#Choosing is never easy

[chaosduckies]

Sleeping With Sirens (2)

I planned to make this wayyyy earlier but life happened. But it's here now! Enjoy some small fearplay and angst with my mer au

Word Count: 5.2k

CW: mentions of death, mentions of being eaten alive

2-

If you had told me the day before that I would be willingly traveling with a leviathan, the scariest thing in the ocean, I probably wouldn’t have believed you in the slightest.

And now there was a huge sea monster waiting for me to catch up with them. As reluctant as I was about all of this, the promise of maybe finding my parents kept what little bravery I had intact so I wouldn’t swim away in fear. Not that I could escape this leviathan if I had tried. 

It had only been about an hour since he had started guiding me to wherever he was thinking of. Whether it was just another hunting ground or not I just had to trust him. I could maybe make it across the trench, but there’s no guarantee that my parents made it across. They might just be waiting for me somewhere out here. If only we hadn’t been driven away from our home. Maybe things would’ve ended up differently. I wouldn’t be between life and death. Literally, or almost died countless times. 

The leviathan never talked. When I grew tired of swimming and couldn’t keep up with him anymore he’d stop moving before he caught me in his hand that was trailing just behind. I think the only reason I kept going was because I was terrified of making him impatient. Who knew what he would do to me? The worst was being eaten alive, but I think being abandoned and left out in the open was just as bad. Hiding obviously didn’t work with what happened before. So I was just a snack to pretty much any and everything that lived here. 

Even after traveling for a full straight hour, it was still open ocean and the kelp forests. My stomach grumbled from the lack of food, but I was too terrified to mention it. If I could even speak with my mouth practically glued together. This entire situation was terrifying. 

The water grew darker, the clouds covering up the sun so the water didn’t look like its usual nice shade of pink. There was nowhere to hide so I could sleep, no sign of stopping to take a well-deserved break on my end, and there was no sign of life. At least not yet. My newfound fear of the dark crept up inside me as I very subtly inched closer to the leviathan. They didn’t seem to notice, and if they did they didn’t seem to care too much. A sigh of relief escaped me as I held my arms close and watched as the same scenery of kelp and loose gravel and sand passed by. 

We continued for another half hour I would guess. Darkness settling in. I could still see a little bit out, but not too much. Better than the trenches at least. What I wasn’t expecting was for the leviathan to start glowing with a very dim but somehow vivid purple light. I yawned, tired from swimming nearly all day. It wasn’t surprising that the leviathan could keep on going though. They hadn’t even so much as complained either. Perks of probably being the biggest predator out here I guess. He had nothing to worry about. Though, there were faint scars along his arms and side. Meaning that there were some things out there that could hurt him. That just terrified me more. What could be capable of that? 

I hadn’t realized I was trailing behind until I noticed the hand they placed behind me coming closer. I cringed at the sight of the claws before trying to swim up more, but I was too exhausted to keep pushing myself. My eyes threatened to close shut every time I blinked, slowly dozing off. 

With a quiet wince, I forced myself to keep going, but it wasn’t long before my body was too exhausted to move anymore. As soon as I stopped his hand seemed to scoop me up, and that just terrified me even more. Was he going to yell at me for not being able to keep up? Well, yelling was the least of my worries. I was literally in his hand. In his complete mercy. Sure I was the second he laid eyes on me, but this was different. Making him angry or annoyed now was probably not in my best interest. Or life. 

I held my breath as soon as he stopped and glared back. I didn’t dare make eye contact as my body trembled in fear. Breathing was all of a sudden a trivial task as I felt his eyes bore into me. In my mind all I could do was beg and hope that nothing would happen. Though, a very big part of me doubted it. 

The leviathan hummed quietly before peering out in the distance to scan the area. Nothing but kelp, sand, and gravel. He let out an annoyed huff, his fingers slightly curling around my tiny frame. It took everything in me not to yelp or swim off. I’m sure I would be in even more trouble then. It felt like everything around me was getting closer as my chest grew tighter and tighter, cringing away every time his fingers would flinch. I didn’t like this at all. The fear and anxiousness were not a good combo. 

They didn’t say a word before my world quite literally became a blur. I couldn’t react in time before being closed in a fist. It felt suffocating. Trapped. The first thought that came to my mind was that I was dead. So dead. It was stupid of me for even believe that they wouldn’t kill me. My heart rang in my ears as I felt the water rush. All of a sudden I just felt dizzy and too weak to attempt to escape. My eyes felt heavy and tired from the day that I’d had that it was practically an impossible challenge to keep them open for any longer. 

Out of fear, I pushed against their fingers to try and get out, tears pricking the edges of my eyes. I didn’t want to die like this. How could I just leave my parents? They might still be out there looking for me just like I was looking for them! After surviving countless attacks and hiding and being as brave as I could this was how I was going to die?

I pushed against their fingers one last time, never noticing the gentle and soft grip they had around me before opening their hand. I took a deep breath for what seemed like the first time and coughed, now sitting in their palm. I was… alive? Intact? 

My head perked up at the sight of a broken ship that was covered in algae, tiny pieces of coral and plenty of other plants. Some even looked edible. The wood looked like it would crumble at even the slightest touch, but it was huge. Well, at least to me. The ship itself could probably be carried around easily by the leviathan. It was terrifying to think about. My mind quickly changed over when I saw small schools of fish that swam by, finding this place to be a home. If I weren’t on the brink of tears from my earlier circumstances I would say that this place wasn’t bad at all. It seemed to have everything you would need. Food, shelter, plenty of places to hide. This honestly wouldn’t be a bad home. Though I was sure this place was empty for a reason. I just didn’t want to know why. 

The leviathan let out a huff through their nose before cupping their hand around me and slowly bringing me to the entrance. I turned to look back, jumping when they lowered themselves to the ground to be at eye level with me. I gulped, staring at the vivid purple in their eyes that let off a small glow. He tilted his head as if asking why I wasn’t going in. If I wasn’t so scared of him I would’ve laughed at how clueless he looked. 

I forced myself to swim in, taking small glances back at the leviathan as they pulled their hand away. He pushed himself off of the ground and swam around for a bit before laying down in a spot beside the ship I was in. There was a small crack in the wood that acted as a window between us that was as big as his eye, and now I could see why he chose that spot. He was making sure I wouldn’t swim off. Suddenly this place didn’t feel like a home at all. It just felt like a prison. 

I ignored the thought as much as I could before studying my surroundings. There were a few coral pieces that surrounded the area I could probably sleep on. There weren’t any fish here either which was good for me. There were a few patches of seaweed on the ground along with tiny bits of kelp. I don’t usually eat them, but if it’s what it’ll take to not starve to death then oh well. As soon as the thought crossed my mind my stomach growled quietly. I sighed, grabbing a few pieces and eating them. Anything to survive I guess. 

I swam around the place for a little and decided to sleep on a rock that was smooth and soft enough. I curled up onto it, my heart beating fast when I heard moving outside, the ship letting out a moan as the leviathan outside moved. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to block out the overwhelmingness of it all. First losing my parents, second being chased by countless monsters and predators, and now at the complete mercy of a leviathan that for some reason was helping me. Or maybe just saving me for later. I had no clue yet. 

After everything went quiet, I yawned to myself, trying to fall asleep. It was hard to knowing that there was a leviathan much bigger than the ship you were in just outside but after a while I finally calmed down enough even though it was still nerve-wracking. I just shut my eyes, and finally fell asleep. 

– – – – – – 

When I woke up it was bright again, as if the storm and the clouds from the morning before had never happened. It was much clearer and warmer today which felt so amazing I didn’t even want to get up. It felt like absolutely nothing was wrong in the world. Well, at least it was until I opened my eyes and looked around. 

This wasn’t home. 

My eyes surveyed the area, finding small bright coral spread out across the place, algae and a few other plants that crawled up the walls of the torn-apart ship. A few small fish as big as I was came swimming out of anemones and some of the coral ready to start their day. As amazing and peaceful as it looked, I knew what was lying just outside the confines of the ship I was in. 

I swam around a bit, eating a few tiny pieces of kelp before my day even started. The second that I shoved a few pieces in my mouth the place dimmed, something blocking the hole above. I tilted my head back and back until my eyes met one of his that peeked in. His pupils were slit as they darted around like he was trying to find me, his purple irises seemingly having a faint glow to them. Once he had his eye on me his pupils rounded, like he was relieved I hadn’t swam off.

Out of pure instinct my body began trembling, holding the few pieces of kelp in a fist as I stopped chewing. I dropped what I had and inched further away. It felt like I was just like some kind of… pet. My eyes widened at the realization. Was I being kept as a pet? Was this what was happening? It would explain why there hadn’t seemed to be any other predators here, but why go through all the trouble of keeping me as a pet? Just to observe me? I winced at the idea, staring down at the sand and seagrass that swayed with the small current. Anything to take my mind off of it. 

There was a small huff before the light came back through the hole. I picked my head up and saw them move away from the hole. The wood creaked above as they moved to sit up. I swam cautiously closer to a smaller hole near the bottom and peeked out, watching as they yawned and stretched out all four of their arms. A shudder escaped my mouth just watching. They were horrifyingly big. Even more so now that I wasn’t right beside them. It made me wonder how I even had the courage to stay here anymore. 

My eyes trailed their long tail lined with spikes and the same faint purple glow like it was dimming away. There were scratch marks and deep cuts all over and somehow it didn’t even seem to bother him. How was he not in constant pain even if they looked healed already? 

A tiny gasp escaped my lips when they started moving, their shadow dimming the place just as quickly as it lit back up. I quickly turned to the entrance where the ship was split into half, my heart skipping a beat when one of their hands rested nearby, clawing at the sand slightly. Was he angry at me? This couldn’t be good. I bit the bottom of my lip as he lowered his head, pressing it up against the sand to peer inside. I swallowed hard, my heart ringing through my ears once again as he just stared and squinted his eyes like he was sorry for scaring me. 

My breath hitched in my throat as they opened their mouth, revealing the sharp fangs that used to just barely peak under their lips. It took everything in me not to scream before they spoke, “Ready?” Although he tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible it still shook me to the core. He could’ve just grabbed me. His hand could fit in the opening. Maybe two if he really tried. So why didn’t he? Why wait for me to gather up whatever remaining courage I had left over from yesterday just to come out? I didn’t understand it at all. I thought leviathans were supposed to be blood-thirsty murderers. So why was he just waiting? He’s made me so confused about everything ever since he saved me. 

I sucked in a deep breath and slowly swam forward. The leviathan just watched, his eyes wide with wonder for a split second. He was shocked I was willingly doing all of this, and if I were being honest, I was just as shocked by my own actions as he was. My parents would probably call me crazy for trusting a leviathan. They’d scream and try to get me to stay away, probably using themselves as shields. That’s just how protective they were of me. My heart throbbed just thinking of them. And I guess that’s why I had to trust the leviathan so that I could maybe reunite with them. 

When I was close enough he lifted himself up slowly, taking a few glances before moving his hand a little bit behind me again. He pointed in the direction we were going, continuing on from yesterday. How far was he taking me? I was still tired from last night but there was no way I would go against the leviathan when I was completely at his mercy. 

So I forced myself to keep swimming. The leviathan swam slower this time finally realizing why I was so tired in the first place. He was so confusing. He didn’t talk unless he absolutely had to, didn’t tell me his name, and for some reason didn’t even seem the least interested in eating me. It seemed like he was even protecting me from danger with how he insisted his hand stay behind me. Almost like it was there to grab me at a moment's notice if he sensed danger rather than it being there to catch me if I fell behind. Maybe… his intentions really were just to help me. Doubt washed away in me just a little, but it quickly came back just as fast as it came.

There was a quiet but low grumbling, and I could already tell what it was without even having to see the leviathan place a hand over his stomach, biting down so hard on his lips that blood came out. I stopped dead in my tracks, completely forgetting that his hand was behind me as his fingers came into view. I squeaked embarrassingly enough but didn’t move as he turned to face me, moving his hand away from his stomach. He was hungry. I was pretty sure I was one of the only living things out here for miles. 

I shuddered, not daring to look him in the eyes. I didn’t want to die here. Maybe if I just didn’t look at him he wouldn’t think of anything? He’d leave me alone? Wouldn’t want to eat me? I felt the bile crawl up my throat at the thought, jumping and pressing my back into his palm when he opened his mouth, “I don’t eat mers.” He explained, fingers twitching around me like he was holding himself back. Or like he was just attempting to comfort me. Well, while it was doing the exact opposite, I was shocked to find out that they don’t eat mers. Grateful, but shocked. 

I took a deep breath before very cautiously swimming forward and stopped, staring between his hand and himself, “Wh-where are you t-taking me?” I couldn’t help but ask, my voice trembling with fear. Both pairs of his eyes widened before he pointed out in the direction we were heading. Though, this time I could see a silhouette of what looked to be another ship. It looked dark and gloomy like it was haunted. I just gave off a bad feeling. 

“I-in there?” I pointed, my arm shaking as I tilted my head back to watch them nod once. 

“There’s a coral reef on the other side. I’d go around the shipyard but you’re already tired.” He shrugged. I rubbed my arms, staring off. Was there really a coral reef on the other side? It would make plenty of sense if my parents were there. They always loved the colorful scenery. They might’ve thought I went there to look for them. My heart pounded at the thought of seeing them again, sucking in a deep breath as I pushed myself to swim towards the shipyard. There were tons of them that either crashed into the sand or were torn in half. Some were huge, even bigger than the one I stayed in last night. Pieces lay everywhere, the only plants growing around was the seagrass that swayed with the subtle current. 

I still couldn’t shake the bad feeling about this place. This place didn’t seem friendly at all. There was barely any noise. No colorful fish swimming around, and in the far distance you could see where the coral reef begins, the faint outlines of red, blue and pink in the background. 

I bit the side of my cheek as I swam out, flinching when the ship would creak or if I caught some movement in the corner of my eye. Even if it was only a plant that was moving strangely. My nerves weren’t calmed when I turned to face the leviathan who remained swimming beside me, his eyes showing no emotion. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a conversation? He didn’t look like he minded. I just wanted to take my mind off the eeriness of this place. 

“U-um. C-can I know y-your name?” I bit my tongue for stuttering, looking away out of embarrassment. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes and sighed. 

“Why?” His voice didn’t come out as harsh as I thought it would, but it did have an edge to it which made me doubt if I wanted to push more. Or even continue talking. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked even if I was curious. Well, at least his tone almost made me want to drop the entire thing altogether. 

“You’re helping me. I-I’d like to know who you are…” My voice stopped working after a while like that was all I was able to say to him before fear took over and shut down everything. I still kept on swimming though, keeping my arms close and watching from the corner of my vision as his hand started to slowly come into view. He knew something was off about this place too. 

He turned to look down at me for a split second like he was trying to see if I was lying, then turned to stare back into the deep ocean where the reef was just lying in the distance.

“Kieran.” Was all he said, his voice a little sharp but at the same time I caught a hint of happiness. Well, Kieran was extremely hard to read. I couldn’t tell if he just didn’t care at some times or if he did and just never showed it. I couldn’t tell if he had bad intentions, but I told myself to believe him. It was great to know the name of the person who saved me and then decided he was going to willingly help me get out of this place.

“I’m Devon. Um, th-thank you.” It wouldn’t sit right with me if I never thanked him for offering the help. I rubbed my arms and stared down, flinching when I heard another creak, but this time Kieran stopped, placing one of his other hands in front of me so I couldn’t swim further. Not that I could’ve swam too far from him with how fast he reacted. 

My heart beat hard against my chest as I stared with wide eyes out into the shipyard. Nothing seemed to be moving. It was quiet. Too quiet. Not even the current seemed to make the seagrass that was lined all over the sandy ground sway. I let out a soft breath, eyes scanning the place for any danger.

“Yeah… sure.” He whispered, shaking his head and moving his hands away from me. Was there no danger? No other monster lurking in the shadows? Nothing waiting to pounce at me? I looked up to see what Kieran was doing, a tiny squeak being let out as he swam down towards a ship that looked worse for wear, stopping to wait for me as he nudged his head down towards it. 

Down there? Was he leading me to a death trap or something? It looked dark and murky. A place I would usually avoid. I thought we were going to the reef. Why would he- My thoughts were interrupted when he rolled his eyes and his hand scooped me up, fingers curling slightly so that I couldn’t find a way to swim out. Breathing became hard when I was being brought deeper into the murky water, the ships somehow looking even more untrusting than before. The eeriness settled in even deeper. Something was wrong with this place and I was being forced into it. Nothing good could come out of this. 

My ears couldn’t register noise anymore, everything muffled and cloudy as my vision blurred. The water was moving too fast around me. It was hard to keep up with anything happening. Even when everything had stopped and faintly glowing purple eyes stared down at me. My body was trembling and it felt like I was about to throw up the little bit of breakfast that I had. 

It took a moment for my senses to come back to me. Kieran was looming above, a look on his face that screamed that he was sorry. It was still so strange to me that he wasn’t like how I pictured a leviathan. Maybe the other one that tried to eat me yesterday but for some reason the one that was easily much bigger than a literal kraken was the nicest person I’ve met other than my parents. I wasn’t complaining though. I’d much rather be alive than as a tiny snack. 

I scanned the area now that my vision wasn’t as blurry, though my head started to hurt. It was dark. Colder. The ship sitting in front of us was absolutely huge. Kieran could still probably carry it effortlessly. That’s what scared me the most.

The ship was mostly intact with a huge hole on one side. The mast was broken in half. Indentured on either side of the ship like something was crushing it. Maybe a kraken used to live here? Or what if it still did? I sucked in a deep breath at the thought, staring up wide-eyed at Kieran who tilted his head, his two pairs of eyes staring right back at me with a hint of sympathy in them. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a sudden crash. Metal hitting metal. Which meant that something was here. Something big enough to move some parts of the ship that was coming off. Though, it seemed more like it was hiding rather than coming after anything. Hiding from the huge leviathan that was looming above the ship? Yeah, I’d do the same. 

Kieran blinked, “I saw… something. You can look.” He pointed towards the hole and lowered himself to the ground, laying on his arms trying to peak in through another small hole. Me? Go in? What if it’s not another mer? I guess there wasn’t really any way to know unless I checked, seeing as he was too big to get even one of his hands through the hole and probably could barely see what was inside. 

I swam closer and stood at the foot of the large hole and peered in. There didn’t seem to be anything but tons of metal parts thrown around everywhere. It just seemed like a dark cave from the inside. Though, there was another clang, making me cower behind the entrance. I peered in once more, terrified of what I might find, but there was nothing. Kieran gave up on what he was trying to do, now moving to check on me. He tilted his head again as I cowered by the entrance. 

“I h-heard something…” and just as I said it there was another clang followed by a fast-moving shadow. I whimpered. Whatever was in here was fast. All my instincts were in full working motion, but I had to deny every single one of them. I couldn’t swim away. Kieran would just catch me by barely moving any of his limbs. If I screamed it would just alert whatever was in there, and there was no way I was going to fight it. 

Kieran huffed softly, ruffling my hair a bit as he lowered himself to the ground. Was he annoyed? That wasn’t good for me. A shiver ran down my spine before there was a bright ball of light. It illuminated a small area, swaying with the waves. My eyes widened, swimming in just a little bit. Kieran squinted his eyes, trying to see what was going on. Then it all happened so fast. Next thing I know sharp fangs lunge right at me. I was barely given enough time to react to dodge, and luckily I did. 

It was a strange-looking fish that was hell-bent on trying to eat me. I swam away, forgetting who was behind me when I swam backward. The second I did though, I rammed right into the bridge of Kieran’s nose, and I wish that I hadn’t. 

He growled. Deep, and threatening. It rumbled throughout my entire body, with no control over my limbs anymore as tears pricked my eyes. It was amazing how only his voice could make anything tremble with fear. It all felt too much. Too loud. Somehow, his growling only grew deeper and louder. Like he wasn’t even trying before. I clasped my hands over my ears, wincing and just hoping that this would go away. Tha tI wouldn’t feel like my insides were shaking inside or that I was going to throw up my insides. It was terrifying that someone was capable of this. 

When it didn’t feel like my insides were shaking anymore, I peered up, cringing away at the sight of him baring fangs that were sharper and deadlier than the strange fish that was trying to eat me. Kieran glanced down at me, letting out what I thought, surprisingly, was a sigh of relief. My breath hitched in my throat when he backed away further and stared back at me with tired eyes like nothing had happened. 

My breathing quickened as I grabbed at my chest trying to calm my heartbeat, but that was no use. When his mouth so much as twitched, I bolted into the ship, pressing my back into the cold metal. Dead. I was so amazingly dead. There was no way I was going to survive. He was going to tear this ship apart and dig me out. No way out of this alive. 

I heard him moving outside, a shadow covering up the entryway, but nothing happened. I whimpered, not expecting it to echo throughout the place. He for sure heard that, and in response he whispered softly, “Sorry guppy.” 

And I didn’t know what to say. What could I even say? My breath became ragged as I peeked outside and just watched. Something was calming about it. Away from everything big and threatening. A sort of calm quiet without the eeriness of it all. Kieran messed with a smaller boat, trying to tear off the big pieces of metal. He looked so tired. There were small bags under his eyes from what I could only guess was from lack of sleep. Not to mention I knew that he was hungry, and I didn’t even want to think about what he could eat. It was just… so terrifying, but at the same time calming that someone was helping me. It was crazy but the truth. 

With a shaky sigh, I swam over to a small rock and lay on it, using my arms as a pillow. It was dark and to be honest I think I’ve had enough of an adrenaline rush for today. This wasn’t a place I’d usually sleep in, but I had no right to complain. It was better than digging myself into the sand again only to be found by yet another hungry predator. 

I sighed, trying to ignore the movement outside and how fast my heart raced. I’d just have to hope that he wasn’t angry. Or leave. I’ve been alone for a while. I guess it was nice to have any kind of company at this point. I shut my eyes, curling in on myself slowly and tried to keep a calm mind. Even though it didn’t work.

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

Little cliffhanger even though it's not much, and I admit that this was a little rushed but it's in the spirit of mermay so that's okay! (I love mermay so much) Thank you for reading!

Taglist: @da3dm @dav8530

(If you would like to be added or removed please let me know!)

[watchingwisteria]

listen there really was just something about how in the book, snow’s 3-page descent from hesitant lover boy to deluded mfer happens entirely in his mind. lucy gray gives him no indication whatsoever that she suspects him, that she’s going to leave or betray him. he’s just sitting quietly in the cabin waiting for her to return when that seed of calculated suspicion, which he has needed to survive the capitol, takes a hold of him and chokes the life out of any goodness left inside him. it really drives home your terror as a reader that “oh my god did he kill her? did she escape? what happened to her? why would he even think that?” in a way that when the movie had to adjust for visualization it lost some of that holy shit this guy has lost it emphasis.

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[knightofleo]

Angela Orosco Silent Hill 2

[demigods-posts]

headcanon that annabeth is freakishly strong. not because she's been training as a soldier since she was seven. but because stretching the limits of your strength is a mental block first and foremost. and as a daughter of athena, goddes of the mind and strategy. all annabeth has to do is believe that she can lift something and she will lift it.

[horsemotifs]

Loch took that literally

[kabukeo]

colored this thing for fun

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

one thing i really wish people wouldn’t forget when it comes to suguru’s character is that his core desire is just to have a family. not in a nuclear family way, but in a “i want a place where i belong / i want to protect the ones i love” way…… literally everything else is just an extension of that desire. a means to meet that end. he broke down after being forced to realize that staying with his family meant having to watch them die, so he left and made a new one. and he got stronger. and his core wish was always, always always to create a world where he’d finally be able to protect them :(((((((((

[zipquips]

okay but the fact that dragon age veilguard has those little clarifying pop ups that tell you what conversations mean is so funny but also so appreciated for those of us with autism (me!)

[gen4grl]

messy expression sketches + colouring with my oc clem who looks alot like her dad lol

[muchmossymess]

uh oh guys, hot take alert:

i think revali may have invented hand held aerial archery HEAR ME OUT- (this is a long one boys)

okay. evidence one: why the fuck would a rito shoot like that. like, it makes nearly zero sense, it would be such a hindrance to their flight and their main stake is that they can be higher than you can shoot whilst still pinging you... which revali has overcome with his gale

evidence two: tulin and the concept arts. obviously rito style archery would be held in their talons. before totk came out idk if anyone had really thought about it too much, but the developers had, as you can see in concept art (from the creating a champion book). and like, its logical, powerful, and allows for peak maneuverability. also, when in flight revali (and teba) holds his bow in his talons before switching to his wings. surely its easier to keep it in your wing (obvi ignoring the effects to flight but hes doing that anyway firing the damn thing) rather than switch back and forth- unless you were taught that way, because why would you hold it elsewhere, you need it in your talons to shoot.

evidence three: we dont see any other rito do it (...kind of). throughout botw and totk, we never see another rito flying with a bow in their hands. in totk, its mostly tulin, who holds it in his talons, but in botw the big one is teba. during the medoh quest, he actually gives *link* his bow, and therefore does no shooting in the sky. teba and harth had both tried to take on medoh before, but we never see this, and while they holds their bows in their hands *on the ground,* we dont see it.

...except for aoc (uh, spoilers?). there are two times we see a rito other than revali hold their bow in their hand for aerial archery. but it is not with any rito soldiers, either during cutscenes (the bows are only on their backs) or gameplay (they swoop down, and then hand hold bows on ground. they arent seen flying at all but thats prolly for the same reasons as botw: its very hard to code that (and so they write the lore around that fact)). the first time we actually see another rito do this, we dont see it. Its teba, as he comes thru the portal, but all we see is the arrow shot, and then him freeze frame with the bow in one wing. we dont see the bow in his hand for the rest of the fight. the second time we actually see him fighting like this, it *is* in the air, but its noticeably different to revali.

hes a lot slower, it clearly takes a LOT more effort to shoot the bow, and he only pulls off one arrow at a time. its canon that revalis bow is heavier/harder to draw, and he manages to effortlessly stream arrows whilst fucking floating midair. i think teba, forever a revali fanboy, heard of how the champion mastered his own style of archery and sought to teach himself, but lacked one key thing: revalis mastery of wind.

evidence three point five: revali could easily use his powers to hold him in the air longer/slow his descent long enough for him to fire his shots. it makes sense, really. if he can use his gale to propel him, he can sit on the updraft for a hot sec, or even curve the path to carry him along while he lines up the shot. this would mean he wouldnt need to flap as much as other rito, who would obviously need to keep flying

evidence four: revalis fighting style and his needs. revali works with non rito, obviously. he needs to be able to communicate with them on the battlefield, and they wont understand the muffled chirps if he holds his string in his beak, so he needs his mouth free to speak hylian. also, revalis main tactic is fly up with gale, shoot, fall, either shoot more or use velocity and weight to knock around opponents, and then fly back up. he often needs both feet planted firmly on the ground to get a good hold of his gale, something that is harder to do if you have a bow in the way.

also, take for example the kick he delivers link in their fight (aoc). that would possibly damage the bow, or give the opponent a chance to grab his weapon, if he held it in his talons. and to switch from feet to back is a risky maneuver during freefall, and could lose precious seconds, and then when you get back in the air you need to get it off your back again. its much easier to keep the bow loosely in your wing the whole time, meaning your free to attack melee, land and rise all while not wasting a single moment getting your next shot lined up.

so yeah, i think the rito used the talon grip for aerial archery, and would often use the hand held method on the ground for a variety of reasons (more powerful shots?, easier in some situations like hunting), but revali was perhaps the first to use hand held aerial, another reason he was one of the greatest archers ever.

[merge-conflict]

every time I think about the fact goro grew up in a slum and is so extremely disgusted by visible poverty I go a little more insane

[cementcornfield]

Finally Some Details on the Shemar Situation

First from a Florio article

then this one from Pro Football Rumors

so! okay! things are a lot more clear now.

the good news: the payment schedule issue appears to have been resolved ✅

bad news: the bengals have indeed decided to include language regarding defaults that they have never included before. not for amarius last year, not for myles the year before, and certainly not for the stars like tee and ja'marr.

neutral news: but the thing is....this is language that several other teams in the nfl DO use, so it's not the bengals wanting to be uniquely cheap? but as florio points out, they aren't great with the signing bonus payout (but again, the other article says the payment schedule is resolved so!)

this is all super interesting because, defaults are rare, i can't imagine shemar would get one. but it would absolutely screw him with the current legal language (like many players on other teams who already use this language would be screwed.) but again, such a rare thing, i do wonder what will happen here.

the language at the end of the second article does speak volumes, the agent is being stubborn right off the bat and saying they are not going to accept unfavorable terms. likely because he, like the rest of the league, has been watching how our FO operates. but at the same time, this is minor language for exceptionally rare situations, that is standard with other teams in the league. so! i guess it's a pick your battles kind of thing! and he's choosing this one immediately lol.

hopefully it gets resolved soon. i'm just glad we have some clarity. i'm waiting for my twitter analysts to chime in, particularly andre, to see if he thinks this can get resolved easily or not. phase 3 starts tuesday and mandatory mini camp is in just a few weeks so...praying this takes care of itself asap 🥲

TLDR: shemar's agent isn't happy about the bengals wanting to change the language in their rookie contracts so that a default in one year would trigger a default in all future years. a default is when a player breaches the terms of his contract, typically by sustaining an injury while participating in a prohibited activity or committing conduct detrimental to the team. other teams in the league DO already have this language as standard in their rookie contracts.

[rwby-confess]

I don’t know if the confessions about users that aren’t infoglitch are allowed but I have to vent this one, I promise it’ll be a polite it… I usually disagree with most RWDE confessions on this place, but Krypti makes me want to switch sides.

They say something I agree on but they say it in such a smug, condescending and insulting way it makes me reconsider it and say “maybe RWDE has a point” because if this is the people on my side It makes me think we might be the baddies.

Okay okay I dOn'T eNcOuRaGe ThEsE tYpEs Of ThInGs (volume 2) but I do kinda agree broski is smug af, like please

and I say this because obviously I get the activity notification when someone interacts with this blog and everytime they do its always just those type of comments. If this blog genuinely only upsets you and brings you need to get defensive like this, you can always blog me. I don't mind it, I encourage you to shape your own internet experience however you can (and good points of tumblr is that you don't have to accept algorithm feeding you shit!)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but like, if you never send anything without anon and its always this same old Krypti type of stuff, never talk about things you like or "teehee I like this character!" or "I like these ones holding hands!!" or bounce off from others ideas and add your own, you know it's just... Why are you here? You don't like it here, you might get a rush from getting mad or getting into internet fights but you know no one is forcing you? You can seek other things and blogs?

[synchodai]

I, for one, have never seen Astarion as a sexy vampire. He was introduced to us in the game as a damsel in distress whose fearsome beast he asked us to slay turned out to be a boar and a ruse. He's not "😈 come hither, pet i compel you" vampire. He's a "🥺 please i'm just a helpless maiden" vampire.

[unlicensedmortician]

narnia is a christian allegory TO YOU. to me it is about being transgender