#now i have no fun tidbits to leave in the tags

[wutheringmights]

<shakily rolling into your inbox> Would you gift us with chapter commentary, please?

Your wish is my command:

Framing the past section around headlines was not my original plan. I wanted to do a repeating refrain of "This is how the war ended," but when it came time to actually write it, I was bored with it. Yeah, kinda thought about it too hard. So I went back to the drawing board.

I also considered framing the chapter around the passing seasons, but that seemed too boring. I wanted something with a bit more pizazz.

Plus, one of my favorite genres of fan work is in-universe media like newspapers and magazine covers. This is a pretty weak attempt at it, but at least I threw my hat into the ring.

I've been trying for a while now to imply that the original HW storyline is what was spread as propaganda to the people of Hyrule, but this is the first time I made it really, really clear.

So the engineer being assigned to the coast is a reference to how the DLC that features Toon Link is the one where there's suddenly an ocean. Very smooth of me lol

This chapter ended up being a bit of a dumping ground for all of the relationships I was ignoring in favor of writing about the brothers, ironically because I too was too consumed with the engineer and the child to write about anything else, which in turn really drove home how all-consuming their presence was for Link

The fun thing about Midna's scene is that her and Link going on nightly walks together was one of the very first ideas I had for CTB by virtue of it being inherited from when I thought I was going to write a romcom. Incredible that it took half a million words to finally get to it.

My favorite part of the past is the bit where Link writes all of the letters to the engineer. It's just a lot of fun to sit there and figure out what kind of bullshit he would spout to kinda apologize but not really. It was even more fun to punch him back down with Lincoln's brutal response. Just rereading it, I feel like you can tell I was having a blast.

I also had a lot of fun finding ways to show symptoms of Link's alcoholism getting worse without him realizing it. The constant headaches, the nausea, the shakey hands, the sensory sensitivity-- him experiencing all of this and going so deep into denial that he can't understand why his body is reacting that way.

It's been so long since I've managed to give Toto some screen time that I kinda forgot how much I like his character? He's just a guy, but I like that he's just a guy. But I don't think I made it too clear in the chapter that in their friend group, they were the least friends with each other. Link was closer to Anders, and Toto to Uri. They're being driven together by virtue of being the only ones left, moreso than I initially conveyed.

And, of course, I got to talk about Uri again. Again, Uri is always so interesting to handle because he is a character who we will never see in person and Link is too traumatized by the death of to think about in detail. Even now, Uri feels like a mystery. All we know about him is how Link feels about him.

And finally, Zelda. The thing about Zelda is that I feel like her goals are really transparent, but I always get comments from people who want there to be this moment where everything about her is spelled out. And, despite the fact that she monologues about her feelings here, I don't think this is exactly what everyone was hoping for. The more I read it over, I can see how she probably just got more confusing.

Also, I know I need to stop writing monologues. But have you considered that the monologues are sexy?

I feel like I should say something about how Zelda's relationship with Hylia, but it really speaks for itself. I will say that as much as I like how BOTW is so ambiguous with Hylia, I am a little bit more fascinated with the idea that "your god is real and they specifically hate you." Like, how are you supposed to cope with that? We should all be thankful Zelda isn't more fucked up than she is.

I should also say something about her thoughts on the engineer... so first, my goal with that relationship was always for it to be toxic from both ends, with the engineer trying to use her while she uses him-- which gets even more complicated when you consider all the ways Zelda echoes Link. Like Link, she sees parts of herself in the engineer. Unlike him, she wants to save be saved, so she in turn saves him. Link hates himself so much that he has to drag everyone else down with him.

In the era of everyone wanting Zelda to no longer be a damsel in distress, it's kind fun to give her the traditional goal of being saved by someone else, to then twist it around. She is begging to be rescued, but she won't fix anything herself.

This idea really goes against the popular depictions of HW Zelda, which is why I have iterated before that this Zelda is not Artemis. She's her own thing.

There was going to be more about how the war ended, but I decided to keep it for next chapter because (you guessed it) the word count got too long.

On to the present--

Congrats to everyone who said they wanted to see more of Spirit and Warriors talking shop. You really won with this chapter.

That being said, I always think that I never write what people want when they want it. Like I will write a chapter with a lot of action, so everyone says they want more action next. But then I follow it up with a chapter of people just talking, so I get a lot of people requesting more of that. But then, it's back to heavy action.

All that's to say that I feel bad that there wasn't more character drama this chapter

Also, I feel really bad for not including either Hyrule or Wind in this chapter. Those two are the characters people ask me to write more about the most. But unfortunately, the thing about juggling a large cast of characters is that some times you have to sit down and get a few of those characters out of the way for a bit so that we can focus on other things.

I don't want to make it sound like I was targeting those two on purpose. They just had the best excuse for not going on the Nephus mission.

Speaking of which, I feel terrible for constantly finding ways to leave Lana and Linkle out of the action-- and that's after I've talked so much about adding more women into the story to balance out the default nine dudes LU requires me to add. But again, there are so many characters that I have to find ways to leave some of them behind. And again, it was really easy to give them an excuse to not be in the main action. But It's probably a bad thing that they are easily excused. I should work on that.

And I know I can write scenes with a shit ton of characters talking together. I've done it plenty of times in CTB and other ensemble stories before it. But it's a lot of work, and when I need to focus on more important plot points, the last thing I want to juggle is balancing every scene so that everyone has something to do.

Sorry to belabor that point. Sometimes, I get really annoyed with how big the cast it when it's not even my fault.

It is my fault. I just want to complain.

I appreciate everyone who has their own version of Spirit going on more legendary adventures while he is wearing his OSHA mandated work uniform. I know the Heroes of Hyrule are not unionized, but I at least would like to make sure he is properly dressed with an adventure.

That being said, his Castle Guard uniform was partially inspired by the uniform for the Free Planets Alliance in the original Legend of the Galactic Heroes:

That is not a great photo, but I was envisioning something like this-- "this" being a more modern cut with clear nautical influences (cause the Castle Guard was probably originally a navy)

Also the crest on Spirit's uniform is Tetra's pirate emblem. Do not get be started about how I fucked up the crest of the New Hyrulean royal family back in chapter 6 and how I have been looking for some band-aid to place over that mistake so that it would look like I did it on purpose

I didn't expect the scene where Spirit talks to Four to be so polarizing. I didn't even think it was a significant moment when I wrote it. Yet I've seen a huge gambit of reactions, from people calling Spirit cruel or others saying that the moment was sweet. That being said, I am living for this. If there is one thing I want right now, it is for everyone's opinion on Spirit to be split.

Did you guys enjoy me trying to write about how machinery works? Honestly, I could have probably cut all that, but I did so much work establishing the mechanics behind the ganons in previous chapters that I felt like I had to go through with it.

My original plan was for Warriors's plan to involve taking Philo hostage from the start, but I changed it because writing a kidnapping scene would have been too much work. It still really bugs me. The way the chapter is written now feels really cheap, but again. I didn't feel like I had enough space.

I also ran into the fun problem of wanting to show the nuances of Philo and Icarius's relationship when one can't speak and the other would not speak Hylian. Legend saved my ass a bit with this one, but I don't know if all of the little details got through.

Speaking of which, I should talking the House of Nephus

So obviously, I wanted the House of Nephus to reflect the original brothers dynamic. The idea is that they are what Warriors, Spirit, and Time/Mask would turn into if both Spirit and Mask stayed.

Except, in practice, I had to give them their own distinct personalities so that they wouldn't be boring as fuck

Icarius and Philo got away with getting small but really effective changes. They both still feel like reflections of Spirit and Time respectively

But Nephus.... so my original personality for him was someone as jaded and mean as Warriors is at his worst. But he felt too much like Zelda or Impa. So I went back to the drawing board to find some character angle that would be really interesting and effective for how little screen time he will ultimately get.

My inspiration came from the Virginia Woolf seminar I was in when I first started working on CTB. I was thinking a lot about rich, British assholes; very specifically about the kind who are self-prescribed intellectuals who fetishize non-white cultures while maintaining the superiority of Western imperialism.

So with that in hand, I got rid jadedness and turned Nephus into a guy dripping with charisma but is unaware of how terrible of a person he is. And as a reflection of Warriors, he works thematically.

But you can make the argument that this is not the story for this kind of a character, especially when I have already gone through such lengths to clarify that Hyrule is an imperialist nation that echoes America. You can see me poking fun at it in some of the dialogue during this scene, but still.

(And it gets worse when you look at the subtext of how light vs dark magic is treated between Hyrule and Faovaria).

So, yeah. I deserve some criticism for this one. I know it. But I didn't change it because I just liked how immediately interesting Nephus was. I couldn't think of an alternative that would have been as effective as this affable evil. Sorry about that.

Another idea I had was that Nephus was going to be the Faovarian equivalent of the Hero of Hyrule, and he would even have his own dual blades of dark and light magic to prove it. I ended up not doing this because it was too heavy handed.

I originally was going to keep the swords, and I even realized that if I had planned things out a bit better, the dark magic sword could have been Ghirahim. I decided that it would have been too out of left field to have worked, but man. I have regretted since day 1 that I cut Ghirahim from the story. I'm sorry, Ghirahim.

And then I didn't even include the swords. Motherfucker.

That actually was a genuine mistake on my part, because the point of the swords would have been to give Nephus's speech on his religion more credence. We as the audience know that the goddesses exist. And yet... why does there seem to be more to the gods of this universe? Are Hylia and the Golden Three really just oracles? If Nephus has these cool swords, what other powers and weapons does Faovaria have within its borders? You know, just world building stuff.

I came up with too much story for the House of Nephus than what I will ultimately have space to include in CTB. I'll try to strategic so that you won't be annoyed with the lack of answers from some of the questions you probably have.

As important as Nephus is, he's ultimately not the main antagonist of the story. If I was willing to write 20 more chapters, I could do a lot more with him, Philo, and Icarius; but I would like to see the end of CTB someday lol

Originally, only Time, Spirit, and Midna were going to go with Warriors to meet Nephus. There was definitely going to be this bit where Spirit and Warriors were going to be like "oh fuck, he's hot" as Nephus flirted with them. Meanwhile, Time (a married man) would be sitting there like "really??? both of you have horrible taste??"

I am also realizing I forgot to write a moment where Warriors is horrified to realize that Nephus was going to make Philo sit there in pain instead of rushing him to a doctor. Fucking hell.

Also, that Nephus's spirit feels normal to Spirit is important. Not on a plot level, but thematically. Just hang on to that thought next time you think about the whole spirit sensing thing.

I always knew that CTB was going to evolve into a Triforce quest story. There's no way I could write about a guy who's supposed to be this brutal strategist and not let him realize he has an easy solve to everything. But I also didn't want this to be easy or feel cheap. It's why I went through all that effort to establish that getting those pieces would involving going up against the Royal Family and the Knights of Hyrule. It's going to be hard, and it will involve all the fighting and manipulating you expect CTB to have. It'll also involve moral dilemmas.

After all, we've been talking about the moral dilemmas presented by the Triforce since at least chapter 6 (remember when I said that there was so much set-up in that chapter for stuff that was for far later in the story? Hello, pay off!)

All that's to say that I am worried that people don't like this direction. I have gotten a few comments about how excited people are for Warriors's plan, but only time will tell if this ruined the story for some people.

And I know I worry a lot about ruining CTB. That's not a problem that's going to be solved any time soon, so let me have this one.

Finally, the chapter was going to go until Time's talk with Warriors. Decided to move it to next chapter because, you guessed it, space.

[flipppyflopp]

“I don’t have time for you right now. Huh? That doesn’t mean tag a long!” ✨

Say hello to my other twst oc, Arlen Nox! Arlen is based on Riku as well as Replica Riku from Kingdom Hearts. He is much more quiet and isolated compared to Finn, but he has more burdens than the other.

I really wanted to start right off the bat with some lore about Arlen, so I went all out for his introduction comic. A slight spoiler for Book Seven, though nothing super deep, but Arlen is a failed copy of the Knight of Dawn made by a certain someone. When Lilia sees him at the entrance ceremony, he immediately sees the resemblance and instantly switches into battle mode at the sight of Arlen; however, he recognizes his mistake quickly and begins to question who is Arlen’s family…or who might be his maker 👀

Other than his unique origins, let me mention a couple of fun tidbits for Arlen! Arlen’s blindfold is see through and he has perfect vision, why does he wear it then? Let’s just say if he doesn’t, the blot inside him will threaten to be unleashed and we don’t need anymore issues at NRC. That doesn’t stop the first years who are desperate to take that blindfold off because of their curiosity! Arlen is awful with technology and loves to write letters to his adoptive parents back home. He writes letters to a certain friend back on Destiny Isles, but he can’t bring himself to send them after a particular incident that led to him leaving for NRC. Surprisingly, he becomes friends with the most introverted student, Idia, who begrudgingly shows him the ropes with the latest tech. His unique magic is called Way to Dawn and allows him to manipulate his shadow.

There’s more I could say, but this post will get super long. Be sure to leave any questions in my inbox! Hope you look forward to more Arlen content soon!

[lenixsocial]

Watcher (and why nothing matters anymore):

So, in case you've been locked away under a proverbial bridge for a few days, Internet personalities Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej (known as Watcher) have elected to begin their own streaming service and ditch YouTube.

On the surface, that mightn't even seem like news at all.

After all, this sort of thing seems to happen all the time: The Try Guys left Buzzfeed to create their own company, Rhett and Link took the dive and diversified into paywalled entertainment a few years back with Mythical Society. Both of which however still rely on YouTube itself to generate views on the main channels, which funnel viewers into a FOMO type situation where "you can't miss" a special airing on the app (Mythical Society) or Patreon (Try Guys).

Watcher, in its infinite wisdom (stupidity, carelessness, unparalleled greed - take your pick) has decided that YouTube is pointless, and has moved ALL their content behind a paywall, claiming that the service was amping up to provide "TV quality programming", leaving only old content and the first episodes of the new shows up on their YouTube page as a subtle tease as to what you could get for $6/month.

It's now quite apparent from reading the comments section of their (now infamous) YouTube video, their official subreddit, and the tag on X that the fans were...not thrilled. The fingers began to be pointed within minutes. Name calling soon after. Then this blossomed into dissertations on why this was a horrible idea.

Then we found out that there was no app. Just a website. So you're paying for website access. Not a full blown streaming service to rival Netflix. Oh, and they don't even have their own servers, the videos are hosted by Vimeo. The deeper the comments section dug, the nastier the attacks got. Steven soon became the whipping boy. His past, his interviews, scanned and mercurially dug up for juicy tidbits (although all anyone gleaned from these was he's rich, was born rich, drives a Tesla in LA, likes fancy food, and has friends whom he values who are racist and possibly sexist and will not sever ties with them).

Then came the cries of incongruity. Shane Madej repeatedly said to "Eat the Rich", and here he was schilling for a platform that cost $6 a month. The cries began to pirate all of the new Watcher content because maybe he was under duress and was secretly telling them to do so. Fact is, I don't know if he was or what, but I'm certain he's under contract and wants his job.

Then came the videos from other internet users analyzing the video, and comparing this to the Try Guys situation with Ned a few months back. Both are disasters, each in unique ways with different players, and such like but here's the vast difference: none of this will even matter in a month.

Let me explain: We are in the total free fall stage of Watcher's Internet Streamer Service. What they do in the next 24-48 hours is crucial. If they revert back to their YouTube channel and apologize, they'll be fine. People will probably poke fun at them, but they'll be forgiven, eventually. But if they don't and they keep on, ignoring the fans, dousing the haters, and make it a month, I doubt we will see any resistance outside of a terse article or two.

Why? The collective memory span in this day and age is extremely short, many have likely already made judgment in their head and have passed said judgment. Therefore, they'll avoid the channel, and the streamer and will be blissfully unaware of any changes. Those who have joined up and paid will remain members, and those who have elected to remain subscribed will likely remain so and will watch the free content until they can afford the $6/month.

The thing is like it or hate it, if they decide to do nothing and ignore the public at large, they most likely will be fine. Maybe they will not have the hugest subscriber base, but people will forget about this. Something else major that is more salacious will spring up in the months ahead. Will there be lingering anger? Sure, but like I said before, these people have already passed judgment so they're already gone.

In an era of "nothing fucking matters" when your choices are sometimes entirely out of your direct control and are (at best) two sides of the same coin, it should be of absolutely no surprise to anyone that there is a fairly good possibility even after all that has transpired that nothing bad will happen. Lest we forget that old adage: "there is no such thing as bad PR".

Personally, I feel $6 is a tad much for a non-app based web streamer with little to no content. It was disingenuous to announce its launch internationally where even more people can't afford it, and some can't even view it. Steven wasn't upfront with who was in charge and now it really does seem like he's using the subscriptions to fund his international gallivanting. It's clear nobody wanted TV-show quality Ghost Files to take place in another country, nor did they want an old show revived with votes when you pay the first month's dues. They say it's a case of Watcher "not reading the room".

[hippolotamus]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday/WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the Tuesday tags @elvensorceress @loserdiaz @spotsandsocks @hoodie-buck @weewootruck @wikiangela @giddyupbuck @daffi-990 @tizniz @diazsdimples Tagging you back for WIP Wednesday and looking forward to all your works 💖

So don't be mad, OK? I'm posting another snippet of this. (Under the cut because it got long) That being said, it's going to be the last one for a while until I finish some other stuff. Aaaand it's written in a POV I'm not sure I'm gonna keep. With that in mind... enjoy???? Also everybody who's into this thank James for forcingmaking me flesh out more details and @watchyourbuck for threatening me (with love ofc).

no pressure tagging (lmk if you want added or removed) @stereopticons @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @disasterbuckdiaz @theotherbuckley @apothecarose @barbiediaz @buckaroosheart @buddierights @chaosandwolves @eowon @fortheloveofbuddie @gayedmundodiaz @giddyupbuck @heartshapedvows @honestlydarkprincess @indestructibleheart @jesuisici33 @ladydorian05 @lemonzestywrites @monsterrae1 @spaceprincessem @statueinthestone @steadfastsaturnsrings @the-likesofus @theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming @thewolvesof1998 @vanillahigh00 @watchyourbuck @wildlife4life @your-catfish-friend @epicbuddieficrecs @rmd-writes @welcometololaland @lizzie-bennetdarcy and anyone else who wants to 😘

Shit. This moment calls for a lot of different emotions, but that one is the most prominent. The glaring neon sign at the forefront of her brain as she registers the second pink line that’s becoming increasingly blurry. 

She brings a hand to her mouth, covering a silent exclamation. She wouldn’t have to. It’s not like there’s anybody around to hear. Just the secondhand furniture, personal items moved from her Mom’s place, and a few decorative things she bought to make the apartment more cozy. 

She sinks to the bed still clutching the plastic stick tightly between her fingers. Something about sitting there feels almost like she’s breaking the laws of a sacred space. Normally that would be right up her alley. Poking at the edges of societal norms just to see what she could get away with. But right now, perched on the edge of the mattress with a positive pregnancy test feels wrong. Even if it is the same place it happened. The place where her and Eddie first stumbled into something more than friendship together after too many drinks at the bar one night. Where they woke up the next morning and muddled through Did we just… and We could do it again. Where they kept landing until they had the guts to admit it was fun, but not what either of them really wanted. Because they both missed their best friend and enjoying each other without the expectations of romance. 

Not to mention the Evan of it all. Shannon had seen it coming from a mile away. From the first week her and Eddie met him at the Brass Bell and kept managing to run into him as he settled into town. 

A few people, one or two of her girlfriends included, whispered about Eddie and Evan getting together so quickly after the “breakup”. Some, thinking they were being supportive, came to her bitching about how rotten the situation was and that she deserved better. How dare he leave her for someone he barely knows? Honestly, it gave her a great deal of satisfaction watching them go pale when she casually mentioned she not only didn’t mind, but had pushed Eddie towards him. 

It was already obvious that her and Eddie weren’t heading for anything serious. And, as his self proclaimed platonic soulmate who knows him better than he knows himself, she felt it was only a matter of time anyway. Why delay the inevitable?

She looks at the two lines again. How is she going to tell him? He’s the happiest she’s seen him in a long time. Maybe ever. Without question, he’s going to feel that overwhelming sense of loyalty and responsibility. The same fiercely protective instinct he has for Sophia and Adriana. Shannon can already see him devoting himself to this– Fuck, she can’t even think the word to herself. But he’ll throw himself into caring for her and break Evan’s heart. She can’t let him do that. Not when she doesn’t even know if she wants to move forward with everything. 

Shannon sits up a little taller, wiping away the remaining dampness from her eyes and cheeks, and makes a decision. She walks the test to the closest trash can, ties up the mostly empty bag, and drops it down the building’s garbage chute. 

When she returns to her apartment, she navigates to the last picture Eddie texted of him and Evan. They look… blissful. Content. He and Evan have their arms wrapped around each other while Evan presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek. His skin is flushed and rosy, making him look almost bashful. 

She can’t tell him. It’s as simple as that. Eddie hasn’t said anything, but he doesn’t have to. She knows that look. He’s in love. Even though it’ll be ages until he allows himself to admit it and say the words out loud, that doesn’t make it any less true. 

There’s still time, she thinks. Time for her to get a checkup, to gather facts, to evaluate what she wants to do. Time to let Eddie be in love and hope he forgives her for not saying anything.

[prettyboykatsuki]

warm-ups | todoroki + sfw + kick

✭ wc ; 851 | ✭ tags ; established relationship, mentions of childhood trauma, swinging lol, gn!reader, fluff

✭ a/n ; had to be a little clever w this one

"Wait, baby," Todoroki carefully watches your expression as you pinch the bridge of your nose "Are you saying you've never been on a swing before"

He pauses.

"If I have, I don't recall."

This tidbit of information seems to cause you distress for a reason Todoroki isn't completely able to identify. This happens sometimes, where he'll tell you about some innocuous part of his life and you react with a great big sigh.

He can normally understand it after it's explained, or if he thinks about it a little longer. This time, he has no idea which part of his sentence seems to be causing you trouble.

"I really hate your old man, Shou," You say, voice melancholy but light at the same time. He thinks you're trying to cheer him up. He appreciates it "Can't wait till Touya is done serving time,"

Todoroki doesn't know what to make of that. He hums.

"Is it that bad?" He asks. You shake your head, and reach for his hands with yours. He's quick to hold it, envelop it and draw patterns in your palms.

"Not bad. It's just like...sometimes it makes me feel like I took a lot for granted."

"Your childhood wasn't easy either," He points out. And you laugh.

"No, no I guess not. But at least I got to live it,"

Ah. Todoroki is starting to understand.

"I'm okay," He says, trying to reassure you. You smile at him but it hasn't changed at all.

"I know, sweet thing." You say, and the sound of your voice makes his heart race. For a while you sit like that, on a park bench in an empty park. It's cold but Shouto keeps both your hands warm as you sit on the heated side. He isn't sure how to approach things like this.

"Shou, baby," You start as he turns his head to look at you, tilted to one side "Can I teach you to swing?"

Todoroki blinks at you like he's trying to decipher his sentence.

"Teach me to swing?" He parrots. You nod enthusiastically, jutting your chin at the empty swings. He stares at them then stares back at you.

"Yeah. It'll be fun." You say, not forcing him. He doesn't have any reason to say no, so he nods. He mostly says because it makes you brighten up, a joy returning to your expression he found himself missing until just now.

You grab his hand and pull him up, tugging him behind you as you approach the swings. Todoroki walks at your pace, the crunch of the mulch under his boots noisy as he approaches. You drop his hand and go behind the swing, gesturing to him.

"C'mon. Sit," You say. Todoroki sits in the swing, the weight of his body causing tension in the buckles. He can feel the metal ridges of the chain press lightly into the skin - but surprisingly he fits. It's a little snug, but he feels like it's holding up his weight just fine.

His feet touch the floor completely, maybe too tall. You stand behind him, hands on his shoulders. Todoroki looks over his shoulder to try and see you.

"Okay. I'm gonna give you a little push at first okay," You say, placing your hands on his waist with a little smile. Todoroki likes how your hands feel "And when you're back - kick your legs back. And when you're swinging forward, kick your legs in front of you. Sounds easy enough right?"

He nods. It does sound easy.

"Okay. Ready," He says, and you giggle. Delighted. It's a little effort for you to push him, a soft grunt leaving your mouth as you push him forward.

Then he's swinging. The motion starts slight - an easy back and forth like the waving of a flag. But Todoroki remembers your words, listening to your encouragement. It's a pendulum. He can feel the momentum of his body shift as he kicks backwards, how there's more weight when he swings forward.

Then he's higher than before, he can feel himself going higher. He didn't realize his eyes had been closed until he opens them again. Over and over, he does it until he's reaching close to the sun. Todoroki can see the white sun in the sky, winter oncoming. He can feel the cold air all over his body, frost in his fingers

But something inside is melting. Warmth is settling over his body as he starts to reach a high summit, the tension of his body making full use of the movement. He's never seen the sky so clear before.

"Shou," You say, your phone in hand and so much love in your voice it's tangible "Is it fun?!" You shout, enthusiasm in it like never before. In that carefree and ridiculous way you so easily embody.

He wonders why he wants to shout too, but he doesn't fight it. He giggles, so soft it's easy to miss. He opens his eyes to look at the sun. He looks at you.

"Yes," He shouts back, intonation flat but smiling "It's fun."

[xxnashiraxx]

WIP Wednesday!

Thank you for tagging me, @preciouslittlebhaalbae!! ❤

I have some awful, terrible, angsty, smutty stuff in store for the chapter I've included a tidbit of below!! It's just the gateway for the really angsty stuff to begin, yippeee!!! This story is gonna wreck me.

Enjoy!

“Oh, but isn’t it? Here I’ve been, begging to get close to you since we met, and yet I’ve been tossed aside in lieu of someone you barely know. It hurts my feelings,” He pouts, fingers idly brushing a lock of hair out of her face. She feels her already ruddy cheeks grow hotter, but the smile doesn’t slip from her lips. Nor does the ire from her voice. “Forgive me, but I didn’t think you were that serious.” She retorts, her lids starting to get heavy. He leans down, his pointed face hovering over hers, and she shuffles and wriggles beneath the scrutiny. “You’re poking fun, aren’t you?” He scowls and she rolls her eyes, her blood boiling in her veins. “Please,” She spits, barely concealing the spite in her words. “If you only want a quick fuck in your bedroll, like you said, then anyone will do. Why me?” Their time in the rafters feels like a sham, empty and one-sided. It hurts to think about it and remember how vulnerable she felt. Then she thinks of his dismissive gaze throughout the day, which hurts all the more. No amount of kissing someone else can fully bury her feelings and they come back with a vengeance, swift and demanding. Try as she might to get him out of her head, she just can’t. He’s infected her heart with every bite, every glance, every smoothly uttered word. His eyes flash, brows set low as they crease his pretty forehead. He looks dangerous now, almost like the predator he’s meant to be, but perhaps it’s the alcohol that dims her self-preservation instincts since it doesn’t scare her at all; quite the contrary. She sucks in a sharp inhale of air, her core melting at the sight of him. Yes. This is the emotion she’d longed to see since her confession earlier in the day. He dips to press his nose against where her jaw hinges to her skull and she almost faints at the rush of arousal that flashes through her when he growls in her ear. “I’ve been waiting since the moment we met,” He breathes against her neck and she lets her eyes fall shut. A shiver runs down her spine as his cool breath fans out against her skin, leaving a trail of gooseflesh. “To have you… to taste you.” She bites down hard on her lip to suppress a disappointed whimper when he pulls away, her body mourning the loss.

I think everyone was tagged, but I'm going to encourage you guys further! ❤

@inkymoonbunny @verbenaa @ladyduellist @bhaalsdeepbat @elinorbard @justabiteofspite

[evo-lutioneternal]

// Content Warning:

This blog will occasionally discuss topics of cults, religious trauma, and experimentation/medical malpractice. These topics will be addressed with the "cw: [topic]" tag. Please block these tags accordingly

Outside of that, this blog is low-stakes. The mod is not a huge fan of a lot of angst so I will mostly remain lighthearted and silly //

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Hello rotomblr.

I'm Evian, a university student at Naranja/Uva/Blueberry Academy. Any pronouns for me are fine.

I am what people would call a "chosen" — my patron legendary is Eternatus. Yes, the one blamed for Galar's darkest days.

Rest assured I have no intent on destroying anything or whatever. I and my... patron just wish to live quietly. Evil teams who wish to "recruit" me for their.. purposes are not welcome. Please leave and rethink your actions.

Pelipper and Musharna Mail are on, Magic Anons are off.

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I have one pokemon, a Hatterne named Astella. She was gifted to me by a close friend and she is my most trusted companion. Without her a lot of my daily tasks would be much harder to achieve

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My Tags

#☆Evian Answers -> Answered Asks

#☆Stellardex -> Important Posts

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Welcome to the OOC bit.

☆ Pelipper Mail | Musharna mail is ON

☆ Musharna Malice is ON

☆ Sentient pokémon + Legendary pokémon can interact!

☆ Canon character RP blogs can interact!

☆ Magic Anons are OFF

Hi again! It's Necro with another pokemon irl blog :) - this time we have the "chosen" of Eternatus! Though... something makes me think that they're not human at all... Probably just me though.

(The gimmick here is Evian is their world's Eternatus, but they are hiding that fact and claiming they are the chosen. That is a lie so they aren't bothered by people. NOBODY IN CHARACTER KNOWS THIS EXCEPT FOR ASTER)

I also run @4ster-bl4ster , so check out my other blog!! These two will interact occasionally :)

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General tidbits:

No NSFW with this account, but suggestive is fine. Evian might not get the jokes though

I literally made this blog to be silly and have fun, so please don't take things too seriously :')

If things don't fit 100% with people's canon it's fine, like I don't mind working with ppl. Again, this is just me making a blog for my pokemon oc for the sake of havin fun.

Here's a bit about myself:

Name is Necro/Nec

Main blog is @the-necrobotanist [follows and likes are from @wyrmoffthestr1ng though]

Pronouns are He/They

20 y/o, Illustration major in college

LGBTQIA+ (I'm trans/nonbinary!)

I mainly dabble in Wizardblr lol

Pokémon is my hyperfixation, and I am an avid shiny hunter :)

Chronically ill, and I have a lotta anxiety so I often will explain things in tags if I'm worried abt something.

If you want more just like, go to my main or smthn.

I can't think of anything else to add to this part right now, so I'll add things here as needed.

Btw no TERFS, Zi*nists, or your like. I will block you on sight. Get out

[kittick-art]

Wahoo, time for another Animatic Deep Dive!

I did this on twitter after my jeanmarco animatic came out last year, and I wanted to do something similar for the Royai animatic! This post will include HD stills from the animatic, as well as some nerdy insight into some shot choices and such, bc I need an outlet to geek out about it. Everything is under the ‘keep reading’ break! :]

Ok to start off, I wanted to show some behind-the-scenes stuff, including my first thumbnails I drew in my sketchbook, as well as part of the shot sheet that kept me organized (and sane) throughout the animatic.

Also, fun fact is that I'm primarily a 3D animator, so I used that knowledge to sculpt a rough version of Mustang's office for the final shot :]

Ok so now for actual stills...starting with one of my FAVORITE sequences to draw, which I have dubbed 'the scrolling bit.'

And a fun little composition tidbit about this sequence is that I tried to show the passage of time through Roy & Riza's placement in the shots. So in order, they progressively go from the right of the screen to the left. It was actually a really last-minute decision, bc originally I had two different shots (see below) which got scrapped in order to do that silly compositional thing. I think it was a worthy sacrifice because that drawing of Black Hayate on Mustang's head was just so fun to draw.

OKAY, now I want to move onto my favorite part of any animatic, which is the pretentious stuff about 'character placement' and "the deeper meaning." Blah blah, all that art-school kind of stuff that you'd hear in some film analysis class.

It's not intentional whatsoever, but I realized after the animatic was finished that Hawkeye is almost always on Mustang's righthand side, other than a select few times when he's the one supporting her. Feel free to look into that if you'd like, but just know it was not intentional and isn't consistent 100% of the time.

What was intentional, however, were these 4 shots, and specifically the placement of Mustang & Hawkeye within them:

These 2 sequences are meant to be direct parallels to each other, in everything including how Mustang turns to Hawkeye, and Hawkeye is already facing him. They were also my favorite shots to animate, especially with Riza coming out of her salute. Seeing them in the final animatic almost made me tear up, ngl. They're just so dang in love!

Finally, the last part that holds some artsy deeper meaning is a sequence I actually shared a long long time ago. I've dubbed it the 'spotlight section' bc idk how else to describe it.

Back when I teased this sequence, I alluded to some "deeper meaning" behind the use of red in the tags. And while the use of red is a pivotal thing throughout the entire animatic, it's most important here. It starts on Hawkeye's back, then transfers to Mustang's glove, and finally goes back to Hawkeye as her blood. Basically what I was trying to get at was something about consequences, and where flame alchemy has led them. In some way or another, Riza's decision to show Roy her tattoo ended up leading to her own (near) demise. So the red was supposed to show that transfer of consequence, if that makes sense.

ANYWAYS. Enough of me rambling. Thank you for reading if you somehow made it this far. All the love on this animatic - even since I first started teasing it back in November - has been insane to me. I still feel like I can't wrap my head around it. I'll leave you all with one last sketch from when I first started making the animatic. Have a good night, everyone!

[queerdiazs]

tease tidbit tuesday <3

sweetheart @honestlydarkprincess tagged me in this (thank you, jess, mwah)

this is from the bad things fic, which i'm hoping to finish today/tomorrow, but i severely overestimated how hard writing angst was going to be, lmao

“There was a pileup on the bypass,” Bobby explains. “Only a few casualties and a couple minor injuries. Traffic was rerouted.”  Buck tugs off his t-shirt and pulls on the polo Eddie hands him. “D’you know what happened?”  “A big truck rear-ended a bus,” Bobby answers. “Brakes gave out and the driver pulled over to the shoulder, but not before clipping the back end of the bus hard enough to send it into the other lane.”  Eddie winces, mind going to Christopher before he shakes off that thought. There’s no need for him to go down that road because he’ll only chase useless rabbits. “Who responded?”  “One-thirty-six.”  He hums. “Good hands.”  Bobby agrees, nodding. “We waited until you two showed up to go over the day’s announcements,” he says, dropping his arms and widening his stance and there, that’s the Bobby Eddie loves, all open and warm and inviting like a dad. He smiles, crinkling his eyes at the corners. “Breakfast is almost gone, so you two had better hurry and change.”  “Will do, Cap.”  Bobby heads back up toward the loft, leaving Eddie and Buck to finish getting dressed. They hurry, tugging on pants and buttoning up shirts, jostling each other’s shoulders for a round of giggles just like they do every time they share a shift.  Buck sits on the bench and pulls his boots on. “You know,” he starts, doing up his laces, “kids are almost eight times safer riding in a school bus than in a car with their parents.”  “That so?”  Buck nods. “I, uh, did a little bit of research without you when Chris asked to start riding the bus,” he says, scratching the back of his head. “I know we talked it through and decided it was fine, but I just wanted to be extra sure.”  Eddie smiles, soft and mollified, and combs his fingers through Buck’s hair. “Of course you did,” he says, tipping Buck’s face up for a quick kiss on the forehead. “I love you so much, baby.”  “Good.” Buck grins and lifts up for another kiss, longer and sweeter. “‘Cause I love you, too.”  Laughing, Eddie laces his fingers with Buck’s and pulls him up from the bench. They’ve been together for a few years, having spewed their feelings for one another a couple months after they ended things with Marisol and Natalia, and Eddie’s never been as heavy with joy as he is now. He hopes it’s like this, always—fun and free and full of adoration and loyalty. It’d make for a long, happy life.  They bound up the stairs together, taking them two at a time because everything’s a competition when it comes to them; Chim and Hen see them first, waving and yelling so loud over something Ravi’s apparently said and heckling for their opinion on the matter that Eddie almost misses the sound of his phone going off. He reaches into the back pocket of his pants and pulls it out.  Buck taps his bicep. “Who is it?”  He frowns. “It’s Chris’s school.” 

no pressure tagging: @wikiangela, @wildlife4life, @thewolvesof1998, @housewifebuck, @jeeyuns, @try-set-me-on-fire, @jesuisici33, and whoever else wants to do it <333

[devirnis]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday

tagged by @prince-buck-diaz 😙

rule: share whatever scene or snippet from your wip has you excited

so….. I started working on something that I’ve always been too intimidated to try, but then I had a vision that wouldn’t leave me alone and now it’s a google doc 🫣

Eddie kneels on the bed, and Buck makes an excited noise, angling his body towards him. Eddie’s heart swells like he’s the goddamn grinch; Buck is always so responsive.

“Hi, baby,” he croons, plucking the remote out of Buck’s hand. “Been having fun?”

As if he doesn’t know. As if Buck’s noises and reactions haven’t been burned into Eddie’s memory for the rest of time.

if you wanna @bigfootsmom @homerforsure @dijkstraspath @bucktalias @honestlydarkprincess @alyxmastershipper @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @sibylsleaves @spaceprincessem @try-set-me-on-fire @carnivalsofthecity

[thecornerofegg]

Sooooo the time has come to move my art over here instead of instgam, so here are some examples of my art (both older and newer, ish sorted(top: older, bottom: newer))

Anyway, hiya I'm Egg (they/ey) and I'm here now. I'm neurodivergent (adhd) and I'm nonbinary (agender, if you know that term). I'm also a furry, otherhearted (cat), and a fox otherlinker, so if you think that others' hobbies and identities are your business or cringe or whatever then you can leave right now. You're not welcome here.

I draw and sometimes I paint and sometimes I draw digitally, but I'm still working on that. I want to make comics for my ocs' stories, and I like color

If you ask me, coloring traditionally is a pain sometimes, watercolors and acrylics are cool, scrapbooking style collages feed my soul, crafting is fantastic and drawing with graphite is occasionally the best thing that exists

I keep my sketchbooks like diaries/scrapbooks and it's really fun

I like yellow, the stars, flowers, spring- & summer rain, winter, fall colors, illustrations and stories, the consept of spiderman, music, hoodies, blankets, tea, orange chocolate, cats and otters

Am here to vibe and have fun putting my thoughts and art somewhere for me and anyone who wants to vibe with me

Yeah :D

｡:.ﾟ˚₊·✧⁺ﾟ°･:*+.

(Intro and tags will be updated, cus things change with time)

｡:.ﾟ˚₊·✧⁺ﾟ°･:*+.

Tags used to sort this blog are:

#my art  -  for my art. Also crafts sometimes :D

#blabbering  -  for my thoughts

#not my art - for reblogged art (that is very cool and funky =>)

#live reaction - for my reactions after watching or reading a piece of media, existing examples include Lord of The Flies, Hamlet, the Spiderman Home-trilogy and more

#oc stuff - for my babies (a.k.a. my oc's), can be art, rants, intros, world or story info or anything =>

#wrints - (stands for writing snippets), for writing shenanigans, poems, snippets, verses, possibly eventual song lyrics who knows 👀, script tidbits, concepts or ideas, anything really. Also note that it doesn't have to be fiction, it might be me trying to express feelings & experiences etc. through words

#sketchbooking - for any art I post that was drawn in my sketchbook, cus yeah

#short post - for posts with ca. 4 sentences or less/that don't feel that long to me, because I tend to ramble & sometimes ya just don't wanna read a rant, so I'm sorting them for you <3 (ocationally reblogs, sometimes art, mostly just words)

#alterhumanity - for anything related to that. Be it term coining/definition re-blogs, mask making, memes, div. rambles, related stim-boards, or anything else of the community

[fandomsoda]

Alright SU progress report 1 (spoilers ahead)

Got through episodes 1-29

Overall experience?: I’m having fun, it’s alright, I like it. It’s keeping my attention enough for me to be able to solidly binge it.

Favorite character so far?: Uuuuuhhhh Idk probably Amethyst.

Ships?: No strong opinions yet

Thoughts on lore/overall show atmosphere?: The show’s gorgeous (at least the environments are) and the lore seems neat even though you’re very… thrown right into it. I don’t think it does a good job establishing the world, episode 1 just kinda happens and you get no context, no explanation, no one’s gonna tell you anything unless you’re watching with someone, and I do not think that is good writing. Pacing seems a bit too fast, I know the show has a shorter individual episode run time but it felt like things really weren’t built up enough. Things often just kinda happen and very few scenes are given the proper weight I think they deserve.

Individual character opinions:

Steven?: He is… something. He becomes way less unbearable, but early on he’s very difficult to watch. I never really hated him as I know he’s a young, inexperienced character and he’s supposed to be a tad annoying, but god the second-hand embarrassment! I also feel like he is dumbed-down way too fucking hard. Like it often feels like the writers have a vendetta against him with how shockingly oblivious and idiotic they make him at times, it is so frustrating. He’s way more likable later on, in exchange for feeling unnoteworthy. He’s the titular character, the generic starry-eyed protagonist, and I don’t really care that much. He bounces off of everyone well, but doesn’t have a lot going for himself individually.

Pearl?: I like Pearl, she’s fun, responsible, and resourceful. A mom friend if I’ve ever seen one and often pretty endearing, if overbearing at times. It’s a very basic archetype but it works.

Amethyst?: I like her a lot. Her attitude is fun, she is VERY pretty, and she’s often funny and interesting. However often she can come across as an asshole and her antics can wind up not fun so- yeah.

Garnet?: Garnet definitely has her moments but I do not like how robotic she acts. She feels like she should talk more and express more, and her only super expressive moment being her lashing out and being cruel to someone/thing who could not hurt her does not sweeten the deal.

Greg?: Massive shrug, has his moments but can also suck.

Lars?: Fun to watch, easy to emphasize with, kind of an asshole though.

Sadie?: (just gonna sum this up in the advice I’d like to give her) Girl I understand your pain and you deserve better so LEAVE HIS ASS.

Connie?: She’s neat. Her getting her eyesight cured did leave a bad taste in my mouth, though. Not her fault, however.

Lapis?: I like her a lot and I wish she stuck around for longer. I feel like enough time wasn’t spent on her story, and the scene of her gem getting healed went by too quickly and happened too suddenly.

Additional tidbits, giggles, and jokes:

wound up calling who Lapis was going to be given me already associating that gemstone with water

After observing how even the normal human world feels like it’s on something in this show and everyone seems like they’ve got something wild going on, I coined the term/saying “on some Beach City shit”, something to refer to when something/someone has the certain brand of weirdness Beach City does.

that’s all for now, having fun but not blindly loving the show, please don’t kill me.

people who wanted to be tagged directly: @dinosaurzzz @everydaygremlin

[angel-bubbles]

wip wednesday!

since i missed @bicyclepainting's tag for tidbit tuesday i figured i would jump on it today instead :3 y'all remember a couple months ago when i was talking about david in a cowboy hat?? behold a sneak at my line dancing fic hehe

----

“It’ll be fun!” Angel’s voice echoed around the two of them as they dragged the end of the word out. David looked down at them skeptically which only caused their scheming smile to grow.

“I think our definitions of fun are different.”

Angel was leaning haphazardly against the wall of their bedroom pulling their beat-up old cowboy boots on while David watched from the door. He hadn’t ever seen them in this outfit, to be honest he didn’t even know they owned boots like that. To his credit, Angel kept them in the back of the closet safely tucked away in a box so they wouldn’t get lost or tossed.

Once they got their jeans situated they popped up and walked over to the mirror, not missing the way David’s eyes followed them carefully. 

They nodded in approval at the sight of their outfit before spinning on their now heeled foot to get a proper look at him. When they saw that he hadn’t moved even a little bit from his post in the doorway they threw their head back and groaned, giving him the best puppy dog eyes they could muster.

“Come on, I already told Sam you were coming!”

“Oh I know, you haven’t stopped talking about it all week.” Angel sighed and finally made their way towards him.

His shoulders were stiff and his eyebrows furrowed, but when his eyes met with theirs there was a certain softness in them. They took a few steps and wrapped their arms around his neck, staring up to meet his gaze.

“If you really don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I know it’s not really your thing.” They said softly. “I can always say something came up. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.” David sighed at their reassurance, letting the stiffness from his shoulders loosen as he gently placed his hands on their hips.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go I just-” He cut  his sentence off with a frustrated growl and shook his head. “I don’t know any of the fancy dances or anything. I’m gonna look stupid.”

leaving an open tag since i know most everyone shared yesterday hehe but feel free to tag me in your creations!!!

[glorious-spoon]

@wildlife4life tagged me for Tidbit Tuesday - thank you! Since the Accidental Dating fic won yesterday's poll, have a bit of Eddie totally not pining over his best friend.

-

"Good thing," Buck agrees. He's grinning, teasing and soft, as he leans forward to clink his beer bottle against Eddie's. "Should have just asked you in the first place. I always have more fun with you anyway."

It's startlingly close to what Eddie was thinking earlier. There's a strange anxiety to the thought when he pokes at it: what's going to happen when one of Buck's romantic attempts does inevitably stick. It didn't work out with Natalia, but eventually it will. Buck is in a better place now; he's not going to settle for a woman who isn't right for him, but he wants a partner. He wants someone to build a family of his own with. And eventually someone's going to see him, all his bright warmth and everything he has to offer, and step right into the spot that has always been Eddie's by default.

And Eddie will be happy for him. Really, he will. Buck deserves to have that. But it'll mean no more nights like this, or at least a lot less of them. He'll have to take a step back and leave space for a new relationship to grow, and he's not sure he knows how to do that anymore.

He'll figure it out, though. 

"I wouldn't have stood you up, anyway," he says, and takes another pull on his beer.

"Oh, okay, thanks a lot," Buck retorts, but he's laughing.

-

I'm not sure who's done this yet, so if you have something you'd like to share, consider yourself tagged!

[filet-o-feelings]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday

Thanks for the tags @hippolotamus and @stereopticons!

I'm almost done editing what I have of Library Boy so I can get to adding the sentences from the poll (and maybe even finishing this sometime soon?) So for now, here's another angsty bit, this time on David's end from where I'm at in my reread/edit (I promise this fic isn't as angsty as my last couple of shared bits)

He would ask Stevie, but she's always busy with Twyla. And besides, she’d probably tell him to just ask and stop overthinking it because she always gives him the advice he needs and not the advice he wants. Because she likes to watch him suffer.

He could even talk to Twyla about it. They’d become somewhat close during the times he and Stevie had visited the diner and the few movie nights she had tagged along to with Stevie. She was surprisingly fun.

But no, he’s not going to do that. He’s just going to dwell on it until it eats him alive, and then he’ll bury it with all his other anxieties and try to forget about it and move on while it conspires with the rest to throw him a surprise panic attack at the worst possible moment.

It’s a cycle he’s experienced before and will experience again. He’s self-aware enough to realize it but not enough to change. At least not anytime soon.

So, he continues on as he has been, meeting Patrick at the library and pulling their project together piece by piece until they have something they can be proud of.

He’s not going to pretend he’s not a little sad when the project is complete, this time.

It's barely Tuesday anymore so I'll leave an open tag for anyone who wants to share.

[huskyremix]

I'm new here so um, please excuse my bumbling ignorance. I found your art of Heket and Sozo, from an AU called Darling, Our Drink Is Red? Would there happen to be more content of it? Fic, art, or even just little tidbit posts? I'm so intrigued by this ship and would really like to see more of your work 🙇‍♀️ is there a masterpost anywhere?

Have a lovely day ^-^

Hi there!! So sadly that au is uhhh in a coma/hiatus I don't want to say it's dead because I do want to revisit and actually do something with it again at some point. There's not a master post but I do have a few post under that tag you can search on my page or even possibly under cult of the lamb or au tag.

My thoughts of the Sozo/heket ship was that Sozo was in the stage of ODing from menticide mushroom use (of course) and he collapsed in front of the back of the restaurant that Heket runs. And well, can't have a body just leave a body lying around for your highly sophisticated and wealthy patrons to see while they're eating their lunch.

So Heket takes em over to Kallamars for him to deal with, and she's there for when he wakes up again, possibly just to yell at for having the audacity to pass out at her business. She would discuss proper mushroom usage, because girl loves her own shrooms from time to time.

Iiii can't remember where my thoughts went from there and I can't check my notes doc for that au RN since I'm actually at a con rn and this is on mobile now lol. But idk I just thought shipping them would be a fun concept. Thank you for the ask I'm sorry I don't have any much more of those two in particular from that au to share!!