#the updraft

[cuips-not-cute]

my first piece for @just-my-latest-hyperfixation's amazing @steddiebang2024 project, updraft🧡⚙️

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Updraft - chapter 1

My @steddiebang2024 fic, with art by @cuips-not-cute

Read it on AO3

Art this way

The first thing that catches his eye is the color. The entire body of the aircraft that’s parked in front of his shop is painted a rich, burgundy red. It gleams in the dim light of the cloudy morning, like it’s never been outside a day in his life. The whole thing practically screams custom build and money - from the flashy color to the sleek, perfectly aerodynamic lines and the sturdy tarp of its wings and sails. 

Unfortunately, there’s also another thing the aircraft screams, and that is vandalism. The wings are hanging off their steel frames in torn strips, like somebody very meticulously took a very sharp knife to them, the body is dented and scraped, and from where he’s standing, Eddie can see that several of the shiny gears in the vehicle’s intricate machinery have been knocked out of place or are missing entirely. Harrington and his little friend must have wheeled it all the way here, because there is no way in hell it flew in that condition.

“Phew,” he exclaims, whistling long and low through his teeth. “Honey, who did you piss of?” 

“None of your business, is it?” Harrington snaps. “And don’t call me-” 

“Oh, I wasn’t talking to you,” Eddie interrupts him. “I was talking to that beauty out there.” 

[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.

[the-knife-consumer]

4 the doodle requests ... Revali gifting link the paraglider ...

Wanted to attempt courtship flight but um. Cringe fail idiot bird.

[th3-0bjectivist]

“Magma Updraft” - Animated painting

[spiribia]

can you grow up and play guild wars 2 with me except all we do is fly around maps like this together in silence

[curecosmic]

hirogaru sky! precure - updraft shining

[polar-equinoxx]

Courtship🕊🤍

Inspired by this tiktok <3

[nightttoon]

You know, almost the entire Zelda botw fandom has split into two parts. Some people think that Revali is an arrogant bastard who pretends to be more than he really is, while others adore him, considering him the best character from the whole game. And although my heart certainly belongs to Daruk and Yunobo, I do not feel any irritation towards Revali.

Yes, he is self-confident, sometimes even arrogant. But doesn't he have the right to be that? As shown in the fragments of his memories and his diary, he is the only one of the 4 warriors who didn't have some kind of birth given power. We were shown a scene where he moved a little from the center of the Updraft during training and was thrown to the side. But he did not stop, and continued to try and improve, thereby developing his strength.

I don't want to humiliate the other 3 warriors with my words. It's just that they were born with such power, hopes were up on them from the very beginning. They had no choice in who they wanted to become. Fate decided for them that they would be a shield and a sword for common people, that they would be responsible from their very birth, they had high expectations from them and they proudly fulfilled them without sparing themselves. But Revali had a choice. He would not have come up with an Updraft, he wouldn't have trained so hard, if he didn't want to. He could be like any other Rito. But he decided to become a warrior, and not just any warrior, but what he could proudly call an ideal. Revali voluntarily took responsibility, having nothing but a bow, arrows and himself. And he achieve what he wanted. He became famous not only among his people, but throughout Hyrule, and Zelda did not just come to him without reason.

So I think he has something to be proud of, and to be honest, I even respect him for that. Although for people who don't know the whole story, he really may seem like just an annoying bird with a bow.

[photosyn]

Blue time

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

⚙️ Steddie Big Bang 2024: Project Reveal ⚙️

I am stoked to reveal my project for the @steddiebang2024 - an action-filled, steampunk-inspired Steddie adventure. I'll be collaborating with the amazingly talented @cuips-not-cute on this one, and I can't wait to see what they'll create! 😍✨️

Summary and snippet under the cut

⚙️ Excerpt

“Look,” he finally says. “We've been over this. The doctors said it's perfectly normal. ‘s called phantom limb or whatever the fuck. Can take years to go away, sometimes never does. It's fine.”

Gareth shuffles unhappily. “Yeah, but-”

“No buts,” Eddie insists. “I appreciate your concern, Gare, I really do. But to be perfectly honest with you, I’d rather hack off another limb than go anywhere near those shallow, sanctimonious, rich assholes ever again, so they can take that money and shove it right up their-”

“Eddie, shut up, for fuck’s sake!”

Gareth's voice cracks around the last syllable and Eddie trails off with an irritated groan.

“What? Why?”

“Just-” Now that he thinks about it, Gareth is sounding weirdly nervous. Eddie frowns at the wrench in his hand. “There’s, um …”

“No, by all means,” says a new voice. “Let him continue. He hasn’t said exactly where to shove that money yet.”

Eddie shoots out from under the transporter and nearly crashes into a pair of legs.

“What the fuck?” he blurts, slamming his feet down in a desperate attempt to brake. His right leg creaks and the metal foot scrapes over the floor with a harsh, grating sound. Eddie thinks he sees sparks, briefly. “Hey, look where you’re-”

There’s a guy staring down at him. A guy in an embroidered waistcoat with tails so long they nearly brush the shafts of his shiny leather boots. He's leaning on a carved walking stick, raising an elegant eyebrow from under a swoop of shiny, chestnut hair. Eddie decides then and there that he hates that douchebag.

“Where I’m going?” Douchebag finishes his sentence. “I was just standing here. Maybe you should-”

“Yeah, well,” Eddie sneers, finally remembering to sit up and push his goggles back. The movement leaves a black smudge of oil on his forehead, wet and sticky. “It’s still my damn shop, good sir, so excuse the fuck outta me if I don’t go out of my way to kiss your-”

“You’re Edward Munson then?” another voice pipes in. “Of Munson’s Machinery? You own this place?”

Eddie blinks. A girl is peering over Douchebag’s shoulder. She reminds him a bit of one of those tall monster birds with the long necks he saw at the zoo once - all gangly limbs and jerky movements and nervous eyes. Ostriches? Yeah, he thinks that's what they're called.

“Eddie is fine,” he says automatically, then remembers he's still mad at the both of them. “I mean … what's it to you?”

Douchebag huffs a sound that might pass as a laugh, if only his face matched the noise.

“Nevermind,” he murmurs and turns to go, making to put his preposterous top hat back on. “This was a stupid idea anyhow.”

“Steve?” The girl latches on to his arm and yanks him back. Douchebag makes an annoyed, whiny sound and Eddie can feel his own mouth twitching into a grin. “Be nice?”

While Douchebag pouts and grumbles something unintelligible under his breath, she turns to Eddie with a strained smile.

“Sorry about him,” she says, fingers awkwardly tugging on the dispensers of her billowy pants. “We talked about this before coming here, or at least I thought we did, only right now I'm honestly wondering if we had the same discussion, because you're sort of our last chance, so it would really befit us to treat you with some basic-”

“For fuck’s sake, Robin,” Douchebag blurts. His hand flies up like he’s trying to scrub it down his face, or pinch his nose maybe - one of those theatrical, overdone gestures of long-suffering exasperation - just that he’s still holding the stupid hat and almost whacks himself in the forehead with it. “Just go ahead and tell him everything, why don't you? That'll do wonders for our negotiation position, I'm sure.”

“Excuse me, what position?” asks the girl. She throws up her hands, so suddenly that her dispensers twang with it, and Douchebag flinches. Eddie’s starting to like her more and more. “And I'm asking that in all honesty, dingus. This place is the only option we have left. Our position isn't just shitty, it's literally non-existent. There is no position, Steve. So you can either try again and behave like a decent human being or we can just go home and forget about the whole-”

“Ugh, alright,” Douchebag snaps. “I'll do it, I'll do it.”

He shoves himself past the girl and her shit-eating grin so that he can glare down his nose at Eddie. Eddie, who is still crouched on the ground, glares right back, head tipped into his neck.

“I, um-” mutters Gareth, shuffling off the workbench and gathering his half-finished breakfast. “I'll just … I’ll come back later, I guess. See ya, Eddie.”

Eddie makes a vague sound of acknowledgement as he bustles out, but doesn’t bother breaking his staring contest.

“So, Mr. Munson,” Douchebag drawls after a second or two. “Would you be interested in a job offer? I heard you’re one of the best mechanics on this side of town.”

[witchofthesouls]

I'm torn over this tinyformers ask I got because it can go two ways:

1. Cybertronians getting a hands-on experience of the Other side via college campus experience in the size of humans, so imagine their alt-modes like kiddie jeeps as mechs try to outrun the Midnight Hunting Hounds across the courtyards or party with the sororities with demonic lineages.

2. That Magic!Farm!Au I talked about. But the robots are tiny like tin soldiers. Like there's a 'bot and a 'con hanging on your shoulders like a devil and angel, so they completely agree to fuck over the neighborhood hooligans, the gluttonous menace of chickens (both and space varieties), and someone needing to be constant rescued by Pyrite because the trucker tot is using the tiny mech as a pacifer.

[chaseisglitched]

you know what im thinking about this valentines day?

tornadoes. scroll through the wiki page with me, boy

[heleentje]

I've read your Moonlight series before totk even released and now that I'm playing it, I keep wondering. How do you think Moonlight Revali would feel about Tulin being the (keeping this non-spoilery) "chosen" in this generation?

Oho, now that's an interesting question!

(I will be going into spoilers here, both for totk and for Moonlight and its sidefics, because it's easier to talk about things that way.)

I don't think we'll ever include the events of totk in the Moonlight universe (these characters have suffered enough already), so there probably wouldn't be an occasion for Tulin to actually become the Sage of Wind. But let's assume for the sake of argument that the sages do awaken (preferably in a way that doesn't ruin the whole of Hyrule again).

Revali's reaction, as with most things about him, would be... complicated.

I do not think he would be jealous. Revali built his entire self-worth on getting where he is on his own merits, without mystical lineages or magical weapons. If anything, Tulin being a sage would only serve as vindication to him: he developed an ability that rivals that of the Sage of Wind, and he did it all on his own. He Is Just That Good.

... Or is he?

Because Revali is a creature of crippling self-doubt hidden behind a thin veneer of overconfidence, I do think he might actually start to wonder: is he also descended from the Sage of Wind? Sure, Tulin is in no way related to him, but Moonlight!Revali only ever knew his mother, not his father. The ancient sage lived untold millennia ago; realistically, every living Rito would be related to the sage in some form. So what if all the things he thought he accomplished on his own were just a manifestation of his lineage?

(At this point, I would be remiss not to mention the Great Eagle Bow and why both the sage and Revali have it. And here I'm going to go with @ginneke's headcanon that this is all a predestination paradox, and Zelda was the one who helped develop the weapons for the sages based on what she remembered of the champions' weapons)

Now, this is story logic, not real-life genetics, so I am of the opinion that Revali is 100% not related to the Sage of Wind and developed his Gale all on his own. But it's a fun bit of doubt to pile on top of him :D

And there's another aspect of his life where Tulin awakening as sage is relevant: Moonlight!Revali becomes Tulin's teacher (as established in Harmonize your own worth). It's something he has done before and enjoys doing, and he clearly wants to pass on his own abilities. So I think he'd definitely be proud of Tulin for developing Gust! It is a pretty spectacular thing to do at such a young age, and a credit to Revali as a teacher.

... Which would be another thing that Tulin becoming the Sage of Wind would throw into question. Because was it ever really because of Revali's teaching that Tulin developed Gust, or was he always destined to, because of this ancient lineage?

In short, the whole thing would do a number on Revali's psyche, though not necessarily in the ways you might expect. And of course, he'd definitely be trying to replicate Gust for himself! He can already go upwards, how hard can it be to move forward?

(Knowing Revali, very :3)

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, Remember the Ceratopsian Rhinox? What were the beast modes of the other participants of this more saurian Beast Wars?

Dear Saurian Sleuth,

While “Rhinox” adopted the form of a savannah-dwelling ceratopsian, the Optimus Primal of this universe—similar to the Primal of other timelines—chose to become a therizinosaur. The Maximal you know as “Cheetor”, meanwhile, transformed into a lightweight dromaeosaur; as a result, he shared a closer bond with Dinobot—whose raptor form bore a resemblance to the Dinobot of other timelines, save for a coat of feathers—than the Cheetor you know from other universes. “Rattrap”, meanwhile, did not become a dinosaur, but instead transformed into an oversized multituberculate mammal.

Over time, several new Maximals would emerge from their stasis pods and join their forces: these included the antisocial Lockjaw, who spent most of his time patrolling the rivers in his crocodylomorph beast mode, the motherly Hadrotron, a competent field medic whose hadrosaur form let her cross vast distances, and the wise-cracking Updraft, a long-legged azhdarchid who acted as an aerial scout for the Maximals.

[b-blushes]

Oh yeah earlier when I was in the garden I heard two birds of prey calling (kestrels or sparrowhawks? Too high for me to see them properly and although I’ve listened to recordings of both calls I can’t distinguish which one it was from memory), wondered what they were yelling about out of sight, then spotted them and they caught a thermal and were soaring upwards slowly in circles. Resident buzzard appears and joins them in the updraft, that’s what they were yelling about! They started divebombing the buzzard from within their spiralling circles, not ever touching but diving so fast! Cool!!!!