falling-star-cygnus

[falling-star-cygnus]

the only Superman content I've ever seen is the new 2025 movie and that's just because i went to see it with my friends

but i just want everyone to know that Eve has a bunny lulu on her belt

[falling-star-cygnus]

THIS

THIS IS THE SCENE THAT’S BEEN ITCHING AT MY BRAIN, OML‼️

i know the bola function appeared, but I was trying to remember if the crossbow function ever did and couldn’t nail down a specific scene

THIS IS IT

thank you!

HELLO!? WHEN DID YOU HAVE TIME TO MAKE THAT!? ↓ and why did it never show up in RTTE...?

[falling-star-cygnus]

friendly reminder to all HTTYD bad guys™ [both past and present], you will never be as metal as someone who literally hammers in his own tooth

with his own prosthetic hand btw ↓ no wonder he became a dragon dentist, i would trust NO ONE else

[falling-star-cygnus]

one thing i absolutely love about writing fanfiction, and writing in general, is the ability to become the character whose view you're looking from ↓ the ability to gain a deeper understanding of how exactly we reached this point in the narrative, the understanding of a character you thought you hated

of shedding your own skin and seeing how new eyes stretch in their own, of literally holding the heart of someone else and learning how it beats

i love it

[falling-star-cygnus]

current mood: Yatora sitting like an absolute dork, both with his friends and all by himself

[falling-star-cygnus]

back on my Blue Period bullshit:

i love that it's such a realistic depiction about how having a lack of self identity effects the art process -> Yatora struggles with the creative work because his sense of self is so closely tied with making other people pleased with him. he cannot fathom yet how to express himself in a way not tied to people's reactions

and this theme starts off subtle, just little hints of Yatora's uphill battle, until it's a massive roadblock standing in his way of the only thing that's ever made him genuinely happy

[falling-star-cygnus]

rewriting an older 'fic' i made, but in actual fic format ↓ i hadn't been super confident in my writing when the original concept had been plotted out, since i had gone years without genuinely writing anything,but here's my chance to rectify that <3

original 'fic': here

Two Sides of the Same Coin {<- ao3 fic here} SUMMARY: Shortly after the... trainwreck... that was Aventurine's first conversation with Sparkle, the lucky bastard meets someone.. odd. Someone a little like him. And a little not at the same time.

He meets a kid named Bennett.

+=+=+

What comes up..

The light catches on an ornate poker chip as it spirals into the air, dazzling the empty back alleys of Penacony's dreamland as if it served no other purpose.

How lucky.

...must come down.

There's no satisfaction to be found when Aventurine catches it. Only a lazy curl of expectency when he sends back into the air.

Up.

Lapdog.

The irate blond's nose scrunches, his already strained smile twitching into a scoff as the heavy chip lands in his palm once more.

"Tch... that crazed Fool."

Down.

No one was around to see his slip up, so it didn't really matter anyway. But- regardless. Aventurine fixes his easy-breezy smile back into place, as though he didn't have a single care in the world.

As though a sigh wasn't pushing at his lungs.

...as if his life wasn't hanging precariously from his own hands.

The first step to crafting a lie was... well.

Fooling yourself, first.

The chip flips back into the air.

Bad word choice.

"-are you from Sigonia?"

Again.

"I say you belong to the space under the manhole cover," she'd tittered, "..not in a dream."

And again.

"...the lapdogs of the IPC~"

Up.

Lapdog.

Is that what he was now? A dog to be tugged around on a little leash, answering every beckoning like- like he was some kind of... of-

The next few moments feel like they're wrapped in honey- wrapped in the sticky sugar of this fucking nightmare that thickens his tongue and mind until everything around him is moving at a snail's crawl. His words, his thoughts- they're not his own.

Were they ever?

Aventurine brushes gloved fingertips over the code that blackens his neck, the numbers that brand him as a-

...and down.

For the first time in ever, his chip lands wrong in the palm of his hand. It hits right between the curl of his pinkie- rocketing to the side as his fist clenches like it was shot from a canon.

And then his hand is empty.

"aCk-"

But his space isn't.

. . .

What in the world..?

The Stoneheart hadn't made that sound. He'd never.

So slowly, ever so slowly, he turns his head to the side- his fist still clenched in front of him with nothing inside it. How could someone have snuck up on him?

How could he let someone sneak up on-

...it's a boy.

Just- a boy. With ashy blond curls and goggles and a bright orange bandana tied around his bicep- and fuck, it was just a kid. A kid that's clutching at his nose and holding the same chip that Aventurine just shot at him.

Albeit- accidentally. How does that happen?

That Fool really did mess with his head.

And at the worst possible time...

Granted, this boy didn't have the best timing either but... it'd be a good distraction.

A pang of guilt ricocchets through his ribs, and the Stoneheart shakes himself out of his honey-heavy daze. Shit, he just hit a kid. A young looking kid too, barely as tall as his chest.

"Oww.." the boy winces, as if trying to make him feel worse, "Where did that come from...? "

He needs to gentle himself- probably. A casual, friendly persona instead of a flirty businessman. Yeah, definitely don't be flirty with the kid. That was just- Aventurine feels himself shudder at the mere thought.

No.

Friendly. He could be friendly.

He was great at being friendly.

How the fuck were you supposed to talk to kids!? is all that runs through his head as he strolls closer.

"Hey there!" here goes nothing, "So sorry about that, it slipped from my hand."

Or everything.

The boy snaps to attention.

...oh my.

Those had to be.. the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen. And he'd been to multiple different solar systems. Multiple times!

It actually makes him balk- almost, they're like emeralds. They're pure.

Unburdened, maybe, if Aventurine hadn't caught sight of the scars riddling all of his visible skin. A nasty one carving up his left shoulder, some skinnier ones down his right.. the list is near endless.

He could even spy Lichtenburg figures peeking around his neck.

And that's not even mentioning all the bandages.. Aeons, what happened to this poor boy?

"No, no- it's okay!" he's quick to throw out, quick to gesture with the hand holding the chip, "I probably shouldn't have been walking so close anyway.. It's just- I'm... I'm kind of lost?"

Aventurine blinks.

The blinks again. There is... so much to process in those few sentences that the Stoneheart doesn't even know where to start. Where can he start?

Shouldn't have been walking so close- no, wait, how did you get lost in a dream!?

And to accept his apology at face value... no questioning, and brushing it off near completely? What the fuck? Who does that?

This kid, apparently.

What the hell?

He hadn't been lying, obviously, the poker chip had quite literally launched itself out of his hand. But the kid didn't know that. Anybody in their right mind would assume he'd just- thrown it at them.

Like an asshole.

Why was he different? Was it naivete?

Or maybe he was just lying- maybe this really was just a ploy to get him to lower his guard, to get in his head and ruin his plan to foil Sunday's plan.

Or maybe he was just lying to lie. Penacony was chock full of people who did it for fun.

...that stroke of unluckiness had been kind of.. thrilling though, if he was forced to be honest. Kind of fun.

Well- no, not completely.

He wasn't thrilled he'd nailed an already beat up kid in the face.

"Sir..?"

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen someone like you around here before!"

Oh-

Aventurine's sudden switch from silent introspection to loud enthusiasm startles the kid back just half a step. Which was.. a minor setback, but that was fine.

That was totally fine.

The Stoneheart could salvage this.

Friendly!

He just has to offer his hand out. To those... very innocent green eyes.

...Aeons, he really was the worst person imaginable, wasn't he? Corrupting someone so young.

"Lost, though, huh? That's unfortunate, kid," Aventurine powers forward, ever the master of social niceties, "What'd you say your name was?"

The kid hadn't.

"Oh-! I'm Bennett," but he still offers it as if sunflowers turned towards him when he walked.

With a name like 'blessed', they might as well... Did no one teach this kid- this Bennett 'stranger danger'?

Seriously.

No preservation skills.

Bennett flounders for a moment, moving as if he wants to shake Aventurine's hand but then remembering he's holding a heavy poker chip. So he goes to use his other hand, but that one is speckled with blood.

...blood?

Fuck- he hadn't hit the kid that hard, had he!? The poker chip wasn't even that heavy!

His dice weighed more than those chips!

What, did his path supercharge it without him knowing? Feeding off his ire and anger and just... alright, so it wasn't that farfetched actually.

Whatever.

Shit.

There was already a bandage on the poor kid's nose too... slowly turning red and sliding off the skin.

Ouch.

Aventurine shakes Bennett's bloodied hand when the boy's distress starts to reach a fever pitch. They were both wearing gloves, anyway, so why did it matter?

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Bennett," the Stoneheart offers, the sincerity in his voice surprising even himself, "Even if it is under... rather unlucky circumstances."

The older blond is never unlucky.

Ever.

Circumstances barred, the lives he took barred, there was a reason his stolen title was 'Aventurine' and not 'Opal'. He never lost a game of chance- not in roulette, not in poker, and definitely definitely not in life. His mere presence guaranteed a winning bet.

There had to be something else afoot here... something greater than his blessing.

Aventurine was sure of it.

All he gets from the kid is a weak little laugh.

Which is... odd.

"I'm actually pretty notorious for unlucky circumstances," Bennett explains, or- tries to explain as he wilts like a dying flower, "I wouldn't mind so much if it was just me but... everywhere where I go, it seems I just cause other people problems.."

. . .

Okay, but did he have to look like a kicked puppy while he said it? The older blond feels something in his chest crumble a little- feels something constrict painfully.

Bennett was the one with a bleeding nose.. even if it wouldn't carry to the waking world.

It still had to hurt..

"Please," Aventurine scoffs, careful to keep his tone lighthearted, "You've hardly caused me any problems."

Honestly...

"If anything, I owe you an apology for nailing you in the nose."

Unintentionally, he'd like to reiterate.

Just for the record.

Aventurine had not meant to hit a scar addled kid in the face.

The Stoneheart goes to wrap an arm around Bennett's shoulders, intent on leading him somewhere just a bit brighter.

A bit safer.

And hey should definitely change out that bandage, too, just as a precaution. He hadn't known it was possible to bleed in the dream world but...

With this kid's luck, who knew?

"Let's get you a new bandage- on me, for causing-"

"Oh-!" the younger blond interrupts, digging around in one of his pockets, "I have one right here!"

...huh, Aventurine finds himself thinking- not for the first time tonight. Maybe this kid just had that effect on people.

Bennett produces a near identical plaster from the recesses of his pocket, grinning triumphantly and then squawking in surprise when the Stoneheart snatches it from between his fingers.

The kid would probably just insist on applying it himself- and that wasn't really fair, now was it?

This bandage had rounded corners instead of pointed ones- which didn't really mean anything- but Aventurine felt a bit proud of himself for spotting the difference. A bit soft in the center.

A shudder zips up his spine, like the cold hand of Death.

Moving on-

"You must get hurt a lot to just carry this on you, huh?" he asks, as he peels off the wax paper on the other side.

The kid flushes a little in embarassment, "Ah, heh... I guess, yeah? But that just comes with the territory of being an adventurer! And- with being as unlucky as I am- I've got a really high pain tolerance!"

That's not a good thing-! he wanted to retort.

But it's not his place, not his concern, and so he doesn't.

Being an adventurer though, huh? That made sense- that explained all the scars and bruises and scuffs.

At least a little bit.

Aventurine peels the bloody bandage off Bennett's nose with careful fingers, balling it up with the back of the plaster to flick towards a nearby trashcan.

Though... to his surprise.. it doesn't immediately go in, like it usually does.

No, just to be difficult it hits the rim first- and bounces up in an arc that has the Stoneheart resigning himself to walking over and throwing it away normally.

Damnit.

Except...

Things can't be that easy for him either. Because it does go in, eventually, but it has to make a production of it. Of bouncing again on the opposite side, and then succumbing to its fate.

"Woah..." Bennett breathes out, as Aventurine finishes smoothing out the new bandage as gently as he can muster, "That was so cool!"

"...It was, wasn't it?"

That feeling of anticipation... was kind of exhilarating. Was that how normal people felt? People who weren't cursed blessed with divine intervention?

Who was this kid?

Bennett looks at the poker chip still in his palm, his bright emerald eyes wide in what looks a little like awe.

"Maybe our lucks are rubbing off on each other, Benny," he can't helpt but tease, cringing a little as the nickname slips out.

Could he call the younger blond that? Was that too weird?

Bennett tenses up immediately, looking almost disproportionately terrified.

"Agh- no, I'm so sor-"

Oh.

Aventurine ruffles his hair, somewhat a little too aggressively. But he thinks it's justified, if the kid was just gonna beat himself up for no reason.

"There's no need to apologize. It's a good thing," the Stoneheart doubles down, shaking his noggin just for the fun of it, "I happen to have spectacular luck, I'll have you know."

One bright green eye peeks up at him from under impossibly fluffy bangs, "You do? Really?"

"I do. It reeeaally takes the fun out of winning."

Well.

Not completely.

If that were the case, he wouldn't gamble so much...

"It does?"

"Completely."

....but Bennett didn't need to know that.

Aventurine releases the kid's head as an almost thoughtful look clouds his sunny features, as he looks back down at the chip in his palm.

It's almost as if he's registering it for the first time, when he almost frantically thrusts it back towards the older blond.

"I never gave you your disk back-!"

Disk? How cute...

"Please, I-" can literally summon enough to flood a small island, "-have hundreds of those. Keep it."

Bennett sputters in shock. His eyes going from the chip, to Aventurine, to the chip, and back again in rapid succession.

"I- can't take this!" he wheezes out, "It looks expensive!"

...it's certainly not cheap.

"Think of it as... a memento of our friendship," the Stoneheart says instead, smiling his best people pleaser grin.

"But..." goodness, could he stop with the kicked puppy voice? It was making the older blond feel bad... "..I didn't give you anything.."

And...

Surpisingly, Aventurine finds himself laughing.

Of course that's what he's worried about...

Too kind for this world, this unlucky kid.

"Give me something the next time we meet then, Bennett."

It isn't until he's walking away, until waking up from this technicolor dream of honey and blood, that he realizes something.

He never gave that kid his name.

Well... Aventurine grins to himself- hidden in the privacy of the room he shared with a certain handsome doctor, there was always next time.

Watch over him, Gaiathra Triclops... please..

Someone that kind was only in for trouble.

[falling-star-cygnus]

heeeey etoile besties 🫶 i missed y’all -> I HAVE A PEACE OFFERING FOR MY INACTIVITY!

this is part of a mer au i'm still cooking in my drafts, where Gabin is a blue veiltail goldfish mer and Tobias is a selkie [specifically of a south african fur seal]

the gist? Jack is one of the very few humans that know mer-creatures exist. Intimately, that is. The Swap still happens ↓ though it largely follows Gabias while Jack has his Little Mermaid™ moment w/ Cheyenne and Genevieve

Tobias lives with Kevin- his boyfriend- and he thinks things are.. fine, between them. For the most part. Maybe a little quiet. A little stale... A little secretive. Gabin doesn't think they'll last, not when Tobias won't even tell the lame human what he is

[falling-star-cygnus]

My fic, Spit Out Your Tail [we're making things right] didn't do as well as I hoped it would, so i'm promoting it here.... again ↓ partially on me tbh, posting at 2am was a bad idea considering it'd just get buried under all the 5am posted fics

so here i am, hoping to entice you with this snippet or two muehehehe

also, i take requests!!! [both for art and fics]

[falling-star-cygnus]

a detail i love seeing in fanfics [and is canon in my mind] is Hiccup going back to the arena after the Zippleback scuffle to retrieve the eel he threw

Spit Out Your Tail [we're making things right] SUMMARY: At first, it hadn't bothered him- much. What he'd done to win that round of Dragon Training. But the memory lingers, sinking deep claws into his chest when he tries to sleep and haunting the back of his eyelids. That Zippleback had looked so scared.

trying a new format, to see what i like better 🤔 [please drop a comment or reblog if you enjoy!!! they really mean the world to your hopefully dear author <3 <3 <3]

[falling-star-cygnus]

i knew Viggo was going to die and yet... i am still fucking devastated 😭 -> there's something about the way he walked out of that hall with arrows in his back that guts me

though unfortunately, he really did do a lot of irredeemable awful things- so his death probably was the only way he could possibly atone for it

would it have been amazing to see him try anyway? to see him mock Dagur with his Skrill and get bugged out by Hiccup's near constant life or death shenanigans?

absolutely.

and i will forever mourn that possibility ↓ but rtte really did an amazing job with his arc and its conclusion

[falling-star-cygnus]

HELLO!? WHEN DID YOU HAVE TIME TO MAKE THAT!? ↓ and why did it never show up in RTTE...?

[falling-star-cygnus]

i'm watching The Rookie with my mama bc i've seen funny scenes and wanted to see what all the hype was about [i'm only on s2 ep2 so no major spoilers pretty please]

and- i'm realizing... that almost everybody in Brooklyn 99 outranks most the main cast

Jake Peralta outranks Tim Bradford ↓ now i invite you, please imagine Tim's absolute dread on the very rare instances they have to team up or be around each other [what are these instances you ask? what are you- a cop?]

[Grey has invited three detectives from Brooklyn's 99th precinct to run a sort of training/scout operation- one pretty.. dopey looking... and two with dark curly hair] [Officers start to filter in and sit in their seats- the rookies look confused, while their T.O's.. well, one T.O. starts to pale and the other starts to laugh at him] Tim, burying his head in his hands- like he already has a headache: ..no... no, no no.. Grey: Listen up, this is Detective Jake Peralta, Detective Rosa Diaz, and Detective Adrian Pimento- that's one for each of you. [he gestures to the rookies] Tim: ..no, god please, no- Grey: Officer West, you and Officer Lopez will go with Detective Pimento. [Lucy and Nolan shoot him sympathetic winces- Crazy Eyes over there seemed.. well crazy. Good luck, Jackson..] Grey: Officer Bradford- TIm, head shooting up: SIr- don't- don't pair me with him again, I will do whatever you want me to *he gestures to Lucy* Imagine how much my boot could learn- Grey: I agree, your boot could learn a lot. And so could you. Both of you will go with Detective Peralta [TIm closes his eyes and holds the bridge of nose- looking severely pained] TIm: ...yes, sir Jake: Alright, definitely not gonna think about that too hard. It's not gonna keep me up at night or anything. Nope. It's cool. Cool cool coolcool coolcoolcoo- [Rosa gives him a good, firm pat on the back]

this started as joke and now i'm a litte in love with the concept

[falling-star-cygnus]

"Hiccup, come forward. And hold out your hands."

I'M ACTUALLY SICK, WHY DOES HE LOOK SO SCARED -> frame by frame his expression is TERRIFIED once Stoick asks him to do that

[falling-star-cygnus]

you guys remember my Modern HtTYD Battery post? ↓ it was based off me, my mom gave me a quarter to lick a battery and i did it

i was also a leash kid, believe it or not, and i think Stoick would make Hiccup wear one any time they left the house together [he already lost Valka when she went out for a walk, he's not losing Hiccup when he wanders off for the nth time]

[Hiccup is standing sligjhtly behind Stoick, arms crossed as his dad's conversation drags on... and on.. and on] Hiccup, at a lull in the talk: Uh- dad? Shouldn't we... be, you know- on our way? Wouldn't want to- Stoick, waving him off without looking: It's fine, Hiccup. A few minutes won't kill us. Hiccup: ....make Gobber wait. Aaannd you've stopped listening. Of course... [The boy looks around, a sigh from deep in his bones rattling out of his chest, before something catches his eye... something glinting in the alley way next to them] [Hiccup glances back at his dad, to gauge how distracted he is, and then starts walking over on quick and quiet feet] [He gets so close! But as soon as he's about to take that final step... he realizes he can't. There's a very familiar tugging sensation on Hiccup's belt loop] Hiccup, looking down: What the- Oh, come on! SERIOUSLY DAD, AGAIN!? [It turns out to be carabiner, one of the kinds that lock, with a decent strip of rope leading back to Stoick] Stoick: Yes, seriously, Hiccup, now get back o'er here. Hiccup, staying stubbornly in place: I'm 15, dad, i thought we were passed this! Stoick, tugging on the 'leash': Clearly, we're not. [the two seem to have a stare-off... one that Hiccup quickly loses. He glares down at the ground as he walks back over, muttering under his breath about 'overweight old men'] Stoick, raising an eyebrow as a vein ticks on his forehead: What was that? Hiccup, jumping: Uh- nothing! Nothing, it's always nothing..

[falling-star-cygnus]

Hiccup being so comfortable grabbing and tugging at Snotlout's arm is one of my favorite things that the shows have done

bc hell yeah, that's his cousin! that's the guy he's been spending days upon days upon days living with on an island that only has 4 other people on it

ofc he's not worried about Snotlout, his only blood family on the Edge, throwing him to the ground with a look of utter disgust ↓ ofc he's not worried about being renounced again in the same breath

hey, has anyone else noticed that he doesn't really grab at Stoick?

[falling-star-cygnus]

i was thinking of my Detectives and Their Earrings series [on ao3] and that got me thinking of other piercings 🤔

imagine Charles seeing someone with a tongue piercing, and then wondering how a ghost would go about getting a piercing they hadn't died with. ears were relatively easy... but his tongue? hm..

[Charles is pondering this problem, leaning against their desk with his arms crossed, while Edwin fiddles with some item they'd taken as payment] Charles, under his breath: I wonder if I could just... Edwin, who had looked up when his partner started talking: Hm? [The 80's ghost works his jaw a little bit, and then lights up with a muffled noise of joyful surprise] Charles: I did it! [He sticks his tongue out, which now sports a golden stud on it's center] Charles: Oh, that's right brills, mate. I- mate? [Edwin is just staring, slightly slack-jawed. His eyes trail up to Charles', then back down to his mouth- then he forces them up again] [Charles rounds the desk to get a closer look at his suddenly mute friend] Charles, worried: Edwin? [The Edwardian suddenly snaps to attention, returning his eyes to the object he'd been messing with prior... prior to-] [Edwin clears his throat, thanking Death herself that blushing was one of many functions he'd lost since becoming a ghost] Edwin: Right- yes. Very good, Charles... er.. is that what you've been thinking about then? It looks quite nice [Charles seems suspicious but relents, taking up the spot he usually did when potential clients came around] [Then the last part of Edwin's rather stilted sentence registers, and rosy red spreads from his elfin ears to the bridge of his nose. And while the Edwardian was glad he had forgotten how to blush- he was even more pleased that Charles hadn't] Charles, sticking his tongue out again to look at it: You think so? [. . . . .] [Edwin gives up on focusing on the object and buries his face in his hands]