#there were a few of them but those two kinda capture the vibes of the whole thing yknow sdbsjfd it meant so much to me

[chaiandsage]

Hello, it is me, I am back. I'm being insane about TL... again... It's my constant state at this point I fear.

Anyways, I was making myself a playlist for the story and was wondering if you had any songs that you personally associate with the fic and/or characters.

I may or may not also be reformatting the bind for a second print with a couple new features (that may or may not pretty much just be making all the comms messages formatted with the Minecraft font so they look more authentic... That's... definitely not the only think I am changing.... Listen, I know I'm insane, we do not need to talk about it)

Okay, so, sorry for the delayed reply, but you probably had no idea just how insane this question was going to make me. Because a lot of these songs are ones that I hold very close to me and some, in one way or another, were even the inspiration for a lot of major plot points that happened in the story. Others, however, I got really into while the fic was still being updated because some of my readers would comment about their own songs that they connected to Trust Life or would even make entire playlists for it--which I LOVED. So anyway, here's two different lists for each of those, complete with explanations that no one asked for on why I think they vibe with the story :D

My Personal Vibes

So quick side story, I worked in retail while I was writing up the story outline for this and most of my job involved doing some very repetitive and boring tasks that left plenty of brainpower to spare for me to think about and plan out the story while I was doing them. And I'm sure you know that most stores will just play a bunch of generic, upbeat, bubbly, pop music on loop the entire day (I kinda vibe with it ngl, but I get that it's not for everyone), but that was what I had to listen to throughout the day and like it or not, that was the music that I ended up coming up with a lot of ideas and fixing a lot of plot holes to. And honestly? I wouldn't have had it any other way. But my point is, if a few of these songs are kinda cheery sounding and don't seem like they have that much to do with the story's usual theme, just know that that's why, lol.

Can't Remember to Forget You - Shakira

Something, something... memory loss, Scott and Jimmy forgetting they were already a couple during Double Life... Neither of them being able to forget each other after the breakup--plus that one "kissing in the moonlight" line inspired that flashback scene that Scott had in chapter 43.

Part Of Me -Noah Kahan

Recognize the title? Chapter 30 baybeee. This was kind of how I wanted Tango's feelings for his previous boyfriends to come off. Not all of the lyrics are accurate, but most of it matches the tone I was trying to go for.

Pick Me Up - Sam Feldt, Sam Fischer

This one made had me thinking about snowbugs 24/7 and for as arguably disconnected from the theme of the story that the lyrics are it had absolutely no right to inspire as many scenes in this fic as it did. It's how I came up with how Scott's escape went after stealing the enchanter back in chapter 31 with him jumping off the roof (fun fact: that fight was originally gonna be during the day and it was gonna be Scott who threw the water and TANGO who jumped, but I changed it). It's also the inspiration for chapter 45 when they're storming the fortress and Scott and Tango have to help protect each other. ALSO--Remember the title to chapter 49??? Yeah, that's literally just one of the lyrics from this song. It freakin inspired the burning garden scene too. Get this song out of my head man, it's taken over my whole personality at this point...

Good Grief - Bastille

More of Scott and Jimmy just missing each other achingly and Scott in particular only being able to watch from the sidelines as Jimmy "moves on" with another man.

Still Into You - Paramore

Pretty self-explanatory. Kinda captures the vibe of the ending imo. Could be applied to almost all of the relationships and not just our main throuple.

Find an Island - BENEE

JOEL AND ETHO!!--Something about them moving too fast in their relationship during Double Life, the "storm" that was them getting their memories back, how they drifted away from each other thinking they'd be better off going without any contact, and of course the whole shipwreck and sailing theme here was just screaming "boat boys" to me.

Avalanche - Christian French

Less on-the-nose, but still a really fun vibe to me. Basically the insanity that followed after Double Life. The players realizing their feelings for other people. Can sort of be viewed more from Grian's perspective since he more or less "started" all this or at least he partially blames himself for it even if he didn't as much as all his friends all thought he had. He started the small tumble that spiraled into an avalanche as the drama continued to influence nearly everyone he knew.

Stitches - Shawn Mendes

More of Scott beating himself up both mentally and physically as he goes through his breakup at the beginning of the story. He can't sleep, can't eat, can't stop thinking about Jimmy... He's barely dragging himself forward on two feet as it is.

Thank Me Later - Sigrid

SCAR AND GRIAN--Basically Grian's whole perspective on Scar. He thinks that the person he loves will be better off if he just let him go. He knows that Scar isn't going to let go of him easily, but he deserves better. He just needs to convince him of that and maybe, as painful as it will be for Grian, Scar will move on.

Sucker - Jonas Brothers

Mostly vibes. Tango, Scott, and Jimmy doing crazy things together during the first three days of the game. Scott and Tango continuing to be menaces to everyone together even after Jimmy died. All three of them being like: "Hey, let's break into people's houses. Let's set things on fire. Let's steal and murder and fight monsters together. And while we're at it? Let's fall even deeper in love--because I kind of just realized that all of this is only fun to me because I'm doing it with you."

Hate You - Poylow & BAUWZ

THIS FUCKING- Okay... I hate that this very simple tune that I heard over a freakin YOUTUBE SHORT ended up inspiring a scene that was so fun to come up with that never even made it into the final outline, but picture this with me for a moment:

Tango doesn't realize his feelings for Scott right before the Wither attacks back in chapter 50. Instead, they're closer to their base when it happens. They just got done having that whole tense argument and "confession" and are still holding hands and staring at each other when Scott points out Tango's eyes again, not knowing what it means. Tango's eyes go wide. He pulls away, running over to their fish pond to see his reflection and... Oh god. No. No, no nonono-- His breathing is picking up. Every soft, caring interaction he's ever had with Scott now pass through his head in a blur. He realizes it was love. Scott asks what's wrong. Tango doesn't respond. He can't. What would he even say? Instead, he curls into a ball and tries to control his breathing while Scott crouches down and puts his hands on him, holding him in a hug as he panics and tries to sooth him, telling him that it's okay even though he doesn't quite know why Tango is acting this way all of a sudden. Tango hates it. He hates that he's fallen in love again and through that, might have very well ruined everything. Instead of being blown up right away, they have a few minutes to talk to each other. And in that time Tango, still not in the right headspace and through panicked breathing, asks Scott the straightforward, hypothetical question: "If I were to break up with Jimmy after this game ends and tell him to go back to you, would you ever forgive me for it?" And Scott can only look at him, horrified as he tries to form some string of words that make sense enough to give a proper response to that question that even he doesn't know how to answer... Up until the wither comes back once more to blow them up before they can even have a real conversation about it.

Haha... Oh well. I don't regret cutting this out to make the plot flow more smoothly (I needed a reason for Tango to check his comm in that moment) and it's mostly the same reaction from Tango either way. But still, it would have been a very fun scene to write that might have added a bit more spice to everything that was going on at the time.

Curses - The Crane Wives

You knew there'd be at least one Crane Wives song in here. I don't think there is a single person in this fandom who hasn't heard this song yet. It would have been a disservice not to add it here. But other than that, obviously, it's the title for chapter 56. The chapter where everything goes wrong and all of the remaining players die in quick succession to Grian and his traps. It's definitely the kind of song you listen to when you're trying to picture a scene where everything is meant to to go wrong all at once. And I love it for that.

Allies Or Enemies - The Crane Wives

No explanation needed. To me, this is the enemies to lover's national anthem.

The Moon Will Sing - The Crane Wives

Another Scott POV song, 100% (can you tell he's my favorite yet?). But it could also apply to all three of the Flower Ranchers depending on which lyrics are being sung.

"I could have been anyone else" Scott not believing Jimmy when he says he fell in love with him back in Third Life in only a week's time like he had with Tango. Scott thinking that if that really were the case, then he could have been anyone to Jimmy. He is convinced that Jimmy could have stumbled upon and teamed up with any other player during that game and the result would have still been the same.

"Before you made the choice for me" Jimmy being sad and angry with Scott for not accepting that he loved two people and refused to choose between them. Scott making that choice for him by outright leaving instead of trying to talk things over.

"We walked in the dark", "I never gave a single thought where it might lead" Tango and Jimmy, them falling in love while being in blissful ignorance brought about by their amnesia. Not even taking a second to consider that what was waiting for them on the other side of Double Life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine.

"All those empty rooms" Scott feeling alone, going back to a home that feels empty, one he used to share with the person he loved.

"I shine only with the light you gave me" Could be applied to Tango or Jimmy. They have self confidence issues. Tango thinks that Jimmy is the only one who isn't afraid of him. Jimmy thinks that both Scott and Tango could do better than him at some points in the story. They complete him. His life would feel so dim without them in it.

"We could have had anything, anything else. Instead you hoarded all that's left of me." Scott again. He and Jimmy could have had so many more long, happy years together. All that potential is gone now. Why did he have to leave him? Why did he have to such a large chunk of Scott's heart with him when he left?

"I wanna feel the fire that you kept from me." Kinda silly, for a while I thought this line was "kept FOR me" and not "kept FROM me", and I tied it to the act of Jimmy and Scott keeping their hearts warm for each other (whether they wanted to or not) in case the other decided to come back to them. They were mad at each other, but in all that time their love hadn't dimmed in the slightest. But after reading the actual line, I now think it's giving more like, Tango letting his fire out and Scott and Jimmy both accepting that as part of him with open arms, each during their own separate points in the story.

Songs from Readers' Playlists That I Fell In Love With

Can't Sleep Love- Pentatonix

Scott is a tired, tired man.

Your Stupid Face - Kaden MacKay

2nd enemies to lovers national anthem.

Hot Tea - Half Alive

Lots of themes of tea and love going on here.

The Fall - Half Alive

The person who added this song single handedly got me into Half Alive and made them one of my favorite bands.

Human Touch - Olen

Themes of waking up, breaking up, touch starvation... Also just a really fun listen in general.

Where We Started - Bailey Bryan

I think they added this as more in reference to Scott and Jimmy and how they were reconnecting during the first half of the game. But honestly? I listened to this back when the fic was only updated to chapter 29, and as the only person who knew how this whole story was meant to wrap up, it made me think more about the ending, or more like the final few chapters that I had planned out at the time where Jimmy and Scott finally figure out the kind of love that they want from each other after the game ends and try to figure out how to get back to how things were between them before their breakup. And it's a bit of a messy path for them to take, with them being all hesitant to kiss each other at the start of it, but they make it back to where they were before eventually, and I think this song captures all that beautifully.

Dandelions - Ruth B.

Ties to flowers, hopes, dreams... This one had no right to make me as emotional as it did, but damn.

Ocean Eyes - Billie Eilish

TANGO SEEING SCOTT'S EYES--Seriously, he is so transfixed by them the entire fic and only finally gets to see their true color in the last few chapters. I love this.

Human - Christina Perri

"I CAN STAY AWAKE FOR DAYS IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTTTT"

Scott again with his self-destructive tendencies during the majority of the fic. He is very sad. This also kind of reminded me of Jimmy? Just cause its both him and Scott who are hiding their true emotions throughout the story.

Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears

@Milo-media made an animatic of the fic to this song and now it lives rent free in my head. What happened here. I don't even like 80's music but this song has been on my personal playlist for months now...

Go check it out if you haven't seen it cause it's awesome: https://www.tumblr.com/milo-media/740042336270254080/this-song-is-so-snowbugs-based-of-the-fic-trust?source=share

That's everything (I think?). If you actually did read all of that then... I'm sorry. Lol. Seriously though, please feel free to message or @ me if you ever post your full playlist. I will literally never get enough of people giving me the songs they think relate to Trust Life.

And if you'd like to see the full playlists made by the other beautiful people who read the fic, they can be found right here:

Playlist by Checkmace (Ao3):

Playlist by @nerdyenby (Tumblr):

Playlists by AndIcarusFell (Ao3)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg1d9yowJk-82qWZlR3CyiY5Ihf926JPJ

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg1d9yowJk-9oXUPWiB--1Zy_3W6BNdsm

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg1d9yowJk-_YpVm8Ex_wgfQee3sXTUXU

[snarkythewoecrow]

Truth or Dare Tag Game

Okay, I am totally avoiding all my wips right now, so doing this instead, thanks @underwaterninja13

Which friends/mutuals would you call to hide a body?

@buckybeardreams I feel they would help without too many questions, and probably those would only be where and when, and if I needed a shovel

How many user subscriptions do you have on Ao3?

eh, more than some, less than others, but it's in the 4 digits

Do you have a crush on someone? OR If you're with someone, tell us one thing you love about them.

my hubby cuz he's ride or die, and didn't get all cranky yesterday when informed him in had spilt an ice coffee on the spare clip to my gun, and then kinda forgot to tell him for two days, and it had like caramel in it, and yeah, it was sticky and gross, but he cleaned it all for me, and still loved me after, and my bestie denim cuz they know all the right things to say when shit is extra shitty

What does the last DM/text you sent say?

(we were discussing tommy/buck lol)

totally, like all his other relationships were shit shows waiting to crash and burn, and like it showed, hence needing to talk to bobby every time about them, but like, yeah, with tommy it's different, it's a whole different vibe, mature and safe, for once his relationship isn't chaos and built on some weird and unhealthy foundation, like what he has with Tommy is just so different because if you think about it, he is the first person that doesn't want Buck to be something he's not, doesn't want anything from him other than to be part of his company, Tommy is patient and just wants him, wants Evan, and like there is no drama attached to it, they are equals and meeting with mutual understanding of careers, like they can just be and Buck doesn't need to struggle against what he'd faced in the past, partners only seeing him as a hero or a slut or as an object of death to study, like he really can just be himself with tommy

List the three friends/mutuals with the best takes.

@kittyneedsbetterhobbies @buckybeardreams

Share one of your favorite fics of all time.

yeah, I just went and stared at my bookmarks and then closed the tab cuz got overwhelmed, seriously, it's so all mood related for me, but there are some that are memorial for me, for sure, so maybe a few randoms that i recall enjoying but might be lesser known:

Jar of Hearts by Cupcakemolotov -- Caroline/Klaus (Vampire Diaries)

Of Old Soldiers and Missing Wars by NonchalantxFish -- Steve Rogers & Tom Riddle (MCU and HP)

of stitches and first meetings by buckaroos -- Buck/Eddie (911 but kinda crossed with supernatural)

List three of your favorite content creators.

wrinkling my nose at "content creators" being used as a term here, but anyway, definitely @voxofthevoid and um, pretty sure I don't have any others that stick out

Write one thing you love about yourself.

that i'm getting much better at being myself, no matter how weird that may be to some

Which fandom of yours (past or present) has the best fics?

idk, depends what you want to read, some fandoms are smaller, some focus more on wholesome shit, some are more big enough to include a wide variety of fuckery, so best depends on what's best to you at the time, but the bigger and older the fandom, the more likely the writers have life experience and actually had anal before which, my god, unless you like a finger in your ass for foreplay, my god, what is with the one-two-three fingers, you're all stretched, now let's go, shit? like every time??? anyway, continuing on......

Which creation of your own are you the most proud of?

Came back to edit and scratch that answer out, I really like and maybe not the most proud of, but definitely up there:

a little dented (but definitely not broken) by snarkymuch --this was important to me for many reasons, but proud of how it turned it, and of the emotion it captured

uh... not me forgetting everything i've ever written rn, um, i like a lot of the self harm ones, with buck/eddie, the emotion was nice to write, the build and tension, tbh, i'm blanking--i mean, the pikachu one was cute, also can't remember what it's called rn though, something like, I choose you pikachu (and other ways two idiots say i love you) <--could be way off on title there

Have you ever read RPF?

not really, though kinda suppose that's what I do with my friend by accident all the time when talking fic ideas

Tag the mutual(s)/friend(s) most likely to get away with murder.

probably myself, or like me and @buckybeardreams

Tag the mutual(s)/friend(s) who know(s) the most about you.

@buckybeardreams and weirdly, pretty sure @plotbunnypettingzoo has picked up so many random facts from reading my posts and talking to me

Now tag some friends to play!

@plotbunnypettingzoo @buckybeardreams @kittyneedsbetterhobbies and anyone else interested

[smolghostbot]

GT July: AU / Thief

Fun fact, when Melody was first imagined, they were a somewhat threatening nature spirit before turning into the awkward AuDHD human dork they are nowadays. I thought it would be fun to remix that version, and that makes this… almost an AU, right? An alternate timeline kinda?

Today's Writing Challenge™️ was to do the entire piece without any proper nouns, but still try to make it clear what was happening... complicated as Patch uses they/them here and Spirit!Melody uses they/it.

Word Count: 1k (Had some fun with this one) Non-AU Character bios in my pinned post ⚠️CWs⚠️: Vague mention of ableism, typical "first meeting" Borrower fear, as well as proper fearplay with a vore-adjacent threat. The vibes are definitely whumpy, and it has a purposely ambiguous ending that is adjacent to kidnapping.

========

Finally, the sprite had arrived at the grove. They had only heard rumors of it, but here it was! The mushrooms in this grove, when soaked in the nearby mineral springs, were said to be able to cure any illness. Though they didn't know for sure if the magic would count their disability as an illness, they had to try, even if they had to venture to a forbidden part of the forest to do it. They couldn't stand the judgment, the whispers about their silence behind their back. Rumors abound of a ferocious guardian spirit who lived nearby, but the grove seemed clear, if a bit quiet.

As the sprite made their way to one of the smaller mushrooms, only a few inches taller than their two-inch frame, they removed their trusty mushroom-cutting ax from their bag and began to chop it at the base. It was after only a single swing that they felt something was very, very wrong.

In an instant, they felt something wrap around them, as if it rose from the ground itself, the texture of skin but the neutral coldness of wood. They didn't even get a chance to struggle before being yanked up into the air. As soon as it registered in their brain, they desperately struggled to free themself, to get to their backpack and get away. But they were already staring down a creature that could only be the guardian spirit the legends had spoken of. Its pale skin the color of a light wood, complete with soft darker ring lines going horizontally across the center of its face. The wood lacked the subtle reds of human skin, and it seemed that all of the extra red was stored in their eyes, the color of a dark red amber, with lighter orange sclera. Their hair seemed to be a radiant blueish green, the color seeming to shift as the sprite looked at it, as if an energy flowed through it. On the creature's forehead was a pair of horns, or antlers perhaps based on their shape, which looked as if they were also made of wood in a browner shade.

After they stared at the giant, taking in the details and realizing it had been doing the same to them, it spoke, in a deep, but distinctly feminine voice, as it stared at the little sprite with clear disdain. "A child of the Light Forest, I see. It's rare that we see your kind this far into my territory… You're quite small."

The sprite was terrified, but couldn't escape from the giant hand grabbing them if they wanted to as the giant being continued to speak. "Tell me, little creature, do you know what happens to those who harm the residents of this grove?"

The little captive's eyes begin to widen, their pointed ears involuntarily pulling back against their head in fear.

"Well, no answer? I'll assume you didn't know then…"

As the giant creature spoke, their hand lowered down a bit, such that the sprite was looking directly at the giant's mouth. "Anybody who steals from this grove… ends up a part of it. And not in a way that most wish."

As the gigantic lips moved, showing off the sharp teeth within, the captured sprite became terrified, understanding the threat well. The hand holding the terrified sprite was moved back up to eye level. There was a moment of silence, them both staring at each other, before the guardian spoke again, seeming confused. "... Are you not afraid?"

The sprite shook their head no, before thinking, then nodding yes, before finally resorting to just doing an exaggerated wince. Stupid negatives in questions, they make it so hard to respond correctly.

"You're not one for words, are you? Just like the plants… You've captured my interest, an uncommon feat. Why are you here?"

The sprite was gently placed on the ground, staring up at the massive creature that had grabbed them, looking somewhere between a woman and a tree. Leaves flowed down its torso, as if they were a robe of some sort. The sprite hardly reached the ankles of the massive creature. Thinking quickly, they pointed to their backpack, which was discarded near where they were lifted. The giant spirit nodded.

"You may, but I wouldn't try to make a run for it if I were you."

After retrieving their bag, the sprite took out the bottle of spring water. They began to pantomime cooking a mushroom, and then an eating motion. Finally, they held their hand high in an exaggerated operatic singing motion, mouth open but completely silent.

"... I see. Well, I have unfortunate news for you, little forest child."

The sprite's expression dropped, fearing they had offended the giant. They mentally cursed themself. Shouldn't have mentioned eating the mushroom, shouldn't have mentioned eating the mushroom,why did I do that?!

"Calm yourself, that wasn't a threat… yet. It's true that this forest has healing powers, although, you could have simply asked me rather than harm my children. However… I sense no illness that I can cure. Even if you succeeded in your little quest, nothing would happen."

The sprite looked at the giant in disappointment as they continued to speak. "So… your little quest was a fool's errand. And now you're here, having both met me and harmed one of the grove's mushrooms… you understand what this means, yes?"

Legs wobbling, the sprite fell to their knees, hanging their head.

"I see, you do… But you know, I am feeling generous today, and the poor mushroom was not slain by your weapon, merely injured. How about I make a little deal with you? I'll spare you, but in exchange, you keep me, the trees, and the mushrooms company… For the rest of your days."

The sprite stopped to think, although there wasn't really a choice to be made. They could either perish, or live here forever. And… though they feared the giant's wrath, an escape from the rest of their kind… may not be too bad. The forest guardian smiled approvingly as the new resident of the grove slowly nodded their head.

"Very good, small one. Welcome to our little family."

[releasemefromthevoid]

MY ATLA LIVE ACTION S1E4 THOUGHTS

EP3 - EP5

Oh boy do I have things to say about this one.

Firstly, the way they wrapped things up from last episode was good enough, I guess. I think they might have tried to push too much into these two episodes this time, so hopefully they don’t bite off more than they can chew in the back half of the season. There’s something to be said about how early some plot lines seemed to get resolved and new ones were introduced, one even being more or less forgotten until the final few minutes of the episode, to make way for other story threads that just didn’t hold up to me. 

Next, I have problems with Bumi. I think with Aang’s new character arc, the themes with Bumi makes sense, and I understand its inclusion as a whole, but Bumi was NOT the vehicle to present that with. The correct mannerisms are there, but I’m just not buying him as Bumi. 

Lastly, there’s something that was partly introduced in this episode that has me concerned, which I will make clearer under the cut for spoilers, along with something that decidedly Wasn’t introduced. 

Overall, there’s some sense of disappointment around this episode for me, here’s to hoping it gets better.

Live reaction and spoilers under the cut

shit i lowkey forgot they arrested aang? too busy writing the last review ig

this dungeon visually kinda has ba sing se lake laogai vibes. could be cool to draw parallels in later season(s)

cell mate iroh lets goooo

i’m not entirely sure i like the inclusion of the mechanist at omashu. i feel like his motives for helping the fire nation are a lot less believable to me in this location, since omashu is a stronghold and bumi is No Pushover. then again, we don’t know that yet, bc bumi has Just been introduced. considering we cut to iroh talking about how omashu is so impressive. idk

Other than “it is I who owe him” about zuko, idk if iroh is really hitting for me. this is the first time this season where i’ve been like “yeah that’s iroh”. he’s just sort of uncanny iroh most of the time

BUMI TIME

bros asleep hahaha

bumi: “tea?” aang: “okay,,” the inflection on that was great. great delivery dfksjdh

oh we’re skipping the whole trials thing. i’m not angry about that, but Where is flopsy???

okay bumi is good. we love live action bumi in this house. 

jet jumpscare

hell yeah katara get his ass

so this choice for zuko to make is def a parallel to the winter solstice episode where iroh was captured, right? 

is bumi. angry at aang? that doesn’t feel right. i revise my earlier statement. his mannerisms are perfect, but blaming aang is Not bumi. this does Not vibe

SECRET TUNNEL GUYS?????? the guys are here what??? i wasn’t expecting them

that zolly shot though

please just stop talking and sing secret tunnel i need it so bad. i don’t even care that it’s a season early

THERE IT IS

omg i was right with the whole zuko winter solstice episode conflict. almost a one-to-one in visuals

bumi aang does not need this right now. i appreciate the rock candy growing crystals, but god. bumi is being so mean

i have to say, i like sokka being the one to figure out the cave of two lovers path. they seem to be highlighting his intelligence more overtly in a way the original show didn’t do until later in book one.

also liking the conflict between sokka and katara making a return. i knew that ended too fast during the jet arc.

so this is a scene where it’s nice to have the perspective of some random earth soldier from ba sing se, but iroh shouldn’t need this conversation. it might have been better to be given this explanation a different way? or i guess. it’s to give exposition about lu ten?? is that needed right now?  

loving the white mourning clothes. loving that not everyone is wearing them, too. it would have been really interesting if one of those people who wasn’t wearing white was ozai. a little visual conflict for those who happen to know the significance of the color. weird that we’re getting iroh backstory before zuko though

ohhhh leaves from the vine instrumental. good, good inclusion there. for people who know from the cartoon, that really elevates that moment, and for people who haven’t seen the cartoon, it might elevate a certain moment from tales of ba sing se later since the association is already there

okay so the crystals literally don’t matter, fuck me AND sokka i guess

i need bumi to stop actually

goddam, zuko, just yank that knife out why don’t you. no concern for blood loss then

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S NOT ABOUT THE CRYSTALS. they sense feelings??? what do you mean 😭😭😭 what happened to earth sense

literally shut up bumi

this is not the wise old bumi that we know

thank you cabbage man, you really rounded out the episode

okay, i’m starting to see iroh. thank you.

also the leaves from the vine backing is still nice. it has the connotation of iroh claiming zuko as a son this scene in my mind

likes: environment design, visuals, the mechanist, leaves from the vine placement

worried about: the lack of introduction to the war balloons, the slight retconning of earth sense (what will this mean for toph in a potential season 2??), overlooking a perfect setup for a white lotus introduction

dislikes: bumi >:( (and he was most of the episode), changing the glowing crystals in the tunnel to be useless??

[seijorhi]

rhi rhi rhi RHI!!!

i'm so sorry it took me so long to comment, but god. wow. wow?? that title /alone/ deserves a round of applause--totally captures the whole vibe of iwa (though well-intentioned?) being reckless of the comments he made, and of course, oikawa being heartless. although you've written a hefty list of oikawa × iwa x reader fics before (not complaining at all of course) this one still feels so novel. in the past, you've talked about how the bond between iwa and oikawa is too strong for them to be pitted against each other. yet, in this fic, iwa completely just stole away his "best friend's" wife. the set up (friendships are a complicated thing) was so so brilliant because at the end, we see how iwa essentially tossed all those years of friendship out the window for the reader. of course, it could be argued that oikawa already did that as soon as he sent that vid

also. ALSO. i love how it wasn't oikawa just breaking the reader's heart through that whole set up. he took it a step further and also gave iwa hope that he had a chance with her. those comments about her having a crush on iwa.. provoking him by talking about her in a sexual way as if he didnt plan to steal her all along...

insane

i suppose my questions for you are what do you think drew oikawa to the reader? we got a bit of iwa's initial thoughts and reactions to her, but i'm curious as to what sparked oikawa's fascination/obsession. lastly, your thoughts on the long term? do you think oikawa ever gets the reader back? he knows so much about iwa so a part of me is like.. he finds them and gets her back. the other is like iwa would go to the ends of the earth to keep the reader as his.. nwlwnkwa that's how you KNOW you killed a fic, you leave the reader thinking!!

thank you so much for indulging me with this one!! your talent knows no bounds - the commissioner <3

i stand by the belief that iwa and oikawa when they're working together can't be pitted against one another. when there's that basis of friendship, i wouldn't say it supersedes their obsession, but it becomes almost a second foundation for it. there's no you without them, and no them without each other kinda deal. when they're in it together.

this time, though, it isn't the reader who comes between them (well, it is, but–) oikawa does that all on his own. and kinda vindictively, too. i like to think that heedless, heartless is both of them at their absolute worst – at least in terms of selfishness.

and to be honest i don't think even oikawa knows why he's drawn to her initially. sure, there's a spark of... something the first time he sets eyes on her, and it's enough to casually bring up their lack of a manager and their new classmate to makki and let him connect the dots and go from there. she's interesting, and pretty, and has absolutely no interest in him whatsoever, and he thinks that maybe that's it. he likes a challenge, and she gets so beautifully worked up when he annoys her–

but then he wonders how it would be if things were different. if she were like his fangirls, desperate for an ounce of his attention, utterly charmed by every word that falls from his lips, every wink, every smile, and he likes that thought more than he should.

in the end, oikawa's greedy. he wants both, he wants it all. everything she has to give, and he wants it for himself.

as for what happens next, there's no way oikawa's gonna sit back and let anyone run off with his beloved wife. unfortunately being a professional athlete a few weeks out from the start of the season, he can't just up and go chasing after them – yet.

and iwa for his part has no intention of relinquishing his happiness so easily.

even if they're not friends anymore, they are the two people on the planet who know each other best. what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?

[taocrafttarot]

(via The Deeper The Authenticity, The Better The Tarot)

We are having a blissfully rainy day here in the 'burgh. The energy this week has been kinda chaotic and funky. Weird even. The energy right now is the reset we need to shake off the funky mojo and get back to the normal squirrel rave of life.

If you are working this weekend - thank you. Stay chill, hang in there until your next time off. If you have this weekend off, stay chill, do what needs done and relax when you can.

I do weird things on the weekend like think about reverse engineering. Reverse engineering Tarot to be exact.

It is an interesting exercise at any skill level of Tarot reading to take an idea, anything, and try to find a Tarot card that best exemplifies that concept. Instead of going from a random card to its keywords, go from a random idea to its key card.

It doesn't always work. Sometimes it takes a few cards to capture the essence of the idea, but I would guess that is why card layouts were invented. We'll get back to talking about layouts another day. For today, I've been thinking about which one of the 78 cards best communicates the idea of authenticity.

Authenticity is a big, stage of life, personal growth, life-lesson kind of concept so my first instinct is to look toward the major arcana. Of those, my attention is drawn to the World card.

In my opinion,  this card are best summed up by not just "the World" but by "Cosmos" and "Gestalt." Together, it gives the feeling of the biggest of big pictures and everything in it.

Everything in the world includes the masks we wear AND the beauty behind them. Everything, the Gestalt, the cosmos includes truth, lies and everything in between. That includes the authentic self of each and every human being. Whoever you are, whoever you want to be, however you want to be perceived - every facet of your true self - is included, accepted and connected with the grand everything that The World card symbolizes.

Authenticity is a part of that everything.

Every part of you is a part of that everything.

That everything-ness of the World card in particular and of Tarot in general gets behind our social masks. It flows both ways. When you allow a reading to touch the real you and not all the "could" "should" and "will" you get a higher, more potent level of guidance and help.

Should you choose to work with a professional reader instead of taking the DIY approach, the reader's level of authenticity also enhances the quality of your reading experience.

No two readers are alike. Some are con artists. Some are artist-artists. Some are voices from a higher realm. Some are practical, grounded, roots as deep as a tree. Some are therapists in artists clothing. Most of us are out here doing our thing just trying to make it through life ourselves and hopefully help some folks along the way.

You'll know the difference when you see it. You'll know when someone genuinely believes in what they are doing, or at least what they think they can do. The trick is finding someone whose authentic self vibes with your authentic self. Unfortunately there is no way for us readers to know when that is the case. It's up to you to listen to your inside authentic self.

Thank you so much for reading today. Next up: You Choose interactive reading. See you at the next sip!

[transboykirito]

Sao x reader fics?

Hand em over /hj

i would love to link them to you if she ever posts them publically xD they were really sweet, she made them all super personal to me and i think its the most thoughtful gift i've ever received

[dragimalsdaydreams]

ok soooo... I’ve never played Pokemon or watched the show or anything, but my dear friend @cobwebbing got into SWSH a while back and infodumped a lot of interesting trivia onto me, including the thing about fossil combinations. we were both horrified by the implications, to the point that she wrote a fun fic exploring the concept (HIGHLY recommend it), and I got invested in speculating the ACTUAL original Pokemon (also, these designs are technically ‘canon’ to her fic)

I tried to mimic some of the official art in lining/shading, but I don’t think I stuck fully to the ‘cartoony’ vibe of Pokemon. ah well, good experience either way

for ease of reading, I’ll be slotting both the image descriptions AND the extra “Pokedex” info about these guys under the cut-- I thought a LOT about their behaviors lmao. for the image descriptions, please assume that the style of all pieces is a mix of ‘cartoony’ and realistic in form, with solid lines and base colors

+bonus! to see the belly <3

[IMAGE ID: text above the Pokemon reads “Zoomzolt” with a yellow button underneath reading “Electric”. the background is a dull yellow with some areas of shade.

this Pokemon is shaped like a prehistoric raptor, with a small/round horizontal torso, a thin neck curved upright, small arm-wings, lithe digitigrade hind legs, and a thin tail held stiffly out at an upward angle from the body. most of the body is bright yellow with small areas of purple, as will be described. the Pokemon is standing cheerily, facing to the left.

the head has a long snout with a prominent bump emphasizing the tip, where a small purple nostril sits on the visible side. the mouth is held open in a happy gape, showing a purple tongue. the front half of the upper and lower jaws have serrated edges resembling sharp teeth, which seem to interlock. the eyes are closed, the lines of the eyelashes turned up with the smile. a small doodle to the left of the head shows the head with jaw closed and eyes open, showing off glossy black-button eyes with tiny eyelashes, and sparkles floating around the eyes. the head is framed by a crown of large, decorative feathers, all of which are a lighter yellow than the body and sport a couple spots of purple. each cheek also has a single purple spot.

a pair of small arms are held loosely to the sides of the body, each with three bare-skin purple talons with long claws, peeking out from under the fluffy yellow feathers of the arm. each arm sports a set of primary feathers resembling a simple wing, ending at around the elbow. these primaries are a lighter yellow than the main body, with a couple spots of purple near the edges. the overall outline at the trailing edge of the primaries forms a lightning bolt shape. there’s a long decorative feather on each of the wings, close to the body, which extends out into a simple zig-zag, before ending in a rounded tip which resembles a peacock feather with a small wisp and a couple purple spots.

the bonus image removes the closest wing primaries, better showing the lighter-yellow underbelly, and the hind legs. the hind legs are long and lithe, covered in yellow feathers up until the ankle, below which the skin is bare and purple. each foot has three toes, two of which are based flat on the ground with mid-length claws. the third toe closest to the body is raised high, sporting a large, sickle-shaped claw, curved sharply compared to the other claws.

a fan of long, light-yellow feathers spans out from the tip of the tail, resembling both the wing feathers and the crown of feathers on the head, adorned with purple spots. the overall outline resembles a diamond, with a vague zig-zag formed by a few feathers on the sides. two long decorative feathers resembling those found on the wings sprout from the sides of the fan as well.

END ID]

Name: Zoomzolt

Type: Electric

Animal Inspirations: road-runners, cockatoos, microraptors in general

Extra design notes: since the spots on the cheeks canonically match the other fossil in the pair, that gave me free-rein to choose whatever color I felt like, and I eventually landed on purple. I also redesigned the arms/wings b/c the shape was just kinda awkward and dull? I think the new wing shape adds more flair to the design, especially in combination with the tail. btw I only thought of the partly-arboreal lifestyle halfway through the piece, and I didn’t feel like changing the claws to fit it better. just know I’m aware that the wing claws should be curvier, and the toe claws (sans sickle) shorter, lmao

Pokedex entry:

Zoomzolts are a highly social species, roaming the moors and forests in groups of 20 or more. while individuals aren’t particularly strong, their tight social bonds more than make up for the lack-- several Zoomzolts can combine their electric powers and deliver devastating blows to even the fiercest opponents. if this isn’t enough, Zoomzolts are a quick and agile species-- they can race away across the plains or climb up nearby trees before their opponent can recover. their unique feet provide an advantage here-- a marriage between an arboreal lifestyle with the curved sickle-claw for climbing, and a grounded lifestyle with the rest of the flat toes for stable running.

besides scaring off predators, Zoomzolts mainly use their electricity to attract and capture prey. at night, packs of Zoomzolts will gather in the upper foliage of tall trees, settle down, and allow small sparks of electricity to arc across their purple spots-- from one part of the body to another, and from one individual to another. this creates a dazzling light show that many nocturnal Bug Pokemon simply can’t resist. when these bugs venture close, the nearest Zoomzolt will quickly snatch them up before returning to formation.

Zoomzolts are friendly and curious to a fault, known for snooping among human belongings if left alone for too long. they’re very easy to train and bond well with humans, but a Zoomzolt will always need more of their own kind to truly thrive. at least 3 or 4 other Zoomzolts are needed for an individual Zoomzolt’s social/mental health, but not all trainers are committed to keeping that many of one species.

~~~

[IMAGE ID: text to the right of the Pokemon reads “Dunkovish” with a tan button and blue button underneath reading “Rock” and “Water”, respectively. the background is a light blue with some areas of shade.

pictured is a fish-like Pokemon, with a typical torpedo-shaped body and a stocky, blunt head. most of the body is blue, with areas of orange and pale yellow, as will be described. the body is positioned in a downward curve, as if the Pokemon is poised to strike at something off-screen.

the head is heavily armored, with most of the main skull forming one large oblong-dish shape. much of this armor is dark blue, while other sections are a bronze-orange color. the jaws are formed out of large, jagged plates, creating massive interlocking orange teeth. the jaw is gaping slightly open, showing a pale blue inner mouth. the visible jaw hinge is rounded and prominent on the cheek. two small, round, bulging eyes sit just above the jaws, on either side of the head near the hinges. the eyes are pale yellow with black, vertical, rectangular pupils.

a few other large plates of armor (some dark blue, some bronze orange) extend out past the main head piece onto the body, arranged like overlapping scales. these plates all have lines at the trailing edges, implying a simple texture. the main body beyond these scales is pale blue, with splotches of dark blue and smaller spots of orange splattered across the body, arranged in a pattern to imply small scales.

there are two sets “limb fins”, one directly behind the lower jaw, and the other near the tail. both sets are built on prominent lobes extending from the main body and matching the main body colors, before the spines of the fin extend out from the ends, flaring out in a pale yellow. the front set of fins is medium-size, smaller than the head, while the back set is much smaller.

the tail fin starts on the back, in the middle of the spine, and extends down to the tip of the tail, then underneath into an extra lobe of spines. visually, this means the main fleshy part of the tail extends into the upper lobe of longer spines, while the lower, shorter lobe of spines flares out underneath, unsupported. this tail fin is pale yellow.

END ID]

Name: Dunkovish

Type: Rock, Water

Animal Inspirations: dunkleosteus, coelacanth

Extra design notes: added in a rock type b/c of the whole “armored fish” thing, and some orange to complement that

Pokedex entry:

this Pokemon roams the open ocean, traveling dozens of miles every day in search of large prey to attack. once spotted, Dunkovish will swim off an appropriate distance, then charge the prey at full speed, ramming their rock-hard skulls into their prey. these charging attacks can easily shatter bone and internal organs, leaving their prey weak and defenseless as Dunkovish feasts.

Dunkovish aren’t typically a danger to humans, as they usually steer clear of shorelines. small shipping vessels are more at risk, as Dunkovish can mistake the ships for prey and ram into them, causing shipwrecks and major losses.

while their power makes them dangerous for the inexperienced, Dunkovish are shockingly easy to train. they’re very food-motivated Pokemon, so all a prospective trainer needs is a lot of tasty chum and a bit of patience.

~~~

[IMAGE ID: text to the upper left of the Pokemon reads “Arctoise” with a light blue button underneath reading “Ice”. the background is light blue with some areas of shade.

this Pokemon looks to be a cross between a tortoise and a plesiosaur, with a large, rounded shell, two sets of long fins, and a paddle-like tail. the shell is mostly snow-white, while the rest of the body is mostly blue with areas of white, as will be described. the body is floating at rest, fins spread-eagle from the body for balance.

the shell is fairly tall and dome-shaped, with the lower half wrapping underneath the torso, between the front and hind legs. the shell has some ridges at the back implying “layers” of snow, which smooth out as they reach the front of the shell. the base color is snow-white, while the lower two “layers” get progressively darker, into a blue-ish light grey. this grey peters out into spots as it reaches the front of the shell.

the head is long, thin, and sharply pointed, making for a thin spear shape. the snout resembles a dolphin beak-- long and rounded at the tip. the eyes are sharp and triangular, with visible white sclera, light blue irises, and round black pupils. the nostrils are based at the center of the beak, raised up along with a small ridge of bone at the center-line of the beak, meeting the forehead. the nostrils are merged together into a small heart shape. a set of small spiral shapes frames either side of the cranium, implying some kind of auditory system. the neck is tucked into the body in the main art, but a small doodle to the side shows the neck fully extended-- long and serpentine like a heron. while the main body (outside the shell) is an aqua blue, the head itself is mostly dark blue, with a few stripes of aqua blue at the tip of the beak.

there are two sets of long, pointed fins, the front set slightly larger than the back set. the front set of fins sit to either side of the neck, settled into the open body cavity of the shell. the back set extend from the shell as well, just in front of the tail. each fin’s base color is dark blue, with white tips and white spots that vaguely follow the inner bone structure of the fins.

the tail is thick and somewhat short, smoothly transitioning from the wide main body-shell down into a pointed tip. lobes of short cartilaginous fins sprout from the top and bottom of the tail tip, the top lobe taller but not as long, and the bottom lobe shorter height-wise but longer. the main tail is aqua blue, while the fins are dark blue.

END ID]

Name: Arctoise

Type: Ice

Animal Inspirations: sea turtles, tortoises, plesiosaur, herons, anhingas

Extra design notes: in retrospect, the ‘shell’ is prolly meant to be a mane of fur, but I like my shell idea too much to change it (if I were to redo it tho, I might’ve gone for like... seal inspiration? selkie lore?? hm). also certain restorations of plesiosaurs shaped the ‘paddle’ on the tail like I’ve shown, which makes more sense to me.

Pokedex entry:

this Pokemon is closely related to the modern Lapras, as seen in their many shared structural features. many researchers even believe Arctoise to be a direct ancestor to Lapras due to genetic similarities, but this question hasn’t been fully resolved.

Arctoise are very successful predators of the frigid southern pole, utilizing a unique hunting technique. they float patiently out near glaciers, necks tucked into their shells and staying perfectly still for hours on end. when other Pokemon see the Arctoise’s shiny white shell, they’re fooled into thinking it’s a snow-covered glacier, safe to rest on. when the Pokemon settles comfortably on the shell, Arctoise snaps into action, quickly flipping over so their prey is thrown into the water. sometimes this is enough to drown the prey (often true for Flying Pokemon that dropped down to rest), but usually this only stuns the prey. this gives Arctoise the chance to snap out their long neck and capture the prey in their powerful jaws. once subdued, Arctoise will right their body in the water and enjoy their meal.

despite the ponderous size/shape of this species, Arctoise are still able to float quite easily due to air sacs located near their spine (thus, near the top of their shell). these sacs allow Arctoise to carefully control how they float, and help hold the large dome of their shell above the water.

communities of small Water Pokemon often form around Arctoise. the large shell and quiet demeanor makes for a stable underwater haven, and a steady source of food from the scraps that Arctoise leaves behind. they’re usually safe from Arctoise’s appetite, as they’re too small to be considered a proper meal. additionally, these small Pokemon often attract larger prey to the area, providing Arctoise more hunting opportunities.

Arctoise is an aloof species, and won’t respond well to “overly-affectionate” bond-based training. but as long as their space and solitude is respected, an Arctoise is willing to cooperate with a trainer towards mutual goals.

~~~

[IMAGE ID: text to the upper left reads “Dracoleon” with a purple button and magenta button underneath reading “Dragon” and “Poison”, respectively. the background is a light purple with some areas of shade.

there are two Pokemon in this image, one to the left with a “female” ♀ symbol, and one to the right with a “male” ♂ symbol. both Pokemon resemble stocky, low-set herbivorous dinosaurs, with short/thick legs, and round/heavy torsos. the female is far larger than the male, and sports two rows of large spikes along her back. the base color of both is a dark green, with large swathes of magenta patterns, as will be described. both are poised with their heads low to the ground, and the female’s tail raised in a defensive position.

the heads of both sexes are wide and triangular, with sharp points at either side of the skull, and a pointed beak at the tip. their round eyes rest underneath the flat top of the skull, facing outwards to either side. the female’s eyelids are pointed down in an angry expression, while the male’s eyelids are pointed up in a worried expression. their visible sclera are white, and their irises are dark magenta. their nostrils sit on either side at the point of the beak. there are prominent bumps on either side of the skull, just behind the eyes, implying an auditory system. the flat top of the skull is bright magenta, while the rest of the head is dark green.

the small head transitions into the larger body via a thick, short neck, held low to the ground. the torsos are both round, heavy, and somewhat horizontally flat like a lizard. the base color is dark green with a light green underbelly, while the magenta pattern on the head extends all the way down to the tail, covering the full back. several pointed spikes of color stick out from the pattern, trailing down the sides of the torso and legs.

the female has two rows of light magenta spikes sticking out from the upper-sides of her torso, 7 pairs in total. the front-most spikes are the largest, with a horn-like shape that curves out in a wave of out-up-out into a sharp tip. the shape of the spikes gradually transitions from round horns to triangular plates at the end of the tail. the sizes transition from the largest at the front, smaller on the torso, larger at the center of the tail, then small at the tip again. all the spikes point at an angle out/up from the body, except for the very last pair on the tip of the tail, which stick out flatly from the sides of the tail.

the legs of both sexes are short and stocky, with thick underlying muscles. the feet are all digitigrade, but the foot/”hand” sections are very short. the feet all have 3 main toes set flat on the ground, while the front feet have a dew claw set higher on the hand, above the ground. all claws are short/thick and hoof-like, though the female’s are slightly longer and sharper. the hind legs are longer than the front legs, pushing the hips higher than the shoulders. the legs are all dark green with light magenta claws. the female has extra magenta stripes running horizontal across the legs.

the tails are both thick, transitioning smoothly from the thick body down to a pointed tip. the male’s tail is short and stubby, while the female’s is longer, sporting the spikes.

END ID]

Name: Dracoleon

Type: Dragon, Poison

Animal Inspirations: stegosaurus, ankylosaurus. (also.... Kaim from Devilman......)

Extra design notes: I mostly color-picked for the other Pokes, but I shifted Dracoleon’s color a lot from the canon colors. the og colors were just a bit too much for me-- hurt a lil bit to look at. so I shifted the red more magenta, and the green to a duller, more subdued saturation. I’m hoping the purple-shifted red conveys the Poison type better. also added a couple more spikes to the tail for flair.

Pokedex Entry:

due to their heavy sexual dimorphism, researchers originally identified male Dracoleon remains as juveniles of the species. it wasn’t until this Pokemon was fully restored in the flesh that this misconception was corrected.

female Dracoleon are highly territorial, aggressively defending their territory against anything they perceive to be a threat. thus, females are generally solitary, only tolerating the presence of male Dracoleon. this aggression only increases during breeding season, when females compete for male attention, and then nesting season when defending their hatchlings.

male Dracoleon are much smaller and more docile than their female counterparts. while females will actively protect males when the males are still within their territory, males usually find protection in numbers by banding together into small groups. males are as attentive to nesting needs as the females, but since they end up mating with several females a year, they roam in small groups across several territories. they’ll visit one female’s nest to help with food and nest protection for a while, before heading off to the next territory for another round of nest-duty. these transition periods from one territory to another are where males are most vulnerable to predation, so they try to travel quickly.

females’ spikes are covered in a toxic oil which is mostly an irritant to fellow Dracoleon and Poison-types, but can easily kill other species if it penetrates the skin. their magenta patterns build an association between their bright coloring and toxicity, which helps protect the males from predation by association, despite the males not having toxic spikes.

while Dracoleon are herbivorous generalists of thick forest regions, they seem to prefer roots and tubers over foliage. Dracoleon territory is easily identified by scattered areas of dug-up soil and holes.

while male Dracoleon are generally easy to befriend and train, females are very stubborn and aggressive towards most training attempts. however, if an experienced trainer is determined enough to prove their worth to their Pokemon, Dracoleon can become one of the most loyal and trustworthy companions a trainer could hope for.

[pynkhues]

Girl ! Ive finished your The center of circumference series and I was wondering if you’re planing to continue on writing Playing House ?! It was AMAZING !!

Meanwhile, I’m dying for some FLUFFFF! The kind that Rio literally confesses his love to Beth and ask her to be his kinda fluff !!! Can you recommend some fics preferably series ??

Thank you for all the entertainment and time you spend! I’m super new to tumbler and the whole fandom thing and I’m LOVING IT!!

Ah! Thank you so much, anon, and welcome to tumblr and to the fandom!! I’m so delighted you enjoyed C&C and that you’re loving your time here! 😊

I’m definitely planning on continuing that ‘verse, and will fingers crossed have a couple of installments up in the next few weeks (time permitting – it’s been a bit of a wild few months for me, haha), and as for your request, I can absolutely rec you some fics!

I’ve tried to keep it to canon / canon divergent fics, just because if I didn’t, this list would be a mile long, and I know I’ll have missed heaps (people should please reblog with additions!), but I hope these can get you started!

Series'

oh no, don't close your eyes by ms_scarlet /@mego42. Set in a loosely canon-compliant s3 ‘verse, Beth and Rio try to figure it out. Okay, full disclaimer, this ‘verse is as angsty as it is fluffy, but I feel like that’s the same sort of situation with my C&C ‘verse, so I hope you don’t mind me reccing it first, haha. This series is an absolute fave – it really gives all the characters space to breathe and react, and to use that breath, those reactions, to build something that gives us such a deep insight into Beth and Rio’s relationship while never undermining the other relationships around that. It’s magic, and rich, and will transport you, and it’s a series I just really, really love.

Only Show Me What Warmth Is by @riosnecktattoo. This series is also set in a loosely canon-compliant s3 ‘verse where Beth and Rio get together, but it’s pretty much the opposite tonally, haha, and just - - oh my gosh, this series is just the sweetest thing. It really leans into Beth and Rio at their most affectionate, but also at their most teasing and their most pigtail pulling – it's their familiar powerplays with the edges sanded down a bit, and it makes for something that feels soft but also still feels like them, which is a really hard balance to get right. It's a pretty special fic.

how to get from here to there by vuccijl / @lilliloves. Canon-compliant prior to 2.13! Annie's getting married and Beth needs a date! Rio complies! This series has four parts and it's absolutely delightful. V/L has such a wonderful sense of the characters' voices, particularly the girls', and it creates an atmosphere that feels like this perfect pivot to the show.

Tumblr prompts / stay gold: tumblr prompts by @foxmagpie. Okay, some of these are angsty too, haha, and they’re mostly standalone, but they’re all really rich, really compelling, really bite-sized snapshots of moments, worlds, relationships that make you want to peel your skin off a bit they’re so perfect. Megan always nails narrative beats and understands the way those interact with character, and it gives such a bounce to her stories that just leaves you wanting more in the best possible ways. This is an extremely magic collection of fics, but for your fluffy needs I’d direct you to two of my faves specifically – Get Your Hands off Me and Jealous Kiss 😉 )

One Shots

for a moment we were strangers by openhearts. A canon-divergence from 2.04, but involves Beth, Rio and Marcus and Emma playing house and it's extremely sweet and a little angsty but entirely lovely too.

PTA Vibes by greyish. Beth and Rio are on the PTA together! It's mostly canon compliant! Magic!!

Girl with the Tattoo by zetuslapetus / @querenaxx. Rio discovers Beth's hip tattoo! Zl/q has this incredible way of capturing Beth and Rio post-coital (and pre, and, err, just plain coital, haha), and just really leaning into the intimacy of that? It means a lot of her fics are pretty darn special, but this one is especially soft which makes it especially lovely for your fluffy-needs, haha.

A Bit of a Stretch by @septiembrre. Okay, this one was written for a prompt from me, haha, but it would x1000000 be on this list anyway, because it's so warm and wonderful and the sort of fic you can just sink right into. It's established relationship fic! Beth and Rio do a yoga class together! It just - - sings.

Candy Hearts by @peachraindrops. Valentine's Day!! An unknown but hopeful future!! This is more pwp than fluff necessarily, haha, but it's established relationship fic, it's fun and it's sexy and it really builds and builds to something that's really charged.

I hope that’s enough to get you started, anon! Happy reading 😉

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Unexpected Kisses

Pairing: BNHA boys x reader

Warnings: Talks about anxiety for a bit in Tamaki’s part

Request: Hi!! Uhm,, I kinda,,, don't talk to users on this app so idk where to send requests AHAJSHSJHS but I do know that you write BNHA stuff so,,,, if it's not too much, maybe Tamaki, Midoriya, Denki and Kirishima (separate) reacting to their s/o's suddenly scattering their face with kisses and complimenting them out of the blue?? you don't have to do all of them tho :''D thank you!! <33

A/N:

I don’t have much to say about this one, other than sending thanks to @aahilovetheatre​ for sharing such a cute request with me! Sorry I’m slow about getting these out, but I am working at my request list the best that I can.

Characters: Midoriya, Kirishima, Kaminari, Amajiki

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Midoriya:

● You know, he really was just minding his own business

● Izuku sat at his desk, taking notes from a textbook like he did every Thursday evening. You were laying on his bed, reading a book for class. Every minute or so, the silence of the room would be broken by the scratching of a pencil or the turn of a page

● At some point, you started getting a little bored with your reading. The words on the page began to feel less and less comprehensible as your mind started to wander elsewhere

● Your boyfriend cleared his throat, and your fickle attention snapped to him

● He was so absorbed in his work, it was cute. The way his eyebrows furrowed as he scanned over the page; and how he tapped the worn down All Might eraser at the end of his pencil against his lips. His lips . . . his cheeks . . . . Yep, you were getting an idea

● Sliding a post-it note into your book to mark your progress, you set it down and stood up. Izuku, of course, didn't notice, still deep in concentration

● You came up behind him, glancing at the paper from over his shoulder

● He finally turned and straightened, meeting your eyes with his own forest green. "Hey, (Y/N), what's up?"

● You took the opportunity to slide down into his lap, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I needed a break for a moment."

● "O-oh." Izuku's voice had taken on a higher pitch, cheeks flushing with warmth and color at your sudden proximity

● He dropped his pencil and wrapped his arms around your waist, beginning to relax into your hold

● It was then that you put your hands on either side of his face and started pressing kisses all over him, leaving no area of skin untouched by your lips

● You could feel the way his cheeks began to burn a bright red under your fingers, nervously giggling at the ticklish sensation of your breath and skin against his

● Once you were finally satisfied, you sat back, simply gazing at his face lovingly for a moment

● "What was that for?" he asked. “I—I mean, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it—” You wondered if it was your own heart or his that you felt beating so rapidly

● "I just . . . needed you,” you cut in. “You're so cute when you study." You relaxed your grip on his cheeks, sliding back in to plant yet another kiss on his forehead. "You work so hard . . . ." You began to graze your lips slowly over to his temple, before pressing them back to his skin in a syrupy sweet moment

● You proceeded to praise him, whispering how strong he was, and how proud you were to have him as your boyfriend, and how attractive you found him. After every other sentence, you left another kiss on his face, whether it was his cheek, forehead, or nose. You even made a silent game out of trying to see how many of his freckles you could kiss

● By the end of it, Izuku looked almost like he was about to cry. He'd loved every minute of it and had hung onto your every word. Even so, he still couldn't help but wonder what brought all this on

● "(Y/N), what's—why would you—?"

● You poked at his nose gently. "Because I love you."

● He wrapped his own arms tighter around you, crushing you closer into his chest for a hug. "I love you too, (Y/N). So much."

● You rubbed his back while he stroked your hair for a moment, just letting yourselves hold each other

● "Do you have work you need to do?" you finally asked. "Sorry, I interrupted you."

● "No no, that's okay. We can stay like this for a little bit longer."

● You hummed, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck

● No doubt about it, Izuku's head was already spinning with schemes to surprise you and get you back. It was only a matter of when

____________

Kirishima:

● Kirishima was just hanging out on the couch, casually scrolling through various feeds on his phone

● That is, until you came in the room, intent on sneaking up behind him

● You went up behind the couch as softly as you could, before suddenly wrapping your arms around his neck from behind

● He jumped, startled for a moment, until he realized it was you

● "Hey, there," he said, rolling his head back so he was looking upside down at you

● You giggled and kissed his forehead. "Hi."

● "Come 'ere." He patted the empty cushion next to him

● Without needing to be told twice, you circled around to the other side of the couch, settling onto his lap

● "So, how have you been—mmph—"

● You'd cut him off with a kiss to his lips; one he quickly grinned and melted into

● "Woah, okay," he breathed when you let him go. "Is there something going on?"

● "Hmm, no," you admitted, reaching up to boop his nose. "I just love you. Feel like showing it."

● "Okay, then. I can get behind that." He put your foreheads together and nuzzled his nose against yours. "How are you going to do that?"

● "By telling you how amazing you are," you said, leaning in to kiss his forehead again

● His blush nearly tripled. "O-oh. I—"

● "Like, how you're so strong and manly," you whispered, lips grazing the skin of his cheek. "And you've worked so hard to get where you are now. You're brave, and I'm so proud to say that you're my boyfriend."

● Your words went on as you languidly pressed kisses against his skin. After a few minutes, you’d worked him up so much, a tear or two spilled from his eyes, and you kissed those away as well

● "I love you," you whispered again, dipping to give him a full kiss on the lips

● When you leaned back, he simply gazed up at you in awe. He was a man in love, and it was as though you were some sort of deity or angel sent from the skies above

● "I—um, I don't really know what to say," he said, giving a weak chuckle and wiping at his eye. "Wow, uh, I wasn't expecting that."

● "Did you enjoy it?" you asked, pulling yourself into his chest a little more

● "Yeah! I'm just—not very used to it is all." He trailed off, glancing to the floor as his thoughts began to take flight on their own

● "You'd better get used to it," you said, tilting his chin so he could look at you again. "And I meant everything I said. If you try to deny it, then I'm going to say it again. But this time I won't be so nice."

● "Oh, really?" Eijirou asked, a smirk drawing a corner of his mouth up. "And what would that look like?"

● "Well, I guess I'd have to tickle you," you said, shrugging as if it were an unavoidable fact. Because it was. "And I wouldn't stop until you admit that what I'm saying is the truth."

● "Hmm, I'll keep that in mind then." He suddenly pushed you back a little from his chest so you were facing him again. "But I think a little payback's in order. Say, Pebble," he leaned in and gave you a quick kiss on your nose, "you're looking pretty cute today."

● It was a long time before either of you moved from the couch

____________

Kaminari:

● Denki was just laying on his bed, alone in his room, reading

● This particular part of his book wasn't particularly interesting, and he was considering leaving it to come back to some other time

● Nevertheless, his eyes lingered on the page, skimming through sentences that did nothing to capture his attention. Maybe it would be easier for him to pick back up if he left on a better note

● You had other plans, though

● The silence in his room was broken when you flung his door open, running in without scarcely bothering to swing it all the way shut again behind you

● Kaminari barely had time to lower his book when you came barreling into his lap, throwing your arms around him in a mighty hug

● "Oof—(Y/N)-chan! What's going on?"

● "You're getting a vibe check."

● You adjusted yourself just enough so you would both be comfortable before peppering his face with kisses, rapidly moving over every key point

● "Ah—what?!" Denki started giggling at your actions, and soon enough you were unable to fight back the smile and laughs that were freely expressed by your own lips

● "Denki! If I'm laughing like this, then I can't kiss you!"

● "Then what if I kiss you?"

● He pecked the tip of your nose, making you giggle again as you eased in closer to his face. "No. It's my turn. I love you and I need you right now."

● "(Y/N), we just saw each other an hour ago."

● "Too long," you pouted, going back to planting kisses on his cheeks, although this time you were slower and more deliberate. "I want to make sure that you know how much you're loved. By me."

● Kaminari's cheeks flushed a bit. "Really? O-okay."

● You busied your hands by rubbing at his back and shoulders, your lips whispering praises into his ear

● "I love spending time with you," you said. "I love your jokes, and hearing your laugh always brightens up my day."

● Each sentence had him burning up, and the slow kisses you'd leave between sentences did nothing to help. Any minute now, he felt like he could short circuit

● When you finally leaned back, Denki stared at you, wide-eyed. "Where did that come from?"

● "I just felt like it." You shrugged

● "Wow, I—I think I need a minute."

● He glanced off to the side, touching at one of the countless places you'd kissed him. "You're so cute, babe," he muttered, grinning into his hand

● "Yeah?" you giggled

● "Of course." Denki wrapped his arms around you again so you were flush against his chest. "And you know what else?"

● "What?"

● "I'd say it's cuddle time." He pulled you down so you were lying on top of him, then rolled to his side so you were still facing each other. "And it's also my turn. I'm not going to be the only one who's getting compliments today."

● And with that, he held you; generously peppering your face with kisses as he professed everything he loved about you

● It was a wonderful end to his afternoon

____________

Amajiki:

● Tamaki was alone in his room. He had turned the lights off and sat down in his bed. His head rested in his hands as he tried to stop the shaking, but it was almost as if there was nothing he could do

● He'd just had an awful day and his mind wouldn't stop going back to everything that had gone wrong

● First he'd had to do a presentation, which he could have sworn he was ready for. But fate—or at least, his anxiety—had other plans

● It was as if he was watching himself from outside of his body; watching as his own throat closed up and he lost the capability to speak. Watched as he stumbled over his own thoughts as his tongue betrayed him. He spat out an incomprehensible string of "um"s, and spoke too fast, and his thoughts wouldn't connect with one another

● And then, directly after that, he'd been unable to find either you nor Mirio. You both must have been busy with your own work, but seeing you was something that Tamaki always looked forward to. He could make it through any kind of day as long as one of you spoke your kind words to him, or showed him your sun-bright smiles

● But he'd been deprived of that, forced to retreat to his dorm room to sulk alone

● His mind focused on the memory of his words, replaying them over and over again

● It was so much, he almost didn't hear the knock at his door

● "Tamaki? Are you in there?" He immediately recognized your voice

● "Yeah," he called back glumly. He was glad he would finally get to see you, but now he wasn't sure what it would take to get him out of such thoughts

● You let yourself in, quietly shutting his door before making your way over to his bed. "Are you doing okay?" you asked him. "I've barely seen you at all today. How'd your presentation go?"

● "Awful," he responded. "I locked up again. Everyone was staring at me and I was under so much pressure." He paused and sighed, putting his face in his hand again

● "Hey, it's going to be okay," you said, putting a hand on his back. "I'm sure your teacher understands. And you're a really good student and hero."

● "Hm," he responded, not looking at you

● "You don't believe me?" you asked, reaching up to caress his cheek. "It's true."

● He still made no move to respond, merely sighing and leaning into your touch

● "Is it okay if I hold you?" you asked. "Would that help at all?"

● You knew it could be a little risky being too forward with touching Tamaki. It was always best to ask first

● He finally met your eyes, nodding. You both moved around on the bed until you were comfortably seated in his lap, thighs wrapped around his hips

● You held onto each other in a close hug, and soon your hands were rubbing little circles on Tamaki's back. You began to whisper things to him, telling him everything would be alright

● "Hey, hey. It's just you and me now, no one else. It's okay."

● Finally his shoulders began to settle from their tense, hunched position

● You nuzzled your nose against his ear before giving his cheekbone a small peck

● "Feeling better?" you asked

● "Yeah, a little," he admitted, his face still buried in your shoulder. "Thanks for this."

● "Of course."

● You pulled back so you could face him, unable to stop yourself from placing a kiss directly on the tip of his nose

● You grinned at how his face scrunched up a bit, so you repeated the action. Soon enough, you were leaving little kisses all over his face, and the boy beneath you even let out a few chuckles at the sensation

● "I love you," you said, watching as his pre-existing blush only deepened

● "I love you too," he said. "You always know how to make me feel better."

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Taglist: @basicaegyo​ @iiminibattlehero​ @katsugay​ @nabo39​ @pyrofanatic​​ @sendhelpimstupid​ @sokkasangel​ @xoxopam4​​

[uwuwriting]

Road trip w/ Kaminari, Shinsou and Bakugou

Request: Shinso, Kami, and Bakugou on a long trip/plane ride with their S/o? Happy holidays bb! - 🥐

I wish I could go on a trip. I need Christmas break to last longer, I’m not ready to go back to school and study for uni, I’m not emotionally capable. I hate it here.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: fluff

Kaminari Denki

-You have a mini fight about who gets to drive at first. 

-You don’t trust him because he is dumb and bisexual and he believes that you’ll fall asleep ont he wheel cuz you stayed up until like 2 am the previous day downloading music and making playlists for the journey. 

-He gets to drive the first shift and it goes relatively well.

-You get some extra sleep, he enjoys his time behind the wheel and boom you’re now at a gas station having brunch before hitting the road again.

-Karaoke driving. 

-I think that’s all I have to say about your road trip with this guy. 

-HE will ignore the playlists with the soft songs because he needs to vibe at first. 

-Kills it with the Shakira impressions like you start wondering what would happen if he suddenly decides to follow a music career like Jiro. 

-So many bathroom stops. 

-Does this man have a prostate problem because damn.

-He can’t go for more than an hour without stopping to pee. 

-The one time you ask to stop at a gas station for a bathroom break he suggests just stopping at the side of the road and you could pee there. 

- “I do it so you can too.” 

-Denki honey I don’t have a dick to wip out…...I need essentials. 

-May or may not have taken the wrong exit at some point and you took a thirty minute detour. 

-At least you got some nice photos out of it. 

-Speaking of photos. 

-Your camera roll will be filled with selfies, stupid videos of Kami hyping himself up at a red light. 

-Races with other cars at said red lights. 

-You fear for your life most of the time, grasping the door handle like your life depended on  it because in reality it kinda did. 

-You beg him to take over and drive for a little bit but he brushes you off. 

- “You seem tired baby, let me drive for a bit.” 

- “Nope I’m perfectly fine Y/N. Gonna get us to the hotel so fucking fast.” 

- “Denki no-”

-He calms down after a while, and he lets you put on your soft playlist so you could both just vibe. 

-His hand is resting on your thigh, giving it a few firm squeezes every now and then. 

-He likes drumming the beat of the song on your skin.

-You start random conversations about anything and everything and if you’re being honest you love these types of moments. 

-There are no villains to fight, no danger in the horizon *apart from his driving* and you get to enjoy the tranquility while enjoying the ride.

-Denki starts telling you about adopting a dog and you joke that he would be a horrible dog dad. 

- “Maybe cats are better for you babe.” 

-You are no longer heroes. 

-You are just a couple going on a road trip, away from all your troubles and worries just you and him. 

-You reach the hotel later than you expected though…..it was those damn bathroom breaks!!!

Shinsou Hitoshi

-The trip is spontaneous. 

-You were both chillin in your apartment when he popped the question. 

- “Wanna go on a trip? I’m bored.” 

-You never expected him to pick a place this far away, you weren’t complaining though. 

-Road trips with him are immaculate. 

-He helps you pack your bags in no time, picking your favorite outfits out and placing them in your travel bags along with a bunch of snacks and a fluffy blanket. 

-You hit the road in less than an hour.

-It’s still dark out when you start your trip and Hitoshi insists you take a nap, get your beauty sleep while he drives. 

- “Don’t worry we won’t crash, I hope.”

-You do take a nap eventually but not for long and you wake up just in time to watch the sunrise with your boyfriend. 

-He will pull over and take pictures with the sunrise as your background. 

-He says he needs a new wallpaper on his phone and there’s an empty picture frame at his desk back at work. 

-He needs to fill them somehow. 

-Around noon he brings the fluffy blanket in the front seat, wrapping it around you so you can snuggle and possibly fall asleep again. 

-In reality he wants to take more pictures of  you with drool dripping down your chin for blackmail purposes but you will not yield !!!

-The trip is mainly filled with music and low humming coming from the both of you. 

-Though when a love song that reminds him of you comes on he will lean over and grip your thigh, giving it a soft squeeze, a blush blooming on his cheeks. 

-Makes many stops in spots that look great for photos or having an amazing view. 

-Definitely has prepared a picnic basket and before you know it you are munching down on some sandwiches he made while your feet are dangling over a small cliff you happened to come across. 

-Shares random facts about nature and animals with you. 

-Shinsou strikes me as a guy who watches a lot of documentaries and animal planet shows, so he has obtained random information and now he is explaining the mating cycle of penguins. 

-Would definitely prefer to sleep in the car and not rent a room. 

-He wants to stay outside looking at the stars for as long as possible and then snuggle up with you in the driver's seat, your head against his chest and his hand buried in your hair. 

-If you want to go to a hotel because you feel more comfortable, he won’t complain. 

-As long as he gets to cuddle you anything is fine in his book. 

-He puts on YOUR song while you are looking at the sky and invites you to dance with him. 

-Wraps his arms around your waist and slowly sways you back and forth, following the rhythm of the song as he looks into your eyes. 

-He loves capturing the moment so expect many photos to be taken and a bunch of videos of you two dancing. 

-He has his crackhead moments though so you can expect to be shoved into the water if you’re near a lake or at the beach. 

-He might draw a mustache on you while you sleep but don’t worry you get payback when he is asleep. 

Bakugou Katsuki 

-Whines while you back everything. 

-And when I say whines I mean he grumbles under his breath about this stupid shirt that he can’t seem to fold correctly.

-Anyways once you hit the road he is more relaxed than usual. 

-He keeps this tight, aggressive persona out in public you sometimes forget that this man, this amazing partner is also a pro hero who is known for his rough edges. 

-Sure, his explosive behavior doesn’t disappear when he is with you but he is a lot tamer and calm around you.

-During the car ride he makes small talk with you, sharing random events from his patrols and stupid shit his “squad” have done while out in public. 

-When he comes home every night he is just so tired that many details slip his mind as he recounts his day to you, seeing him right now a genuine smile gracing his lips as his only focus is the road in front of him really warms your heart. 

-He becomes more affectionate. 

-Hand gripping yours while he drives or his palm on your thigh, rubbing your soft skin as he hums along with the music. 

-Even if he needs to switch gears he won’t let go.

-Surprisingly he is the type to put on an audio book after a while. 

-Usually it's after your wedding song is over or soon after that. 

-Your song is like a trigger and suddenly sophisticated Bakugou emerges asking you to pick an audiobook from his collection and put it on. 

-Gets really invested in the story and pauses it every five minutes so you can discuss it. 

- “She could have escaped through the window why the fuck did she let herself get caught?” 

- “No Katsu!!! She needs to make sure the prince is alive!!” 

- “That’s fucking dumb!” 

-Let’s you take candid pictures of him and won’t complain when you coo over how pretty he looks with the sun behind him. 

-Don’t worry he is plotting to fill his gallery of pics of you sleeping. 

-When you actually fall asleep he will turn the radio down and hum softly under his breath. 

-If it starts raining heavily he will pull over and wait for it to calm down a bit. 

-My personal headcanon is that Katsuki has a car with a skylight *if that’s what its called* so he brings the seats down and you lay there admiring the rain falling onto the glass. 

-He likes talking about more serious matters when you are like this. 

-From your future to what pet your future kids could have. 

-If you get cold while waiting for the rain to calm down, he has a blanket on the ready. 

-He places you on his chest and drapes the blanket over you, enjoying your warmth and the filling of your pulse under his fingertips. 

-Might get a little emotional if a slow song is playing. 

-He is just too overwhelmed by his emotions at times like these, when he can hold you and feel the pure love and adoration flow between the two of you like water. 

-I love you’s are exchanged and many kisses. 

-When he starts driving again he is so refreshed, it’s like a completely different person. 

-Gas station stops and bathroom breaks are a nightmare cuz he keeps hyping himself up in order to go into Bakugou public mode. 

-You just want your Katsuki, the cuddly Katsuki. 

TAG TEAM AY: 

@the-arcana-fan-fic​ @angelwritings​ @axerrri​ @reinyrei​ @dnarez​ @storage11037​ @ezoyscorner​ @letscheereachotheron​ @wolfkid22​ @dark-thoughts-and-red-roses​ @threeamwriting​ @ysatrap​ @yashinosakura

[neoyi]

So there were new indie game directs (Day of the Dev and Wholesome Games) and I was basically Foaming Mouth Guy from Avatar because I’m hyped for indie games.

Since I can’t ill afford to shut up about my opinions, here’s a big, fat blog on what particular games I’m either looking forward to, has piqued my interest, or at least curious enough for me to comment on it even if it’s not within my wheelhouse.

Axiom Verge 2: I have no horse in this race, I just think it’s nice of them to let players skip boss fights if they want to for ease of gameplay.

Toem: A Photo Adventure: Some evil genius combined photo snapping and meandering sidequests together into one game, knowing I’d be putty in their hands. There’s actually a few photograph games in these directs, but this one grabbed me because the list of quests you do looks so specific that it scratches a particular itch for me.

Garden Story: Incredibly lovely Mother 3-like graphics aside, this game hits all my buttons: quest-based gameplay to help numerous NPCs, managing the layout of your town, exploration, and RPG-like elements make this one a dream indie game for me.

Vokabulants: For some reason, this game’s setting isn’t doing it for me, but I’m awestruck with their decision to use stopmotion for the entire thing. Rarely utilized, always cool to see.

Death’s Door: I don’t care about birds, but I DO like grim reaper stuff, so color me piqued.

Elec Head: I already knew about this game thanks to Game Maker’s Toolkit’s Game Jam, and I think I have it bookmarked on itch.io, so it’s nice to see this will get fleshed out into a full game.

I haven’t played the Game Jam version, but the minimum coloring (yellow = electricity which is what you need to trigger to progress) compliments the concept well.

Walk: I am a wimpy baby chicken bitch, so I can’t do horror games, but developing the entirety of Walk’s environment to look as if they’re seen from grainy cameras is such a brilliant way to convey the terrifying unknown your player character has to face. I won’t play this, but I am definitely going to watch a Let’s Play of it.

Moonglow Bay: I’ve been excited for this one for a while. All those hours playing the fishing minigame in Ocarina of Time (and eventually Majora’s Mask) and lamenting for the existence of an entire game with an excuse plot to fill out a fish compendium will soon be fulfilled. I’m so ecstatic.

Loot River: What the fuck? What the living shit? How did they animate the water like that? What the shit? What the goddamn hell? It just looks so good!

Recolit: This game has potential to be atmospheric. It also feels like the kind of game that can deliver a Surprise Spooky or two. For some reason, the main character walking through the barely lit museum really spoke to me.

A Little to the Left: A game where you arrange objects until they’re are properly organized and/or structured? Oh-no, who made this game for me?

Yokai Inn: Sold just for the adorably whimsical graphics alone.

Mythic Ocean: Undersea exploration and sea creatures are my jam. Hope this game will fill a hole in my heart that Abzu sadly did not.

Beast of Maraville Island: I see this game and Donkey Kong Country share a continuity through their banana birds.

We are OFK: Tell you the truth, I don't really care about Band Origin stories (I'm not really a music buff kinda person), but I've been waiting for Teddy Dief and co's game for a while. Whether or not I take anything from this game by end, I know I’ll never stop listening to “Follow/Unfollow”, which I have been obsessively playing in the background non-stop the past two days. If they ever bring out the inevitable bandcamp soundtrack, I hope they also include THIS version of the song that played on the Day of the Dev pre-show because it’s just so *chef’s kiss*

Dordogne: The game's premise isn't really doing it for me, but I dig the watercolor approach.

The Gecko Gods: I remember playing the Gex 2 demo decades ago and being mesmerized by the titular character’s ability to crawl on top of walls and ceilings, and being particularly disappointed at how underutilized it was. The Gecko Gods looks to fill in that gap and I'm intrigued.

Tasomachi: It’s about an airship. I gotta. I gotta!

Bear and Breakfast: I like the art style, kind of like a webcomic if it was picked up by Cartoon Network or Netflix.

Sally: MORE airships? Well, this is the indie direct that just keeps on giving, now isn’t it?

Rainbow Billy: Repaint a black-and-white world into color is becoming A Thing in indie games, but the animation and style is just bursting with charm.

Unpacking: I played the demo for this one and it did a decent job hitting my button. There wasn’t anything more to it other than unpacking and just putting stuff in its appropriate place (it didn’t feel like there was much wiggle room - books go on bookshelves and maybe on top of a drawer, shoes goes in closet and nothing but the closet, etc), but it beats real packing/unpacking any day.

Cloud Jumper: THREE games with or about airships? Now you’re just spoiling me.

Teacup: This one just looks delightful. It feels like playing through a children’s book.

Muttropolis: You take pictures of dogs!

Amber Isle: You know, I don’t think I see enough towns and villages in games inhabited by dinosaur folks.

Moonshell Island: Apparently I’m easy to please. I see indie games look this vibrant and colorful (almost pastel, but not quite) and I’m Phillip J. “Shut up and Take My Money” Fry. I don’t even know what this game is about, but I want it.

Lego Builder’s Journey: Okay, this looks nice and the graphics are mind-blowing, but does anything made and owned by the LEGO company actually count as an indie game?

Powerwash Simulator: who made this game for me?

Toodee and Topdee: Oh, this is clever. Perspective games in my head seem to have been relegated mostly to whatever Nintendo did with their 3DS games, but this looks like it captures the spirit of it without the 3D or the eye-strain that came with it.

Apico: I’m getting a 2D open world exploration vibe from this game and I’m down for that.

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

It’s The Avengers (03x15)

Loki x Reader Avengers The Office AU (Slowwwwww Burn)

Season 3 Episode 15: Not All Rainbows

Series Summary: Living in the Avengers facility post-apocalypse in a better timeline   Tony Stark has decided to capture every moment by pulling The Office on the Avengers. All of housemates are pretty used to the idea except for you, who had just come here to finish her degree, and the newest member- Loki.

Warnings: did someone just go and tell the otp about the otp?

Word Count: you know that feeling when you have had a bad experience on some project or assignment or homework before. And you know that thing is going to come around again next month or something like that. And you just age yourself by giving yourself anxiety by thinking everything that could go worse in that area. Yeah. So, I kinda shut that off for a few hours and wrote this.

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

An ice pack sits partially on the sofa’s arm and partially on the head that is being knocked softly- but repeatedly- by its designated owner. The fist taps that forehead with the vigour of a dedicated hammer that is softly checking the tensile strength of its mettle. The second camera takes the liberty to zoom in on Tony’s face that has the tension the size of the Alps looming over his head. Other spectators sit around, going about their activities with their five senses while the sixth was stuck on Tony. One camera panned on Wanda’s figure standing in the kitchenette, stirring her coffee cautiously, locking eyes with the lens.

Wanda: Only if you could see the monstrous cloud looming over his head. *stretches the corner of her lips* It’s made less of anger and more of worry and embarrassment. *blinks and furrows her brows* And choco-chip ice cream for some reason. *shrugs* Though I'm just glad that nothing was broken or smashed today. *stops midway* *raises her index finger* Although...

Scott: *glows inside out with a big smile stuck on his red face* *swings from side to side in the chair* Huh? What? *shakes head* Nothing. Just *inhales* I'm worried about Tony *continues to smile*

"So-" Steve took the first step and everyone held their breath- "now we know why we weren't able to reach Carol before. She is clearly...kinda...sorta stuck right where Y/N and Loki are? I think the kids are safe now." "Oh? The kids are safe? I must have missed the scene where they returned home with another weird pet," Tony remarked monotonously with his eyes still closed. Peter leaned in towards Scott. "So Loki is one of the 'kids' now." Both the shippers fist-bumped discreetly before looking all serious. The camera swivelled right towards Wanda, who shared a look of bewilderment while pointing at the joy of the shippers who were clearly not reading Tony's wavelength. And Tony was not the only one on the wavelength. There in the corner on the dining table, Clint sat lost in some thought so deep that his resting face was now a resting bitch face while he dipped his arrows in tiny bottles- the purpose of which only he knew- and handled them like his own babies. "You still have to find a way to stab him with these," Natasha was quick to mention as she walked towards her friend and sat opposite him. "Oh, I'll find a way. I was in his head too, remember," Clint pointed out. "He completely underestimates me." "Hmm," she scrunched her nose, "just remove that itch-like thing on your neck before you go after him though." "Where?" He asked as he scratched the side of his neck with the end of his arrow, his furrowed brows suddenly releasing themselves at the dawn of realisation before disappearing from the camera frame to fall down from the seat with a thud. "Told you not to wipe both ends with the same cloth," she muttered while wistfully looking down at an unconscious Hawkeye.

That One Steamy Dungeon™ No one knew how, when or why Lulu was sitting there in Carol's lap like he knew her for ages. No one knew why Carol was stroking him with the back of her fingers while her eyes were stuck on you like two magnetic poles finding that one direction and sticking to it. And you genuinely did not know why you could not stop looking at Carol. All of Carol Danvers. Especially her lips. "What?" Carol finally dismissed the silence with one casual word. "Ag-sa-wuu-you're looking beautiful," was what you came up with. Loki stared at Lulu's camera with one long blink of...slowed surprise. The buzzing camera caught all three of you sitting in the returning silence over dried hay, looking at each other before you scooched down a little to hide the embarrassment visible over your face.

You: *whisper* W-well, she does look pretty despite all the dirt she's lying in. I mean *violently points at Carol in the background* look at her!!! How can someone look sooooo fucking beautiful??? *lick your lips* Except for Loki of course. That dude is on a whole another level.

Carol threw a shirt over Loki's face from her backpack. "Weren't your looks enough this time?" "Wasn't your hairstyle enough this time?" came the retort. You sat there in the middle, your eyes moving between both of them to calculate this new chemistry you were seeing. The camera caught you pulling your legs closer to your chest. "I didn't know you two were so...close to each other."

Javier: *signing* Why? *Furrows his brows* does that make you furious, Y/N? *wiggles his brows up and down in question* Hmm? *zooms in on his face* Hmm? *turns the camera towards the screen from which he and Green are watching the live broadcast*

"Close? I met him on one mission and this punk would have been dead had I not saved his ass back then." Carol smirked through the sentence and you did not realise any time sooner that you were staring at her, your mouth almost at the edge of drooling. "You blew my cover," Loki stressed while putting on the grey free size shirt. "And then she had the audacity to make me pay for her bar bill on the next stop," he gasped while looking at you. Javier took the opportunity to make his drone zoom at your iris, catching your pupils dilate in 4K as soon as Loki started narrating the story to you while you nodded in enthusiasm. "You do realise your ex-girlfriend wants to cut off your new girlfriend's head right this moment, right?" Carol was generous to point out while getting up and wiping off all the dirt and hay. "I'm not his girlfriend." "She's not my ex-" Both of you had the synchronisation of an orchestra. Carol took this opportunity to let her eyes pass the judgment- which played from one face to another and back for sheer entertainment.

Carol: *shrugs* *runs her hand through her pixie cut hair* Priorities, I guess. *nods*

"Anyways," Loki tried to cut this weird air surrounding the three of them that apparently Lulu was the only one enjoying, rubbing himself all around Carol's leg, "do you have a plan to get out of here?" "Of course," Carol simply jerked her shoulders, "punch my way through." You blinked at the camera.

You: Is that why they are called Captain? It has to be, right?

You shook your head and looked around in the ground, leaving Loki to do the bickering on your part as well. "Well, Miss one-punch woman, this time you are not the only one that needs to escape." You found a stick in the corner. It seemed to be made of the same ashen wood that Aellae sat on in her throne room. "We have tiny mortals to save too." Carol chuckled. You raised the stick your eye level, feeling the weight in your hands when suddenly your eyes grow wide and your mouth turns into a horror-filled 'O' "What? Where is the comedy?" A violent grunt came from your lungs, turning both Carol and Loki into attack and defence mode in your direction. Lulu's camera caught you taking the stick out of the orc's stomach. The dull creature blankly looked at the blood turning into sparks flying against the gravity before slowly consuming the whole creature, taking him with them. The next twenty seconds were a pause on every breath. You finally turned around, the stick still in your hand. "Did I kill him?" you asked in a whisper. Loki and Carol shared a glance. "It was just a bruise" Loki shoved your concern away with his hands. "He's in heaven now," Carol sang. "He was a bad guy, right?" "Yes," both of them nearly shouted. "It's good that he disappeared. You helped the universe get rid of a bad guy," Loki clapped his hands before give you an awkward thumbs up. You blinked at both of them. The smile eroding on your lips slowly turned the duo uncomfortable. "Good." Was all you said for your stature completely transformed. "Because that felt..."  you did not finish the sentence, clearly concerning your company. Well, Lulu seemed to like whatever vibes you were giving off. “Y/N,” Loki pretty much sang your name cautiously, slowly lifting his hands in the air to have a word with you to process whatever you were feeling. But you were already running outside with the most suspicious giggle the room had ever heard. Carol even shivered a bit to shake it off of her.

My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun You better run

The one buzzing drone in the hallway caught the slow-motion emotion of you walking into the hallway with the ash stick in your hand like a gun- locked and loaded- with something fierce burning in your eyes. Behind you Loki was trying to catch up with the adrenaline rush you were feeling, calling out your name to stop you. Carol was close behind, cheering you on as much as she could.

My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga

The orcs didn’t even seek you out. One of the reasons was the fact that you were running towards them first, swinging your arms with as much force as your body allowed, screaming your lungs out and jumping with fueled excitement whenever they went up in flames. Loki had to take a moment out of those crucial seconds to look at you. To look at that animalistic look in your eyes. Pausing for a millisecond to consciously question whether to admire it or fear it, he almost smiled. He might have stood there for a few seconds more had he not felt the blue plasmic force run by his side to destroy the one orc aiming for you from your blindside.

It started with the hayloft a-creakin' Well, it just started in the hay (loft) With his longjohns on, pop went a-creeping Out to the barn, up to the hay Young lovers and they are not sleeping Young lovers in the hay (loft) With his gun turned on, pop went a-creeping Out to the barn, up to the hay (loft)

"Seriously?!" He shouted at the glowing Captain who flew past him. "Catch up. Catch up!" she teased him while leaving a trail of bodies in her way. "ANARCHYYYYYY!!!!!!!" You howled as you ran, following your new crush. Loki sighed, his head trying to hang as low as possible as he looked at the sleek shackles around his wrists. Breathing in a lungful, he grabbed the nearest iron rail from the window looking out at the barren mountains and bent it till it broke in his flexing hand. "Is this why I am still alive?" He whispered to himself while continuing to walk in the direction you just dashed in.

My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun You better run My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun My daddy's got a gun Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga

Throne Room Aellae sat on the ash throne frozen in thought when one of her underlings interrupted her daydreaming with its presence. "What?" She did not disguise her displeasure. There has been a mishap on the laboratory floor, my lady." Her body automatically shifted on her seat. "Four guards are dead. The source is unknown." "Is it the woman?" "No, my lady. I just checked up on her after locking Master Loki up." "Then who is it?" "We are yet to find out. My lady." "Then why are you wasting my time by standing here and doing nothing about it?" The skinny elf-like underling bowed down to her and scurried in the opposite direction. It had reached the entrance of the throne room when a weak scream left its lungs and it stepped back- falling down in the process- to make way for the uninvited guest. The poise on Aellae's face took a turn as she looked at the person casually sauntering in her direction, never realising when she got up. "Oh, don't stand on my account," White mentioned breezily with a smirk, coming to a halt right in the middle of the room. "Zune." She called out the name like spitting a curse. "It's been a while, my least favourite Witch of the West Galactica." Zune smiled his precious smile, standing bright in stark contrast to his dull surroundings. "Last time we met, you were grovelling on the floor, begging for mercy in front of the Silver Court, asking them not to punish you for the endless crimes you committed in the last century." The composure was evidently crumbling away in little pieces. Aellae's stone-like glare was slowly turning into fast blinks. Her usually unruffled breaths were now a mocked laugh. "And the court decided to send you to arrest me? Where is the rest of the coven?" She pretended to guess before snapping her pale fingers. "Oh, right. I burned them all. Poor boys. J'uke, Fae and Mi'in were still so young." Zune huffed and smiled. "Hmm. They were really young when they fought you, weren't they? And to answer your question, no. The court did not send me here." Now this made Aellae burst into laughter. "So, you are here for revenge? For your mates?" Licking his teeth, he bit his lip and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, all the playfulness in his feature draining out with every passing second. "I am just here to clean up the mess that you made. But they are the ones who are here for revenge." Taking a step back, Zune gave Aellae a few seconds to realise that they are not the only ones in this room. And just when it dawns upon her, she sees the rest of the 'coven' come out of the shadows, surrounding her from every probable escape route this place could have. "Fae," she whispered with a deep-rooted horror in her throat, backing up into her throne when she looked at the familiar red figure walking towards her. "When you were setting us up on fire-" Fae carried no empathy in his eyes as he moved closer with every step- "you forgot that you cannot make Gods made up of ancient stars disappear when you please." Every cell in Fae's body vibrated with a demonic aura that made the witch go down on her knees. Her breaths shook and her eyes watered. The claustrophobia resulting from just his presence made it hard for her to breathe. "No," she shook her head, trying her best to mask her fear. "No. This cannot be. I destroyed you. I destroyed the senate. I destroyed everything that stood in my path. I cannot fail this time. This world needs to kneel before my power. That God needs to kneel before me. NO!!" The six looked at their leader to begin the ceremony. "Aellae of the covens abandoned, child of the dark refugees, you are hereby sent to the endless pits of the universe for your crimes against the creatures of the universe." The screams of the witch echoed throughout the castle till every last ounce of life in her voice could be heard fading away by the other group at the far end of the other wing. By the time Carol arrived, all that was left were the seven boys and a pile of ash resting by the throne. “That was fast,” she did not refrain from mentioning, “I thought it would take more than that to get her to give up.” Zune shrugged. “Well, it was easy because we had you and your friends this time. She did not have much to distract us with, unlike the last time she was in prison.” Carol smiled a kind smile at them. “I hope they didn’t give you any trouble?” Fae stretched the corner of his lips. “When you first called us to go around the universe to look for a human, we were a little sceptical. But we were glad to have met her.” “Especially Zune,” Mi’in quipped, earning a yank by the ear from the leader. “Thank you for protecting her.” “No biggie. We would have protected her even if you didn’t tell us to.” Carol furrowed her brows at the statement. “Because Loki had already asked us for that favour,” Zune mentioned, clearing any doubts, “and we owed him from way back.” Feeling the ‘ah’ of a satisfactory conclusion coming on her face, she stopped midway to hear your scream turn louder the second you got closer till you turned the corner to enter the hall with your stick, forcing yourself to stop your lungs from going any further than that. “Oh,” you straightened your stance, giving up on the attack position as soon as you realised there was no more threat, “looks like you guys already cleaned the place.” “You almost sound disappointed,” J’uke stressed, judging by your disapproval of the lack of bad guys. Loki stepped in next, clearly having taken care of whatever tried to attack them from the back. "She hurt my friend. I at least wanted to watch her burn," you simply shrugged. Fae patted your head softly. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance." He smiled the most ridiculously comforting smile. "How?" You whined, "you guys already finished her." All the seven boys, Loki and Carol shared a look with each other while you stomped her foot in the ground while staring daggers at the pile of ashes.  "Yeah-" Zune blurted out, scratching an itch in the back of his neck- "we definitely, for sure, totally killed her. Like-" he pretended to chop the air with his hand- "so smooth." Everyone nodded in agreement. Our elder boys of the group supported their leader while Carol gave them soft applause. Loki gave them a thumb's up.

You: *turning away from the scene in the background where everyone now sits outside the castle having a chat with each other* Aww *smile widely* it feels so good to watch them get along like that!! *start staring in the distance* *smile still stuck on your face* I wish my family could get along this well too. You know. *tilt your head* If all of them got along with Loki, I feel like half of the world's problems would vanish just like that. *watch Javier sign something to you* What? Merch store? *reads some more* Manga?? *looks closely at Javier as he continues to sign* Fanfi-what does any of it have to do with Loki? *camera pans in on your confused innocent face*

"Here's my little monster!" Carol talked in a tone that one used on babies while stroking a very excited Lulu. "Who's a scary boy! Who's a scary boy!!! You are!!! Yes!! You are!!!" You chuckled, watching Lulu enjoy the love and attention from the Captain, bumping his head with hers, wiggling in her lap before settling down in her arms, his adrenaline going down. "Who's that?" Carol asked him, pointing at you. Lulu chirped. "And who's mamma's boy?" Lulu chirped again. "Aaaand who's gonna protect mamma from bad guys?" Lulu growled. And then he chirped again, hiding his faceless husk hairy face in his paws. "Oh my God, he growls!!!!" you gasped. "Oh, he is got a lot more to show you, mamma! Give him time." You sat down next to Carol and stroked a yawning Lulu, who was now making biscuits in her arms. "This one's helped me a lot through this weird, fatal, dreamy galactic trip," you mentioned wistfully. The camera- as well as Carol- noticed how your brows furrowed slightly before your teeth bit down on your lower lip and you turned your gaze up to search for something in the rocky terrain before finally resting on Loki. Carol watched this subtle shift, patiently spectating how Loki too was stealing glances your way while having some serious looking chat with the boys.

The boys and Loki: *standing in the grey terrain like a bunch of Gods modelling for luxury hair products* Loki: It's spelt Z-U-K-O Zune: You named a dog after the fire God? Loki: Wha-no. It was all her *points at you*. Apparently, Coco was a bit too mushy for her. Something about 'Zuko reminding her of a guy who was in his redemption arc right now'. Whatever that means. Zune: *looked at the camera panning in on his face*

"So, you wanna go back now?" Carol asked you, her hands still busy stroking a purring Lulu. You inhaled to answer but felt yourself turning to look at Loki. Carol noticed it too. "Of course. H-how, long will it take?" you scratched your forehead. "We were actually pretty close to getting Loki free of his...cuffs. And I'm sure two powerful beings is always better than one." Carol chuckled and nodded. "Tell you what-" she took your hand in hers, something that you were not expecting- "I will go and take care of a couple of things for our return journey. Till then-" she stroked your hand- "you find out for yourself. Whatever it is that you're looking for." That gentle tone and those cryptically simple words changed some spectrum of the emotions on your face. You stared at her for a long while with your mouth agape. "What are you talking about?" Your breath asked in exasperation. "Cuffs, I guess?" she proposed softly with a knowing smirk. You forced out a laugh. "I have no idea what you're talking about," You chuckled and found yourself looking back at Loki again.

The boys- well, at a few of them- tried to calm down the God who seemed to be picking up a rock from the ground. "Okay now-" Gin, our green jellybean, raised his hands- "let's all calm down and talk about this." "Yeah, yeah. How about we all go to the nearest oasis and have a cup of starry vodka and discuss how we are all alive. Right, Mi'in?" Me'isri, sweet yellow candy boy suggested casually. "Right," Loki nearly sang. His every step towards the boys made them retreat two. "We should be happy that the witch is gone for now. What could we possibly have had to do with her anyway? Hm? What's that? Oh! She was the one who stole my essence you say?" "Look," Ho, the sky blue cheery lad was suddenly not feeling so cheery at all, "we did not know-" "You numbnuts were the one who told me that!" Loki was practically hissing through his teeth right now, his steps breaking into a jog that was letting out some potential screams waiting in some lungs. Lulu was having a gala time just jumping in whichever direction the boys ran into as Loki chased them.

[bloededhoine]

world building cause twn doesn't part 4: elves!

everyone loves elves! they're a fantasy genre mainstay, archery is so sexy, and they have those E A R S. plus, they play a pretty important part in the witcher universe!

series masterpost

colour code cause i fucking love colour codes - already happened/introduced, probably s2, important background info, stuff that might be in the prequel, extras

background

i'd recommend going through the last parts, or at least the tl;dr's first

elves arrived on the continent about 2000 years before humans, and are divided into 5 distinct cultures of varying importance: aen undod, aen elle, aen seidhe, black seidhe, and aen woedde

elves only came to the continent in one group, but not all of that group stayed. the different branches based on where they settled make up the different cultures

the main two languages in the witcher are common speech and elder speech (aka hen llinge), the former used by most humans and the latter used by the elder races

aen undod

the aen undod are the oldest elven culture, having existed years before the conjunction of spheres

their home world faced some huge catastrophe, so the aen undod left in search of new worlds, leaving their descendants to become all the future elven cultures.

the aen undod spoke the oldest dialect of elder speech, laith aen undod, or one speech

aen elle

the aen elle use a language derived from hen llinge called ellylon, in which their name means "of the alders"

they don't actually live on the continent, having abandoned it years ago for their own world.

however, when the aen elle arrived in this new world, it was already populated by humans and unicorns. unfortunately, these elves are notoriously ruthless and both the native species were eradicated.

the capital of the aen elle world is tir ná lia, and is described as stunningly beautiful, featuring open air buildings made of marble, alabaster, and malachite. here it is in the third witcher video game, by djkovrik on nexus. their screenshots are amazing btw.

[ID: screenshot from wild hunt showing tir ná lia. the city is built on cliffs above a sea, there are waterfalls falling from the cliffs and bridges connecting them. there are mountains in the background and the buildings are fairly small and out of focus, they seem to be in the gothic revival style with ornate windows and steeped roofs. end ID]

the ruler of the aen elle was auberon muircetach, king of the alders and aen saevherne (aen saevherne is the honorary title of an elven mage who has extensive knowledge of magic, geneology, history, and many other subjects). auberon was also ciri's 5 times great grandfather. this gwent card pretty much sums up his vibe: scary yet sexy.

[ID: illustration of elven man with long white hair on a brown horse. he has defined cheekbones and facial features and is wearing a gold crown and blue robes with a red sash, gold belt, and leather boots. he is holding a white unicorn head in one hand. the unicorn's horn is cut off, and is bloody around its neck and where its horn was. end ID]

auberon's consort was another aen elle named shiadhal, with whom he had one daughter, lara dorren. lara is so so so important for the witcher, as she is the beginning of the elder blood, or hen ichaer.

hen ichaer is a gene that carries incredibly powerful magic, and those who have it are usually sources. i talk more abt this in part 3.

for better or for worse, lara dorren fell in love with a human sorcerer, cregennan of lod, and left tir ná lia for him. auberon took this as cregennan "stealing" his daughter and therefore the hen ichaer, and developed a pretty hefty vengeance and dedication to "take back" what was his (yikes).

this also set a precedent of people "claiming" the lives of carriers of the hen ichaer

auberon also formed an elven cavalry known as the red riders or wild hunt (dearg ruadhri in ellylon) and he appointed eredin bréacc glas as their commander. the initial purpose of the wild hunt was to travel to different worlds and capture slaves for tir ná lia, although they later became auberon's tool to find and exploit carriers of hen ichaer.

the wild hunt also uses specially trained mages known as navigators to open portals to other worlds, the most notable of these navigators is caranthir ar-feiniel, who doubled as one of eredin's most trusted men.

the aen elle also live a pretty long time, average is around 650 years, so the timelines are kinda hard to keep track of.

notable aen elle include: auberon muircetach, shiadhal, lara dorren, eredin breácc glas, crevan espane aep caomhan macha (aka avallac'h, also an aen saevherne and lara dorren's ex), caranthir ar-feiniel (also avallac'h's foster son), ge'els (the viceroy of tir ná lia), and imlerith (general of the wild hunt)

aen seidhe

put simply, the aen seidhe are the elves that did not leave when the aen elle did

the aen seidhe don't really have a society like the aen elle, they're pretty dispersed across the world. but, there are certain areas the aen seidhe have claimed as their own.

one of these little civilizations is dol blathanna, also known as the valley of flowers. unfortunately, it's not an independent state, as it was conquered by aedirn in the 1150s. however, then-king baldwin thyssen did allow the elves to retain a lot of their cultural identity and live in peace.

dol blathanna includes the village posada and the capital silver towers, which is where filavandrel aén findháil is from. he's that sexy man right there

[ID: photo of white elf man with blonde hair going to his shoulders. he is wearing tattered green robes and is looking slightly to the side with his lips pursed. end ID]

not that anyone cares, but here's him in the hexer. it's not important to the lore or twn it's just fuckin funny

[ID: old man with white frizzy wig. he is wearing a headband that appears to be rocks on a string. he has what looks like a potato sack tied around his shoulders over a green tunic. he is scowling. end ID]

outside of dol blathanna, there aren't really any places where elves can live with minimal human interaction, although the blue mountains are home to a few incredibly powerful elves

side note: dol blathanna is technically part of the blue mountains, but is in the far southern foothills so they're usually treated as separate entities.

the blue mountains are also a natural border dividing the northern kingdoms from the far east, and where filavandrel went to live after he got fed up with dol blathanna.

they're also the home of ida emean aep sivney, who's also an aen saevherne and future member of the lodge of sorceresses.

next season, we're going to meet the beautiful elven sorceress francesca findabair, also known as enid an gleanna (hen llinge for daisy of the valley)

here she is with fringilla vigo (nilfgaardian sorceress) in twn season 2. note that enid is preggers! that's very odd and i will go into detail on it later

[ID: photo of two women walking side by side. the one on the left is black and has black hair in braids going over one shoulder. she is wearing a silver dress with a similarly coloured floor length coat. the one on the right is biracial and has strawberry blonde hair in a braided updo. she is wearing a floor length blue gown with gold embroidery and a metallic brown cloak. she is pregnant. end ID]

enid is crazy interesting and important for the story of the witcher (and confirmed for season two!), so i won't go too in depth about her now

as i mentioned in part 2, nilfgaard tends to favour elves, leading to a lot of militaristic forces allied with nilfgaard. most notably, the scoia'tael, or squirrels. the scoia'tael are an incredibly ruthless and effective nonhuman guerilla force, generally divided into commandos, units that patrol a given area and eliminate the northern (or simply human) threat.

there are a lot of scoia'tael, so i'll just give you the commanders for now: angus bri cri, coinneach dá reo, iorveth, isengrim faoiltiarna, riordain, and toruviel.

you might remember toruviel as this sexy angry lady from twn, and she is possibly going to get a much bigger role later... pay attention to toruviel.

[ID: young elf woman with white skin and red hair tied over her shoulder. she has a bloody nose and is wearing a light green top with a dark brown leather studded belt. her belt is also around an olive green coat. she looks quite angry. end ID]

the scoia'tael were very well organized, but also quite dispersed, so when nilfgaard needed more specific tasks done, they would assemble specific military units (usually led by some of our favourite squirrels)

the vrihedd brigade was the most important of these units. they were especially notorious for their cruelty in the second northern war, so i'm sure we'll meet at least a few members next season.

their leader was colonel isengrim faoiltiarna (aka the iron wolf), and his officers coinneach, iorveth, riordain, and angus.

francesca findabair is not directly involved with either the scoia'tael or the vrihedd brigade, but she does work quite closely with them very often.

also important to note that not all scoia'tael are aen seidhe elves, most (including all higher ranking commanders and officers) are, but there are a number of nonhumans including dwarves and halflings.

unfortunately, the aen seidhe are slowly going extinct, both from years of genocide from humans and their slow reproductive cycles (elves live a Long time, but can only have children towards the beginning of their lives)

that's why it's so surprising to me that enid is preggers! we don't exactly know her age, but by my calculations she was over 150 in twn (pretty far past the age elves can have children).

because of this, elves are pretty divided between fighting against human rule and seeking coexistence. there are arguments for both camps, mainly that humans are colonizers and should not be trusted for the former, and that elves are dying out already and need to live with humans to survive for the latter.

the most prominent stand for the fight was in the 1060s when an aen seidhe named aelireen led an uprising against humans. most of the elders told her that it wouldn't end well, but she didn't listen and led hundreds of young elves into battle. it was an utter massacre, and basically all elves who could have children died.

yikes

unfortunately, the movement for coexistence was just as unsuccessful. it was led by our man cregennan of lod, lara dorren's husband. the poor simp just wanted to live in peace with his wife, but a lot of humans thought he was a traitor because he married an elf, and he and lara were murdered in 1137 in redania.

the last real push for independence was with the formation of the scoia'tael in the 1260s. I say 1260s because the very beginnings of the scoia'tael were right around 1262-1236 (the start of ciri's timeline) but they became majorly important around 1267. although, even the scoia'tael realized they needed humans to survive and began working with nilfgaard.

however, some scoia'tael are less keen on being nilfgaard's attack dogs, leading to further division amongst the aen seidhe.

black seidhe

remember the elves i talked about in part 2 as being the ancestors of the albans? this is them!

the black seidhe are native to the south, more particularly the valley around the alba river. they are practically extinct, but the nilfgaardians carry a lot of their cultural identity in the nilfgaardian language, a variation of hen llinge.

aen woedde

the wood elves, or aen woedde, is the elven culture we know the least about, they primarily live in the areas around nilfgaardian forests and speak hen llinge.

the only notable wood elf is aenyeweddien, or iskra, a member of the rats, a gang of semi violent youths in the northern realms. we'll learn more about the rats in future seasons.

tl;dr: elves, especially the aen seidhe and aen elle cultures, make up a large part of witcher lore. they are most notable for their long lifespans, magical and historical knowledge, and militaristic alliances with nilfgaard.

[shimmershae]

So.  Thanks to my new anonymous friend, this is going to become a thing.

Shae’s thinky thoughts about the latest episode--Acheron:  Part 2--beneath a cut. 

Because spoilers, however vague they might be.  

Let’s be real here.  This is more a stream of consciousness than anything else so if that’s not your thing, you are most welcome to nope right on out of this post.  Trust me.  I’ll completely understand, lol.  Sometimes?  I wish I could nope right on out of my own brain and the way it operates.  

That said?  Without further ado--

Episode 2′s opening, though.  Maggie trapped with hungry Walkers converging?  It totally gives me Glenn under the dumpster vibes.  I don’t know if that was intentional or just happy coincidence but way to link Maggie to her dearly departed better half, show.  

Is it just me or has Father G had more OOMPH to him these last few seasons?  Again, I have to ask--Rosita’s influence or no?  Regardless, I bet Seth Gilliam is loving the job these days.  

Side note:  am I gonna have to go to bed early every Saturday night from now until the end just so I that I might be able to SEE?  Something?  Anything?  My curtains are flimsy-ass.  I admit it.  But this is more frustrating than TXF.  Angela, WTF?  

No, seriously.  It’s like complete guess work who’s in these subway scenes.  Some of that has to do with them being overly populated by redshirts and the rest of it has to do with me having to squint and turn sideways to make out their facial features. 

Look at Daryl busting through concrete walls!  Should I call him the Kool-Aid Man considering NR has once again allowed himself to be led right into a biased, shipper trap?  Hmm.  I might.  

Imagine seeking refuge in those dark, filthy subways.  Any second now I expect to hear the skittering of rats.  Will Dog lose his effing mind a la Divergence?  He’s been shown to go off half-cocked that way, lol.  Oh well.  Guess it’ll be in character if he does.  

Impressive graffiti storyboards.  Does it mean something that it immediately cuts to the Commonwealth storm troopers afterward?  Maybe.  Who really knows at this point?  They been trying to gaslight us forever.  

LOL at Princess yet again.  Yumiko is just like da fuq is this person?  

No, really.  LMAO.  “That was her.  From last night.  Did you see how she was looking at us?”  

Then you have Eugene, hahaha.  “Oh God.  Why did he tell off the big guy?”  Like the man is totally me in this type of situation.  Not even gonna lie.  

“That’s right.  We want to talk to the manager.”  

I literally cannot wait ‘til Carol and Daryl meet Princess.  Can.  Not.  Wait.  

How sad is that note on that $100 bill?  Small moment but it totally gives me Season 4 vibes when they were on their way to Terminus seeking sanctuary.  

Hmm.  Remember how that place wasn’t what they thought it was?  I’m sure neither is the Commonwealth.  But I feel like what’s left of Team Family is totally going to do Rick proud, lol, and prove they’re messing with the wrong people if they try something.  

Daryl, Man.  You gonna have to get a better handle on your headstrong Fur Son.  I wonder if Dog would listen better to his mama?  Things to ponder.  

Sounds like Miko has this group’s number.  Or does she?  

Princess and Eugene totally look like they’re waiting their turn for the Principal’s office, LOL.  

“Stop moving!  You’re taking my nerves over the edge to a proverbial 11 on a scale of 10.”  I feel you, Eugene.  I do.  Also you, Princess.  Two of the most relatable TWD characters right there, I’m telling you.  

Princess is me when I really, really, really have to pee.  TMI?  Sorry, lovelies.  LOL.  I just...she’s so relatable.  

LMAO.  “If that fine ass dude in the orange suit...”  Princess and Mercer incoming in 3-2-----

Princess’s excitement over the toilet paper=PRICELESS.  

Eugene, Man.  You desperately need to develop a poker face.  

There’s Daryl getting another cool camera shot.  Angela?  You playing favorites again?  

Carol’s claustrophobia could have never.  I bet that’s in the back of Pookie’s mind.  You can’t tell me it’s not because Carol lives in there rent-free.  

Ohhh.  Back to the subway car.  Looks like we got the Maggie redshirts leading the way.  First sacrificial “lambs”?  

Maggie pistol-whipping Negan was kinda deserved, but he wasn’t all wrong so.  

Damn.  I’m no Gage fan.  He can fuck all the way off for what he did to my baby Lydia.  But Maggie over there with ice in her veins.  

Yep.  I think the dude just got one of the most gruesome deaths in a while.  Yuck.  

I think Alden’s faith in Maggie definitely took several hits.  I feel like he kind of had her on some sort of pedestal dating back to Hilltop times.  Father G, though?  The man is continuing to show himself a SAVAGE MFer.  

Josh gives Eugene such believable tics and mannerisms.  He IS Eugene.  

Thank you, Maggie, for lighting that flare.  I could not see a damn thing.  

What are these bad memories Negan alludes to?  Hmm?  Him being a shit husband to Lucille back when he was still taking her for granted?  

Father G on Gage’s Walker--”All that is, is a shell of a man, who died a coward.”  Kind of ironic considering Father G’s own origins, huh?  Has he any warmth in there for anybody but Rosita and Coco?  Does he equate it with weakness?  

“There are worse ways.”  And Maggie proceeds to paint us a horror story with mere words.  

Dark Maggie really surpasses anything certain fans have ever accused Carol of being.  Is she too far gone?  Who the hell knows?  I think it’s clear that she and Carol are both on a sliding scale of sorts when it comes to being able to compartmentalize shit to survive.  Personally?  I feel like Maggie might have leap-frogged Carol in this episode but it matters none because of the double standards so deeply entrenched in this fandom.  Both women have endured and had to do some horrific things.  It’s not a contest.  But it’s probably going to be turned into a season-long one.  

It’s almost like Kang was like, “Ya’ll bitches think Carol’s dark?  I’ll show you DARK.  Check and mate.”  

Whatever the reasoning, Maggie just got exponentially more interesting to me if not likable.  And before anybody out there comes at me, it’s entirely possible to be on a character’s side in some things and not be all up their ass in love with them, lol.  Like I’m attached to her because she’s family and Glenn loved her.  There’s a loyalty there and she absolutely is justified in her hatred of Negan.  But I’m not going to pretend her shit don’t stink like everybody else’s.  

Speaking of my baby Glenn.  What would he think of this version of Maggie?  I think he would be gutted and heart stricken that events led to her being like this but he’d understand because he’s pure like that.  Don’t mean he’d be A-OK with it all.  

Dog must be protected at all costs.  

Confession.  I know not the fuck who Pony Boy is, but I know him because all my fandom friends have pointed him out to me, lol.  RIP, Man.  I think you’re number’s up or close to it.  

Okay, though.  I admit it.  I am kinda LOVING Badass Father G.  

That scene in the subway car with all of them working to take all the Walkers out was already badass.  Then Daryl arrived and made it, in @freefromthecocoon’s words, HAWT.  LOL.  

Eugene staring at that little black book like it contains torture tools, hehehe.  

“Processed?  As in administratively?  Processed as in bologna or other meat stuffs?  This inquiring (enquiring?) mind needs to know.”  OMG, Eugene.  I admit it.  Even if it makes me look like a lunatic, LOL.  I straight up LMAO at that one.  I mean, ten years later and Terminus still fresh on the man’s mind.  

“You like feeling nervous?”  Well, no.  None of us that do, Mercer?  Do.  

Then he proceeds to make me howl with his “You can’t lie for shit” to Eugene.  

Josh McDermitt?  I love you, Man.  40 year old virgin, LOL.  

All this talk over the seasons of Daryl’s virginity and we have Eugene, hahaha.  But was he telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?  

Finally.  Some daylight.  Where I can see.  

Eugene’s relief at seeing his friends safe and sound was such a beautiful thing to see.  I loved those hugs.  

Mercer’s face when he snarled “beat cop” in disdain to Ezekiel.  I think I’m gonna love this dude.  

“I went to West Point.  Asshole.”  Yeah.  I am.  

I know they probably catfishing Eugene right here because spoilers tell us that ain’t Stephanie.  But my heart still did a little d’aww.  Angela.  Don’t play with his poor heart like that.  

What’s got Daryl so pensive, huh?  Is it that the note reminds him of kids being lost or taken from their family? Or separated from their family?  Is he thinking of those Grimes babies and wondering if Michonne will ever make it back and why and how she was able to leave them behind?  Tell me it ain’t that Find Me nonsense.  

“This place sure has gone to shit since the last time I was here.”  LMAO, JDM.  I mean Negan.  Sorry.  Sorry.  I still hate Negan, but JDM has me entertained at least since they gave the asshole some shades of gray.  And speaking of shades of gray.  I’m loving the gray beard.  JDM’s looking GOOD (hear that NR?  Embrace the gray).  Negan can still kick rocks, lol.  

Anyway.  That scene was CREEPY AF.  Not even gonna lie.  

The Reapers strutting right on up to our group like it’s The Purge:  ZA.  

My bad, Pony Boy. Now RIP.  

Dark, dark episode with loads of tension broken up by some welcome humor by Princess.  The girl is fast becoming a fave of mine.  

My baby’s back next week!!!

I’m just going to plug my ears and pretend they’re trying to capture/recapture the horses because they’re pets.  Not because they’re starving so bad they feel the need to eat them.  La la la la la.  I can’t hear you.  

[mndalorians]

hey hi i hope you're doing okay!! that fic about slow-dancing with ezra lives in my head rent free, so i'm wondering if you have any other songs you associate strongly with the boys? or who else you think would dance with their partner??

Aar!! I’m doing alright! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that it’s stuck with you 🥺🥺

Below the cut are some songs and thoughts on dancing for Din, Ezra, Frankie, and Whiskey, thank you for asking about it!

Din:

- Show Me How - Men I Trust - this is one of the oldest songs I've associated with Din and it always makes me soft 🥺

- Little Dark Age - MGMT - in contrast is this song, maybe a little more suited to the Din we get a glimpse of in ep. 6, but there's a duality to him nevertheless that allows vastly different songs to be applied to him and I have a few

- Two Weeks - FKA twigs - bonus song cause it slaps

-

I have personal headcanons about what dancing is like within Mandalorian culture (with lots of banging of armour, stamping of feet, etc.) but those are group dances so I don't think Din has much experience when it comes to couples dancing. Maybe he remembers his parents dancing and laughing together, but the memory is faint, he remembers the general outline of them, not where their hands were placed or the actual steps of the dance. You can only really convince him to dance if you say it would mean a lot to you or he comes across you 'dancing' with the baby (basically just swaying and moving around the hull to the beat of a song you're humming), but seeing how happy you are in that moment as you dance leaves him wanting to be the reason for your smile, and if that means following a rhythm then so be it. He needs you to direct him and is as stiff as a board the first time you dance but he eventually softens and ends up resting his forehead against yours while you move about the hull.

Ezra:

- Black Mambo - Glass Animals (ZABA in general tbh) - I know I just write soft moments with Ezra but to me this song captures the dark undercurrent he has that really makes him dangerous

- Harvest Moon - Lord Huron - major Ezra vibes, it just suits him so well I think

-

I'll just expand a little on Ezra! Similarly to that wee fic, he'll hear a song and all of a sudden be overcome with the need to dance, doing very nearly anything to convince you to be his partner (if you need convincing). I feel like (maybe in his younger years) he'd be fond of the Charleston, or 'looser' dances that don't have the rigidity of a waltz, for example, and would enjoy having you as a partner for them, so long as space allows for it. If not, he's holding you close and cherishing the contact of you against him, since such a pleasure and privilege is denied while suited up and working.

Frankie:

I kinda associate old rock with Frankie but I don't listen to that lmao

- Crystals - Of Monsters and Men - I did rediscover this though, maybe this suits him in the aftermath of the movie? I do feel like there's a 'Frankie-ness' to it though

-

You might be able to convince Frankie to dance privately, I don't think he would be one for clubbing unless he was tagging along with the guys (and even then he'd probably stick close to the bar). If it's just you two though, it'll mostly be a little side to side sway that starts with your hands clasped and on shoulders/waists, but it would soon devolve into him holding you close with his chin on your shoulder, the two of you rocking back and forth. Maybe the gentle rocking becomes something he craves on days where everything is just a little too much, and so will seek you out just to sway and calm his mind.

Whiskey: (don’t look at me Hailee)

- Velvet Elvis - Kacey Musgraves - there's the obvious country vibes but the pop influence in it suits the modern cowboy I think

-

He's taking you line dancing, he's taking you square dancing. He'll laugh out loud when 'box the gnat' is called the first time you square dance and you look at him with wide, confused eyes, not knowing what it means, until he takes your hand and leads you through the motion. He knows formal dancing thanks to his time as a Statesman and will lead you through a tango just fine, but, like Ezra, he'd much prefer an impromptu dance to whatever song he happens to hear that takes his fancy. The steps to those dances are more like bounces than strides, he'll push your leading hands up to the sky then down until they're close to the floor, and he'd spin you both around with such reckless abandon that it would worry you if it were anyone but Jack.