#Bey-Bey and Little Bird

[qloof]

changed vita's bey avatar/motif from the dove constellation to the thunderbird mythology <3 vita joins the "beyblade based on a big bird" club <3

[mincepiesandcheese]

Bei ihm piept's wohl...

So I'm innocently doing my German lessons on Busuu and I come across this:

And with Hetalia on the brain of course I think of him....

Ahh... it's all coming together, isn't it? Can we ask what Gilbird is exactly? In what sense does Gilbird.... exist? Is Gilbird merely a long-lived pet like Pochi-kun? If that's the case then why did I read a mysterious post on hetarchive.tumblr.com that Italy had seen Gilbird, but not acknowledged him??

Why is Gilbert awesome like a little bird anyway??

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

FIRST ROUND: 45th Tilt

Gu Tingye, The Story of Minglan (2018) VS. Sir Henry “Hotspur” Percy, The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Propaganda

Gu Tingye, The Story of Minglan (2018) Portrayed by: Feng Shaofeng Defeated Opponents: - Gündoğdu Bey [Kaan Taşaner], Resurrection: Ertuğrul {Diriliş: Ertuğrul} (2014-2019)

“Clever, kind, and loyal. Smart-ass of THE CENTURY. He puts up with no shit, plays a mean game of polo, kicks ass in war, and loves his wife only *slightly* less than he loves his children. He is sharp and sassy and sexy as hell--like a kind of Chinese James Spader. Hot Husband with a double capital "H".

Sir Henry “Hotspur” Percy, The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) Portrayed by: Joe Armstrong Defeated Opponents: - Prince Humperdink [Chris Sarandon], The Princess Bride (1987)

“This guy is so hot. A man of the people, no respect for authority, and hilarious to boot. He’s a little unhinged but in a totally compelling way. And incredibly sexually charged, especially Joe Armstrong’s version. That man is the number one wife guy. They have their little spats but it’s part of an insanely passionate romance and it’s very hot how much he clearly adores her and doesn’t care who knows it. I’ve seen a fair few productions of Henry IV Part I in my time and I love Hotspur regardless, but Joe Armstrong is the best to ever do it.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Gu Tingye:

For Hotspur:

I cannot believe that more of Tumblr is not out here advocating for this man. He is a Wife Guy! He is a small and angry man! He fantasizes about training a bird to annoy the king into doing what he wants! He is full of ill-advised snark! He is also... kind of a mess. He's an insomniac. His idea of an inspirational speech is to say "Die all! Die merrily!" (????) He has an intense and intensely homoerotic* rivalry with Prince Hal. *I'm making this argument because he dies with the prince finishing his sentence, which I feel is a very lovers-coded thing to happen in Shakespeare. Also, if memory serves, Hotspur comments on on Hal's close male friends (ahem) in a way that doesn't convince me he isn't jealous. I digress! But anyway! Hotspur, Weird Wife Guy of Shakespeare, everyone!

[bitimdrake]

pssssst hey quick question on the dl - who is helena bartinelli??

i cannot answer anon questions on the dl, so answer on the up-high, which she deserves:

HUNTRESS

a.k.a. Helena Bertinelli, a.k.a. Gotham's coolest and most notable antihero, crossbow-wielder, and purple bat-associated vigilante.

Helena was born to an Italian mob family, but spent her childhood blissfully unaware of the family business--until her entire family was slaughtered in front of her when she was eight. She stayed with family overseas for the rest of her childhood, learning how to fight and protect herself.

She came back to Gotham for both vengeance and justice, and became one of Gotham's many vigilantes. Though her focus is on the mob, she'll step in to stop any crime.

She's also a schoolteacher! Good for her.

She is discerning in who she chooses to kill, but she does kill. As you can imagine, this put her at odds with Batman for a long time. Helena is pretty much the premiere example of Bruce trying to claim control over every vigilante in Gotham, no matter how little right he has. The argument on killing/ethics is valid, but his default was basically "do exactly what I say and fall in line under my command, or stop completely," which is why he's an asshole control freak and why I'm constantly mad about how she was treated 👍

She was an absolute mainstay of the Batfamily before Flashpoint (2011) and it is personally hurtful to me that people don't know her. (Like, to be frank? She had far more of a presence than Damian or (living) Jason in the post-crisis era.)

You could count on seeing her in any major Batfamily crossover, from Cataclysm to Battle for the Cowl.

She was central to the biggest Batfamily crossover ever, No Man's Land, where Gotham was locked off from the rest of the country and turned into a lawless wasteland. Bruce left to sulk for the first couple of months and in absence of any other vigilantes in the field (only Oracle having remained in the city), Helena donned the mantle of the Bat for herself to protect the city. And when Batman came back, in return for all she'd done, she got...yelled at, assigned impossible tasks and criticized for not achieving them, her costume stolen and given to someone else, lied to, abandoned in the face of impossible odds, and shot multiple times protecting kids. Absolute fucking hero, honestly.

She also was on the Justice League for a while, though admittedly I have barely touched that run. To my understanding, despite nominating her for the position, Bruce was also the one to revoke her membership there.

Fortunately! things improved!!

In the early/mid 2000s, Helena joined the Birds of Prey, Oracle's team, and found legit friendships and support there with teammates like Dinah Lance/Black Canary. She finally got more respect in the community, and had a much better time.

Additional relationships include:

A big sister/annoying little brother type thing with Tim, who may disapprove of her killing but simply likes making friends too much :)

A great relationship with Vic Sage/the Question

One single issue where she met Steph that presented SUCH interesting potential that I desperately wish had been followed up on

On and off romantic/sexual tension with Dick, depending on the writer, which culminated in a single hook up that apparently most people around here would rather pretend didn't happen, though I really don't think it's that bad

A complicated relationship with Barbara, partially due to clashing personalities and conflicting morals (with Babs being nearly as much of a control freak as Bruce), and partially due to a shared history with Dick because DC loves making women be catty

Surely others from her first solo or time on the JLA that I don't know well enough to list!

She's rad and determined and takes no shit but cares a lot, and I love her. We deserve more stories tying her teaching day job into her night work. We also deserve more stories with her in general.

If you would like additional Helena beyond just cruising my tag, I recommend:

Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood - far more Huntress than Batman, this is a great 6-issue miniseries about Helena reckoning with her past, ft the Question.

Batman: No Man's Land - if you have the time for it, a big storyline but worth it.

Birds of Prey vol 1 (1999) - Helena starts to appear around issue #57 and becomes a central character from there.

[telomeke]

Get to Know Me Tag :)

I was tagged by @lamonnaie at this post here. Thanks for tagging me! 😍 It was such fun to read your responses; now here are mine. 🥰

do you make your bed?

Never ever. I'm pretty messy, and if I don't watch my hoarding tendencies I will morph into the worst pack rat. But I like a bit of clutter around me; I think it helps my creative side since my output (whether at work, or writing on Tumblr) is always tidy and tidied up to a fault, which can stifle creativity (at least that's what I tell myself! 🤣).

what's your favourite number?

Don't have one. However (even though I like to think I'm not superstitious) if I can I'll try to avoid the number 13 and anything with 4 in it...

what is your job?

Not gonna get too specific, but my work involves design, project management and construction.

if you could go back to school, would you?

I was too stressed out at school to want to repeat the experience. But I wouldn't mind a bit of time travel back to advise my younger self not to take things so seriously! 🤣

can you parallel park?

Yes. Not well, but the car will be fully in the lot eventually. 👍

a job you had that would surprise people?

Some minor modeling jobs when I was younger. Hush! I don't like to talk about it. 🤫 You wouldn't think it to look at me now (me 🤝 Ricky Gervais 😂).

do you think aliens are real?

There are too many planets out there for our little blue marble to be the only habitable one, so yes I do think there are aliens out there. I just don't think we've been visited by them yet though! (Aylin doesn't count. 🤩)

can you drive a manual car?

Yes. Mom taught me how to drive in one... until the day I jammed on the accelerator when she said "Step on it" and I almost up-ended us into a ditch. Then I was sent to driving school instead. 🤣

what's your guilty pleasure?

Ooh. It's this bad boy here:

Sadly I've been over-indulging, so chocolate is now banned from the house for the foreseeable future. I'm still lusting after it though. Other guilty pleasures: I do like a good nightcap, so any (gluten grain-free) alcohol makes me light up – cognac, cabernet, sherry, sake, port... (But I don't always know my limits, so this is now banned too.) And a steamin', stonkin', trashy BL every now and then (bonus if there's a nice muscley actor for me to get all googly-eyed over – shoutout Gap Jakarin!). 😁🥰

tattoos?

I like art and have fanboyed over beautiful tattoos before – but I'm put off by the permanence of them, so I have none myself. Don't like the idea of not being able to change them much once they're inked in, because I will always be wanting to change things up if I were to get one. And no, even for looking at I prefer an uninked bod over an inked one. It takes a lot of work to get a body in shape, and I can't understand someone wanting to cover up the results of their hard work at the gym. 🤷‍♂️

favorite color?

A deep, rich blue most of the time. But when the mood hits, I like a bright, bold red too.

favorite type of music?

My tastes are a bit eclectic, leaning lighter and not challenging. Anything with a strong melodic line will get me hooked. Bonus points if the lyrics can come together with the melody to tell a story, and elevate it even more. So – pop mostly, but I also like R&B, soul, light jazz and the odd heartfelt country ballad or foot-stomper (go Queen Bey! 😍). Also like things with a nostalgic bent (I melt at Karen Carpenter, Seals & Croft, and England Dan & John Ford Coley). And then throw in a couple of show tunes in there for good measure! My YouTube playlist is all over the place – Sheila Majid, New Country, Renaissance, Nunew, Miley Cyrus, Streisand, Li'l Nas X, Ayumu Imazu, The Carpenters, Clean Bandit, so many others, all side-by-side.

do you like puzzles?

I love them, especially word and logic puzzles. I'm always shouting over Pat and Vanna. 🤣

any phobias?

Oddly, not the usual suspects, but I'm a bit phobic about birds. They're just creepy up close, even though I find them fascinating and beautiful with a bit of distance. While the bog-standard creepy-crawlies don't bother me one bit – I'm the one always getting called in to whack the roaches and chase away rodents. I dream of getting a cobalt blue tarantula as a pet (but that's not going to happen for various reasons, alas).

favorite childhood sport?

I wasn't that sporty growing up (classic bookworm) but I did enjoy a bit of soccer when I got to play. But I guess my favorite was probably swimming, though I didn't compete.

do you talk to yourself?

All the time. There's a nonstop monologue going on in my head and I've been known to startle people by accidentally voicing that conversation out loud. So I've learnt not to do it around others. 🤣 And no I'm not hearing disembodied voices; it's just me keeping myself company (plus I find it helps me focus my thoughts).

what movies do you adore?

My all-time favorite: Cinema Paradiso; it really pulls unabashedly at the heartstrings, but then again I'm a sentimental fool and love it all the more for that. That's also why I like Love Actually, especially the scene where the repressed Jamie (Colin Firth) travels to Portugal in order to confess his feelings to Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz), having realized he loves her despite the language barrier, and doggedly learnt Portuguese just to make his declaration – and then he finds out that she, lovelorn and bereft, learnt English just in case ("just in cases") he came back. 💖 And my second favorite is from the other end of the spectrum, actually quite a bit before my time as well: Hello Dolly! 😆 Don't judge... A couple of songs in there are really amazing – Love is Only Love and Just Leave Everything to Me especially (which are not in the stage version) are mindblowingly good. The former is almost pithy in its bare-boned purity, all about looking at love without sentimentality while reprising themes heard earlier on in the musical; the latter has the among the cleverest lyrics set to music I've ever heard:

Streisand is in fine fettle portraying a campier, more youthful incarnation of Dolly. Such a shame it was not better received. The costumes are spectacular too.

coffee or tea?

Coffee (or rather the caffeine it contains) is my drug of choice, and I drink buckets of it. But I like a good cuppa when I'm feeling nostalgic and/or sentimental, because tea is what I drank a lot of growing up – at my gran's there would be a perpetually-replenished, giant kettle of dark, bitterish Oolong on the sideboard for whenever you felt like some (which was often), while at home there was always a big pot of tea on the table in the morning, that would then be set to chill in the refrigerator after breakfast. I would always have an ice-cold milk tea with the papers when I got home from school, and it was my favorite daily ritual.

first thing you wanted to be growing up?

A paleontologist – like a lot of kids I loved dinosaurs, and I can still rattle off the names of the more well-known ones (including every one in Jurassic Park 👀). But that got pushed aside for more practical considerations later. Still wish I'd explored my second childhood ambition more though, which was to be a writer/journalist. Maybe that's why I like posting so much on Tumblr! 😍

Onward tagging (too many people as usual, but no pressure to play if you don't want to or can't 🥰): @hughungrybear, @relativelydimensional, @neuroticbookworm, @wen-kexing-apologist, @waitmyturtles, @airenyah, @twig-tea, @solitaryandwandering, @recentadultburnout, @lurkingshan, @grapejuicegay,@bengiyo, @urikawa-miyuki, @pickletrip, @suni-san, @kattahj, @dimplesandfierceeyes, @7nessasaryevils, @imminentinertia, @befuddledcinnamonroll, @pandasmagorica, @nihilisticcondensedmilk,@shortpplfedup, @rokklagio, @thegalwhorants, @brazilian-whalien52, @callipigio, @respectthepetty, @corettaroosa, @colourme-feral, @virtualtadpole, @aroceu, @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas, @delesaria-blog, @dribs-and-drabbles, @inventedfangirling, @jiirotu, @visualtaehyun @happypotato48,@akawrites000, @kleopatras-cat, @dc-alves, @toschistation, @lovelyghostv

I've been tagged by others in various tag games over the past few weeks but have been too busy with work to be able to play. 😭 Not gonna post half-assed replies if I can help it, but then I'm always beset by dread thinking people might assume I'm ignoring them for whatever silly reason. But I just haven't had the time until now.

If you've tagged me and I've not responded, please know that I really wanted to but I just kept getting sidetracked by urgent deadlines. (In fact, my drafts folder is full of half-written tag game responses that are too far beyond their use-by date to ever see the light of day. 😮) So to any and all who see this, please accept my apology for not replying to your tags and invites, and if you'd like to play along with this one even if I haven't tagged you directly (and you have the time for it) – please do so! I'd love to read your responses! 😍

[loveyazy]

Hi! So I haven't read acotar (well a little bit but it didn't hook me) but I've been reading your posts about the upcoming book and I'm so curious, I don't know these characters but the second hand gossip is fun and I'm rooting for them lol when does the book come out? when will it be announced who the protagonists are?

JSHDKAKJSD I had written so much on my phone but then I closed all the apps and I lost it so hopefully I can remember most of it still.

The thing is it's OBVIOUS it's going to be Elain. She has even said in this interview x at 25:00. I don't know why people genuinely think GWYN is going to be the next book 🫠. Her purpose was to help Nesta. Outside of that, there is not much left to tell of her story. It's done. TBH, I completely forgot she even existed after I finished reading ACOSF. Like I kept seeing posts about her on my insta discover, and I was like who tf is Gwyn? 💀

Also just... ELAIN IS THE THIRD ARCHERON SISTER. How can it NOT be about her when Feyre had the first three and then Nesta had the fourth? Like it's so painfully obvious. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just delusional.

Even if it's not Elain and it happens to be Mor, it's NOT going to be Gwyn before Elain LMFAO.

But this is why I think it's going to be Elriel and not Elucien.

Firstly, Koschei the Deathless. The story follows Ivan marries his THREE SISTERS to THREE WIZARDS.

Ivan saw his three sisters wed to the first suitors who came across them—wizards in the form of birds.

Hmmm THREE SISTERS. BIRDS >>>> BATS. 👀

Eventually Ivan goes on to defeat Koschei with the help of his sisters and their husbands.

And then we have another Koschei retelling. The FOX and the FIREBIRD. Listen Sarah was not subtle with the names. Vasalisa >> Vassa. Lucien had a fox mask in ACOTAR, making him the obvious fox. You can read more on it here but I'm going to do a quick summary.

A king has a garden that produces one gold apple a day, but it was stolen every night. He promised half his kingdom to whichever son could catch the thief. He has three sons, and they all tried to catch it. The third son saw the firebird and shot at it, and hit the bird in the wing, but it escaped and left behind a golden feather. The king wants the fire bird and promises whoever brings the fire bird alive would get half the kingdom and be the heir. So they all go out to find the Fire Bird, and they all encounter a Red Fox.

The fox approaches each prince, and asks for something to eat, but the first two shoot at it. The third prince shares his food. So the Red Fox takes him to the palace where the fire bird is and tells him how to grab the fire bird by putting it in the wooden cage, not the golden. Well, the prince says how can a lovely bird be in a wooden cage and proceeds to put it back in the golden, but then basically sounds an alarm and he gets arrested. The King tells him to bring him back a golden man.

The fox says he'll help the prince, but of course the prince is a dumbass and goes I'm gonna choose the pretty one instead of the one the fox told me to choose and he gets arrested and this king says bring back Princess Goldilocks from the Golden Palace in the Black Sea.

Anyways it goes on and the third brother is betrayed by his other two, and the fox brings him back to life. In the end he gets the kingdom, the firebird, Goldilocks, etc. The fox is very instrumental in this story.

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ALL OF ACOTAR

We have hints that Lucien and Vassa are very close. They talk to each other. Plus they live together along with Jurian.

Plus if it was going to be Elucien there would be hints that Elain even had romantic feelings for him. Even a little attraction. She doesn't. She literally stares at a boiling tea kettle until he leaves because she doesn't want to spend any time with him.

She wants nothing to do with him. And yes sure she says she doesn't want a male, but remember that she is still dealing with the traumatic events of being forced into the cauldron and being changed.

This though, happens a year later with Azriel...

Imagine seeing this in the most recent book, and thinking they're like siblings. Sounds like the antis have some sort of incesty weird freaky ass sibling relationships. 😬

This also happens in the book, which I believe is during the same time? But Az's was a bonus chapter and this was available to everyone.

Elain is not herself around Lucien. I don't understand how anyone can see their relationship and think that's going to be endgame. This was the most recent book.

Even before ACOSF, Nesta and Cassian had this in the previous book that alluded to their romance.

But there is absolutely nothing to allude to any sort of Elucien romance. Elain wants NOTHING to do with Lucien. And honestly, I don't blame her. Who would? He was a part of the most traumatic thing that ever happened to her.

I'll never understand Elucien shippers. If you like Lucien, why would you ship him with someone who wants nothing to do with him? If you like Elain why would you ship her with someone she wants nothing to do with?

I'm 10000000% convinced the Elucien shippers are just Gwynriels who ship them so they can have their ship justified, but most of their evidence is just their headcanons, and them not being able to read between the lines and interpreting things very wrong.

[kozmicmizuu]

ok- soooo… my brain thought of smth a tiny bit fucked but the i remembered this is kny and atla so it’s ok to be fucked. so, in the series water benders are like- not really in the war, but they were basically taken from the south tribe for war reasons. the angst in my brain is that the southern tribe in this au is where urokodaki would train all of this students (yes, the past dead ones are alive in this) and then the demons attacked (they’re basically the fire nation in this).

(also in this au in my take (you can see how you’d like) the demons aren’t really demons. they’re human, but they use this fucked up branch or rather a “weed” of the breath-bending that’s the equivalent of dark magic basically.)

they just took everyone with no remorse for anything, and then they found out that water’s conductive. sooooo- torture via electricity was used to make the water benders weapons of war!!! yay!!

giyuu was considered one of the best in the small tribe (i think between him, sabito, and makomo, giyuu was the one to completely master water breathing and well- survived canon). shock collars were obviously used- cause this is demons we’re talking about.

giyuu and basically all of the tribe were just abused for years (lets use giyuu’s age as a reference). the tribe was taken when giyuu was 8- the controlling and abuse didn’t stop until giyuu was 19. basically instead of him finding tanjiro, tanjiro found him.

you can only imagine how just aggressive giyuu was, a major contrast to his usual calm and stoic personality. tanjiro probably couldn’t even get close without giyuu being violent so he called for backup from the corps/friends. let’s say that sanemi and shinobu and kyojuro were sent there (sanemi was there in case of a fight.) to say that giyuu’s condition was worrying would be an understatement.

literally every single water breather was fucked- they needed the moon for spiritual healing but we’re never given the chance to see it for god knows how long, barely any food or water. kyojuro probably threw up when he saw kids in there. sanemi was just pissed about this, a whole ass tribe was ignored by the world. also don’t worry, literally no one is dead from the water tribe. but idk of that’s a good thing tbh….

it took them literally forever to get giyuu to trust them, like trying to tame a wild animal. but the simplest thing is what got literally the whole tribe to trust them, the promise of seeing the moon and sea again. tanjiro was just happy to see the southern tribe from the stories, but so sad that they were like this for 11 years. the moment they even opened the door for the tribe- it was literally like setting caged birds free. though urokodaki was the one who told the four, “thank you” and followed his students into the beach on a full moon.

also the shock collars took some time to remove, no one really sat still at all, or some stood unnervingly still. shinobu knew that it would them literal years to recover from all of that trauma, potentially a whole lifetime. kyojuro probably sobbed his sweet little heart out when he saw them so happy on the beach (emotional bitch), sanemi was still fuming, mf was READY to put an end to this war. he just imagined genya in this situation and was like “no i im not letting this slide” and proceeded to sink the entire fleet that did this to the tribe (W sanemi).

sighhhh this thought happens from remembering the episode of when katara found another water bender from the southern tribe (holy fuck i can’t remember the name) and she ended up being fucked in the head after all.

so, does that mean giyuu can be feral and deranged when he’s completely ticked off?? yes, more feral giyuu content for the starving people. he’d be so much more intense with any threat (maybe like when azula was going a bit silly) but after the threat is gone he’s just “woopsie daisies my bad yall”

they ended up taking the tribe to the corps and basically giving them a safe place to heal and relax. gyomei ended up being good friends with a lot of them because water benders are very sweet to him and the kids thought he was cool (a little scary at first). giyuu, bless his soul, was found by tengen immediately. mf knew he HAD to befriend this guy, sabito wasn’t having it tho so know there’s sabito and tengen beef.

anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk about this fucked up lil thing… i’m not okay because i started typing this out at 8 in the morning…

[mintichoco]

01 | Resonance

[neteyam x metkayina!oc/reader]

summary. when push comes to shove, Ri'sha supposes a little fraternizing with the outsiders won't hurt anyone.

developer notes. you can imagine y/n but a name makes it easier for me to write...hehe.

previous ▪︎ next

Ri'sha didn't understand what the near-crazy fawning over water was. Don't get her wrong, she loved every sea creature from the smallest fish to the biggest Tulkun but it was this knack of her clansmen to spend almost all day in the water — from dawn to eclipse — that really confused her.

Nonetheless, she wasn't exempt from her friends' adventures to secure secluded coves exclusive to them, just like their parents and grandparents before them, like a rite of passage. And often she got dragged along to far-off coordinates, almost crossing the reef but never bold enough to actually do it.

That meant she too had to wake with those troublesome conch horns. Some of them woke up even before that, eager to start hunting! How, she knew not.

But today was different. It was as she sat on the warm sand, basking under the rays of the sun that they sounded again. The children whom she had allowed to compete for burying her underneath the silver crystals that made up the shore halted.

Catching her breath from impish fingers tickling her skin, Ri'sha sat up, equally lost as the wide-eyed children. Her frown deepened as the adults started filtering out of their marui pods, trickling onto the coast like a cast of crabs.

At a small grasp tugging at her hand, she looked down at Siret. The little boy chewed on his lower lip, bouncing on his two feet. "Ri'sha, eclipse is a long way away, right? What's happening now?"

Upon his pondering, the rest broke out of their daze. Uameä scrunched her nose, spotting her mother amongst the crowd quickly advancing towards their little group. "Is playtime over already?"

"Children!" Nimah called out, dashing towards them as she scooped her daughter up from the sand. "You must return to your parents. They are all looking for you. You too, Ri'sha. Hurry!"

Kir stomped his feet on the ground. "I don't want to return! We've only just begun playing!"

Ri'sha placed a hand on the child's head, keeping him from running into the water. "Ay, lì’fyeng si!" (Hey, be respectful!) She nodded at the crowd forming behind them, "What is with the sudden gathering?"

The panic settling in her gaze was as clear as day. The woman hesitated, turning away and ushering the kids along before muttering in an aghast tone for only her to hear, "Forest dwellers."

Getting the children to their parents was not the hard part, it was finding said adults in the wave of them huddling around Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk. Paired with the bubbling feeling in her stomach — be it anxiety or excitement — her curiosity was bursting at the seams of her patience.

Finally, she broke through to the small parting at the end of the shore. Her eyes were drawn to the giant Ikran, their skin a clash of blues, greens and spontaneous red or yellow embellished saddles.

But glancing at the people in front of these predator birds, she could not restrain a quiet gasp. They were. . .extraordinarily blue!

Lithe bodies that were nothing like the stockier Metkayina, broad shoulders, tall gait and thin tails flickering behind them — these were the forest people.

Ri'sha didn't know exactly what she had expected but they were far beyond any picture she had drawn in her mind when her mother described them to her. They were, simply put, unique.

And dare she say, beautiful!

As if he had somehow heard her, the taller of the two teen boys snapped his head towards her. His golden gaze was vibrant, inquisitive and full of awe. She bit back a laugh. Seemed like her village, tended to render the foreigners speechless.

But her amusement did not last long.

"We have done it once, Ronal. We can do it again. Besides, turning them away is not right. They seek help, they don't want trouble."

Ronal grated her teeth, baring her fangs. "It is unusual beyond adaptation. We cannot just let them into water knowing they are physically incapable of keeping up. How different will it be from turning them away? You know what happened once, will you be keen on repeating your mistake again?"

Ri'sha had barged in during a heated exchange between them. It was moments like these she cursed her inability to read social cues. Fortunately, they were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice her.

"Mother, it's Ri'sha!"

She halted in her backtracking only to glare at Ao'nung who smiled slyly. Ronal swiveled on her feet, pinning her with a sharp look. She hissed, "You! Where have you been? I've searched everywhere looking for you!"

Ri'sha lowered her head. It was hard trying to portray some semblance of guilt when she clearly felt none. "Oeyä sap'alute (my apologies). I was with the children. They wanted to play."

She pointedly avoided looking at the newcomers. It was bad enough she was getting scolded in front of the whole village, she couldn't imagine what these people would make of her character. Well, too late to worry about that now.

The Tsahìk frowned, "You need to be more responsible, girl." She turned back to her mate, "Fine. If you will let them stay, they must learn to live with our rules, adhere to our ways. Only then I will accept them as our own."

Tonowari stayed silent for a long while, contemplating her words. At last, he gave a brisk nod. "That is fair." He turned to his people, gesturing towards the new family, "They will stay with us. Treat them as your brothers and sisters, teach them our ways. They will be like babies taking their first breath; be patient with them. So that they do not have to live with the burden of being useless!"

The father let his youngest child down from his embrace, placing his hand on her shoulder, "What do we say?"

She was giddy with newfound relief. "Thank you!" Ri'sha smiled at her, already scheming about how to take the girl as her charge.

Tomowari tilted his head in acknowledgement before pointing at his children who straightened their stance on cue. "My children — Tsireya and Ao'nung and my niece Ri'sha will help your kids with their hunting. Learn well."

Ao'nung went to complain but the Olo'eyktan had spoken. Ri'sha rubbed her eyes, taking the lead to help the forest Na'vi with their belongings. She took a crate from the mother, moving behind Tsireya in search for an empty pod.

"We're giving them that one?" Ri'sha balked as they walked — or more appropriately, bounced on the walkways connecting the marui nestled between large groves.

Tsireya shrugged, almost dropping the sack made from the bark of trees held in her arms, "Woah— yes, mother said it is the only one big enough for them to be comfortable. Besides, I'm sure you can do with some neighbors."

They rounded a corner, their guests following silently with the exception of Tuk, who took the initiative to copy Ri'sha as the older girl bounced ahead. Step one of gathering another student was successfully proceeding.

Just then, some rustling was heard from one of the two pods at the very rear of the village, almost along the waterline. Ri'sha tried to speed up the group but there was not nearly enough time and too many of them.

Her mother emerged from behind the flaps blowing alongs the salty wind that pricked her skin. She raised a brow, crossing her arms. "And where were you all day long?"

Neteyam came to a stop, nearly bumping into Kiri's back when their group halted abruptly. Lo'ak wasn't so lucky and nearly took their sister down with him into the water had it not been for him holding them back by their shoulders.

Kiri glared at Lo'ak, also at him for some reason, and clutched the threaded fabric wrapped around her shoulders closer. He had asked what it was for when they landed and she'd revealed that she felt so exposed without the cover of trees that almost touched the sky and shielded them. He agreed.

"What's the hold up?" She grumbled, Lo'ak tugging on her tail and earning a smack with the appendage. "By Eywa, one more time you-"

"Kids", their father's voice reminded them that they were not at Hometree, surrounded by the comfort of familiarity.

Neteyam peered over his mother's shoulder and got a peek at a Metkayina woman who blocked their way.

The Olo'eyktan's neice — Ri'sha sheepishly turned around, running to the empty marui beside them to drop the crate full of utensils before coming back again. "I was by the water, mother", she replied.

"And what were you doing there? I told you that you were to help me pick out—" Her mother paused, blinking owlishly at his family. Neteyam found it absurd that she'd taken this long to notice their not-so-usual appearance.

"Oel ngati kameie", his mother addressed the woman, turning towards them and hinting for them to do the same.

The children dropped their head, bringing their hand up to their forehead and down.

Instead of answering in kind, her expression turned sour. The woman chose to ignore them, haughty words hissed at her daughter, "What business do they have here?"

Ri'sha twirled a loose curl around her finger. "Tsahìk thought it best to let them be assisted by someone who knows their culture."

Used to our culture?

Before he could ask or even wonder what she meant by that, Ri'sha's mother looked at them disdainfully and she stormed away.

"What was that all about?" Lo'ak broke the terse silence. Nobody had a clue.

At last, Tsireya sighed, patting Ri'sha on her upper arm, whispering something in her ear. She wore a crestfallen expression, a stark difference from her playful nature that he'd seen in the short while he had known of her existence. He decided, it didn't suit her at all.

"That was mother", she replied tentatively. "She doesn't like visitors, much less Omatikaya people."

Whether she meant it like that or not, his mother took some offence in that statement. And so did he, though he tried not to show it. "Why us? We do not even know you all."

"No you don't", the girl agreed, her hand ghosting above the singular crescent tattoo around her left eye. "Grudges can oftentimes be irrational." Then, she smiled but it was clearly strained. "I will not burden you with my problems on the first day", she jested, beckoning them over to what was going to be their new home.

It was spacious enough to let all of them gather in one place to rest. The sensible part of Neteyam said it was enough but the child in him yearned for the large, twining branches with the luminous vines he was so accustomed to. It will have to do until they returned home.

Jake walked in first, assessing the pod. Here and there were little trinkets made of seashells and corals. Ri'sha chuckled as she saw them, pulling out a long vine threaded with dried leaves. "This used to be my playroom. I will clean it up for you."

Neytiri stepped in after them, dropping the mattress on the ground. "No, let them be. They serve as a link to memories. It is special to you, is it not?"

Ri'sha smiled, nodding.

"I'll be heading out, now. Lessons start early tomorrow", Tsireya quipped as she bowed her head at the Sully family and took her leave.

"Thank you for you help", Jake looked at her as Tuk ran around the length of their pod, circling him.

"No, I must thank you for not being cross with me. My mother's actions were unfair."

A hand was placed on her shoulder. Neytiri smiled at the girl, "You should not apologise, you did nothing wrong. You have already helped us a lot. Thank you."

"Hey, it's an Ikran", Tuk spoke up as she came across a painting on the canvas wall. "It looks real!"

"The wings are crooked and the head is not that round", Lo'ak interjected. "But it's decent."

Ri'sha snorted at his pointers, "Thanks for the tips. Ten year old me would've appreciated that."

"You drew that?" Neteyam walked up behind his brother, squinting his eyes at the picture. Tuk was right; though the proportions were a bit crooked, it looked real. "It's really good."

She fought back a flush at the barrage of compliments, "Uh-huh, thanks. Anyway, come to the shore later to get your food. We have a tradition of sharing our catch. And be there in the morning too, we'll start on your breathing! See you tomorrow!"

Neteyam watched as the girl bounced away the same path they had just walked on, several thoughts forming in his head. And quite troubling was the fact that it started with her big blue eyes and ended with her astounding art skills.

"Wait. . .how do you learn to breathe again?"

Notes :

i have no idea where this came from. let's just say, I walked out of the cinema a changed woman.

anyway, here's this mini-series for my precious baby Nete. why'd he have to go and die, huh?! :<(

btw, Ri'sha looks like that middle pic. it's actually a background character but she's so beautiful! i couldn't resist ^_^

[touloserlautrec]

OC Deep Dive Tag

Thanks for tagging me, @pandoras-comment-box! (Check out their deep dive here and read about two of my blorbos!)

Rules: answer the following questions for your OCs!

I'm gonna mix it up and not limit this just to Sunset OCs for once! Weird. I'll answer for Alex (from Sunset), Lux (My mech pilot/mechanic), and Piper (my freckled punk dream-walker).

What uncommon/common fear do they have?

Alex- Purposelessness Lux- Hurting someone he'd rather keep safe Piper- Abandonment

Do they have any pet peeves?

Alex- Being treated like he's not capable Lux- When people try not to crack a smile for the sake of appearances Piper- Sore losers

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

Alex- (When he had a bedroom of his own) a laptop covered in stickers, a good bluetooth speaker, colorful clothes that should have been folded and put away but are in a crumpled pile instead Lux- A desk covered in tools and little robot toys he's been tinkering with building, a fluffy blanket, a framed photo of his mother Piper- An easel and paints, an electric keyboard, a record player and his vinyl collection

What do they notice first in a person?

Alex- Their posture Lux- Their smile Piper- He notices their smell first but he tries to look for their butt first

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

Alex- At the start of Sunset vol 1, probably a solid 6/10, but by Vol 3 he's (unfortunately) closer to a 9/10 Lux- 7/10 Piper- He's very smol, you see. 3/10

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Alex- Fight Lux- Fight Piper- Flight or Freeze

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

Alex- Alex was raised by (very dysfunctional) adoptive parents until he was 14, then found his found family, who he's very dedicated to. And it tends to grow. Lux- It was just Lux and his mother when he was growing up, but he'd definitely consider himself a family person. She's gone now, but he's far from lonely or isolated. Piper- Piper bounced from foster home to foster home, and has developed a heck of a wall around himself. His found-family has found him though-- he just has to realize it's safe to let them in.

What animal represents them best?

Alex- A feral orange cat Lux- An industrious, curious squirrel Piper- A scrappy little mutt of a dog who thinks it's bigger than it is

What is a smell that they dislike?

Alex- Antiseptic cleaner Lux- Raw meat Piper- Cooking mushrooms

Have they broken any bones?

Alex- Yup (fighting monsters tends to do that) Lux- So many (war tends to do that) Piper- Nope!

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Alex- Early in Sunset: That queer little shit with the burn scar on his cheek and cherry-red hair. Later on in Sunset: The short guy with long hair, covered in scars and tattoos. Looks like someone you probably don't want to tangle with, but he's got a cute butt. Lux- The guy with the a robotic arm and blue hair. Piper- Little gutter punk with freckles and long hair.

Are they a night owl or a morning bird?

Alex- Night owl and then some Lux- More of a morning person Piper- Night owl

What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

Alex- Hate: bitter things; Love: cheesy flavors Lux- Hate: artificial chocolate flavor; Love: cinnamon Piper- Hate: watermelon; Love: sour candy

Do they have any hobbies?

Alex- When he's got the luxury of hobbies, Alex enjoys dancing, video games, music Lux- Lux tinkers and builds little robotic toys in his spare time, and usually drops them off with local charities for kids Piper- Piper's a painter and a musician. He plays piano and sings, and noodles around with weird, experimental music.

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises?

Alex- It's not really a surprise, because he's a psychometrist and almost certainly Read the history of people planning it before it happens. But he'd totally eat it up nonetheless. Lux- Lux would be totally overjoyed. He loves surprises, trying new things, laughing, getting curious, being silly... He'd be thrilled. Piper- Piper would initially panic and freeze, then be suspicious of the whole thing and get a little cagey, but he'd express gratitude and do his best to have a good time.

Do they like to wear jewelry?

Alex- Yes, to a point- he has stretched ears so he always wears plugs, and as the story unfolds, he starts wearing a specific necklace that has a lot of meaning to him. He'd probably wear more if it were feasible with his on-the-run life. Lux- He has a few earrings, but otherwise no. Lux is pretty practical and utilitarian. Even his blue hair is natural--he'd never put in the effort to maintain a dye job. Jewelry is the same. Piper- Yes! He is pierced, wears necklaces and bracelets-- pentacles and ankhs and inverted crosses, thumb rings, safety pins galore... You get the idea.

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

Alex- Super messy. Alex didn't learn to properly read and write until he was 14, and it's more or less reflected in his handwriting. Lux- It's the kind of all-caps printed chicken scratch that looks nice on a page when you look at it as a whole, but when you try to read it, it's harder to decipher. Piper- Very neat. He always manages to write in perfectly straight lines on blank sheets of paper, which is very annoying to the rest of us humans.

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Alex- Love, pride Lux- Joy, melancholy Piper- Fear, defensiveness

Do they have a favorite fabric?

Alex- Hoodies Lux- Sturdy canvas Piper- Flannel

What kind of accent do they have?

Alex- Alex is American but spends of a lot of time living and traveling through Europe, so that influences it in subtle ways. Lux- Lux is an alien, but has something of an American Southern lilt (in the immortal words of The Doctor, "Lots of planets have a South") Piper- Very subtle American Mid-western accent

That was fun! Thanks for reading :D I'll tag: @mk-writes-stuff @winterandwords @an-elegant-void @revenantlore and @scribe-of-stories if you're into it!

Here are the blank questions: What uncommon/common fear do they have? Do they have any pet peeves? What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom? What do they notice first in a person? On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance? Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? Do they come from a big family/are they a family person? What animal represents them best? What is a smell that they dislike? Have they broken any bones? How would a stranger likely describe them? Are they a night owl or a morning bird? What is a flavor they hate and a flavor they love? Do they have any hobbies? Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprises? Do they like to wear jewelry? Do they have neat or messy handwriting? What are the two emotions they feel the most? Do they have a favorite fabric? What kind of accent do they have?

[elvenking42]

100 New Things I Checked Out in 2023

It's the end of the year and I wanna make a list of media I checked out. Movies, shows, books, songs, etc. I like getting to talk about all this stuff! If you wanna know what something made the list, just ask! I'd love to talk more about it!

Tyrellosolo New Years art

Wingspan (2019) 

INU-OH (2021)

Two Earthlings - John Brosio 

Zip Gun Bop - Royal Crown Revue

Super Mario Brothers: Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986)

Forest (2017) 

Fantastic Planet (1973)

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) 

Bei Mir Bist du schon - Ella Fitzgerald

Connordraws I Sing to my Cat

Contact (1978)

Donks (2023)

Dynasty AMV

Eddie burback- The Deceptive World of Ghost Kitchens

Ice Merchants (2022)

 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) 

Womanizer - Britney spears

The Super Mario Bros Movie (2023) 

MilleBourne (1954) 

The Birds (1963)

RRR (2022)

 Pigdemonart - Bowuigi Comics

Everydaylouie 's 3d blender work

Guide to Heraldry - Ottfried Neubecker (1980)

Buss Down Wig - Baddie Brooks

Genius Party Anthology (2007)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

Pretty fly (for a white guy) - The Offspring

Millennium Actress (2001)

God's Alternative Medicine - Knowing Better

On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes - Alexandra Horowitz (2013)

Blackberry (2023)

The Flintstones (DC Comic) (2016)

Maintenance Phase Podcast

The Bus - Paul Kirchner (1987)

Nimona (2023)

Black book of hours

Nintendo World Universal

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Daydream - Timeshare 94

Jerma House Flipper invitational

Pokemon Sleep (2023)

Atlantic Oscillations (disco dub) - Quantic

Barbie (2023)

Don't You Want My Love - Moodymann

Good Omens S2 (2023)

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (2007) 

Even Flow - Pearl Jam

Host Club 'Ai Honten' - Tokyo, Japan (1971-2020)

TMNT Mutant Mayhem (2023)

No Diggity - Black Street

Expansions 12" Mix - Scott Grooves

Planet of the Bass - DJ Crazy Times

I Love Hue (year)

Canisalbus: body heat

Horny '98 Radio Edit) - Mousse T

We Love Katamari + Royal Reverie (2023) 

Music theory and White Supremacy - Adam Neely

Rope (1948) 

 Sanctus-ingenium: who are you loyal to, who are you lying to? 

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson

Joseph Melhuish - "Some Dogs"

Jacob Geller- How Can We Bear To Throw Anything Away?

Novov - Interactive Art Museum

Thefaiao - Ganondorf practicing piano commission

Russian picture book illustrations by E.Bulatov and O.Vasilev

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (1998) 

Bacardi Raising Spirits ad

Curse of Strahd (2016)

Black Magic Woman - Santana

OFMD S2 (2023)

Dynasty AMV

The Owl and the Pussycat - Scott Gustafson

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Soylent Green (1973)

Christian Riese Lassen's digital gallery

Oye Como Va - Santana

Guardian deity, Thunder God, Wind god - Mori Yoshitoshi

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) 

 Scavengers Reign (2023)

 WRTV Sonic Forum Simulator

A Little Night Music

Monkey Gone to Heaven - Pixies

Mike's Mic - Scooby Doo 2002

Wasteland Weekend - People Make Games

Lethal Company (2023)

Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls

Don't Speak - No Doubt

George Sherwood Hunter "Jubilee Procession in a Cornish Village"

Plagiarism and You(Tube) - Hbomberguy

Rainbow War (1985) 

Ezlo-x’s Lost Family LoZ Fancomic 

Ocarina of Time manga (2012)

Suolaxier's fursuits

Doctor who: Wild Blue Yonder (2023)

How Do You Smoke a Weed? - Owlin (year)

Mario Wonder (2023)

A Tiger in the Land of Dreams - Tiger Tateishi (1984)

[hunting-songs]

Tagged By: A little bird! Tagging: @skarletchains @bewitchingbaker @gyofukuki @uzumakiuser @jxgi @thaneirstaer @rake-rake @distortedkilling @swxpped @muddsludge @curseisms @zealctry @saiakv @huntcrpcdia ...and YOU!

Repost don’t Reblog!!

HOW TO: USING ONLY SONGS FROM ONE ARTIST, CLEVERLY ANSWER THESE NINE QUESTIONS AND THEN TAG 10 PEOPLE.

WHATS YOUR GENDER. "Henkersbraut" By Subway to Sally Kein Myrtenkranz im schwarzen Haar Kein Schleier und kein Traualtar Kein Priester für das Ritual Der Brautigam verfemt und kahl Er nennt sie leis sein kleines Weib Und mustert ihren dürren Leib Die Gasteschar im Lumpenkleid Drängt sich um sie und lacht und schreit No Flowers in her hair No veil and no weddingaltar No father for the ritual The groom is a stranger and calvous He calls her quiet (soft); his (sweet) little wife and eyes her sick body The guests in rags dance around her and laugh and scream.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF. "Wechselbalg" By ASP Das Innerste geäußert Und aufs Äußerste verinnerlicht Ein Wechselbalg Die Welt getauscht The innermost exposed and to the utmost internalized A changeling Switched the world

HOW DO YOU FEEL? "Spiel des Lebens" By Ignis Fatuui. Ein Spiel, das jeder von uns kennt, bei dem es keine Regeln gibt. Ein jeder ist hier Spielfigur und jede Runde endet nur mit einem Ziel, es ist kein Sieg. Weil jeder von uns fliegt. Es geht um Leben oder Tod, (Wo-o-o-o) bei diesem Spiel, das "unser Leben" heißt. Auf uns wartet nur der Tod. (Wo-o-o-o) Nimm diesen Tanz, als wenn es dein letzter wär.

A game everybody of us knows, without rules Everybody is the token here and every round just ends- With a finish. It's never a victory, because everyone of us drops out of the game It's about life or death (Wo-o-o-o) In this game that's called our life Only death is waiting for us (Wo-o-o-o) So take this dance as if it is your last one.

IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? "Wieder unterwegs" By Saltatio Mortis. Wir ziehen weiter, immer weiter Bis der Mond die Sonne verführt Bis der Himmel die Erde berührt Immer weiter, immer weiter Bis der Mond die Sonne verführt Zu dem Orte wo der Himmel die Erde berührt Mein Ohr vernimmt Mir unbekannte Sprachen Ergibt sich schnell Der fremden Melodie Ich singe laut Noch nie gesung'ne Lieder Im Schein des Feuers Und vergesse nie

We move on, further and further Until the moon seduces the sun Until where the sky Touches the earth On and on, on and on Until the moon seduces the sun To that place Where the sky touches the earth My ear hears Languages unknown to me Surrenders quickly to The foreign melody I sing loudly Songs never sung before In the light of the fire And never forget

DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY. "Julia und die Räuber" By Subway to Sally. Blut, Blut Räuber saufen Blut Raub und Mord und Überfall sind gut Hoch vom Galgen klingt es, Hoch vom Galgen klingt es, Raub und Mord und Überfall sind gut Blood, blood, bandits drink blood Robbery and murder and ambushing are good High from the gallows it rings High from the gallows it rings Robbery and murder and ambushing are good

YOUR BEST FRIEND. "Orpheus" By Saltatio Mortis Sing für mich, Orpheus Wir hatten Kein Glück Du wandelst ins Leben Doch ich bleib' Zurück Und wenn deine Stimme Nie mehr für mich singt Werd' ich erfahr'n wie laut Stille klingt Sing for me, Orpheus We had no luck. You walk back into life. But I stay back here (with the dead) And when your voice Never sings for me again I will finally know how loud silence sounds. YOUR HOBBY. "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" By Subway to Sally. Du musst tanzen, in der Asche bis zum allerletzten Tanz, tanze Krater in den Boden und zertanz die Schuhe ganz! Tanze, tanze über Tiefen, denn wer tanzen kann der lebt, und du spürst die Erde, wie sie wogt und bebt. Dreh dich ewiglich, tanz und dreh dich, spring und dreh dich, beim wilden Tanz auf dem Vulkan. You must dance in the ashes until the very last dance Dance craters into the ground and completely wear out your shoes by dancing. Dance, dance over depths for who can dance, lives And you feel the earth how it undulates and shakes. Turn eternally, Dance and turn, Jump and turn as you wildly Dance on the vulcan (Speak: dance with the devil= live dangerously and on the edge)

FAVOURITE TIME OF THE DAY? "Krötenliebe" By Subway to Sally. Als wir im Tümpel lagen, Im fauligen Morast, Brach über uns die Nacht herein. Dunkle Gestalten krochen Auf unser Lager zu Und stimmten in das Lied der Liebe ein. As we lay by the pond together, in the rotting morass, Night broke down upon us. Dark figures crawled towards our bed, and joined us in our lovesong.

DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE. "Tod und Teufel" By Saltatio Mortis. An einem trüben Winterabend Kroch die Kälte in mein Haus Umfasste mich mit klammen Fingern Und zog mich in den Schnee hinaus Vor meinem Haus standen zwei Reiter Die Mäntel waren schwarz und rot In rot gekleidet ritt der Teufel Ganz in schwarz Gevatter Tod Die Sonne floh hinter die Berge Da fing der Tod zu reden an: "Dein Leben geht zur Neige Sag mir hast du's recht getan?" Der Teufel sprang von seinem Rappen In seiner Hand ein Pergament Dann trug er vor, ich sei ein Spielmann Sei ein sündhaft Element In diesem Spiel gibts kein zurück In deiner Uhr verrinnt der Sand Nimm deine Würfel in die Hand Nimm deine Würfel in die Hand Doch nach alter Spielmannssitte Ist es Recht und ist es Brauch Zu würfeln um sein Lasterleben Verwetten seinen Lebenshauch Der Teufel wirft die erste Runde Dreimal sechs wie's ihm gebührt Ich werfe bleich die Knochenwürfel Als mich des Todes Hand berührt Die Würfel harren auf der Kante Gehalten von des Todes Blick Er lächelt in des Teufels Fratze Und spricht: "Das war ein übler Trick" Da mich der Teufel wollt betrügen Bekomme ich noch etwas Zeit Den Tod zu täuschen ist ein Frevel Denn Tod heißt auch Gerechtigkeit Das Leben is ein Würfelspiel Und deine Seele ist das Pfand Die Regeln kennen brauchst du nicht Nimm deine Würfel in die Hand Nimm deine Würfel in die Hand

On a dim winter evening Coldness crept into my house Grasped me with clammy fingers And dragged me out into the snow In front of my house two riders where standing The coats where black and red Dressed in red was the devil Completely in black godfather death The sun fled to hide behind the mountains Then death started talking: "Your life is running short Tell me, have you done it right" Devil jumped off of his black horse Holding a pergament in his hand He declaimed I'd be a minstrel (I'd) be a sinful beeing But following the old custom of mistrels It's law and it's convention To gamble for ones life of vice (And to) bet ones breath of life Devil throws the first round Three times six like it's due to him Pale I'm throwing the bony dices As death's hand touches me Helt by the gaze of death He smiles into the grim mien of the devil And says: "That was a foul trick" Because the devil wanted to fool me I get a bit more time To cheat death is a sacrilege Since death also means justice Life is a game of dice And your soul is the pledge You don't need to know the rules Grab your dices with your hand RELATIONSHIP STATUS. "Spielmannsschwur" By Saltatio Mortis. Der Strick, der uns bindet, Ist noch nicht geflochten, Der Knecht, der uns mordet, Hat noch nicht gefochten. Die Frau, die uns hält, Ist noch nicht geborn, Das haben alle Spielleut' geschworn. Wir sind wie der Wind, Man sperrt uns nicht ein, Kein Knast kann uns halten, Drum schenkt nochmal ein, Wir sind geboren, um Spielmann zu sein. The Noose that will hang us, had yet not been braided, The servant that will murder us had yet not fought (with a sword). The woman that wil hold us (in her arms) is yet not born, Thats what every bard had sworn. We are like the wind, you can not catch us, No prison can hold us in, so fill our cups up again, we are born to be minstrels.

[90363462]

This Moment to Arise: The Revisionary Genius of Beyoncé’s ‘Blackbird’

By Rob SheffieldMarch 29, 2024

'Cowboy Carter' highlight brings the White Album classic full circle

Beyoncé has so many audacious culture-clash triumphs all over Cowboy Carter. But one of the most stunning moments is also one of the simplest: her version of the Beatles classic “Blackbird.” Paul McCartney wrote the song in the summer of 1968, inspired by the American civil rights movement. All that history is right there in Beyoncé’s version. She keeps the folkie Paul guitar, complete with the squeaks, but adds her heavenly gospel-soul harmonies. What she does with the word “arise” is incredible in itself.

It’s a stroke of Beyoncé’s revisionary genius that brings the story of “Blackbird” full circle. She claims the song as if Paul McCartney wrote it for her. Because, in so many ways, he did.

Paul tells the story of writing it in his 2021 book The Lyrics. “At the time in 1968 when I was writing ‘Blackbird,’” he recalls, “I was very conscious of the terrible racial tensions in the U.S. The year before, 1967, had been a particularly bad year, but 1968 was even worse. The song was written only a few weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. That imagery of the broken wings and the sunken eyes and the general longing for freedom is very much of its moment.”

Paul wrote this song as a dialogue with Black America; Bey’s “Blackbird” is part of that call-and-response, proof that the song always meant exactly what McCartney hoped it would mean. It’s one of the most profound and powerful Beatles covers ever, right up there with Aretha Franklin’s “The Long and Winding Road.” 

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“I had in mind a Black woman, rather than a bird,” Paul says of the song in the 1997 book Many Years From Now, by Barry Miles. “Those were the days of the civil rights movement, which all of us cared passionately about, so this was really a song from me to a Black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: ‘Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.’”

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Paul was especially moved by the Little Rock Nine — a group of teenagers, the same age as so many Beatlemaniac fans, who caused a nationwide racist outrage in 1957 when they tried to enroll in an all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to block the kids from setting foot in the school. Writing “Blackbird” in the summer of 1968, with high-profile anti-Black violence in both the U.S. and the U.K., he turned that into the song. “As is often the case with my things, a veiling took place so rather than say ‘Black woman living in Little Rock’ and be very specific, she became a bird, became symbolic, so you could apply it to your particular problem.”

“Blackbird” is a song with a long history in Black music, from reggae (the Paragons’ gorgeous version from 1973) to jazz legends including Ramsey Lewis, Sarah Vaughn, and Cassandra Wilson. No song has a deeper dialogue between the Beatles and the Black America that gave them their voices. Anderson .Paak put his spin on “Blackbird” in 2013, years before he ended up contributing to Paul’s album McCartney 3 Imagined, with his funk remix of “When Winter Comes.” The Beatles’ sidekick Billy Preston, who plays with them all over the Get Back movie, gospelized it in 1972, as the flip side of his Number One hit “Will It Go Round in Circles.” His version is on the superb Ace Records anthology Come Together: Black America Sings the Beatles.

Beyoncé brings all that history to her version. There’s also a Paul-like playful humor in the way she makes a horse the star of her album cover. (Could Chardonneigh be the new Martha?) In other words, she is Macca Fierce.

But most of all, Bey’s version ties in mostdirectly to Sylvester’s disco version of “Blackbird” from 1979, the most outrageous and radical version ever. She evokes this song’s history in queer Black disco culture— connecting it to her whole Renaissance project. Sylvester was the first gay Black pop star who was out of the closet, as far as the public knew. Tragically, he also become one of the first stars to pass in the Eighties AIDs epidemic. But in 1979 he was back in San Francisco as a hometown hero, after breaking big nationwide. “Blackbird” is his falsetto-disco celebration from Living Proof, one of the Seventies’ greatest live albums. He was on top of the world: There was an official “Sylvester Day” in San Francisco, where he received the key to the city from the mayor, who happened to be Diane Feinstein. That night he headlined the War Memorial Opera House, and did the most beautiful “Blackbird” ever heard — until now.

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Sylvester claims “Blackbird” for himself and his community. He trades call-and-response vocals (“Y’all ready, girls?”) with his backup singers, eternal disco legends Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes, the Two Tons o’ Fun. (They later blew up as the Weather Girls, belting their classic “It’s Raining Men.”) When they sing “You were only waiting for this moment to arise,” you can feel the whole crowd rise to join them. They’re not hiding out in the shadows anymore. They’re spreading their wings. It’s their night to fly. This is their song, and their moment.

Hearing Beyoncé sing this song now evokes her Uncle Johnny, a member of the queer Black dance culture that Sylvester epitomized, and the guiding spirit of her love letter to that culture, Renaissance. (He died tragically in the same epidemic as Sylvester, 10 years later.) You can hear her “arise” connect with Sylvester’s “arise.” And you can hear her Uncle Johnny in both of them.

Beyoncé has always loved reclaiming rock & roll as Black female performance. It’s one of her artistic passions — check her mind-blowing versions of the Doors’ “Five to One,” Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” and even Kings of Leon’s “Sex on Fire.” She turned the Yeah Yeah Yeahs into “Hold Up.” Long before Stevie Nicks had her grand 2010s comeback, Destiny’s Child got her back on MTV with “Bootylicious.” Most spectacularly, the Lemonade classic “Don’t Hurt Yourself” is Beyoncé channeling Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks” through Led Zeppelin, with Jack White wailing on guitar. But “Blackbird” is different, because McCartney wrote the song explicitly about Southern Black women and their struggle through American racism in the 1960s.

The Bey/Paul connections go deep. Bey and Paul were spotted hanging out at Coachella a decade ago; they also worked out together at an L.A. gym. He was visibly having a great time at her 2011 New York residency. He saw the Renaissance World Tour in London last summer — a clip of his dancing went viral — and posed for a memorable photo with Jay-Z, lifting their champagne glasses to toast the Queen. On tour, Bey wore a custom Stella McCartney silver dress and leggings. As Stella said, “It is a life moment to dress someone as iconic and inspiring as Beyoncé — a visionary pioneer, disruptor, and artist who has worked tirelessly to make the world a better place.”

Paul haters might have questioned his sincerity about “Blackbird,” but that just means they weren’t listening. Because this song didn’t happen in a vacuum — it’s part of his lifelong engagement with Black music and Black culture. “Blackbird” was hardly his the only explicitly anti-racist statement on the White Album. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da” is a ska ode to West Indian immigrant family life in England (“Desmond is a very Caribbean name,” he says in the Anthology book) at a time when the right-wing politician Enoch Powell was whipping up racist and anti-immigrant hysteria with his notorious “Rivers of Blood” speech in April 1968. That summer, with high-profile anti-Black violence in both the U.S. and the U.K., “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da” was a consciously provocative statement.

He lashed out at Powell even more directly months later in “Commonwealth Song,” which turned into “Get Back.” But in “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” he made these Caribbean immigrants his embodiment of family values — and turned it into an unimpeachably wholesome kiddie singalong. The title phrase came from a Nigerian musician friend in London, the conga player Jimmy Scott. (He later died in suspicious circumstances after being imprisoned by U.K. customs officials.) 

When Paul performed in Little Rock in 2016, he met for the first time with Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, two of the Black women who incited so much racist controversy by trying to enter an all-white high school. Meeting these two heroes had a profound impact on him. “Incredible to meet two prisoners of the civil rights movement and inspiration for ‘Blackbird,’” Paul said at the time. “Way back in the Sixties, there was a lot of trouble going on over civil rights, particularly in Little Rock,” he told the crowd that night, introducing the song. “We would notice this on the news back in England. So it’s a really important place for us, because to me, this is where civil rights started.”

But “Blackbird” is also in the tradition of his songs about everyday women and their unseen struggles— “Eleanor Rigby” and “Lady Madonna” with the Beatles, “Another Day” and “Jennie Wren” and “Little Willow” solo. (His empathy for his female characters was always radically different from other male songwriters of his generation, to say the least.) 

Bettye LaVette did one of the most emotionally cathartic versions in 2020, a gritty old-school R&B performance at 74, singing the lyrics in the first person. She felt a deep connection as soon as she heard it, saying, ‘‘I wonder if people know he’s talking about a Black woman?’” She made it the centerpiece of her 2020 album, Blackbirds,where all the other songs were popularized by Black women singers — Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Ruth Brown. “It is about the road that I came across on,” she told the crowd at Farm Aid 2021. “This song was written by Mr. Paul McCartney. But it is about me, and them.”

The whole Cowboy Carter is Beyoncé using music as a map of American pop culture, from Willie and Dolly and Linda Martell to the Nancy Sinatra bass line, right up to the great moment when she starts singing the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” Since she knows absolutely everything, she might even be consciously evoking the short-lived 1970s sitcomCarter Country, about a Black sheriff coming to a redneck small town in Georgia, from the creators of “What’s Happening!!” and “Sanford & Son.” Never put anything past her. She takes the details seriously.

But as Bey knows full well, the Beatles’ biggest inspiration was always American R&B. As kids in Liverpool, they heard the blues and soul records brought over by U.S. sailors. As John said, “We’d been hearing funky Black music all our lives, while people across Britain and Europe had never heard of it.” But Liverpool had its own racist history. “I was very conscious Liverpool was a slave port,” Paul says in The Lyrics. “And also that it had the first Carribean community in England. So we met a lot of Black guys, particularly in the music world.” 

From their earliest days, they played songs by Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, the Shirelles, Little Willie John, the Marvelettes — always aspiring to live up to that spirit. On their early U.S. tours, they refused to allow segregation at their shows in the South. (McCartney, 1964: “There’s no segregation at concerts at England, and in fact if there was, we wouldn’t play ‘em, you know?”) “Rock & roll is Black,” John told Jet magazine in 1972. “I’ll never stop acknowledging it: Black music is my life.” For both Paul and Ringo, that connection remains at the heart of their music. When Ringo turned 80 a few years ago, he hosted his Big Birthday Special livestream to raise funds for Black Lives Matter. He sat at his drums and told the worldwide audience, “Let’s say it again: Black lives matter! Stand up and make your voice heard!”

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That’s why it meant so much to McCartney — more than any of them — to hear how his African American peers responded. Aretha’s versions of his songs always meant the most to him, because she heard that same Black history in these songs. When he wrote “Let It Be,” he sent her a demo in hopes she’d record it, even though he knew she would sing rings around him. (Her “Let It Be” came out in January 1970 — months before the Beatles version.) She did “The Fool on the Hill,” another song inspired by the civil rights struggle — for years, when Paul did it live, he added a sample of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Most of all, Aretha claimed “The Long and Winding Road,” leaving all other versions (including McCartney’s) in the dust.

For Paul, as with the other Beatles, the connection to Black American music was deep, but it was especially important for him that it to be a two-way dialogue. Beyoncé’s “Blackbird” is one that really completes the song — a profound moment in her history, the Beatles’ history, and this timeless song’s history. In so many ways, “Blackbird” has always been waiting for this moment to arise. And Beyoncé makes the song rise higher than ever before.

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[wastingawayinmyroom]

I’m truly terrible with tumblr. I haven’t used it in like 10 years and everything has changed 😂 I tried to reply by pasting it but honestly couldn’t figure it out 😭

But here is a little soft (I think) Rosekiller for you.

“Everything was happening all too quickly and somehow—at the same time—in slow motion. Barty watched as the blade tried to make a home in his chest and found his eyes flicker to the man he had tried to save. A deep breath escaped him as Barty saw Evan frozen in place—still alive. Evan got like this—when he became stressed out, he became non-verbal, paralyzed, almost as if he was frozen. Over the years, Barty found ways to break his friend out of his head—tender touches, soft crooning words of praise, none of which Barty could offer him now.

Barty found, as he gazed at the man who would never read the words buried in his coat pocket–which were sure to be drenched in his own blood as the knife pierced through them and into his flesh, that he felt no blame in his heart for the petrified man. His only thought was how much devastation Evan would feel when the frost of his mind thawed, and Barty was dead.

But suddenly, a shot rang out through the valley, and Barty saw a well-placed bullet pierce through the skull of his attacker. Blood splattered across Barty’s face, but with deftness, he pushed the weapon in his chest out and up as the man sank and toppled over him. Barty rolled their bodies over and looked up to find a black Colt in Pandora’s hand, smoking from the justice that had been served on the frigid winter morning.

Barty breathed out a sigh of relief and scrambled up with aching limbs. He nodded to Pandora and placed a hand between his skin and the coat. The wound wasn’t terribly deep—but he would definitely need Regulus to sew him up. Pandora’s eyes flickered to Evan, and concern hardened her soft features. Barty looked to see the man, and he shrugged off his jacket. Evan was shivering—not just from the cold but the shock as well. He walked over and wrapped his coat over Evan’s shoulders and tugged at the ends, trying to keep his wilting rose warm and safe. Evan’s eyes stared at the bright red wound that ripped Barty’s flesh.

“You’re bleeding,” Evan stated, slowly coming out of his haze.

“‘Tis but a scratch,” Barty tried to soothe with a lighthearted quip, but it fell to the ground along with the snow that had begun to sprinkle the earth around them. Evan parted the shirt to inspect it more clearly with glossy eyes and mimicked Barty’s earlier motion as he bent down to lick at the wound. Barty groaned at the sensation of the rough tongue against his red-stained chest. The wound was too deep to cauterize the cut with saliva the way Barty had done with Evan’s neck, but the wounded man let Evan continue his ministrations as he lapped up the blood leaking from his marred flesh. He patted the soft blond locks as Evan sucked at his chest, desperate to do something when he had done nothing at a time action was needed most.

“Du bist in Sicherheit, Evan. Sie sind weg und du bist bei mir in Sicherheit. Fliege zurück zu mir, Vögelchen. (You’re safe. They’re gone and you’re safe. Fly back to me, little bird)”, Barty soothed softly, and he felt Evan pull his head up and saw rose-painted lips that taunted him.

The fog over cerulean eyes lifted as Evan whispered, “You killed them.”

Barty looked over to Avery’s body lying on the ground, and his eyes narrowed in disgust at the corpse he had created, “They tried to hurt you—they tried to kill you, Evan.”

Two firm hands cupped Barty’s chin and pulled his head to face Evan. “I didn’t—”

Evan frowned as he looked down at Barty’s chest. The evidence of his inaction was painted in crimson.

With a red-stained hand, Barty lifted his friend’s chin and whispered, “Hey, it’s okay.”

Barty dragged down one of Evan’s hands from his face and onto his heart, “I’m okay.”

He repeated the action, placing Evan’s other hand over his friend’s heart, “You’re okay.”

Evan pressed his forehead against Barty’s, and their noses brushed as Barty whispered, “We’re okay.”

Long exhales of warm breath fanned against Barty’s face, and he could feel a calmness begin to manifest in Evan’s body when the sudden sound of pain rang out from the wounded horse.”

-“Arcadian Sunsets” Chapter 10

OY MY GODDDDDDD

this is beautifulll!!!!!!!! very cute soft rosekiller!!!!!! my brain is short circuiting i love these two!!!!!

[korealog]

(2) I‘m still life (ENG/DE) — Thursday, 25.07.24

(ENG)

When we arrived at the cultural centre, we didn't have much time left, but the girls explained everything to me as well as they could. At today's ceremony, I was allowed to think about 3 wishes in advance and then write them down. Afterwards, they showed me the different bows that are made during the ceremony. I tell you, it was quite a workout! No need for a gym anymore, haha. And then it started! During the whole ceremony I was told to think of my family & ancestors so that only positive things would come across to us all. The bows were repeated several times, sometimes 2 or even 4 steps to the left or right. This symbolises the family on both my mother's and father's side. It was also important to always keep your head bowed, as it is considered impolite to look at both the wall with the characters and the dining table. All in all, the whole ceremony always shows respect for the family & ancestors in all parts. Shortly before the end, the scroll on which I had written my wishes at the beginning is burnt. The resulting smoke rises into the sky. The two explained to me that the wishes will therefore be fulfilled. The smoke is, so to speak, a bridge between me and the sky, which receives my wishes and makes them come true. But of course the wishes must not be revealed. It is said that you should keep them a secret for 100 days. Only then can they really be fulfilled. All in all, it was a really great experience & I'm grateful to both of them for approaching me that evening! Tomorrow, Monday, we'll meet up in a coffee shop to chat some more! Oh well, there are no pictures of this because it wouldn't have fit here at all. I have to disappoint you this time, it's just my memory ;) I then took the last metro, but what I didn't realise was that it only goes as far as a certain station... From there it takes me at least another hour to walk home. So let's get going, because my introverted self still doesn't dare to take a taxi on my own, haha! On the other hand, I once again discovered places that I wouldn't have found that way and was able to admire Seoul at night again. You'll see the landmark with the young girl & the little bird on her shoulder again in a later blog. There I'll also tell you what it's all about. It's going to be sad, that much I can already say! So I'd say that's it for my Thursday for now.

I'll let you hear from me again!

(DE)

Im Kulturzentrum angekommen hatten wir nicht mehr viel Zeit, trotzdem haben mir die Mädels alles so gut es ging erklärt. Bei der heutigen Zeremonie, durfte ich mir im voraus 3 Wünsche überlegen & anschließend aufschreiben. Danach haben mir die beiden die verschiedenen Verbeugungen gezeigt, die währenddessen gemacht werden. Ich sag euch, das war ein ganzes Workout! Kein Fitnessstudio mehr nötig, haha. Dann ging es auch schon los! Während der ganzen Zeremonie sollte ich an meine Familie & Vorfahren denken, damit nur Positives bei uns allen ankommt. Die Verbeugungen wurden immer mehrmals wiederholt, immer mal 2 oder auch 4 Schritte nach links oder rechts. Das symbolisiert sowohl die Familie mütterlicher als auch väterlicher Seite. Wichtig war auch, den Kopf stets gesenkt zu halten, da es als unhöflich gilt sowohl die Wand mit den Schriftzeichen, als auch den Esstisch anzuschauen. Alles in allem, weist die ganze Zeremonie in allen Teilen immer Respekt gegenüber der Familie & den Vorfahren auf. Kurz vor Ende, wird die Schriftrolle, auf der ich zu Beginn meine Wünsche festgehalten hatte, verbrannt. Der Rauch, der dabei entsteht, steigt in den Himmel. Die beiden erklärten mir, dass darum die Wünsche in Erfüllung gehen werden. Der Rauch ist sozusagen eine Brücke zwischen mir und dem Himmel, der meine Wünsche empfängt und in Erfüllung gehen lässt. Aber natürlich dürfen die Wünsche nicht verraten werden. Es wird gesagt, 100 Tage soll man sie als Geheimnis in sich tragen. Erst dann können sie auch wirklich in Erfüllung gehen. Alles in allem, war es eine mega tolle Erfahrung & ich bin beiden dankbar, dass sie mich an diesem Abend angesprochen haben! Morgen, sprich Montag, treffen wir uns in einem Kaffee um noch etwas zu quatschen! Achso, hiervon gibt es keine Bilder, denn das ganze hätte absolut nicht hier rein gepasst. Da muss ich euch diesmal enttäuschen, das bleibt nur meine Erinnerung ;) Ich habe dann noch fix die letzte Metro genommen, aber was ich nicht wusste war, dass sie nur bis zu einer gewissen Station fährt… Von da aus brauche ich noch mindestens 1 Stunde zu Fuß nach Hause. Also nichts wie los, denn mein introvertiertes Ich traut sich immer noch nicht alleine ein Taxi zu nehmen, haha! Dafür habe ich auch diesmal wieder Orte entdeckt, die ich so nicht gefunden hätte und konnte Seoul wieder bei Nacht bewundern. Das Wahrzeichen mit dem jungen Mädchen & dem kleinen Vogel auf der Schulter seht ihr auch in einem späteren Blog nochmal. Da erzähle ich auch, was das Ganze auf sich hat. Es wird traurig, soviel kann ich schonmal sagen! So ich würde sagen, das wars erstmal mit meinem Donnerstag.

Ich lass wieder von mir hören!!

[haste-waste]

Zelink Week 2024: The Baker and the Seamstress (Chapter 5)

Sorry for the late updates, folks! I will be posting three chapters here today. Day 5's prompt is "Spellbound" Enjoy! @zelinkcommunity

Read on AO3 or below the cut.

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The baker searched the woods for an hour, but couldn't find her in the encroaching darkness. He wouldn't dare call out her name within the trees, for that was a precious secret he wouldn't share with anyone.

What did he do? What did he say?

The following morning, he replayed the previous day in his mind and over kneaded his dough. She seemed shocked at first, and then, she stared off into space with a happy little smile. It was like something flipped in her thoughts and her old self returned, distrusting and terrified. This wasn't just about her scars. But what? And why did Zelda mention the seamstress? He had never met her in his life. The seamstress didn't know about her. No one knew about her. It was his selfish idea for her to stay, that's all. And look at how well that went.

When dawn arrived, he hoped to see her standing there at the back door. Of course, she was absent. It was so empty in the bakery, even before he opened. She could still turn up, though. If she returned, she should know that she was welcomed.

He brought her stool outside and put it next to the door and returned to work. Minutes later, he stuck a basket with a fresh loaf of bread wrapped in one of her mended towels on top of the stool and finally continued his work. At the end of the day, when he checked the stool, he saw the bread being picked apart by a pair of birds.

He wouldn't give up so easily. Once he closed up shop, he grabbed another loaf of bread (she must be starving at this rate), a torch, strapped his mother's sword to his back, and took the path to the woods and searched the area where they had their picnic. There was nothing. There was only a beautiful, lush, and empty field. She left no footprints behind in the surrounding forest. For two consecutive days he combed the evening woods in silence, hoping for any hint of her presence. The third morning, he brought out the stool, filled the basket with rolls, walked away, and somehow managed to not over knead the morning batch of bread.

There was more unwanted gossip today from the village barmaid; a lone horseman arrived at Fort Hateno. Judging by their heraldry, they were from Akkala, a region far to the north. He didn’t care about that. He needed some sort of clue, anything.

"Have there been any ghost sightings?" He ended up asking when she finally stopped talking.

The barmaid scowled at him, likely at his audacity for speaking aloud. Her eyes trailed over his form. She seemed confused. "You believe in that superstitious bunk? There never was a ghost to begin with." She swiped her bread out of his hands, slapped her rupees on the counter, and strode out the door with an annoyed huff.

He really needed to stop glancing toward the back door. But his thoughts always returned to Zelda, his seamstress, no matter how hard he tried. Was she injured? Was she starving? He remembered her sitting at her stool, with a flower tucked behind her ear. What a beauty. The thought, even now, tied his stomach into a pretzel. Maybe he should make a batch of them to take the edge off of all these feelings.

He had to run to town for some produce after closing the shop. But what if she came while he was gone? He went to his bedroom, scrounged around for a piece of slate and chalk, and scribbled something quickly. If he put too much thought into it he'd stand there all day.

He left three things beside his back door. Her stool, the bread basket, and the piece of slate that read: No one else knows but me. I swear it.

--------

The seamstress hid in the boughs of a giant tree. She should have left two days ago, having cleared out her cave, plotting to escape the country out of Lurelin Village. For some reason, she hadn't. Food was getting hard to come by without being spotted, though, so she should make up her mind soon. She thought she'd never forget the feeling of hunger. She was sorely mistaken, and the pain of it was amplified by her acute longing for him. Her thoughts were twisted up and in disarray since she fled that night. At least she found her way back to her cave after stumbling for hours.

The leaves rustled below her. Someone approached. She hid beneath the foliage, thankful for the natural camouflage. "The baker actually talked this morning!" A feminine voice rang.

Zelda grit her teeth. So that's how he was. Pretending to be silent just to play with her trust? She was no stranger to her trust being broken, even if that trust was superficial, like promises of a meal after a punishment. Her anger agreed with the assessment, but her heart did not. He wasn't the type of person who would do such a thing, was he? He didn’t seem like it. Didn’t he go out of his way to make sure she remained hidden?

So why was she so angry?

"He asked me about seeing a ghost," the woman continued. "Me, of all people! He doesn't speak to anyone, Reginald."

She heard a masculine huff from below, likely Reginald. "You dragged me out here just to gossip about the baker?"

"But why would he ask about that?"

"Hasn't everyone?" the man countered, sounding bored.

The woman growled. "He always looks so shabby. His clothes looked better today. Strange, right? Maybe he finally realized how unkempt he looked. I asked Bettie if she mended them, but she never heard of Link in her life! He must fix them himself. That's pretty talented of him, actually. But honestly, how has he never been to a seamstress?"

Zelda's throat went dry.

"You could use a visit to Bettie," Reginald said. "Your stomach is starting to show."

Zelda heard a giggle and a swatting sound. "And who's fault is that?" The woman teased. "But dear, what if there's a ghost?"

Reginald laughed. "You'd toss it out of the pub just like everyone else. Come along now, it's getting dark." She heard the leaves and sticks crunch under their feet, and after a few minutes, she looked down at the forest floor and confirmed their absence.

Zelda's heart raced in her chest. Was she wrong about him? Things didn't make sense. Maybe a walk could help sort out her thoughts. Mindlessly, her feet took her through the hidden route to town through the old caves that sprawled underneath it. Before she knew it, she appeared from underneath a pile of rocks in the forest behind the baker's house.

Why did she come here again? For information. And maybe…to catch a last glimpse of him from afar.

Carefully, she crept toward the bakery, nestled in the trees. For such an important building, it was a little ways off the beaten path from town. She supposed she could see the main street from the front door, but that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Even so, the windows were dark and lonely in the back.

A few steps later, she was past the grain shed, and stopped in her tracks. Besides the door was the wooden stool she always sat on. Why was it out here? There was a basket and something flat on top, acting as a lid. Hesitancy disregarded, she went and investigated the contents. The flat shape was a small writing slate. She read the words written in chalk—No one else knows but me. I swear it—the guilt compounded, and within the basket were several perfect bread rolls waiting for her under a towel she mended for him.

Zelda was completely wrong about everything. What he said was genuine. And she ran off without thinking, leaving her only friend in this world behind. He was a friend, absolutely, but their bond felt different now, like a permutation of friendship, but more?

It was love, she realized. She loved him, assumed the worst, and ran off without a goodbye. Goddesses, she was thinking of leaving the country for this?

She heard the squeak of a door shutting, it was him, it had to be, and she fled into the cave entrance before she could think, scraping her knee in the process.

Tomorrow, she vowed, once she made it inside. She'd come at dawn and fix this entire mess. But for now, she'd wait in the woods and attempt to find some food to eat with the moonlight as a guide. And maybe, she'd take a roll, even if she didn't deserve it.

--------

Lord Yuga stopped his entourage just before the ramshackle gate of the rural farming village came into full view. Several of his guards lit torches and held them aloft for him to investigate the enchanted map. The spell was bound to her blood, and it shone brightly on Hateno Village. She was here, irrefutably. Why would she, of all people, flee to a village known for their textiles? It was like she wanted to be found. What a strange, unpredictable woman.

"Leave no stone unturned. Find her and bring her to me, no matter the cost," he ordered. A small platoon of knights on horseback and foot waited obediently for their charge.

"Agahnim," Yuga spoke to the wizard at his side, "Do what you must."

Agahnim nodded, waved his staff, and an ear-splitting screech erupted from the ruby orb at the top. From the woods came three red bokoblins. That should be enough to cause a stir, but not kill the girl outright. The pig-nosed beasts stopped in front of Agahnim's horse. He threw them a piece of meat; they squabbled over it. He whistled and they stilled.

Agahnim removed a piece of fabric from his robes and unfolded it. He plucked out the contents, two golden hairs, and with a wiggle of his fingers, the hair caught fire. He blew the smoke toward the pathetic monsters, and they sniffed the smoke in interest. Then, their eyes glazed over, and an orange fire lit in their eyes. They turned synchronously, and barreled toward the woods beyond the town; they must have caught her scent.

"A trail!" Yuga called. "Leave them for a time."

Time passed as the bokoblins continued their search. One minute became five, and five became twenty. Agahnim could feel the air around Lord Yuga begin to itch from his frustration. "Those useless pigs must have lost track of that useless girl," he muttered, giving Agahnim an annoyed look. "Onward, men!" He called loudly. "Search the village and bring her to me!"

Agahnim clipped his reins, and followed the Lord through the front gates toward his prize.

--------

The baker awoke to loud sounds of commotion: shouts, squealing, clanking metal, and horses. It must be a dream. But as soon as he heard a scream, he knew it wasn't.

He burst out of bed, snatched up his mother's rusty sword, and listened, creeping downstairs on high alert. What was going on? A raid? Raids never happened in Hateno. The last one he had been in was his childhood home, which he never saw again.

He made it downstairs and crouched, scanning his surroundings. A shadow took shape in the window, emphasized by the full moon.

He steadied himself. The door rattled ominously on its hinges.

He readied his sword, and waited in the darkness.

He heard a click, and the door burst open. He lunged toward the intruder, preparing to swing his sword to protect his home. To his absolute bewilderment, he saw the seamstress rush in and slam the door behind her, plastering her back against it in fright. When she saw him, she yelped and dropped a sizable stick covered in something dark, purple, and wet, and shielded herself with her arms.

Goddesses above, she was here! He hastily sheathed his sword and rushed to her, spellbound at the miracle of her standing there by his door. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. "Link!" Her relief didn't last for long. He had never seen the seamstress look so grim when she met him in the center of the kitchen. "You need to run!"

He was immediately on edge. First and foremost…"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" He glanced her over and noticed a gigantic, reddened scrape on her knee. She must have fallen into the dirt at some point. A nasty set of bruises and scratches bloomed on her forearms. She still had the bandage on her finger, too.

Ste stammered, and her fear and frustration was clear to see. "That—that doesn't matter! You need to leave!"

He heard a horses' whinny out of the windows, but it didn't register as much as it should have. He stood there in amazement at her return. He didn't lose her and he wanted to hold her and—"There are monsters!"

"Monsters?" He said, stepping closer to her.

She nodded shakily. "I fought one off, but they're still out there!"

He reeled at the mental image of her fight. She had obviously succeeded, given the state of that stick she dropped, and he felt a burst of pride at her capabilities, but goddesses! She could have been killed!

"The village is in danger! You're in danger!" she cried, flinching away from his approaching hands. It wasn't the first time he'd been in danger. It had been too long without any threats to his life. He took out his torn handkerchief, placed it on one of her arms, and turned.

"Stay there," he ordered, fighting every instinct to stay by her side, and went to the front windows of the bakery. He peered into the night. He saw torches and horsemen in the main streets, villagers running around in fright, but nothing was on the path to his bakery for now… was that Akkalan heraldry being held aloft?

The sight of that coat of arms made him shiver for reasons unknown to him. He raced back to the kitchen. Thankfully, she remained there, and she stood with a bowed head. His handkerchief was stained as she held it fast to her skin.

"I cannot see you again," she said, the words landing on her feet and his heart.

An acute sense of dread built in his chest, even more intense than that day when she fell ill. If he didn't speak now, he'd lose her forever. He just knew. "I swear on my life I told no one about you—"

"I know now," she said penitently. "I shouldn't have doubted you. I'm sorry." When she glanced up at him, her eyes were filled with tears. "But I cannot see you anymore."

She was here. She was more terrified than the morning he first met her. He had to do something, and he had to understand. No more secrets. "Why?"

She didn't answer. Her shoulders hunched, and she wrapped her arms around herself. He couldn't stand it anymore, this awful cycle of fear. He reached; his hand found her cheek, soft and warm, she froze, and he gently tipped her head up to face him.

"Why, Zelda?" He traced his thumb across her cheekbone. Her eyelids fluttered, she sighed into his touch, and the look of grief the movement created broke his heart.

He watched her grit her teeth. He watched her as she panicked, and he watched her choose to be honest. "They're here because of me," she said brokenly.

"What?" His fingers pressed lightly into her skin, a purely instinctive motion.

Zelda kept glancing toward the door, her only means of escape. Then she stared at him, straight on, as direct as he'd ever seen her. "He will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

He? Who was he? The secrecy, her skittishness, her fear, her scars… "Whoever he is, he wants you," he surmised. The dread met a new emotion, anger, and it began to combine dangerously in his heart. He dropped his hand from her face. Whoever did this to her, whoever he was, he'd make them pay.

She wilted at his expression. "I'm so sorry…I dragged you into this and…" She removed the handkerchief and stared at him determinedly. "But I need you to be safe." She grabbed his sleeve. "Promise me that you'll run and be safe!"

Her words were heart shattering. His past and present blurred, and her face was the only thing that grounded him. "Promise me!" Take it and flee, his mother begged. She died soon after. Then, Zelda, asking him essentially the same. He was always running.

"Go! Before it's too late!" Zelda pulled him frantically toward the door while he stood, at a loss.

How many more people would he lose? How many more would die to keep him safe?

"No," he growled. She pulled him harder. The sounds outside his bakery grew louder, a cacophony of textures and pitches, and it all swirled and concentrated into a singularity of resolve.

He grabbed her wrist. "I can't."

She shuddered. "Don't do this to me," she pleaded, and he'd never been this furious in his life as the past and present blended together. "Link, you need to run—"

"I'm not leaving you!" His hands went to her shoulders, keeping her from disappearing. Zelda's eyes filled with shock, she choked, and she stared.

He stared back, and made every effort to memorize the details of her face; the depths of her eyes, the tiny scars across her nose and chin, the slope of her jaw, the color of her lips…Then, he saw fondness stirring in her eyes, followed by sadness, and consolation.

"I thought I lost you," he sighed, and hung his head for a moment, still coming to terms with it all.

He looked at her imploringly. Where there once was fondness came something far more potent. "Link…" Then it turned to despair, and he never wanted to see that expression on her face ever again. He'd move a mountain, he'd swallow the ocean, he'd wish upon the Triforce, a thing of legend and fairy tales, to protect her.

"I can't lose you, either." Her grief seemed to seep past his feet and into the earth. Link's eyes widened at her admission—his hands twitched in their grip on her shoulders. He watched her place her hands on his chest; she swallowed thickly, took a step closer to him, and if she took one more step she'd be in his arms, right where he wanted her.

Horses whinnied and clopped outside, their harnesses jangling outside the bakery. He heard them all the way from the kitchen. "FIND HER!"

"They're here—" she gasped, and everything went wrong. The baker did not have a chance to speak before he heard the sound of splintering wood, his front door breaking down under the weight of an axe.

"Hide!" she hissed. "Flee! He will find me instead! Go!"

"No—!" The baker protested, but he was pushed into the pantry as the front door broke open.

The pantry door remained slightly ajar, leaving a sliver of visibility. That's all he needed to witness his worst nightmare coming to life right before his eyes.

"You," the baker heard from the shop room. It was a masculine voice full of hatred. "There you are…"

The air in the room cracked with the sound of a whip, and was followed by Zelda's blood curdling scream. Something rope-like wrapped around her torso, she hit the floor hard on her knees—he unsheathed his sword, moved to fight, but something scruffed him by the back of his nightshirt and tugged him into a shroud of darkness.

[qloof]

Would you care to tell me about those goddamn lesbians of yours?? Those little iddy bitty pink and purple dudes who kiss??? The fucking uhhhh americans????🐇🕊️ (there’s no emoji for gay birds so she’s stuck with the dove)

ARIA AND VITA AGAHRGRRHHH [EXPLODES]

a lot of stuff about them is still brewing in my head but at the end of it all they r endgame

for background information about Aria, she was previously on the path to becoming a representative member of the UK team, but she didn't get along well with the members, and none of them were very supportive with her goals. Aria strives to be a beyblade performer and wants to show off her performance skills through battles on the big tournament stadiums. of course, she still likes to blade competitively, but her heart lies with performance. she later travels to the US and competes to be a member of their representative team (dual citizenship babyyy)

the person who develops feels first would be Aria !! (she is also the one stuck in pining the most,..) the moment Aria joins the team, the person she trusts the most and will willingly hang out with is Vita :sob: at first it's a "she's the leader and she's got the most respect and experience w/beyblade" deal, but the more Aria hangs out around her, the more fluffy she starts to feel. vita is strong, hard working, level-headed, somehow able to be kind and understanding to the other teammates even when they are being insufferable, pretty girl who is tall, and Aria admires her a lot.

also?? person who supports her goals to become and beyblade performer and encourages her and wants to help in any way she can?? at some point Aria blurts out "can you be my performance partner?" and vita is like "sure !! :D"

i think about their combined bey avatar sometimes bcus i plan for them to use synchome at some point. bunny with very big wings !! lesbian flag colors gay gay homosexual gay those are my thoughts at 9:21pm