#I wish people who already used it were gentler with newcomers

[goombasa]

Using Linux Casually

I really like using Linux.

I am also not much of a power user.

I'll admit, as someone who grew up in the 90's and sort of grew up alongside the internet, I've been glued to desktops for most of my life, and aside from a brief stint in college where I decided to change things up a bit, I used Windows for most of that time. But being so tied to the Windows infrastructure, I've paid a lot of attention to all of the various changes and alterations made to the operating system, and a few years ago, around the time when Windows 11 was starting to kick into high gear (might have been right around when they announced the EoL for Win10), I decided that I didn't really want to use Windows any more, but I wasn't about to drop a ton of money on getting myself an Apple. That stint in college I mentioned? Convinced me that, even if I could have afforded it, I really didn't want to be part of that particular walled garden.

I had only heard tangentially about Linux at this point and didn't really understand exactly what it was, so I started doing some research, and let me tell you, if you can grasp the basics about it, that is a very easy rabbit hole to fall down. It took a couple weeks of research and educating myself on the different distributions, the different desktop environments, and which of them were most well equipped for general day-to-day use before I finally settled on Linux Mint. I had already been slowly gathering together some parts for a new PC anyway, so this seemed like as good a time as any to make the switch.

That was back at the tail end of 2020 or so. I was very fortunate to have everything I needed in hand before supply and pricing went wonky in the PC parts space, especially for graphics cards. Still feel like I overpaid a bit, but at least I wasn't paying triple the price. Anyway, it was one of the most painless setups I'd had up to that point, and once I got it up and running and got into Linux… it feel good. It felt familiar and different at the same time, and apart from a more convenient means of installing the basic programs that I use day to day, not a lot has really changed for me day to day. 

I think the mainstream idea of Linux as an impenetrable tech-bro's paradise for hacking and coding and programming is still pretty prominent because there aren't a lot of less tech-savvy folks that use it, despite the fact that it is getting much easier to get into. Distributions of linux like Elementary OS, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Zorin OS are made to be much easier to use by those who are transitioning from Windows. Mint in particular really feels like it's trying to be close to Windows in terms of aesthetic layout. A few major PC retailers do sell a limited number of machines with Linux pre-installed. Dell, Lenovo, and even HP sell laptops with Mint and Ubuntu, and there are some smaller retailers like Tuxedo and System 76 that are completely dedicated to selling prebuilt machines with Linux preinstalled. It is easier than ever to get a lot of software from Windows, including a good chunk of the games on Steam, to work on Linux through things like Wine, Bottles, and Proton. Proton, if you don't know, is also what lets you play a lot of the games on the Steam Deck too.

But even with all of the steps forward Linux has made, it's hard to compete with something that got such a big head start. Windows is bloated, unwieldy, and in many cases is becoming more and more unfriendly to people who value their privacy, up to and including forcing people to have a Microsoft account to even set up their operating system if you don't have the time or inclination to find a work-around for that, and most folks who just want a computer to write documents, watch youtube, or keep in touch with friends and family aren't going to think twice about it. It's a convenience, and with how little Linux machines are actually marketed in the mainstream, most are still under the idea that they have to install it themselves. And Windows still wins when it comes to out-of-the-box compatibility.

If you use specific programs, well, Linux isn't really open to you. Adobe has no legit Linux version and Wine just doesn't help get it up and running. Davinci Resolve does have a linux version, but it only works for one specific distribution, and you have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to get it working on any other ones, to the point where it really doesn't feel like it's worth it. Hardware is just as bad. Keyboards and mice will basically always work out of the box, and so long as you don't need those proprietary RGB programs, they're not going to give you any issues, but if you need a drawing tablet that isn't Wacom, and even then not every tablet from Wacom will work, good luck getting it working completely. There is a program that lets you use a stream deck on Linux, but it's very basic and requires you to utilize a plugin to even get it working with OBS, one of the main reasons you'd want a Stream Deck in the first place. As far as Linux has come, it can sometimes still feel like it's still a tinkerer's playground for people who don't want everything done for them.

Linux is in a fascinating position where it IS still a playground for people who want to tinker and learn and code, and develop, and even build portions of the system or software themselves if they want. But it's also approaching a point where it can be used by the average user pretty easily, with the biggest hurdle being just getting it in front of someone so that they can use it. There is a learning curve there, there always will be when you're changing to a fundamentally different system, but the hurdle is so low, I think that anyone who is comfortable with Windows is more than capable of casually using Ubuntu or Linux Mint once they're up and running. The problem is just getting there. And of course, if they want to do anything more complicated than the basics of running a computer, things might get a bit complicated depending on what they want to do, but if they want to watch videos, communicate, get online, or do quite a bit of creative work, from 3D modeling to 2D art to music and video production, so long as they don't need access to anything that's uber professional, Linux has them covered and makes it very easy to get at what they need.

I genuinely think that Linux is something that everyone should at least try once, something that's fairly easy to do if you're using a bootable USB drive. But even then, I don't think most people are interested in even going that far, seeing it as too much effort for something that they might not even continue using after the fact anyway. And that's fair, which is why I think having someone around who at least knows the basics to help them over the hurdles to get started is a necessity too, but like… not someone who's SUPER into Linux, not someone who's going to suggest the command line for every little thing. We need more people out there who will show new users how to use the basic graphical user interface means of doing a lot of this stuff, because that is how you get more people interested; you show them that what you want them to try out is at least close to usable compared to what they're using now, while also laying out the usual positives.

I hope I've actually hit on something with this rambling. Because I do love Linux, it feels very comfortable to me, and on the whole, I like it a lot more than windows. Switching to Linux was the right choice for me, but I had to do a lot of research to reach that conclusion. And I feel like if that information was more readily available, and if it was made clear that you can do almost everything on the desktop the same way that you would on Windows, more folks would be willing to give Linux a try.

If you've never tried it before, I'd recommend at least trying out Linux Mint. If you've only ever used Windows, you will feel pretty at home here.

[girlgirlgirlnormal]

Niragi x OC x Last Boss (Part 4)

Hey, I wrote another part! And this story still has no name. Also, I`m working on a small Kuina fic, because I love her very much. 

TW: Abuse, sexual content, harrassment

Word count: 2.8k

part 1 part 2 part 3

She had been spending every day with Samura and Niragi for a week now. They went regularly to games, but they never took Hina with them. They did not tell her, but she deduced from their behavior that they had thought bringing her to a game would help them protect her. The floor is lava game was not a game in which anyone could protect another person. They had been a little gentler with her. Niragi was still fucking her mercilessly every night, and Last Boss was enjoying watching it and have his way with her afterwards, but they were good to her. She got fresh fruit, and nobody came near her. She got cigarettes and birth control and everything she asked the men for.  

It was a warm night, Samura and Niragi were out with Aguni and some other militants to participate in a game. Hina had been bored in her room, so she went down to the bar by the pool and got herself a cocktail. While sipping on it she spotted Kuina, sitting on one of the loungers and talking to someone she hadn’t seen around before. She decided to join them. Kuina was nice and pretty.

She walked over and plopped down beside the girl with the short hair with whom Kuina was talking.

“Hey, I’m Hina.”, she introduced herself, extending her hand to shake the young man’s hand before stopping abruptly, “Do I know you?”, she asked, furrowing her brows.

The young man looked away shyly. That was all Hina needed to recognize him.

“I gave you a lapdance!”, she exclaimed, “You came to the club”, she thought about it, “once?”

“It was a birthday present from my friends”, the men answered, looking at his feet.

“Awww”, she cooed, “I remember you because you were so shy! You didn’t even look at me throughout the whole dance!”

The girl beside her laughed.

“These are Arisu and Usagi”, Kuina introduced them, “but I guess you already know Arisu?”

“He had my tits in his face”, Hina laughed, “I guess he hated it, but his friends were having a grant time.”

Kuina laughed, “But don’t get caught hanging out around her, her boyfriends don’t like it.”

Hinas hand automatically wandered to her hickey covered throat.

“Stop that crap music”, someone shouted, and the music was abruptly cut off.

“Those are the militant core at the beach. If you want to live in peace here, then don’t mess with them”, Kuina said, looking down, and explained them the beaches dynamics.

Hina couldn’t help but shove Usagi a little bit behind herself. She knew the militants. The only reason none of them even talked to her was that they were afraid of Niragi and Samura. Usagi was a pretty girl. They would like her. She didn’t think that she would like them back.

Aguni stopped infront of them, making Hina arch her back and lean a bit forward, trying to cover as much of Usagi as possible.

“Where is your friend?”, Aguni asked Arisu, making him look away shamefully, “Oh yeah? He’s dead? Too bad. Yet someone like you still lives.”

Samura and Niragi were standing behind Aguni, watching with interest.

“You know each other?”, Kuina asked, but no one bothered answering her.

Agunis gaze fixated on Usagi. Hina wanted to say something or do something to distract him, but she didn’t know what.

“Hey”, Aguni said, slightly turning to Niragi, “bring the woman.”

It was too late to do something. Hina wanted to give her the advice she herself had been taught at a very young age. If you can’t escape, try to enjoy it. It didn’t seem appropriate.

She watched Niragi, with his sniper over his shoulder walking over, just as he was about to grab Usagis arm Arisu sprang up.

“My boss says to bring you to him”, Niragi explained to Usagi, “get up.”

Hina could see Last Boss mouth twitching the same way it did when he watched her being taken by Niragi. They wouldn’t help this newcomer.

“Leave her!”, Arisu said, standing up and holding Niragis hand.

“Are you a tough guy?”, Niragi asked, clearly having too much fun with the situation, he turned to Aguni, “What should I do to him?”

Hina closed her eyes. This would not end good. She didn’t dare to speak up though. She was already sleeping with them to survive; she wouldn’t get herself killed over protecting a woman she had just met. She still wished she could protect her.

If you can’t escape, try to enjoy it, her grandmothers voice rang in her head.

She smiled, as she met Samuras gaze. She couldn’t enjoy the scene infront of her. She was just going to watch the man who always made sure she had something to eat and some water after he fucked her.

“Break both his legs so he dies in the next game.”, Aguni ordered.

“Good one”, Niragi looked back to the other militants, “take the woman and you come with me.”

Her eyes were still locked on Samuras, as he started walking again, following Aguni. The whole procession stopped, as Arisu ran to stand between one of the militants and Usagi. Hina could feel her hand grasping Usagis. Her friend was going to die, and she was going to be raped. There didn’t seem any other way this situation could end.

“If you can’t escape try to enjoy it”, she mumbled, low enough for only Usagi to hear.

The newcomer gave her a panicked look.

“Ooooh”, cooed Niragi, threateningly walking up to Arisu.

Hina was waiting for it to end, as a voice asked, “Is there are problem?”

She had never been so happy to see the hatter. This woman didn’t have through all the things she had gone through in the real world.

“Back off hatter, this is none of your business.”

“But this is my business. I´m the beaches leader. What I say is the law here and I´m saying that you keep your hands off the newcomers, Aguni.”

Nobody moved.

“Niragi.”, said Hatter.

Niragi looked away, “The only boss I have is the general”, he announced.

“Then I will ask the general. Who do you think is your boss, then, Aguni?”

Aguni stared in the other man’s eyes and for a moment Hina thought that he would kill him then and there.

“Shower once in a while”, hatter said dismissively and told the executive members to meet in the conference room.

Scoffing, Niragi and Samura followed Aguni, away from Hinas sight.

They wouldn’t be happy then they got back.

Arisu was invited to the meeting and left. Sawing that Chishiya was approaching, Hina said her goodbyes and went up to her room. Niragi hated that guy and didn’t want her to be near him. Normally she wouldn’t care, if she was chilling with Kuina and Chishiya joined, she just ignored him, but today was different. Niragi and Samura would be already mad then they got to her and she didn’t want to fuel their anger.

Back in Samuras room – she hadn’t gone back to her own room since her first night with them – Hina went to the small ghettoblaster and started to play her song. Daisy by Ashnikko. Since it had came out a couple of months before she found herself in the borderlands it had been the song to her signature dance. It was a nice song and it had been easy to form a persona around it. She had danced with a bright blue wig and tall “glass” platform heels. The act was so popular that they even printed a life sized poster of her dancing on the pole during that act and placed it on the most prominent wall of the club.

She used one of the bed posts as her pole and danced with closed eyes, pretending to be back in her club, with her only friend Red Diamond cheering her on. She stopped as soon as she heard the door open.

Samura and Niragi entered. Samura went to the ghettoblaster, turning it off, as Niragi stepped in her personal space, one hand tightly gripping his rifle, the other her throat.

“What were you doing with the newcomers?”, he asked, squeezing her throat.

She didn’t even try to answer. He was squeezing too hard for her to be able to speak anyway. She just looked up at him, trying to hold her breath. Fighting him or trying to somehow breath through her squeezed airpipe would make her look pathetic. If he wanted an answer, he had to stop choking her. She was already feeling a bit lightheaded, as Niragi let go, shoving her onto the bed.

“I had just joined them. The man, Arisu, I know him from before. He came to the club once.”, she explained.

“Once?”, Niragi said, face dangerously near hers, “Why would you remember someone who came to your club once?”

She had told them about being a stripper. No more or no less. They didn’t want to hear about it. They didn’t even make her dance for themselves. They didn’t talk about their lives before the borderlands and they were not interested in hearing Hinas story.

“Because he was so shy”, Hina explained, she caught herself smiling at the memory, it had been a busy day and he had been dragged there by his friends who were insisting on paying for a lapdance for him, “I gave him a lapdance and he didn’t even look at me. A true gentleman.”

Niragi slapped her cheek. Hard.

“A true gentleman”, he mimicked her in a high-pitched voice and slapped her again.

This time Hina could not stop herself from reaching to her burning cheek. She did not stop looking into his eyes, even though she could feel tears pooling in her eyes. They had been so much gentler with her and now everything was ruined, just because she talked to some people?

“If you can´t escape, try to enjoy it”, Samura quoted her words from earlier.

How did he hear that?

“Is that how you feel about us?”, he asked.

She saw up to him. He was still wearing his hood and his katana was strapped to his back. Niragi was still holding his rifle. Normally they took off their weapons as soon as they entered the room and started kissing her. She couldn’t believe that talking to someone had changed that.

Hand still on her cheek she shook her head, “Its just something I was taught in the old world.”

“Who taught you that?”

“My grandmother”, the tears were no longer just pooling in her eyes, they were flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Why?”

“Because things like that happen all the time”, Hinas voice had no emotion in it.  It was just a fact. It had happened to her and so many people she knew.

“Did someone hurt you?”, Samuras voice was much softer than compared to his other questions.

Just 15 minutes ago he had enjoyed watching Niragi pull away Usagi to be met with that faith and now he had the nerve to sound concerned?

“You mean someone who is not the two of you?”, she asked, voice still not betraying any emotion, “Yes. Many times. And you are hurting me too.”

Niragis hand was on her jaw before she could say anything else, he was holding her tight and watched her face for a moment before licking a long streak on her face, collecting some of the tears, “But princess”, he whispered, “You agreed to this and we’ve been awfully nice to you.”

She couldn’t help but scoff, “You can be gentle but contrary to popular believe, I do not enjoy being hit.”

Niragis eyes were closed as he licked the other side of her face. Samura was watching them.

“Has someone on the beach hurt you?”

“They tried.”, she answered, “I got away.”

“Do you want to go back to your room?”, Samura asked, hood still up.

Niragis hold was too tight and she would have bruises all over her face the next day. She shook her head.

“I don’t want to be alone”, she whispered.

Samura finally took off his hood and unstrapped his katana, gently putting it on the sideboard. He sat down next to her on the bed and kissed her shoulder.

“You look exhausted”, he said, shooting Niragi a look, “Maybe we shouldn’t play tonight.”

Niragi frowned but let go of her jaw.

“I would have enjoyed that”, he murmured.

“Remember what we said, Niragi”, Last Boss said, “She is ours. We will treat her good and she will stay ours. She doesn’t look like she can handle it today. We don’t want to break our doll.”

Hina felt so thankful. They had been fucking her every night since their first night. She couldn’t understand how they were always so horny. Sure, she enjoyed it. Sometimes at least. Then she was not being hit, choked or pounded so mercilessly that she could feel her insides tearing, but that was always Niragi and he always stopped then she started screaming in pain.

How messed up did she have to be to see that as a good sign?

“Lets just go to bed”, Samura declared, placing a small kiss on the top of her head, “and tomorrow we will continue talking about this.”

They let her change into one of Samuras shirts as they undressed. They slept only with underwear, most of the time even naked. After a good session none of them wanted to move much.

She laid down in the middle of the king-sized bed and let Samura hug her to his his chest. The mattress caved behind her, as Niragi joined them, cuddling up to her back.

“Maybe we should establish some safe words tomorrow”, Niragi mumbled into her shoulder, “Would you feel safer that way?”

Hina nodded, “I don’t mind you being rough in bed. I just don’t want you to slap and beat me outside of it”, she whispered letting herself being cradled between them, “My boyfriend used to do that.”, she thought for a moment, choosing Samuras words to describe it, “He hurt me. A lot. Every day. I don’t want to fear you like I feared him. I don’t want to be paraded around like a prized dog.”

“Good”, Samura answered, nuzzling his face in her hair, and taking a deep breath, “You won’t have to.”

Normally, Hina was the last one to fall asleep. She would stay awake and lick her wounds and sleep much later than the men. This day, she fell asleep first. She wouldn’t say that she felt safe with them. She just didn’t feel like she was in immediate danger between them.

As she woke up the next morning, she was alone in bed. Neither the men she had gone to bed with nor their weapons there anywhere in sight. Sighing she sat up. She should get dressed and go down to the pool to get some breakfast. Pulling Samuras shirt off she got dressed in her red bikini and put on her flip-flops. She quickly brushed her hair and made her way down. As she stopped by the bar to get herself a fruit bowl, she spotted Last Boss and Niragi sitting in the VIP section with some other militants. She took the small bowl from the bartender, whose job included serving food at mealtimes, and made her way to them.

“Good morning”, she greeted them, sitting down between them.

They wished her a good morning and went back to eating their own breakfast. They didn’t touch her. That was weird. Normally they were not able to keep their hands off her. They would always touch her legs, her face or her back. Now it was nothing. She started eating but continued watching the man.

“What’s wrong?”, Niragi asked frowning.

She stared at him. Then she stared at Samura, who was also staring at her.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with you two?”, Hina was wondering if she shouldn’t have told them what she did the night before. Did that make them not want her anymore? Would they drop her or leave her to die as soon as the next game came?

“You wanted us to behave like gentleman”, Samura explained, “Not to behave like your boyfriend. We are doing our best.”

She looked at him. He looked like he was being genuine. They had listened to her and they were ready to change their behavior.

“We`ll talk about it later, in the room. We still have to find a safe word.”, Niragi reminded her, “Eat.”

[zenlesszonezero]

You feelin' fired up now? Make way for the undefeated Champion! —Welcome to New Eridu!— PS5™/iOS/Android/PC | Version 1.3 "Virtual Revenge" of Zenless Zone Zero, HoYoverse's urban fantasy ARPG, is out now

[darling-archeron]

These Chains Never Leave Me

Mor wakes up in Velaris after being tortured by Keir, and Rhys is there to comfort her. Trigger warning for mentions of rape.

For the first three seconds, Morrigan felt weightless.

Then it all came flooding back.

The pain in her side that she could feel when she shifted.

Keir’s mocking grin, Eris walking away, the nail –

She blocked the memory out, building an iron wall in her mind to keep it behind.

But now….it was peaceful. Mor turned her head, careful to keep the rest of her body still, and took in the room. From her position on the small bed, she could see two windows covered in gauzy purple curtains. The walls were a light shade of blue, and the only other furniture was a nightstand and stool. But none of that was important – her attention was drawn back to the windows. To the sunlight that shown through them. Too light to be Hewn City. Too peaceful to be a war camp.

Where the hell am I?

Deciding to risk it, she carefully sat up, blankets sliding down to her lap. She noticed she was wearing soft cream nightclothes. It was a style she had seen before on Rhysand’s sister, but never one she had worn herself.

They were so clean – no sign of the taint of what had been done to her -

Hissing with effort, she eased off the bed, side screaming and leg aching. But she couldn’t sit still here for any longer or she would start thinking about it.

About her family’s betrayal, about Eris, about –

No. No, no, no. She would not think about it yet. Not until she had to.

The doorknob turned, someone was entering the room. Instinctively, Mor felt for her ceremonial dagger, for anything she could use as a weapon. Not that she could use it well, but it would be something.

Nothing but freshly laundered sheets were within her reach.

The door creaked open, revealing Rhysand. His eyes widened when he saw her awake and sitting up.

“You’re awake.” An empty statement, as if her usually silver-tongued cousin couldn’t think of a single other thing to say.

She only nodded, Rhys taking it as a cue to sit down on the wooden stool silently. She could see he was back to his nervous habit as he picked an invisible piece of lint off his tunic. A tunic, not armor. So they were somewhere he was a High Lord’s son, not an Illyrian - though his wings were out.

“Where am I?” She asked, voice hoarse.

“You’re in Velaris – the City of Starlight.”

No doubt another one of the Night Court’s countless cities she had never seen or heard of.

Rhys paused, waiting for her to prod him about it, ask him what this place was. When she didn’t, he carried on smoothly, face neutral. “It’s a city that’s been kept secret for hundreds of years. The only people who know about it outside the city-dwellers are my immediate family. It’s a city of peace. There have been no attacks on it since the founding. I thought you might enjoy it.”

This was enough to pique her interest. “He doesn’t know about it?” Her voice was steadier this time.

Rhys knew who she meant. “Not one member of Hewn City has ever stepped foot in this place. It’s hidden by powerful wards.”

“You don’t include me in that assessment?”

Her cousin’s eyes narrowed, open fury lighting in them. “You are not a member of that Cauldron-damned court, Morrigan. You can stay here as long as you like.”

Mor sat up completely now, the movement enough to make her clutch her side in pain. “I can’t….I can’t go back. Not now. Not ever.” She began threading shaking fingers through her golden hair, forming it into a messy braid.

Rhysand nodded. “No one expects you to…Az and Cass almost killed him already. I convinced them to talk to you first, though.”

Mor shook her head swiftly, a sign that she didn’t want to talk about that right now. “I doubt Hiram would appreciate that.” It doesn't matter what I think.

The side of Rhysand’s mouth quirked. “My father sees no real benefit to Kier. He's not particularly cunning or clever, and replaced with ease.” Mor cringed at his name, and Rhys winced, mentally scolding himself as he carried on.

“Whatever you see fit to do with him is your decision.” No doubt a lie, but it made her feel better even as she shook her head again. Hiram was nowhere near as foul as Keir, and he respected the females in his Court well enough. But to him, Mor was only another daughter in the endless cycle of misogyny their world had to offer.

“Is Azriel here? I need to thank him. I owe him a life debt now.”

His willingness to save me, someone he hardly knows... 

Likely a strong dedication to the crown.

Rhysand paused for half a second before speaking. “No. Our illustrious High Lord is….rather strict about who he lets through Velaris’s borders, and newcomers are unheard of. No caution is spared when it comes to keeping Velaris a secret, so he was rather adamant that Cass and Az were kept out. Between you and me, they’re known of its existence for as long as you’ve been here, but Father wouldn’t appreciate that piece of it.” He gave a dry chuckle, recollecting his thoughts.

That alone let Mor know how much it had taken for Rhys to convince Hiram to let her stay. She was not supposed to be here. Weaving unsteady fingers through her hair again, she bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“You’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness for four days, and they’re anxious to see you whenever you feel ready.” Rhys’s voice was gentler than she had ever heard it.

She bobbed her head, saying nothing.

Surprise flickered across her cousin’s face, probably at seeing her so quiet.

The last time we met, I was blatantly making a move on Cassian, tittering and grinning. So it is a rather drastic change. 

But today she didn’t feel like laughing, or flirting, or smiling at all. There was no place for vengeance or fear or wickedness inside her heart, either. Only a dull emptiness where life had once existed.

She had thought….perhaps her mother would have tried to stop it. It was true that she had never shown her any affection beyond withholding criticism - but Mor had deluded herself into hope. Or some other random family member. But when she had been dragged down that hallway, the watchful court has only scowled her with no light behind their eyes at all.

Clearly, she had lied to herself even though her gift was truth. Hope was as futile as wishing on the stars.

Clearly sensing her mood take a darker turn, Rhys cleared his throat. “Do you want to see the city? If you walk with a cane, you should be alright. Or my mother and sister are here, you could visit them. Otherwise Cassian and Az are at the camps, I can winnow you to them. Or -” Rhys continued on, uncharacteristically babbling.

The thought of going outside, watching the whispers that would follow, of the power she could be bred for was enough to make her want to never leave the room. But…a city of peace and life. One untouched by the wickedness of nightmares since its founding.

“Will you wipe my memory afterwards if we do?”

Rhys shook his head adamantly. “I don’t wipe the minds of family. I never plan on touching your thoughts. But…you must never speak of what you see to anyone else.”

“Then yes.” Mor nodded slowly. “I think I’d like to see the city very much.”

Velaris was unlike anything she had ever seen. 

Did the other courts have places like this? Places where she didn’t feel like the roof might cave in at any moment. Places where laughter was not met with with dagger-sharp glares.

Mor had never left the Night Court’s borders, but it seemed impossible any other place could compare to The City of Starlight.

The buildings were colored in bright paint, the air filled with music and the sounds of dancing feet even though it was early afternoon. It was a place where there was enough safety, enough joy for the occupants to dance whenever they felt like it.

Rhys had procured a dress for her from somewhere – a coral one, with billows sleeves that hid her wrappings. She had been careful when putting it on, not causing strain to the healing wounds.

Though she had worried about not fitting in, it was clear there was no archetype of fae in Velaris. High and lesser fae of all types in all sorts of fashion roamed the streets, completely at ease.

Rhys was obviously known well in the city, though not as a son of Prythian’s Lord of Darkness. Just…as Rhys. As they walked along the shaded sidewalks, city-dwellers stopped to wave or exchange greetings with him, no fear in their eyes. They smiled at her too.

“This is my cousin, Morrigan.” Rhys would say.

The face of whoever Rhys was speaking to would light up. They would say something like “Good to meet you, Morrigan!” or “A pleasure to meet another one of Rhys’s family.” And…they sounded sincere, too. The poison that dripped from the lips of Hewn City’s residents was completely absent here.

So Mor would give a wan smile or polite nod and say; “Lovely to meet you, too. Call me Mor.” A strange feeling, pretending to be happy and polite rather than wicked all of the time.

But...Mor. It was a nickname Rhys had given her the first time they met at the age of six, claiming that Morrigan was too long to remember. Since then, only Cass, Az, and Rhys’s mother and sister called her by that name. It was one used among friends, and she corrected the citizens as if she would be seeing them again, as if she intended on staying.

And….she wanted to. She didn’t want to leave this place of light and color and joy.

She took a careful step out of the shade, and into the sunlight.

It felt like a tiny, pitiful ray of hope.

It felt like this was not the end. Like perhaps she could somehow heal her weary soul.

Perhaps this was only the beginning.