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whyisaravenlike-awritingdesk · 1 year

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Dance, Let it Be (ao3)

@nestaarcheronweek day one: dance. Set post ACOSF, there's only one thing that will take Nesta's mind off the horrors of the Blood Rite and Feyre's labour. Title taken from the George Ezra song Dance All Over Me.

Infinite stars and there’s me and you, there’s nothing needs doing, just keep on moving and be here now with me. Won’t you be here now with me. Dance, dance, dance, let it be— Dance all over me.

***

Eyes closed against the darkness, Nesta felt the music course through her, slipping across her skin like water. It echoed, reverberated, resounded deep inside of her— so deep it could never be carved free, at one with her bones. It was a piece of her she didn’t ever want to be without again, a fraction of her soul she didn’t ever want to find missing. It was exquisite, the burn in her chest as the melody crested and bloomed. The steps familiar and uncharted all at once as Nesta… let go.

Let it be.

I need to drink, Emerie had said, just days after returning home from the Rite. And dance until I can’t breathe.

But Nesta could breathe. For the first time in days, she could breathe, even though her chest ached and her heart hammered. The drums grew louder as the music swelled, and for the first time since coming home, she wasn’t thinking of the Blood Rite or Feyre’s almost death. Not thinking of the sacrifice she had made to bring her sister back, not thinking of the Cauldron or her father. All of it was forgotten, cut loose as Nesta drowned in the rhythm. All of her grief and aching, aching sadness… eased as she moved in time, wrapped in the arms of the beat. The horror, swept away on a swift, irrevocable current.

The dance floor at Rita’s wasn’t a marble ballroom. It wasn’t elegant and refined— but it was enough. Enough to let her forget, to pretend the Rite and all that followed had never happened, enough to drink cheap wine and dance until the world forgot about her. Until it fell away completely, and all that was left was a searing melody— kin to her, somehow.

Gwyn had declined the offer. Seeking sanctuary in the stone walls of the library, safety and security in the depths, the priestess had shaken her head at Emerie’s suggestion, given the Valkyries a wan smile and told them to go without her. Nesta had felt a kernel of guilt stir in her gut, an unease at leaving Gwyn behind but— Gwyn needed the library to feel safe, to forget.

Nesta needed this.

Nesta needed to dance.

With Cassian and Mor and even Elain in tow, they had arrived at Rita’s. To drink, to dance. To forget. As Mor went straight for the bar, Emerie’s hand had been tight around Nesta’s own as the Valkyries headed for the dance floor. Cassian had kissed her cheek as the music pounded, and dimly she heard him asking if she wanted a drink, if she needed anything. She shook her head, and mutely, he took the scarf she had wrapped around her shoulders, fingers light against her skin. He kissed her cheek again, a silent declaration. Go, that kiss said, his hands winding in her scarf as he folded it, tucked it into the pocket of his jacket. His eyes glimmered in the faelights, bright and beautiful, as he nodded to the dance floor, to Emerie, her hand still tangled with Nesta’s.

It was crowded— but they made room for her.

Cleared a space as she spun, alone at first, dancing mindlessly. The only way to clear her head, to lay to rest the memory of Gwyn bleeding in the snow, the sound of Emerie’s screams. To put to bed the sight of Feyre, her life slipping away and taking both Rhys’ soul and Nyx’s with it. Her eyes were closed tight against the onslaught, her hands and Emerie’s entwined again, entangled, with movements that weren’t polished or practised or rehearsed. Nothing like the way she had danced as a girl, and nothing like the way she had danced with Eris at the Hewn City. It was messy and undefined— catharsis in each spin, each step. A kind of healing magic all of its own as she let it wash over her, let it consume her.

The music changed, turned slow, and Emerie’s hand was suddenly free of hers, tugging loose as the Valkyrie drifted toward the edge of the dance floor. To Mor, standing golden under the faelights, holding two glasses of something that glittered and fizzed. Emerie winked as she departed, and Nesta’s hand was taken by another. A stranger, a hand entirely unfamiliar to her, a face she didn’t recognise. Her new partner was tall, willowy in the way that fae often were. An opportunist who had spied a chance to dance with Nesta Archeron and taken it, quite literally, with both hands. Nesta let him— this dance was suddenly a little more structured than the one she’d danced with Emerie, and she needed a partner, and though he was tall, he wasn’t tall enough, not the hand she needed to feel in her own. But he was here— and holding up his arm to let her spin, and spin, and spin just as she’d done at the Hewn City.

There was nothing in her mind but the steps. The rhythm. The beat as she moved. A door closed on the horrors of the past few weeks as she let her head tilt back, eyes closed, feeling the music wash over her, carry her away.

Lost.

She was lost in the music, in a dance with no real steps—

Yet found, when a familiar hand brushed her waist, fingers searching. Nesta didn’t open her eyes as the fae that had been holding her hand slipped away, as his fingers were replaced with others, ones that fit more perfectly between her own. She didn’t need to look. Felt the music swell once more as Cassian’s hand rounded her waist, holding her as she leaned backwards, letting herself fall, knowing he wouldn’t let her hit the ground.

The beat echoed, reverberated through her chest, and he was there, holding her and letting her lead. There didn’t need to be words between them. His touch was the only greeting she needed, the warmth and stability of him the only hello she ever wanted. She didn’t need anything else— just his fingers woven through hers, his hand on the small of her back. When he pulled her up, as she rose onto her tiptoes, his lips brushed her cheek, her jaw. There was a soft smile on his face as she opened her eyes, storm-grey blue meeting hazel flecked with gold.

“I hope you don’t mind my interruption,” he whispered in her ear as a new song struck up, one even slower, with even less movement. “He was looking at you like he wanted to spirit you away.”

Was he? She hadn’t noticed. Hadn’t really even noticed the other man’s face, only danced until she forgot her pain.

“Jealous?” she asked, winding her arms about Cassian’s neck, feeling both of his wrap around her waist, holding her to his chest as the music moved them along. A gentle sway, a breeze across a calm sea.

He grinned, the faelights glinting in his eyes. “Always,” he murmured, lips close to her ear.

Her blood sang, sparked in the way that only he could ever manage, and this— Gods, this was what she needed. The music, the dancing, and him, holding her as she lost herself in all three. A smile bloomed on her face, genuine, for the first time in days.

“Understandable,” she shrugged wryly. “Twice now I’ve won a proposal from a single dance.”

The lips that made her heart beat faster tugged up into a smirk as his hands tightened about her waist, and there was no denying it as they moved to the music, no hiding it at all. He was hers, and she was his, incontrovertibly. “And what would you have of me?” he asked, voice low, barely even audible over the strings and the keys of the piano. “For this dance, what would you have me give?”

Everything, she almost said. Give me everything, all of you, and take all of me in return.

She blinked as the faelights flashed, and hummed as she said, instead, “You could start with a kiss, I suppose.”

Her fingers strayed to his hair, running through the strands as he laughed, the echo of it reverberating through her chest, dancing along the bond that twined his soul with hers.

“Start?” he echoed, raising one perfect eyebrow.

She nodded, and as the piece reached a crescendo, Cassian did kiss her. His lips met hers as he held her to his chest, his hands travelling up her spine, over the nape of her neck, until he cradled her jaw. He kissed her as though his world had fallen away, as though the band had stopped playing, replaced by music of an entirely different sort. Dimly, Nesta heard the piano still play. Faintly, the drums still sounded, but the only drumming she was aware of was the beating of her own heart and his, the bond between them singing, a song that was theirs alone. His teeth grazed her lip, and Nesta kept her eyes closed. This was a different dance, one she could move through forever. His hands strayed, burning a path back down her dress, back to her waist, settling at the curve of her hips. It didn’t matter that they were in the middle of a very public dance floor. Didn’t matter that there would be whispers all over Velaris tomorrow, about how the General had kissed the High Lady’s sister so brazenly, how she had crumbled beneath his touch.

None of it mattered as the music played on and Cassian kissed her, her price for that dance. Nesta let herself be lost and found— let herself fall apart and be pieced back together again by him, by the music. By that dance with the steps that only they knew.

***

The lights were on.

Not the coloured faelights breaking up the darkness, but the bright ones overhead. The ones that signalled it was time to go home, a precursor to sunrise. The band in the corner had finished, and the dance floor was almost empty. She hadn’t realised, not until the lights flickered to life, that the only souls left in Rita’s were those about to go stumbling home. She didn’t know when it had gotten so late, or where the time had gone. It had slipped away from her, and though she could have sworn she had been dancing for an hour at most… the lights above said otherwise. The burning in her legs and the rise and fall of her chest did, too.

Cassian took her hand and tugged her away from the dance floor, taking her carefully folded scarf out of his pocket and draping it back around her shoulders.

“Where are the others?” she asked, looking for Emerie. For Mor and Elain.

“They went home about an hour ago,” Cassian said with a crooked smile, bemusement glittering in his hazel eyes as he untangled their hands and cast an arm over her, tucking her into his side as he headed for the door and the cold night air beyond.

“Huh,” Nesta said, feeling dizzy. She had barely spoken to her sister all night. Hadn’t said a word to Mor, and had barely seen Emerie since that first dance. She had been entirely consumed, wrapped in a dance that even now didn’t want to let her go. She felt the cool night brush her skin as they stepped out onto the pavement, a shiver crawling along her arms, but as she looked up, she saw the sky lightening on the horizon. The inky blackness was starting to melt, the stars hanging in a net of darkness that was growing steadily lighter.

Cassian held out his arms, ready to fly them home, but Nesta shook her head. Looked at the House of Wind in the distance, the lights still on as if waiting to welcome them back home, and then looked beyond— to the moon still bright, the stars still shining. The air was cold in her lungs, but fresh and welcoming, and though her feet ached from dancing all night, she wasn’t ready for home yet.

Not yet.

She wanted to eke this out a little longer, let the night stretch languorously on towards sunrise, not willing to close her eyes just yet.

“Can we walk?” she asked, looking at those stars, still bright in the fabric of the sky.

Cassain shrugged, took her hand in his once again. “If you want,” he said idly, his siphons casting a ruby red glow over her fingers. He looked down at their twined hands, her palm slipping so easily against his own. Brushing a thumb over the backs of her knuckles, he lingered on her third finger before pulling her forwards and pressing a kiss to her temple. “Come on then, Valkyrie. We’d better start walking if you want to be in bed before the sun comes up.”

“And if I don’t want to go to bed?” she asked archly, but letting him guide her home nevertheless. He only smirked.

“I’m sure I could find some other way to fill the time.”

“I want to dance, Cassian,” she insisted, her fingers squeezing his as they reached the river. She stopped on the bridge that spanned it, listening to the Sidra rushing beneath. The dark water was a steady roar, an even, pulsing beat.

“What, now?” he asked, stepping closer and putting his hands on her waist. Hers came to rest on his shoulders, before she dragged one hand down over his collarbone, settling above his heart. Silently, she nodded. She didn’t want to go home— she wanted to stay here, where the rhythm still flowed through her, where the only music was the river below.

“Like this?” he whispered, bending his head until he was at her ear. She nodded as he moved her, swayed with his hands on her hips. It was the very first dance they’d ever shared where she let him lead. Every time they had danced before, he had followed her. Followed her as though she could dance right off a cliff edge and he wouldn’t falter, but fall right beside her. This time though… this time, Cassian led her, his arms around her as his lips brushed her ear.

“You said you won a proposal twice through a dance,” he said, voice rough at her ear.

Even though it wasn’t a question, not exactly, Nesta nodded, rolling her eyes as he cast her out and spun her under his arm. Right in the centre of the bridge, the sunrise blooming overhead, he reeled her back in, somehow knowing what she needed, knowing her steps before she made them.

“And yet, when I asked you your price for a dance tonight, you only asked for a kiss,” he continued when she was back in his arms.

“What’s your point?” she asked with a shrug, both of her hands resting flat against his chest. His heart hammered, she could have sworn it did, could have sworn she felt it down the bond… But he shrugged so casually.

“I think you might have sold yourself short.”

“Oh?”

He hummed, one hand moving until he found hers, resting right above where his heart pounded. His fingers brushed hers, lingered once more on the third finger. With the sunrise reflected in his eyes, Cassian cleared his throat, leaned down until his forehead was flush with hers. Her eyes fluttered, drifted closed as the dance slowed, and slowed, until they were barely moving at all. He exhaled, breathed in deeply, as though he were drawing her in, as though she were the only air he needed.

“Make it a third, Nes,” he said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

“What?” she asked, eyes snapping open. His did too, that hazel gaze rooting her to the spot.

“Make tonight the third time you won a proposal with a dance.”

She could feel his heart through the bond, but she was fairly sure hers had stopped completely. Stopped beating entirely and relied only on his to keep her afloat, to keep her standing. She swallowed, blinked.

“Are you asking me to—“

“I’ll get on my knees if you want,” he shrugged, a smirk pulling at his lips, a wicked glint in his eye that told her he’d get on his knees for her at anytime, any given opportunity, proposal or not. She let out a breath of a laugh, one of surprise and… and something that felt remarkably like ecstasy. Something she hadn’t felt for oh, so long.

“Rhys is already planning a mating ceremony,” she pointed out. Cassian shrugged again.

“So? Can we not do both?” He tilted his head, looking at her with an expression of such ease, all boyish charm and confidence. His eyes burned as he took her hand and raised it to his lips, pressed a kiss to the bare skin of her third finger.

“Marry me, Nesta.”

As the sun rose fully in the sky, turning the horizon pink and gold, Nesta framed his face with her hands. The birds began to sing in the distance as Nesta said, at last, the only answer she could ever have given. The only one that made sense.

“Yes.”

#a good dose of nessian fluff mixed in there too #nestaweek2022 #Nesta Archeron #nessian fic

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positivewitch · 1 year

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@nestaarcheronweek Day 3 - Witch

#nesta archeron #nesta archeron week #nestaweek2022 #nesta moodboard #acotar moodboard #ella edit✨#yalit #fantasysociety #fantasy network #storyseekers #booknet

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moodymelanist · 1 year

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Feel The Heat

Happy @nestaarcheronweek, everyone! Keeping things short and sweet for my favorite Archeron today 💙

Prompt Inspiration: We can’t go to the main party for reasons but let’s create a small party for ourselves where we dance to our favourite songs in the living room

✵✵✵✵✵✵

Nesta scowled as she stared at the ceiling in her room. She shouldn’t even be home right now, but she’d gotten into the worst argument yet with her mother about homecoming, and now she was paying the price.

Well, if Nesta told the story, she was proving her point. All she’d wanted was to go to homecoming with Cassian, one of her best friends for as long as she could remember, but Rhea hated anything to do with the side of town Cassian was from. That included homecoming dances, and since she’d been so insistent that Nesta go with that nice Vanserra boy from down the street, Nesta simply refused to go to homecoming at all this year. It had been Cassian or nothing, and she was going to prove her point, goddammit.

What did it even matter that Cassian went to Velaris High and Nesta went to Saint Enalius Preparatory School? He was just as smart as some of the guys in her junior class, and had double the kindness as anyone she’d ever met. She knew he was going places, and if Rhea couldn’t see that? It was her problem.

Until then, Nesta was going to sit in her room and make her point. Rhea was wrong about Cassian, and the moment her mother realized that would be the best day of Nesta’s life.

It was just Nesta and her parents at home. Feyre and Elain had no such issues going to Saint E’s homecoming — their dates were respectable in Rhea’s eyes. No matter that Nesta couldn’t stand Tamlin or Graysen, or that they treated her sisters like shit; their families had enough money to send them to Prythian Prep, and that was all that mattered.

Who cared that Nesta had actually been looking forward to going to homecoming this year, right? She’d finally dumped Tomas and Cassian had offered to take her so she wouldn’t feel awkward about not having a date, but all their plans had gone down the drain the moment Rhea caught wind of it. She couldn’t even go to Cassian’s homecoming instead, since it had happened two weeks ago, but she wouldn’t give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her sulk. She’d do it all in her room, thank you very much, where nobody could bother her—

Nesta froze at the sound of something hitting her window. Had a bird flown into the glass again or something?

The sounds kept coming, and she realized someone must have been throwing something at the glass for it to make a sound like that. There were plenty of little pebbles lying around the property, especially after her father had redone the yard, and she sighed as she got off her bed to see who was bothering her. Maybe Lucien — the only Vanserra she could actually stand — had misjudged her window for Elain’s or something.

Nesta yanked open the window before barely managing to not get hit in the face with a pebble. She had every curse known to man loaded on her tongue, but it died once she realized who was standing outside her window in the first place.

“Cassian?” she hissed as loud as she dared. Her idiot best friend just beamed and waved up at her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Let me in and I’ll tell you,” he said back, careful not to be so loud as to disturb her parents.

Sighing, Nesta moved to pull her window open as far as it could go while Cassian shimmied his way up the tree that leaned close to her window. By the time he’d managed to get to her room, she’d already laid down a towel so he wouldn’t track any grass inside.

“Seriously, what are you doing here?” Nesta asked. “I thought Rhys was going to get you in anyway.”

“Come on, you know it wouldn’t be any fun without you,” Cassian answered with a shrug. He reached up and pulled his hair back into a ponytail, showing off his hard-earned muscles from all those soccer practices. “Don’t tell me you’ve been in here sulking this whole time.”

“I’m not sulking,” she responded, pouting. He just gave her a knowing look. “Okay, maybe I was sulking a little.”

“No sulking allowed,” he told her with a grin. He poked her in one of her secretly-ticklish spots, pulling a little giggle from her. “At least not while I’m here.”

“What, are you going to tell me to turn my frown upside down?” she asked sarcastically.

Cassian just rolled his eyes before pulling his backpack off his shoulders. “You really have that little faith in me, Nes?”

“I have exactly the right amount of faith, considering all the stupid shit you’ve gotten me involved in,” Nesta replied haughtily. He just laughed quietly before revealing what looked like… flowers?

“I couldn’t bring you to homecoming, so I’m bringing homecoming to you,” he said. He pulled out a matching corsage and boutonnière — red and white roses to match the dress she hadn’t gotten to wear — and a bottle of fake champagne. “Ta da.”

Nesta was more touched than she’d been expecting, especially when she realized just how hard Cassian was fighting his incoming sneeze. “Cassian…”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied with a grin. “Give me your wrist.”

She dutifully gave him her left hand and let him slide the corsage onto her wrist, his hands warm and gentle as they moved. She tried to be just as gentle with pinning the corsage onto his hoodie, but he got pricked a few times before she really got it on there.

“There,” Cassian announced with a flourish. “Let’s toast.”

“Please tell me you washed those before you brought them here,” Nesta responded once she saw the plastic champagne flutes he pulled out of his bag.

“Of course I did,” he answered, rolling his eyes. “Relax.”

She just sighed and let him pour her a glass. It wasn’t the real thing, but even though it wasn’t spiked like the drinks at the dance would inevitably be, it still tasted good. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Cassian took their glasses and placed them rather precariously on the windowsill, ignoring Nesta’s alarmed look once he turned back around to face her. “And now for the most important part…”

Nesta froze once she realized Cassian was holding his hands out to her like he meant to dance with her. “What are you doing?”

“Asking you to dance with me?” Cassian said, the uncertainty in her voice making it sound like a question. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

“I’m in my pajamas!” she hissed, motioning down at herself. She’d been lounging in an oversized Taylor Swift shirt and ratty pair of sweatpants, and her hair was falling out of the loose braid she’d thrown it back into an hour before.

“So?” he responded with a shrug. “I like you like this.”

Nesta flushed, not sure what to do with that. He was her best friend, so she supposed it was his job to make her feel comfortable, but that felt… different. “Fine. But don’t step on my feet.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart,” Cassian said confidently. He fiddled with his phone for a few minutes before a song quietly started playing, and he offered her his hands again.

She took them this time, and the two of them swayed back and forth to the beat. He was so solid and warm against her that she couldn’t help but lean her head against his shoulder as they danced, sighing happily when he laid his head on top of hers. She could feel his chest vibrating slightly as he hummed along with the lyrics, and even though they had to stay quiet so her parents didn’t hear, it didn’t stop her from joining him once they got to the chorus.

It wasn’t the same as dancing in a crowded gym with the rest of the school, but it would do.

#nestaweek2022 #acotar #acosf #nesta archeron #Nessian #Cassian #moodymelanistwrites

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nestaarcheronweek · 1 year

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♕ Nesta Archeron Week 2022 Masterlist ♕

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s Nesta Appreciation Week! Here’s a list of all the wonderful contributions in order of tags. Until next time, and enjoy 🤍

Day One ♕ Dance

Nesta Fanart by @jmoonjones

Feel The Heat by @moodymelanist

Dance, Let It Be by @whyisaraven-like-awritingdesk

Nesta Fanart commissioned by @podemechamardek

But I Don’t Wanna Dance (If I’m Not Dancing With You) by @c-e-d-dreamer

Day Two ♕ Books

Nesta Fanart by @jmoonjones

Nesta’s Bookcase by @jmoonjones

Day Three ♕ Witch

What If I Told You I’m A Mastermind? Part Two by @c-e-d-dreamer

Nesta Fanart by @jmoonjones

Nesta Fanart by @dustjacketdraws

Nesta Moodboard by @faeriebambula

Nesta Moodboard by @positivewitch

Nesta Hogwarts AU Chapter 32 by @emeriethevalkyriegirl

Lady Death Moodboard by @faeriebambula

Nesta Fanart commissioned by @melphss

Dark Witch Nesta Moodboard by @ahkhnn

Day Four ♕ Romance

Nesta/Emerie Fanart by @dustjacketdraws

Can’t Help It Chapter Five [Nessian] by @moodymelanist

Nessian Fanart by @jmoonjones

ACOFAS Fix It Part Three by @c-e-d-dreamer

Day Five ♕ Body Positivty

“Sweetheart, you look cute, but I’m going to need that sweater” by @c-e-d-dreamer

Day Six ♕ Family Found & Refound

Valkyries Fanart by @jmoonjones

“The View Between Villages” by @c-e-d-dreamer

Day Seven ♕ Free Day

Nesta and Ataraxia Fanart by @vivictory-draws

Nesta Dancing Fanart by @dawning-daylight

Where The Light Won’t Find You Chapter Five by @moodymelanist

“I Told You So” Fanart by @jmoonjones

Nessian Fanart commissioned by @sabrinasam

#nestaweek2022 #acotar #nesta archeron #acosf #Nessian #acomaf #acowar #acofas #pro nesta archeron

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bookishlilcorner · 1 year

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Dark Witch Nesta Archeron moodboard

Feared and revered, but most of all misunderstood. “The dark witch of death”, they whisper to the void, “The healer of our souls.”

“My heart, my heart, my drowning heart

Oh all the tears I’ve cried

Oh I may weep forevermore

My love will never die.”

My love will never die — AG, Claire Wyndham

@nestaarcheronweek day 3: Witch

#nestaweek2022 #nesta archeron #pro nesta #nesta supremacy #nessian #nesta x cassian #nesta moodboard #nesta archeron moodboard #acotar moodboard #acotaredit #acotar #acosf #a court of thorns and roses #a court of silver flames #my posts

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oristianvalkyrie · 1 year

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@nestaarcheronweek day four: romance

𝓝𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓪 𝔁 𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓮

Historians will say they were “good friends”.

#nesta archeron #clare beddor #nesta x clare #pro nesta #nestaweek2022

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jmoonjones · 1 year

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It's Day 6: Family Found/Refound of @nestaarcheronweek! Playing cards in dive bars made Nesta somewhat of a card shark. She invites her Valkyrie sisters over for a "totally innocent" game of cards, only to hustle them out of money and books

Emerie twigs to the ploy early on but Gwyn remains determined that her next hand will be Nesta's undoing. Or the next. OK, but definitely the one after that...

#nestaweek2022 #Nesta Archeron #valkyries #gwyn berdara #emerie of illyria #acotar #nesta stan #pro nesta #acotar art #nesta supremacy #acosf #nesta #nesta art

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emeriethevalkyriegirl · 1 year

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Nesta Archeron (Harry Potter AU)- Chapter 32 (One last attempt)

Summary: Nesta and her girls have one last chance to save Hogwarts. They gotta make it count.

A/N: I just found out it was @nestaarcheronweek and the 3rd day just happened to be about her being a witch! Awesome! I wrote this days ago and I hope it’s acceptable. Enjoy!

10:26 pm

All day after packing, the girls planned on how to get to the Third Floor without being detected. At 10:30 pm, the girls would sneak out of their houses and meet up at the Hufflepuff entrance. From there, Nesta would wrap her cloak around them to get to the Third Floor undetected. Because the staircase only changes when it’s only Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie, Catrin was forced to stay behind. Not because the girls didn’t want her of course, but in order for the Third Floor to be accessed, it had to be just the three of them. She only agreed if they all promised to come back in one piece.

Now it was almost time and Nesta had just walked out of the girls’ room, her invisible cloak tucked away in her arm. Her cat, Lucky, stood guard at the door, ready to attack anyone who stood in her owner’s way. “Thanks for the help girl. I promise to return soon.”

“I knew it.” Nesta refrained from screaming as she noticed her friend Nora. She was in her PJs looking distorted. “Nesta, don’t do this. You’ll get Slytherin in trouble again.” she pleaded with her.

Nesta knew Nora meant well. She’s one of the nicest Slytherins on campus. She's always there for everyone. Even for the Gryffindors. Unfortunately, Morrigan would always take that for granted. Tricking her, giving her fake promises, always cheating on her test, and blaming it on her. Nora never got the blame which caused the Gryffindors to lose 15 points. Boy was Rhysand unhappy. However, Nora never even complained. She took it like a champ, even though everyone can tell that she was crying on the inside.

Nesta shook her head. “Nora, I have to do this. Or else, Hogwarts will fall.”

“No, Nesta. I won’t let you!” Nora pulled out her wand. Her arm held firm as she prepared to do a spell on her. “If you won’t listen then I’ll have to fight you.” Nesta gulped. She didn’t have a choice. In order to leave, she had to fight her own Slytherin sister.

Nodding in acceptance, Nesta pulled out her wand and announced the spell: “Petrifucus Totalus!”

On command, Nora’s entire body turned cold and stiff. Completely paralyzed from the neck down. She fell to the ground with a thud. The spell is only temporary, but it was still a pain to see her fall so hard. God, she hoped that Nora won’t be mad. Nesta turned to her cat who watched the whole thing. “Watch over her, Lucky.” she ordered as Lucky meowed and walked over to Nora, resting her paw on the young Slytherin’s shoulder. Nesta turned her head back around one last time. “Sorry, Nora. It’s for your own good.”

-------------------------

Right on time, Nesta arrived at the entrance to the Hufflepuff dormitories and saw Emerie, Catrin, and Gwyn waiting for her. Catrin hugged her sister one more time, promising to call for help whenever they needed it. “If we don’t return by sunrise, send an immediate owl to Kallias and Viviane.”

“You got it Nes. Just be careful.” Catrin had said to them before Nesta put on the invisible cloak and wrapped it around Gwyn and Emerie.

Now, the three of them had just finished walking up the stairs, cloak still wrapped around them. “You’re up, Em,” Gwyn said as Emerie nodded and readied her wand: “Alohomora.” The lock on the door clicked and the girls walked into the Third Floor.

They continued through the Third Floor until they made it to Fluffy’s room. Once they’d opened the door, they heard the soft tone of a harp playing as Fluffy slept soundly. Nesta and the others took off the cloak. “Looks like Tamlin beat us to it.” Emerie declared. “Look, its paw’s on the trap door.”

“Let’s lift it.” Nesta suggested as the girls worked together to pick up the paw. They slowly and softly placed the paw off the door. Being as silent as they possibly could, the girls opened the door. It was dark down there. Nesta heard Gwyn gulp. “I-It’s d-d-dark.”

“It’s okay Gwyn. You guys stay up here. I’m gonna find the stone.”

“No. We all agreed to go.”

“I don’t want you guys getting-why is it suddenly so quiet?” Nesta asked suddenly. Emerie looked at the harp, its musical tone fading away. “I think the harp stopped playing.”

“Ack! Ew!” Immediately, Emerie and Nesta whipped their heads at Gwyn who had a huge slobber drop on her shoulder. “Gross, gross, gross.”

A low growl filled the room, causing the girls to tense up. “Uh oh.” They all said before Fluffy began to bark loudly. Screaming at the top of their lungs, Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie jumped into the trap door and closed it shut, letting the darkness consume them.

#Nesta Archeron (Harry Potter AU)#pro nesta #pro nesta archeron #pro gwyn #pro Gwyneth berdara #pro emerie #pro emerie from illryia #pro catrin #pro catrin bedara #OC Nora #harry potter and the sorcerer's stone #Day 3: Witch #NestaWeek2022

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dustjacketdraws · 1 year

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I've gone so long without drawing Nemerie, I can't believe it.

This was originally supposed to be posted for October to get in the spooky vibe but I didn't finish it

Either way, enjoy this little bit of gothic horror of Emerie being enthralled by demon!Nesta. Maybe she got lost in the woods and discovered the Witch 👀

@nestaarcheronweek

As always, click for better quality

#nestaweek2022 #nesta archeron #emerie of illyria #nemerie #fanart #dustjacketdraws

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c-e-d-dreamer · 1 year

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What If I Told You I’m A Mastermind? (Part Two)

A/N: Happy day three of @nestaarcheronweek aka the most wonderful time of the year, am I right? ;) You already know that for today’s Witchy theme, I had to post the next part of my Witchy Nesta series with more mastermind Bryaxis! Hope everyone enjoys :)

Part One

“Oh, Mater me audi… Invoco te—”

A knock on the front door draws Nesta out of her focus mid-incantation, and she can’t suppress her frustrated groan at the intrusion. She glares at the large, oak door like that will make a difference, will make the intruder on the other side disappear, before turning her ire toward the rest of the walls. What was the point of all her wards and protection charms if the House just decided to blatantly ignore them and not inform her when someone was approaching?

A deep breath to calm the fire licking along her veins, the anger threatening to flare and bubble over, and Nesta makes quick work to blow out her candles. She walks over to the front door, yanking it open and finding that same man from the other day standing there. His hair isn’t pulled back like before; instead it hangs in dark curls across his shoulders, framing his face and the wide, friendly grin he offers Nesta. Now that he’s standing close to her and not on the sidewalk, she realizes his eyes are hazel, a forest floor of mossy green vines and golden flecks that glint in the autumn sun overhead. And he’s big, stands almost a head taller than her with a wide chest and an even wider set of shoulders.

And curled up against that wide chest is a bundle of all too familiar black fur.

It seems almost at odds with the man’s hulking frame, how gently he cradles Bryaxis. But his hands do just that, the large spread of them covering almost the entirety of the cat’s body. Nesta can’t help but wonder if that’s playing a role in Bryaxis’s apparent fascination with this man. This Cassian as he introduced himself last time.

“Sorry,” Cassia begins, holding out Bryaxis toward her. “Your cat was at my place again. I think he got the houses mixed up or something. He was pawing at my door for some reason.”

Nesta just barely reins in her sigh and eye roll. Of course, this man thinks it’s just some silly mixup, has no idea how powerful that bundle of fur in his arms truly is. Nesta isn’t fooled for a second. Not even when Bryaxis gives his best pitiful meow and bats big, wide, innocent eyes. She knows this game he thinks he’s playing, and if he keeps it up, perhaps she’ll threaten to turn him into a crow. She’d like to see him knock at this Cassian’s window then.

Still, Nesta plasters on what she hopes is her best imitation of a friendly expression and takes Bryaxis from him. “Thank you. He does love to wander sometimes. I’ll just have to keep him in the house until he gets sorted out.”

Bryaxis lets out a low growl that Nesta knows means he understood the underlying promise, the underlying threat, in her words. Nesta wants to feel pride, to smirk, at the reaction she garnered, but she finds herself too distracted by the way Cassian chuckles. The low, rumbled sound skates along her skin like the lick of a flame, somehow warm and inviting in its melody. He pushes a hand up and through his tangle of hair, and despite the deep red sweater he’s wearing, it still draws attention to the flex of the muscles of his arm.

“I didn’t catch your name last time,” Cassian says, his smile softening into something that almost looks like nerves.

Bryaxis bumps his head against Nesta’s hand, drawing her back to the present, and she clears her throat. “It’s Nesta.”

“Nesta.”

He says her name like a lover's caress, like it’s his own incantation he’s breathing life into. It’s dangerous. Everything about this Cassian feels dangerous. It’s the way Nesta feels so drawn to him, his light beckoning her in closer and closer. It's his warmth and his easy grins curling around her wrists, around that space between her ribs and tugging. It’s the way that all the way down to her very soul, Nesta seems to respond to him, seems to know him.

It’s terrifying and dangerous.

“Well, thank you again,” Nesta cuts in before this conversation can go anywhere else. “For bringing Bryaxis back.”

Nesta doesn’t miss the disappointment that flashes across Cassian’s expression for a moment, the way the corners of his smile slips just that small amount. “Yeah, of course. It was nice to meet you, Nesta.”

“You as well.”

Nesta is quick to step back into her home, closing the door behind her. She sets Bryaxis back down on the ground and leans back against the wood, listening carefully. It takes a few moments, the silence itself seeming to wait with bated breath, but then she hears Cassian’s feet on the steps of her porch. It’s only when she feels the slight shift in her wards that she knows he’s truly gone, that she turns her attention back to Bryaxis.

“Seriously?” Nesta asks, crossing her arms across her chest and settling the cat with an unimpressed stare.

She knows she should be used to the way Bryaxis never balks from anything she’s ever thrown the his way, but it doesn’t stop his nonchalance from prickling against her already frayed nerve ending, from fanning the flames of her earlier frustration. He doesn’t even look in her direction, simply continues to sit there in the front entryway and lick at his paw. When Bryaxis gets up and decides to merely trod into the other room, Nesta has finally had enough.

“I didn’t realize you were so keen on being a common house pet,” Nesta calls after him, following him to where the remnants of her earlier work still remain.

That catches Bryaxis’s attention, has him turning his head to glare at Nesta. The message is clear, but Nesta doesn’t back down. Instead, she smirks, raises an eyebrow in challenge.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing? Do you enjoy getting good, little pets? Warm milk?”

Bryaxis bares his teeth, letting out a soft growl, and Nesta knows that she’s hit her mark. Nesta hopes that’s officially the end of that now, but then Bryaxis is hopping up onto the table where her witch's book is laid out. He paws at the pages, flipping through the book with ease before looking up at Nesta expectantly. With a soft sigh, Nesta steps closer. He’s turned to the page about familiars, and Nesta reads where his paw currently sits.

“That man doesn’t have a lick of magic in him,” Nesta argues exasperatedly. “So what exactly are you ‘guiding’ me to, hmm?”

The look Bryaxis settles her with has Nesta bristling. She’s never been on the receiving end of that look, and she certainly doesn’t appreciate the implication. She lets out a huff, tugging the book away from Bryaxis and flipping back to the page she was on originally.

“How about we focus on the task at hand instead.”

~ * * * ~

It’s the third day of the house arrest that Nesta has implemented on Bryaxis when she can hear him pawing at the wood of the front door. He lets out his most pitiful meow of protest, but Nesta merely rolls her eyes, returning to the mix of herbs she’s currently steeping. It’s only when she hears the soft snick of the door opening that Nesta looks up in alarm.

Sure enough, the front door sits open, Bryaxis darting out in a blur of black fur. Nesta can do nothing but gape, the door falling shut behind Bryaxis as though nothing occurred. Nesta’s grip on the rosemary in her hand tightens until the sprigs are crushed between her fingers, but at the moment, Nesta can’t find it in herself to care. Instead, she glowers up at the ceiling.

“So, you’re in on this too?” Nesta asks accusingly to the House.

Of course, the House has no response, and Nesta can do nothing but roll her eyes and wait for the inevitable knock at her door. What is surprising, is how little time it takes before that knock comes.

“I’m beginning to think that your cat really likes me,” Cassian greets teasingly when Nesta opens the door, setting Bryaxis down at their feet.

“I’m beginning to think you keep giving him treats to keep him coming back,” Nesta shoots back, earning another laugh from Cassian.

“Unfortunately not, but perhaps I’ll have to start doing that, so I have more of an excuse to see and talk to you regularly.”

The words are so honest and practically dripping with suggestion that Nesta doesn’t even have time to swallow down the heat that creeps up her neck, promising to settle along her cheeks. She can do nothing but blink at Cassian, and the reaction only seems to spur him on. There’s no denying the amusement that sparks in his hazel eyes, the way he smirks and leans against the doorframe of the open front door.

“Are you looking for an excuse?” Nesta asks, once she finds her voice again.

“Always,” Cassian answers without hesitation, even going so far as to throw Nesta a wink. “Although really I’m looking for an excuse to ask if you’d want to get drinks sometime. There’s this great bar just downtown. They have a good selection of food and drinks, and they even do live music on Saturdays.”

Bryaxis lets out a meow at Cassian’s suggestion, batting his head against Nesta’s shins as he weaves between her legs. Even the House seems excited at the prospect, lights flickering on and off inside. The reaction has Cassian’s eyebrows pinching slightly in confusion, and he tries to peer around Nesta’s shoulder and inside to see what’s happening. Nesta is quick to step into the path of his attention though.

“Alright,” Nesta agrees before Cassian can ask any probing questions. “But just drinks and no live music.”

Cassian bites his lip, clearly trying to keep down his answering, wide grin, but it can’t hide the brightness that overtakes the hazel of his eyes, the crinkles that appear beside them. “So Friday then? I can pick you up.”

“Friday works for me.”

“Great. I’ll see you then, Nes.”

Nesta retreats back inside, but a satisfied and boastful meow from her feet has her rolling her eyes and has her calling out to both the House and Bryaxis, “I hope you’re both happy now.”

The curtains fly open in response, and for a moment, Nesta is confused by the House’s answer, until she spots Cassian walking down the sidewalk, watches the way he has a skip in his step and punches the air in celebration. There’s no stopping the smile that blooms across Nesta’s face then.

—

Taglist (let me know if you would like to be added or removed): @moodymelanist @hellogoodbye14 @nestaspegasus @nesquik-arccheron @sv0430 @talkfantasytome @secretlovelybeauty @dontgetsalmonella @swankii-art-teacher @mis-lil-red @bookstantrash @eirini-thaleia @sleeping-and-books @wonderland--memories @theoverlyenthusiasticwriter @sayosdreams @ubigaia @duskandstarlight @live-the-fangirl-life @chosenfamily-valkyriequeens @fromthelibraryofemilyj @luivagr-blog @autumnbabylon @xstarlightsupremex @lifeisntafantasy @deedz-thrillerkilller16 @superspiritfestival @faeriebambula @almosttenaciousmoon @vanjaulven @laughadil @magdoi @hiimheresworld @birdsdontwearshoes @marigold-morelli @goddess-aelin @sweet-pea1 @emeriethevalkyriegirl @pyxxie @dustjacketmusings @hallway5

#nessian #nesta archeron #cassian #NestaWeek2022 #nessian fanfiction #nessian fic #nesta x cassian #acotar #witchy Nesta #my fic

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