#ghost marriages are so fun to read/write

[fistfuloflightning]

I binge read @ruensroad’s glorious fic A Voice You Hear With Your Heart (belated congrats on surviving NaNoWriMo hon!) and because I am currently incapable of forming coherent thoughts for a review, have a rough approximation of the fic cover I had stuck in my head :D

[sl003]

SESE's Fic Recs (ATEEZ)

Hi and welcome to my ATEEZ fic rec! This is basically a collection of my favourite ATEEZ fics (duh) and I really recommend reading them if you haven't already! This List will get updated from time to time when i have new fics that i can put on here.

Warning: As i will write my opinion/thoughts under some of the fics, they might contain some spoilers for them!

The pictures aren't mine, so all credits go to the rightful owners!

My all-time-favourites are marked with a: ♡

With that being said, a giant thank you to all the incredibly skilled and talented writers that came up with these amazing works of art <3

Have fun reading!

PS: If any of the links don't work or are wrong, please tell me, i'll fix it as fast as possible!

btw: you can find the second part here:

SESE's Fic Recs Part 2

KIM HONGJOONG

I'm The One - @sorryimananti-romantic (24k)

prince!hj x translator!r

♡ The Nightfury - @bvidzsoo (22.2k)

pirate!hj x pirate!r - enemies to lovers (kind of?)

I can barely describe how much i love this! I just love the dynamic between the reader and hongjoong in this one. You can really feel the hatred and attraction they feel for each other. I reread this regularly since this is a plot that i've never read in this way before.

Ghost Of Christmas Past - @stayteezdreams (4.5k)

kinda romeo & juliet au (forbidden love trope) / "exes" to lovers

This started off so intense that it immediately pulled me in and had me hooked! I'm a sucker for the "forbidden love" trope and this was such an amazing approach.

Your Fan - @hwaightme (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

idol!hj x fashion designer!r

Hongjoong with a fashion designer s/o just made so much sense! And he was so whipped for her it's adorable, definitely recommend!

Familiar Stranger - @yourlocaljonghoe (24.2k)

best friends to lovers / divorced au

♡ Your Gentle Hands - @yourlocaljonghoe (37.6k - 2 parts)

dressmaker!hj x married!r (plays in the 1800s)

This was also so incredible to read. The way the writer wrote hongjoong's personality and his behaviour/dnyamic with the reader was so delicate, i loved it! There were quite a dew sudden and unexpected plot-twists/changes that really surprised me and had me hooked.

♡ The Parent Trap - @yundeob (18.1k)

exes to lovers / parents au

I also reread this one every once in a while, I just really love the chemistry between the reader and hongjoong, especially as the story progresses! Definitely one of my favourites!

Million Dollar Man - @holybibly (9.2k)

This is nearly 9k words of pure filth, but it's the best filth i've read in my whole life. the way he treats her and talks to her makes me melt. this is so divine, i love it! (and the appearance of seonghwa at the end, wow)

PARK SEONGHWA

The Way I Am - @frenchkisstheabyss (1.6k)

fiancé!sh x make-up artist!r

This was so precious! The way Hwa got so insecure and scared made me tear up, this is so sweet, definitely worth a read! Also a regular reread of mine :)

Best Friend's Mother - @hwashotcheeto (series - 10 parts)

(discontinued) mommy!sh x wy's best friend!r

Bodyguard - @baekhvuns (37.8k)

bodyguard!sh / forbidden love

Let's Not Fall In Love, Again - @baekhvuns (39k)

failing marriage / time travel au

JEONG YUNHO

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy - @yunhoszn (12.25k)

+ Horses Are Still Overrated (Sequel - 2k)

cowboy!yh x city girl!r

The Trace Of You - @bvidzsoo (25.1k)

psychiatrist!yh x patient!r

Thousand Miles, Just To Get You Back - @bvidzsoo (28.7k)

victor!yh & r / hunger games au

Memoir - @baekhvuns (16k)

mafia au / amnesia au

KANG YEOSANG

There's a lot, I think it's obvious he's my bias... sorry not sorry

Cosmos - @pirateprincessblog (17.7k)

dystopian/space au

Stay - @sorryimananti-romantic (18.6k)

archer!ys x princess!r

Married In Vegas - @starrysvn (10k)

ex friends to lovers / forbidden love (kind of)

♡ Operation: Passenger Princess - @sungbeam (9.5k)

college au / frat boy!ys

Again, something i reread on the regular. The chemistry between them is obvious right from the beginning and it's just such a sweet fic. It gets angsty for a short minute but it goes right back to fluffy, which i love!

Speak Now - @edenesth (11.6k)

best friends to lovers / hanahaki disease au

♡ Richboy!Seonghwa Series - @ateezmakemeweep (30 parts)

+ Richboy!Yeosang Series (Spin-Off/Sequel - 6 parts)

private school au (?) / love triangle / enemies to lovers

I'm actually not a big fan of love triangles, but this was amazing, especially since it doesn't stay a classic love triangle for toooo long. I actually went into the richboy!sh series with wanting to read something with seonghwa (obviously), but this fic made me root for yeosang so damn fast that i actually loved the way it turned out in the end and then the small sequel series just topped it off so well!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (18k)

badboy!ys x r / enemies to lovers (kinda)

Transcendent - @biaswreckingfics (9.5k)

soulmate au / best friend's boyfriend

♡ Entropy - @in-san-ity (21.3k)

mafia au / hacker!ys / found family (kinda)

This has to be my all time favourite fic. I put off from reading it very long (i remember the first time i started reading it something put me off, idk what anymore tbh) but when I saw it on nearly every fic rec post i saw, i decided to give it another shot and i fell in love. The dynamic between yeosang and the reader with sol is so precious to me and there were just certain things in the wording that made it even better. If you haven't read this, please do it!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (10k)

skaterboy!ys x ballerina!r / enemies to lovers

Not too much to say about this except it got me right in the feels, it's so sad but also so sweet and wholesome!

Siren - @sorryimananti-romantic (27.8k)

siren!ys x siren hunter!r

CHOI SAN

Crimson - @hwaslayer (21.8k)

san x stripper!r

Ceilings - @yoongiseesawmp3 (3 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

single mom!r to not so single mom!r / exes to lovers

♡ Sunrise - @sorryimananti-romantic (29k)

soldier!san x soldier!r / military special forces au

This is also one of my favourites of all time! The tension and chemistry between these two is out of this world. The way they both (especially the reader) try to suppress their feelings for each other before they finally snap *chefs kiss*.

♡ Leave The Window Open - @sungbeam (3.7k)

strangers to lovers / neighbours / byeol playing matchmaker

This is soooo cute. It's such a cute idea, especially with incorporating byeol into it, this makes me feel so soft! Regular reread of mine

Face Down - @latte-fairytaekwoon (5.5k)

abusive relationsip / "saviour" san

Infinity - @seung-hwa (4.3k)

soulmate au / reincarnation au

♡ From Saturn To Mars - @lividstar (24.2k)

stargazing / star-crossed lovers

Dear god, when i tell you this made me cry... I've read this like 2-3 times now and i was crying my eyes out each and every time i read it. It's written so beautiful yet so tragic. It already starts off quite sad but it just gets progressively worse (in the best way possible). if you feel like you need to have a good cry, read this. Or read it anyway, cause it's incredible

Back To You - @ateezmakemeweep (12 parts)

badboy!san / college au

Broken - @ateezmakemeweep (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

abusive relationship / "saviour" san

Your Worst Mistake - @bvidzsoo (25.7k)

hunger games au / stylist!san x tribute/victor! reader

SONG MINGI

Steamroller - @fallinforgyu (10k)

best friends to lovers au

Am I Just A Bet To You? - @hannie-roses (24.9k)

enemies to lovers au / you were just a bet au

Preying On You Tonight - @bvidzsoo (29k)

enemies to lovers au / werewolf!mgx vampire!r

Your Fan - @hwaightme (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

idol!mg x rapper!r

They're both so whipped for each other, i love it!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (12k)

werewolf au / mates au

JUNG WOOYOUNG

Water - @yuyusboyfriend (6.7k)

bff's brother!wy x ftm!r

Right Here - @0097linersb (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

best friends to lovers

Midnight Kisses - @mingigoo (5 parts)

single mom au / bff to lovers / dead ex!seonghwa / new flame!san

♡ Place In Me - @starrysvn (17k)

exes to lovers / chef au

I blame this fic for kickstarting my sudden obsession for old parisian apartments, but in the best way possible. This is so beautiful and i really like the chef trope with wooyoung

CHOI JONGHO

♡ Cyberpunk - @sorryimananti-romantic (23.7k)

droid!jh x programmer!r / exes to lovers (kinda)

This is also one of my favourites, i've never seen a trope like this before and i love it! Definitely need to reread this one!

Oh Shit, Are We In Love? - @mingigoo (15.8k)

best friends to lovers

Second Chance At Love - @xomakara (7.1k)

dad!jh x nanny turned mom!r

POLY/MULTIPLE

♡ Opposites Attract Universe - @beenbaanbuun

poly!addams!matz x reader

I'm a sucker for poly!matz and the way these two are portrayed here makes me melt. they just worship their darling so much, just wow. And also with in inclusion of the other members (yeosang as a werewolf/guard dog, san as a butler, jongho as a ghost etc.). Every single fic/drabble etc that takes place in this universe is worth reading!

Three Hearts As One - @cybrsan (2k)

poly!woosan x reader / zombie apocalypse au

Again, one of the things that just made me cry. This is so beautiful but so damn sad and tragic. It's really short but it manages to make me tear up each time.

Beefcake Raccoon - @songmingisthighs (6.5k)

Concrete Bear - @bro-atz (account no longer available)

Manwhich - @skteezcursed (7.7k)

kinda poly!jongsang x reader (mainly jongho x reader)

Outlaw - @staytinyville (49 parts - ongoing)

poly!ot8 x reader / outlaw au

i never thought i'd read a ot8!poly fic but here we are. I decided to give it a shot since i was eating up all the outlaw/wild west/lore au fics with ateez. i'm glad i decided to read this cause it's really amazing, i love the relationship the reader has with each of the members, and one of my favourite parts has to be that every member has a different nickname for her. When i started realizing this i was eating it up and anxiously waiting for the next nickname to appear (i was especially waiting for hongjoongs, and when i tell you i melted when he called her princess for the first time)

Django - @last-words-ofashootingstar (5.5k)

poly!woosan x reader / bouncy au / hint at poly!ot8

It's You - @holybibly (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

poly!woosan x reader

funnily enough, i don't even read this for the spicier parts (which are also *chefs kiss*), i just genuinely love the chemistry and dynamic between those three because they're just so comfortable and shameless around each other, this is really something i need in my life.

[adventures-in-mangaland]

Dead Boy Detectives: Fic Recs

My latest hyperfixation is Dead Boy Detectives, so oc I've been reading and commenting on a ton of fic. And it's been really nice because the response of the authors has been so warm. I don't think I've ever gotten so many replies so quickly! Also, the fandom has inspired me to actually start writing again for the first time in two years and I've got a great idea for a fanvid. (Any tips on how to make one would be appreciated! 😅)

So in tribute to the lovely fandom, here's a fic rec post (nearly all payneland):

in this city there's a thousand things I want to say to you by laiqualaurelote

Edwin has a sexual awakening and it blows Charles' mind. And other things. Very funny and well written. Also features minor Edwin/Cat King and Edwardian flirting.

I also highly recommend the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned by the same author, which is a kind of multiverse!Edwin fic? Featuring Edwin dying? And Niko time travelling? Trying to save time? Anyway, interesting to see Edwin alive, ageing and in different periods of time/his life.

For the First Time Twice by LikeMmmCookies

Amnesia fic! Charles loses his memories and thinks he and Edwin are married. Very cute (tandem bike date!) and well written, though Edwin's point of view still manages to be angsty. Also, the yearning is off the charts and the most recent chapter turned up the heat.

I guess you're stuck with me by Punny_Puck

AU in which Edwin and Charles actually got married pre-show. Funny, cute with a sweet marriage proposal prequel. Instant comfort fic.

Dance the Night by Gruoch

The gang are hunting an energy-sucking vampire that targets beautiful people, so naturally Edwin MUST disguise himself as the hottest girl in London. This one starts out fun and campy then takes a hard left turn into Serious Business. Prepare yourself for emotional moments, worldbuilding and some really excellent horror.

Long Past Time by sanctuary_for_all

Charles proposes to Edwin post canon. It's a short and sweet established relationship fic with some cool worldbuilding about ghosts and their ability to shape their clothing/appearances.

lay my hands on heaven by Opossum_Subatomic

I had to include a PWP and this is a great one. Extremely well written, in character and romantic. And explicit, obviously.

Data Points by Asidian

Edwin learns to cuddle. It's a production and completely adorable. I love a fic that explores the difference between the boys' physicality and this one's really on point. The writing and characterisation are great and it's nice to see Edwin taking care of Charles.

I also recommend Lanterns In the Dark, which sets the scene for Charles and Edwin's first meeting with some gut-wrenching details about Charles' homelife and Edwin's escape from Hell.

When I Was a Young Boy by flowerbritts

A Good Omens crossover and AU in which Aziraphale is Edwin's adopted father. Family reunions and revelations abound. Also, Edwin gets to be a teenager and slam doors while shouting, as he deserves.

The author has also written Wait, I'm Coming Too, which is a very sweet post canon 'Charles Worries About Edwin and Realises His Feelings' fic inspired by that 'Edwin reading Heartstopper' fanart. Both fics deserve more love!

A Slight Miscalculation by kantigone

Idiots in Love and Didn't Know They Were Dating. Crystal and Niko are the real MVPs, for real. A treat.

Terrible at Keeping Secrets (5+1) by ASingularSadSoggyPringle

Interesting demon!Edwin AU. Charles is a precious cupcake in this fic and Edwin is mostly the same with some Darker moments. I loved the concept and the author adds in some great, creepy details.

somaesthesia by perexcri

Edwin's journey from being touch-averse to touch-starved... at least when it comes to Charles. Palmistry is involved. I loved Edwin's characterisation and the unresolved sexual/romantic tension was on point.

And possibly I like the thrill (of under me you quite so new) by Leandra

Edwin explores his sexuality and re-negotiates his relationship with Charles. Meanwhile, the gang take on the case of a ghost who wants them to matchmake his still-living lover. Crosses over with The Sandman. And Edwin gets to be confident and flirty as a treat.

Always by How You Doing (FancyMeetingYouHere)

Hurt/Comfort fic in which Edwin has a traumatic flashback to the doll-head demon spider and Charles looks after him. Charles reading Good Omens to Edwin is a nice, meta touch.

Made You Look by Baby_Spinach

The agency are hunting an incubus that decides to take on Edwin's appearance. A repression explosion ensues. Fun fic.

Shape Me by dearheartdont

This one's actually a character study of Charles and his mixed race Indian heritage (so no Edwin) and it's so well done. It's also part of a series in progress about Charles growing up in the 80s with all the racism and homophobia that that entails. I look forward to seeing where it goes.

The Most Tender Place In My Heart by coloursflyaway

Edwin shares memories of how he fell in love with Charles, who figures out his own feelings in the process. It's super sweet and involves fun pre-show flashbacks and defintely deserves more attention!

I also loved Won't Fear Love by the same author, in which Charles takes Edwin out on dates and breaks the cuteness scales. And shout out to Good Enough which is the first fic I bookmarked for this fandom! 🥳

Anyway, thank you to all these amazing writers for making this fandom so special! 🥰

[doveywovy]

do you have tobiizu recs? i feel as though i’ve read them all 😔

i've been slowly working on a tobiizu rec list and its not done yet tbh. here's what it is so far!

Fanfics that are explicitly tobiizu:

Ghost marriage is a collection of multiple fics where tobirama gets haunted by izuna, gets driven a little bit crazy, and then talked into marrying him. And goes on to a life of wedded bliss that’s only mostly insane. Madara is there and also crazy. Izuna is having the time of his (un)life. Really delightful read with a surprisingly happy ending. The whole relationship has a haunting vibe to it that’s really enjoyable to read.

bloodline thieves is not tobiizu in the first part, but it does become tobiizu eventually. personally the vibe is there from the start to me and it's a fun read on its own. you get tobirama whump AND izuna feeling weird about him!

To dwell inside a hearthfire heart: blessed au! Worldbuilding! Izuna’s life getting saved twiceover! Izuna being a smug little rat! Tobirama and the “if peace is possible,i’m allowed to find izuna extremely sexy” pipeline! Such a good read.

Unthreading the needle is a slow burn on tobirama and izuna realizing they view each other as ‘people’ and perhaps….people they….like? Delightfully, the slowburn starts with their marriage (When they’re both convinced the other one is a monster) and they take a good long while the get anywhere from there. Izuna is deeply possessive without noticing it; tobirama has many deeprooted biases that she rationalizes as logical. My favorite plot thread within it is that izuna is, to some extent, a service top, and he spends the first 3/4th of the fic being denied the ability to service.

Death do us part: matrimony! Murder attempts! Matriomony-vibes for the murder attempts! Murderous vibes for the matrimony! Divorce is OFF the table! Izuna and the consequences of his own actions! 

A soft green glow: tobirama saves izuna’s life, and they are both so bitchy about it the entire time. This is a compliment. Izuna’s perspective while dying is so funny & tobiramas put-upon annoyance just adds to the fun. Love that tobirama never underestimates izuna throughout. Love when tobirama starts dragging izuna’s body, unwillingly to risk any of the more romantic ways to carry him.

Don’t give up the ghost allows for izuna and tobirama to slowly come around to the idea of eachother, ending up somewhere close to “old married couple”. Izuna is, of course, dead the entire time.

Footprints in the snow: the author is kind enough to skip the slowburn setup and give us the “Finally they get together” stage. Tobiizu had an arranged marriage, both fell in love, and took far too long to realize it was mutual. 

Gift horse: Tobirama saves izuna’s life in a moment of strategic diplomacy. Izuna cannot help but be a little bit wooed. Favorite line: tobirama would be the wife.

Can’t seem to shut my eyes: a collection of short light-hearted tobiizu fics, all of which are a fun time.my favorite is kagami’s fan :) 

there are also, of course, all my of my tobiizu fanfics (shameless plug) that if you leave nice comments on perhaps i will feel inspired to work on new ones. Perhaps if you leave nice comments on all of these tobiizu fics i’m linking more authors will feel compelled to write more. 

My fics: knifepoint , trouble brewing, powerplay, will you come into my parlor

gen fanfics that are not tobiizu but you can very easily imagine become tobiizu (or at the very least do not outright reject the possibility):

eyestealer is a delightful romp mostly about hashirama & tobiramas brotherly relationship, but it absolutely includes lots of opening for tobiizu and the author tagged it as open to a tobiizu interpretation. my favorite bit is the exchange izuna and madara have by the river, in which the audience knows what they do not- and what an eavesdropping hashirama fails to piece together.

Hide & seek: We don’t get izuna’s perspective directly, but a blessed au is always ripe for imagining and the worldbuilding on this one is SO fun. The implications that izuna is religiously-minded and struggling with the situation immensely really adds to the potential.

--------

i'll add a disclaimer that i don't have access to most of the chinese & japanese tobiizu fan creations bc they're primarily on twitter, which i do not have and refuse to get. if you do have twitter you can probably find a lot of cool tobiizu there and i will be very jealous of you (Except for the fact that you are suffering the existence of twitter to see it).

pixiv has lots of amazing art, and you can mostly understand what's happening in the comics even if you can't understand the language. i love this comic were birdboy izuna breaks tobiramas wing and then takes care of him. artists on the platform tend to do "dump posts" so you'll have to scroll past other ships/general fanart to get to the izutobi stuff, but it's worth it! that's how you get great stuff like this izuna upskirt photographing tobirama. and remember on pixiv that the name order is important! tobi/izu is top tobirama and izu/tobi is top izuna on there :)

you should also check out (and comment on!) all the comics slurmdog's made, especially since we have another longer project in the works :) library comic, bravest knight, multi-part comic "Cheaters never prosper"

[rmd-writes]

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Tarlos | E | 6/6 | 16.9k (total)

Sometimes, settling the score is as simple as falling asleep.

Or

5 times TK pretended to fall asleep, and one time he actually did.

Completely written and posting daily (as requested by the good people of tumblr).

NOW COMPLETE

Hello friends! @welcometololaland and I would love it if you’d indulge us and put your guesses as to who wrote each chapter in the comments of the fic! Did we each write the same number of chapters? Do they alternate? Or both? Who’s to say? (Hopefully you, not us)

Chapter 1: Five Star Reviews

Chapter 2: Win-Win Situation

Chapter 3: Guitar Hero

Chapter 4: This Marriage is Consummated

Chapter 5: Not Into Somnophilia

Chapter 6: Not Nancy’s Boobs

“Please stop.”

“Why?” TK asks through a loud yawn. “You scared of fun now too?”

Carlos hums, choosing his timing wisely. “Oh. You wanna have fun?”

TK’s face immediately pops up into his field of vision, like a meerkat scanning for danger. “Ghost stories fun or sexy time fun?”

“I was gonna say the latter but then you started yawning—”

“I’m not tired!” TK protests, scrambling back onto Carlos’ lap like he wasn’t just complaining about his sore joints. He rolls his hips for emphasis, testing Carlos’ resolve. It’s so suggestive it feels like the seduction equivalent of being punched in the face, but the movement still stirs something in him anyway. TK could probably breathe slightly too deeply and turn him on.

“Are you sure you’re not going to fall asleep on me?” Carlos asks. He’s half serious about it too. After the catan night, he thinks he might be scarred for life.

“Baby,” TK sings, his smile sharpening into a knowing smirk. “You really think I would do that?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“No.”

“You absolutely would do that,” Carlos deadpans. “You’ve done it many times.”

Read on ao3

[everlastingauthor]

Dracule Mihawk Marriage HCS

➤ Tags: GN Reader, Dracule Mihawk, Jealousy, Marriage, Living in Mihawk's castle, Adoption, Romance, & Spoiled By Mihawk.

➤ Proof Read: No

➤ Media: Dracule Mihawk from One Piece

➤ Request Open: Yes

• You have been married to Dracule Mihawk for a couple of years now, it surprised Shanks to see the old sword's man settle down, nevertheless he was happy that Mihawk found someone that makes him happy. Mihawk doesn't really bring you up in public for safety reasons, he also doesn't believe it's smart to mix business with personal life. So not many people know that Mihawk is marry on a few people do and Mihawk threaten to cut the tongue out of anyone who talks about his marriage life to anyone who didn't attend the ceremony that was held in the garden of his castle.

• Mihawk and you decided to adopt Persona so it was official the pink pastel ghost girl was you and Mihawk's daughter, she was practically in tears when the papers were signed. She finally has a family, though she tries and begs you and Mihawk to adopt Zoro so that she can have a brother; Mihawk tells her no and even tells you not to give in. You secretly promise Persona that one day she might have a baby brother and sister. This makes Persona happier about this answer since she wants to be a big sister.

• Mihawk loves to take you out to eat despite the man wanting to have a private relationship, he has his ways of making sure that no one knows you two are together but also at the same time who would want to upset or anger the greatest swords man by harming you. Mihawk let's you order anything off the menu nothing is too expensive for his spouse, though he does guide you on the best wine to try and which wine goes best with which meal. Mihawk sometimes does get a bit flustered seeing how you lick your lips when eating a sweet dessert.

• Mihawk loves taking baths with you, you are nestled between his legs as the warm water relaxes you both. He's massaging shampoo into the hair while he listens to you talk about future activities you two can try; Mihawk will kiss your shoulder once in awhile and tell you how good you smell, that you feel so soft, and that he doesn't mind washing you up. Sometimes he'll let you work shampoo into his hair especially when he's tired.

• Ugh Buggy he hates that pirate clown with all his heart, but you swore you could see jealousy in Mihawk golden eyes whenever Buggy made you laugh. Mihawk knew that Buggy wasn't your type and that you too can sometimes get annoyed by Buggy. But whenever you laughed so hard from one of Buggy's jokes that you had to hold onto him, Mihawk would chug down his drink. Though if he sees Buggy getting too comfortable with you he won't hesitate slicing that clown's head off and rolling it away - Before picking you up and walking away from a cursing and screaming Buggy.

➣ Author's Note: This was my first One Piece and Mihawk fan fiction headcanon, I was nervous writing this but I had fun. I might do Buggy next and even more characters, my request are open and if you want to be part of the One Piece Taglist let me know please!

➣ One-Piece Taglist: [comment or dm to be added to everlasting pirate crew]

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2025: May Wrap-Up.

Good reading month, in terms of both quantity and quality (many four-star reads, good daisychain flow between books)! Great adulting month (more on this later)!! Even got some good knitting and writing in!

Here's what I read (photos/reviews linked):

GHOST OF THE NEON GOD ★★★★ Impulse buy; wasn't expecting it to worm into my brain but it did. Not perfect, but I had fun! Funny, fucked up, weird--you know my lifestyle.

CATCHPENNY ★★★★ Kitchen sink book (affectionate) about a washed-up thief who can travel through mirrors and doomsday cults and art and a missing teenager, exactly tickled my ODD THOMAS buttons, fucked up and funny and weird.

THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS ★★★½ I really wanted to love this, but it didn't quite stick the twist!ending landing for me. I admire his ambition and his worldbuilding; excited to see how the author grows. Overall a good time.

MINIMIZING MARRIAGE ★★★ Snagged this from the library for Aro Reasons (Brake coined the term "amatonormativity" and discusses its implications with regards to marriage specifically). Chapter 4 was excellent; the rest of it was interesting but not what I was after. Very readable volume in a Feminist Philosophy series.

BRIGHT ★★★★ Thai novel in translation (first one written by a woman!), been on my radar for years. Lovely translation, lovely tonal balance (sweet moments + melancholy; it's a story about an abandoned 5/6-year-old, but it felt Authentic instead of Saccharine or Depressing). Definitely keeping an eye out for her other work in English.

THE LUMINOUS DEAD ★★★★ I didn't mean to binge this in less than 24 hours on a three-day weekend, but Here We Are. This is We Support Women's Wrongs: Cave SF/Horror Edition. Propulsive, tense, claustrophobic, deeply fucked up.

Under the Cut: A Note About ~*★Stars★*~

Historically, I have been Very Bad™ about assigning things Star Ratings, because it's so Vibes Heavy for me and therefore Contingent Upon my Whims. (Example: I don't like that stars are Odd, because that makes three the midpoint and things are rarely so truly mid for me)(I have hacked my way around this with a ½, which is really only applicable for me at ★★★ and up). Here is, generally, how I conceptualize stars:

★ - This was Bad. I would actively recommend that you do NOT read this one, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, not worth the slog. Save Yourself, It's Too Late For Me. Book goes in the garbage (donate bin).

★★ - This was Not Good. I would not recommend it, but it wasn't a total waste or wash--something in here held my interest/kept my attention/sparked some joy. I will not be rereading this ever. Save Yourself (Or Join Me In Suffering, That Seems Like A Cool Bonding Activity).

★★★ - This was Good/Fine/Okay/Meh. I don't care about this enough to recommend it one way or another. Perfectly serviceable book, held my interest, I probably enjoyed myself (or at least didn't actively loathe the reading). I don't have especially strong feelings. You probably don't need to save yourself from this one--if it sounds like your jam, give it a shot! Just didn't resonate with me particularly powerfully. I probably won't reread this unless I'm after something in particular.

★★★½ - I liked this! I'll probably recommend it if I know it matches someone's vibes or specific requests, but I didn't commit to a star rating on Goodreads. More likely to reread, but not guaranteed.

★★★★ - I really enjoyed this!! I would recommend it (sometimes with caveats about content warnings or such--I tend to like weird fucked up funny shit, and I don't have many hard readerly NO's). Not a perfect book for me by any means, but Very Good. This is something I would reread! Join me!!

★★★★★ - I LOVED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS, IT REWIRED MY BRAIN, WILL RECOMMEND TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE AT THE SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION (content warning caveats still apply--see 4-star disclaimer). Excellent book, I'll reread it regularly, I'll buy copies for all my friends, I'll try to convince all of Booklr to read it, PLEASE join me!!

[vampykween]

hi mic :D

i just read your toxic!husband!ghost fics and would like to ask if u could write one where the reader just gives up on their relationship, maybe they finally file for divorce?

loved your writing btw! ♡

hi hi! thank u! i’m so glad y’all are enjoying toxichusband!ghost hehe

i hope i did your idea justice. i have a problem with just letting asks get away from me oops! but kiss ur brain for this idea cause i loved this! i get way too excited writing angsty stuff

you would realize you’ve had enough on the most random of days. after looking after your kids all day and finally getting your house cleaned, laundry all done. simon would come home and not even stop to greet you. he instantly strips from his fatigues and tosses them somewhere on the couch, turns on the tv to watch the game, and kicks up his feet and perches them on the clean coffee table. just the sight of him makes your blood boil. you make a mental note right then to talk to a divorce lawyer cause jesus you couldn’t take anymore of this.

you’ve been agonizing over doing this for the past week. hidden in your nightstand drawer was an envelope that was going to change your life forever, and not just yours, your children’s lives too. that thought has stifled your desire for a divorce just ever so slightly, as much as you can’t take a loveless marriage anymore you know your kids will be hurt by this.

you and simon are lounging in your bed and you’re losing your edge to serve him the papers. you’re worn out from cooking dinner and doing the usual nighttime routine with the kids. you suck in a deep breath and remind yourself that this decision is for the best; you don’t deserve to be chained down by someone who won’t appreciate you.

“simon…”

“yeah?” he doesn’t look up from whatever he’s engrossed in on his phone and you roll your eyes exasperatedly. you’re swiftly reminded why you’re in this position.

“i- um, we need to talk.” god your palms were sweaty and your heart was hammering in your chest. why was this so much harder than you thought it would be. simon still doesn’t give you his attention and you figure you should just rip the bandaid off already.

your shaky hands open the nightstand drawer and fish out the large yellow envelope you’ve been holding onto for the past week. you nudge his shoulder with enough force to get him to look up at you, and shove the envelope in his now free hand.

he quirks an eyebrow at you curiously, “the hell is this?”

you gulp painfully and whisper at him to just open it. his large digits tear open the paper easily and as he’s scanning through the lengthy paper, you can see it clear on his face the moment he realizes what’s happening. he turns his body fully towards yours and you can see the fury in his eyes.

“have you lost your fuckin’ head. why on earth would ya want a divorce?” the bass in your husband’s voice rattles his words around in your head, simon doesn’t yell often, but god do you hate it when he does.

“simon, i just can’t anymore.” his eyes bulge incredulously at your words, but you ignore his idiotic look and continue. “i’m constantly bending over backwards to do everything for this family and you don’t even appreciate it. hell it doesn’t feel like you love me at all.”

“fuckin’ hell. you think you’re the only one putting in work for this family. what do you think i’m doing all day? and when i’m deployed? ya think i’m just fuckin’ around for fun?”

“oh my- are you serious?! of course i know that you work hard to provide for this family. did you even listen to a word i just said? i have to nag you to clean, to do laundry, to stop giving the kids all the things i tell them they can’t have. i have to literally beg you to kiss me and take me on dates! you never tell me you love me anymore simon!”

the rage behind simon’s eyes dims and he grasps both your hands in his. “love. baby, please you can’t leave me. you’re right, you do so much for us all and i know im shit about saying thank you, but who’s going to do all the stuff ya do if you leave?”

your face starts to grow hot as you begin to boil over with anger. you rip your hands from his hold forcibly. “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me! you can’t even convince me to stay because you love me. you want me here so i can do everything for you. you know what? fuck you! i’m so sorry your poor mommy is gone and you need someone to fill that void, and i was stupid enough to play that role for this long, but i’m not doing it anymore.”

“oh you’re a fuckin’ cunt for that. bringing up my mum, you’re fucked in the head!” simon barks at you. you should feel bad, it was a low blow, but you couldn’t care less.

you scramble out of the bed, storming around the room looking for a pen. you’re throwing open drawers with so much force they’re just a hair from ripping straight out. when you eventually find one, you thrust it into simon’s large hand.

“don’t fucking care. you’re an absolute piece of shit. sign the fucking papers, please, so i no longer have to hold back the urge to kill you with my bare hands.”

“what about the kids? you’re just gonna take them away from me?! if you do, i’ll spend every day trying to remind them they’ve got a right bitch for a mum,” simon sneers at you.

all the love you had for simon has vanished, but hearing him say he’d spend eternity making sure your kids hated you? that tore your heart in two. your throat begins to constrict as tears begin to build behind your eyes. you really didn’t want to cry in front of him, but you were suddenly hit with the realization that the life you dreamed of was never going to be real.

you think back to your wedding day, your husband had written the most beautiful vows, which shocked you as you hadn’t expected him to be able to express his love for you that way. he had promised to always make you feel like you deserved the world. suddenly you woke up one day and the man you once loved was gone, replaced by a shitty, co-dependent, workaholic who sucked out all the life in you.

in this moment, you simply prayed that one day, you wouldn’t feel like every choice you made lead to this terrible life you have now.

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

The Song of Ice and Fire (DARK BOOKMOND X STARKREADER/OC)

Aemond (book) x Reader

🔷Summary: After getting kidnapped on your way to King's Landing, you end up in another time where you meet a dangerous prince.

🔷Author's note: Either hit or miss with this one

🔷Wordcount :6756

🔷Warnings: This is Bookmond because im a little too sad to write showaemond atm. Bookaemond is my deranged honeybee he can do nothing wrong. Ok almost nothing.

WARNINGS: Kidnapping, drugging, forced marriage and war crimes and aemond being a sexist little bitch. Also spankings.

Maybe it was for the best. You always dreamt of leaving the cold and quiet town of Winterfell behind. You dreamt of a bigger, exciting life. A life of tourneys, of exciting feasts, of noble men fighting for your hand. It should have been as simple as that.

Except it wasn’t.

Sansa, your sister is going to be the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Your father would be the hand of the king, one of the highest positions at court.  You, Arya, and her will soon travel with him to King’s Landing.

Until something happened.

Something unexplainable.

And something terrible.

Lately, your dreams have been getting worse. From nightmares that you didn’t pay any mind to darker things, things you barely could keep to yourself. Nightmares and dreams filled with unexplainable things, unknown faces and the death rising and marching. 

_____________

It is clear to you that your mind is simply toying with you. You are likely nervous for the future that awaits you. You are nervous for the suitors you’ll meet and that your life finally will begin. It will just be like all the romantic novels you read. It will be ball after ball and feast after feast.

Your dreams always start the same way. You are alone, surrounded by trees as big as towers, in the snowy woods. You hear the sound of the crispy snow as you set feet on it, moving in any direction, to find something. Home, you assume. The stars above your head are the only light to guide you, and it is unforgivably dark in the cold forest.

The cold winter winds pick up and toy with your hair, sending it in all directions. You never know why, but you always turn your head slightly sideways. You can’t control it. You don’t have a say. As a chestpiece moving over the board, you do as you are told by someone controlling you. 

It is always a surprise to see the wall close by, no matter how many times you have dreamt this dream. The majestic tall, ancient structure that has been here long before you were born and will be there long after you have gone. Something about it tells you are not supposed to be here. You feel chills.

You had heard reasons why the wall was built. Wildlings, mostly. The Nightwatch was installed to guard the wall, to make sure no threat could climb over it. You know your brother, Jon, dreams of becoming a brave member of the Nightwatch. It is all the honor he will gain as a bastard anyway. You are the same as his twin sister. But your father kept your bastardy a secret.

But the most important reason why the wall was built was the threat of white walkers. Cold, icy and deadly soldiers of an army without needs and without a will, forced to march forever beyond the wall. And when you are all the way North, you can only go one way: South.

You knew it wasn’t true. You knew when your father told you about them, they weren’t real. But any Northern child grows up with the same tales. Creatures with eyes as blue as ice, that could freeze you in pure terror so they could easily squeeze your eyeballs out of your head, killing you. A fun tale in a tavern. But not in the castle. 

You aren’t a foolish girl, no matter what the world tells you. You don’t believe those lies. You never did. You are not as brave as Arya perhaps or as pretty and polite as Sansa but you never believe in those ghost stories.

But here, in your dreams, beyond the wall and far away from your safe warm room at Winterfell, even someone as skeptical as you could understand why people believed those stories.

What would come next in your dreams was also always the same. You turn your head away from the wall. In the far distance, you can make out someone standing there, holding a lantern. The person is hooded, unrecognizable. But the person would always lift the lantern, and wave with it. Your eyes follow the movements, as the light of the lantern becomes brighter and brighter, shedding light over the forest, making the snow almost look like liquid gold.

It always seems so magical, as a scam shopkeepers tell their far too trusting clients before selling them magical rocks or potions. You know the hooded person never reveals themselves. You tried running at them, screaming, but you couldn’t move nor speak.

Then, you notice you are standing on something. A great lake, made of ice. Gone are the trees of the forest. Through the ice, you make out the skeleton of a human being. Someone from a long time ago. You watch the skeleton, wondering how long ago this person met their end, and how. And beneath the ice, poking halfway out of it, is a steel forged sword with a black handle. The tip of it is still in the ice, covered in a dark rusty coat of old blood. You notice your hands reach for the sword, picking it out of the ice.

The sword feels different than most swords. Lighter, better to wield. Safer. It feels like wielding one of your own arms. It feels safe, comfortable. Yours. Impossible. Ladies do not wield weapons. Not such obvious ones, at least. Ladies wield lies, poison, tricks, schemes. 

You turn to the hooded figure, sword in hand, still standing on the ice, with the skeleton safely beneath your feet. The hooded figure is gone. As is the light. The world is once again covered in darkness. It is suffocating you, in a way. 

Fear and anxiety fight inside of you, as you try to get off the ice. But you can’t move. Not anymore. It is not your body, anymore. You don’t have a say, anymore.

The sword is starting to hurt your inexperienced arms, and you try at all cost to drop the weapon. Your head snaps as you hear the sound of something you never heard before, but somehow you  know exactly what it is. A dragon’s roar.

You never felt fear like that, as you look around the lake for any sign of a dragon. But instead you are met with a thin skeleton made of ice and rotting flesh that reaches out with their hands, trying to grab you. A white walker.

You scream.

But before he could grab you, drag you into the lake with him…

You wake up.

You sit straight up in your bed, clutching the sheets of your bed. Your heart is still beating and your fear hasn’t left your mind yet. You are glad to see you are in your rooms, at Winterfell. Several familiar stuffed animal toys glance back at you from their spots on high shelves, calming your troubled mind instantly. You are coming of age so put some of them away, but unlike Sansa, you could never throw them out. 

You climb out of bed and prepare yourself for the exciting day ahead. The day your life will change forever. You just had no idea how much. And how terribly.

As always, Winterfell is busy. Servants go about their day, greeting you with nods or smiles as they carry in potatoes or walk around with freshly washed linen.

Your father and ‘’mother’’, brothers and sisters are already at the table, gathered for breakfast. They seem to have been waiting just for you. You greet them with a relieved smile. The food smells delicious and makes your stomach rumble in unladylike ways. You sit down on your chair and begin eating. 

You can almost hear Lady Catalyn’s thoughts. Everyone seems to know it. This might  be the final time you might all be together. This is goodbye, in a way. Jon will go to the wall, and you and your sisters to King’s Landing. 

You grab an apple and begin biting down on it, while also making yourself a cup of nice honey tea. You can not wait to leave the boring North and the nightmares finally behind. The north is a boring and cold place. Nothing exciting ever happened. Your sister, Sansa, also looks more happy than usual. Normally, she is grumpy at this hour.

‘’Do we need to leave soon?’’ Arya mutters next to her, playing with a fork and a potato. Your parents share a look, and your father speaks to the youngest Lady of house Stark. 

Even with their differences, their arguments and their fighting, you can see that Arya dreads the day that her and her  would leave for the capital. She likely wants to remain here, in the cold North forever. Eddard speaks, smiling with pride and joy and you feel jealous of how easy Sansa will become the Queen. ‘’Sansa will be the Queen. I will become the hand of the King if all goes well. Perhaps you’ll like King’s Landing.’’ Arya’s brown eyes fill with worry at imaginary scenarios. She looks at her sister, who always was said to be prettiest and who always has focussed on how to be a lady. She imagined King’s Landing would be filled with Sansas.

‘’No, thank you.’’ she mutters. Yet she does not have a choice.

You begin eating the apple first. At that moment, Maester Luwin comes from the courtyard, bringing likely fresh news, plucked from a raven. He brings the news first to your parents, the Lord and Lady of Winterfell.  ‘’Lady Lynantha is expected to be escorted to King’s Landing today. Her carriage is already here.’’ You drop your apple, distraught as all eyes are on you. ‘’Why aren't we traveling together?’’ You ask your father. He does not meet your eyes. 

‘’I received a letter. A nobleman from King’s Landing, one of King Robert’s nephews, wishes to get to know you. It is of importance that you leave right away.’’ You know why. There are rumors you aren’t a true born Stark. That you are a bastard. Rumors that are likely true.

You understand. You are eager to leave, in a way. Lady Stark stands up from her seat. ‘’I wish you well, Lyantha.’’ You never liked her. She never liked you. But you do respect her. You nod, respectful as you make a final curtsy. 

Luwin coughs, reminding you all that time is not on your side. You finally stand as well, excusing yourself as you mutter. ‘’I must pack for the journey-’’ You will need clothing, books, maybe jewelry.

‘’O, there is no need, truly.’’ An almost magical light voice rings out. A woman with raven dark hairs, a green gown with beautiful gold patterns stitched onto her skirt greets you with a curtsy. ‘’The Capital has everything you could need.’’ She assures you, a sweet but horrible hollow smile on her lips. The Lady makes a bow for her as well. ‘’I am Lady Alys Rivers. I have come to escort you to your Prince.’’ You know that Rivers is a last name used for bastards and commoners, and wonder silently how someone as Alys could have acquired such a position at the royal court. But you would never dare to voice that concern. Of course not. A prince, a title, it is almost too good to be true. ‘’A prince?’’ You ask, beaming with excitement. Sansa huffs, and you see Alys nod, almost a little too pleased with your excitement. 

The woman smiles as if you two are long lost friends. ‘’A true born royal, a fierce skilled warrior and an intelligent man. Few are blessed in so many ways.’’ You are certain your smile only grows.

He sounds so charming.

So perfect.

So kind and gentle and gallant and strong. 

‘’Very well.’’ You say. Your father is the first to hug you, whispering in your ear that you’ll always be a Stark, and his little girl. If you have trouble, you could write to him and he’d be there before you could blink with your eyes.  

The Starks remain loyal and firmly rooted outside in the yard as the carriage slowly departs to the roads, leaving Winterfell behind. Such sorrow the Starks all share And such more sorrow they would share if they had known what would become of Lynantha.

–

The carriage is comfortable and to your liking. It is warm as a mother’s embrace and has soft pillows that make the long journey comfortable. You imagined you would stay at multiple ins down the King’s road. Lady Alys has been nothing but kind to you, offering you sweets and cake when the landscape and scenery outside of the window changed. 

The lemon cakes you eat are heavy on your stomach, and soon you feel tired. Exhausted for some reason. It must be the weird nightmares that kept you up. 

As a true future Princess, you  try to stay awake in the carriage but the more she fight against the instinct to sleep, the more tired you become.  Eventually, you fall asleep in the carriage.

This time you too dream of the strange sword, the strange lady with the Lantern and the wall. But you can hear a voice this time as well. ‘’Do not go to the wall! Return! You don’t know what you are unleashing!’’ You can not place the voice, and you assume it belongs to the lantern lady. But when you look at the normally covered lady, you see Alys instead, wearing the common cloak and dress, holding the same lantern. Her eyes are red and sinister, burning like hellfire and her smile spreads wider than it should.

Once again, you wake up panting and breathing heavily. Alys is still near you, calmly knitting. You had hoped if you left the North, the nightmares would end. ‘’Welcome back, my Princess.’’ Alys says as she finishes her knitwork. ‘’We are almost there. Just a bit longer.’’ And at that moment, you notice a familiar basket that is half covered with a blanket on the floor. You would recognize that basket everywhere. And to be in King’s Landing so fast….Something is wrong.

‘’You don’t work for the King do you?’’ You ask, your voice soft and trembling. ‘’You’re not taking me to King’s Landing.’’

Alys only smiles, putting her needles and knitting work away. ‘’Just sit tight. I need to bring you to him alive, he didn’t say in what state.’’ He? Who is he?

You have many more questions, but you are not stupid. That was a clear threat and an order to shut up and so you will.

The carriage finally approaches its final destination. And halts.

When you look outside, all you can see is darkness. And the ominous yet sparkling stars above the carriage. Just as in my dreams.

It feels much colder here. And that smell. The smell of iron and snow. Alys takes her time with putting her hood on, and as you had  expected by now the hood had the same pattern as that of the Lantern lady. She smiles as she opens  the door. You don’t know what she wants. But it can’t be good. And you are not coming with her.

You clings to the carriage instead, refusing to follow Alys. ‘’No! I’m not coming with you! Bring me back!’’ You demand. 

Alys only chuckles and pulls harder, pulling you easily from the carriage as a flower being plucked. She puts you outside the carriage.

In the cold snow you take a good look at your surroundings, looking for any help or signs. And there it is. You turn around, as if you can already feel its presence. The looming tall wall of the North.

And you are clearly beyond it.

’Are you mad?!’’ you lash out at Alys. ‘’You have endangered us both! Who knows what’s out there.’’ Alys ignores you, shining her lantern around the ground, searching for something.

You rub your cold arms, regretting you didn’t bring a coat with you. The snow storm only grows worse and worse, as a storm unleashing upon a town. 

You look back at the wall, before stumbling on something beneath your feet, buried in the cold snow. Just like in your dream. And just like in your dream it is the sword. For a moment, you think about picking it up and threatening Alys with it. You reach out to grab it. ‘’What did you find there?’’Alys’s voice rings out, closer to you than she was before. You try to pick the sword up, but Alys is faster. She has a strange smirk on her lips when you backed away from the now armed woman. ‘’Such a good girl, finding the sword. I’ll tell him that you found it.’’ There’s that ‘’him’’ again. 

You become even more uncomfortable at her clearly condescending compliment, and for some reason she is more angry with you than before. Is it because you found the sword? And not her?  ‘’Now come. He’s not known for his patience.’’  You look back at the Wall. Alys sighs, clearly annoyed. ‘’Or you can stay out here in the cold and freeze to death.’’ She adds, with a careless shrug. ‘’I don’t mind.’’ She is right. You know she is. And you hate her for it. You won’t survive out here on your own.

The two of you approach a lake that is somehow not frozen despite the cold.  It is not the lake with the skeleton. You can tell. Red and green and black and yellow flowers grow around it too, and everything about it seems to confirm that this is nothing but just a dream. But you can’t wake up.

Alys grabs your arm, walking to the lake. You resist bravely but end up in the water regardless, yelping expecting cold, freezing water. But it does not feel cold. It does not feel warm. It does not feel anything, truly. It feels…soulless. Dead, in a way. 

Alys and you approach the deeper part, where you can no longer stand. Before you can ask what is happening, she pushes you underwater. You gulp, as water fills your lungs, convinced you will die. You close your eyes and at the moment you have given up all hope, something beneath you seems to open, and you fall down.

—

Your body is drifting between both space and time for a while, until someone pulls you up by your hair, and out of the waters, back into the world of the living. You gasp for air, spitting out the water and cling to the ground, looking around you as you thank the gods you are alive.

You are still near a lake. Just not the one you nearly drowned in. You look at the skies, and it is day as well. How long have I been gone?

This lake has flowers in just green colors, and has ruined walls around it, likely belonging to a palace from a time long ago. You look around and notice your captor calmingly sitting next to you, making a crown out of flowers. She drops her crown the moment she sees you have awakened. You can only glare at her, too stunned for anything else.

You hiss at her, close to strangling her. She cackles. ‘’You’re finally awake. I was worried you didn’t survive our little magic trip.’’ You sit up, taking in more and more of your surroundings, the sun warming your wet clothing, as you look at the ruins of a castle and people passing you both. 

You jump to your feet, ignoring your soaked clothing as you rush to a soldier. ‘’Hey, Hey! I need help! She abducted me!’’ You yell. The soldier takes one good look at you, before he sees Alys. Alys cracks her head sideways, causing bones to crack. That is all it takes for him to take off running. 

You huff, in disbelief and anger. ‘’Craven!’’ You shout, as he rushes off. Next to you, Alys doubles over cackling once more. She finds this extremely funny, for some  reason. She lays a hand on your arm, smiling at you.

You instantly shrug it off, disgusted. She doesn’t seem to even care, still smiling. 

‘’Come. We are almost here.’’ She says. You can do two things. You can dive back into the lake, and likely drown, or you can come with this woman. Both aren’t smart things to do. Alys offers her hand again.

At that moment, you spot a nice, big rock, just a few steps away from you. Most people here don’t care for abuctuees. They won’t care for murder either, you think. No one would know. No one would judge. And no one would tell.

This woman is a threat to your safety. And so you grabbed the rock, and tried to get Alys on her back. The woman cackled again, much to your annoyance. You did manage to get her on her back, and raise the rock skyhigh, ready to deliver the deadly blow. Alys laughs, before spitting in your face. Disgusted and caught off guard, you drop the rock. ‘’It seems we need to watch ourselves around you.’’

‘’Come, we must not let him wait any longer.’’ There it is again. 

You know you are going to regret going with Alys but you don’t have a say. Not anymore. ‘’Who is this him you speak of?’’ Perhaps the mysterious prince, her lover, or an enemy of Joffrey. It has to be.

Or, a Targaryen. You snort, in your head. The Targaryens had been defeated, like their dragons and their ancestors alike. They would not bother you or anyone else on the Westeros continent again.

‘’Your prince, of course.’’ There is something strange in her voice. Almost a scoff or an inside joke that you had yet to understand. However you perked up at hearing those words.

‘’The match my father arranged?’’ you ask. ‘’Is he here?’’ It couldn’t be. Could it? It would not explain the lake, the change of time, the wall, anything of it. But the thought that you soon would see your handsome prince again, gives you some hope.

Alys ignored you and did not confirm nor deny anything as the two of you walked to the castle gates. As you approach, you notice countless freshly dug graves. You gulp. You try to remember what castle this could possibly be. 

And that’s when you see it. The ruins remind you of a more polished version of the castle of Harrenhall. The cursed castle and the castle where dragon fire still burns to this day. The walls look younger, time has not been as cruel as it has been now. The fire burns, as always. 

The thing that scares you most, were the gates. Someone had put heads on the spikes, heads of people who all had their eyes wide open and full of terror of whatever killed them. A killer. A monster.

The smell makes you sick. And judging by their smell, they had been here quite a while. Alys doesn’t even bat a eye at the dead. But she did grab your right hand, dragging you inside of the castle. 

The doors open the moment Alys approaches them, her head high as a true queen. You walk next to her, your thoughts spiraling. 

You have just a moment to glance up at the banners decorating the outer walls. And you wish you hadn’t. An unfamiliar yet known sigil hangs there, proudly paraded by the wind and kept in place with pins.  You would recognize the three headed dragon everywhere. The Targaryens. But how? 

Yet this one looks different. Alys drags you in, the moment you finally draw the conclusion that this is the sigil of no other than King Aegon II.  The gold and the green made that clear. But what are his banners doing here, nearly hundred years after his passing? Unless….

You already felt sick because of the dead outside the gate, and now you feel even worse as an irrational and terrible fear begins to form in your head. A fear so insane that it can’t be true, but how can you deny what is right in front of you? Have I truly….?

Alys drags you with her, into the castle halls and into the throne room. The door has no guards. You can hear someone playing with a blade, sharpening it. You feel shivers and cold, in your wet clothes.

Alys gives you a push in your back, sending you into the room on your own.

‘’I’ve brought you something.’’ She says, her smile barely containing her pride. 

Whoever is there, they didn’t bother to open the curtains or to light candles. A truly terrifying conclusion. 

You trip over your dress, and fall. You regained just enough balance to land on your knees, instead of flat on your face. You know whoever is waiting here, orchestrated this whole thing. And if your gut is right, you know who it is. 

You laugh, quietly. You must be crazy, expecting an actual Targaryen prince to await you here. Stir crazy. But what other explanation is there? Why else bother with old banners, why else does the castle look better than it ever did in your time? 

You glance up at the man sitting the throne, his legs calmly placed on the arms of the lavious throne he sits upon. He is indeed sharpening a catspaw dagger, and his lips have the faint impression of a smirk and a smile blended into one as he takes in your soaked clothing and angry glare. Alys opens some curtains.

And the moment you do see his face, it feels as a relief and a shock at once. Relief because you were right. But also a shock because how, how can you possibly be right? 

You were treated as a silly little girl. You can only think of one reason why the banners were here, why the castle looked so good and why the dead were rotting above the gates. And this man’s face confirms it all.

In front of you, is no one else but Aemond Targaryen ‘’one eye’’ the Kinslayer of House Targaryen. You know him from the history books you have read. But those books barely mention him. Aside from his death and his atrocities at Harrenhal. 

And yet, here he stands. In front of you, alive and well. He is a true Targaryen with sharp classic Valyrian features like piercing eyes, and very light, almost silver coloured hair. 

He finally stopped sharpening his dagger, curiosity written all over his face as he takes you in, sitting on the floor, at his feet and glaring at him. He can’t help but smirk.

You glare. Whatever it was that is going on, it is all his doing. You can tell. And that prince Alys promised you would meet, that is him. A cruel joke on her behalf. You glare at her too. She simply makes another curtsy cackling once again.

Slowly, a smile creeps on his lips, amused by the audacity. ‘’I take it she was a smart lass and obeyed?’’ The question is aimed at Alys and you physically feel your stomach turn even worse by his words. 

You had not been a ‘’smart lass’’. If anything, you had acted insanely dumb. You resisted, you tried to kill Alys. You tried to run. You tried to resist in every way possible and more. 

You cross your arms, tired. Alys beams as she tells Aemond what has happened between the two of you, happy to see you punished by her Prince. ‘’She tried to kill me with a rock.’’ 

His face tilts, and although he tries to appear uninterested and cold, even a simple man could read the anger and murderous emotions in his eye.  ‘’I will see to that she’s punished for that.’’ He promises his loyal servant. To that, Alys smiles.

Aemond smiles at you, in a condescending way. You glance between him and Alys, aware you are in trouble now. ‘’I am not yours to punish.’’ He is not your husband, nor your king or father. No one should decide what happens to you but you. Your voice doesn’t sound scared or angry. Just annoyed.

Aemond shifts his legs, angry at your carelessness and casual behaviour. He slams his hands on the arms of the throne, causing you to flince briefly. He stands up, and you finally see just how tall he truly is. And how fast he stands in front of you. He sinks to his knees, the green leather cracking. He clearly enjoys the way you flinch as he reaches out to touch your chin and your cheeks, feeling your soft delicate skin beneath his fingers. He finally bothers to address you. ‘’Of course you are, Little Wolfling. If you touch and damage something that is mine, you will be punished.’’ He reveals. 

You understand finally that Alys is more than just his servant. They have a relationship. He loves her. And you tried to kill her. You must try to talk your way out of this. ‘’Your lady did not explain why I was taken from my home and lied to.’’ You hope he becomes more understanding of how terrifying all of this is for you.

Alys snorts and Aemond laughs. You curse quietly in your head. That was a failed attempt. ‘’As I ordered her. Alys obeys well and listens. You can learn a thing or two from her.’’ He tells you, finally getting up from the ground. 

Somehow, that makes you angry. The idea that he now thinks you will help him as some spineless pet and roll over for him when he wishes so, it makes you so furious that you are close to pulling him back by his eyepatch to slam his head against the stone floor. You do not have the sword anymore. 

You only have your clothes.

And …

Oh.

You patiently wait until his back is turned to your front, before sliding your shoe off and aiming at his head. You throw the shoe as hard as possible and it ends up hitting him perfectly on his head.

Confused, he turns around, looking for who dared to have hit him. When he notices you, smirking very proudly and missing one shoe, something changes. And you regret even blinking in his direction.

Prince Aemond storms back to you, as you can barely back away to escape him. He is faster and steps on your dress, trapping you easily. You feel the walls closing in and are truly in danger now. The Prince grabs you by your waist, lifting you to your feet and drags you to the throne. You try to break free of his grip, protesting. ‘’Let go of me!” You turn your head to look at Alys. Surely she has a say in this. But she only smiles.

Aemond let out a low chuckle as he sits down the throne, your body still in his grasp. He places you on his lap, as some disobedient little girl. He whispers in your ear, and your cheeks burn with shame. ‘’You laughed. Now it is my turn to laugh, Little Wolfling.’’ You let out an offended cry, struggling to get away from him as fast as possible.

He chuckles. ‘’I am not sure what they teach you in the North, but here, we are respectful to our princes.’’ He says, lecturing you. His cold hands feel the back of your dress, feeling the warm skin that it covered.

Until that moment, you had never been touched before. Instead of doing what you feared he would do, he picked out a different punishment. He does lift your skirts, but barely enough to touch you. Just to reach your small clothes but mostly your behind. And at that moment you know what he is planning. And you don’t want that. You try to escape again, kicking and slapping him.

Aemond grabs your hands, grinning. ‘’Calm down, Little Wolfling. It’s just a spanking. I’m sure you had plenty before.’’ Never. 

Your parents did not believe that that was a healthy idea. ‘’No! Never!”’ You declare, angry. ‘’And you are not my father or my husband. You aren’t allowed to punish me.’’ You say, bravely.

He only scoffs, and his hand lands the first hard blow on your behind, causing you to cry out in pain. You squirm over his legs, fighting stronger and harder. He increases his grip, tightening it. ‘’Tis for the best you learn now, Little Wolfling. I don’t have time and the patience to do this every day.’’

The blows only increase, hurting your delicate skin. You did try to keep from crying and from complaining. You wouldn’t grand him that satisfaction. Not anymore.

It is true that you were disciplined in this way, yet your body betrayes you in the worst way imaginable. 

You do not notice your arousal until it is too late. Your nipples are hardened and there is a wetness between your legs, growing. 

You stop fighting. Perhaps in shock of your own betrayal, perhaps only to show the prince that he could stop what he was doing to you. Finally, he stops. But not before your behind is burning and a painful mess. 

He helps correct your dress and covers you apprioartly as if nothing has happened. You are still in shock, and don’t move away from him at first. ‘’I hope I made myself clear to you both. You both will play nice to one another.’’ He tells both you and his lover.

Alys bristles. ‘’I am not the one picking up rocks and killing people.’’ But this time, Aemond has enough of her complaints.

He did all he could. ‘’The Wolf has been disciplined. I am sure my Little Wolfling will behave much better in the future.’’ You are forced to sit on his lap, as a prize he had won.

‘’Won’t you, Little Wolfling?’’ He whispers. He does not kiss you, but his lips come closer to your cheeks, and unwillingly you feel your cheeks burn bright as stars. He chuckles, amused. ‘’You can go now, Little Wolfling.’’ You almost look offended when he sends you away.

This madness needs to stop. ‘’I,’’ You catched your breath. ‘’I don’t understand a few things.’’ You say. You want the truth. Now. Before you offend him again somehow.

Aemond rolls his good eye, smirking. ‘’You are a woman. I imagine that happens to you a lot.’’ Even Alys glares at that comment but his royal highness does not see it.

You only blink, ignoring him. ‘’You are alive.’’ You say, cutting straight to the case. ‘’You were killed in a battle.’’ You don’t remember who killed him or with what or where but you are certain Aemond Targaryen died.

Aemond’s head perks up, listening eagerly to what you tell him. You can tell he is not listening, but he is eager. ‘’What am I doing here? Am I here to save the dragons?’’ You ask. ‘’Or to stop the civil war?’’ Not that you would even know how in the seven hells to do that, but that's another thing entirely.

That causes the head of the prince to snap to Alys, worry written across his face for the first time that you met him. Alys only makes a gesture with her head, and Aemond seems to calm down. He smirks, carelessly. ‘’Oh, don’t worry about the Dragons.’’ You never heard any Targaryen say that.

The dragons are their wolves. Their dragons are their war winners. You laugh, offended and still hurt. ‘’But, without dragons, I am sorry to tell you, your entire family will become ash and dust.’’ You even chuckle.

Aemond stands back up from the throne, raising his sword and pointing it at you, lashing out. ‘’You are a bold little girl, are you not? Perhaps my hand was too gentle.’’

You don’t even back down anymore. ‘’It’s the truth. Where I’m from, house Targaryen is dust. All thanks to you, your sister and your brother. Together, you caused the civil war and killed the dragons-’’ That is pushing it too far. 

Aemond grabs you by your throat, choking you lightly to warm you of not accusing him of another thing. ‘’Silence.’’ He barks.

You obey, glaring. ‘’Good girl.’’ he smirks, mockingly. ‘’Now, I understand, you must be so excited to see a dragon, hmm? You can’t shut up about them.’’ He stops choking you, feeling your neck.‘’I suppose, there is truth in what you tell me. The dragons are long gone where you are from. But you are now here, with me.’’

‘’The story is written.’’ You say. 

Aemond snorts, and there is something dangerous about his body language. ‘’The story is just beginning.’’

You have a terrible feeling. ‘’You see,’’ Aemond grabs hold of your left hand. ‘’I have some inside knowledge. You know how this will end. You will tell me how the dragons died out, and I will simply be always one step ahead of my enemy. I will be their worst nightmare, their downfall and the dagger that slashes their throat.’’ He grins, as you become truly terrified and even tremble.

‘’How will you stop your sister?’’ You whisper. But you fear you already saw it in your dream. ‘’How will you stop Queen Rhaenyra’s marching troops?’’ Your voice is a soft weak whisper.

Aemond leans in, leaving a soft kiss on your forehead. ‘’I heard a prophecy. The song of ice and fire. That is where you come in. You can help me find something, something very precious.’’ He chuckles.

The sword.

He wants to find the sword.

But why.

Unless…

‘’No.’’ You instantly say. ‘’You can’t.’’ You turn your head to Alys, watching her blank expression. She is fine with this. You watch as Aemond smirks in silence, confirming to you that he is planning to do the impossible. ‘’Aemond, you can’t.’’ You repeat.

Aemond’s grip only tightens. ‘’Think about it, little Wolfling. An army that never rests, never eats, never betrays me. An army that will help me conquer Westeros; An army of White Walkers. It is perfect.’’ He is insane. 

‘’I won’t help you.’’ You remind him. ‘’You might as well send me back.’’ 

He ignores your protests. You can see his smirk and grin only grow, and you are reminded of Targaryens and their insanity. Their fire. Their blood. ‘’You will help me, little Wolfling. You will. Because if you do not, you will never see your family again. I have the means to send you back. And I will. After you have helped me.’’

You scoff, so you must help him do gods knows what so he can send you back to your own time?  ‘’It doesn’t sound like I have a choice, do I?’’ Alys shakes her head. ‘’What will I need to do?’’ You ask Aemond, your head hanging in shame. How many will die because of you?

He lifts your chin, grinning. ‘’Now, now, don’t be so sad. To begin things, we must find the sword. And I want more information on how to better keep the dragons too.’’

You cannot do that. ‘’Dragons died centuries before I was born!’’ You don’t know anything about dragons. ‘’I don’t even know what they eat.’’ You almost whine.

‘’Meat. They eat meat.’’ Aemond says. ‘’Vhagar is right here with me. I will teach you about dragons, you will teach me what you know of the Dance and how it ended.’’ This all sounds like a horrible idea to you. ‘’And when the time comes, we must complete the prophecy of Ice and Fire.’’ That sounds vague. 

But you want to see your family again. More than anything. So you hold out your hand, and wait for Aemond to shake it. He smiles, kissing it instead. He leans a little closer. ‘’I can’t wait until we are married. I always wanted a Valyrian wife, but you’ll do.’’ You laugh, thinking he is jesting. Until you see how Aemond is looking at you. Like you are some delicious cake he can’t wait to taste. He mirrors your smile, allowing you to be in denial as he makes his way to his lover, kissing her openly on her lips. You watch speechlessly as the two of them walk away, their chuckles and giggles mixing as they likely picture their new world together, with them for once atop of it, instead below. 

You throw your head into your neck and try to process it all. What in the seven hells did you even become part of?

a/n

Ooh, i wasnt sure i even wanted to share this one.

But here he is xDDDD

Ok bye

let me know what you think

[atinyniki]

dear (ex)lover.

group: stray kids !

pairing: idol!kim seungmin x f!reader

genre: pure angst, letter

warnings + additional info: seungmin is referred to as seungmin and min, seungmin was (and still is) a dick, seungmin is a player, seungmin led reader on, reader reminisces the past, reader blames seungmin for the downfall of their relationship (rightfully so), reader has past trauma from relationships, mentions of waiting till marriage, reader has body image issues, reader has been depressed, reader has trust issues, reader misses seungmin, just a really really sad angsty letter, intended lowercase, written in letter format.

authors note: okay. im so sorry for this... this is also not proofread. english is not my first language, so please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors. happy reading :)

wc: 1033

dear lover,

why don’t we talk anymore? i remember, you told me i was your best friend once. i remember, i was your best friend before i was your lover. i understand, your love for me is gone now, but weren’t we supposed to be friends? didn’t you tell me we could go back to the way it was? so why don’t you talk to me? why do you avoid my eyes when you see me? why do you ignore my texts?

why do you only speak to me when it’s convenient for you?

i remember when i first opened up to you, my love. i told you i didn’t fit in with the group. i didn't think you needed me, and i didn’t think the others did either. you told me you didn’t know you needed me until i was in your life. do you still need me? why did you love me like that if you were just going to ghost me in the end? we talked about so much. you bought me my wedding ring. i wore my heart on my sleeve for you. you gave me a promise ring. why did you break your promise? why did you write so many love letters to me, knowing that you were leaving in the end?

what did i do to be treated like this? i should have been better to you, right? it’s my fault, right? i had to have done something… right? what did i do? i can do better, i can. i can be a better friend, i promise. you were my first real friend. you held me when things were hard. i need you to hold me once more. you always did my hair all nice to distract me. i miss when you’d braid it. you even played with my stuffed animals with me. you were the first person who accepted me for me.

why don’t you like me anymore? why am i always the one to approach you? did you only speak to me because i spoke to you first? was this all one-sided and you only spoke to me because i annoyed you till you replied? i didn’t know. i didn’t know that i was being annoying. i didn’t realize it. i thought you wanted me too. i’ve been having nightmares again. you told me you’d be there. it’s funny, isn’t it? you promised you’d always be there, but now you’re the cause of them. you broke my trust. you fucked up, and i forgave you. again and again, i forgave you. i took you back for every mistake you made.

why did you take my heart for granted? why did you break me like this? am i unlovable? did you grow tired of me? could you not stand me anymore like the others? the boys told me what you said about me. what you said about my body. i know i don’t look the same anymore, but can’t you still love me? am i really all that different now? or maybe you just don’t want someone who rots in bed all day. yeah, they told me that part too. maybe you couldn’t deal with my past trauma. i’ve lost people in the past like i lost you before. you told me you wouldn’t leave me. not the way they did, at least. but you did. you left, and you ruined me in the process.

maybe i am unlovable. maybe this was meant to happen. was it for the better? did you mean it when you said you loved me those last nights we spent together? did you find it fun? breaking my heart? was it nice to watch me fall apart that night on my bedroom floor? was it fun to use my own pain against me? was it fun telling me it was my fault? did it take some of your guilt away?

i’m mad at you, still.

but a part of me still loves you. a part of me still wants to forgive you, and i don’t know why. i shouldn’t, i know. you don’t deserve my forgiveness. you don’t deserve anything i have to offer. but i still want to forgive you. i still want to love you like i used to. i still want to tell you that im here for you, and i still want to hold you while we fall asleep. i still want to brush away your tears, and i still want to do your skincare for you. but you’re fading away from my life. i don’t know the person i fell in love with anymore, because they aren’t you. i miss his sweet voice, and i miss his melting touch. i miss the sound of his heartbeat, and i miss his heart. but it’s always going to be you, isn’t it? it’s always been you. you’re the person i love most, but the feelings are fading away too. i want to keep them with me. i want to hold it all so tight that your love can’t escape anymore, but you’re gone. you’re gone, and you took my heart with you.

i’m sorry. was i not good enough for you? i wish i could have been the one for you. i don’t know if i’m allowed to say it, but i miss you, min. i miss our late night laughter, i miss our runs to the coffee shop. i miss the bond we had. where did it go? why am i the only one putting effort into this stupid friendship anymore? why do i always text first? why am i begging for you to love me again?

it’s stupid.

this is stupid.

you’re stupid.

i hate you.

i hate you for using me.

i hate you so much for ruining us.

i hate you for ruining what we had.

i hate you for ruining every memory with you.

i hate you for ruining me for anybody else.

you ruined me.

they’ll never be you.

no one will ever be you.

i hate you, kim seungmin.

i hate you.

i miss you.

i miss you, and i hate it.

i hate it.

i hate you.

i love you, your ex lover.

</3

[weltato]

Please do more than just like this post, interaction is key!

DBD Idea. Disclaimer: I haven't read the comics, sorry.

But! After a glance through some webpages, some thinking of a fun ghost idea (that's gonna become its own fic eventually), and the few fics I've read that have had Edwin have siblings, I've had an idea for a potential fic of my own.

IIRC Edwin and Charles died at 16, right? (I could be mixing up ages with Lockwood & Co but anyway-) So, let's say Edwin had a younger sibling. I always put myself in a character's shoes/mindset (as best I can do) whenever I'm writing to try and emulate the emotions of the scene as much as possible, so most original characters I imagine are female.

Sidenote: I do have male characters I imagine, but they're usually harder for me, sorry!

If Edwin had a younger sister, I'll put her at 9 when Edwin died, imagine if one day she shows up at the agency and while she recognises him immediately, he doesn't recognise her. Because of course he wouldn't, she was 9 the last time he saw her, and that was over 100 years ago. He's not-slept since then. After a little bit of Googling (in which Wikipedia told me that the Edwardian era was actually 1901-1910, sometimes extended to 1914 when George V was king, meaning that Edwin is sort of in the middle of being Edwardian and Georgian >.>), I found that in 1929 minimum age for marriage (I'm assuming with parental consent) was raised to 16 and has near enough stayed there [link]. If this sister was 9 in 1916, then she'd be 22 in 1929, but I'm not doing that bc ✨reasons✨ and I want angst.

I always want angst, you should see what I did to Paul Matthews :)

Anyway, the age she would be in 1925 is 18, and I want to put her here bc that's two years older than Edwin ever got to be. Let's say her parents married her off to someone when she was 16 bc why not, the internet is hard to search through so if I'm not historically accurate then someone can correct me. This is fanfiction anyway, I'm not gonna be too precious on the details but I do want enough accuracy that it'll pass. I've got a dissertation to write, I'll let my brain breathe for a bit :)

So, this girl married off at 16, died at 18, eventually winds up at the DBDA with a case to help find....something, I haven't decided what yet. Anyhoo, in the office when they first meet her, she's gonna be focusing more on Charles than on Edwin because it hurts to see him. He looks alive (as alive as a ghost can look) and doesn't even recognise her because she's changed so much and she missed him. So it's too heartbreaking to see him when he doesn't see her. And obviously everyone notices how she averts her gaze away from Edwin as much as possible so they all start theorizing and Edwin's kinda upset about it but also not because maybe she's just not good with people either, he understands that, but Charles and Crystal think it's something else that they can't quite see yet.

And yeah, I've got other ideas for the little tells before it's actually revealed but wouldn't it also be fun if the Payne's initials were also acronyms? Like EMP and ESP? That'd be cool, I think. I'm doing that, that's gonna play into something later.

I swear to everything, if this ends up becoming a multi-chap idea instead of a oneshot idea I'm gonna lose it bc I don't write multi-chap for a reason. I CANNOT follow through.

Unless this idea gets traction within the fandom but I doubt it.

[aboutzatanna]

Who Is Allura?

Allura; the closest Zatanna has had to an archenemy. she has been mentioned on this blog a few times (like here and here). She has appeared in Justice League of America #51, Adventure Comics #413-415 (later reprinted in DC Super Stars of Magic) and the 1987 Zatanna Special, in that order.

But one thing that has remained elusive is why Allura hates the Zatara's and exactly what she is. She is referred to as a 'Dark Elemental' and generally depicted as a ghost like spirit that can do magic but needed to possess others to exist on the Earthly plane. In her first appearance she is trapped inside the 'Sword of Paracelsus' (that's a huge clue btw) and promises to help Zatanna find her father but is revealed to be the one who cursed him and she was actually leading Zatanna to her and her father's deaths.

I have been meaning to dive deeper into Allura's character and I was inspired by @ringaroundaroses's post on Zatanna's enemies to finally do some research on Allura.

Luckily I didn't have to look too far. Yes, guys, I have figured out Allura!

So, in occult and supernatural works, particularly A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits, 4 types of Elementals are specified; Gnome (being of earth), Undine (being of water), Sylph (being of air) and Salamander (being of fire). The book was written by Paracelsus. When we first meet Allura, she is trapped in the Sword of Paracelsus.

Source: Justice League of America #51

(Fun fact; Paracelsus real name was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim and he is the real life inspiration for the character of Hoenheim in 'Full Metal Alchemist'.

Paracelsus was also a doctor and is responsible for pushing ideas like 'the dose makes the poison' and the ethics of a doctor. He still had some outdated ideas but he was still an important contributor to the field of medicine.)

Anyway, Paracelsus describe Sylphs as "invisible beings of air" and "are rougher, coarser, taller, and stronger than humans. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Because of this, sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck." You can read more here.

In literature, Sylphs appear in poems like 'Rape of the Lock' (despite the name the story is in fact not about rape), which was written to be a satire of alchemical writing, the Sylphs are said to be the spirits of women "full of spleen" (meaning full of suppressed anger) and vanity whose spirits are too heavy to ascend to heaven. The heroine of the poem, Belinda, is attended to by an army of Sylphs who "foster her vanity and guard her beauty".

The chief Sylph of the story is named 'Ariel', which is also the same name of the "airy spirit" which appears in Shakespeare's play, 'The Tempest' whose main characters are a magician named Perespero living on a secluded island with his daughter, Miranda along with Ariel and their servant, Caliban . Ariel was previously imprisoned in a tree by a witch and Perespero freed him from their imprisonment and later in the story, Perespero agrees to free him completely if he fulfills some tasks for him. Ariel also used to be played by men by later women began to portray the character on stage.

Finally, there is also a Sylph in the titular 1778 novel 'The Sylph' by Georgiana Cavendish in which a Sylph acts as an unseen guardian to a woman trapped in a loveless marriage (actually nothing supernatural, just an anonymous letter writer whose true identity is a mystery until the end of the novel but it is yet another example of Sylph's acting like guardian spirits).

Anyway, back to Allura:

Source: Justice League of America #51

She fits the Sylph (Air Elemental) type. She pretends to be a guardian spirit to Zatanna but in an ironic twist was actually trying to kill her and her father. She is also "stuck" inside a sword (which could considered an earth element) when we first meet her. She is also exorcised from Zatanna's body via fire. As mentioned earlier, Sylphs are weak to fire plus the bell, book and candle is a popular excommunication method.

Source: Justice League of America #51

She is never called a sorcerer within the story. Always referred to as an Elemental and treated like a supernatural being (because she is!).

Source: Justice League of America #51

For once, I'm disappointed that an older comic did not go into a long expository detail about something and acted like we should know what an Elemental is off the bat. Or maybe it's something the readership of the time would have recognized but we don't.

The main difference between Sylphs in myth and literature and Allura is that the latter needs to possess to exist on earth, has both a good half and an evil with Allura's good half unable to exist outside of the Land of the Kharma.

Source: Justice League of America #51

So now that we know she is an air Elemental, this also opens up possibility of introducing characters based on Undines (water elemental), Gnomes (earth elemental) and Salamander (fire elemental).

Still, that leaves one unanswered question; why does Allura hate the Zatara's ?

Well, there is no canon explanation so we have to resort to building our own headcanons instead.

Some of mine are:

(1) Allura used to be someone's guardian. Zatara promised to protect that person but failed thus Allura is seeking vengeance.

(2) Allura used to a real person, good at one point, but was resentful of Zatara. After their death, their spirits split into two; their good half resided in the land of Kharma whilst their evil half continued to curse Zatara.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Allura? What do you think her backstory should be? What do you think of her being a Sylph? And how do you think that that should be developed in future story arcs?

[brunolover808]

Homelander x F!Reader||Oasis pt 2||

Warning: This contains mature and sensitive content. View discretion is advised. Insight: Read the first part. I will be writing most of it in 2nd person, but at some point I will switch to 3rd person to feel more comfortable.

The pounding of your head was warping that sad stricken look on your face. You looked more constipated than miserable. Which led many murmurs about you as you pass other colleges on your way to your desk. The normal eyes staring at you with something desirable, but never enough to light your mood after last night. You had signed the papers. You finally gave your husband- no, your ex husband the divorce he so harshly wanted. It felt you more crappy than you have been before. Almost to the point of calling out and drinking till you ended up in someone else's bed.

Such a thought crossed your mind and then you remembered. "Sign the papers. Then come find me". Homelander's voice echoed in your head as you found yourself sitting at your cubicle with nothing on your computer. No work was being done the moment you came in.

Was it simple as that to do. Obviously from the implications he gave you yesterday was to give you an experience your ex wasn't giving you. A night or few hours of fun. Just you and the Homelander. A shocking thing to process as you slowly started to click through files on your computer. Not really knowing how to go about this. Was it simple enough to just go up to him and say you signed. You would likely lose your job for that. You needed to have money to be able to have a roof over your head that wasn't your parents.

Your parents, no no no. You forgot about your parents. They probably still think you are married and nothing is going wrong. Maybe you could play it out as such for a little while. You didn't want to disappoint them again. They knew about the struggles with conceiving, but if they found out that you got a divorce, you would not hear the end of it. Your whole life your parents are very conservative and really emphasized on getting married and having kids. It would be shameful to not be able to please them for once. Especially when your marriage wasn't what they saw as fitting. Two innocent lovers marrying under the night sky instead of in a church.

The memories alone made you stressed out. You could really use a drink, coffee for now while you are on the clock. You checked the time and noticed you only have been at work for an hour. You groan in frustration from how slow the clock ticks. Fuck it. You were going to get a coffee from the café.

You get up and hurry away from your workspace. The winding halls and the elevator was all so annoying to you. You are aggravated as you get in line with others. Your arms folded over your chest as you stood there trying to get your negative mind off of everything. Nothing matters right now but this coffee.

Then a tap came to your shoulder and you nearly ready to snap at the person, but hault your eyes met those crystal beauties. "Relax, you look like you just saw a ghost. Didn't I tell you to come and find me when you signed those papers?"

Homelander, he was standing there with a smile as though he was eager to hear your excuse to not scold you. Though all you could get out was an apology. An apology so soft that would be considered a whispered promise. It made him chuckle as he began to speak again.

"Come with me. I can skip the line and get you a drink faster." He waves for her to follow as he heads towards the front.

It felt like high school when you got glares from the other kids as you cut the line. You felt the eyes burning into your skull as you walk up to the front with Homelander. He had such a presence that the person at the counter stopped helping the employee who was already there to help Homelander. He gets a cup of milk before turning to you. He hesitates before smirking and orders for you. He got you a milk tea which made you go to speak up, instead he lifts a finger making you stop. You weren't scared, just... obedient.

After placing the order he starts to walk to a table. He only glances back expecting you to follow. When he doesn't see you coming along he gives a soft whisper before staring at you. You were not sure how to react, but you hurry to catch up beside him. He was not going far as he took a seat at a table to wait. You take a seat across from him as he began to talk.

"Since we are going to be doing this-"

"Doing what exactly sir?" You interrupt him getting a faint growl from him.

"If you would let me finish." He paused glaring to even push further not to interrupt. "Since we are going to fulfilling each other's needs. I thought we should discuss some ground rules."

He didn't say exactly what you both would be doing, but you understood the implications. It bothered you in the right way. Already you felt excited, heat slowly growing between your legs and your heart picking up in pace. He could tell you were as a smirk slowly played on his lips.

"When I say come, you will come. I don't care what you are doing, you will come to me no matter what. I will make sure your manager is aware of such. You will tell me everything when I ask. You will do everything that I ask of you. Finally you will have my child. Now what you get from this is a child, all the sex you could have imagined, and we will visit your most prominent moments that could have been sexually exciting and make sure you finish every time."

Homelander's words were so brazing and even shocked you when he said you would have his child. Yes you wanted children, but with someone you were going to spend your life with.

"Wh-What?" You stutter as he looks at you with his intense blue eyes. How they rake over your body as though he was detecting every shift and pulse.

"Did I stutter? I know you can't form a proper sentence without one, but does your heart stutter?"

Before you could say anything a waiter drops off your milk tea and his milk. Which gave him the perfect opportunity to continue his demands further.

"I also want you to start washing with unscented products. No perfume or deodorant. I want to be able to smell your scent as you walk into the tower. I want to make sure that your scent lingers when you leave stumbling."

He did not leave you to really agree or disagree on such terms. It was going to be a lot of work just to meet his demands. It felt like a full time job and it only made you stare into the cup that held your drink.

"I also want you to have dinner with me every night so we can discuss more. Make sure to wear something nice and no panties...ever." He took his milk and began to drink it with the most satisfied look on his face. "Now, we can start discussing our first session-"

"Sorry I don't want to interrupt, but I don't think I am ready for such...a great offer." You could tell he was upset , but he clenched his jaw and listened to you. "I just signed the papers. I am not over my husband yet."

"Ex."

"Excuse me?"

Homelander reaches over and takes your left hand gently. At first you were expecting him to speak, but instead he takes your hand in a grip that you could not pull away. It didn't hurt, but it was slightly uncomfortable. He uses one hand to hold your hand and the other to take the ring you still hand on. Slowly pulling it off in front of your eyes. He then lifts it up as he rolls it between his thumb and pointer finger as though to have you look through it and see him. Snap. The ring was bent to creak a line so easily. He then drops it on the table before letting go of your hand.

"Ex husband. You will get over him. I promise you will after tonight. So tell me, did he satisfy you on your wedding night."

You swallow as you saw the only physical object that tied you to your ex-husband be destroyed. There was no consideration for your feelings as your eyes began to tear up. Your hands trembled as you picked up the broken ring.

Your voice strains as you hold back the tears. "No."

Homelander sighs as he looks at the ring then at you. He reaches over and cups your cheek before stroking it gently. "Tonight I want you to wear exactly everything you wore on your wedding night. I want to see what your ex-husband saw."

After a brief discussion on the plans Homelander had that night, he let you go about your day. It was still gloomy, but there was something excited. You had to make a call to a friend to pick up some of your belongings from your ex-husband since he wanted them removed. Then you had to deliver the signed papers before heading back to your hotel room. There you were glad to see your friend and even talk to her for a bit before taking a special box with you as you headed back to the tower. You headed up to the 99th floor only getting a few stares and questions as you headed to where the seven residents.

At the floor you are able to get directions to Homelander's quarters. Easy enough you know and wait while holding your box. It was a little weather-worn, but still in perfect condition. The door opened and there stood Homelander. He steps back allowing you in and you do so. He asks about the box and you explain it was what held your wedding dress. He then offers you to change in his room, which you realize is wide open for anyone to view. You were a little uneasy by it and the rest of the penthouse. It was all so open, America memorabilia, states of founding fathers, a giant American flag over a wall and door, and multiple paintings of himself. It screamed narcissist and propaganda. You asked him for the bathroom instead, even though your plans for the night were going to have you in full view.

His attempt to make you comfortable was showing you the bathroom. Though as he left he kept an eye on the bathroom. He used his X-ray vision to watch through the walls, giving you a false sense of security as you change. Though as the dress slipped over your body he looked away. He wanted a genuine reaction to how you looked in the full look. Something inside him was more exciting than he expected. He took a seat on the edge of the leather couch. His red gloves squeeze his knees before he huffs and pulls them off to toss on the coffee table. The wait was now beginning to kill him as this would be the first time he saw someone in a wedding dress before him. Step, step, step. His head nearly snapped off his neck from how quick he looked in the direction of you walking to him.

There you were, a gown that hovered along the floor. Pure white with small gemstones sparkling in the light above you. The bust of the dress is shaped into an elegant heart that lifts your breasts so softly in lace. Bare from the top of your chest up to your eyes as the veil hid away those soft eyes of yours. The veil is like a cloud as it over shaded you before it grew more solid in white over your eyes and hair. The captured beauty of light, pure, and elegant all wrapped into...you. His lips parting slightly as he straightens himself and blinks at how you glowed in his suite.

"I- what do you think?" You spoke shyly as you fidget with your hands in front of you.

"Come closer." He needily whispers to you.

You take hold of your dress and move closer. You take your time as though you were walking down the aisle for him. You take the long way around to let him notice the train on your dress. It only was a couple of feet behind you. The stones falling down looking like a cascading waterfall of glistening gems. You stepped in front of him and he was left speechless. You could feel his eyes lingering on every small detail, not a word leaving his lips. He stood up and slowly reached for the veil. He lifts it up and over your head which shows the light make up you had applied to your face. It wasn't exactly the wedding look, but enough to get the picture. He hand touches your cheek delicately as he finds himself captured by your appearance. The back of his hand sliding along your jaw before he cups your chin and brings you in.

The moment feels like an endless kiss. The time between both lips meetings already took the air from your lungs. Your eyes fluttering shut as his head tilts and perfectly matches his lips to yours. The kiss ruining any memory of your ex-husband's lips. Yearning, soft, plush, and warm. He did not part, he enjoyed the small sigh that left you as you found yourself once again. His free hand slowly caressed your side up till he slid down your arm to take your hand. Then he parted from your lips. Your eyes slowly open as they meet his. If your face wasn't blushing yet, now it was. The pink from the blush make up becoming more red.

"Is this everything?" He breaks the silence.

You swallow and nod before looking at his lips that turned into a grin. He then slowly lowered himself down. He took a seat before you and let go of your hand. He then touches the dress feeling the slightly itchy fabric and recoiling.

"Lift it."

Homelander's command was followed. You bend forward just enough to grab the bottom and pull the dress up to your chest. Your legs exposed to the air, white flats short socks with lace, and then a wedding garter patterned with lace flowers and leafs. His eyes landed on the garter right away.

Homelander reaches down and gently holds your ankle as he removes the shoes and places your foot on his thigh. He leans forward with his lips parted and kisses from your shin, to knee, and stopping at the garter on your thigh. The heat building between your legs was noticeable not only for you but Homelander as well. The scent of desire and slick filled his sense and his eyes looked up at you as his teeth wrapped around the fabric of the garter. He then slowly pulls it down your thigh, kneel, and the rest of your leg. He lifts your leg up to make it easier for it to fall right off and hang from his teeth. His hands roam along your leg to keep you focused on his touch.

Homelander tosses the garter to the side as he plants another kiss to your knee. "Looks like we are ready for more~" His voice husky against your skin.

To be continued...

[matchamilkislover]

White Horse, 2. (a.a.)

pairing: knight!abby x princess!reader

cw: fantasy!au, fem!reader, a tiny bit of blood mentioned, eventual displays of fighting and violence bc it’s fantasy, kind of slow burn?, tension, reader has an attitude, tall af!abby bc size difference, royalty!au, mentions of arranged marriages, some mentions of au politics, abby in armor is a warning in itself

synopsis: you are the youngest princess of the royal family that rules over your kingdom, Aphrynia. now a young adult, you’ve come of age in a tense time, and your personal protection is of utmost importance — which is why the resignation of your previous personal knight means a rushed reassignment ceremony with little to no preface. That being said, why does the name of your new knight sound so familiar?

word count: 3.67k

a/n: this is a kinda slow and really dialogue-heavy chapter but i’m still giggling and kicking my feet, i am so excited for the rest of the story omllll (it’s my own story i have to write it myself but i’m also delulu)

you can read part 1 here!

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Clapping resounded in the large room, but you paid the sound no attention. Yours and Abby’s gazes were still locked on each other, like you were caught in a dance to see who would break away first. Finally, she gently kissed the top of your hand and released it, standing to tower over you with her tall, built form. The simple kiss on your hand made your heart speed up unexplainably, and you swallowed and quickly pulled it down to your side, burying your hands in the skirts of your gown. Abby’s gaze, however, was still locked on you, and you looked down and then around the room to avoid her gaze. What in the world was going on?

Realizing that everyone else in the room had moved on from the ceremony and started milling about, you too decided that it was time to go, clearing your throat before stepping out of place to find Nina. Abby opened her mouth and looked like she was about to reach out and say something to you, but was interrupted by members of the court starting to swarm and try to steal her attention. Thank god, you thought to yourself, dashing away before court members could swarm you, too.

A hand suddenly fell on your shoulder as your eyes searched the room for your lady’s maid, and you cursed in your head, turning to see which Lord or Lady (or worse, daughter or son) had gotten their claws into you. You would’ve breathed a sigh of relief when you saw that it was one of your own siblings if it wasn’t George.

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’d just seen a ghost, little sister,” he teased, that shit-eating grin of his spreading across his face. You just rolled your eyes and turned to face him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, George,” you lied, brushing his hand off your shoulder and crossing your arms. He laughed.

“Oh sure. She’s the one you always attended lessons with, right? Yeah, she was fun,” he replied casually.

“If by fun you mean insufferable, then sure,” you retorted. “Please, you only liked her because she supported your shenanigans.”

He lifted his hands humorously. “Hey, you got me there. It’s nice to feel appreciated once in a while.” You sighed and started visually searching the room again, hangover still leaving you in a mood not quite fit for George’s lovely personality.

“I’m sure it is. But you’re a big boy, so if you could entertain yourself so I can get away from this lovely conversation, that would be great,” you finally huffed and quickly strode away, back on the hunt for Nina. Finding her meant finding breakfast and a nice rant session. And, you thought as your head throbbed again, a lot of water.

“There you are!” A familiar voice squealed as you moved about the cavernous room. You instantly smiled.

“Oh, Nora, thank goodness,” you squealed back as your eyes landed on your friend approaching just from your left. The two of you met with joining hands, squeezing comfortably.

“Are you alright? You looked entirely shocked to see Knight Anderson up there,” Nora inquired, her brows furrowing in concern. You sighed for what felt like the millionth time on this already exhausting day.

“I’m fine, I just didn’t really expect to see her, that’s all,” you replied, trying your best to brush off the way your heart pounded in your chest. You really wished it would stop that. Nora suppressed a knowing smile.

“She’s certainly changed a lot, hasn’t she,” Nora noted with waggling eyebrows.

“Nora,” you gasped, fighting the urge to smile with her. “You know good and well my opinion of her, so you can stop that now!” Though it felt genuine to you, your retort was unconvincing, and Nora simply rolled her eyes.

“Are you seriously still hung up on that? It’s been what, 8 years?”

“9,” you interrupted. “It’s been 9.” Nora rolled her eyes again.

“Close enough. If you want to hold a grudge, that’s fine by me, but I am going to enjoy this while I can,” she teased, sauntering away as you gasped again and feigned reaching out to hit her playfully as she walked away.

Finally, you spotted Nina waiting patiently for you near the edge of the room and let out a breath of relief. You approached her quickly, and her face lit up as you neared, feeling much less awkward when she was with you rather than being alone as a lady’s maid without her princess. You easily hooked your elbow with hers as you took a spot next to her, desperate to seem too occupied to socialize with anyone else.

“Can we please get out of here?” You begged through the clenched teeth of your plastered smile, nodding gracefully to people who passed you like nothing was wrong. Nina almost giggled.

“Yes of course, princess,” she replied, the two of you stepping forward and turning to the door.

“Why does everyone keep giggling at me?” You questioned, again through clenched teeth.

“Excuse me for my bluntness, but your reaction to Knight Anderson was quite entertaining,” she replied, still suppressing giggles.

“My reaction? What reaction?! I was under the impression my face was quite neutral, thank you!” You replied in a way that was almost offended.

“You just seemed quite surprised to see her, is all,” Nina explained gently. “I highly doubt someone who doesn’t know you well would have noticed, princess,” she reassured as the pair of you finally approached the large doors that would lead you out of this blasted throne room.

“It’s not my fault no one told me she of all people would be my new knight! You would be caught off-guard too if you were me!” You retorted, trying to keep your voice to a whisper despite your urge to raise it.

“All I’m saying, princess, is that-” Nina’s reply was cut off by a voice ringing out over the chatter of the crowd to you.

–

In terms of the aftermath of the ceremony for Abby, it was certainly a wave of attention — attention she didn’t want even one bit, especially when the only person she really wanted to talk to was you. Judging by your reaction, you certainly hadn’t been expecting to see her. Hell, she hadn’t been expecting to see you either until maybe 10 days ago. But it seemed like no one had bothered to inform you that she would be your new knight.

“Knight Anderson?” a voice asked, bringing Abby out of her thoughts and back to the many people surrounding her in the throne room.

“Hmm?” She replied, clearly having zoned out and not heard whatever the woman had said. She was quite a sight to take in, with gaudy clothing and a tight, pointed face. The woman smiled, but it looked more like a sneer.

“Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Lady Ulfrid, I’m new here as well. I was just wondering, Queen Arabella spoke quite highly of your accomplishments, and it must be so for you to be a personal knight for her youngest daughter. What might these so-called accomplishments be, I might ask?” Lady Ulfried sneer-smiled again, and this time, Abby couldn’t help but feel like Abby saw the expressions just as they were. She was questioning her.

Raising an eyebrow, Abby let a smirk dance on the corners of her mouth and adjusted her stance. “Well, I was top of my class in training, but that’s not the answer you’re looking for, is it? So what would you like to hear about? The battles I led in our recent land conflicts with Chryiont? Or the ones I led 2 years ago in Dungard? Or was it my successful takedown of the great Pirate Duke? You’ll need to be more specific, my lady,” Abby replied with a knowing smile, satisfied by the woman’s widening eyes.

“Oh, well, I- I just meant, um-, well,” Lady Ulfrid floundered, and it satisfied something a little sadistic within Abby. She was tired of being questioned because of her age, much less her gender, and it felt nice to make people who questioned her then question themselves instead.

“Don’t worry,” she replied, cutting off the woman and leaning down to her height. “I think I know exactly what you mean.” She smirked, and stood back to full height as Lady Ulfrid’s face reddened and she sped away from the knight, muttering something incoherent under her breath.

Turning to scan the rest of the room with her hands clasped behind her back, Abby suddenly realized that talking to Lady Ulfrid had made her lose sight of you. Last she saw, you were talking with one of your court friends — Nora, was it? — and now you had completely disappeared. Something about this felt oddly familiar. Right as she thought she caught a flash of your dress — god, that dress made you look something unearthly — another person tapped on her arm, and she nearly groaned before turning and seeing who it was.

“Long time no see, huh Anderson?” George asked with a sheepish grin, pulling her in for a one-handed hug. Abby grinned back and returned the hug gladly.

“Too long,” she replied easily. “But you know, I don’t think I can condone your shenanigans now,” she continued teasingly. George laughed with a wide, open mouth, patting Abby on the arm.

“Yeah, well, I’ll just have to figure out a way around you,” he replied jokingly.

Abby chuckled and shook her head. Suddenly remembering that she had been looking for you, she snapped to attention, scanning the room quickly. Finally, she spotted you nearing the exit with your lady’s maid, and she patted George on the arm as a farewell before starting after you.

“Princess!” She called, nearly jogging across the room and swiping between different huddles of people. “Princess!”

—

Your smile dropped when you heard Abby calling after you. Shit. While you stood there trying to accept that Abby Anderson would be constantly on your heel from now on, Abby caught up, slowing to stop and face you. You looked at her, expecting her to say something, but she just stared back.

And you both kept staring.

Looking at her felt like seeing a dear old friend and someone entirely foreign to you all at the same time. Like two winds hitting you from opposite directions, pushing the breath out of your lungs and filling them back up all in one motion. She was so different but so familiar, it made you want to both run away and never leave her presence all at once. You didn’t even realize you were staring, studying her like art in a museum, until Nina loudly cleared her throat beside you.

Whoops.

You came to a start and also cleared your throat awkwardly, nodding to Abby as a delayed greeting as you shared an uncomfortable look with Nina. “Well, uh…I, we…it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” You remarked awkwardly. This was already going terribly.

“It has,” Abby confirmed with a nod. You pursed your lips.

“Well, uh, I suppose we should get going, shouldn’t we, princess?” Nina asked timidly, looking at you with wide eyes.

“Oh, yes, of course,” you replied quickly, nodding and turning with Nina to return on course to your chambers.

You grimaced uncomfortably in Nina’s direction, and she returned the look apologetically. Abby looked like she had wanted to say something else, but instead bit her tongue and followed the two of you silently. The walk through the corridors was painfully quiet, you unconsciously straining to listen to the sound of Abby’s footsteps behind your own, hyper aware of her proximity to you. For someone who called her despicable the last time you had seen each other, you were certainly strangely invested in even the smallest movements of Abby Anderson.

Once you and Nina were safely inside your chambers, with Abby standing in place just outside your door, you flopped into a chair, rubbing your forehead. “This day has got to be some twisted sort of dream,” you moaned, slipping off your shoes one at a time. Nina simply suppressed a giggle and shushed you.

“These walls are not as thick as you wish them to be,” she reminded you in a hushed voice, perching in a chair adjacent to yours while she awaited your breakfast request. You pouted and sighed.

“I truly don’t understand why nobody told me she would be my new knight! I mean, she disappeared the day after we had our millionth argument 9 years ago, and now, out of the blue, she’s going to be right behind me 24/7? Guarding me? Protecting me like someone’s out for my blood? It’s just…fucking insane!” You whisper-yell, frustration bubbling over now that it was just you and Nina. Well, and Abby, waiting just outside the door.

Nina sighed, knowing that she should try to make you feel better, even though she couldn’t help but agree with how you felt. “The queen does what she does for a reason, I’m sure. With you being young and the whispers I hear from the other servants, I’m not surprised she wants a trusted eye on you,” she replies in a quiet voice. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, nodding.

“I know, I know. It’s just frustrating that not a single soul ever bothers to tell me anything. I mean, I would have really liked a warning that the girl I basically grew up with was not only returning to the palace as a knight, but my personal knight, and, to make matters worse, she looks like—” you gesture wildly to the door, “—that! How am I supposed to deal with that!?” you exclaim, your whisper lifting a little. Nina starts giggling uncontrollably, and after a minute you join her, if only because of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

“I think,” Nina says, taking a deep breath once her giggles finally subside, “that some breakfast and a lot of water might help make you feel better, hmm? Maybe a tonic from Dr. Anderson?” Nina offers kindly.

“Yes, please, you’re a saint, Nina,” you reply, rubbing your forehead again as the throbbing pushes forward. “But, no tonic, actually, please—I can’t handle being embarrassed by asking Abby’s father for a hangover cure the first day she returns, I think I might keel over from sheer embarrassment,” you finish with a groan. Nina chuckles and nods, standing from her perch.

“Whatever you say, princess,” she says with a pat on your shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, she pushes the door open and exits the room, mumbling an awkward greeting to Abby that makes you cringe from sheer discomfort.

Sighing, you look around at the chaos that is your room after this morning’s rushed preparation activities, and decide that the least you can do even with this raging hangover is make your bed. You stand determinedly and approach the bed, pulling back layer after layer neatly to then arrange each one on top of the last. It’s a bit awkward with the shuffling of your dramatic skirt around the edge of the opulent bed frame, but you manage to make it work.

You’re tucking in the last corner of your many blankets when an unfamiliar knock on the door catches you off guard, and you get stuck pulling your hand out from beneath the mattress. You pull harder and harder, gritting your teeth and kicking yourself mentally for the ridiculousness of it all. Stupid fucking mattress, you groan mentally as you pull, why is this thing so goddamn heavy!? With one exceptionally strong pull, your hand rips free from its feather-filled prison, only for the momentum to send you falling backwards into a heavy sofa behind you, the collision making a crashing sound that mixes oh so wonderfully with the surprised shriek that leaves your mouth. You catch yourself just barely on an arm of the sofa, but have no time to process what just happened when Abby comes barging into the room, eyes wide as she searches for you.

Just perfect.

You both stare at each other like deer in headlights when your eyes meet, unsure of what to do. It’s Abby who breaks the silence first.

“Are you alright, princess?” She asks in a concerned tone, walking over to you gingerly. Her large form seems almost unnatural in your space, and it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the proportions.

“Um, yes, I’m fine, I just…fell,” you explain awkwardly, cheeks going pink. You stand straight and pull your hand off the sofa arm, hissing quietly when the friction stings on your pointer finger. Looking down to inspect it, you notice a long splinter shoved inside of the skin and grimace.

“You just fell?” Abby asks quizzically, raising an eyebrow as she eyes the splinter.

“Well, I, um— I got my hand stuck, and when I pulled it out, I guess I pulled too hard and just…fell…” Your voice trails off as you look from her to the bed and back to your hand, touching the splinter gingerly and hissing again.

Abby nods, humming in understanding. “I see…do you need help, um, with that?” She asked, gesturing to the splinter.

“Oh no, I’ve—I’ve got it,” you reply casually, trying to hide the clenching of your jaw when you gently pull on the slice of wood. Abby opens her mouth to ask if she can help again, but you're already setting your jaw and pulling the splinter firmly, gasping at the more intense stinging when it slips out of your skin. A large bead of blood immediately forms on the spot, hinting to a stream, and your face pales at the sight as you bite your lip and look away, eyes searching for a handkerchief.

Your breath quickens in panic as you search, just the thought of the blood now seeping out of your finger making your breath quicken and your heartbeat skyrocket. A warm hand on yours and the feeling of a handkerchief being dabbed on your finger pulls you out of your growing panic, and you look to see Abby ever so gently holding your hand in one of your own while the other dabs the blood from your finger with a handkerchief.

“I remember one time when we were 9, you fell and scraped your knee on the stone while we were running in the garden, and you were very nearly screaming,” Abby said suddenly as she looked at your finger. “I guess I was right to assume that fear hadn’t changed much,” she continued, chuckling. A breathy chuckle left your mouth in return, gaze still focused on her hands touching your own.

“I never did have the stomach for it, did I?” You responded quietly, a gentle smile dancing on your lips. “I guess some things never change.”

“Yes,” Abby agreed, “some things never really change, do they?” She spoke in nearly a whisper, eyes finally glancing up to meet yours. Your breath caught in your throat, heartbeat slowing as you gazed into the stormy blue of her eyes.

“I guess not,” you whispered.

The sudden rapt knocking of Nina’s small fist and her pushing the door into your room ripped both of you out of the trance you had been in, you grabbing the handkerchief and holding it to your finger while Abby’s hands dropped yours and she stood at attention. Her mouth opened like she was about to announce her arrival before she spotted the two of you standing unusually close, and her movement stopped, brows immediately furrowing in confusion.

“I— We—“ you started.

“She fell!” Abby nearly shouted, her expression unsure. “She fell and I heard the commotion, so I came in, and she, um, got a splinter,” she finished, gesturing toward your hand. You raised your handkerchief covered finger as proof, and Nina nodded slowly. You weren’t quite sure why you felt like you had been caught doing something wrong, but it certainly did, and you certainly weren’t sure how to feel about it.

Abby cleared her throat, and nodded to the still open door. “Well, um, I should…yeah,” she stuttered, nodding a goodbye to both of you before returning to her post outside of the door that she closed behind herself.

As soon as the latch clicked, Nina’s eyes were on you like a hawk, and you were retreating back to where you had been sitting with your face in your hands. “Did I seriously just see that?” She asked incredulously, bringing a tray of food over with her and setting it on a small table. You nodded, face still in your hands, but you were quickly coaxed out by the smell of the food.

“I was just trying to make my stupid bed, and my stupid hand got stuck under the stupid mattress, and I fell pulling it out and got a splinter on my finger, and then it started bleeding when I pulled it out, and…yeah. That’s about it,” you poured the words out quickly, immediately feasting and downing large gulps of water when you finished. Nina simply nodded knowingly and watched, nibbling on a piece of toast as you ate.

“Y’know, that didn’t seem very despicable to me,” she remarked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, a mischievous grin growing on her face.

“Ughhhhh,” you groaned, turning an annoyed glance at her. “Are you going to keep being like this? It was just an awkward situation,” you complained, shoving another piece of fruit in your mouth. Nina laughed and nodded.

“I’m sorry, princess, but it’s been just too easy,” she retorted, still laughing. You rolled your eyes, but inside, your heart still skipped a beat every once in a while, thinking about her calloused, warm hands encapsulating yours, and her deep eyes gazing into yours like nothing else existed in the world.

You seriously needed to distract yourself if you were going to survive this.

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taglist: @paqerings @katniiss @dummysimp011 @chocbaleine

[quarterlifekitty]

Literally no matter what I'm reading, when I read something involving a historical setting and the 141 boys, my mind somehow dives into different historical monster aus. Like... WolfMan!Price or Dracula!Gaz or Frankenstein!Ghost kinda vibe (I'm trying to write something to this vein but it's been... so embarrassingly long since I've written for Tumblr)

And since you're the certified Nikolai expert, what kinda monster or legend do you think would fit him best in that kind of AU? I love picking your brain

++ happy holidays! ⛄

WHAT A GOOD QUESTION!!!!

First: if we’re going classic universal monsters, I think wolf man would actually be a really good fit for Ghost. Not that I’m a universal monster expert by any means— but the wolfman’s whole schtick tends to be self destructive. He can’t stand the dangerous monster that he becomes. He doesn’t want to be a monster, but he is, incurably. He wants an end to the nightmare! All of the killing and the blood! And to me that screams ghost.

As for Nikolai, I could easily imagine him as a Dracula like figure. Enigmatic, dark, inexplicably magnetic, predatory. A man who speaks in riddles and sustains himself with the blood of young, beautiful things. Going after that which is forbidden— promised to someone else— because when you’re immortal all of your choices are governed by whims and limited by nothing.

As for other legends and myths, there’s a story from Singapore about a princess who flees into the forest, distraught over an arranged marriage. She finds a palace she’s never seen, and meets a prince who loves to have fun— who seems like he was made for her. She’s happy. And it turns out that her happy ending is a dream given to her by a rafflesia flower, and she becomes one herself, a part of her father’s forest garden. And I can see Nikolai a bit like that. He lures you away from home to ensnare you.

Also— I do have some notes for fitting Nikolai into the monster hunter guild AU. And if/when I post that, you are gonna see one of my very mythology specific illnesses heehee

[slow-burn-sally]

Thank you @totallysilvergirl for tagging me!

Who am I in fandom?

I'd love this to be tagged for others to participate. I'll include a bulk tagging so others can play if they want :)

Current handle: slow-burn-sally

Other handles: Slow_Burn_Sally on AO3

How do you fandom (fanart, fanfic, cosplay, chat, read fanfic, multiples of these, etc)? I write tons of fic! Typically if I fall hard for a fandom, I'll bang out 5-600,000 words of fic or more during a year to two year writing stretch. I also love making memes and Tumblr posts about my favorite ships.

Where do you post (ie: Tumblr, AO3, FFN, etc)? Tumblr and AO3 almost exclusively with some cross posting to specific Facebook groups. I have accounts on X and Insta but never go on either.

Which current fandoms are you in? Concalve, The Terror, Ted Lasso, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, The Adventures of Tintin, What We Do In The Shadows, BBC Sherlock, BBC Ghosts, The Hobbit, Good Omens and multiple various others!

Do you have past fandoms you aren't active in? I'm not super active in any of them except Conclave and The Terror right now, but I love all of them. Good Omens is probably the fandom I was the most intense about that I'm no longer really involved in. Not because of Neil Gaiman (Fuck him. I'm giving Terry Pratchett posthumous rights to the series). Mostly because the fire died a couple of years ago, but I love that fandom so much!

Do you have fandoms you'd like to explore but haven't yet? Andor! A friend just recommended it and I know @somepallings is a fan, and I see a lot of potential there.

Name your favorite characters. I thought you'd never ask!! I'll just give you my fave Blorbos: John Childermass, John Segundus, Aziraphale, Trent Crimm, Vincent Benitez, Thomas Jopson.

Do you like fandoms set in modern times, historical, or don't have a specific preference? I love historical fandoms! The only thing I don't love is research, but I've still learned so much from being into The Terror and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Now, I have a lot of studying about Rome, the Vatican, Catholicism, The Pope. I also love a modern fandom. I just get sucked in by what sucks me in.

What themes attract you most in fandom (ie: hurt/comfort, romance, horror, fluff, etc) I am a total whore for enemies to loves. I also adore fake dating/fake marriage/undercover fake marriage. Slow burns of course, and pretty much anything involving pining and misunderstandings and barriers to love. Please make me pine!

Share!

Favorite fanfics you've read:

So many, but I cannot hunt them down right now. I feel like a heel but I don't read like I used to. I have favorites and favorite authors, but never figured out keeping track. Totallysilvergirl writes fantastic BBC Sherlock fic as does emilycare on AO3. Seekwill and miaugly have written some of the best GO fics I've ever read. For JSAMN Rubyofkukundu has written stunning Johnsquared fid, as has @speakingskies

Links to favorite fanart (do not repost - please link to the original artist's post): I'm bad at links. There's too much amazing fanart out there. I've received such lovely fanart from fans of my fic. Please forgive me for not trying to figure this out. I reblog fanart constantly. Follow me!

If you create, please share some of your work!

Same problem! Not enough spoons. Please peruse my fics! I've written 189 of them!

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This was fun! I tag: @speakingskies, @ohveda, @fol-de-lol @novemberhush, @drlokiren, @keirgreeneyes, @a-study-in-scarlet, @thinkanamelater