#to keep it safe) and i like the text formatting better...

[forpiratereasons]

i found a genre of longform videos that is just 8-10 hours of someone driving around freeways during thunderstorms and i have a lot of thoughts about this but also: stede the driver who films long pov driving vids and extremely stressed ed who gets addicted to his channel

it's meditative, and it reminds ed of being in the car with his mum, driving across aotearoa. he feels like she's there with him sometimes. but the more he watches, the more he becomes aware of the driver--a sigh here, the shuffle of fabric in the seat there.

there's almost no information about him on his channel, the gentleman driver, not even a name or a pic, and ed becomes a little fixated on picking up details about him. doesn't happen often, but once or twice ed catches the driver humming a few beats before falling silent again, clearing a throat, sighing, clicking his throat like he's talking silently to himself.

once, on hour six of a ten hour vid, ed's rewarded by the view of an elegant hand reaching across the screen to grab something that must be on the dash in front of the camera. four seconds ed plays over and over.

"is there someone in the car with you while you drive?" ed asks in a comment. "or is it just you?"

the gentleman driver writes back, "just me and the open road!"

maybe it's the format that makes ed ask, the anonymity. maybe he's just half asleep. "don't you ever get lonely?"

it's days before the gentleman driver writes back again. "do you?"

ed's not got an answer for that. or, he does, but not one he's willing to face head on. he asks instead how the gentleman driver chooses his routes.

the driver doesn't get very many comments and definitely not very many questions, and soon they're having little conversations in the comments of every video. ed gets another glimpse of that elegant hand, with a big turquoise ring, freckled forearm; hears another few bars of 'here comes the sun' hummed.

then the driver does something new: he stops at a rest stop.

and he leaves the camera rolling.

ed watches in rapt fascination as the driver crosses the screen in front of the car, goes into the rest stop. blond hair, broad shoulders, floral shirt. he's actually wearing jeans for an eight hour drive which is insane, and ed gets a glimpse of his profile as he smiles. insane.

if the driver's ever stopped before, it's been very carefully edited out. maybe he forgot this one. maybe he wanted ed to see. that's delusional, ed thinks, but he still navigates to the driver's about page and pokes around until he finds an email address.

nice shirt, he sends.

oh god, the driver sends back, and the video disappears from his page half an hour later. i forgot the editing. i'm sorry if it was distracting.

no, i liked it, ed tells him. it was nice to see the man behind the steering wheel. and then, hesitating only a bit, he adds: i'm ed.

hello, the driver writes. i'm stede.

the emails go on, and on, and eventually they turn into texts too, and promises from stede to check in on his longer drives, to "call if you ever need someone to keep you awake."

"i'm supposed to be sending you to sleep," stede argues.

"i'll sleep better knowing that you're safe," ed writes back.

the next video stede posts, he lets the camera run all the way until he's pulled into a parking spot at a roadside motel just outside of denver. the camera runs one minute, then five, and any reasonable person would've turned it off by now, but ed waits until he hears, very quietly: "safe and sound, now. go to sleep. goodnight."

is it stupid, to think you can fall in love with someone after just one sentence? is it still stupid, if that one sentence repeats at the end of every new video?

then one night the phone rings. it's late, dark out, and ed knows stede was doing a drive that wouldn't have him at his next stop until nearly one in the morning. he picks up. "hello?"

"oh, ed," the voice says. "you've no idea how good you sound just now."

it's a voice he's only heard before in hums and whispers, but it doesn't matter. lots of things about love are stupid, ed decides. this isn't one of them.

stede's blown a tire. "i'm okay," he insists. "i was just hoping for some company while i wait for the tow."

"where are you?"

"middle of nowhere," stede says, but when he names the spot, it's only two hours out. ed can be there faster than a tow probably would, and there's a note of anxiety in stede's voice he doesn't much like.

he's got his shoes on and his keys in his hand before he can think twice.

stede hems and haws but in all his fussing he doesn't actually tell ed not to come, and he stays on the line while ed piles blankets in the car and as he gets behind the wheel and as he sets out on the freeway. he stays on the line and they talk until they're both creaky with exhaustion and dry air, and then they're quiet, just like in stede's videos, but together this time. then ed crests over a hill and there it is: a car pulled off to the side with its hazard lights blinking. reminds ed of a lighthouse. 'i'm here,' the lights say. 'i'm here.'

he pulls to a stop behind, starts his own hazards. the driver side door of the car opens, and then there's a leg, and a body, and there he is. stede. he's still got his phone pressed to his ear; ed can hear him breathing.

"i'm going to get out," ed says.

"okay," stede says.

it takes another long moment, watching stede stand there in the dark, waiting for him. stede, with his hair and his voice and his hands and the way the quiet in him already feels like home.

"i might kiss you," ed says.

he watches stede swallow, hard. eyes widen. "okay," he says.

ed reaches for the handle. pops the door open. puts one foot out on the pavement and looks up to meet stede's eyes as his cabin lights come on, as the car starts to ding its door-open warning.

"oh," stede says.

ed takes a step. they both still have their phones in their hands, their breathes in each other's ear. ed takes a step and takes a step until he can reach out to take stede's phone from him. press the call end button.

"hi," he says.

stede kisses him.

after that there are other, shyer hellos, and other, more awkward ones too. there are ten minutes to a 24-hour macdo drive-thru for coffee and another ten to a motel and a late night that becomes an early morning by way of conversation. there's laughter, and more kisses, and careful fingers learning the planes of each other's faces. in the morning there's breakfast and a tow truck and an invitation to a place just two hours away.

and there's a long break in updates to the gentleman driver's channel.

when he comes back, weeks later, his update schedule isn't quite as frequent, and his drives don't usually go as far. there's giggles sometimes, in the background, like there might be someone else in the car with him.

"do you miss it," ed asks. "driving the long drives?"

"no," stede says. "i found what i was looking for."

*

@ kninjaknitter also podficced this one!

#darcy writes pirates #long post #ofmd #gentlebeard #cross posted from twitter

[breelandwalker]

Red Flag Checklist

Okay witches, let's have a round table.

When you're reading or contemplating the purchase of a book on modern witchcraft or paganism, what are some red and green flags that you look for?

I'll start.

Red Flags:

Disreputable Author - If the author is either a known source of bad information or bad behavior, or one of those "house names" that certain companies use, that's a no for me.

"New Age White Witch" Syndrome - If a text has a more-than-incidental or very deliberate focus on culturally appropriative practices ("Use this exotic voodoo doll ritual to hex your ex"), outdated terminology ("black magic," that G slur we don't use, etc), antisemitic bullshit (Lilith is not a pagan goddess), or anti-science rhetoric ("Essential oils are better than pills!") And yes this means the ever-expanding list of racist dogwhistles too.

Poor Understanding or Misrepresentation of History - If someone's repeating Murrayisms or insisting things are ancient that definitely aren't (POTATO GODDESS), that says to me that either the author didn't bother to do their research or they don't know what they're talking about.

Insistence on One Correct Way - If I encounter anything resembling "this is the only TRUE way," the book's going out the window. The more so if the author is citing their personal opinions or UPGs as fact.

Insistence on Gendering Everything - If a book insists on assigning a binary gender to everything (outside of citing a historical context), or is boomboxing ~*SACRED WOMYN'S WOMB MAGYCK*~ throughout, or even if it's just overly preoccupied with fertility and childbearing as part of the "natural" life cycle, I'm immediately putting it down. (This is more of a personal one, in a way? But it's a red flag for TERFy things too.)

Lack of Sources - If there's no bibliography, no works cited, no recommended reading, or just a really flimsy list that's rife with internet links or problematic titles, that's not a good sign.

Green Flags:

Inclusive Language - If the author refers to the reader or an unidentified person as "they" or "them," that's a good sign. Double points if it's in a context that you'd normally expect to see gendered elsewhere. There's always room for gendered language when it's appropriate, but to me, it's refreshing when an author doesn't assume the reader identifies as female.

Health and Safety Warnings - If there are notes for safe handling or harvesting of potentially harmful herbs, or warnings about health hazards (i.e. keep this away from persons who are pregnant or nursing), or reminders to be careful with fire and glass and the like, this is a good sign. To me, it means the author has a practical mindset and is at least keeping real-world limitations in mind.

Lots of Sources...and GOOD Sources - If the book has a nice fat bibliography, especially if there are mundane sources as well as magical ones, and if those sources are solid? A+. Double points if there's an index or footnotes and citations throughout the text.

Lack of "Guru" Mindset - If the author encourages the reader to take what they've learned and continue to do research on their own, that's a good sign. Encouragement of critical thinking is excellent, and also the admission that there is more than one way of Doing The Magical Thing. (Hi Lee)

Good Formatting - A book should be visually appealing, but it should also be easy to read and formatted properly, in a way that makes sense. I like to see clean margins, good spacing, and clear text. Page decorations and pictures and fancy title fonts are fine, so long as they don't make the book difficult to decipher.

(Okay, your turn!)

#witchcraft #witchblr #witchy books #book recs #For clarity: this is partly for an upcoming episode of HexPos #I have a list already.....I'm just hoping for some additional suggestions

[beekeeperspicnic]

What I've been getting up to without my computer

Since I don't have any game updates at the moment I thought I'd give you a look at my very analogue Sherlock Holmes related project!

As you probably know, the Sherlock Holmes stories were mostly originally published in the Strand Magazine which came out as floppy monthly magazines with hardback collections every six months.

A while ago I spotted a really beaten up copy of the July to December 1893 book on eBay for £8. This book can sometimes go for £200 in good condition because it's the one with...

I immediately decided to make repairing it a Project!

You can see here that the text block has totally come away from the boards.

Along the spine I was really excited to see something a little familiar being used to give some structural support! My initial thought was that this had to be a slice of a cover of one of the floppy Strand magazines.

But when I got it loose and studied it, although the paper and ink colour is the same, it doesn't actually follow the layout format of the Strand covers. It's lots of little ads, and they run off the bottom like this is part of a larger document.

Scrap of paper on left, a Strand Magazine on the right:

So yeah, that's still a bit of a mystery, but it's cool to see this scrap of paper the printers had lying around. I had to remove it, but I'm going to keep it safe.

I did some gentle cleaning of the cover using a putty eraser, just gently pressing and rolling, never rubbing. It picked up a little of the grime.

The cover had got some paint splotches on at some point in the past, and I tried to gently remove these. Part of me wishes I'd left them as I think I was starting to effect the blue colour in the area.

(Original on the right, my attempt at cleaning on the left!)

I also reinforced some of the parts of the bookcloth around the spine that were very worn with Japanese tissue, which is very thin but very, very difficult to tear.

Now here's a fun part, with some help from my cat Miss Malkin!

The spine of the book had a few problems.

The fabric which wraps around it and helps attach it to the cover/boards which is called scrim (or mull, I've seen it called both!) had totally decayed and turned into gross dust, I knew I'd need to replace it.

Although the sewn binding was sound, I could tell that the glue wasn't doing its job anymore. It was old 'animal glue' that had turned hard and brittle. I knew I'd need to replace it with something else, like PVA.

I needed to get that glue off, so I tried out a trick I saw online. I made a paste/gel out of methycellulose, which is a substance that gets used as a thickener in lots of food products. Of course I keep mine in a fancy little jar:

The gel softens the old glue without getting it dangerously damp, allowing you to gently scrape it away. I have a really satisfying video of me doing it, but Tumblr only lets you upload one video per post, boo.

Look at all this gnarly gunk!

But look at how good the text block looks with its new scrim and glue!

I got the black paper from Shepherd's in London which is a specialist Art & Conservation Paper shop (they have a book bindery too but it's closed at the weekends.) Buying it was so fun, I got to look through lots of samples and pick something which matched the original paper.

I then had to get it home half way across the country on public transport. Yaaaaay.

I was trying to think what I was going to use to replace the Strand Magazine page on the spine. In the end I decided to leave a little note, for some future person who might take the binding apart someday!

So, here it is!

I have to admit that this whole project has been a real challenge, emotionally more than anything! It's required me to be brave about messing with an old book, and to acknowledge that even where I've made mistakes, at least it's better off then it was when It arrived at my house.

#strand magazine #book restoration #bookbinding #old books #vintage books #history

[mercurygray]

The Unquiet Tide

I am happy to report that - after a little bit of work - most of my MOTA OC work is now up and available for your reading, commenting and subscribing pleasure on AO3.

Since Masters of the Air lends itself to a more episodic approach, each of these stories will take place as a series of short format pieces posted more or less in chronological order. Much of the work is being driven by prompts from readers like you! I will still be posting updates here on tumblr, but will probably be linking directly to the full text on AO3.

The three fics are collected in The Unquiet Tide, so if you're on AO3 and would like to subscribe to collection updates for easy notifications, you can now do that!

Pavilioned In The Fields - Cordelia Callaway (John Egan x OFC)

Cordelia Callaway knows planes - she grew up building them and watching them be flown, and there is no one better in the entire Army Air Forces for keeping a level head while one of them comes in for a landing in flames. If the only way she can contribute to the war is making sure all these man land safely, then there's no one else you'd want in your control tower, because she doesn't do things by halves, either. Unfortunately, that also means holding grudges - and if you're the 100th's executive officer, that means you might be in for a very, very long war.

Your Best Girl - Fred Torvaldsen (John Brady x OFC)

Someone said this war would come with donuts, and Freda Torvaldsen is here to make sure they’re right. As a somewhat new replacement for the Red Cross Clubmobile team at Thorpe Abbotts, Freda - or Fred, as she's usually called - is still learning everyone’s name (and everyone is still learning hers!) but she’s confident with time that she’ll fit right in - and a certain clarinet-playing captain is hoping she fits right in with him.

Seek To Hold The Wind - Marion Brennan (Neil Harding x OFC)

It is one thing for the Army Air Forces to send planes out, and quite another to bring them back home. Someone must be there at the end, to gather all the pieces up to make sure what has just happened makes sense. That's Marion Brennan's job, and she's damn good at it - a life spent in the Army will do that to a woman. She's also here to do it without distractions - though a certain former football coach and commanding officer is making that rather difficult.

#i have written a thing #mercurygraypresents #tds cinematic universe #masters of the air OC #masters of the air x oc #freda torvaldsen #marion brennan #cordelia callaway #also i think it's really funny that as of right this moment #fred has bookmarks #cord has hits #and marion has nothing #so that's that on the prevailing fandom taste at the moment

[moonlit-tulip]

What's your favorite ebook-compatible reading software? Firefox EPUBReader isn't great, but I'm not what, if anything, works better.

Very short answer: for EPUBs, on Windows I use and recommend the Calibre reader, and on iOS I use Marvin but it's dying and no longer downloadable so my fallback recommendation is the native Apple Books app; for PDFs, on Windows I use Sumatra, and on iOS I use GoodReader; for CBZs, I use CDisplayEx on Windows and YACReader on iOS; and I don't use other platforms very often, so I can't speak as authoritatively about those, although Calibre's reader is cross-platform for Windows/Mac/Linux, and YACReader for Windows/Mac/Linux/iOS/Android, so they can serve as at least a minimum baseline of quality against which alternatives can be compared for those platforms.

Longer answer:

First off, I will say: yeah, Firefox EPUBReader isn't great. Neither, really, are most ebook readers. I have yet to find a single one that I'm fully satisfied with. I have an in-progress project to make one that I'm fully satisfied with, but it's been slow, probably isn't going to hit 1.0.0 release before next year at current rates, and isn't going to be actually definitively the best reader on the market for probably months or years post-release even assuming I succeed in my plans to keep up its development. So, for now, selection-of-ebook-readers tends to be very much a matter of choosing the best among a variety of imperfect options.

Formats-wise, there are a lot of ebook formats, but I'm going to collapse my answers down to focusing on just three, for simplicity. Namely: EPUB, PDF, and CBZ.

EPUB is the best representative of the general "reflowable-text ebook designed to display well on a wide variety of screens" genre. Other formats of similar nature exist—Kindle's MOBI and AZW3 formats, for instance (the latter of which is, in essence, just an EPUB in a proprietary Amazon wrapper)—but conversion between formats-in-this-broad-genre is generally pretty easy and not excessively lossy, so you're generally safe to convert to EPUB as needed if you've got different formats-in-this-genre and a reader that doesn't support those formats directly. (And it's rare for a program made by anyone other than Amazon to work for non-EPUB formats-in-this-genre and not for EPUBs.)

PDF is a pretty unique / distinctive format without any widely-used alternatives I'm aware of, unless you count AZW4 (which is a PDF in a proprietary Amazon wrapper). It's the best format I'm aware of for representations of books with rigid non-reflowable text-formatting, as with e.g. TTRPG rulebooks which do complicated things with their art-inserts and sidebars.

And CBZ serves here as a stand-in for the general category of "bunch of images in an archive file of some sort, ordered by filename", which is a common format for comics. CBZ is zip-based, CBR is RAR-based, CB7 is 7-zip-based, et cetera; but they're easy to convert between one another just by extracting one and then re-archiving it in one's preferred format, and CBZ is the most commonly distributed and the most commonly supported by readers, so it's the one I'm going to focus on.

With those prefaces out of the way, here are my comprehensive answers by (platform, format) pair:

Browser, EPUB

I'm unaware of any good currently-available browser-based readers for any of the big ebook formats. I've tried out EPUBReader for Firefox, as well as some other smaller Firefox-based reader extensions, and none of them have impressed me. I haven't tested any Chrome-based readers particularly extensively, but based on some superficial testing I don't have the sense that options are particularly great there either.

This state of affairs feels intuitively wrong to me. The browser is, in a significant sense, the natural home for EPUB-like reflowable-text ebooks, to a greater degree than it's the natural home for a great many of the other things people manage to warp it into being used for; after all, EPUBs are underlyingly made of HTML-file-trees. My own reader-in-progress will be browser-based. But nonetheless, for now, my advice for browser-based readers boils down to "don't use them unless you really need to".

If you do have to use one, EPUBReader is the best extension-based one I've encountered. I have yet to find a good non-extension-based website-based one, but am currently actively in the market for such a thing for slightly-high-context reasons I'll put in the tags.

Browser, PDF

Firefox and Chrome both have built-in PDF readers which are, like, basically functional and fine, even if not actively notably-good. I'm unaware of any browser-based PDF-reading options better than those two.

Browser, CBZ

If there exist any good options here, I'm not aware of them.

Windows, EPUB

Calibre's reader is, unfortunately, the best on the market right now. It doesn't have a very good scrolled display mode, which is a mark against it by my standards, and it's a bit slow to open books and has a general sense of background-clunkiness to its UI, but in terms of the quality with which it displays its content in paginated mode—including relatively-uncommon sorts of content that most readers get wrong, like vertical text—it's pretty unparalleled, and moreover it's got a generally wider range of features and UI-customization options than most readers offer. So overall it's my top recommendation on most axes, despite my issues with it.

There's also Sigil. I very emphatically don't actually recommend Sigil as a reader for most purposes—it's marketed as an EPUB editor, lacks various features one would want in a reader, and has a much higher-clutter UI than one would generally want in a reader—but its preview pane's display engine is even more powerful than Calibre's for certain purposes—it can successfully handle EPUBs which contain video content, for instance, which Calibre falls down on—so it can be a useful backup to have on hand for cases where Calibre's display-capabilities break down.

Windows, PDF

I use SumatraPDF and think it's pretty good. It's very much built for reading, rather than editing / formfilling / etc.; it's fast-to-launch, fast-to-load-pages, not too hard to configure to look nice on most PDFs, and generally lightweight in its UI.

When I need to do fancier things, I fall back on Adobe Reader, which is much more clunky on pretty much every axis for purposes of reading but which supports form-filling and suchlike pretty comprehensively.

(But I haven't explored this field in huge amounts of depth; plausibly there exist better options that I'm unaware of, particularly on the Adobe-reader-ish side of things. (I'd be a bit more surprised if there were something better than SumatraPDF within its niche, for Windows, and very interested in hearing about any such thing if it does exist.))

Windows, CBZ

My usual CBZ-reader for day-to-day use—which I also use for PDF-based comics, since it has various features which are better than SumatraPDF for the comic-reading use case in particular—is an ancient one called CDisplayEx which, despite its age, still manages to be a solid contender for best in its field; it's reasonably performant, it has most of the features I need (good handling of spreads, a toggle for left-to-right versus right-to-left reading, a good set of options for setting how the pages are fit into the monitor, the ability to force it forward by just one page when it's otherwise in two-page mode, et cetera), and in general it's a solid functional bit of software, at least by the standards of its field.

The reason I describe CDisplayEx as only "a solid contender for" best in its field, though, is: recently I had cause to try out YACReader, a reader I tried years ago on Windows and dismissed at the time, on Linux; and it was actually really good, like basically as good as CDisplayEx is on Windows. I haven't tried the more recent versions of YACReader on Windows directly, yet; but it seems pretty plausible that my issues with the older version are now resolved, that the modern Windows version is comparable to the Linux version, and therefore that it's on basically the same level as CDisplayEx quality-wise.

Mac, EPUB/PDF/CBZ

I don't use Mac often enough to have opinions here beyond "start with whatever cross-platform thing is good elsewhere, as a baseline, and go on from there". Don't settle for any EPUB reader on Mac worse than the Calibre one, since Calibre works on Mac. (I've heard vague good things about Apple's native one; maybe it's actually a viable option?) Don't settle for any CBZ reader on Mac worse than YACReader, since YACReader works on Mac. Et cetera. (For PDFs I don't have any advice on what to use even as baseline, unfortunately; for whatever reason, PDF readers, or at least the better ones, seem to tend not to be natively cross-platform.)

Linux, EPUB

For the most part, my advice is the same as Windows: just go with the Calibre reader (and maybe use Sigil as a backup for edge cases). However, if you, like me, prefer scrolled EPUB-reading over paginated EPUB-reading, I'd also suggest checking out Foliate; while it's less powerful than the Calibre reader overall, with fewer features and more propensity towards breaking in edge cases, it's basically functional for normal books lacking unusual/tricky formatting, and, unlike Calibre, it has an actually-good scrolled display mode.

Linux, PDF

I have yet to find any options I'm fully satisfied with here, for the "fast launch and fast rendering and functional lightweight UI" niche that I use SumatraPDF for on Windows. Among the less-good-but-still-functional options I've tried out: SumatraPDF launched via Wine takes a while to start up, but once launched it has the usual nice SumatraPDF featureset. Zathura with the MuPDF backend is very pleasantly-fast, but has a somewhat-unintuitive keyboard-centric control scheme and is hard to configure. And qpdfview offers a nice general-purpose PDF-reading UI, including being quick to launch, but its rendering backend is slower than either Sumatra's or Zathura's so it's less good for paging quickly through large/heavy PDFs.

Linux, CBZ

YACReader, as mentioned previously in the Windows section, is pretty definitively the best option I've found here, and its Linux version is a solid ~equal to CDisplayEx's Windows version. Like CDisplayEx, it's also better than more traditional PDF readers for reading PDF-based comics.

iOS/iPadOS, EPUB

My current main reading app is Marvin. However, it hasn't been updated in years, and is no longer available on the app store, so I'm currently in the process of getting ready to migrate elsewhere in anticipation of Marvin's likely permanent breakage some time in the next few years. Thus I will omit detailed discussion of Marvin and instead discuss the various other at-least-vaguely-comparably-good options on the market.

For general-purpose reading, including scrolled reading if that's your thing, Apple's first-party Books app turns out to be surprisingly good. It's not the best in terms of customization of display-style, but it's basically solidly functional, moreso than the vast majority of the apps on the market.

For reading of books with vertical text in particular, meanwhile, I use Yomu, which is literally the only reader I've encountered to date on any platform which has what I'd consider to be a sensible and high-quality way of handling scrolled reading of vertical-text-containing books. While I don't recommend it for more general purposes, due to awkward handling of EPUBs' tables of contents (namely, kind of ignoring them and doing its own alternate table-of-contents thing it thinks is better), it is extremely good for that particular niche, as well as being more generally solid-aside-from-the-TOC-thing.

iOS/iPadOS, PDF

I use GoodReader. I don't know if it's the best in the market, but it's very solidly good enough for everything I've tried to do with it thus far. It's fast; its UI is good at getting out of my way, while still packing in all the features I want as options when I go looking for them (most frequently switching between two-page-with-front-cover and two-page-without-front-cover display for a given book); also in theory it has a bunch of fancy PDF-editing features for good measure, although in practice I never use those and can't comment on their quality. But, as a reader, it's very solidly good enough for me, and I wish I could get a reader like it for desktop.

iOS/iPadOS, CBZ

YACReader has an iOS version; following the death of my former favorite comic reader for iOS (ComicRack), it's very solidly the best option I'm aware of on the market. (And honestly would be pretty competitive even if ComicRack were still around.) I recommend it here as I do on Linux.

Android, EPUB/PDF/CBZ

It's been years since I've had an Android device, and accordingly have very little substantial advice here. (I'm expecting to move back to Android for my next phone-and-maybe-also-tablet, out of general preferring-open-hardware-and-software-when-practical feelings, but it'll plausibly be a while, because Apple is much better at long-lasting hardware and software than any Android manufacturers I'm aware of.) For EPUB, I recall Moon+ reader was the best option I could find back circa 2015ish, but that's long enough ago that plausibly things have changed substantially at this point. For CBZ, both YACReader and CDisplayEx have Android versions, although I haven't tried either and so can't comment on their quality. For PDF, you're on your own; I have no memories or insights there.

Conclusion

...and that's it. If there are other major platforms on which ebook-reader software can be chosen, I'm failing to think of them currently, and this is what I've got for all platforms I have managed to think of.

In the future... well, I hope my own reader-in-development (slated for 1.0.0 release as a Firefox extension with only EPUB support, with ambitions of eventually expanding to cover other platforms and other formats) will one day join this recommendation-pile, but it's currently not yet in anything resembling a recommendable form. And I hope that there are lots of good reader-development projects in progress that I currently don't know about; but, if there are, I currently don't know about them.

So, overall, this is all I've got! I hope it's helpful.

#Archive #Social #Ask #Ebooks #Infodump #the short summary of why i want to find a web-based epub reader is: #currently i'm learning to read japanese. #one of the natural next steps for me to take in the japanese-learning process is to start reading actual books. #i have some very useful browser extensions—yomichan and jpdbreader—which make reading japanese in-browser more convenient than elsewhere. #(jpdbreader in particular is probably the best training-wheels-ish japanese-reading tool i've found to date.) #however i can't use firefox extensions in non-firefox reader apps such as calibre #and browser security limits are such that i can't use them on other extensions' associated webpages either #thus i need to find a non-extension-based website i can get to display my japanese books so i can then read them with those extensions.

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley) (Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 2

Sunday finally arrives. Turns out I could only bring one big bag of my stuff with me and a carry-on sized bag since I have to take a train there. I wanted to drive out there but my parents were hesitant about me doing so. That conversation ended in a compromise which resulted in this train situation.

"Are you sure you have everything, dear?" my mom anxiously questions. She has been very iffy on this whole idea and is very worried that something will happen to me. She should know I am able to handle myself out in the world by now.

I am not exactly the girliest looking girl in the world. I don't wear a lot of fancy clothes, or do my hair all neatly. I like to just wear baggy jeans and a graphic t-shirt most of the time with my hair in a braid. I am also pretty athletic looking with broad shoulders and a good bit of meat on my arms and legs. I played a lot of sports in my life and would visit the gym here and there when I had time. I am almost kind of intimidating to people especially since I am pretty tall compared to most girls. I tend to keep a mean glare on my face but I really don't mean to. Some people say I have an RBF (resting bitch face).

Of course in a city like this, at the crappiest high school I can ever imagine, I got called a few homophobic slurs in high school. That is about the worst I have had to deal with when I leave the house. People tend to clock me immediately for being into girls and like to tease me about it. I have never had to outwardly tell people my sexuality because they all just assume. They assume right of course. I have even had girls try to experiment with me at parties when they are drunk out of their minds, but of course I pushed them all away.

I've never actually had a girlfriend though. No one I have met has ever been my type. I don't really know what I am looking for, but I know I'll know when I meet the right girl.

"Yes, I am sure I have everything, mom" I roll my eyes and let out a laugh. She scowls at me for my behaviour.

"I am just making sure. I know how you are."

"We better get going. Train leaves in about an hour," my dad says from the car. They decided he would drive me to the station so they didn't have to worry about getting my car back home.

I run over and give my mom a big hug. My sister continues to text away on her phone. She looks up for a second and I give her a wave as I walk down the driveway. I won't even try to hug her. She would hate it.

I get in the car and my dad pulls away from the house. It is only about a 15 minute drive from my house to the station.

"I don't know if there is any service out there to text us, but you know you can always go old school and send us a letter if you need anything, right?" my dad questions.

"Yes I know dad. Don't you worry."

"You do know how to format and send a letter if you need to?"

I chuckle and nod my head, "yes I do. I know how to write a letter."

"Alright I am just making sure. I don't know what they teach you in school these days."

The train station enters our view and I turn to get my small carry-on bag from the back seat. He pulls up at the entrance and puts the car into park. Typical of him to park right in the way of everyone.

I hurriedly gather my bigger bag from the trunk and quickly say my goodbyes to my dad through his window. I hate being in the way of everyone. It is very embarrassing. He gives me a fist bump and I rush into the station to wait for my train.

                                                🌻 🌻 🌻

The train ride wasn't long at all. Just slightly over an hour. The train was pretty jammed packed with people, but no one else got off at the Pelican Town train station. It was just me.

With my bags in tow, I begin to walk around the shabby train platform. I have no idea what to do now or where to go from here. I pulled out my phone to text my mom that I made it safely, but like my dad said, no cell service. I put my phone back and look up to observe the area. I must've not been paying that close attention because on my left there is an older gentleman standing at the end of the platform.

"How long have you been there?" I ask, startled. His appearance made me flinch slightly. I wasn't expecting anyone to be waiting for me.

"Just slightly before your arrival. I knew you'd be coming to town today," the gentleman answers.

Creepy, I say in my head.

I give the man a slight nod and cautiously walk closer to him.

"So you are the granddaughter, eh? Your grandpa always talked about you. All good things of course. My name's Lewis. I am the Mayor of this here town.I've actually been Mayor of for over twenty years! No one ever runs against me when it's time for an election. I like to think that it means I'm doing my job well. I like being Mayor here," He rambles, "Your mom told us you would be coming today. I hear you are going to be living at the old farm. It hasn't been touched since your grandpa passed. I bid you good luck getting it back up and running," Mayor Lewis explains. He sure does have a lot to say.

He begins to lead me away from the train platform. As we walk, he goes on and on about Pelican Town and its origins. I try to act engaged and respond as nicely as possible. I don't want to give anyone a bad first impression of me.

We finally arrive at what seems to be the town centre. Many small buildings are scattered around and are connected by a stone path. A few people are walking around at this time of day, all looking in my direction.

"This is Pierre's shop," Mayor Lewis gestures towards a two story, beige building with a bulletin board hung up on it. "You will find everything you need here when it comes to planting seeds and getting groceries. Or, you can go to the Joja Mart that is just across the river that way. Not many of our citizens go there. They are very against that place. Many of them complain about the company and the building even being there."

I raise my eyebrow at him very slightly. He seems very clueless and unconcerned about Joja Mart. I have always read bad things about that place in the news. Clearly all the citizens here have common sense about how bad that place is too.

Mayor Lewis gestures to the blue building next to Pierre's.

"This is the clinic. If you ever get hurt, or need a doctor for any reason, Harvey will take good care of you here. You'll also sometimes find Maru here too. You'll know who that is soon enough. We have very few residents here in Pelican Town."

We walk a couple more steps but he stops abruptly and turns back around and points to another building.

"I almost forgot. That is the Stardrop Saloon. You'll probably be needing to go there tonight for dinner since you won't have anything set up."

We begin walking again, but this time, we actually keep walking.

After passing by a run down bus on a short path, we get to a house that sits all alone.

"And here we are! Your new home! I will leave you to get everything unpacked. Don't be alarmed when other residents show up at your doorstep to greet you. Everyone here is very friendly."

Mayor Lewis starts cutting across the giant, debris filled field towards a pathway south of the house.

I wonder where that leads to, I question.

I walk up to the house and try the door knob. It opens with no problem.

"I really need to get a lock on this door," I say to myself.

When I walk in, I notice that there is only a small bed, an old TV, a fireplace and a door that must lead to a washroom.

"What the hell?" I put a hand on my head in exasperation. I did not expect to live like this. I let out a huge sigh and set my bags down on the bed. I should've just stayed living at home.

#sdv #stardew valley #haley x femalefarmer #haley stardew #haley #haley sdv #sdv haley #fanfic #sdv fanfic #stardew fanfic #stardew valley fanfic

[purplerakath]

A Synthesis of Adaptations - Lucas Lee & Roxie Richter

So of the seven evil exists (AN: I will cover the twins in a footnote) two of them are pretty vastly different between the book and the movie. This leads to a problem to solve in the anime, but the anime came up with a pretty clever conclusion.

(This cut text isn't for spoilers, it's just- I write essays, that's what I do. I mean there will be spoilers for the Books and The Film, but I'm talking mostly about Ramona's backstory not... the plot of the anime.)

See, Matthew is the closest any of the exes gets to a 1:1 adaptation. Being first his fight is short, the plot elements around it are easy, and the narrative purpose didn't need changing. So there wasn't any massive revision. The book's call:response format of the song number became Matthew and his Hipsters singing, but that's mostly it.

Todd is the same character, but the movie can't really go in depth on Scott and Envy so it didn't need four different fights (five if we count Envy vs. Ramona). His character is the same even if a lot of his purpose is changed. Gideon is a similar shrunk space issue while staying the same character between versions.

The Books

Lucas Lee, in the books, is a decent guy who is kind of a sell out. He's open and honest (where Ramona lied outright) and generally just- not a very interesting character, there isn't anything there. That Lucas Lee wouldn't grab any attention in a fight scene. Roxie is also painted as 'safe' with how Ramona just lets her stay in her house, and generally isn't painted as a serious concern for Ramona. Ramona isn't worried she hurt Roxie, or that Roxie wants to hurt her. The animosity is Roxie is sure Scott is cheating on Ramona. Another nonthreatening Ex (minus her absolute desire to murder Scott. She has at least that over Lucas).

The Film

Lucas Lee is a bombastic skater boi who is equal parts asshole and sincere, he doesn't seem capable of dishonesty but at the same time you kinda think he needs a punch in the face. He's loud and memorable but there still isn't anything there. Roxie is sassy and pissed, just generally mad at everyone but especially Ramona. She lashes out and is angry and there is no way this Roxie could stay at this Ramona's house. Not if Ramona has any self-preservation skills.

The Synthesis

So how do these polar opposite versions work together? Causation. Taking the books characterization, and having Ramona's haphazard romantic style turn them into the film version. Allowing Chris Evans and Mae Whitman to play fully into skater boi douchebag and feral lesbian goblin respectively. Lucas Lee was a sweet kind dopey himbo until Ramona broke his heart, and on that day he decided his best course was to be a star. Be memorable. Be unignorable. And definitely be better than Todd Ingram. So that gravitas voice Evans does is a part of the trauma Ramona inflicted. Roxie was a sweet, caring, 'there for her' friend/roommate/lover. She was the one who cared about Ramona, share things with her. We can believe that flashback Roxie just cared about Ramona's best interests and taught her Subspace things. And then Ramona left, and it broke her, and she hates everything. Everyone. Until Ramona fixes it. Creating a feral Lesbian hobgoblin who never wishes to feel like nothing again.

It's a clever trick, isn't it. Taking two characterizations each bland in their own way, but making them interesting by basically going with 'both are right' as the answer. One of the anime's better tricks.

Footnote: The Twins

Even if the Twins weren't a nightmare to cast if you're trying to keep race, age, being twins, and hair color all in mind... Book 5 isn't about them. Like Gideon they would be a nightmare to do accurately, but unlike Gideon adapting their plot isn't easy. Gideon is a self-aggrandizing control freak, making that 'he put a chip on Ramona' from 'using subspace to sneak into her mind and fuck with it' is a change, but thematically in line. Book 5 is about Scott and Ramona's love life becoming messy as Scott realizes he and Kim aren't nearly as okay as he thinks they are. Generally they just kind of don't fit into any reasonable narrative without investing too much time for at best a minimum payoff? Their best payoff would be a cool robot fight. (Which I am always for, but again, lot's of invested time.)

#Scott Pilgrim #Scott Pilgrim Takes Off #Lucas Lee #Roxie Richter #I really do like how the anime makes most of the exes better characters #even in subtle ways #As much as Todd in the movie is 'mostly the same' #he lost a LOT of small details of how is the worst kind of abusive partner #I mean aside from Gideon of course #the ACTUAL worst #But both of them fall within the margin for error between iterations

[senlinyu]

“he repeatedly raped her and then she’s fine with it” manacled is complex and without doubt a difficult read and often I feel people haven’t comprehended the whole story. Draco had no choice at the beginning of the story, or he believed he had no choice, he didn’t have the power to remove Hermione from the situation and him being her captor was better than someone else being it and actually actively abusing her and Draco also wasn’t going to let her out of his sight again until she was safe. So whilst in his possession he has to have sex with her as he doesn’t have the power to hide the fact he isn’t from Voldemort, he could hide his own memories but not Hermione’s. He then chooses to abuse her in the most clinical way because /he/ is also trying to disassociate from the act, this was evidenced in the text (he grips the furniture frames he’s terse and tense, he throws up, he disappears and gets drunk). He loves her. He didn’t *want* to rape her either. He also tried to keep it clinical thinking that was the least harmful of the harmful options for Hermione until they were forced to do the act more naturally. He tried to keep her from falling pregnant thinking at least that would be the least harmful to her ongoing emotional and physical health, until they were forced to fall pregnant. He was always choosing what /he thought/ to be the least harmful option of all the harmful options. There were no good options.

Draco was prepared to get Hermione away to safety without her memories restored until she fell pregnant and that wasn’t possible anymore. Again believing that this would be the least harmful option to Hermione in the long run, being alive, safe, not remembering their past and being able to perhaps move on from her suffering at his hands and the war eventually—but, Hermione may not have shared that opinion had she been fully cognizant of their relationship, and I’ll circle back to this.

I understand why people struggle to accept Dracos choices and Hermione’s forgiveness as what she suffers is terrible, but that is why this story is a tragedy. Their love is not perfect. They make terrible choices to save each other. Including hurting the other when it is the only option but will keep them alive. Draco didn’t think he would get to keep Hermione after the rape. He didn’t expect her to still want him if her memories returned. Like the reader, he doesn’t think he deserves her or her forgiveness. Draco underestimated, for the second time, just how much Hermione loved him. And sometimes the reader does too.

I don’t believe Hermione ‘just accepts it’, she realises the situation Draco was in, that she ultimately put him in, and yes, in the moment accepts the choices he made in order to keep them both alive, but she still struggles with that choice as is also evidenced in the text, she doesn’t just immediately get over it (she flinches, she’s afraid, she has flashbacks) but she is determined to save them both and now their baby after everything they’re both still alive and there simply is not the time to deal with that trauma whilst trying to figure out how they can escape. I think it’s something they would both deal with at a later point in their story that wasn’t entirely on page but was clearly implied in the text. Narratively, throwing in them dealing with that specific trauma (throughly) wouldn’t have fit in this particular book format. This also addresses “is the rape okay if they loved each other and had a past” no, of course not, but in the complexities of this story readers should remember the lack of other choices available to them, it wasn’t an okay choice, how can it be, but it was a necessity that prevented more harmful things (being given to someone else in the breeding programme, death if discovered the act wasn’t being carried out, torture if Dracos deception was revealed) and it was a choice that would have affected them for years to come.

I feel readers can get stuck considering what /they/ would do and how /they/ would react in this circumstance and not what /the characters/ built within that universe would actually do. Draco and Hermione are shown consistently to choose to do terrible things for their love for one another and they never love each other any less after each one. People forget or don’t realise how similar to Draco that Hermione becomes. And each time they make a choice the entire situation gets worse. By the time we reach the present they have both killed people to save each other and besides Ginny, everyone they love is dead. What would all those sacrifices be for if at the end they didn’t have each other?

Some might still say, well Hermione should never have forgiven the (perceived) choice to rape her and she could have been happy without Draco—but I would say, would she? With her memories returned, after everything she did for Draco to survive, how much she loved him, how he became her sole source of solace, the people she killed for him, the choices she made for him, would she have been happy after that without him? I don’t think she would.

The entire story is them making terrible choices. The terrible things they do for love. If Hermione’s patronus becoming a dragon indicates how in love they were then why would anyone think Hermione herself isn’t just as possessive over Draco as he is over her and they will both do terrible things for that love, and accept the terrible things the other does for /their/ love. Dracos rape is only one of the horrific things that he does among all his other atrocities, although again, most of the time he tries to do the least harmful option if there is one available (straight avadas and not torture), but Hermione forgives his atrocities because in her mind she believes that he had no choice because he was committed to fulfilling the vow to the order that she made him take, and that he was committed to saving her—just as she was committed to saving him.

These aren’t choices that the reader might make and the reader doesn’t have to agree with them, but should hopefully /understand/ why the characters made those choices. It truly is a tragedy even with it’s somewhat happy ending (another debate for which I say, yes it is happy /for them/). Stories aren’t an endorsement of the characters actions, stories don’t have to be morally correct and readers don’t have to agree with the characters choices. Manacled is not perfect romance and many of the choices Draco and Hermione make are not good or moral choices. This is not a romance meant to be emulated. Theirs is a possessive love, a dependent love, an entirely unhealthy love that consumes them both. Manacled is the tragic commentary of their truly destructive yet powerful love.

…

[roxie-roo]

Day 2: A Hermit Hollow Ficlet

@majickth hello again! I figured I'd try my hand at a style that you've been going for with the ficlets. I'll admit, it was a bit of a challenge, because I'm not used to writing in first person. But I did my best, and I did a thing! I'm actually kinda proud of it! I'll be mixing ficlets with this style, and my usual writing format, just to keep things interesting! Enjoy!

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

[ The following is a transcript of notes taken from the online journal of GRIAN ████. Certain words have been removed per request, but the remaining text is otherwise unaltered. ]

Scarland is a rickety old building, definitely a scam. Everything about it lives and breathes "Scam". Though, I suppose that's part of its charm. At least the owner certainly thinks so. I'm not desperate but,,, oh who are you kidding, Grian. Yes you are. I just need the money. That's all.

Scar welcomed me into the shop with a bright smile. The cat followed behind me for a while, before curling herself up near the back, by a curtain.

"What's back there?" I asked once Scar was done talking.

He looked back at the curtain, his grin brightening as he grabbed my arm a bit roughly and tugged me forward.

"Only the best psychic this side of the Hollow!" He declared proudly as he shoved the curtain aside unceremoniously. The fortune teller sat in a booth, and looked not unlike your stereotypical psychic. Scarves and gold and crystal balls. All bullshit, I think.

She seemed startled out of her... sleep? Trance? I couldn't quite tell. For a split second, and I might just need new glasses, I saw a tuft of fur under the scarf. She was quick to fix it and look up at me with a wry smile. Her teeth looked pointed, and her eyes had a cat-like quality to them.

"Hello, child.." her voice sounded odd. Almost like she was trying to fake it, sound older than she was. "Have you come to get your fortune read?"

"I- not really-" I tried to say, but Scar cut me off.

"Oh come on, where's your sense of fun! Go on, give him a read, Mary!"

"Mary" beckoned me over with a.. hand? Paw? "Yes, yes, come child. Let Mystic Mary see what the future has in store for you. Give me your hand."

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help it. But I held my hand out to her. She took it in both.. I'm almost 90% sure those were paws, was she some kind of cat? Either way, I gave her my hand, and she looked into her crystal ball. Red smoke faded into view, and she stared harder. I stood there, unamused for a few seconds more. Then I heard her gasp.

"Oh... oh dearie me.." she whispered. "That- that cant be good.." she gripped my hand tighter. "I fear you, young man, are in terrible danger.."

"Uh-huh..." I rolled my eyes again. I felt something sharp poke my hand. Yep. Those were claws. Great.

"You have a sister who lives here.." how did she know that? "If not for your sake or mine, for hers. Stay safe.. I fear you're in grave danger.."

I carefully took my hand away and left, but that conversation stayed in my head that whole night. What did she mean danger?

Curiosity got the better of me. It always does, doesn't it? I stayed behind to hear Scar and "Mystic Mary" talking.

"Did you really not see anything, Lizzie?" so Mystic Mary was a fake. I knew it.

"Yes! There was nothing there, nothing but... a- a glowing eye.."

"You don't think..."

"They've already found him..."

Okay, back up. Who's "they"?

What am I getting myself into here?

#hermits hollow au #roxie's writing

[calmthefuckdownalright]

"A Fall From Grace" Self-Made Angel AU

A/N: I've had this in my head ever since the Origins SMP came out but I never knew what origin to give the reader. THEN I watched Afterlife SMP on Smajor1995's perspective in which he got the "Angel" Origin on his third (I think) death. I know it's not in the Origins SMP, but I wanted to be original and using the Witch origin was just too common. That and the work it's used in is phenomenal and I can't compete with it. SO! I picked the Angel origin from the Afterlife SMP instead and found it very fitting. I hope you enjoy 😊, it's very long just saying now.

Pairing: C!Phantombur x AngelOrigin!Fem!Reader

Genre: 🍃 angst?,🌷 fluff, 💐 spice {implied. Minors keep back}

AU: Angel (self created), Character plane, Origins SMP

TW: Minor violence and some intense flirting if you catch my drift. Cursing too. Minor mental breakdowns

Trope: Enemies to Lovers

Summary: There's a new Origin in town and the Potion Businessman Wilbur has his eye on a stunning prize. But beware, every rose has its thorns and this pretty flower might as well be a whole bush despite her "angelic" exterior.

Edit: my laptop shot crap on me and I don't have the financial stability or budget to get it fixed or a new one so I'm using my reading Kindle and it doesn't like to format texts...so just use your imagination. 👍

°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•

Welcome to the Origins SMP...you're life on Earth had ended and you have been chosen to join this elaborate group of hybrids. Here's your Origin.

🕊 Angel 🕊

Wings

Levitation

Weaker in other realms (Nether, End, etc.)

When you hit a monster it is set ablaze

Unable to weild a totem of undying

Like your Savior, you are able to walk and run upon water

Any and all debuffs via potions or spells are useless against you (enchantments not included)

Warning: Deviants of the Underworld have also been chosen to walk among you. Be safe.

✨✨A New Origin has Joined the World✨✨

The message was sent out across the entire plane. Every creature set and chosen for this version of Earth received it. Everyone knew you had arrived.

"Be safe. Deviants of the Underworld walk among you."

The warning changed in your head as you opened your eyes to the new world. You looked at your hands in awe at the power that radiated through your muscles. You stood and gazed at the landscape around you. A simple forest under a blue sky.

Something felt odd and you stretched out your arms feeling a tug on your back. You looked and a pair of the purest white feathered wings grew from your shoulder blades. They were stunning and as you stretched them you could hardly believe the length.

You tucked the beautiful wings to your back in fear of drawing attention to yourself in this new place.

'First things first...tools.' You thought and got to work with crafting and managing what little resources you could gather before nightfall. You weren't new to the dynamics of the New Earths. Yet you didn't quite know what you were doing. It was like an unstoppable instinct to just survive.

'Stone stone stone. Mountains would be ideal. I don't have stuff for light just yet and I have a feeling the caves won't be as friendly as the surface.' You debated in your head and began the search.

You managed to slay a few cows and pigs, even make a pair of leather boots to keep your bare feet protected.

The only thing covering your body was a robe. A rather thick one revealing nothing but highlighting the fact you were a woman at the same time.

Maybe a cloak of some kind could be on your priority list as well with the pending decision to seek shelter or get more suitable tools. Shelter seemed like a better option. Especially if these 'deviants' were the kind you thought.

[Time Skip to Nightfall]

You'd been walking for ages trying to find your way out of this stupid forest and night was beginning to fall just as you glimpsed an opening. A valley filled with buildings. One in particular rising above the rest into the sky.

You looked around yourself trying to decide whether or not to tough it out in the wilderness or take your chances on the lit up building.

"Might as well test these babies out." You muttered and stretched your wings.

You jumped off the edge of the hill where the forest lay and struck the feathered appendages down in an effort to lift yourself. It worked as the wind rushed under you and altitude climbed.

You smiled at yourself and flapped the great wings again and again till you were even with the ground of the floating island. You landed with a huff and tucked your already tired wings close to your back.

You could hear voices. Laughter and joyous cries of celebration. For what you couldn't tell. Maybe they were deviants that you'd been warned against. But even if they were, you could easily set them aflame with a single punch. You needed shelter. Suitable food and better clothes.

The wind had flung your thick robe and sent dirt cascading all along it. The white of the fabric was no longer that and rather filthy now.

"Take a chance. It can't be too bad." You said quietly and pushed against the door to the building in the sky. Glittering light poured in it stunned you for a moment. Brighter than the sunlight, or at least more concentrated, blinded you. The voices were continuous as you held the door open and stepped in. Your eyes adjusted rather quickly and you let the door close as you stepped into the place.

It smelled of ale and good spirits. Joy and the promise of laughter. The door slammed as the wind from outside sucked it in and the whole place stopped. Time seemed to freeze as your presence was suddenly acknowledged.

The first to notice you was a fellow winged person. A man dressed in a dark blue ish purple long coat with feathers protruding from his jawline. His wings were a darker grey and his hair a bright goldish blond. He seemed older as imperfections in his skin became more eminent as the light flickered under his dark grey and white striped hat. Crows feet by his eyes and lines etching under them. A light blond stubble etched along his chin and up to the dark feathers of his jaw.

"Well this one's new." A light hearted voice rang out amongst the silence. A smaller man, a boy even, with a pair of goggles on top his head and a fur lined bomber jacket leaned against a counter. Four translucent insect wings sprouted from his back and a black and yellow patch drew your attention to his sleeve where a extremely tall man in a simple suit and long purple tail coat stood beside him.

There was an aura about the tall man that unnerved you. His mismatched eyes and the crown that sat crooked on his head gave off an intimidating glow about him. Especially with the floating purple particles about him.

"Finally another girl!" A muffled voice next to you made you jump in your own skin. A fellow female stood in a tank of water, gills growing from her neck and flashes of pinkish scales reaching down her arms.

"I'm sorry?" A slightly annoying British voice jumped over the air and you spotted a small blonde man, again possibly a boy, with a red sleeved t-shirt and a small pair of red feathered wings, much too downy to be considered real ones, peeked over the head of the winged man who spotted you first.

"Who are you?" The dark winged man in the strange dark attire asked cautiously bit with a light smile.

"Clearly she's the new Origin we heard of a little bit ago." A voice came out of nowhere, behind you, and a shot of adrenaline flashed through your veins as you whirled around and summoned the iron sword you had been able to craft with what little you'd been able to find.

The tip aimed straight towards a partly transparent man's throat. His skin was deathly gray and two bright green eyes shone under the shade of a mess of soft looking brown hair.

Your wings flared out defensively causing wind to fly up with them and send a drink or two crashing to the floor. Fear ran through your blood. The man before you had his arms raised in a mock surrender. His yellow sweater was even transparent, torn and weathered in places to just barely reveal a white undershirt. A white collar poked over the edge of the sweater at his neck.

"Wilbur! What have I said about sneaking up on people?" The older man's voice was stern at the ghostly figure.

"Right right, don't. Yeah I've heard it before Phil. Don't get your feathers in a bunch." The ghost, or Wilbur it seemed, leaned to one side and used a finger to push your sword point down as he outstretched a translucent hand with a sort of halfway bow.

"Wilbur S. Phantom." He said cooly as if he hadn't just scared the shit out of you.

You ignored his hand and began to lower your wings and sword as you looked around.

The tall man in the suit had jumped over the counter and was crouched down behind it while the short boyish one with the translucent wings had begun to sort if float to the roof of the establishment.

"Wil you're just scaring her more." The man with wings, Phil, came over and straightened Wilbur up and pulled him aside.

"Hello, I'm sorry for my son's behavior. I'm Philza Elytrian. This is the Pub." The man with the dark wings said kindly with meaningful smile and an outstretched hand. You sheathed your sword and tucked your wings tightly in again.

"Y/N Angel." You said and glanced over all the other hybrid mutants before you.

"I'm Nikki Merling!" The muffled voice behind the glass said excitedly. Her voice was soft and welcoming now that you fully heard it.

"Hi.." You responded, A smile twitching in the corners of your mouth.

"Of course you've met Wilbur. He's a Phantom and tends to abuse his abilities to phase through walls. He's our Potions guy since he can gather ingredients undetected. And my son." Phil began to introduce everyone individually starting with a very sparkly man with stars for limbs it seemed.

"Scott Starborne. He's basically a God so mind not to piss him off or he might explode you."

"Jack Manifold Blazeborne. Immune to heat and a native to the Nether."

"This is Tommy Avian. He's my youngest son and my apprentice since his wings have still not fully grown in." Tommy shook your hand and the downy red wings on his back attempted to stretch out but it only made them curl back tighter. "We think something went wrong with his genetic make-up." Phil whispered to you.

You nodded and smiled at the Avian briefly before meeting the rest of the crew.

"Tubbo Bumblebee. Can float around, poison in his fingers, and is sort of like a flourist around here."

"This is Ranboo Enderian. Enderman abilities combined with his abnormally natural height. He's a good guy to have in your corner."

"Jschlatt Arachnid though most call him-"

"The Fragrance Man. Pleasure to meet you Angel." The Fragrance Man bowed with a smile and the pungent smell of him hit you like a train.

"Please don't call me that." You said with a cringe.

"Moving on," Philza said quickly and lead you to a seemingly empty corner. Then you looked down.

"That's Charlie Slimecician, he's basically a slime but half human. He gets small after a few hits." A blobby green figure stood at the height of you ankles and waved.

"And that's Sneegsnag Inchling. We just call him Sneeg. He's super small and likes to climb on people so watch out if you ever go to fly. You might have a hitchhiker."

"It was one time Phil. Get over it!" Sneeg called up to the much taller Elytrian. No doubt having experienced this 'hitchhiking.'

"Fundy and Technoblade aren't here right now but Fundy's basically just a fox and Techno looks like a pig but was given the Rabbit Origin. You'll know them when you see em." Philza turned back to you and you looked around again.

"Do you maybe have anything for clothing? I don't think this thing is going to last with my flying." You asked sheepishly and gestured to the already tattering robe.

"Ummm..." Phil's face flushed slightly and he glanced around. "Maybe Nikki does? She's more you're speed." He led you to the tank with the Merling. Nikki smiled and nodded.

"It's been so long since another girl was around!" She smiled widely.

Maybe this new plane of existence wasnt going to be so dangerous after all...

[Time Skip to a few Days Later]

Since meeting the Origins you hadn't had much going on. Nikki helped you with clothes, lending you several pairs of leather pants and a few linen shirts that fit fairly well. She never wore them because they weren't waterproof and mostly used them when it rained and she wanted to go walking. Which was hardly ever.

Rain wasnt 'rare' in the valley of The Pub (which you later learned had been renamed The Pube with a 'silent' e by one Wilbur S. Phantom.) But she hadn't wanted to go walking ever. The rain was so exciting that she never thought about it.

"So have you thought of where to build your house?" Nikki asked, her head bobbing in and out of the water cautiously.

"No not really. I found a cave up in the mountains but it's a bit far. Thinking about building right here by the lake but my neighbors aren't very appealing." You grimaced as you spotted the Phantom of the land. He was sitting under a tree with a brewing stand beside him and a book and quill in his hands. His translucent body sent a shiver up your spine as you redirected your attention back to your friend in the water.

"Wil really isn't that bad. He's just a flirty dumbass. He's quite nice really." Nikki assured you and traced shaped in the dampened grass by your boots. Your feet rested in the cool water of the lake with your leather pants rolled up halfway to your knees as the water ran over the bare skin.

"He's still creepy." You said and stretched out your wings as the sun warmed the white feathers.

"It's just cause he's a ghost. I'm telling you, he's nice." Nikki insisted. Her voice was sorrowful as she mentioned the word 'ghost.'

"How is he even Phil's son? He doesn't even have wings." You asked and began to run your fingers down the soft feathers of your wings.

"Well...that's more something to ask him really. It's not my story to tell." Nikki said and ducked under the water, leaving you impromptu to regain her ability to breathe.

"Alright then..." You sighed. Your curiosity tugged at your gut and a bold motive pumped through your heart. While Nikki composed herself you might as well start branching out. Its not like you can stay friends with one person forever.

You huffed and grabbed your boots and started walking across the grass towards the phantom man.

"Well hello. Come to tell me I'm creepy to my face?" Wilbur asked with a sly smile as you approached, not bothering to look up.

"You heard us?" You asked, a wave of embarrassment washing over you.

"No, I read lips." Wilbur said and looked up at you at last. The green of his eyes were stunning without the rushes of adrenaline finding them dangerous. He'd been sneaking up on you for the past few days, earning multiple swords swung at his head. All of them careful not to actually cut the poor man.

"Hmph. Well I actually came over to say I'm sorry for swinging blades at you and ask you a question but since you're clearly busy I'll leave you be." You said and started to walk off.

"Wait!" Wilbur shot to his feet and reached for your arm as you walked into the sunlight. Flames erupted on his skin and began to consume him.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCKER SHIT!" Wilbur exclaimed and leapt into the lake with a surprisingly graceful dive. Steam billowed off the water's surface as you turned around at the noise.

"Wilbur?" You asked to the air. The smell of smoke tinged your nose. "Oh shit you're a phantom!" The realization hit you.

"Yeah no shit." He said as his head resurfaced, water dripping from the brown mess on his head and down his face. "I was just trying to stop you, Jesus Christ." He muttered and climbed out the water, shaking out his head as the shade of a tree cast over him, preventing him from burning again.

"Why?" You asked with a desire to laugh. How could he forget he burned in daylight so easy?

"Because, like you, I'm a curious nobody who wants to know things. So what-" Wilbur paused as he spotted your face. "Are you...are you laughing at me?" He said with a darkening tone.

"Maybe a little." You snickered. Your wings trailed the ground and twitched with amusement.

"Oh hush it you sunloving bitch! I didn't exactly ask for it." Wilbur held a smile of his own back at your childish attempts to not mock him.

"So sorry Danny Phantom, I just think the fact you don't even understand your own abilities is quite hilarious." You sniffed back a laugh and wiped your eyes.

"You're one to talk. You can hardly fly properly." Wilbur shot back, a conniving smile playing his translucent lips, his arms crossing over his chest.

"And what would you know about flying?" You set your hands on your hips, flaring your snowy white wings out slightly as the sun basked over your features.

"Enough to know you flap too hard and too often. Enough to know you should let the wind carry you rather than your own feathers or you'll tire the muscles out before you can ever find a decent landing spot." Wilbur leaned against the oak tree causing his shade.

You fumed as you recalled the many landings you'd had to take. The aching of your wings every night when you went to sleep.

"Yeah? And how do you know this?" You crossed your arms.

"Because, Angel Darling, I used to fly." Wilbur pushed off the tree and snapped his fingers as he walked to the edge of the shade. Just where the border of the sunlight stopped.

With the snap of his fingers a pair of mangled and tattered wings the color of Phil's feathers protruded from the Phantom's back. Bones stuck out of the tips and a bat like skin had been stretched over the limbs, bone poking through at odd angles.

"They don't work anymore sadly, but they were beautiful back in my prime. Now they're just a decoration that gets caught on branches." Wilbur ran a ghostly hand down one of the wings, its stillness bothered you. Usually wings would twitch or flex at the touch of rather anything. Even Tommy's faulty wings stretched or curled each time a branch or shoulder grazed them.

"Wilbur, I'm sorry." You said after a moment of marveling at the damage. "What happened?" You asked cautiously, reaching out a hand into his shade.

Wilbur quickly made the wings disappear with a roll of his shoulders.

"Wouldn't you like to know. Only Phil and Tommy are allowed to know my 'tragedy', as people call it. Family only, if you understand." Wilbur smirked and ran a hand through his brown hair.

"Anyone else who knows has sworn to never tell a soul and anyone who does say will be severely punished." Wilbur growled and your hand retreated. If he wanted to be a prick when you were only wanting an answer then fine. Two can play that game.

"Awww, is the little Potions master embarrassed of his fall from grace?" You mocked with a glare. "A simple 'A bad accident' would've sufficed asshole." You flared your wings to leap off. Wilbur's eyes darkened as a scowl etched his translucent features.

"You're pretty prickly yourself for such a pretty Angel." Wilbur sneered.

"Whoever said all Angels were nice Ghost Boy?" You snarled and beat your wings and leapt into the sky sending wind blowing the leaves of the tree he sheltered under askew and releasing the sunlight upon him once more. You beat your wings proudly as you flew off listening to the string of curses flowing from the burned ghost's lips behind you.

[Several Days Later]

You hadn't run into Wilbur again since you burned him. You'd spent the last few days gathering wood from various trees and taking flying lessons from Phil who's wingspan was similar to your own. Yours being slightly larger "due to your youth." As Phil told you.

It was going wonderfully. You'd been able to gather enough iron to make yourself a chestplate with the guidance of Jack who knew a thing or two about molten stuff. You paid him in a few nuggets of gold and a new flint and steel, should he get trapped in his homeland ever.

Nikki had helped you start building by the lake, on the exact opposite side of Wilbur, and even connected her little underwater cavern to a tank in your house.

Not only had you not run into the ghostly man, but you hadn't even seen the translucent nuisance. It was unnervingly quiet at the lake and maybe he just stopped going out in the day. He did catch fire at even the smallest ray of sunlight so it wouldn't entirely surprise you that the man was keeping to the covers of night.

Tonight however, so we're you. You needed bones for bone meal for your farm so you could feed your cows and make some bread for yourself.

The moon was full and fog had rolled in on the valley of The Pub. You had gone far away from where the lights of the settlements glowed and only had the light of the moon to guide your feet as you listened for the rattling of bones or the string of a bow being stretched.

Courtesy of The Fragrance Man, you wielded a diamond sword. You'd crafted it yourself but the enchantments laid on its blade were all the Arachnid's doing.

Heat radiated off the sword and a glimmer of a protective shield was cast over the diamond weapon. It was supposed to set fire to anything it touched, much like your own fists could with a punch, and it was spelled to be practically unbreakable. In exchange for a favor in the future, the sword was all yours for as long as you wanted it.

The Fragrance Man had denied calling you by your name and still settled for just calling you 'Angel.' The man was a priest, sort of, so you didn't really worry too much about it. He might be creepy but you could set fire to anything you punched. That made you dangerous and him susceptible to your attacks if he crossed the line.

So, with your new sword and chest plate, you set off into the night in search of the undead. You had succeeded as a rattle echoed off in the distance and you shot towards it in a flurry of quick jabs and slices while ducking from arrows. It wasn't long before the skeletons fell and you could collect their cargo.

With a few skeletons gone you decided to head back to your home by the lake. Then the screams of frustration reached you. You were slightly conflicted to help.

The only people crazy enough to get cornered by a horde weren't ones you necessarily liked. But you had time and a weapon fully capable of helping. Not to mention some badass wings to knock a few skulls around with.

"Fine fine. Let's go be a hero I guess." You muttered and leaped into the air with a blow of your wings. You soared high above the fading fog as you got closer to the end of the valley and peered down to the ground with the little light you could use from the moon. You couldn't hardly see the figure surrounded by the monsters but you could hear them.

"You idiotic assholes just get back! Where the fucking Hell are you all coming from?!" The frustrated voice screamed into the night. You smelled bread and spotted a helmet of iron as you swooped down cautiously.

"Phil?" The helmet looked up as your winged shadow cast over them from the moonlight. That's when you realized who you were saving.

"Far from it Ghost Boy." You glared and dived down with your sword swinging flames upon the monsters of the night. "I'm better."

Wilbur scoffed and straightened his helmet and fought the deviants of the night at your back, skillfully ducking under your wings as you threw monsters away where your sword could not reach.

Wilbur's silence as he fought with his own weapon, an iron sword with more than a few cracks, was amazing. Not so much as a grunt escaped him as he swung with effortless movements. Before long dawn was rising and the sky helped vanquish the horde.

Wilbur was quick to send himself invisible once the sun rose though you could still see him due to the helmet on his head and the bread vanishing down what must have been his mouth.

You acted out of mercy and drew your wings over his back and head as the sun climbed up the sky. "Relax Mr. Invisible. You've been through enough tonight." You muttered as he flinched under your shading feathers.

"And what's with the change of heart? Deciding to be a good girl for once?" Wilbur teased with a menacing smile as he changed back to his translucent form.

"I don't know, would you like to burn all the way home?" You narrowed your eyes with a challenge. Wilbur stuffed the last bit of bread in his mouth in a silent no.

The two of you walked in silence back to the lake, you lowering your wings as you opted for a forest edge as soon as one was available. Wilbur 'ghosted' from tree shade to tree shade while you stayed in the sunlight of the valley. When the Pub's settlements were close enough Wilbur stopped, stopping you with him out of quiet surprise.

"Why did you help me?" He asked suddenly.

"Why shouldn't I have?" You countered.

"Whatever happened to 'Not all Angels are nice.'?"

"Never said I wasn't. You'd just pissed me off."

"Because I didn't answer your question?" Wilbur scoffed with a slight of sarcasm.

"Because you were an ass about it. I get it, I'm new. I don't know anything about anyone. Especially you. Especially when you avoid and dodge every attempt I make at getting to know you or being an ass about it and starting an argument." You crossed your arms and tucked in your wings frustratedly.

"It's called flirting, Darling Angel." Wilbur leaned against a tree and removed his helmet to allow a plethora of brown curly hair to fall across his emerald eyes.

"You suck at it Wilbur Soot." You snickered and slipped under a tree yourself as the sun beat down in an unrelenting heat. "And please don't call me Angel. The Fragrance Man does that enough as it is." You huffed with an easy smile.

"Schlatt? Seriously? That's who you're worried about? I can literally phase through walls undetected. I could've been following you all these days watching you bathe or something." Wilbur snickered.

"That's perverted Wilbur." You screwed up your face and suddenly felt very self conscious.

"I said I could. But I would never because you're right. That is perverted and I'm not an abuser of my abilities much to you and my father's beliefs." Wilbur insisted "Believe it or not I'm a rather good gentleman." Wilbur said with a joking smile. You snickered quietly.

"Right right. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say I believe you. I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable on my own again, thanks Wil." You say with a snap of venom. What would one of your conversations be without a little poison.

"There's no wall you can hide behind, Y/N. I can forever find you." Wilbur's voice echoed like it wasnt actually there. You stared at him but his lips didn't move to match the words you heard.

"What?" You asked, placing a hand on your belt where the sword sheath and sword from The Fragrance Man was attached.

"I said, that wasn't my intentions. I said I was sorry." Wilbur phased his way through the narrow chain of sunlight between the two trees you stood under and was soon placing a chilled hand on your forehead much to your very notable surprise. "Are you alright Ang- Y/N? You're sweating like Ranboo in a storm." Wilbur joked with a smile, quickly correcting himself from the uncanny nickname.

What was he always smiling for? He was a ghost with a supposedly 'tragic' demise. He was dead. He was regarded with caution anywhere he went. His potions business was a scam and a half and his cheeky comments and demeanour had no doubt gotten him into many instances of making enemies. What did this man have to smile about so often for?

"I have family and friends, Y/N. That's why I smile. I'm dead but I can still be with them and they know I am." Wilbur answered. You hadn't realized you'd said the first of your thought out loud. Or that you were sitting now. The heat from the sun on your iron chest plate was suffocating. Not to mention it was tight inside of it from moving as much while fighting through the night and hardly any at all during the walk. Your wings dropped to the ground and for once they felt like the heaviest things on this plane of existence.

"Y/N? What's wrong?" Wilbur's voice was edging on concern. His hands were freezing on your overheating skin. Skin. Where was he touching you? You squeezed your eyes shut and concentrated. Your hand was under one of his, and his other was holding your face as sweat seeped from your boiling skin.

"The chestplate." You huffed and pulled at the collar of it reaching frantically for the leather straps holding to your body on your sides. Your, now shaking, fingers fumbled with the leather on one side. By the time you'd gotten one undone Wilbur had managed to get the two on the other side. He quickly undid the last strap and the chest plate was heaved off your shoulders by Wilbur, careful not to crush your wings.

"Better?" He asked, his hand still resting on your hand. Grasping it even.

You nodded and flipped your palm to grip his. "Just give me a second and I'll be fine." You huffed and closed your eyes tightly. Breathing in and out and focusing on the coolness of Wilbur's hand.

The heat calmed in your skin until the sweating stopped. You opened your eyes after a moment or two to see Wilbur staring at you with those vibrant eyes.

"What? Have I got a cut?" You asked and reached your free hand to your face. Before you could check yourself Wilbur was holding up your connected hands. That's when you realized.

"Oh shit I'm so-" you started to unravel your fingers from his in a rush. Your wings flared as cold spread through your still heated face. A softness enveloped your lips as you gathered what was happening.

Wilbur's eyes were shut as his face pressed to yours. It was an odd feeling, being kissed by a ghost.

You eventually just shut your eyes too, embracing the action with the little hesitation, pressing back to the cold lips. Wilbur's hand tightened on yours and his other translucent limb reached to your wings, caressing the feathers softly and causing a shudder up your spine.

Wilbur let you breathe for a moment from his impromptu kiss before removing his hand from yours in the grass and lifting your chin to fully face him.

"Is this okay with you?" He asked, his voice shaky and unknowing. Surprisingly something inside you lit up at the question. He'd caught you off gaurd in a vulnerable state from the overheating. Managed to cool you down and was still asking if you were okay.

"Yeah..." You breathed and Wilbur leaned over your body against the tree, trailing a cold ghostly hand up your white wings earning a small gasp before gently reconnecting your lips. He was curious as his hand explored the feathers, each small movement making them twitch and relax under his translucent fingers.

Each flinch of your feathers parted your mouth a little at a time before it was too tempting to explore. Wilbur's tongue was so cold it was like having an ice cube numb your mouth. It was...different. You hadn't kissed anyone since coming into this world and this was one Hell of a first.

Wilbur's hand on your chin trailed up your jawline and reached into your hair, massaging and playing with your scalp and causing an intense cold to spread over you and numb your senses almost completely. His hand on your wings traveled closer to your back where the skin and downy feathers met your shoulder blades. The holes you'd cut into your linen shirts had been a tad big but it just made it easier to fly.

"Wilbur, what're you doing?" You breathed out as he drew away for you to breathe. He didn't need to being dead and all.

"I-" He looked into your hooded eyes and his hand drew away from your back, the one exploring your hair stopping its soft movements. There was a rustling behind him and before either of you could react someone burst through the bushes.

"Jesus mother of Christ foliage is thick as fuck." Tommy's bright accent busted the tension between you and Wilbur and neither of you could move as the small winged man spotted you. You sat with your back to a tree and Wilbur, Tommy's older brother, hovering over you incredibly close with your chest plate thrown aside.

"Tommy! It's not was it looks-" Wilbur started to rush out and leapt to his feet to reach his brother who was frozen in place.

"WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" The Avian yelled out and both you and Wilbur flinched.

"Y/N that's my fucking brother what the fuck?! Nikki's been lookin for you and you're out here catching the birds and the bees with my-" Tommy started into a compulsive and loud rant before Wilbur phased under the sunlight and placed an invisible hand over his mouth, reducing it to muffled yells. Tommy pulled away with a disgusted tone of voice.

"Don't fucking touch my face you fucker, I don't know where those hands have been." Tommy gagged at the thought and your face turned a fiery red, the heat returning but this time manageable against your slightly numb skin where Wilbur had touched and kissed you.

"Tommy I swear, I just got overheated and he helped me get the chest plate off that's all!" You rushed to help explain. You couldn't see Wilbur or feel his presence. Did that asshole just leave you to deal with his slightly traumatized brother?!

The anger you'd previously held over and dissipated for the ghostly businessmen returned in full force.

"That-" Tommy started but you cut him off in a stern voice, one built up with anger at Wilbur. Anger that kept rising. After what he'd just done the guy was just gonna skip out on you because someone caught him doing something embarrassing?!

"Tommy just shut it. He helped me get a chestplate off after I got too hot. That's it and for you to think otherwise is foolish. Your brother and me aren't even friends." You spat and went to go retrieve your armor piece.

Tommy stayed silent as you stood straight up and took a deep breath. A chill went through your chest as you felt a pair of eyes watching. These not the unbelieving ones of Tommy, but ones of hurt and slight hatred that couldn't be seen.

'Stop it Wilbur. You know it can't happen.' You shot towards the ripple of light as grass swished under invisible feet. It was a mistake helping him as much as you did. A mistake letting him kiss you.

At the end of the day he was just a flirty asshole who couldn't help but only think of himself. He was a scammer. A coward. The exact opposite of what you would ever want. A businessman of zero shame.

"Do you want a fly home?" You turned back to Tommy with a flare of your large wings.

"No. No I'm out looking for sugarcane." He said, his eyes still slightly in shock at what he had witnessed.

"Right then. Tell Phil I said hi." You muttered and shouldered past the small boy, careful not to hit him with your wings and you reached a sunny clearing in the trees. You waited till Tommy had walked away into the forest before you wrapped yourself in your wings and let a few hot tears run down your freezing cheeks.

"stupid stupid stupid." You heaved out over a choked sob. You could feel his presence lingering around you. Wilbur was still around. Still watching you as you broke down. You were an idiot for believing he could actually be nice.

"Get over it now, Y/N. He's the worst deviant you'll run across." You utter loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear. 'Anyone' being Wilbur. You heard a branch crack and a bush shift as something unseen walked into it. Then you spread your wings and leapt into the sky, careful not to beat too hard and exhaust your energy too soon.

"Wait!" You heard him below you. You could see his ghostly figure clearly in your mind reaching out to the sky though he would surely be invisible from the sunlight.

You soared up above the clouds and let the tears rain down freely. What the Hell was wrong with you?! The guy had been nothing but a creep since your first day here and you just let him kiss you! Let him touch your wings like they were his own. God you felt so stupid. And poor Tommy, he had to see it. Or the end of it at least.

Your mind slowly began to thaw from Wilbur's icy touch. That must've been what caused your submission. The cold that emanated from even the slightly touch from him. Hell knowing him he probably did it on purpose.

Figured out from eavesdropping on you telling Nikki you'd be going out tonight. He probably got himself cornered by monsters on his own and lured you there knowing you'd help. Then he'd get you alone in the forest and take advantage of you with the numbing of the cold he inflicted.

It made your blood boil deep in your chest at the thought. Wilbur Soot would pay for his intentions. Good or not he left you to deal with HIS family. The one he claimed was the reason he could still smile after everything that happened to him.

Curse to his handsome face. To his soft skin. His beautiful and dorky smile. Curse to his swagger in every word. That accent that could make the coldest heart melt. The charm woven into that silver tongue of his. That tongue. To Hell with that tongue.

{LET THE WARS BEGIN}

🕊💀🕊💀🕊💀 [Time Summary of Several Months]🕊💀🕊💀🕊💀

Catalog of the Burning Wars, written by Philza Elytrian

The first attack: Y/N Angel set fire to the trees surrounding Wilbur S. Phantom's home removing all shade from his land for several blocks. She has also drained his side of the lake with the permission of Nikki Merling in agreement to link the lake to a river system going all across the lands of The Pub.

The retaliation: Wilbur S. Soot in retaliation destroyed an upcoming crop field in the process of growing from Y/N Angel.

The Declaration of War: Y/N Angel announced at The Pub on August 9th that Wilbur Soot Phantom was now her enemy and anyone who got in her way of 'making that piece of shit' pay would be as well.

The Accused: As claimed by Wilbur, he hadn't heard of her declaration of war. Merely assuming that the burning and draining of his land was a minor upsetting and his retaliation was to be the end of their feud. He has since not discussed any details of the newly declared war.

The Attacker: Y/N Angel has only disclosed that Wilbur has shamed her in an unforgivable way. She claims her takes on friendship with the Potions Businessman had been rebuked with a key try in taking advantage of her new presence to this world. Y/N has quoted

"Wilbur Soot might be a gentleman to his friends, but to me he is merely a fiend and a deviant that has wronged me in more ways than one. I will no longer tolerate his creeping of my person or the advances he seems to wish to make."

Over the course of the ongoing war, now named The Burning War after the intense use of fire from both sides, multiple scrimmages between the two parties have occurred. All of which taking place in a forest or plain far from the Pub as both parties have agreed;

"Our fighting is amongst the two of us and no one else should pay for our anger towards each other."

Signed,

Philza Elytrian, Scribe of The Burning Wars 💀🕊💀🕊💀🕊[End of Time Summary]💀🕊💀🕊💀🕊

It'd been months. Nearly a year since you declared war on Wilbur and he was no closer to admitting he had done wrong. Over the many negotiations held between the two of you nothing came of it.

Wilbur merely yelled he didn't know what he'd done and therefore had nothing to apologize for. You being the stubborn woman you were, time and time again explained it to him. How he left you to take care of his problems. Their problems. How he vanished on you the second things got a little uncomfortable then tried to play it off like you were the one at fault for it.

You hadn't shared your theory on his intentions that day. His theoried plan you had formed on the fly back home.

How could you? You weren't dumb, you knew it was only an assumption your angered mind had formed. Knew that if you said it and it was false your shame would kill you. Yet you couldn't think of another way to tell him you thought he was a creep when the only 'proof' you had of this claim was that he scared you every once in a while from passing through a wall to jumpscare you.

And now you were back here. In the Pub. Your neutral ground. You'd told Phil, the common ground and mediator between the two of you and Wilbur. As usual Phil told everyone to avoid the place but you knew they were closeby. Sneeg would be hiding behind the bottles of alcohol stacked on a shelf or Tommy perched on top the Pub with Tubbo. Ranboo maybe if he could get a pearl high enough. Jack might be hiding in his little lava hole listening in on rare occasion.

This didn't stop you from trying to negotiate with Wilbur in terms of ending this war. You didn't even know what you wanted from him. A surrender and an apology seemed like the best solution but you knew deep down it wouldn't be enough. He would continually piss you off on purpose. He would dig at you till you cracked and sent an arrow flying at his head or a wing swinging straight into his translucent chest.

Much to your delight, Wilbur was solid as a rock when not in his phantom state. Anything could hurt him just as it could a regular human. You didn't want to kill the man no. You were angry but not that angry. No matter what you did you couldn't wipe that smug smile off his face every time he riled you up.

You clenched your fist now as he walked in. For once he used the doors of The Pub. You sat at a table with your wings brought high up and tucked in tight. The dumbass was eating an apple and each step he took closer to you highlighted a new accessory to his outfit.

A slim fitting tail coat the color of the darkest blue fit snuggly over a blue and lime striped vest and reached down a pair of equally dark blue slacks with a perfect crease down the middle. He wore a circular pair of glasses slightly tinted over his stunning green eyes. Bone shaped clasps reached across the seam of his vest and black slick shoes rested and tapped the wood floor on his fading feet. His hair was combed out but as unruly as ever as it curled over one of his eyes slightly.

He took a large bite of his apple, never breaking eye contact with you as he pulled out the chair across from you, then threw it in your direction. To which you caught it.

"Y'know I had a great deal comin' up for today. Schlatt was gonna buy my whole stock for ten stacks of gold blocks and a half a stack of diamonds. Technoblade would've gladly taken the gold and traded me a stack of diamonds or even some Netherite ingots for each block." The man leaned back and set his ghostly fading feet on the wooden table.

"Your stock is just potions of leaping and some fire res mixed in wth exactly two potions of regeneration." You pointed out. "You and Ranboo literally had to scam Tommy into drinking one you were so much of a failure."

"Yet who's wearing the tailored suit here?" Wilbur examined his fingers before turning back to you with a smug grin.

You scowled at him, debating your response. "The coward and the joke of this negotiation." You spat after a second of letting him think he won. At your words, Wilbur's smile twitched and he swiftly swung his lanky legs off the table and leaned forward, his hands grasped together under his chest as his face reached near the middle of the table.

"And what have I done right or wrong now to deserve such a merciful meeting Angel Darling?" The man said with a venom of sarcasm escaping his silver tongue. Your blood began to boil.

"Absolutely nothing. You don't deserve my mercy Wilbur Soot but here I am offering it." You leaned towards him as well letting your wings cast a shadow over the two of you from one of the lanterns above.

"I don't even know what I could've done wrong to even need your 'mercy.'" Wilbur said and those green eyes of his darted across your face.

"For starters you burnt down my wheat field." You said.

"You burnt my trees. And drained the water from my land." He countered.

"You were a prick and I wasn't going to deal with it any longer." You spat back.

"And how could I have offended you so badly that it warranted so much ash on my land?" He asked, knowing full well your answer.

"Tommy. That day in the forest. You GHOSTED me Wilbur!" You stood from your chair with a bang of your fist. You were tired of repeating this story. "You let me deal with a problem that was OURS by myself with someone who YOU knew how to handle! The boy still doesn't look at me correctly Wil! He thinks I'm some manipulate bitch who tried to get with his brother and cover up for it!" You yelled. This one was new. You hadn't told Wilbur about Tommy being reclusive around you. How he never met your eyes or returned your greetings. How the boy would simply just turn away from you and run or pretend he was busy.

"Angel-" Wilbur was on his feet now and standing before you with a pleading look. The nickname sent you spiraling till that final cord of restraint snapped.

"That's NOT MY FUCKING NAME!" You yelled and grabbed the man by his suit and burst the two of you to the balcony of The Pub. With a single arm you held Wilbur's writhing body over the edge. You'd learnt to organize your negotiations meeting at sunset or dusk in case something like this happened. Which it usually did but never at this magnitude. You'd never lost control like this.

Your wings were flared and tensed, your arm, stiff, at Wilbur's neck as you held him dangling over the edge from a VERY dangerous height. He choked as you tightened your grip. (Which was odd considering he didn't need air to breathe...)

You flinched at his noise. He didn't breathe air. You were actually causing damage. Possibly permanent if you didn't let go. So you stumbled back and released him on the wood of The Pub. You fell onto the ground and quickly cocooned yourself inside your own wings and held you head as the terror of permanently hurting someone sunk in. Hurting Wilbur.

All of this. This war. It was pointless. It was just YOUR anger. You were the only one angry in this battle. Wilbur hadn't DONE anything. Just being a prick but nothing worth lashing out the way you had. Tears streamed down your face and sobs wrecked your throat as you realized the purpose of this war.

The dumbass had stolen your heart. He'd charmed his way into it with each negotiation. Each smug remark and sly smile. Every wink and quip that would've made you roll over laughing had you not been so angry. This frustration you'd felt with every interaction with the ghostly man wasn't out of anger or rage from him dumping you with Tommy, though you were still pretty mad about that. It was from the fact you couldn't help but smile at his words after you were done fighting and you were alone. How you dreamt of being on peaceful terms and enjoying his company more than hating it.

Good God....you were in love with him. Obsessed with him even. He haunted your dreams in a way you didn't know anyone could. His words rang in your head with every movement of your body.

'It's called flirting, Darling Angel.'

'Y/N? What's wrong?'

Every small interaction when you hadn't been fighting was some of your favorite memories. God you'd messed everything up. He probably hated you. No. It was definite he did. You nearly just dropped him off a floating island over a small quarrel that could've been solved from maybe a small amount of yelling and an apology.

Something touched you. Something freezing cold but welcoming with the gentleness of its caress. Your feathers twitched involuntarily under that icy glance of contact. They relaxed and your body betrayed your want to be alone as one of your wings relaxed and allowed itself to be moved enough for Wilbur to poke his translucent body into your feathery cage.

You accustomed your 'cage' to shelter both of you as you wiped your face. The tears of knowing the man you possibly loved would surely hate you.

Wilbur had removed his glasses and coat. A long white sleeved collared shirt ran down his arms though the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows exposing the pale ish grey of his arms. And the scars. God the amount of scars on his arms was frightening but you could hardly react as more tears, hot with embarrassment, flooded your vision.

"Y/N...I'm sorry for what I did to hurt you. God I never thought it would go this far." Wilbur's gentle voice was like a melody to your ears. Euphoric and angelic. The apology soothed your anger enough for you to finally be able to focus on composing yourself.

"Wilbur I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have-" You started but felt a chill run down you as something cold was once again your tear stained lips.

Wilbur. Wilbur was that 'something' and it was a blessing. You didn't waste anytime returning the favor. His tongue was quicker to break past your defenses and soon it was numb again inside your mouth. Just like it was that day in the woods, except this time no one would interrupt you and anyone watching or listening wouldn't have a single thing as your wings hid the two of you from the world. Wilbur pulled away and cast a gentle touch up your face till he was cupping your cheek.

"Y/N, I never want you to apologize to me again. I did this. I caused you to lash out because I wanted your attention. I wanted you to look at me like you do Nikki. But more. I wanted to be more than your friend and I started my goal the only way I knew how. Provoking you until I was your main focus." Wilbur panted as he looked into your eyes. Those green irises practically glowing under the amount of emotion swimming in them.

"I can only pray that you forgive me. Forgive me for every wrong I've done and let me fix it. Allow me to make it up to you." He begged with a crack of his voice and you couldn't help but smile.

"Wilbur Soot...you are the single most aggravating man I've ever had the luck of meeting." You said through tears and pulled his collar towards you and kissed him hard.

This time you were going to surprise him. As soon as you felt his mouth part you sent in your tongue against his.

A gasp from him into your mouth sent your head reeling as you tugged at his vest and his hands ran through your hair.

The chill exploded a new kind of warmth through you and you smiled against the lips of the coldest man you knew.

"Angel, I love you." Wilbur said as you broke the kiss for a breath of air.

"I love you too Ghost Boy." You panted out and smiled as he kissed you again. Not the kind of comfort as before. But the one of a man who missed you. You. Not his enemy on the battlefield but you. The angel crying before the ghost. The kiss lingered and you felt something change.

You grabbed Wilbur's hands and lead him to the ledge you'd nearly dropped him off of before jumping with him before he had a chance to even register what was happening. With a smile you pulled him close with a kiss of your own and stretched your wings out, letting the wind lift you up and soar the two of you to a forest. The one where all your battles were waged.

And the one where the final negotiation of surrender would end without anyone to see the declaration of The Burning Wars coming to a close and you finally opening to Wilbur S. Phantom in more ways than one and him doing the same.

{Epilogue}

A few years passed and Wilbur had finally answered all your questions about him. His accident that cost him his wings and everything you might need to know about phantoms. His favorite food happened to be bread since it was easy and very relaxing to make on days he wasn't busy getting potion ingredients.

Which he also changed up. You become his partner at the Potion shop which was quickly renamed Fallen Angel Potions after the fact of Wilbur's accident and your origin.

The Fragrance Man was returned his sword after it was cut down to very poor conditions seeing as he was officially top of your creep list and owing him a favor was not on your bucket list.

It was nice. Blissful having Wilbur by your side. It was a marvel that the two of you had ever fought considered how close you were now. The old battlefield had flourished and was now overgrown save for a small patch in the middle which had been flattened by multiple rendezvous after work or just in your free time with Wilbur.

His trees were replanted and the lake basically turned into a whole wheat field around the trees of his dark 'mansion' and your birch cottage.

After a while, Philza Elytrian earned a daughter-in-law and Tommy Avian grew out his wings large enough to be able to glide into the ceremony as Wilbur's best man. Peace at last.

"I love you Angel."

"I love you too Ghost Boy."

°~•°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~°~•

Ho. Ly. SHIT. This is the single longest one shot I've ever done on any platform and on any account. It got so cringe in the ending I'm sorry. I just wanted to get it over with I was so close.

Honestly I was gonna make it multiple parts but I've already got another fic lined up for a part 2 so I didn't want to do that and multi task. Its shitty at some parts I know but those parts are a LOT better than the original bits that were there.

It's slightly edited as I had to keep reading it to see where the fuck I was going with it most the time. I really enjoyed writing in Philza because what's a Wilbur Soot fic without a good Dadza?

Right then, watch out for my next piece. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you shitwads later! Love ya, I do I promise! 💙💙

#osmp #origins smp #c!phantombur #C!Wilbur soot x reader #Fem!Reader #minors dni #Tw: Implied 18+ #tw: violence #angst #enemies to lovers #origins smp wilbur #c!wilbur soot #phantombur #wilbur soot #c!Phantombur x reader

[distractedducky]

Okay here is my one and only HC

The N. Makes everyone forget stiles

Like not completely but…

Lydia remembers breaking up with him but not really why- it had something to do with his car maybe?? But not really, they were friends… better off friends?? Something about?!?

she doesn’t remember that they stayed in contacts- that up until a few months ago they texted every day.

Scott calls home all the time because stiles would bitch at him about it , but Scott can’t remember the last time he talked to stiles not really and somehow that means he hasn’t been calling his mom- or checking in with his pack… somehow.

Derek pines, thinks the Jeep is him struggling to let go- reality is stiles left it in his care- trusted him with it and derek can’t quite remember why he doesn’t want anyone else driving it.

Eli forgets his uncle- a man he always looked up to and is suddenly desperate for a support he has lost- and anchor he depended on.

Stiles did leave BH

He is living on the east coast but he hasn’t cut everyone off- he just doesn’t realize no one is texting him back- he had fail safes for this! but, well things had been calm for so long- he would know if something was wrong right… right?

On and on

That’s is the idea

{this theme works throughout part one of the movie I am now writing in my head, the N has been manipulating things for a while- just a little- he is eliminating a threat (stiles) after all.}

People can fix it however they want post end credits but this is the theory I’m using for why stiles is not only not involved but why everyone is so drifted and out of character. Not that they wouldn’t have drifted apart (I don’t subscribe to the stiles is the glue mentality) or changed in 15 years but not to this degree. Also that boy (stiles) was traumatized and paranoid- he knows we’re his people ended up and keeps realistically up to date with their well being even if he wanted to leave BH behind. He’s not stupid.

Anyway yeah! You have a Chaos entity- instead of contradicting your own lore to make a wolffox instead have its him messing with everyone’s perception of reality and what’s really going on. Make them confused and concerned about what’s REAL. Have those inconsistencies , yes, but have periods to show us the why’s in what’s going on.

Hell make Derek’s death the catalyst for the illusion to start to unrvel or something .

Notes: Couldn’t go to bed without typing this out

Feel free to do whatever you want with this but I think it works so I’m going to just cement it into my mind as reality.

Ps. I honestly don’t really care about all this, but this fucking movie exists for some reason when it really didn’t need to and has added nothing to the fandom that did not already exist in some format so my brain won’t let me let it go until it’s fully decided that all the thoughts have been had about some show I invested to much of my time into in the mid 2010s.

#teen wolf #teen wolf movie #here I go again #i fucking guess #if your wounded why I used N it’s because I can’t spell #teen wolf stiles #stiles stilinski #teen wolf fix-it #sorta #derek hale #eli hale #sheriff stilinski #lydia martin

[xoxo-hazelnut]

Introduction

Hiya! This is my account for horny shit, which I think is really cool and good and keep up the good work. My bio and preferences are below the cut

DNI: Minors or those who wish to interact with them. Homophobes, transphobes, anti-SW as well but they're probably gonna interact regardless :/

Alright, with that out of the way, Hi! I'm Hazel (she/her, 21yo). I'm a transfem lesbian (I call myself lesbian for gender reasons but bi/pan with a strong sapphic lean is probably more accurate, if you're not comfy with that I understand) and am pretty kinky sometimes, hence this account.

One of my goals with this space is to make friends/acquaintances around here, so please say hi, I don't bite unless you ask~ DMs/asks are completely open, you're welcome to flirt, tease, request flirts or teasing from me, or anything else you want. I'm happy to do ERP too

Stuff I'm into:

This isn't a comprehensive list, I honestly have very little I'm fully not into seeing, but these are some of the things I really like:

Hypnosis/Mind control, Bondage, Dom/Sub, Cum

Stuff I'm not into:

Pregnancy (I enjoy the silly meme stuff just nothing super descriptive at me please)

This list will likely be updated as I think about more things, but this is what I've got for now. If you're unsure about anything and want to engage with it with me please shoot a DM first.

Tags I use:

I'm sorta working out a tagging system as I go so this one will also undergo updates probably. I'll try to go back and retag posts I've already reblogged when new ones come up, but sorry if I miss something.

#hornt - I use this one for a personal collection of pornographic (or otherwise unchaste) content.

#horny (txt/img/vid/gif/art) - in conjunction with the previous, to specify format for better searching. Formats are text/photo/video/gif/drawn art.

#my txt - Specifically text that I've written. Other formats may be added.

I don't expect these ones to be particularly common but I'd rather keep it safe for anybody who doesn't want to see this sorta content if and when I reblog it (I don't condone such behaviour irl, but sexual fantasies can be weird so here we are), so here are some more serious tags:

#warning - A more general tag for any content I'd consider worth warning about, to be used in addition to the following

In addition to the above, the tags #consent warning is for situations where consent is dubious (or actively avoided) and #violence warning for situations where threats of violence are made or acted upon.

But uh, yeah that should be it, thanks for reading all the way and I hope you enjoy what I have here <3

[crowfromfoggyforest]

Guys, you need to read this poem. Rumbelle shippers, but also everyone else. (Rumbelle analysis below)

Is/Not by Margaret Atwood

Love is not a profession genteel or otherwise

sex is not dentistry the slick filling of aches and cavities

you are not my doctor you are not my cure,

nobody has that power, you are merely a fellow/traveller

Give up this medical concern, buttoned, attentive,

permit yourself anger and permit me mine

which needs neither your approval nor your suprise

which does not need to be made legal which is not against a disease

but against you, which does not need to be understood

or washed or cauterized, which needs instead

to be said and said. Permit me the present tense.

[and apparently there is a second part, unfortunately i can't find a correctly formatted version of it - but i guarantee you this block of text is worth reading:]

I am not a saint or a cripple, I am not a wound; now I will see whether I am a coward. I dispose of my good manners, you don't have to kiss my wrists. This is a journey, not a war, there is no outcome, I renounce predictions and aspirins, I resign the future as I would resign an expired passport: picture and signature gone along with holidays and safe returns. We're stuck here on this side of the border in this country of thumbed streets and stale buildings where there is nothing spectacular to see and the weather is ordinary where love occurs in its pure form only on the cheaper of the souvenirs where we must walk slowly, where we may not get anywhere or anything, where we keep going, fighting our ways, our way not out but through.

End of poem. I don't know if it's irrationnal how much Rumbelle i see in this. Please tell me you see it too. For me, the person talking is Rumple in season 5b. He has accepted who he is, that Belle can make him a better person, but not a completely different one. Now it's up to her to accept who he is, that she can't fix him. That he will always fight for what he wants, and not only the right way, that cruelty and anger are a part of him. And she also has to accept that she can't always be good and pure herself (- aka forgiving herself for pushing Gaston into the water). She has to stop forcing their love to be heroic and good. Instead, she needs to allow them both to live as they are, to allow their love to exist as it is.

And in the second part... you can't tell me you don't see Rumple in this. His whole life has been about grappling with who he is inside, who the world has convinced him he is: A coward. His life has made him a cripple, but he doesn't want to be like that anymore. He can't be a saint either, because he can't live with the vulnerability. He has decided that he can't live without his dark side - yes, there is good in him, but also evil, he will never be only one or the other. You could also say he has decided that he won't be defined by his past wounds anymore. He is now facing who he is, entirely, and time will tell if he really still is the coward everyone said he was. And he won't force anything, nor will he look into the future to see what their love will become. They're not in a fairytale anymore, they're in the grey real world, where life isn't as glorious and where they have no guarantee what they have is true love. No guarantee for a happy ending. But they still have to keep going, enjoy what they have, live in the present. And not solve their problems by trying to change who they are, but by accepting it, by accepting all their issues and working with and through them.

#please read #i put too much effort into this #poetry #character analysis #rumbelle #ouat rumple #once upon a time #ouat s5 #relationship #analysis #love poem #margaret atwood #text post

[fanfics-for-dayz]

Late Nights (Wooyoung x Reader)

~This is my first time writing an idol fic/ a fic in general in a very long time, so I didn’t really know how to format it sorryyy

Pulling into the parking lot, Wooyoung carefully shakes you awake. As you stir he can’t help but think how cute you look sleepy with your hair sticking out from under the hoodie you have on. He makes his way out of the car first making sure to open the passenger door for you.

“Why thank you my good sir” you say with a giggle

He gives a slight bow “Anything for my passenger princess” looking back up at you with a wink.

You walk into the burger joint hand in hand, relishing the warmth of each other within the cool ac of the restaurant. You go to order and sit down at a table waiting for your food when you feel your phone go off with a text.

“Bring me home some food and I won’t tell Joong, and tell Wooyoung he isn’t slick with this fake body he made in bed -Jongho”

You let out a light chuckle as Wooyoung returns with a tray of your food, “Oh who was it??” “Jongho, you know you could’ve told him you were going out instead of quote unquote sneaking out, which by the way he says you’ve obviously done a horrible job at, I mean really a fake body?? Would’ve been easier to just have him cover for you Woo, you know they won’t question him, especially in a sleepy state.” He groans and brings a hand to cover his face, “Aw man I really tried my best, I even waited till I thought Joong went to sleep” “Woo you know that man almost never sleeps, he takes like a power nap and says ‘Rise and grind’” You both chuckle at the thought of the sleepless captain. You turn your attention to the food on the table, a burger, fries and nuggets in front of you, while Wooyoung has the same, but a size larger than your portions. “You remembered my order?” Wooyoung pauses and turns his attention to you, “Of course I did baby, hamburger with mayo instead of mustard, no pickles, no tomatoes, grilled onions, add bacon with a four piece nuggets, fries and your favorite root beer” he says while sliding the drink towards you and a nod of his head. “Now come on and eat pretty, it’s gonna get cold.” Maybe it was the bare minimum for him to remember your favorite food order, but that doesn’t stop you from thinking that Wooyoung was the best boyfriend in the world. It wasn’t just this instance, it was little actions he’d taken in your day to day lives that proved he was the best. His reassuring texts on his busy days that he loves you and couldn’t wait to see you at home, his light taps on your hand to ground you when you’d space out, always keeping you close in public spaces being worried you’d get lost, no matter what you were doing or where you were he’d make sure to look for you first. Wooyoung had set you as a priority, not as someone he’d taken for granted as others had done before him. Loving Wooyoung was like a breath of fresh air, pulling you from the daily routine that was killing you. He brought love and uncertainty which was scary at first, but with his reassurance and passion he made it all exciting and new, much like this spontaneous midnight trip you were on.

You and Wooyoung spent a good two hours just talking, eating, and your laughs echoing through the empty restaurant, much to the annoyance of the graveyard shift employees, but who cared because you two were just happy to have each other's company. A buzzing of his phone cuts him off mid sentence, he answers and puts the phone up to his ear, only to quickly pull back from the yelling coming from the other end.

“Jung Wooyoung you better get back to the dorms now or so help me I’ll put you on dishes for the next month!! We have an early schedule tomorrow and I can’t have you falling asleep on me!! Tell (y/n) I’m sorry, I love them, I miss them, and that they’re dating an ABSOLUTE moron, be safe” “love you too hyung” then the end dial rings out. “Well we expected Joong but not our beautiful hwa” you say with a laugh.  Wooyoung sighs as he runs a hand through his hair and puts down his phone to look at you, “Yeah hyung’s probably right I should get back, but I love spending time with you love bug”.

He reaches across the table to hold your hand and just stares at you, memorizing every detail of your face as if it’ll be the last time he sees it. The both of you sit there in a comfortable silence, just taking in each other, no words are spoken but anyone could see the love being held between the two of you right now. One could even hear the employees from afar “Could be us but you play too much Mark” “Haechan if you don’t-”. You gently squeeze his hand signaling him that you were ready to go as he throws out the trash and pulls you with him to the door.

The ride back home wasn’t too long, but with Wooyoung he can make 10 minutes feel like an eternity. Songs felt like they went on forever as you sang along together, listening to him sing was something you loved along with so many people around the world, but when it was a song he directed towards you and only you, it only made you fall in love with him more. As if on cue the song ended as the car pulled in front of your place. Taking in each other's presence for the last time of the night you lean over the center to hug him, he rubs your back and kisses your head for what feels like hours until you pull away and properly kiss him. For a moment time stops and there is only you and him in the universe, the smell of his cologne  filling your senses and all you know is Wooyoung. He pulls away gently and watches as your eyes flutter open, he smiles adoring the way you always look after a kiss and ruffles your hair lightly. Wooyoung watched and waited as you walked through your door until he took off back to the dorms. As you settle down into bed your phone pings with a message from Wooyoung.

#wooyoung #wooyoung x reader #wooyoung x you #wooyoung x y/n #jung wooyoung #ateez x gender neutral reader #ateez x reader #ateez x you

[nitecourtfairytail]

Heavy Hearts

Y’all. Formatting on tumblr SUUUUUUCKS. Just fyi. So if you wanna read this in slightly prettier format here’s the Ao3 link

Anyway, here’s chapter 9. EXPLICIT CONTENT

Rhysand is a busybody, some background info is given, Gwyn apologizes.

This is my first ever attempt at writing smut, so if it’s bad, tell me 😅

Pronunciation: Aby- AH-bee; Ommi- OH-me (like in German)

Ch. 9 Heavy (POWERS)

Rhysand couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. It had barely been two weeks since the incident at Rita’s. They were all safe and together at the townhouse (minus Mor-she texted last night saying she’d gone to Rita’s and went home with someone ‘Don’t wait up! 😉’). But the revelations from last night had his mind reeling.

He shook his head, finally vacating his cozy fortress of blankets to grab his emergency toiletries from his car. He and Az had taken over Mor’s room and Cass took the pull out couch to himself.

As he skulked down the stairs trying to not wake anyone, he overheard Cassian and Elain talking in the kitchen.

“How much I love him already. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For some kind of sign that this is a dream or a fantasy that I made up to cope with reality.”

He couldn’t help but smile despite her anxieties. He had always hoped his brother would find someone to love him how he deserved to be-plus he and Cass already loved Elain like a sister. Caught up in the moment, he didn’t notice the front door creep open. But then something moved in the shadows out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head to see Azriel trying to sneak back in the house.

“Where the fuck were YOU?!” He whispered. “I thought you were out back smoking.”

Azriel tried to hide something behind his back, straightening up. “I just ran to your car real quick.”

“What’s behind your back?” Rhys demanded. All pretense of keeping the two in the kitchen from knowing his presence gone.

“What are you talking about?” Azriel asked. His back kept to the wall as he crept sideways along it.

“You’re the one that’s been stealing the mousse out of my car?! I knew it!” Rhysand ran toward him, but Az was able to turn the corner into the kitchen, keeping him at bay behind the table, a wry smile on his face.

“Uh…..morning?” Elain offered, unsure of what to make of the scene unfolding in front of her. “Is this how you two usually wake up?” She asked neither one in particular.

“This bastard has been stealing my mousse and blaming it on Cass for months! I finally caught him in the act!” Rhysand ‘answered.’

“Well to be fair I’ve also been using it.” Cassian shrugged

Rhysand gaped at him. “You’re both bastards! I can’t believe this!”

Elain shook her head, walking toward the door to the back porch with a refilled cup of coffee in hand “it’s too early for this. What I said last night stands. We want our security deposit back, so watch the damages.”

~~~~~~

Ten minutes later Azriel stepped out to join her. He had grabbed a blanket from the living room and wrapped it around her shoulders as he walked up behind her.

She gasped in shock, obviously deep in thought, but quickly melted into his arms.

“You scared me.” She pouted

“I’m sorry. You looked cold out here.” He rested his chin on her shoulder while rubbing her arms through the blanket to relieve any chill.

“I think I might warm up faster if you were under the blanket with me.” Her cheeks flushed when she realized she’d said it out loud.

“Elain…are you flirting with me?” He asked with a wicked grin.

She bit her lip “Maybe”. He motioned for her to stand up, taking the cream blanket with light blue polka dots off of her and draping over himself. He held the corners out wide as he sat down, wrapping around her waist and pulling her to sit on his lap. The both of them giggling like children.

“Better?” He asked, nose rubbing the column of her neck.

“Much.”

They sat together in content quiet. Resting her head on his shoulder and breathing in his scent as he peppered gentle kisses to her own. Her hands on his, rubbing small circles with her thumbs.

Azriel sat forward, wiggling his hand between the edges of the blanket to grab Elain’s cigarettes on the table. Bringing one to his lips, he lit it, inhaling a deep drag. Elain turned her head toward him, slipping her fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck. She captured his lips in her own- stealing the smoke from his lungs before tilting her head up and blowing it away from them.

“Fuck that was hot.” He whispered as Elain giggled at his wild eyes.

The door to the porch swung open to Rhys, Feyre and the twins filing out.

Az closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Is ten minutes alone really too much to ask?”

“It is when Cassian and Nesta decide to shower together.” Feyre shivered, as if recalling the last time she’d been in the same house as them during one of their escapades. “I swear he sounds like a fucking animal. And not like ‘oh sexy. He’s an animal in bed’ but like ‘that’s an actual wild animal rutting in the forest’. It’s terrifying.”

“No, what’s terrifying is how much we’re going to have to pay to get that bathroom professionally cleaned.” Elain whispered to Azriel who tried to hide his snicker as a cough.

Feyre eyed the giggling couple “So, you never actually told us how you and Az met, Elain.” Feyre asked curiously. “I mean…. Obviously though Rhys and Cassian, but how did this” she waved her hand between the pair “come to be?”

Elain smiled as she recalled their embarrassing meet-cute.

“I did not say ‘beautiful ass’. I was sober enough to remember that I said ‘absolutely spectacular ass that I stopped to bask in the glory of’.” Azriel corrected the first words Elain ever heard him speak regarding herself. “I stand by that statement.”

“You really are an ass man, aren’t you?” Elain teased.

“I told you-I know what I like.” He responded by pinching her bottom under the blanket.

She gasped, staring at him wide eyed. “I can’t believe you did that!” She jutted her bottom lip out, pretending to cry.

“I’m sorry baby. Was it too far?” He kissed her temple, smiling as she melted into him.

“No. Just don’t make a habit of it.” She gave him a playful glare not too secretly hoping he in fact would make a habit of it.

“Don’t you have work today, brother?” Cassian and Nesta finally joined the group outside, the former clapping Azriel on the shoulder as he passed.

“Nah. I’m on paid leave while they investigate the ‘incident’ with Jurian. According to Perry they finished the investigation days ago, but he’s been holding them up to give me a little extra time off.” He tightened his hold on Elain, noticing she’d started dozing off. “So..Come on sleepyhead. I think it’s high time I take you on a real date.”

He slid his arm under her knees, standing up to carry her into the house as she squealed in surprise at the sudden movement.

~~~~~~

She wasn’t sure how to dress for this date. He refused to give her any information on where he was taking her. With autumn fully upon them now, the days we’re getting cooler. If she wore a dress she’d get cold, and while she’d love to be up against him all day, it would be uncomfortable being chilly for so long.

She chose a simple, but cute outfit. Black leggings with a white floral pattern, a simple white v neck and a black knit cardigan. She topped it off with her favorite pair of lace up heeled boots that were comfy enough to walk in for hours, but gave her ‘spectacular ass’ a little extra boost.

She threw on some eyeliner and mascara and plumped up her hair before walking downstairs to meet Azriel at the door. Rhysand gave him one of his ‘emergency’ shirts- a dark blue button down that almost looked like he was sewn into it.

“M’lady” he bowed, holdin out his arm for her. She curtsied, placing her hand on his arm “m’lord. They laughed at their own antics and walked out the door.

“So. Where are you taking me for our first date?” She skipped excitedly beside him.

“To start off, we’ll be taking a walk through the park.” He smiled at her. “Starting simple.”

“I think that sounds perfect.”

~~~~~~

“That spot right there-just past the water fountain” Azriel pointed to the trail across from them. A small playground with a few see saws and various creatures on springs in between the two “that’s where you kissed my cheek that day. I was already crazy about you, you know” he wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her temple. He’s never been this open about his emotions. It was truly frightening how easily the words came outz

“I had a feeling” she playfully nudged him with her shoulder.

They kept on down the walkway when Elain spied the larger playground. “I’ve always loved swing sets. We didn’t get to play on them much as kids, but once I moved out I’d often find myself at the park in the middle of the night. I’d swing for hours just staring at the stars.”

“Well let’s go then.” He pulled her toward the awaiting play set. The few parents there with their children eyeing them warily.

They sat in the two farthest swings-away from little ears. “What about you? Did you and your brothers go to the playground as kids?”

He twisted back and forth in his swing “Once my parents got me, yeah. But before then..”

She smiled solemnly at him, but couldn’t think of what to say.

“I’ve never told anyone other than my brothers and Mor what happened-my life before this one.”

“You know you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to-“

“But I do want to. I want you to know everything about me. And I wanna know everything about you.” He grabbed her hand as they rocked themselves back and forth on their respective swings.

“What happened? I mean-if you want to talk about it.”

He huffed a laugh as the corners of his lips tilted upward ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise, love.” He teased. She rolled her eyes.

“My mom lived on the continent. She met a guy, fell in love, and a few months in she found out she was pregnant with me…and he freaked. Turns out he was married with two kids already, and mom was his side chick.”

Elain kept silent except for a grunt of disgust.

“He tried to convince mom to abort me, but she refused. So he ended up having to tell his wife and she was obviously livid, but stayed with him for whatever reason-he was well off so it was probably for his money. Anyway, I was born, and mom got sole custody, but my sperm donor would visit occasionally. The last visit, he drugged her-she passed out for HOURS. And when he left he made sure to leave the door open. Apparently I had just learned to crawl and wandered outside. It was the very beginning of spring so there were still little patches of snow and ice; it wasn’t warm enough to melt it all away.”

Elain listened in horror imagining a months old baby alone and cold.

“By the time someone found me, I’d been outside so long I was blue.”

“You poor baby! Why would he do that?!”

“So he could either get rid of me or paint my mother as neglectful and vie for custody. Whether it was true or not that she was neglectful, he had the money to pay for a better lawyer…or pay off the judge I’m not sure which. He won. And I was sent to live with him and his family.”

Elain squeezed his hand, rubbing her thumb over his own.

“I wasn’t wanted by them. His wife hated me. I was kept in the unfinished basement, with a single sheet and a mattress. They gave me just enough food to survive, and that’s it. No lights. No nothing. Just darkness. His other children would come down and “play” with me-poking and prodding and hitting for their own entertainment until one day they decided to play with fire…literally.”

“Oh my gods. No.” Her eyes grew wider with fear.

“Their parents weren’t home, but one of the neighbors heard me screaming. They came running and that was the first time any of them even knew of my existence. They called the cops and took me to the ER..that’s when I met my REAL dad-the one who raised me. He was the cop assigned to my case.”

“He found my birth mom- wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the court. But when I was taken from her she fell into a deep depression and turned to drugs to cope. So my parents, Drakon and his wife Miryam adopted me. Helped set up my birth mom with a rehab center, and we’re still in contact.” He smiled at the thought “Myriam-Ommi, taught me how to speak, how to read. I was the second to join the family, after Rhys. Aby-dad, transferred here not long after Cass came along to give us a fresh start.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. The rage she felt toward his birth father and his family was getting harder to control. How could someone could be so cruel to their own child?!

“How old were you?” It was all she could think of to ask.

“Six.”

She let out an angry laugh. “I’m glad you had Drakon and Myriam. And even though they’re the result of something horrific, and I know you hate them..I love your hands.”

He tilted his head, a cautiously curious look in his eyes. “No one has ever said that before.”

“They’re all fuckin idiots then. Your hands are beautiful.” She brought the one she was holding to her lips. “They’re gorgeous, and strong, and gentle, and so very sexy. Just like the rest of you.” She emphasized every adjective with a kiss.

“I think we should get out of here.”

“Why?” She asked, furrowing her brow. Had she done something wrong?

He lowered his voice to a raspy whisper, pulling the chains of their swings together “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be this turned on in front of innocent eyes.”

She stood up immediately, her cheeks blazing, pulling a chuckling Azriel behind her.

As soon as they were back on the walkway, he grabbed her from behind resting his chin on her shoulder and taking wide strides to not trip her up. Even he had to admit it was disgustingly cute how happy they were together.

~~~~~~

“Are your parents still around?” They were seated at a tiny little hole-in-the-wall pizza place that Azriel claimed was the best in Prythian. Sitting outside waiting for their food to come, Elain decided she wanted to know anything he was willing to tell her.

“Yeah.” He grabbed her hand across the table. “Ommi wants to meet you something fierce. Says she’s never seen me this happy before, and wants to thank the woman responsible.”

“Really?!” She beamed

“Yeah” he smiled to himself for a moment. “Aby too. He’s got a bit of a rough exterior-kinda comes with the job, I guess- but he’s always been kind to me and my brothers.”

“I’d love to meet them.” She told him sincerely. She’d never met Greysons parents. He claimed it was because his mom was agoraphobic and dad was a workaholic, but who knows how true that was. Either way, she was excited that the people who loved Azriel and gave him a better life wanted to meet her.

~~~~~~

“If I know my brother-and trust me, I do-he’ll be showing her his favorite restaurant right about now.” Rhysand whispered to Feyre.

“You know you don’t have to whisper, right? Like, they’re nowhere in sight, and even if they were they’d be across the street from us..” she gave him a look as if to say “there’s no way you’re that cute and that dumb.”

“True, but it adds to the intrigue.” He winked

Feyre rolled her eyes at him, but couldn’t contain her smile. “Why are we spying on them anyway? I don’t understand.”

“Well , Feyre, Darling, I still can’t shake the feeing that something awful is going to happen.”

“So why don’t you just tell them that instead of being weird and watching their date. This feels wrong.” She watched as they laughed and smiled easily across the table from each other. Watched as they tenderly held each other’s hands, resting them next to their plates and napkins. It felt like watching a romantic drama, but she knew the actors.

“I knew it.” Rhysand’s voice pulled her from her haze.

“That’s Gwyn at the table behind them. I recognize her from the police station.” He said flatly

They watched, enraptured by the scene unfolding before them.

~~~~~~

“Az, sweetheart…do you know that woman?” Elain whispered, frightened.

She had been staring at them for several minutes, her large teal eyes unblinking. Her face neutral, but those eyes-they shone with malice.

Azriel turned to see who was making his girlfriend so uneasy- “LOOK OUT!”

Rhysand dashed across the street avoiding vehicles and bikes, Feyre right on his heels.

He tackled Azriel. “What the fuck, man?!” Azriel stood up, pushing his brother in the chest.

“It looked like she was reaching for a weapon!” Az followed his brother’s outstretched arm to finally notice Gwyn standing at the table behind them, her hand reaching inside her coat.

Gwyn’s eyes grew wide “No!” She finished pulling out her wallet to show everyone “I was sitting here long before Az and his girlfriend got here, but I wanted to apologize for the incident at the police station! I was gonna pay their bill!”

“Why did you look so angry, then” Elain asked, checking Azriel for any bumps or bruises from his brother’s tackle.

“I was just deep in thought..I’ve been told I have resting bitch face.” Gwyn glanced around the small group gathered and sighed.“I know you have no reason to trust me or even like me, but, can we please sit down and let me explain?”

Elain placed a gentle hand on Azriel’s arm. “I think we can do that, right?” She looked at him earnestly

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Have a seat.”

Rhysand, Feyre, and Gwyn pulled up chairs for themselves.

“Go on, It’s okay.” She gently said to the redhead.

Gwyn took a deep breath “Alright. Well.. Honestly, it starts when I was a kid. My mom, sister and I were kicked out of our community. Mom grew up sheltered and was very naive, and was taken advantage of-my twin sister, Catrin and I being the outcome..but when the community elders discovered not only were we born out of wedlock, but from a ‘forced joining’ (as they called it), she was considered impure and not allowed back.”

“Mom was lost. She never lived without her community and she longed for that kinship again..and when Cat and I were three, she found it. Unfortunately…it turned out to be a cult. Their teachings really fucked with my head. But what’s worse, mom and my sister..they started doubting the leader. So they were killed. I found them the next morning, and had a full on psychotic break.

I was only sixteen…found alone three days later in nothing but a slip, two hours from where I lived. No car, nothing. I have no clue how I got there to this day. But I received medical care, got on medication, and have been able to live a mostly normal, but quiet life.”

She looked to Azriel, “Our boss-Helion-he’s a good man. A good person, and he gave me a chance at a normal job that I enjoyed. He’s been aware of my mental issues since day one-I’m very open about them on job applications. Anyway, I ran into some financial trouble at home, between my student loans, and some issues at home (that my landlord refuses to fix) and couldn’t afford my meds..and I had another meltdown.”

“So I was just the person you latched on to?” Azriel asked thoughtfully

“Yeah.” She said bashfully “You were always nice to me when you came in the office.” Gwyn looked at Elain “Plus he’s hot, so, there’s that.” Elain nodded profusely while giggling.

Azriel flushed as she continued “I guess in my mixed up head that meant you were my boyfriend, and Jurian, the asshole that he is took advantage of my mental state and goaded me further. I’m so sorry, Azriel. I truly can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”

“It’s okay, Gwyn. Now that I know what happened, I understand. You’re back on your medication now?” He needed to be sure she was okay.

“Yeah. Helion’s wife, Sergeant Otoño, has been kind enough to make sure I have enough until I’m able to afford them again, and they’ve been helping me with my financial issues.”

“I’m glad” he told her honestly.

Elain piped up “you know” she said more to herself than anyone else “I think you’d fit in with our friends pretty well. We all have tragic backstories-at the very least you’d be able to commiserate.” She gave Gwyn a warm smile. “I have the strangest feeling you and my sister, Nesta, would get along really well.”

The two women smiled fondly at one another before Gwyn stood.

“Thank you so much for your kindness, Azriel, Elain, and I’m sorry again for frightening everyone.” She laid down some cash on the table. “For your dinner. You two look happy together.”

“Keep it.” Az said. You can make it up to us by hanging out sometime. Maybe one of our weekly ‘framily’ dinners.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.” She began walking off, calling over her shoulder “I’ll see you around work sometime. It was nice to meet you all!”

“That was really sweet of you, Az” Elain gazed at him lovingly, leaning closer for a gentle kiss. Without turning her head, she pointed at Feyre and Rhysand who were carefully trying to extract themselves from the situation.

“You two” She growled, startling even Azriel. “I forgive you for the intrusion. I know you were simply worried about us. But next time, for Cauldron’s sake, please just call.”

~~~~~~

No cars were in the driveway, and only the living room lamp beside the couch left on. “I think your guilt trip worked” Azriel mused as they walked into the empty townhouse.

“It wasn’t a guilt trip.” Elain huffed, making her way toward the staircase. “Not intentionally anyway, but..I think you’re right.” Elain suddenly felt very nervous. She’d been wanting this time alone with him for days, but now… now she wasn’t sure.

“Do you-“ she said at the same time as his “what would-“ they both laughed anxiously.

“I feel like I’m sixteen again..bringing a girl home and having no clue what to do.” Az joked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m kind of feeling the same way. I- Azriel, I WANT to be physical with you.” She hadn’t turned around. Too scared that if she saw him she’s lose her nerve to speak.

He stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle. “Anything we do together is on your terms, baby. You tell me to stop, I will. No questions asked.”

“I know…” she fell silent. Enjoying the feel of his arms around her. “I’m just nervous…like a good nervous-for the most part at least..”

“Why don’t we just cuddle up, watch a movie or something, and see where things go naturally? And if it becomes too much, say the word and we’ll go back to cuddling.” He suggested. “Besides. I like holding you.” He smiled against her temple, pressing a gentle kiss to her skin.

A shaky hand held out behind her lead him up the staircase and into her room. It truly was like the first time again. They awkwardly sat next to each other on her bed while she fumbled around for her Roku remote.

It didn’t matter what she put on to watch, that tension filled the air. She settled for Bridgerton.

In an effort to ease some of the tension, Azriel placed his arm around her shoulders, lying back on the pillow with a hand behind his head. In his mind he thought it was silly, they’ve already kissed. He’s seen her topless. They’ve both been with other people before..Why were they acting so unsure of themselves now?

She slowly began to relax into him. First with her head on his shoulder. Her arm slid around his waist a few minutes later with Azriel’s falling from her shoulder to her hip. Not long after that she wasn’t even looking at the tv-her leg between his, halfway on top of him. Peppering small kisses along his jaw and neck drawing ragged breaths from him.

“Elain, love” his voice low and gravelly “you’re making it very hard to watch your show.” He was kneading the plush skin under his hand with every move she made, trying to restrain himself.

“I’m making it hard?” She teased, pulling away to look at him with hooded eyes, a tiny coy smile playing on the edge of her lips.

“Very.” He replied.

“Do you want me to make it harder?” She replied, biting her lip, as she moved to sit atop his lap.

Elain had never gone that far. She’d joke and make silly innuendos but that lust filled gaze and her raspy voice went far beyond kidding around. Azriel had no clue how far she wanted things to go. This was uncharted territory.

Her hands desperately searched for skin contact-reaching for the buttons on his shirt. He sat up and tore it off in one swift motion, tossing it aside. Her eyes grew more molten by the second as they roamed the wide breadth of his torso. Taking in every inch of black ink entwined with pink scars.

“You’re gorgeous.” She told him.

She leaned down pressing light kisses to every scar. Tracing her tongue along the ink. He knew she could feel him growing harder under her. He ached against his jeans, but refused to buck up against her. Not yet.

Elain sat up, pulling her shirt over her head. He reached around her back, undoing the clasp of her bra in one snap. “You’re gonna have to teach me that trick” she giggled as she tossed it in their growing pile of clothing.

He brought her face to his own, erupting in a bruising kiss. In an Instant he had flipped them over, trailing wet kisses along her throat down to her breasts.

“May I?” He asked. She had barely nodded yes before he his mouth was on her. Running his tongue in circles around her soft bud, bringing it to a peak around the steel before gently nipping with his teeth. She bucked against him in response. “You like that baby?” He laughed in surprise

He did the same to the other one-Sucking and licking to make it hard and softly grazing his teeth. She bucked again, letting out a soft moan.

Azriel began kissing down her body once again, stopping just above her leggings with his fingers hooked into the elastic. He looked up at her, her eyes half closed in pleasure. “Remember, my love: say the word and I stop. Don’t force yourself to do anything.”

She pulled him back to her locking him into a fierce, passionate kiss. She pulled away, looking him in the eyes “I trust you. I’ll tell you if we need to change tactics.”

That was all he needed. He returned to his position, pulling her leggings down. His eyes never straying from her own, watching for any indication it was too much. He finally looked down…to see she was bare.

He groaned with need. “No panties, Lain? He asked in disbelief. Her breathing becoming more ragged, her smooth sex glistening with arousal.

“I had hoped this would happen.” She admitted shyly.

“Tell me what you want, love.” He said as he began suckling her thigh, closer and closer to her gleaming center.

“I..I’ve never..” her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Azriel couldn’t help the slight edge in his voice “You were together for almost two years… and he never tasted you?!“ he asked incredulously. “No one has?”

She shook her head.

“Do you want me to?”

She nodded.

“No. I need to hear it baby.” He needed to be sure.

“Please” her voice barely above a whisper “Please eat my pussy.”

He huffed a laugh to himself, his male pride and desire thrumming through him. Positioning himself between her thighs, he drug his tongue between her folds with a broad stroke “Fuck.” he groaned. She instantly became his favorite drug, her taste intoxicating.

That first taste snapped the last tether of his restraint. He feasted. Lips and tongue working in tandem; He was a man starved, and she his personal buffet.

The sounds coming from her were absolutely sinful-The moans of pleasure, squeals of delight a melody backed by the rhythmic obscene squelches coming from her dripping core. It became a song he longed to hear on repeat. She tangled a brazen hand in his hair, holding him in place as she began writhing against him. He hummed in satisfaction knowing he was the first, the only, man to have her this way-free and unashamed of chasing her release.

Cautiously, he brought a hand up beside his face, wanting to draw every ounce of pleasure from her until she was a boneless heap before him. She felt a digit graze against her passage and her eyes shot open.

“Wait.” He stopped everything, looking up in concern.

“Not there.” She swallowed audibly. “L-lower.” She held her breath as she stared at him anxiously; Clearly anticipating a negative reaction.

“With pleasure.” He felt his cock twitch at her demand, absolutely positive he had never been this hard in his life.

He began working her center again. Taking long stokes further and further down until his tongue grazed her back entrance. He watched her face as she allowed herself to enjoy the sensations of his mouth on her.

He rose back to her pussy, fucking her with his tongue as he slowly eased his finger into her ass, gently loosening the tight hole. Another gush of arousal poured from her as he began fingering her in earnest. Her grip on his hair tightened.

“Az-fuck! M’close” her nonsensical moans grew louder and louder. She began fucking herself on his face and hand, writhing against him. With one last flat stoke against her clit, he felt her begin to clench, screaming out his name as wave after wave wracked through her. He lapped up every bit, unwilling to waste a drop.

He only withdrew his finger once she’d come down from her high eliciting a small whimper. “Holy shit.” Was all she said as she fought to catch her breath.

“Are you okay, Lain?” He asked as he laid down beside her, scooping her into his arms.

“I’ve never cum that hard in my life. I’m fucking amazing.” She turned toward him, kissing him passionately. The taste of herself on his lips sent a new gush of arousal through her core. She pulled back to look him in the eyes, her own gleaming wickedly “And now it’s your turn my love.”

She noticed the apprehension on his face. “Trust me. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t want to do it.” She kissed him again. “Now take off your pants, mister.”

She didn’t have to tell him twice. He stood up, making quick work of his pants and boxer briefs until he stood bare before her.

Her eyes grew wide as they took in his member. Not one to brag, but Azriel knew he was large-All of the women he’d been with found him difficult to take.

“Azriel” his eyes were immediately on hers. “I won’t lie to you and say I’m not nervous. Obviously I haven’t done anything with a partner since..him. But I used to enjoy this and I’d like to try with you..”

“I’m happy to be your test subject” he teased. She rolled her eyes at him. “That’s not-“

“I know that’s not what you meant.” His face softened “Elain. I am yours, completely. In every way imaginable. I want to see you grow stronger and more comfortable in your skin…and sexuality. I want to grow with you; we’re learning together.”

She stood up and kissed him gently. “I love you so much, Azriel.”

“I love you too, Elain.”

She playfully pushed him away from her, a mischievous glint in her eyes. He watched her curiously while she fell to her knees in front of him.

“If I tap your leg once, I want you to take over.” She said matter of factly. He still wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“If I tap it once again after you take over, I want you to thrust harder. And if I tap twice in a row, I want you to stop.”

She looked up at him, full of trust. She was laying herself a different kind of bare- Allowing him into her wants and needs; learning her rules.

She leaned forward on her knees, grabbing his length by the base. Her small hand courts hardly fit all the way around.

She licked along his shaft, collecting the bead of liquid at the tip. Placing her lips around his glistening head she began bobbing, taking more in her mouth each pass. She looked up at him from under her lashes, catching the glassy eyed look on Azriel’s face.

His head lulled back as she took more of him into her mouth. His eyes closed. A hand gripped her hair to ground himself. The feel of her soft lips around him-the look of her hollowed out cheeks as she sucked was almost more than he could take. She hummed in satisfaction when he hit the back of her throat. “Fuck, baby. You take my cock so fucking good.” He moaned.

It spurred her on more. She pushed past the edge of her throat taking him farther. No one had ever deep throated him. She grabbed the back of his thighs forcing him down further and further until her nose was buried in the patch of hair above the base of his cock.

She tapped his leg. He looked down at her wide eyed. “You’re sure?” She looked up at him nodding as much as she could. “I-I’ll start slow.” He agreed, nervously-terrified of hurting her.

True to his word he started slowly thrusting into her mouth. Keeping about the same pace she had. She tapped him again and he started fucking her throat harder, nerves dissipating watching her cheeks hollow. “Fuck you look gorgeous like this. You like having my cock all the way down your throat?” She hummed in agreement. “I’ve never had anyone able to take me fully. It’s like your body was made for mine.”

She hummed again sending shivers up his spine. He wasn’t going to last much longer. She reached between her legs with one hand, rubbing small circles on her clit. “You like this too, baby? Come for me again. I want you to cum with my cock down your throat.”

With her free hand, she tapped him on the leg once more, urging him to thrust even harder. He held her head in place as he did so. His balls slapping against her chin. “Fuck, Lain. I’m close. I’m-“ she grabbed his ass pushing him as far as he could go until he came down her throat.

She released him with a small pop, falling back on her heels.

He kneeled down in front of her “Is your throat okay, Lain?” Genuine concern on his face.

She smiled lazily, still coming down from her own high. “I’m okay. Just need some water.” She rasped. “Are you? I didn’t hurt you did I?”

This woman. He shook his head, smiling back. “No, baby. Far, far from it.” He kissed her softly “I’ll go get you some water. Let your throat rest, okay? And I’ll ask you about those sexy little requests you made later.” He winked, holding back a chuckle at the sudden flush of embarrassment dusting her cheeks.

@karomdr-blog @mis-lil-red

#elriel #elriel fanfic #heavy hearts

[caelum-in-the-avatarverse]

Okay, I think I’ve finally found my groove for fic archival. Of course I only figured out what settings and storage style I wanted after I’d already downloaded a few hundred fics, but downloading a few hundred fics was part of my brain’s figuring-it-out process, so it can’t be helped. Currently I’m re-downloading everything I’d already downloaded, this time using the parameters I’ve decided upon. Once that’s done...I’ll just keep downloading more.

I’m really liking FicLab - all the settings options left me paralyzed with indecision at first, but after some pondering and reading the advice in the notes of this post, I’ve settled on settings that prioritize preservation.

Save Reviews: Check. Obviously, the reviews are half the fic experience and I’m so glad to have finally found a tool that lets me download them.

Enable Cover: No. It’s a cool feature, but not necessary, and lots of fics on FFdotnet don’t have covers anyway. I’d rather save the filespace.

Paragraph Style: Space Only. Neither FFdotnet nor AO3 use indents as default, and frankly I get a little weirded out when I see indents used in a fic’s format cuz it’s just so unusual.

Font Style: Sans-Serif. There’s some back-and-forth on whether serif or sans-serif fonts are more readable, but sans-serif seems to be better for people with dyslexia, and both FFdotnet and AO3 use sans-serif by default.

Punctuation: Original. FicLab is geared more towards creating a pleasant reading experience than it is to archival, so to that end it’ll clean up basic punctuation issues. I don’t care about that; I’d rather have these fics saved as they were posted, punctuation mistakes and all.

Scene Breaks: Unchecked. FicLab will try to detect where authors left things like ~oOo~ and insert a proper plain-line scene break there instead; I’m more interested in archiving the fics as-is and saving these whimsical scene breaks authors came up with for posterity.

-

I then save at least two copies of each fic I download - one as PDF, one as EPUB. In some cases I also save additional copies without reviews if 1) The fic has more than 200 reviews, 2) The fic has more reviews than words, or 3) I just feel like it.

FicLab names files as “Author Name - Fic Name” and I’m sticking with that, with the addition of “ - with reviews” for any fic I’ve downloaded the reviews of, which is most of them. Figure it’s good to have that info right in the title. Sorting fics by author first seems to be a good approach as well - I went on a fic-downloading spree back in 2017 and was saving things title-first and that was just...a mess.

So my current setup is Fandom Folder > Author Folder > Fics. Not perfect, but it’ll do. Organizing fics by author gives me the added bonus of being able to index things better, too - once I’ve downloaded all an author’s fics, I create a rich text document in their folder and copy/paste all their fic titles and summaries in alphabetical order. So at least I have some idea at a glance of what kind of stories that folder contains. For good measure I’m taking a screenshot of the author’s profile too. Y’know, for posterity.

Can you believe before FicLab I was manually going in and saving every page of reviews as a webpage? Ugh that was so labor-intensive and inefficient space-wise, it made the folders look all cluttered...I’m so glad I found FicLab. I’ve been procrastinating on downloading fics because I didn’t want to download them without also saving their reviews; I’m so glad I no longer have that excuse. It’s so much easier this way!

I’m still glad I went on that fic-saving spree back in 2017 though, because...several of the fics I saved back then are gone now. Looks like the authors just deleted their FFN accounts or something. These were old fics too - I would’ve thought they’d be safe, but it just goes to show that you never know when someone will just delete everything and disappear. I’m glad I’ve got copies of those fics in some form, even if not with my new efficient system.

As an aside, lo-fi on youtube apparently does wonders for my concentration on this project. This is tedious work but I feel nice and calm. Funny; normally I can’t stand music while I’m working, or doing anything in general.

Looks like I’ve re-downloaded everything to my liking now, so I’m gonna start spelunking through the depths of FFdotnet to find other fics to save. Idk what I’m gonna do with them, exactly. No grand plans. But FFdotnet will go down someday, and when it does, I want to be able to say that I saved everything I loved from it. An archive of my own, lol. It’ll be a drop in the ocean compared to what we’ll inevitably lose, but every little bit of fandom history counts.

#caelum rambles #fandom archival #fanfiction