bite your lip to keep the question that had started it all from falling out again. Why? Why were they keeping you safe? Why were they so intent on protecting you? Why did your chest ache whenever you weren’t around one of them? Why wouldn’t they just let you go? And why the hell would they not answer any of your questions?

They talked about repaying you, wanting to thank you for what you had done, but then why would they not repay you in the way you asked? If they truly wanted to thank you, they should just leave you be like you asked. And if they truly couldn’t, then at least they could explain to you why. You may have not liked it or the excuses they would give you, but you would take it. It would be better than the obliviousness they seemed intent on keeping you in.

“I know how this might all sound. I know how confused and overwhelmed this has made you, but everything will be made clear in due time.” His hand lowered to your back, gently guiding you in the direction of the tents before you. “For now, let us do what we came here for and then you may get some much needed rest. I’m sure you’ll feel much better in the morning when you’re not so exhausted.”

You wanted to argue. You wanted to tell him that your exhaustion had nothing to do with how you felt at this current moment, but he gave you no time to do so. Now that you were near the encampment, your conversation was no longer private. Daemons roamed around the grounds, each of them quick to observe you. Anything you might have still wanted to say to the general fell away at their presence. Their looks were heavy on the back of your neck, and though you saw more than a few scowls pointed in your direction once they realized what you were, no one said a word. Not with the man gently guiding you through them. And as much as you disliked him in that moment, you couldn’t help but inch your way closer towards him, shrinking beneath the weight of their eyes.

If he noticed the way you had begun to cling closer towards him, he didn’t mention it. Now that you were in their camp, he had become silent once more, leaving the weight of your past conversation hanging in between you.

Working did ease some of the tension that had built inside you. In the middle of the enemies’ encampment and surrounded by strangers, the act of it brought a sense of familiarity. Though the majority of the soldiers were hesitant in your presence, wondering why someone of your kind was attending to them, none of them spoke back to you. You knew what they truly thought. You could see the looks they sent your way when they thought you weren’t looking, but they held their tongue when they noticed your guard.

But even the looks eventually stopped when you began your work. Without any healing potions left, you had no choice but to use your blood freely on those closest to death. And once you started offering it with promises to ease the pain, your identity was revealed to them and whispers of you being the Black Angel swiftly flew through the camp.

Was this why they wouldn’t just let you be? Because they had learned of your ability and decided it was too valuable to let go? If you could save Seonghwa from death’s door, then what else could you do for them? How else could you benefit them?

You learned the general who escorted you was named Mingi from the soldiers who talked with him, and though his eyes were quick to catch each of your movements, he made no move to question anything you did. Every once in a while you would catch him muttering something under his breath, but his words were too quiet to make out above the noise of the camp.

About an hour after your arrival, Mingi decided you had done enough for the day. You attempted to argue at first, taking quick note of the daemons still in need of your care and the last few hours of daylight that remained, but he held strong against your requests, especially at the way you were having a hard time holding back your yawns. Instead, he grabbed hold of your shoulder and guided you out of the infirmary before you could attempt to work a bit more by prolonging the argument between you.

You assumed he was taking you back into the city to your house, but we’re surprised when he instead came to a stop in front of one of the tents set up in the middle of the encampment, the golden sigil of their king hanging outside the entrance.

“You can rest here for the night. A bath has been drawn for you inside and though we were a bit unprepared when it came to clothes, you’ll find a clean set that will do for now. I’ll be standing guard out here for the next few hours, so if you need anything else in the meantime, please come ask.”

You hadn’t realized how quickly your heart had started beating when you saw the banner hanging outside the tent until Mingi explained where he actually taken you. For a split second you had thought he had actually taken you to meet with their king and it had caused a panic to erupt inside of you faster than you had expected. Now that he had made his intentions known, however, you inwardly cursed yourself for your stupidity. Why would they take you to see their king? Why would he want to speak with you?

“I appreciate the thought, but this isn’t necessary. I have a house in the city and I’m sure it would be easier if I just returned there for the night. I don’t want to put anyone out of their bed when my own is so close.” And I just want to be in the safety of my own house with my family again.

It was clear the tent did belong to someone, and someone of importance as the size and adornments set it apart from the others scattered among the fields. Mingi’s offer may have seemed friendly on the surface, but it left you uncomfortable all the same. While the thought of taking someone’s space when yours was just a short walk away did leave you with some discomfort, it was the way his words mimicked his earlier sentiments. Of how they had no intention of letting you go for the time being.

“I assure you the tent’s original occupant doesn’t mind. In fact, he insisted you stay here for the time being when the problem presented itself,” he replied, but it didn’t ease your feelings on the matter. It did little to fight the idea you were a prisoner here for the time being, especially when he would be standing guard outside the whole time. “I know you would prefer to go home, but we felt it would be safer keeping you here where we can afford more than a spare set of eyes watching you,” he continued. “Tensions are still high at the moment and who knows how the humans will react if they come to find out you’ve been healing our soldiers instead of theirs. We would all feel much better with you here than with them. At least until we conclude our business here.”

Your lips twisted, taking in the tent before you one last time as you debated whether this was something worth fighting him on or not. You were well aware this was a battle you wouldn’t be winning, but that didn’t make it any easier to just accept it either. You may be their prisoner for the time being, but that didn’t mean you were just going to accept your fate. You didn’t stand a chance against them, you knew that, but you wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of being able to control you without a little bit of a fight. Without letting them know just how frustrating and terrifying this whole situation was for you.

They acted like this was all for your benefit. For your safety. But you didn’t see how being trapped here with them was beneficial to you. How it was supposed to be protecting you. You had no say in coming over here and you had no say in when you would be leaving. Whether this was actually on their part, the council’s, or both, it didn’t matter. You were nothing more than a pawn between the two. Hated by both for who you were, but beyond useful.

“You’re sure he doesn’t mind?”

You didn’t want to give in, but the thought of a hot bath did tempt you. You had a chance to clean yourself when you had arrived back at the infirmary the day before, but that had been nothing more than a cold bucket of water to wipe off the grime and dirt that had collected and extinguish the smell of the battlefield off your body. It had been nearly a week since you had last had a chance to bathe and relax, and it would be a shame to turn it all down because your pride had a hard time accepting kindness from them.

But was this even kindness they were showing you? They presented it in an offer to repay you, but you couldn’t shake the sneaking suspicion you would be expected to pay it all back in full when the moment came. That this kindness wasn’t the same you had shown towards them, but an ulterior motive to get something from you. What that might have been, you didn’t know, but there had to be something. Daemons wouldn’t treat you this way without expecting something in return.

At Mingi’s insistence it was fine, you finally relented and took the offer to head inside. Your suspicion of the tent belonging to someone of importance was confirmed as you wandered inside. While the decor and furniture were sparse, the few items there were of a quality you could never hope to attain. A bed was set in the back corner, and though the sheets and pillows were plain, you could tell by just looking at them, they would be the softest and nicest set you would ever have the opportunity to lay in. The bath Mingi had mentioned laid in the other corner, hidden behind a set of screens set up for your privacy. The set of clothes he had also spoken of were folded on a stool next to it alongside some soap and towels.

A small table and a set of chairs sat to the left of the entrance, while a much larger table took up the majority of the center. Papers and maps were scattered across its surface and one glance had you diverting your eyes. The entirety of the table’s contents contained valuable information on the war and left you with the sense you were intruding. If it wasn’t for the immaculate condition of the rest of the room and the items near the bath they had set up for you, you would have thought they had just forgotten to clean up. The more likely option was that they didn’t feel the need to hide anything. The war was all but won for them, and even if it wasn’t, who would you tell? You weren’t going anywhere soon, not with Mingi standing guard outside. And even if you could get away from him, where would you go and who would you tell when there was another daemon who could control your body at a second’s notice.

Either way, you didn’t want to look at them, not when you didn’t know if they had left it out to see what you would do. So, you averted your eyes and made your way to the bath to bathe before the water grew too cold.

You felt more relaxed inside the tent, away from any prying eyes, but knowing Mingi was waiting just outside did keep you on edge. He didn’t seem like the type of person to walk in unannounced, especially when he was the one who had suggested you take the time to bathe, but the lack of security in your privacy did concern you. You were alone now, but you still felt exposed here in the middle of a camp full of daemons you couldn’t trust, and you slipped out of your clothes and into the water as quickly as you could. They might have hated your kind, but that hadn’t stopped some men from being men before.

The water felt better than you had been expecting, or that you cared to admit, and you sank further into it with a deep sigh. The want to take your time and relish this small luxury until the water ran cold did hit you, but the anxiety of taking too long and someone wandering inside crept at the back of your mind and kept you from lingering in the water for too long. Once you had scrubbed your body and hair clean, you only strayed for a minute or two longer before climbing out.

The air was chilly as you stepped out, and you were quick to pull on the clothes that had been set aside for you. Just like everything else in this place, the quality of items were nicer than anything you had ever worn before. The material was soft and though a few sizes too big, you found the oversized fit oddly comfortable, relishing in the small comfort you found in the way the shirt drowned your figure.

Once you were clean, you were unsure of what to do next. You were exhausted, but knew you would have a hard time sleeping with the sunlight still peeking through the fabric of the tent. And if you weren’t sleeping, you were left with just two other options. Either sit inside the tent by yourself for the next few hours and drive yourself insane thinking about what was going to happen to you, or go see if you couldn’t happen to pull some more answers out of Mingi. He had said if you needed anything, to just ask, and you felt like answers were something you could use right about now. That and some food. You hadn’t had time to eat much the past few days and your stomach was starting to growl. If they had offered up a bath, perhaps you could also get some food out of them in the meantime.

To your surprise, Mingi was no longer alone when you made your way back outside. A table and chairs had been set up in your absence and another daemon sat in the chair beside him.

He sat backwards in his chair, arms crossed along the back as he listened intently to something Mingi was saying. Upon hearing your approach, his eyes flitted over to you and his expression softened as he took you in.

“Oh, you’re still up! I guess my trip over here wasn’t in vain then.” He exchanged a look with Mingi who seemed equally surprised at your appearance as he did. “This is for you, by the way. I brought it just in case you were hungry, though you’ll have to forgive me for sneaking a few bites.” He pushed the plate he mentioned towards you, snagging one of the grapes and popping it in his mouth. “I’m Wooyoung. It’s nice to officially meet you, angel.”

“Have we met?” you asked, having no choice but to take the other chair next to Mingi when he pulled it out for you to sit. Something about him did feel familiar, but you felt for sure you would remember him if you had met him before. Your theory of the generals being picked based on their appearance continued to hold as you took him in, noting he was just as attractive as the others.

“Just once and I’ll even give you a hint.”

His smile and demeanor were light and teasing, the exact opposite of what you had always expected from the daemons you had heard rumors about your entire life. Each of the Seven you had met did seem far less terrifying than the stories had gone, but you knew you couldn’t allow yourself to be lulled into the act. After all, you were more than aware they had killed Hak Seongmin and with a cruelty Mingi had refused to apologize for. They might have seemed kind on the outside, but you knew of the darker side that hid within. You had seen it for yourself.

Clearing his throat, Wooyoung did his best to mask his playfulness with something a little more serious. “Miss l/n, did you or did you not have something to do with what happened to Ms. Hak last night?”

“That was you?”

You couldn’t keep the shock off your face and he laughed while nodding his head. Part of you didn’t want to believe him. The idea of an ability that allowed him to blend in so easily with the humans was terrifying, but it was clear he was telling the truth. He looked nothing like the man who had interrogated you nearly a week ago, but his behavior and mannerisms were too similar for him to be anyone else. How he had snuck in and impersonated one of the upper guards well enough to even fool the people he was with, though, you had no idea. But one thing was clear. His daemon ability was powerful. Much more powerful than your blood, and you wondered what other hidden talents each of these men had.

“I knew he was a daemon, but…” You hadn’t expected him to be one of the Seven? You hadn’t expected him to be so… attractive.

Your words trailed off, the hint of a blush rising up the back of your neck. You had known he was a daemon, but you had just assumed he was just hiding his daemonic features, not his entire appearance. And seeing him now, in his true form, you were reminded of all the sly looks and smirks he had sent your way that day. And of the voice that had rung in your head when you had thought he was Yeosang.

Oh, god. Does that mean they could read your thoughts? Could they hear what was running through you head right now? Had they just heard how you had just admitted they were both equally as attractive?

It was hard to tell. A smirk had crossed Wooyoung’s features as he assessed you from the other side of the table, but if he was aware of what thoughts were currently running through your head, he made no inclination towards hearing them.

“Yeah, Hongjoong wasn’t exactly happy when I didn’t try very hard at hiding it to you, but well, it was my first time meeting you and I was excited-“

“More like you just wanted to show off,” Mingi mumbled, earning a kick from Wooyoung under the table for his comment.

“I’ll have you know it’s quite hard to stay undercover when you have multiple people’s thoughts interrupting your own on top of constantly sorting through the thoughts of the person you’re supposed to be. I was just trying to do my job, but Hongjoong kept going on and on. ‘Act more serious, Woo, you’re giving yourself away.’ Or ‘Why the hell did you just ask her that? You’re going to get her in trouble!’ For a second there, I thought my brain was going to explode.” He groaned, rubbing at his temple before reaching over to steal another bite of food off the plate he had previously stated was for you. “Please, eat. Otherwise I might accidentally beat you to it.” He gave a sort of sheepish smile before leaning his chin down into his arms with a sigh. “I swear, nothing is more exhausting than sitting in a room and listening to those pigs go on and on all day long about why we shouldn’t just kill them. If you ask me, I’d much rather have finished them off by other means, but well…” His words trailed off, eyes flickering over in your direction. “Be thankful you got to leave when you did, Mingi.”

“I’m well aware, trust me. None of you even tried to hide your disappointment when Hongjoong picked me to go fetch her,” he replied, a smirk crossing his face as he settled back into his own chair.

“And then you didn’t even bother to hide that same damn smirk when he called out your name either, you smug bastard,” Wooyoung snapped back, but the smile that danced on his face was teasing. “Although you’ll get a kick out of hearing the human’s latest development in saving their own hides. A marriage alliance.”

“You’re kidding me?” Mingi’s smirk fell at the news. “After everything they’ve done, this pigs really think they can fuck their way back into our good graces?”

Even you had a hard time keeping the surprise off your face. The hypocrisy of the offer hitting you hard. The humans hated the daemons, and in turn, they hated your kind. The fact those who had mistreated and despised you for your lineage were now offering to form an alliance that would result in more half-daemons like you was not only insulting, it was degrading.

“San couldn’t hold back his amusement when they first mentioned it and burst out laughing before he realized they were being serious,” Wooyoung continued, eyes flickering in your direction at the scoff you were unable to hide from his earlier statement. “Even Hongjoong had a hard time covering his distaste towards the offer and wasted no time calling them out on the hypocrisy of their offer. I swear, they’re selfish, fucking pigs, all of them. The sooner we get back home and away from them, the better.”

“Thank you for the food, but I think I might retire for the night.”

You knew this was an opportune time to try and wrangle information out of them, but the comments they had made towards the possible marriage alliance made your stomach churn and you found yourself wanting to be alone as your mind raced over what they had meant. To think the very people who had been so cruel to you your entire life suddenly being okay with someone of mixed blood now that their lives were at risk more than frustrated you.

It wasn’t just the humans that had you reeling, though, but the daemons reactions to it as well. They had laughed at the idea, finding it so utterly preposterous that they would ever mix their blood with a creature so far below them. Finding it utterly disgusting. Finding you disgusting.

“Aw, I know you’re tired, but do you think you can stay up for just a bit longer, angel?” Wooyoung’s tone lightened as he addressed you, eyes glancing momentarily towards Mingi as though he could feel the way your mood had suddenly shifted. “The ones from Yuchae should be arriving here soon and I know Seonghwa has been eager to see you again. Can you at least stay up until he gets here? Pretty please?”

His words had your stomach twisting again, wondering just who he and the others were. This innocent, kind act had to be a charade, right? They couldn’t possibly feel that way towards you? Not when they were so appalled by the idea of a marriage alliance with the humans. Not when it was so well known the daemons hated your kind. So, what was the meaning behind it? Why had they saved you? Why had they protected you when they disliked halfbreeds so much? Just what were they trying to get at?

“Fine, but answer me a question in return, will you? Why do you hate my kind so much?” The question was out before you could stop it and the reaction it pulled from each of the daemons sitting before you showed it had caught them off guard. “Like, I just really don’t get why everyone hates us so much. Why is the idea of a halfbreed so terrible? Why is the idea of us so disgusting? Why does my simple existence cause so much grief for yours?”

“Angel, none of us hates you. We could never hate you.” Wooyoung was the first to speak, a sad expression crossing his features as though you thinking that had hurt as much as their words had hurt you. “Why would you ever think such a thing?”

“Oh, so we’re just going to pretend you didn’t just say how disgusting the idea of a human and a daemon being together is, huh? And why’s that? Because it taints the blood?”

“You misunderstood us, angel. We don’t hate you for what you are. Our distaste is towards the hypocrisy the humans have shown in their offer. We’re more than aware of how they’ve treated you just because you’re not fully human, and the idea they are now willing to be okay with both daemons and halfbreeds to save themselves is disgusting.”

You cocked your head, searching for any source of distrust in Wooyoung’s face as he spoke. He seemed sincere in his speech, and as you mulled over his earlier words once again, you began to see where you might have misinterpreted them.

“But then why? Why does-“

“y/n, I know how confusing this all must be for you right now, but you just have to trust us, okay?” Mingi interrupted you, and you didn’t realize how your hands had begun to shake until he laid one of his own on top of them. “I know you want answers, but just give us a little more time to sort through some things. When the time is right, Hongjoong will explain everything. Just trust us when we say you are safe here with us. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

You had to bite down on your lip to keep yourself from saying anything that might get you in trouble. How the hell were you supposed to trust them when nothing they had done made you feel like you could? It was impossible to tell when they were telling the truth or not, so how the hell were you supposed to just trust them when they said everything was going to be okay? Seonghwa had said no one would hurt you and then attacked you once you had healed him. How did you know the others wouldn’t do the same? How did you know if you could truly trust them?

But one look at both of them and you knew you wouldn’t be getting anything else out of them. Mingi had just given you the same roundabout answer he had given you the last time. Only this time, he had let it slip Hongjoong would give you answers when the time was right.

“This Hongjoong you mentioned. Is he…” you began instead, “…is he the one inside my head?”

It felt strange asking it, and you were half afraid they would think you were crazy, but you remembered Wooyoung’s earlier remarks about him. About how he had been talking to him during the interrogation. And then there were Mingi’s comments about how Hongjoong knew certain aspects of your life, making you wonder if he had not only been speaking to you, but spying as well. A thought that nearly left you shivering.

“So, he’s already started talking to you, has he?” Wooyoung smirked, mumbling something else under his breath that you couldn’t quite catch, but had Mingi chuckling.

“Well, he sort of had to when you botched up the interrogation,” he replied, earning another kick from Wooyoung.

“I’ll have you know everything was going just fine.” Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “Even with the truth potion, none of them would have believed her if she had said a daemon had done it. I would have made sure of it. And even if they had, Yeosang and I would have gotten her out of there with very little effort.”

It unnerved you how flippant they were with the whole situation, oblivious to how terrifying it was to have confirmation someone had access to your brain and could spy on you without you realizing it. What all had they seen or heard from you? To know at any given moment, he could not only be spying on your thoughts or actions, but that he could control your body as well was more than unnerving. It was terrifying.

“I know how it may seem, but try not to let it worry you so much. Hongjoong does his best to respect others’ privacy. After all, even he knows what it feels like to have his own thoughts used against him.” Mingi shot an annoyed look over at Wooyoung. “He tries to only intervene when it’s absolutely necessary, like when your emotions begin to spike.”

“So, he can just read my thoughts, then? Whenever he wants?”

Wooyoung shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“But like I said, you needn’t worry about it for the time being.” Mingi was quick to add seeing how their words affected you. “Hongjoong will explain it all to you later. Until then, trust us when we say none of us will willingly read them.”

Your lips twisted, feeling no better with the vague answer the two had given you. It might have held some relief knowing they weren’t observing your every last move, but none of it still sat right with you. What had Mingi meant when he said none of them would willingly read them? That they would leave you alone unless they had no other choice? Like when they decided they had no choice during the interrogation? Even when you had screamed at them to just leave you alone?

And then, who exactly was this Hongjoong? Both of them had mentioned him quite often. Your first assumption was that he was just another one of the Seven. A daemon with an ability to somehow get in the minds of others, but now you weren’t so sure. They spoke casually of him, like they did with the others, but there was a certain air of respect when they spoke of him. Maybe he was just another Black General, but what if he wasn’t? What if he was actually their king?

It sounded crazy. It felt crazy. To think that the man who had been conversing with you inside your mind, the king of the daemons. But as you ran through every conversation you could remember about this man, it all seemed to fit. Hongjoong said this. Hongjoong told me to do this. Hongjoong wasn’t happy about this. Hongjoong decided on this. And if this was true, that he really was the daemon king, you had already met him. At least, in a way. He had spoken to you multiple times and been the one to get you through the interrogation without exposing yourself or Yeosang.

And then, on more than one occasion, he had called you pretty.

It was hard to stop the blush that rose up at this last thought, and you prayed the dying light alongside your hand hid the reaction it pulled out of you. But as flustered as it made you feel, it reminded you of how ridiculous the whole thing was. Even with all the signs pointing to him being the daemon king, you knew it couldn’t actually be true. Why would he think you were pretty? Let alone take the time to make sure you were safe and help you out when you ended up in a dangerous predicament.

No, he couldn’t have been their king. He must have just been another one of the Seven. He had to have been another one of the Seven. For as ludicrous as it was for them to treat you this way, it was even more so for someone of his status to. No, the daemon king wouldn’t bother himself with the likes of someone like you.

“Have the others made it back, yet?” Mingi asked in your silence, turning the conversation to another topic. A silent motion that told you no more of your questions were being discussed tonight.

“Hongjoong wanted to run through some things in the city after the meetings were over, so he had Yeosang accompany him for the sake of discretion. Meanwhile, San arrived the same time I did, but was ordered to start getting a better defense set up around the camp much to his distaste. He was so looking forward to meeting our angel here.”

Though distracted by your own thoughts to pay much attention to what new conversation they had started, your ears did prick up at the mention of Yeosang. This wasn’t the first time he had been mentioned tonight, and the double mention of him had your stomach churning once more. While it could have been purely coincidental, you knew the answer to the question his mention brought up before you could ask it. Yeosang wasn’t just another daemon. He was a Black General like all the others. The realization of it only added to the bitterness you felt towards him and the others. Why wouldn’t the only nice, pretty boy you had thought to be human be one of the Seven? And his time with you nothing more than an act to get you to lower your guard around him. To lull you in to whatever game they were playing.

The sound of your name being called out behind you pulled you out of your thoughts once more and you instantly tensed. You didn’t have to look to know who it had been. You already knew who it was. The daemon who had started it all. The one who had gotten you into this mess in the first place. Seonghwa.

“You’re still up! I thought for sure you would be asleep by the time we made it back.”

His eyes were bright and smile wide as he approached the table you were sitting at. As if the last instance you remember with him wasn’t his fangs at your neck. As if the last memory you had of him was thinking he was going to kill you.

He pulled out the chair next to you, tugging it closer towards your own before collapsing into it in a similar fashion as Wooyoung.

“She stayed up just to see you, Hwa,” Wooyoung replied for you. The words combined with the wink he shot in your direction enough to make your cheeks tint once more.

“Is that so?” He asked, and the smirk that crossed his face as he rested his chin on top of his arms along the back of the chair was enough to deepen the blush Wooyoung had started. “I hope I didn’t make you wait too long, then, angel.”

You averted your gaze, unable to stop the mixture of emotions that flooded you in that moment. You were terrified of this man, there was no questioning that. The way his fangs had sunk into your neck still haunted you to this day. You had been so sure he was killing you, and yet, here you were. Just as alive as you had been that night. So, if he hadn’t wanted to kill you, what had he meant to do?

But despite your fears, you were once again struck with how incredibly attractive he was. And as his eyes roamed over your figure in the dying light, you were quick to remember the way he had called you beautiful that night. Was that why they had gone through so much effort to keep you safe and why Wooyoung had taken it upon himself to tease you about it? Because Seonghwa had taken some sort of special interest in you that night? You knew daemons didn’t hold relationships the same way humans did, and what little you knew of their ‘mating’ process felt much more barbaric than the traditional marriage seen by the humans. So, was that what the bite had been for? Some dark, twisted, daemon ritual for him to mark you as his own? The thought, as crazy as it was, still left you shivering in your seat and praying you were wrong.

“I’m guessing everything went according to plan in Yuchae, then?” You were saved from having to come up with a reply when Mingi spoke up beside you, an edge to his tone that caused Seonghwa to roll his eyes as he turned back to him.

“The humans put up far less of a defense than we had been expecting,” he replied, stealing a bite to eat from your plate when he noticed it sitting in front of you. “We could have taken it much earlier, but Hongjoong told us to pull things out until you surprised them here. Once we had the all clear, it was very little trouble to take.”

“And Yunho and Jongho?”

“They both headed straight to the tents upon our arrival. Yunho takes over your shift later, so he decided to get some sleep beforehand. Jongho, on the other hand, thought it best if we give her some space and didn’t all rush her at once. If you ask me, though, I'd say he was just nervous.” His eyes twinkled in your direction.

It was hard trying to keep each of the names they mentioned straight in you head. It was likely each of them were another member of the Seven, but they flew through each of them so quickly, you had a hard time saving each to memory and wondering if all Seven had been mentioned so far.

“That’s our Jongho for you. You’d never know he was the fiercest one out of us all on the battlefield with the way he acts outside of it.” Wooyoung chuckled.

“I think we’ve kept y/n up for long enough.” Mingi interrupted their teasing, catching the way you attempted to smother your yawn with a hand. “Hongjoong and Yeosang are on their way back now, and he wants you to report to him before you go to bed. You, however,” his gaze turned from Seonghwa to you, however, “should retire for the night, angel. You can meet the others tomorrow.” He rose from his chair, offering a small smile as he extended his hand towards you. “Thank you for keeping us company tonight, though. I’ll be gone in the morning, but Yunho will be here when you wake up.”

You nod, hesitantly taking his hand to help bring you to your feet. You had no qualms going to bed, and in fact, welcomed the excuse to leave them. After everything that had happened today, you needed time to think. To sort through everything you had found out.

Each of the daemons issued some sort of farewell as you went. Wooyoung even going so far as to kiss the top of your hand and ushering a soft apology in your ear for any distress the earlier conversation might have caused you. You mumbled your own farewell in return before entering the tent, taking a deep sigh of relief now that you were alone once more.

Things quieted down as you crawled your way into bed. Mingi sent Wooyoung on his way now that you were gone, but you could still make out some idle chatter between him and Seonghwa as they waited for the others to return. You attempted to stay up. Your curiosity towards wanting to know if this Hongjoong really was their king, and if so, perhaps even sneaking a peek of him getting the better of you, but the sheets were even softer than you had imagined and found it harder to keep your eyes open with each passing minute.

You thought you heard a new voice at some point, followed by the faint sound of your name. It left you fighting the sleep overcoming you, struggling to open your eyes and listen to what was going on outside the tent, but one soft whisper of ‘Go to sleep, angel,” and a gentle push to keep your eyes closed was all it took to keep you where you were. And before you knew it, you were fast asleep.

-

@layzfeelit @calirix @seonghwarizon @yunho0o0o0o @blglmgk01 @marievllr-abg @ddeonghwva @rosie-hao @malyxsoulpersonal @kirooz @violetpenguinkris @woosmaid @eggyomelet @wooya1224 @mulanateez @kimi-kiwi @eastleighsblog @baguette-atiny @yourleftsock @dear-dreamie @uriruwi @purplelady85 @camzpetite @peachesandcream-9 @beautysirens @peachy-yabbay @seonghwaholic @honeyedtalisman @nichobins @fl0r4f4wn @avantalem @seojonneh @is4b3ll3s @ahhhhhhhhhghh

[bitchyfoxymama]

I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship - Rhaenyra x F!Reader - Modern AU

Alternatively: We Should Be Lovers Instead

Warnings: friends to lovers, lesbian x bisexual, the children still exist in this!, Alicent playing matchmaker, brief mention of homophobia, Daemon and Harwin, Fluff, smut will be in part 2!

A/N: it's lesbian visibility week and as your fav lesbian author it is my duty to write WxW fics this week! Boys are taking a backseat this week sorry yall!

Beta read by @howaboutcastiel

...

"Rhaenyra darling, you're my best friend," you say in front of the mirror to yourself. You've been pacing for the last 30 minutes, "I wanna ruin our friendship. We should be lovers instead. No, no, no. Ah, come on y/n you can do this!" 

Rhaenyra has had 2 failed relationships, which gave her 5 wonderful boys who all call you auntie and whom you'd die for. But it's time to put on the big girl panties and confess your feelings to her so that you can either finally get together with her or move on after she lets you down. 

"Okay okay okay," you pull out your phone and dial Alicent, your other best friend and confidant. She's the only one to know of your feelings for the Targaryen. 

"I can't do it, Ali," you whine the moment she picks up, forgoing letting her greet you. 

"Darling Y/n, if you don't confess to Nyra today, I will go over there and kick your ass. How many times have I told you she feels the same for you and has for just as long as you have?" 

"You really think she feels the same way I do?" You know she can't see the face you’re making currently, but she can hear it. 

"Y/n, you were as much her gay awakening as she was yours. Remember in 8th grade at Lannisters’ boy girl party when the bottle landed on you?" She is hoping to calm your nerves just a bit. 

"Yeah? What about it?" You try to remember that dumb party that happened nearly 2 decades ago. 

You had just gotten your braces on the very week of Jason Lannister’s birthday party. You knew none of the boys wanted to kiss you since you had braces, and that made you nervous.

You'd realized you were only into girls not even 3 months prior, but had been keeping it in, in fear of bullying and the fact that you had a very obvious not obvious crush on Rhaenyra Targaryen. You'd confided in Alicent Hightower about your realization, and she had affirmed her friendship with you even though she came from a highly religious background. She told you nothing would stop the two of you from being friends. 

You were all sitting in a circle with an empty glass bottle in the middle. You prayed to the Seven that your turn didn't land on any of the boys. Sure, Harwin and Jason were good-looking, and landing on them wouldn't be ‘bad’ per se, but you'd dread it if you actually had to kiss them. 

It was as if the Seven, the old gods and any diety out there had been looking upon you at that moment because when Rhaenyra spun the bottle instead of landing on the one person she had been hoping for—Harwin Strong, whom she had a very obvious crush on—it instead landed on you. Her best friend since diapers. 

"Uh… you can spin again, Nyra. You don't have to kiss a girl." Jason eyed you directly into your soul. Like he knew your secret. 

"Huh? No, a turn is a turn. I don't mind kissing Y/n. She's my best friend. You don't mind me kissing you, do you?" She looked at you with those beautiful lilac eyes. 

"Y-yeah, I don't mind," you managed out. 

"Then it's settled," Rhaenyra said as she started to crawl across the way to you. When she was near, she sat down and gently placed a hand on your cheek while her free hand lay on yours. She closed her eyes and leaned in. You kept yours open until the last possible second, and only when her nose brushed against your cheek did they finally close.

Her lips were soft, and they tasted like strawberries. The kiss didn’t last long, but you wished she didn't pull away when she did. You both smiled at one another. You wished you could tell her how you feel. You never expected it to take 20 years, a few failed relationships on both of your parts. 

"That was the same night she told me she had enjoyed that kiss. That you were her own gay awakening, or rather bisexual awakening," Alicent hums through the phone. 

"I-she never told me that," you blush at the thought of Rhaenyra enjoying your first kisses being with each other. 

There’s a knock at your door stopping you from continuing your conversation with Alicent. 

"Hey, Ali, I'm gonna need to call you back. There’s someone at the door.” You fail to hear the excited squeal she lets out as she tells you that you'd better answer. 

When you open the door to your apartmentment, you are met with the eyes of the woman you have been in love with since you were thirteen, at Jason Lannister's first boy-girl party. Rhaenyra Targaryen. 

"Nyra? What are you doing here—” you don't get to finish your sentence before her lips are on yours, devouring you. You are stunned, and it takes you a second to kiss her back, which causes her to pull away. You snake your fingers in her long hair and pull her back into you while you kick the door shut with your foot. 

You both tumble onto your couch, a mix of kisses and hands grabbing anywhere they can. She has one hand on the back of your head while her other is secured holding your waist.

Unfortunately, oxygen is needed for both of you to live. If you could have it any other way, the sound of her moans while she’s on top of you would be enough to sustain you. 

"Do you have any idea how long I've waited for you to make a move, perzītsos?" 

Little Flame. She's used that name on you for years, but hearing her say it as you've both just finished making out on your couch. It’s different. 

You hold her face in your hands as you stare up at her, a small smile gracing your lips. 

"You never seemed interested. You were off with Harwin and then Daemon. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but when I called Ali after pacing for half an hour worrying about what to say to you, she finally told me what I'd been waiting for since we were thirteen. That you had felt that same spark I did all those years ago." 

Rhaenyra lets out a hardy laugh when you mention Alicent’s name. She leans down and kisses you once more. 

"Ali sent me a text telling me to confess today. I said ‘to hell with it’ and came straight over." 

Your smile grows bigger on your face as you realize something.

"Hey Nyra? I want to ruin our friendship. We should be lovers instead." 

She smirks down at you as her hair curtains you both.

"Good, because we have a lot of catching up to do." she says as she kisses you once more.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Let's spread some positivity! Tag some of your fellow content creators here and let them know why they are absolutely amazing!❤️

This is a really sweet idea. I'm going to put my list below a cut, because it will be long.

@em-writes-stuff-sometimes - honestly, Em's fan fiction is better than actual published books I've read. You should be doing this professionally, bub, not publishing it for free for us morons on Tumblr. I'm forever amazed that someone with your brain wants to pal around with an idiot like me.

@valeskafics - your tenacity and the sheer volume with which you are able to write will never cease to amaze me. You're a powerhouse, Babybel. You don't have a masterlist, you have a fucking library, it's incredible.

@barbiedragon - your modern Daemon has me in a chokehold. You're also one of the few writers flying the flag for Vizzy 3 and I gobble up everything you write for him like I'm a shark and you've put chum in the water. Can't wait for Kinktober to see what you create!

The rest of this list is just ordered by date of when I followed the person, and expresses no particular favourtism:

@flowerpotmage - not quite so active in fandom anymore, but they're one of the few writers giving gender neutral readers some much needed representation, and their Aemond and Daemon fics are amazing.

@paintb0x - an amazing artist - some of the best I have seen for Ewan and his characters.

@sapphire-writes - I love Jo's modern AUs and her ability to put my heart through the wringer!

@timetravelingpenguin1066 - Eli is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. An incredible gif maker and a great fic writer.

@aemondx - Sili's gifs are wonderful and the kindness she dedicates to this fandom by making icons and headers for people is admirable.

@alicentive - Killy's gifs are insane and I love that she writes for the characters that don't get as much attention from fandom.

@marthawrites - Midnight Passages, you will always be famous.

@exitpursuedbyavulcan - Studious, my beloved. UPDATE WHEN? (sorry)

@targaryenrealnessdarling - I would die for Liz. She's not just an insanely talented writer, but an all round amazing person too, she makes this fandom a much nicer place to be.

@st-eve-barnes - Eve is out here giving the Aegon girlies the content they desperately need. I love her Aemond fics too!

@bottlesandbarricades - one of the funniest fuckers I've ever had the pleasure of speaking too. Only has one fic, but it's a banger, and her edits are unmatched. I will never get over space buns Aemond.

@toms-cherry-trees - more content for Peaky Blinders than HotD, but the Aemond fic is gold.

@just-some-random-blogger - a Daemon girlie, we love to see it! If entertaining reblogs were an Olympic sport then Hani is taking home the gold. Her fics are bonkers, and I love them.

@humanpurposes - Gee's writing is top notch, some of the best Aemond fics I've ever read.

@assortedseaglass - Hilde is one of my favourite writers. Ever. She could write instructions on how to put together IKEA furniture and I'd eat it up, she's that good.

@oneeyedvisenya - another of my favourite Aemond writers. Education is one of my top five fics of all time. So well written.

@lya-dustin - the speed with which Juli produces chapters is mindblowing. All Is Bliss is a great series.

I can only tag 20 accounts at a time, so I shall continue this in a reblog. I wasn't lying in previous ask, when I said my appreciation post would be phonebook sized.

[frankcastleonlyfans]

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐄𝐔𝐃

pairing: dad!daemon targaryen x mom!reader au

summary: alyssa argues with y/n. daemon argues with alyssa. it seems we are all fighting here. based on this ask by @green-lxght <3

warnings: really angst, family fight, a lot of sexism bc this is a medieval set, alyssa is a brat (because daemon is a brat), y/n is a good mom she doesn't deserve this, alyssa is 14 in this one.

author's note: my darling @chaosfae-writes gave me the idea that y/n should pull off an alicent and says something like "you are no daughter of mine", but i did the opposite 🥴 hope this still hurts lmao. this is divided in 3 parts otherwise it would be huge, i'm so sorry .

reblogs, feedbacks and likes are appreciated. support your content creators 💓 please leave a comment if you like my work, and enjoy your reading.

dad!daemon x mom!reader au masterlist

gif by @fireandbloodsource

· ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ୨♡୧ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ·

You and Alyssa had a complicated relationship. You don't talk to each other to have a proper conversation like a parent and a child should always do.

You blamed yourself. Alyssa was a young lady now, she had her own thoughts and judgments, and had passed the age of bonding with her parents.

Daemon was the lucky one. An inseparable bond they shared, while you only had your boys.

You promised not to get it wrong with Viserra, and that she would see you in the same way Alyssa sees your husband.

Even though you thought it was too late to repair the damage, you would still invite Alyssa to evenings of tea and embroidery with you. It became your thing since your last pregnancy.

And she hated it. The princess was terrible with the needle, and you always seemed to be amused with the amount of times she could poke her finger with it.

And you couldn't deny that you did find funny how someone could be so clueless with a needle that big.

"You're doing it wrong, darling." You chuckled as she huffled, setting her disastrous embroidery on the table.

She looked at you, furious. How dare you be having fun at her failure!?

"I have always been doing it wrong! I can't do it at all! I shouldn't be sitting here, embroidering and drinking tea, like a little wife who has nothing better to do! My place is in the field, training, fighting, with a sword in my hand!"

You frowned, nervously chuckling this time. What has gotten into her?

"You are not sitting here like a little wife. You are sitting here like a lady, because that's what you are. That's what you were raised to be."

"I am blood of the Queen conqueror, Visenya Targaryen. I am a dragonrider, a warrior! I am a dragon, and I will not be told what to do anymore! Father supports me, and I will make uncle Viserys give me a place at the Kingsguard."

You couldn't believe your own ears. The audacity your daughter had was completely blindsided by the fact that your husband supported that idea, and had never mentioned it to you.

To be part of the Kingsguard. To be a knight, to never marry, to have no family. Your only duty is to have honor, and fight for your King. You have desired for that once, before Daemon, before all of this. You would not see your daughter follow that path.

"Face it, Alyssa, you're a woman! A girl, actually. You are a lady, you have duties to the family, to have heirs!"

"You are being hypocritical. You were a swordswoman once, before marriage. I rather serve as a Knight, and ride to battle in glory!"

"You’re right. I married, I had children, I had you. The child bed is our battlefield. I don't care what kind of silly dreams you have, nor that Daemon has been feeding it, but I will not have my daughter saying these kinds of absurd things!" You said sternly, trying not to lose composure.

"You are no mother of mine!" Alyssa yelled, before leaving the table to the company of her maid.

And that's how that feud ended up in the ears of the staff. The maid told a milk maid, who told prince Rhaegon's squire, that mentioned it with prince Daemon's cupbearer.

And the Rogue Prince heard every single part of the conversation.

part 2 !!

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

So I'm bored again and I've come to take it out on you per usual.

Now, since my last ask touched upon darker(ish) ideas, today I figure I'll give you some lighter soulmate prompts this time around, the ideas all my own but any individual soulmate au is just one I plucked off of the internet. I may or may not end up writing them who knows:

When your soulmate is hurt, you grow flowers wherever on your body it happened. Her whole life, foreign flowers have sprouted from Neytiri's flesh and she doesn't know why. His whole life, foreign flowers have sprouted from Jake's flesh and he doesn't know why. (Just a cute flower fic. Obsessed with the idea of these two trying to explain their respective planets' flowers to one another.)

Ao'nung and Rotxo have known they were soulmates since before they even had any actual clue as to what a soulmate was. They have been promised to each other for over a decade. They have a plan, a life they're going to build together. Neteyam was never part of that plan. A third soulmate was never part of that plan. (Just like the idea of Rotxo literally doing the gods' work. Ao'nung: why is Neteyam here? Rotxo: Oh, I just thought it'd be fun to bring him along. Ao'nung: to our make-out spot? Neteyam: . . . I can go. Ao'nung: yes. Rotxo: no. Neteyam:  👀)

Neteyam and Tsireya are not soulmates. Not by a long shot. Their soulmate might as well be duty, and if that means becoming mates for the sake of an alliance between the sea and forest people after centuries of conflict then so be it. They'll find a way to come together. (I love stories of people fighting against the path chosen for them, don't get me wrong, but every now and then a sprinkle of the opposite fascinates me and I think these two would be perfect for the concept.)

Jake was born with the sentence "you should go away" on his shoulder and the sentence "don't thank. You do not thank for this" on his upper arm. Tsu'tey was born with the sentence "nah, you'd miss me too much" stretched across his abdomen. Neytiri has the sentence "hey wait, don't" on her lower arm. It isn't until the two go to the Augustine school that they even learn what it means. (Love the potential this has.)

From the moment they meet it's as if they can read each other's minds. It takes months for Jake and Norm to pick up on the fact that Kiri and Spider can actually read one another's minds. (They basically know each other better than anyone else, might as well crank that shit up to 11.)

A one-shot where Kiri and Tsireya are literally the lighthouse of soulmate relationships and all of their friends come to them to receive advice about their own soulmates. (Really random pairing but tbh I can dig the energy these two would bring to the table if dating.)

Spider has known that Neteyam is his soulmate since he was 7. Neteyam has known that Spider is his soulmate since he was six. Neither of them have told the other yet. (Bonus points if Tuk is literally the only one who knows and keeps on trying to play cupid.)

And I'm out for now folks.

Also, random thought but I just realized how much literally everyone in atwow needs a Rotxo in their life like seriously you could pair this guy with anyone from the group and I wouldn't bat an eye. Kiri? I get it. Ao'nung? I get it. Spider? I get it. Neteyam? I get it. Lo'ak? I get it.

Good god, yes, we nEED some happy aus and you know I love love soulmate aus. I'll be waiting for you to write them, we're all waiting for your other stories Boredom Anon.

-Gotta say, I've never vibed with those flower wound aus because I have a hard time conceptualizing it. However, I adore the idea of Jake and Neytiri both explaining differences in their worlds to each other, but focusing on one type of thing. That's why I lOVE a daemon au for them, because the daemons would be animals that the other isn't used to and that's interesting.

-KSKKSKS THE IDEA OF AO'NUNG BEING TRICKED INTO THIS BY ROTXO. That's a pairing I have yet to see, I'll be honest!

-Honestly, as someone that doesn't care for Neteyam and Tsireya, I do love the idea of non-soulmates bonding. I've been thinking about it since the Spider ghost fic I mentioned yesterday. How many people's soulmates are dead and are ghosts? If it's a lot, they have to end up in some relationships. There's something so sad and beautiful about meeting someone who's soulmate is also dead, and building a life together that might not have been predestined and is also a little haunted, but still is nice all the same. Sorry, I'm still stuck on the ghost shit.

-lOVE Neytiri/Tsu'tey/Jake having first sentence soulmarks, I love the confusion of the Na'vi being confronted with English they don't understand on their children. I love it so much.

-Kiri and Spider reading each others minds is basically canon already, but it just would mean Spider can't hide all of his darkest feelings from Kiri. None of that loneliness or desperation for family can slip through the cracks; I think it would result in a Sully child revolution at a way younger age lol. If Spider being Kiri's soulmate didn't already change things.

-I have totally seen Tsireya and Kiri shit, they are super fun. I also loooove a couple that is flawless and in everyone else's business all the time.

-I think nocorro might have taken over locorro for me, but I cAN'T say this yet it's too much to do to my boys. This concept, man, it's got so much comedy and tragedy potential. It depends on what the soulmate au is, you know? Is it soulmarks, is it shared dreams or shared pain; what is is changes the outcome. I won't go into more detail cause I have something I'm cooking up that's a little similar to this, but I won't forget it, we'll come back to it.

As always, thank you for our soulmate au food boredom anon. I am lOVING them.

[dusty-self]

Daemonism - Settling & Size

I’ve been thinking a lot about settling, both in an AU sense and in a practicing one. I think I may end up writing a series of posts about it as I want to get it out of my head and because there’s a lot of different thoughts and opinions. One post would be too long and too chaotic. 

*Quick Disclaimer* With this I’m not trying to make any grand statements on how what is right and how daemonism should be done. There’s lots of ways to practice and one isn’t better that the other. This is all just for fun. However you practice is valid. 

That said, let’s jump into it

Whenever I think about a daemon AU, my mind always finds its way to large daemons. I think about how difficult it must be to have one, how the world we know isn’t designed for them, and how hard it must be to move through life with one. All the things that must be done to compensate an elephant or a horse in their daily lives. It’s fun to think about and for sure. There would have to be so many adaptations in society to compensate them, but I want to try and look at something different. How common ARE large daemons?

Firstly, this is all theoretical. There’s no way to measure this. But I think it’s fun so let’s give it a shot! From what I’ve seen online and from what I’ve read from the HDM series, most daemons are small. They rarely exceed the size of a dog or a wolf. I don’t see a reason why there CAN’T be larger forms. I think that if the form fits, and a daemon is a deer for example, then said daemon would settle as a deer. Limiting daemons to all being small also rules out so many interesting animals for your daemon to settle as. That being said, based on the HDM series we know that a daemon can’t be chosen, but can be influenced by their surroundings (I may make a separate post about this). For now, I think it’s fair to assume there is a bias towards settling as smaller forms. It’s simply more convenient to have a smaller daemon than a large one.

This is all fine and good but it does really answer the question of how common large daemons are. I’ve spend a lot of time looking at statistical distributions over the last couple of days. I think that the best one I’ve found would be the power law, also called the 80-20 rule (graph below). In show up all the time in physics, biology, nature, psychology, and a whole lot of other places. It describes the distributions of things inside a system. For example, we could look at as the distribution of wealth, with 20% of the population holding 80% of the resources. This also applies to things like frequency of words used in literature, number of earthquakes to magnitude, and size of solar flares. It all falls roughly into this curve. This is also what I’m proposing for the frequency of daemon sizes. 80% of the population would have daemons under a certain size, 20% of daemons are over that size.

Now there are still some problems with this. Picking what that size is is pretty arbitrary. For this I think it’s fair to to say that anything around the size of a wolf is still pretty common, but anything bigger starts to be on the rarer side. I also think that this implies that truly tiny daemons, like insect, are the most common and I don’t think that holds true either. Maybe some sort of bar graph would work better. There’s flaws for sure, but I think it’s a good start. 

So to bring it back to an AU, I do still think that there would have to be would have to be accommodations for large daemons. 20% of the population is still over 1.5 billion people. The truly massive daemons would be rare, but there would have to be in measures in place for them even if 0.05% of the population had on around the size of an elephant that’s over 4 million people. Something would need to be in place for them. If the world always had them, then it should be ready. It would be interesting to see how things would need to change with the relatively recent population boom as there would also be an increase in large daemons. 

That was a long one. I’m not a mathematician so I may have gotten something wrong. Like I said before, this is all speculation. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

[emilykaldwen]

HI YES HELLO ARE YOU THERE? Right, please RUN do not WALK to go ready this fantastic 'What if Daemon and Rhea Royce ended up having kids' AU because um hi, yes, I'm obsessed. I'm in love. I mean, okay, I've always loved The Roycegaryen kids since being introduced to them last summer. I would die for the Roycegaryen kids (they are even making a cameo in Maiden even though there's no Daemon relationship there they are just that fucking good) and I support all their successes and their crimes. Oooof this is... just such a high caliber AU series, with a flourishing, expansive cast that evokes GRRM at his best.

THE ROYCES! HOUSE ROYCE! So many cousins! Baratheon representation! So many stories and connections. It's a Charlie Day Board of who is tied to who and just goes the extra mile to make this world feel so alive.

This is not a pro-Daemon fic. He is seen through the eyes of his three eldest children which makes things rough, but I definitely feel that it's in character for an angry, abandoned, highly emotional 16 year old who was sent away and then had kids and that's all really fucking complicated.

I think what I love most about this story is the quality of it and that quality is consistent through all my favorite things. The worldbuilding is fantastic. Misa knows Westeros, she understands the houses, and the politics. One of my AU frustrations is when people go 'what if' and then... don't account for the full butterfly effect (and I mean that on a 'they don't change anything' way, not a 'you didn't account for EVERYTHING AND ALL THE TINY DETAILS' way because there's a lot and it's fic). The implications of what it would mean for Daemon to have children, and for Daemon to also have a son is fully taken into account.

The characters. The characters. THE CHARACTERS. First off, hi, yeah, I would take Misa's masterclass course on writing kids because kids are fucking difficult and they feel so real. We spend the first 5/6 chapters dealing with 7-14 year old Yorick and Ella, and Rhaenyra and Alicent and Laenor and Laena. They feel like children. They are full of hope and imagination and bossiness and not understanding how to talk about things. I'm not one who likes going through the 'let's start when they're kids' phases because it's just rarely well done. This? this is well done. This is complex and complicated and innocent and christ almighty, it's just so good.

These characters are imperfect. They have tempers, they fuck up, they make mistakes, they are not always the victim, they are the victim! they can be the villain! They can be the heroes. It's real. These characters feel real. I feel confused that this is not, in fact, how the first half of watching House of the Dragon went, or why are they not in Fire and Blood? I am invested in a cast of OCs in a way I haven't been in awhile because yes, this cast is Majorly OC Centric in the best possible way. (of course, we'll see the TargTower kids coming up) but wow. yeah. I need to sit down and think about my own sense of writing and what I juggle and handle and suddenly I am just terribly inspired.

Hello, yes, I'm filing adoption paperwork for Yorick, Ella, and Aemon. They are mine now. Or should I say, I will share them, because I need @selfproclaimedunicorn to come back from planning hiatus and I am *so annoyed* that I do not have more to read.

[quietbluejay]

Ashes of Prospero 2

ah lukas i love this kind of cut as you'll know if you've ever read any of my writing huh you know i kind of want to see dreadwing and lukas interacting now lukas: I feel a 🎵 song 🎵 coming on!

He's got a point

also lmao Izzakar does have enough arrogance to match ye stereotypical eldar

ah, lukas tbh im not really charmed by the battle

is this a video game fight or something??

man imagine you've been stuck in a maze for 10k years after the space wolves attack you randomly and genocide your people and then you finally get out and there's more space wolves that immediately attack you

you know what au where it's iskander who gets stuck in his head with him or well, past!iskander, i think present!iskander would successfully nom his soul or something it'd be really nice if he had to confront the fact that the Prosperans and the TS were basically like a lot of the people the SW have gone to bat for in the intervening time

oooof

ah yep that's the TS isn't it

lukas providing us with comic relief

oh hahaha "psyber-raven" psyker/cyber

"valgar": go there lukas: into the portal?? "valgar": go there "so how'd you know it was a daemon" "it looked happy to see me"

izzakar has been getting more and more insulting the longer this has gone on i'm half expecting him to call njal a clod next this really has been his no-good very bad week just when you think everything's as bad as it can get it gets worse like 6 times in a row for him, rip

why are there birds i guess tzeentch

this is what the third time Njal has let Izzakar take the driver's seat? this get-along body is going pretty well

sadly there's only like 55 pages left in this book, so I think we only have time to get "enemies to uneasy allies" okay they found the time-lost space wolves

yeah

so Bjorn really was a surprise tool that helped us later

you forget to cherish it

rip Njal in all ways but physical he is getting a headache oh boy Lukas got captured by mini daemons and they're going to give him as a present to Magnus Njal: btw Fulgrim also went full daemon Izzakar: somehow that doesn't surprise me lmao Bulveye: what happened to the Imperium??? Njal: Horus. Horus happened Bulveye: oh dear i may have made a critical error annnd Izzakar is going back into his body aw he's planning on seeing if he can put together some other dudes also stuck in the maze and then going after the current TS

annnnd the penny drops

wait Bjorn's been around since then. You're saying he never explained this?

Bulveye: I may have done a whoopsie daisy and back to Lukas who gets to meet his jailers

oh no! how will lukas the trickster get out of this terrible predicament! find out next time!

(it cut away back to the other dudes) and now we return to Lukas who gets to meet the disco primarch!

lukas is straight up pulling this book into a different genre and i respect that

you know what would be an incredible crossover would be lazuli meeting lukas

unfortunately for lukas, he has incurable smartass disease lukas: well it's good to have goals (what he actually says lol)

so Magnus can't steal it because

instead of a second heart lukas has a grenade that's uh. that's something. okay this should not have worked magnus can see into his mind so it was just a random piece of parchment and lukas bluffed his way through this [press x to doubt] magnus was literally looking into his mind and reading his character to offer him stuff

and now back to the get-along duo

so Izzakar stays to close the portal from the inside

cop-out!

Njal can't deal with this and has to just stand there for a second

and i just have a little more to go but I hit image limit

[acaciapines]

maybe i'm dumb- what is the Big Reveal in ch3 of split tide? i've read it, but i don't- fully get what the reveal is meant to be, or which part is supposed to stick out?

yeah, course! luz and mari both are bad at Using The Actual Words, though we do see it stated explicitly at the start 1.5/teaching taboos:

...like all four nights since Eda found out Luz messed up and got herself Unsettled... [emphasis mine]

and it will continue to be explored and unpacked throughout the series. in split tide, luz and mari introduce themself as settled, and we learn in chapter three that, a few days before the events of the first episode of the owl house:

But despite it all Luz heaved in a breath, and when she exhaled, she looked at her daemon, really looked, at her dark muzzle, her fawn body, her little ears, her dark, intelligent eyes, and knew what this meant. Knew that they were a pug, knew Settled, knew Mari could no longer change her form, and she and Luz would be in this shape for the rest of their lives.

so, they settled as a pug. but then, in their memorydream of the fight with belos, after mari blows up the portal door:

Her daemon is taller than she ever should be, with deep russet, wild-blown fur, with a dark ruff of a mane, with legs made not for scampering after but for looking over tall grass, for keeping an eye out, for surviving, in a world chaos-torn.

here mari is described as something that is Not A Pug, aka she's changed her form, which is impossible to do once you settle. i'm not sure how much prior knowledge you have of daemon aus but settling is essentially the goal, the entire point--what animal best represents you?

and so when luz and mari wake up, after the nightmare, they fight, nobody is having a good time, and eventually eda comes in:

“No,” Mari says, and her voice cracks as she struggles to her paws, one of them giving out underneath her. The edges of her twist in golden dazzling bits of light. It’s Eda, in the doorway, because it was always going to be Eda, and Luz sways as Mari backs away, to the window, her paws scrabbling against the ground, off-kilter. Hackles raised. Her ears are pressed flat against her head. Still not a pug. Luz stumble-sways and Eda catches her before she hits the ground. She’s talking, Luz thinks. Like Luz, Mari, all heartbroken.  Mari, a maned wolf, says, again, “no.” And then, shaking, “you weren’t supposed to see.”

where, oh no! eda's seen that mari is no longer a pug, but a maned wolf. and thus the conclusion can be drawn that this is what luz and mari are dealing with: they were settled, and something happened, and now mari can change again. or, as they say uptop 1.5, they unsettled.

i will also add that i do write this story assuming that like, the audience are as invested in daemon aus and their tropes as i am. which i know a lot of people aren't! so while stuff is set up here at the top we'll also dig more into what it like, Means, throughout the series. which i hope is a given lol.

[rhaenaspearls]

A little bit about this MUN

Just to be very clear because some new people have followed this account, this is a side blog of @black-queen-rising!! If you guys are just here cause you think the writing is fun I appreciate you all a lot, it's very sweet 💗💗 also the first RhaenaxAemond thread is going to start uploading on AO3 and I'm extremely excited!! 🥰 (You guys should also check out the RP it's a whole lotta fun come join us on Discord!!)

Just wanted to very quickly make clear though, I cannot control (nor do I want to!) what other people post, but if you are here expecting anti-Daemyra, anti-Daemon, anti-Rhaenyra, or anti-Targaryen content you're in the wrong place. The person who writes my amazing @aemond-one-eyed for Rhaena is the same person who writes my spectacular @rogueprincedaemontarg for Rhaenyra, we're kind of a package deal and so are the ships. I have no interest in doing ~disk horse~ (our RP @asongofgoldenfireandblackblood is specifically anti-discourse and I literally created it as an everyone lives!AU with Rhaenyra as Queen), I'm anti-HotD on principle, I don't think they've done any character well, I do think they're racist and misogynistic, I don't think excluding Nettles is bad, I do think they've made Daemon look evil for no reason, and I don't think their portrayal is kinder or better for Rhaenyra, again, it's just misogyny. No one has to agree with any or even most of those takes to follow me! But you guys also don't get to be rude about it!!

And just to be clear, considering I see who likes and reblogs Rhaena's challenges and threads, Rhaenyra loves and treats both Baela and Rhaena like her own while also being very careful not to overbear or act as some sort of replacement for Laena, not least of which because she was her best friend longer than the twins existed while she was alive. I'm very passionate about good representation of complicated and messy but overall positive portrayals of blended families because I'm part of one and you're not gonna argue me out of that. And because I've already gotten a rude ask about this, the only personal information you guys get to know about me is that I'm 22 and use she/her pronouns, anything else does not matter, and is not your business, you are not owed a set of credentials by anyone who writes or feels affinity with a particular character.

Anyway, from myself, and my Rhaena, I love you guys, I'm very grateful for all the engagement and the couple of really sweet notes I've got, I wanted to end this on a positive note because honestly all the writing I've been able to do for this RP has been an absolute joy and I hope it stays that way for as long as humanly possible!! And also I think we can all agree Rhaena is a really sweet and positive and caring person and I think she'd be really sad to hear you guys bad mouthing her dad and her stepmom and her siblings and her family as a whole, be kind to me and each other, it's what the character we all love would want most! 💗

[lanaisdoe]

Hi, i found your blog. That is raely cool und fantastic. Im a big fan too from Daemyra. And i think was allone was so impressed and obsessed of them too. Do your write fanfictions?

Greetings Amaryllis

Hello, my dear Amaryllis <3 :))

Thank you!!! I am very happy to hear we share the same passion. Feel free to send me a personal message! In messages it's much easier to chat :)

And yes, actually:) I am currently writing one fanfic. It's called MORE THAN YOU KNOW. (...yes, it's got to do with the song's lyrics :D : "I just need to get it off my chest, yeah, more than you know, yeah, more than you know! You should know that baby you're the best, yeah, MORE THAN YOU KNOW...I saw it coming, from miles away I better speak up if I got something to say...Your good intentions are sweet and pure but they can never tame a fire like yours...Right where you wanted, down on my knees, you got me begging, pretty baby set me free...") It's a modern AU but with Daemon and Rhaenyra mostly true to GRRM's books. My Daemon's protective, adoring, caring, devoted, passionate and obsessed when it comes to Rhaenyra but cunning, smart, sarcastic, impulsive, self-seeking, and unhinged, with a Targaryen superiority complex, when it comes to everything else. My Rhaenyra's love-struck, naive, a dreamer, adoring, obsessed, a charmer and a sly fox when it comes to Daemon (at the beginning of the story), but spoiled, self-important, egocentric and a brat when it comes to everything else. They're family (second cousins once removed) but they call each other uncle/niece 'cause Daemon and Viserys practically grew up together, like brothers. (And yes, their union is legal in the U.S., I've checked, so no worries :D) In my fic the Targ family are wealthy but private people; they own a King’s Landing shipbuilding and logistics company. We follow Daemyra's story throughout years, their dynamics change as the story progresses. (Rhaenyra's basically 18 at the beginning, Daemon 30). It starts with them reuniting after 5 years apart. It's a story with detailed relationship development, with lots of texting, calling, hanging out, and lots and lots of cute, hilarious, caring, passionate, and truly deep moments between the two. Soulmatism. Fire. Targ superiority. Us against the world vibes.

Here are some pics to give you an idea of what to expect in the first few eps (and the story will be long, I'm afraid. Very long :D it already is long, and it's just the beginning. But it's all action, all about Daemyra's bond). It's set on the Olympic peninsula, Washington state, in a small seaside town Port Townsend + Marrowstone Island, Tacoma and Seattle :) It's all written in a form of entries with exact time, place and date... We see Daemyra's rship develop, change, deepen, and all that in different seasons of the year in everyday life moments:)

romance, comedy, drama / 10% drama, 90% feel-good

etc ... :)

[ourflagmeansgifts]

Nominations!

Okay, everybody! Today nominations open for the Our Flag Means Gifts exchange, so I've got an explainer here to get you started if you're not familiar with this kind of exchange.

What does "nominate" mean in this context?

Nomination is where participants can suggest/request relationships and fic tropes to be included as options in the exchange.

Uh huh, and why do we need to do this?

Exchanges that run on AO3 need to have a tagset for matching. If we build a set of relationship and trope tags specifically for this exchange, that can help to limit what gets requested in signups and make it more likely that offers can match requests. It also means that we figure out exactly what's allowed and what's not before signup time, which should make everything run more smoothly.

What kind of relationships?

Any kind! As is the rule on AO3, relationships written with a / are romantic and/or sexual and relationships written with a & are platonic. If you want a fic/want to write a fic where Wee John and Frenchie are strictly good buddies, it's "Wee John & Frenchie". If you want a fic/want to write a fic where they are more than friends, it's "Wee John/Frenchie".

What's the deal with the trope tags?

So glad you asked. Not all exchanges bother with anything other than canons (in multifandom exchanges) and ships; however, I regularly participate in a couple that do use other tags, and I think they help ensure that offers get matched to the most appropriate writers.

The idea is for these tags to be fairly basic so that people are still matchable. Some examples of basic tags: Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Pining, Daemon AU, Protective Stede Bonnet, Ed Teach Needs A Hug. I'm sorry that I don't have a proper guideline for what counts here; I'm hoping to be able to put one together as we go.

The only trouble with trope tags is that they may make matching difficult or impossible. If it turns out that this exchange is too small to make matching by ship AND tag work (or not enough people sign up as okay with any tag), I will have to change the settings to only match by ship. In that case, the tags will still be there to help your writer know your preferences, and it will be required for the writer to use at least one of your tropes.

Do I have to nominate anything?

No, you don't! If you like something reasonably popular, chances are that it will be nominated by someone else, maybe even multiple people. You definitely want to make sure you put in a nomination if you want a niche ship or a trope someone else might not think of.

How long will nominations be open?

Two weeks, you have time.

I don't have an AO3 account!

Send me an ask with your preferred email address, and I'll see about getting you one! I'm pretty sure mods get invites.

Go forth and nominate!

[just-some-random-blogger]

meow meow, hottie cutie!! yeeeah!! i'm back! i love these cringey memey things TT older people here always tend to send them but children just can't appreciate it. 'you didnt send me smth yesterday so i wondered' oh so cute you wait for my love letters sm. today your one was the first thing i've seen. it's always such a good start for the day. and it's always my pleasure to answer you, my love <з 'im glad youre eager to read them' i'm eager to read literally anything you write. take all the time you need, it's totally okay. pls don's feel pressed about it. you owe me literally nothing so.. yeah. everything's fine. you should enjoy writing, after all. 'MENTALLY DEBATING ABOUT ENDING THIS WITH SOMETHING REALLY BAD' OH WOW YOU WANT TO KNOW MY ABSOLUTELY NEW IDEA ABOUT THE HAPPY END?? lol sorry i feel like i needed to 'WE THINK SO ALIKE BESTIE' AJFIJFKFJ one big brain cell bestie TT 'so good at all this analyzing' THANKS i'm gonna show it to my teachers TT 'imma just tell you' yk where to find me *winking emoji pls* but you promised another 10 parts bestie, rise and shine lol 'your assumptions usually hit the nail on the head' TT OMG I'M HONORED imma make my literature teacher sign up tumblr.com, read this modern!daemon au and read your answers *angry emoji pls* you love me too much TT no but WHY i've just had an image of reader telling her bothering ex "i knew we won't stay together for the.. rest of our lives" in a cold voice with a bitch face?? sorry it just happened. can we continue this pun thing TT and i've made the decision to send you love letter with the reaction to part 3 non-anonymously. it really is NOT supposed to like motivate you or anything. just me trying to fight my social awkwardness *star eyes emoji pls TT sorry* please don't feel pressed. ever. to write anything. take your time, enjoy your life. i'm sure you know it, but i'm here to remind you. you are loved anyway, and if someone needs you to do something for it, i can bite their head off. how are you doing in general? how is your study? how are the cats? meow meow? but if you eventually are interested in any daemon ideas... let me know. have a nice day!! love you!! never do anything you're not really interested in!! take care!!

HELLO MEOW MEOW

have a puss in boots gif because the film was aMAZING. CINEMA. UGH. IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED IT I PERSONALLY VOUCH FOR IT I LOVE IT SO MUCH LOBO MY LOVE UGH SO GOOD AND PERRITO UGH

meow meow, hottie cutie!! yeeeah!! i'm back! i love these cringey memey things TT older people here always tend to send them but children just can't appreciate it.

HAHAHAHAH my grandmas send me them so its just so funny to me HAHAAHH i find the cringyer it is to me, the more they like it AHHAHH

'you didnt send me smth yesterday so i wondered' oh so cute you wait for my love letters sm. today your one was the first thing i've seen. it's always such a good start for the day. and it's always my pleasure to answer you, my love <з

🙄🤬 you calling me cute does smth to me 😌 but i accept, because i AM cute ✨ ofc course i would wait for you duHH!! 😡😡😡😡 i always start my day with your love letters so, its always a pleasure to answer you too

'im glad youre eager to read them' i'm eager to read literally anything you write. take all the time you need, it's totally okay. pls don's feel pressed about it. you owe me literally nothing so.. yeah. everything's fine. you should enjoy writing, after all.

🥺🫶🫶🫶 im glad the people pleaser in me responds to kindness so <3 im honored to have someone like you read my works <3 i dont feel pressed but it sucks when i wanna write smth but i cant T_T

'MENTALLY DEBATING ABOUT ENDING THIS WITH SOMETHING REALLY BAD' OH WOW YOU WANT TO KNOW MY ABSOLUTELY NEW IDEA ABOUT THE HAPPY END?? lol sorry i feel like i needed to

SHORE GIMME GIMME [GRABBY HANDS]

^^^ gimme gimme by nct127 HAHAH

'WE THINK SO ALIKE BESTIE' AJFIJFKFJ one big brain cell bestie TT

REAL

'so good at all this analyzing' THANKS i'm gonna show it to my teachers TT

??????????????? HUH HAHAHHAHH ok ???? HAHAHAHAHAHAH

'imma just tell you' yk where to find me *winking emoji pls* but you promised another 10 parts bestie, rise and shine lol

no i actually dont know where to find you and can only really send you replies if you send me an ask so HAHAHAHAH. and ur so right i did say 10 part ASLHlFASHFLASFhasfaFSAF HAHAHAH idk if i will literally reach 10 part but GOSH DAMN I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS FOR THIS FIC T_T

'your assumptions usually hit the nail on the head' TT OMG I'M HONORED imma make my literature teacher sign up tumblr.com, read this modern!daemon au and read your answers *angry emoji pls* you love me too much TT

HAHAHAHH ok i will wait for your lit teacher HAHAHHAHH also there is so such thing as loving too much. here are your angry emojis 😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬😈😈😈👿👿👿👺👺👺👹👹👹

no but WHY i've just had an image of reader telling her bothering ex "i knew we won't stay together for the.. rest of our lives" in a cold voice with a bitch face?? sorry it just happened.

NAH LITERALLY SAME BRAIN CELL HAHAHAHAH HASLIFASHF I MIGHT WRITE IT NOW OMG UR AND ME AND THAT ONE COLLECTIVE BRAINCELL WE SHARE and stop apologizing T_T

can we continue this pun thing TT and i've made the decision to send you love letter with the reaction to part 3 non-anonymously.

YES I LOVE PUNS AND ALSO ???????? NON ANONYMOUS I- HASHASH>HAHDA>DH>A>DAS HIHIHIHIHIHII IM SO EXCITED LASFASFHAHSFHASFHAS NOW I HAVE TO WRITE P3 FR FR AHSHSA:LHDASDHASHH

it really is NOT supposed to like motivate you or anything. just me trying to fight my social awkwardness *star eyes emoji pls TT sorry*

STOP MY ARE YOU READING MY MIND 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 lETS GO MY LOVE FIGHT THE SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS FIGHT THE POWER

please don't feel pressed. ever. to write anything. take your time, enjoy your life. i'm sure you know it, but i'm here to remind you. you are loved anyway, and if someone needs you to do something for it, i can bite their head off.

but ur so sweet and my people pleaser cells are going crazy i can bite anyone who pressures me myself im luv u

how are you doing in general?

im doing good! im excited to exercise after my classes hahah

how is your study?

lol i have this song i have to study and its so high because im the designated soprano since no one else can be T_T HAHAH its fine

how are the cats? meow meow?

ever since we moved theyve been with my dad in our old house so T_T idk, i think they're still being princes and asking for warm food and waking my dad up during his naps for absolutely no reason T_T cos the moment you give them attention they're like 'OK HANDS FF LOSER ONLY *I* can touch you smh'

but if you eventually are interested in any daemon ideas... let me know.

IM ALWAYS INTERESTED IN YOUR DAEMON IDEAS WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT SEND THEM TO ME RIGHT NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

have a nice day!! love you!! never do anything you're not really interested in!! take care!!

I LOVE YOU I WONT DO ANYTHING I DONT WANT TAKE CARE AS WELL

xxx

[sunsetofdoom]

I posted 2,587 times in 2022

43 posts created (2%)

2,544 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tearlessrain

@alexsrandomramblings

@chokopoppo

@the-doodly-noodle

@the-son-of-dathomir

I tagged 1,186 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 461 posts

#hzd - 38 posts

#our flag means death - 24 posts

#hfw - 22 posts

#;-; - 21 posts

#swtor - 15 posts

#oh my god - 14 posts

#my writing - 9 posts

#avad/ersa - 8 posts

#blackbonnet - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 121 characters

#aloy is like 'well i could proceed with saving the world. or' and lists off all the sidequests she could be doing instead

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Finally finished a fic for once in my life! You know how everyone makes “Avad gets pegged” jokes? Y’all better put your money where your fucking mouth is.

Let Her Be Soft, And Let Her Be Mine

title from this poem, swapped pronouns

It almost hurt to think about- probing the barriers he put up in his thoughts, not letting himself dwell on his trivial love affair when there were so many more important things to worry about. But Ersa was right there, the memory of her vibrant and shining. The lines on her skin, sun-darkened wherever her armor didn’t protect her and pale where it did, the calluses on her hands, the steadying way she touched him. Her scars- he’d spent ages over the years mapping them with his hands, his mouth; the whip marks on her back, the slave-brand on her shoulder, pockmarks on her thigh where the sparks of an explosion had caught her. The way she blushed, up to her ears and halfway down her chest, when he kissed every one like they were precious. She never made a sound- they had to be so careful- but often tangled her hand into his hair as her breathing deepened and stuttered. Always caught off-guard by his affection.

38 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

#4

it’s About the inherent eroticism of the title “Captain”

54 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

#3

everybody knows cats are witches

(a continuation of the daemon AU I started here, though really all the context you should need, even if you don’t know the general concept, is that Stede’s familiar is a golden retriever)

-

“It’s quite ridiculous,” Stede complained. His teacup sloshed in his hand, half-forgotten as he gestured. “Half my crew honestly thinks you’re a witch! This can’t just be Blackbeard’s fearsome reputation, Ed. Really, what have you done to them?”

Ed narrowed his eyes, a familiar smile twisting the shaggy beard, and said, “Come with us.”

Curious, Stede did, settling the teacup back in its saucer and rising to follow with Polly clicking gaily along at his heels. Likewise, Asher padded down the hall in front of Ed, a bit further away than would be comfortable for Stede and Polly; they seemed to have a longer range they could inhabit before the symptoms of human and daemon separation, a tight chest and emotional distress, began to plague them. Ash held his black tail high as he sauntered coolly over the mahogany floors, the very tip flicking back and forth with princely pride. At the end of the hall he jumped up onto the railing of the stairs, perching with all four of his paws in a straight line, and Ed gestured Stede and Polly up the stairs ahead of him.

When they were halfway up the staircase, he flickered his half-gloved fingers in a quiet good-bye. He stayed standing at the base of the stairs, and Asher continued his way up the banister, unconcerned with the distance they were putting between themselves.

Polly froze, her tail tucking between her legs. “Ed...”

He waved goodbye more emphatically, sauntering away in his big enormous boots with his hands on his hips. He was almost ten entire feet from his daemon, and even looking at him made Stede’s chest feel tight with sympathetic pain.

“Come on, then,” Asher drawled from the top of the stairs, rising up onto the decks, his dark fur catching the sunlight. “We don’t have all day.”

With one more nervous flick of his eyes to Ed’s retreating back, Stede followed.

Emerging above-decks was still a novelty, after all this time. The wind, the sunlight hammering down, the salt in the air catching on the back of his tongue- it was overwhelming and beautiful and terrifying. Polly shook her head, golden fur flying, and let her tongue hang out as she panted with an enormous doggy grin.

In front of them was Asher, intimately familiar- his dusty black fur, his scarred, torn ears, the ready-to-pounce tension of him even as he groomed himself meticulously. His tail swished back and forth against the wood of the deck, and he looked as though the entire world would wait until he was done cleaning himself- exactly like Ed, that absolute confidence in his own ridiculousness right up until the flash of claws the second they felt ridiculous.

Except Ed wasn’t there.

“Ash!” The deck tilting like he might be sick, Stede grabbed onto Polly, fisting his hand in her fur. Like their closeness could make up for Ed and Asher’s distance. He couldn’t quite tell if he or Polly had said Asher’s name; perhaps it was both of them at once.

Ash licked his paw, scrubbing furiously at the graying jowls of his face, appearing totally at ease. Alone. Oh, God, he was alone, with no human being to lean against or depend on, a thing of horror and revulsion like a human without a head. One of his ragged black ears twitched, and he stopped abruptly, put his paw down, and trotted away.

Stede pulled himself up by the banister, and followed, his face screwed up in concentration and worry.

The upper deck was empty at the moment, Izzy and Buttons both apparently busy elsewhere, so there was no one to scream or faint at the sight of a daemon with no human- all the more terrifying and unnatural for Asher’s nonchalance. Seemingly without rhyme or reason, Ash sat down in the middle of the deck, his tail curling around his paws until he looked like a statuette. 

Dizzy, Stede leaned on Polly where she was a solid weight against his thigh. Where was Ed? Was he alright, was this hurting him? They ought to have been doubled over in pain, their bond stretched too far for anything but crumpling up into a ball of agony and grief. He looked out past Asher and onto the sea to the south, the expanse of blue sky, and wondered if this was the same scene Ed could see, out of the window of the cabin...

The cabin which was right beneath the deck.

Ash stared up at them, green eyes pinprick-small in the bright daylight, and blinked slowly.

“But you’re not far from him at all,” Stede said out loud, for Polly’s benefit; she was still held tense against his leg. “He’s just in the cabin below. You’re still within range.”

A pleased, husky trill quivered in Ash’s throat, and he stretched out of his picture-perfect pose to trot over and touch noses with Polly. She whined with relief, nuzzling him as his battle-scarred head bumped up against her muzzle.

“See?,” he said, his silky-dark voice wry and amused. He turned, brushing Polly’s nose just barely with the tip of his tail as he walked away. “Scares the shit out of people.”

“Hey, boss?” As if to demonstrate, Frenchie pounded his way up the stairs, sugar glider daemon riding on his shoulder. Technically, crewmen weren’t allowed on the upper deck without an invitation from the captain or mates; such a rule had never been something Stede enforced, though at the moment he rather wished he had.

Catching sight of the lonely black cat daemon, Frenchie froze, his eyes enormous. The sugar glider squeaked, scurrying up into his hair and hiding on top of his head, shaking all over.

Asher saw the twitchy rodent movement and his green eyes dilated. A throaty noise burbled from him as he crouched down, tail lashing and claws digging into the deck, ready to pounce.

Frenchie screamed. Not bothering with the stairs, he vaulted over the railing and fell the full ten feet to the lower deck.

Shouting, Stede rushed to the rail to make sure he was alright, Polly barking in distress at his heels. Frenchie seemed to have caught himself on a pile of boxes, and was struggling to get out of the one he’d broken, stuck in what appeared to be a pile of spare sewing rags from their flag contest that absolutely no one had bothered to put away. He was tangled in scraps of fabric and trying to fight his way free, still squeaking with panic, and right on comedic cue the sugar glider sailed in her small downward spiral and landed spread-eagled on his face.

Straining forward, Ash craned his neck and tilted his head, trying to see- he must have hit the edges of his and Edward’s range, what a relief to see that they had one- and began to laugh.

See the full post

79 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#2

not one hair of you would I rearrange

“Who named you?” Ed asked, mumbling around the end of the pipe in his mouth. “Never met a nob that’d name their kids’ daemon something s’common as Polly.” Nobs always had long daemon names, the very devil to pronounce and never worth remembering, and they were always out of some book or play that no one in their right mind had ever heard of.

“Ah,” Stede said, looking a little bashful as he put his bookmark between the pages, Polly a liquid lump of dog where she was lying on his slippers. Before them, the fire roared, leaving the cabin an oasis of cozy warmth among the old, comforting sounds of the waves against the hull. “It is, I’m afraid, a short form- her name is Polyhymnia. For one of the Greek muses, I believe.”

“I like Polly better,” she murmured from the floor, her normally-cheerful voice subdued and relaxed from the heat of the fire, and Stede leaned down to ruffle the long, golden hair around her ears. Her coat matched perfectly to his blond hair, and she looked clean and soft and rumpled, just like Stede in his dressing-gown.

“And you?” He asked politely, sitting back up. “Why Asher?”

Asher, taking up space on Ed’s chest, heaved a toothy yawn. He matched Ed the same way- midnight-black in their youth, he had faded over the years to the color of stormclouds on the horizon, fur going gray towards the jowled sides of his face. A thick, ragged tomcat with one ripped-up ear and singed whiskers, he’d left scars on the noses of daemons from here to High Brazil.

“Dunno,” he replied, his voice as low and dark as the voice in the back of Edward’s head that told him when everything was about to go to shit. “Biblical, maybe.”

“Mum was a God-botherer,” Ed agreed, drawing on his pipe and letting the smoke flow away with the words. Stede was the first person he’d spoken to about his mother in more than twenty years.

Stede pursed his lips, brow furrowing as he looked at his bookshelf like the answer was to be found there; Ed wondered if he had a Bible somewhere in those unreadable shelves, just for the sake of having it. That seemed like the sort of thing Stede would do, even if he never said a word about God either way.

“Genesis,” Polly contributed from the floor. “Jacob’s son,”

“Joseph’s brother! Yes,” Stede completed her sentence like always, snapping his fingers. “Sold his younger brother into slavery for spite and jealousy... something of a, er, despicable character.” He leveled Ed with a look that was somehow both fond and guilty.

“That’s us,” Asher stretched out his claws, clinking them against the wood of the pipe with the absolute confidence of an animal who never gave a single damn about being a nuisance. “Despicable all over.”

His weight on Ed’s chest was unfamiliar. They spent twenty years stretching their range, step by step and month by month, slowly gouging out space in their heart-deep bond that let Ash perch above-decks even when Blackbeard was ensconced away in the cabin, scaring the absolute pants off of the crew. The throaty pang of grief and pain in his chest was a constant, and its removal left him feeling almost weightless.

Ever since Stede had come into their lives, Asher circled closer and closer, both of them falling helplessly into his orbit. Ed took tea with him. Ash left dead rats at his doorstep. Edward taught him sword tricks in the dead of night while Asher and Polly play-fought at their feet, Ash rolling on his back and inviting a dog three times his size to snap at his belly.

And now Asher was lying on top of him, self-satisfied as a housecat. He wasn’t even keeping watch.

“When’d you settle?” Ed asked. Their silences were comfortable, but God almighty there was so much he wanted to know about Stede Bonnet, how in the Hell he’d ended up here, at sea in general and within arms’ reach in particular.

Sighing, Stede ran his bookmark over the edges of his fingers; Ed had felt less guilt about cutting mens’ hands off than he did for keeping Stede from his peaceful reading. “I was fourteen,” he said with a soft regret. “It was just before we left school- that school, at least. It inspired as much mockery as anything we did.” He glanced up, his eyes glinting in the fire-light. “A dog, you know- servants’ animals.” He took on a ridiculous and terrible approximation of those fickle Frenchmen, leveling the insult at him.

“Fucking cunts,” Ed said mildly.

Shrugging with faint agreement, Stede smiled in that soft, sad way that made Edward want to fold him up and protect him from the world.

He stretched out to kick his boots up onto the arm of the sofa, jostling Asher, who glared at him with one poison-green eye. “We settled young,” he said, trying to distract Stede from whatever recollection he’d fallen into. “Before any of the other kids, at least. My dad said I was a fucking witch.” Aside from telling that stupid fucking Kraken story, he hadn’t spoken about his father in decades, either.

“Very witchy animal, a black cat,” Stede concurred, smiling at Ash, who preened. Nobody else would’ve thought it, from Blackbeard’s ghoul of a familiar, but Ed knew him from the torn tips of his ears to the pads of his little asshole feet, and Asher was glowing with attention. “Really quite frightening. My peers, though, quickly deduced that Polly was no threat.”

Ed turned over on his elbow, shoving Ash when his tail dropped down in front of his eyes. Polly, in her place in front of the fire, was an average-sized, heavyset dog with clear eyes and strong legs; her constant, dopey smile obscured the fact that she was mouth-focused and picked up or bit everything in sight, and she went to point whenever Stede showed interest in anything. She was almost as attentive to the scrape of a rat in the ship as Asher, and he’d been a ratter his whole alley-cat life. “She’s got to be a hunting breed, though,” he said.

Stede shrugged again. “Perhaps,” he allowed. “My father, though, bred hunting dogs his whole life long, and he could make neither hide nor hair of her.” His tone said quite well that his father had been just as baffled by Stede himself.

Polly shifted, going from her inelegant splay across Stede’s feet to a tight ball on the rug, her enormous tail- so furry that it flapped like a fan when she wagged it- slapping down tight over the tip of her nose. Duly curled up, she heaved a woebegone sigh.

With a splay of his claws calculated to land right on Ed’s bare arm, Asher stretched luxuriously. In a show of nonchalance, he sat up, shook his head, cleaned his face, and with a clink of his claws against the buckles of Ed’s jacket, leapt to the floor.

“Fucking ow,” Ed muttered, rubbing his fingers along the small puncture wounds on his bicep, Asher’s asshole love-notes a lifelong sensation.

Asher padded over to Polly where she was curled up, plopped his enormous black backside next to her, and set his head on her shoulders. The rest of his body followed like water being poured into a shaped glass, drooping contentedly to the floor with the peculiar grace of a cat who was exactly where he wanted to be.

The silence settled into comfort, mood returning to contented laziness as Ed watched his daemon’s chest rise and fall as he breathed. Jesus fucking wept, how long had it been since that cat touched another daemon in something other than violence? Decades. More, probably. Asher regularly stalked and threatened Izzy’s kestrel daemon, knocking her from her perches around the ship; anything smaller than a bear was fair game for menacing, really. He’d even once managed to get a solid strike on Fang’s enormous golden eagle, clawing his way up into the rigging to drop down onto her back and pin her to the deck when she fell, snapping one of her strong wings with a noise like a dry branch.

And here he was snuggled up against a kennel-club, blue-ribbon princess of a dog, her angelic curls sparkling beside his patchy, dusty, ragged black fur.

“Ed,” Stede said into his book, and his head turned so fast it hurt, “forgive me if I’m being forward. But since we’re speaking of it...”

See the full post

110 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

so unfortunately for you all the above post inspired a daemons AU for these idiots

“Who named you?” Ed asked, mumbling around the end of the pipe in his mouth. “Never met a nob that’d name their kids’ daemon something s’common as Polly.” Nobs always had long daemon names, the very devil to pronounce and never worth remembering, and they were always out of some book or play that no one in their right mind had ever heard of.

“Ah,” Stede said, looking a little bashful as he put his bookmark between the pages, Polly a liquid lump of dog where she was lying on his slippers. Before them, the fire roared, leaving the cabin an oasis of cozy warmth among the old, comforting sounds of the waves against the hull. “It is, I’m afraid, a short form- her name is Polyhymnia. For one of the Greek muses, I believe.”

“I like Polly better,” she murmured from the floor, her normally-cheerful voice subdued and relaxed from the heat of the fire, and Stede leaned down to ruffle the long, golden hair around her ears. Her coat matched perfectly to his blond hair, and she looked clean and soft and rumpled, just like Stede in his dressing-gown.

“And you?” He asked politely, sitting back up. “Why Asher?”

Ash, taking up space on Ed’s chest, heaved a toothy yawn. He matched Ed the same way- midnight-black in their youth, he had faded over the years to the color of stormclouds on the horizon, fur going gray towards the jowled sides of his face. A thick, ragged tomcat with one ripped-up ear and singed whiskers, he’d left scars on the noses of daemons from here to High Brazil.

“Dunno,” he replied, his voice as low and dark as the voice in the back of Edward’s head that told him when everything was about to go to shit. “Biblical, maybe.”

“Mum was a God-botherer,” Ed agreed, drawing on his pipe and letting the smoke flow away with the words.

318 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[eidetictelekinetic]

🎡

Your favorite scene to write in -insert fic-?

Uh... You didn't specify a fic, so I'm going to use this as an excuse to hype up my Good Omens daemon AU, we're all puzzle boxes. The scene I most enjoyed writing, at least in the published part of the fic, is the scene at the court of Catherine the Great in Russia, where Aziraphale and Crowley end up dancing. I was just delighted to do a dance at a masquerade, I never get to do those! Plus I had an excuse to pop the characters into another bit of history I've done at least a little reading about, which is always fun.

Have a snippet below!

“Good, then you should dance with us,” Toliman says, abrupt and oddly cheerful. Crowley stiffens.

“Toli…” he mutters. “Stop that.”

“Two men might draw attention…” Aziraphale says carefully. What he should do is refuse outright, but, well. No one from Heaven has checked in beyond notes since the Black Death, and Aziraphale is beginning to hope that maybe, just maybe, he can relax again. Still, dancing is…

Crowley looks back at him, and is it a trick of the light, or are his eyes glowing brighter? “As if we can’t avoid that,” he says, pushing off the wall and offering a hand. “What the heaven, why not, angel?” he continues.

Aziraphale’s own hands shake as he lets his daemon go and she flies back to his shoulder. They shake as Crowley stands there with his hand out, and Aziraphale doesn’t remember deciding, not really, but just as Crowley’s hand begins to drop, he reaches out. His fingers tremble, still, as he laces them with Crowley’s. “I don’t know how, you know.”

“I’m not exactly good at it. But it’s a party, isn’t it?”