#Of your sanity lol

[randomnameless]

I'm procrastinating so have this Nopes!AU nonsense instead, with an Adrestian pretender.

So the setting is the same Nopes, Rhea crashes on Dimitri's couch in Faerghus and all but then -

Aegir Sr manages to escape thanks to some schmucks helping him, led by a lead random who is a Hresvelg bastard (or are they?) with a Crest of Seiros (maybe a cardinal fucked, or this random is a descendant from Willy's 120 children, or just, a far far removed member of House Hresvelg (maybe Ionius's bastard cousin got a kid who got a kid or whatnot)) and they mount a rebellion against Supreme Leader, because she's been stuck in this war so the promise of MAGA in 3 weeks fell flat especially since the nobodies of Leicester managed to put off a fight, when everyone considers them weaklings (it obviously happens before Clout and Supreme Leader join hands).

Hresvelg Bastard wants to sit on the throne and doesn't believe Supreme Leader's MAGA is going to work - maybe they tried to garner support in the backwater reaches of Adrestia (aka not Enbarr) by getting rid of some Agarthans who were there trying to create War Assets or what not, and so, they start a rebellion.

Knowing they can't win alone (even if Aegir Sr gives an impassionated speech telling the Nobles who followed him/the ones who were ignored by Supreme Leader (mostly the minor ones) or who don't like her "centralising policies" that he was injustly arrested, Vestra Sr assassinated and how she turned the scions of all great families against Adrestia's best interests - if she's not taking them hostage thanks to the help she received from Arundel who is the man behind all those war assets and disparitions : can they seriously believe that she had no hand in his experiments when he is a member of her own family? She only kicked him away after he ended his usefulness, like she'll do to everyone else!) Hresvelg Bastard has a bright idea.

Banking on the masses being faithful followers of the CoS - and not giving a fig about Varley and his "new CoS" - they believe they can also rally some people under the guise of the war against the CoS, the Archbishop is a beloved figure for all commoners (who can't rely on anything else but the Church since Adrestian Great Nobles, who all joined Supreme Leader, prefer to remain in Enbarr rather than manage their lands and people) so they end up with a small army of rebellious nobles, and peasants.

Not the army that will be able to topple Adrestia's military.

Maybe they can get help from Brigid and Dagda... sure, Brigid has their Princess used as a hostage by Supreme Leader, but do they really believe they will become something else than a vassal after the war, if Supreme Leader wins?

Granted, Hresvelg Bastard is Adrestian, and ultimately thinks they cannot rely on "savages", and besides, how will allying with "savages" bolster his claim on the throne? Adrestians don't like "savages" especially the ones from the former House Nuvelle, if they have to keep the Nuvelle mages as allies, they cannot rely on Dagdans.

That's where Adrestian Bastard has a master plan : they will join forces with the CoS (not those barbarians! Just the CoS and its knights!) and assist them in retaking Garreg Mach, on the only condition that the Archbishop herself names them the true and only inheritor of Adrestia's long legacy, starting with Great Emperor Wilhelm, and recognise them as Adrestia's ruler, while Supreme Leader will be just a mere usurper.

(details could be fleshed out later on about where Adrestian Bastard gets their legitimacy from, or to throw shade on Supreme Leader and her direct ascendants).

Thus the CoS - and the Barbarians, since they're allies ! - receive a missive from some loser, backed up with the Empire's fallen nobility and some militia, who suggests they can help them defeat Supreme Leader, only if the Church of Seiros crowns them Emperor at the end of the war.

Rhea immediately wants to refuse, it is not her place to crown people or what not, besides humans will find another way to complain about it and she only wants to return to the monastery.

Besides she gave a crown to Willy, and his descendants ruined everything he stood for and are coming for her head (she heard rumours about the Empire wanting to strike "inhuman beasts" and got wind of Adrestia's "information campaign").

The Kingdom doesn't share her worries (of course since she just told them "nah") and welcomes any new ally... if this person becomes the new Emperor, maybe they could draft some treaty cementing borders between Faerghus and Adrestia once and for all, and stop this war - since the current one seems hell bent on conquering them.

Matthias Gautier has doubts though, would Adrestians accept a puppet Emperor on the throne, controlled by the CoS? Besides, it's not like Adrestia ever respected their borders to begin with, so it's hopeless to hope this new Emperor will respect them. But at least it will create a decoy in Adrestia, which will divide the Imperial Army's attention.

Rodrigue disagrees though, if this is a chance to get a peaceful resolution with Adrestia - or a new Adrestia - they could seize it, sure, Adrestia always scorned them and their borders, but if it gives them at least 15 to 20 years of peace and no skirmishes, they should take it, especially if it ends this current war faster.

Dimitri drafts a letter to propose terms to a potential agreement, Rhea reluctantly agrees (she knows it's going to end up in a disaster, but maybe by that time, Sothis would have solved things out or something?) because it might end the current war.

The agreement is definitely canceled when Hresvelg Bastard gives their reply, calling Dimitri a "reasonable barbarian", and accepts to make him the governor of "Northern Adrestia" if he swears fealty and allegeance to the Empire.

They also replied that the Archbishop shall crown them Greatest (tm) Emperor of Fodlan, marry them and "restart the divine dynasty that was broken since Great Emperor Wilhelm's passing" that will rule over the continent from Garreg Mach which will become the new capital.

Rodrigue sighs while Matthias wonders what was he even expecting from Adrestians to begin with?

Dimitri is tempted to accept "The war will end!" but looking at the stares of everyone else, he frown and hands the letter to Rhea, who hands it to Seteth.

Seteth throws it in the nearest chimney.

Sylvain still asks if they can find some sort of common ground, they have a common foe, everything else comes "later" ? Felix frowns though, if this person's plan is ultimately to make Faerghus a vassal or what not, the Kingdom helping them would be seen as acceptance of Adrestia's lordship over them. Besides, how to tell their friends and people that they are going to die to save the ass of someone who thinks they're barbarians??

Dimitri notes that he has a point, it would be unreasonable to lend Faerghus' help to people who spits on them. But what about the Church? Regardless of the "restarting dynasties" thing they promised to liberate Garreg Mach, right?

Seteth gives the longest sigh ever, but mostly says that if they have to retake Garreg Mach, it will be on their own terms, and those don't include siding with someone who only sees them as a commodity to bolster their claim, or who intends to target the ones who offered their help when asked.

Rhea thus writes the reply, enraging Hresvelg Bastard because hey, their plan was well-thought and they even allowed the Blaiddyd governance over Northern Adrestia! Ludwig says maybe they should make concessions about this "Northern Adrestia" thing, they could still MAGA but later, first they should retake Adrestia? Surely the people would enjoy them putting an end to this disaster of a war, and bringing them back peace (and food).

"Sure, but within ten years of the end of this war, we invade Leicester!"

So Ludwig leads the negotiations instead of his new liege (with some of their orders though, like "do not make it so those barbarians think we're bowing our heads to them!") and agrees to Dimitri's original terms (there's no mention about Leicester's borders though!), using the argument that as soon as there is peace they could "discuss the future of their two countries", and how "taking out the Usurper takes precedence over anything else" for the sake of their people.

Ludwig mourns his friend Igor and wonders how House Vestra managed to, well, manage Hresvelg Emperors if they are all like the one he found, but using his years of political experience, manages to organise a meeting between all parties, Hresvelg Bastard, King Dimitri and the Archbishop herself.

Aegir made Hresvelg Bastard swear not to call the Faerghians barbarians - but they broke that promise within 5 minutes when they congratulated Dimitri on his timing and fashion sense (the shiny armor!) saying something like "I never expected a barbarian and savage northerner could be on time and wear anything else than rags".

Ludwig was dying on the inside, and knew everything would be ruined when Gautier reminded Hresvelg Bastard that if they are asking for the Church's aid, they are also asking for the Kingdom's help since they are allies, so they should play the part if they want their assistance.

Hresvelg Bastard fumed, frowned and stomped the ground in frustration - what is that bum even saying??? - but Rhea cuts them before they can even say a thing, if taking Supreme Leader out is also their objective, then they shall ally but only on that grounds, the Church will offer assistance to the Adrestian population - to the best of its abilities - once the war will be over, but Garreg Mach remains a CoS territory, and Adrestia will swear a blood oath that it shall never invade nor try to conquer its neighbouring nations.

"Even Leicester?"

Ludwig screamt inside because he always scorned the faith magic classes at the Academy, and only now realises learning the "Silence" Spell could have had its uses, but he gives his best assurances that they totally agree on never attacking Faerghus ever again.

Matthias shrugs, Leicester isn't Faerghus, and those bastards never answered their call for help, Rodrigue frowns though, this will create another war. And Nopes!Dimitri only wants what is best for Faerghus, so he is on the verge of agreeing, but Rhea glares at the Hresvelg Bastard.

"Leicester, Faerghus, Brigid and even Dagda."

"It's an acceptable proposal your Majesty! Adrestia can still thrive without ruling over the continent and beyond! We can still lead Fodlan in other ways, look at those barbarians, they don't even know how to appreciate fine culture ! They eve, eat their meat boiled or grilled! Our refinement and culture is ways above theirs, and copied by those of Leicester, who envy us!"

Maybe, maybe, this will save the meeting and those "alliance" talks and discussions?

Hresvelg Bastard reluctantly accepts to "bring the wonders of Adrestian refinement" to the Faerghus and the Church in exchange for their military assistance against Supreme Leader.

Dimitri thinks those terms are acceptable - only if Faerghans aren't forced to accept those "wonders" - while Rhea knows it will end in a disaster in 200 years, but if it can stop this war, and if everyone accepts it, then why not.

At the end of the day : Nopes wise, there's a small army who allied with the Kingdom and the Church of Adrestian soldiers led by their own leader (a bit like green units) - their fate depends on the routes picked, in AG Hresvelg Bastard assumes the throne, in GW they're killed when the Srengese-Federation army marches on the Kingdom, and in SB, they followed Rhea in GM thus, died.

[puppppppppy]

(yes I know siffrins cloak grows sleeves when its convenient but I wanna play around with this)

[santaricotta]

I WAS working on a new drawing, but then I went on a side quest, which led to another side quest, which led to… an entire page full of ‘em

so here ya go ★彡

[bbcphile]

The Yin Leaves Threat Is a Bluff (MLC Meta)

Mysterious Lotus Casebook fans: Are we ready to talk about how the yin leaves threat was a bluff?

So many people seem to be taking Di Feisheng at his word that he wanted to make Li Xiangyi eat the yin leaves of the Wangchuan flower to regain his martial arts for one last glorious fight and that he was fine with Li Xiangyi dying very painfully from their poison after. And I see why: after all, LLH took him at his word, too, and LLH is famously smart and a good detective.

However, LLH has a history of jumping to false conclusions about DFS and, like the rest of the jianghu, assuming the worst of him: in fact, his mistaken belief that DFS broke the peace treaty and had his shixiong killed is the central misunderstanding that nearly destroyed both their respective sects and each other. So, since LLH is canonically very bad at telling who actually wants him dead and who loves him, it’s worth investigating this further. And looking at DFS’ history of bluffing is a good place to start.

DFS and Bluffing

Di Feisheng has a history of bluffing and/or threatening to kill or torture people when he doesn’t mean it. Here are some of his most notable examples (but click here for a much longer list of things he’s lied about or withheld info about):

Threatening to kill Qiao Wanmian to convince LLH to let him find a cure for Bicha (he doesn’t kill women)

Threatening to torture Gao Qian for information (he searches rooms instead)

Threatening to kill FDB when LLH says he’s trouble (the smirk after shows he was joking)

Threatening to kill Xiao Zijin at the wedding if LLH doesn’t help him get into 188 prisons (LLH walks him into a trap and yet DFS doesn’t even try to hurt XZJ in the fight)

Lying about poisoning and curing QWM to protect LLH’s identity and pretending to kidnap her

In all of those examples, DFS is trying to help or protect LLH, albeit in a very dysfunctional way. In the first example, he’s trying to blackmail LLH into living; the second example is to solve the case to find Shi Hun to expel the Asura Grass so he can find a cure for Bicha; the third is a joke, but also one designed to make LLH admit he does care about FDB because LLH is pretending he doesn’t care about anything as a prelude to giving up once he finds SGD’s body; the fourth is to get evidence that someone framed the Jinyuanmeng so LLH will trust him again and want to live to figure out who really killed his shixiong; and the last is to protect LLH’s identity (even though he only agreed to protect it until the Asura Grass was expelled. He’s trying to prove to LLH that LLH can trust him and he wants to help him, not harm him.)

All that to say: DFS has a history of bluffing about threatening to kill people if he thinks it will help Xiangyi live, and will take on the role of the villain—role the jianghu regularly casts him in—if he thinks it will help. And as some of those examples show, he also doesn’t share his plans with LLH until after the plan has been completed. And just look at all the things DFS withheld from LXY at their first donghai battle if you need more examples: he doesn’t mention that he knows it’s a frame job or why he stole SGD’s body. In all these examples, it’s not just that DFS has control issues and doesn’t want to share theories until he has proof: it seems likely that he knows/assumes LXY wouldn’t have believed him, because LLH already proved he didn’t trust him when he fell for the frame job, broke the peace treaty, and attacked the Jinyuanmeng. DFS assumes that there’s no point in presenting information to someone who won’t listen to it; he’d think it’s a waste of time and energy that could be better spent actively solving the problem.

But Why Bluff About the Yin Leaves?

Yao Mo’s Questionable Loyalty:

When DFS says he just needs LLH to live long enough to compete with him, he’s not talking to LLH himself: he’s talking to Yao Mo. In fact, the entire yin leaves plan was Yao Mo’s idea. And that changes everything.

Why? Well, for starters, Yao Mo is the one who invented the Bicha poison and gave it to JLQ to use on LXY (without DFS’ knowledge or permission). That alone is reason enough for DFS to not know if he can trust him, and this lack of trust explains why DFS never told Yao Mo that the mystery patient was LXY/LLH or that he was poisoned by Bicha. Since JLQ poisoned LXY because DFS paid so much attention to him and to fighting with him, it makes sense that DFS would try to protect LLH by hiding his identity and not drawing attention to him. 

But of course, as soon as Yao Mo figures out the mystery patient was poisoned with Bicha, that secret is blown. The pained face (and Throat Bob of Emotion) DFS makes while Yao Mo is having this realization shows not only how upset he is that they don’t yet have a cure, but also how worried he is that Yao Mo now knows it’s LLH, which makes everything more complicated.

DFS was right that Yao Mo would figure it out, since the first thing Yao Mo does after this realization is tell DFS he’s thought of a way “to heal him so he can compete with you.” DFS had pointedly NOT mentioned competing with him in front of Yao Mo yet (to hide LLH’s identity), so this is definitive proof that his cover is blown and that DFS needs to find a new way to keep LLH safe. 

This new plan is to downplay how much LLH means to him, and that motive explains so much about this scene. We know from watching him grieve and tear up while mourning LLH at his personal waterfall after his enthronement ceremony that DFS is miserable because of LXY’s supposed death and that he doesn’t see the point in fighting anymore without him, so we know that one last fight with LXY wouldn’t fix that: he’d still be dead and DFS would still be devastated. 

(Here are some screenshots of him mourning at the waterfall.)

But this isn’t common knowledge. In fact, it seems to be a closely guarded secret; he’s mourning in private, with only Wuyan as a witness. In public and to the rest of his subordinates, he’s trying to project the attitude of the unemotional, unflappable, heartless demon of the jianghu because his reputation is part of his armor that keeps him safe. It lets him seem like he doesn’t have any weaknesses (since “a swordsman shouldn’t have weaknesses”), and it keeps people from knowing that his primary weakness (other than the mind control bug) is LXY/LLH. 

(NOTE: He’s not even comfortable with anyone other than Wuyan and the three kings knowing he cares more about reaching the pinnacle of martial arts than he does about the Jinyuanmeng itself, and it’s not clear if any of them know that he mainly wants to increase his strength and power to free himself from the mind control bug. That’s how closely he guards his vulnerabilities.) 

With that in mind, if he wants to keep Yao Mo (and therefore JLQ) from knowing how important LXY is to him, there’s only one possible answer to Yao Mo’s question about whether he’d mind if LLH dies from the yin leaves after the fight: pretending he wouldn’t object. If he said he’d give up a fight rather than let LLH die from the yin leaves, then Yao Mo would know LLH matters to him more than fighting, which would be revealing a weakness. If DFS said he would give the entire Wangchuan flower to LLH to cure him and would therefore be sacrificing his chance of getting stronger, it would be painting an even larger target on LLH’s back and showing Yao Mo that endangering LLH would be the key to controlling him. The only safe option for both LLH and DFS is for DFS to claim he doesn’t care if LLH dies after they fight and to give orders to find the flower.

Here’s a gif of his command about the Wangchuan flower:

Notice his furrowed brow, the tightness around his eyes and mouth, the way he’s almost wincing as he gives the order? He is miserable about having to play this game and his incredible poker face is barely up to the task.

Here’s a still image of right after the pronouncement; you can still see the barely suppressed wince.

After this command, he dismisses Yao Mo from the cave immediately so he doesn’t have to keep pretending he’s going to sacrifice LLH. The entire time Yao Mo is present, even while he’s walking away, DFS holds himself completely motionless, staying in character from the bluff and desperately waiting to be alone with LLH. The instant Yao Mo is gone, DFS slumps in relief, or at least, does his version of a slump: he bows/droops his head as though the weight of what just happened was too much to shoulder. 

Here’s a close-up of his reaction:

DFS’s relief at being alone with LLH shows that he believed LLH knew him well enough to know when he was bluffing.

He was wrong. 

LLH: Believing the Worst of DFS (again)

LLH’s belief that DFS wants to kill him for a duel makes sense, since at this point, he still thinks DFS did in fact have SGD killed and broke the peace treaty, and he’s pissed off, feeling betrayed, and also in pain (from the medicine and the Beifeng Baiyang transfer that made him cough up blood, and from all the snake bites–he’s primed to read those as exclusively aggressive and cruel attempts to heal him at all costs for the fight, and not to realize that DFS would absolutely do all these things to himself to heal his own martial arts without batting an eye. And he’s in too much pain to see the horrified look on DFS’s face when LLH coughs up blood and DFS realized he almost killed LLH while trying to cure him.) 

But that doesn’t mean LLH is right. 

DFS, upon seeing that LLH has again cast him as the heartless villain, doesn’t try to dispute it. In the same way that he didn’t explain about why he took SGD’s body at the donghai battle, he doesn’t explain himself about the flower, possibly because he thinks he doesn’t have time to waste arguing. His goal is to get LLH to live–he grieved him for a decade, after all, and doesn’t want to have to do it again–and he is painfully aware that he is running out of time. LLH hasn’t exactly been subtle about only staying alive to find and bury SGD’s body, and now that they’ve accomplished that, he wants to make sure LLH doesn’t give up. Growing up in Di Fortress, DFS probably learned how to recognize what it looks like when people give up on life, and seeing those signs in LLH would explain some of the desperation behind his actions.

So, what does he do instead of trying to convince LLH the threat was a bluff? Here’s a gif of his response:

He swallows his disappointment at being thought a heartless killer–bowing his head again and shaking it, then looking up at the cave roof in exasperation–and takes a long, long inhale to collect himself and to quickly brainstorm a new plan. Once he’s figured it out, he says LXY’s name and launches into stage 2 of his plan to convince LLH to live: correcting the initial misunderstanding that first led LLH to not trust him anymore. 

DFS tries to convince LLH that someone conspired against both of them a decade ago–the truth he thought LXY wouldn’t believe him about on the ship–because if that worked, then it would solve two problems: 1.  LLH might believe him that he doesn’t want to kill him for the rematch if he knew he hadn’t had SGD killed, and 2. LLH would choose to stay alive to find SGD’s real killer and get revenge. 

And when LLH doesn’t believe his initial attempt, he gives what is possibly his longest speech in the entire show detailing the evidence supporting his claim that they were both set up and offers to help him find the truth in exchange for their rematch. While he definitely does want a rematch, DFS mentions it here in part because LLH thinks it’s all he cares about; if he were to offer to help without requiring the fight, LLH would be less likely to believe him and even more suspicious of his claims, especially since LLH currently thinks DFS would kill him for said rematch.

But unfortunately, his plan for them to team up fails as he thought it would all those years ago, so he decides to play along with being the heartless villain LLH thinks he is, and it’s only then that he threatens to kill FDB (revealing FDB’s parentage in the process), because he knows that LLH would stay alive to protect FDB. 

I have another 2000+ words worth of thoughts about his talk and fight with FDB–the way he tries to “kidnap” him first instead of fighting him, the way he looks miserable during the fight instead of enjoying it the way he did during the fight at QWM and XZJ’s wedding–but it will have to wait for another meta because this is already way too long as it is. The point, though, is that he’s not fighting FDB because he wants to or is enjoying hurting him: he actually hates every second of it and of performing the role of jianghu villain LLH has once again cast him in. But he’s doing it because he thinks it’s the only way to keep LLH alive. 

These aren’t the actions of someone who just wants to sacrifice his old rival for a fight; they’re the actions of someone trying everything he can think of to keep the person he loves alive. It’s an incredibly convoluted way to show his care, but given that he’s desperate, out of time, and can’t get LLH to trust or believe him, it makes sense that he’d fall back on a reliable skillset that’s kept himself alive despite all the odds: bluffing, keeping his true goals a secret, adopting the mantle of villain, and letting himself be hated for things he hasn’t done.

With both the fight with FDB and with the yin leaves threat, DFS plays the villain to try to force LLH to live, because he’d rather LLH hate him and live than love him and die. 

Because Di Feisheng has never wanted Li Xiangyi–or Li Lianhua–dead.

[ratatatastic]

"Did you get in trouble for taking the cup into the ocean?" "Yes. Yes." "Did Rodrigues? He took it in there too!" "Did he?" "Yeah!" "Well, I mean, I brought it under the water—looking back..." "What happened?" "You bring silver into the ocean, saltwater—no!" "Oh, I didn't know that." "I haven't slept! How am I supposed to know? Nobody told me the rules!" "You haven't slept!" "Yeah, but you're naughty—" "But hey! If I would've known about it... oh no, I still probably would've done it. Still probably would've done it!" "Dude, who cares! That thing has been abused all through the years!" "No, no! The cup guys understood, the cup keepers understood—they, you know, told me the rules after and I swear to God I didn't know before but, yeah. Great memories! Great pictures!

Cam & Strick Podcast | 8.27.24 (x)

oceangate evolves further the more we talk about it so if youd like to see the other previous developments in concerns to it...

and also because its funny here are some of the times the cup has been held near or above water both salt, fresh and chlorine alike since oceangate in no particular order

and i just think its very clear when oceangate happened because now everyones holding the cup high above the water/near bodies of water and not letting it get dunked

but pre-oceangate the cup was just dunked in maffhews pool hours after they won it (which was before they went to las olas and welp the rest is history)

[aclockmaker]

more actors au continued from here

Shooting the first season is a fever dream. Creating and playing in a world that no one else gets to see yet—no reviews, no public, just them. The cast is tight, right away. Eddie, like, loves them. He's already made plans to go to Robin's family's house in Joshua Tree this summer.

Eddie and Steve don’t have that many scenes together. Eddie knows, guiltily, exactly when they’re all shooting.

It’s not just what goes on when the cameras are rolling, either. (Which is, like, still insane. Still makes Eddie feel like he's taken club drugs. And maybe he's not the only one, because—)

It's also that Steve is more likely to ask him to hang out, just the two of them, after they shoot together. Eddie could text him or ask him but he has a complex set of rules for how often he's allowed to be the one initiating it, because, well. He's nursing a pretty bad crush here. It's deeply unprofessional.

In the episode before this, Eddie confides in Nancy’s character, their teen journalist-detective, that he has something he thinks he needs to tell her. Something that’s going to blow her mind. But they’re just in the hall at school, the bell ringing, so he can’t do it right now. It’s his own little “I’ve got a secret, Veronica Mars. A good one.” (He’s watched as many dead-girl tv shows as he can to bone up for the role—all the classics going back to Twin Peaks. Veronica Mars is uniquely applicable because Lily does appear in flashbacks, and even though they’re subverting the trope by having a guy get killed, they all know what kind of story they’re telling.)

In the scene they shoot tonight, Steve's character comes to Eddie's house that same night before he can get to Nancy to try to convince him not to tell her. It's not clear what Steve thinks he knows, when he climbs in through Eddie's window, only that he's practically begging Eddie not to do it. He starts off aggressive, like they're yet again about to get into a physical fight. But the fact that Eddie lets him in speaks to the fact that maybe there's a little more to their relationship. And then Steve's character breaks down, cries a little, and it's really—something, to be wrapping his arms around Steve's shoulders in front of the camera and the crew, under the lights. Eddie is a professional, and he's perfectly capable of slotting those feelings into their correct file folders for later perusal, but—it's something. He's given Steve bro hugs. He's pretty sure Steve even hugged him for real the first time he saw him after he was cast (it's a blur). The only time they've hugged like this is on film.

He's not surprised when there's a message waiting for him on his phone when he eventually gets back to it post-short scene with Max, whose character lives next to Eddie's in-story. The message itself is a little surprising. Hey, I'm wrapped so I'm going home but do you want to come by? And then an address in Silver Lake.

It's not so crazy. Steve takes awhile to decompress after filming something emotional; he doesn't like to be alone. Eddie has learned this very quickly and has very quickly come to crave being the one Steve decompresses with. It just typically happens on the studio lot, in Steve's trailer. But this is fine, too. It just makes sense. Steve was done for the day so he went home. But he still wants to see Eddie.

Eddie sends back three thumbs up emojis, bangs his head on his steering wheel, and starts driving. He chews a fingernail, wonders if he should stop somewhere to get something to bring. A bottle of wine. But that’s stupid probably—it’s not a dinner party. It’s just two friends hanging out. (If he thinks it a little defensively, that’s because Mike was leaning heavy on the innuendo when he asked Eddie where he was going tonight. “Oh really, with Steve? Huh. It’s nice you two get along so well.” Eddie had just glared at him and moved on. The kid is such a little shit.)

Steve hugs him when he gets there, which is almost funny—now that he’s acted it out, he’ll do it in real life, like an echo. But it doesn’t seem fake, it just seems like that’s what Steve does when someone comes to his house. He’s a little high strung, maybe, in constant motion while he waves Eddie in and offers him a beer.

They end up on the pool deck, beers in hand, sitting with their legs dangling in the water up to their knees. It’s secluded here, big, old trees blocking them from any neighbors’ view.

“So,” Steve says. “Good scene after I left?” It doesn’t sound like what he really wants to ask.

“Yeah, fine,” Eddie agrees. “You know what Max is like—she’s too cool for school.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Steve laughs.

“Never,” Eddie agrees. The teasing would never end. He glances at Steve, who seems mostly relaxed, maybe a little hunched in on himself.

“Did you ever, um,” Steve starts, looking out at the water. “Date a co-star?”

Eddie’s brain whites out a little, just static. “Uhh. I thought you were going to ask if I thought you looked weird when you cried, or something.”

Steve sputters. “Do I?”

“No, dude, very pretty crier.” Eddie smiles.

“Thanks I guess,” Steve says, frowning a little.

Eddie chews on his lip. “But, uh. No, I haven’t.”

Steve sighs. “Yeah, me either.”

Which is funny, because he’s been linked with a couple of them from previous projects, but Eddie guesses you can’t believe everything you read.

“Is there someone,” Eddie asks carefully, “you want to date?” Steve is close with Robin and Nancy. Eddie can’t see Robin dating a guy, but what does he know.

“I don’t know,” Steve admits. “I feel like. I don’t know if it would be a terrible idea, because we work together.” And then he just stops talking.

“I might be able to respond better if I knew who we were talking about here.”

Steve gives him a look. “You do know. Don’t make me say it.”

“Gonna definitely need you to.” And then, because he can't help trying to make Steve laugh. "It's Joyce, right?"

"Please," Steve says, and does laugh a little. "I wish I thought I had a shot with Joyce." She's a legitimately famous actress who Eddie often can't believe he's going to share an IMDB listing with.

"But, uh," Steve goes on. “I don’t want to mess anything up, though.” Now he sounds careful.

Eddie doesn’t know what Steve thinks he’s messing up—their chemistry, he guesses, if he’s not reading this very wrong. Their friendship maybe. The show. Any remaining semblance of professionalism. Eddie is pretty ready to throw most of that stuff out the window—after all, who says just because they hook up the work will suffer? Maybe it’ll be better because Eddie won’t be crushed under the weight of absurd amounts of sexual tension anymore. Not that it’s been a hardship, but…

“I don’t think you’re messing anything up,” Eddie tells him. “I mean—personally. Who says anything will get messed up?” I think it might be worth it even if it does, he doesn’t add, because it’s shocking to even think it, and obviously too much for the moment. He doesn’t know if he really means it—this show is, like, the opportunity he’s been waiting his whole life for. But he’s already dead on it; there’s only so many flashback scenes they can film as he ages further out of the high school age bracket for a character who can’t get older.

“Yeah, but.” Steve runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “The way we are on the show—“ he shoots a worried little glance at Eddie, who tries not to react outwardly to that, which is hard. “Don’t you think some of that’s because—I mean, for me at least, it is, I’m not saying—for you—"

“Me, too,” Eddie assures him before he hurts himself. “But—okay, you brought this up, not me. What do you want, then?”

“Dude, I wish I knew,” Steve says. “I mean—“ he glances at Eddie— “I know what I want, but I don’t know what we should do. But I just felt like I was going crazy, and the only person I really wanted to tell was, well, you.”

Oh. “Steve,” Eddie says, almost a warning. He wants to offer that they can hook up and it won’t mean anything and nothing will change. He wants to offer that they can date and nothing bad will happen. It’s all stupid, impossible to promise.

“I know,” Steve says miserably. “Sorry.”

Eddie shakes his head. It’s almost unbearably sweet that Steve is so bent out of shape over him. “Come on, we only have, what, two more weeks of filming? We can make it through two weeks, right?”

“Guess we have to,” Steve agrees, but he moves his hand over a little so their pinkies touch on the edge of the pool.

tagging a few people by request, thank you for being interested <3 @atlas-talks @obsessivlyme @lyriclight @deadflowercollector @thatonebadideapanda @wolfstarlights @eddiemunsonswife @alienace @wishiwasacasualfan

[vergilthelibrarian]

Every little thing that you have ever told him about you, stuck to his mind like glue.

Your voice would play over and over in his mind similarly to catching an ear worm from a catchy song.

Your slightly calloused hands were always cold while his were warm.

In his eyes, that meant you two complemented each other.

Fire and Ice.

In his eyes, the world was a dark place, but he didn’t see you as his light.

As his savior.

Leon saw the tiredness within your eyes, the dark circles that made you look slightly intimidating.

Oh, how he hated that. He would see glimpses of sparkles that would twinkle within your eyes, glimpses of heavenly light shining down on you whenever you smiled or laugh.

Happiness was such a perfect look on you in his eyes.

Just like you, he too suffered from the cruelty of the world. His eyes no longer shinning as bright and innocently as they use too. No longer filled with the hope and optimism that once made him feel invincible.

Now, he felt nothing but dread.

Dread of the future and dread of the unknown.

He has lost a lot of people close to him… but when his eyes laid upon you, he felt a pull and he couldn’t truly explain until he finally talked to you and once, he did, he realized that you two were kindred spirits and once came to that realization, he concluded that he couldn’t lose you.

He wanted to help you.

To save you.

He didn’t want you to continue to suffer in this world and to question your own existence because of said suffering.

Is this love? Obsession? Or him simply being empathetic? He couldn’t tell as he never put much deep thought about his feelings for you.

But if there was one thing he was positive about, was that you needed him as much as he needed you because in his eyes,

You’re just too important to him to just let die.

And if he must lock you away from this harsh world, then he’ll do it.

Your safety is his number one priority.

[lablass-2882]

I had a "fun" moment today.....

"Fun" as in, I think I broke my new coworkers mind for a second when I A.) Explained that I am a bit of a gamer in all my nerdy lab science glory. And B.) Listed games like elden ring, dark souls, bloodborne, Hades 1, Hades 2, Hollow Knight and Baldur's Gate in the same ramble as Mario, legend of zelda, stardew valley, pokemon, and animal crossing.

The face they gave me when they asked how I can enjoy super cozy games like animal crossing and super "hard-core" games like bloodborne at the same time.

Well.....

My answer was a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Sometimes, I want a cozy little game with cute animal neighbors, and sometimes I want to purge the old gods with fire and brimstone in a vengeful rage. It depends on the day and my mood, honestly.

[declawedwildcat]

Hey Tumblr! I'm seeing a slow increase of new users in some of the tags I frequent, so I want to bring up a small reminder: tagging here is not done quite the same as other social media. When you tag a post, you need to only tag things that are directly related to the content in that post. Tagging a bunch of unrelated things will not really get you extra reach, it will only make it worse.

If you post your art and tag it with a bunch of things that are not explicitly in that drawing, it will at best get you blocked by some folks who follow those tags and don't want to see your unrelated posts, and at worst get you reported for spam (as, to the letter of the Community Guidelines, that's what that is). Doing "tag rambles" and leaving comments/sentences is fine and encouraged, but regular tags that are actually in use have to be related to what's in your post or else it is considered spam. So please, make sure you're tagging correctly and you will see a lot more friendly interaction!🙏

[mushroominaforest]

Can I get some Human anatomy tips ? I'd Google it but I like hearing from fellow cartoony artists. If you have no tips or anything u can just ignore me :)

All you gotta do to achieve good humans with accurate anatomy in your art is to only draw Canadians in the winter

Jokes aside, honestly just practice. There’s no quick and easy trick to do good anatomy, you have to put in the time. Study references, do billions of figure drawings, look at skeletons, bone structures, muscle and fat formations etc.

Dont just practice drawing people standing in the pick your character/sims stance. Draw ‘em walking, playing an instrument, playing a sport, (yoga is a good one for more complex pose practice).

Bear in mind this is coming from an art major, so I probably have snobbish opinions about the « right » way to draw lmao.

And if all else fails, just draw Canadians in winter.

[demigod-of-the-agni]

runs back into bromantic flight. eyo does that mean Lloyd has a saddle (not actually a saddle, but something that connects to both him and Kai that is) that Kai can use to move Lloyd's arm in dragon form while traveling around on him?

I made a doodle just for you, dear anon

(lloyd is extra noodle-y now)

(also not tumblr eating the quality again god im so sorry)

Anyway what you're seeing here is that, yes, Kai has a saddle that he uses to connect the prosthetic to. The little glowing yellow things around Kai's leg? They're supposed to represent the straps that Kai fastens around his thigh to connect him to Lloyd's prosthetic (but i grew lazy and did not draw them in properly lmao)

Kai's thigh would be strapped to the radioulnar portion of the prosthetic, and the "stirrup" Kai's foot rests in is bolted into this sliding piston in the carpal portion of the prosthetic (which i also did not draw (forgot to) so you'll have to imagine it).

The main idea behind the self-regulating pistons is actually based on a real-life phenomenon called the perching reflex, which is found in birds! A series of "flexor tendons" are attached from the bird's femur and stretch all the way down to the back of the leg and the underside of the toes. When the bird extends its legs, the toes extend as well because the tendons relax; and when the the bird flexes its legs, the toes curl up because now the tendon is stretched around the bones and prevent free movement. This is actually how birds can sit in trees and sleep all night without falling.

(from Bird Vet Melbourne)

Similar thing is happening with the prosthetic, but instead of tendons it's pistons. When Kai flexes his leg, his thigh draws up the upper portion of the prosthetic and his flexing ankle (dorsiflexion) curls up the prosthetic's fingers, so to speak; and when Kai straightens his leg, his thigh pushes the upper portion downward, and his foot extension (plantarflexion) also extends the fingers.

I know this sounds like an absolute workout for Kai, and it is, and you may think by the time he comes back after numerous test flights everyone is very aware of his bulging quads, but it's not that obvious; it's like riding bicycle, if you think about. a really long bicycle. with one leg. while flying in the air. It's pretty much the same thing.

TLDR: there is a saddle that connects to the prosthetic. Kai sits on the saddle and uses his leg to adjust Lloyd’s prosthetic

[skyloftian-nutcase]

From the Shadows (pre-LU whump)

@nancyheart11

Summary: Twilight encounters a black blooded beast for the first time. It doesn't go well.

(AO3 link)

It was a bitterly cold evening. The coming of winter brought winds from the northwest, and though it probably wasn't excessively frigid, Rusl was still accustomed to the warm summer. The home carried a damp chill, and the blacksmith found himself huddling by the fire after a hard day's work. Hana sat on his lap, babbling happily while playing with her toys, while Colin helped his mother cook dinner. The dull light that could pierce through the clouds was steadily fading as the hidden sun slowly set beneath the horizon.

Rusl hummed absentmindedly, though he couldn't quite maintain a tune, but his daughter didn't seem to mind. His mind drifted passively from thought to thought, settling on wondering what Uli might be whipping up in the kitchen, when there was some sort of ruckus outside. Cuccoos were squawking, a horse was whinnying very loudly - what was going on?

Rising, Rusl told Hana to go to her mother just as he and Colin headed for the door together. The cold slammed their faces as Colin got there first, and Rusl felt his blood freeze with it.

Epona was running amok in the village, panicked. She was fully saddled and bridled as if Link had been out riding, but now there was no Link to be found while his steed was in a frenzy.

Ilia, who had also come out due to the commotion, rushed to the horse first. Many of the villagers peered out through cracked doors, anxious and curious. Colin got to Epona next while Rusl looked around for any sign of his ward.

"Sshh, it's okay," Ilia hushed gently, petting Epona's head while she stomped in place nervously.

"Where's Link?" Colin asked worriedly.

"I... I don't know," Ilia answered. "I didn't even know he'd left the village."

Rusl eyed the steed sharply, looking for clues while worry curled in his gut and clenched at his heart. It wasn't a promising sign for Link's horse to be in such a state. The animal was unharmed, but he saw traces of clues: a small branch caught in the saddle, a half open satchel of supplies partially used.

Link had been exploring, or fighting, and something had gone wrong.

The resistance member reentered the house, brushing by a worried Uli and grabbing his sword and shield. He layered up clothes and some armor while Uli approached him.

"Rusl?" she didn't have to ask what was wrong. Her tone and eyes asked everything she needed to.

"I don't know what happened," Rusl answered. "But something's wrong with Link. I'm going to find him."

Uli swallowed, hands wringing anxiously as she looked back outside. "Please, be careful."

Rusl paused, watching his wife a moment. She never argued his choices to leave for missions or operations, but he knew how much it weighed on her. She wanted to make sure Link was well too, but he could sense her fear at the sudden shift in mood, at the hasty decision to drop everything and enter an unknown peril. He cupped her cheek, guiding her eyes to his. "I will be. I promise."

Uli smiled a little, leaning into his touch, before stepping away so he could finish. Rusl headed outside to see Colin armed with a sword and a cloak.

"Colin," he started, but his son cut him off.

"I've been training," Colin immediately argued. "I'm coming too."

Rusl bit back a sigh. His boy had always been eager to help ever since the Twilight incident, and adolescence had only added defiance to eagerness, making it all the harder to keep him safe. There was little time to argue, and... the boy wasn't wrong. His sword skills were quite good.

It didn't make his father feel much better about the situation. He already had one son in danger. He wasn't keen on putting another one in the same circumstances.

"Colin--"

"Every minute we spend arguing, Link could be dying!" Colin interrupted.

The teenager wasn't wrong, but Rusl still felt uneasy. "Fine. But you ride Epona, and the second I tell you to get out, you listen. Understood?"

Colin swallowed, paused, and then nodded. Rusl felt a little at ease with that - his boy was honest, and thankfully had inherited a bit more of his mother's reason than his father's stubbornness. Although he had certainly done some foolish, harebrained things, he would listen to his father.

Rusl grabbed his own horse and the pair headed towards Faron Woods with well wishes at their backs from the villagers. He reached out, letting his hand rest gently on Epona's head. "You'll have to guide us, girl."

Colin pat Epona's neck, urging her forward. At first the steed was obedient, but the farther into the woods they went, the more nervous and hesitant she became. That meant whatever had caused the initial scare had to be close. Despite already being on alert, he tensed even more, eyes searching for clues.

He didn't have to search for long. The earth was scarred, claw marks and chunks of dirt thrown like lacerations in the skin of the land itself. The birds were silent. Epona nickered, taking a step back. The oncoming darkness of night gave the trees sinister silhouettes. Rusl and Colin's warm breaths hovered in the chilly air, the only apparent sign of life around them.

"I've never seen the forest so still," Colin commented quietly, a slight tremor to his tone. He reached hesitantly for his sword.

Rusl's own mount began to grow nervous, ears peeling back, hooves playing uneasily with the earth. The air felt distinctly colder. The swordsman drew his blade, and his son followed suit.

"Let's keep moving," he said, guiding his steed forward with a tap of his heels.

Eventually it grew so dark that Rusl was squinting to see anything, and he brought out his lantern. It seemed to be of little help, creating ominous shadows that seemed to creep ever closer as they moved. Epona nickered again, and then she picked up her pace. Rusl followed closely, eyes alert for danger. His eyes picked up on silky strands that glowed in the lantern light, and his insides started to crawl.

Colin gasped ahead of him. "Link!"

Rusl's gaze snapped straight ahead, his horse breaking into a canter to get to the front, and then he leapt off as he took in the sight before him.

Link was on the his back, splayed out across smooth stone, pale and shivering, blood staining his green tunic as his hand clutched his upper abdomen. His eyes were half open, already noticing Rusl and Colin's approach.

"Pa," he whispered as Rusl fell to his knees beside him.

"What happened?" Rusl asked, looking the young man over. The worst of it from what he could tell was a bad gash on the boy's head and whatever wound he was trying to hold pressure against on his abdomen. Rusl quickly pulled out a bandage from the first aid bag he'd grabbed and gently tried to guide Link's hand from the injury.

"They're... strong..." his boy tried to explain, coughing. "P-Pa..."

Rusl hushed him gently, hand wrapping around Link's wrist. "It's going to be okay, Link, but you have to let me see the wound."

"I'm... glad you're... I didn't..."

Rusl grew more worried as Link didn't seem to listen. He again tried to move the young man's hand, watching blood stream from beneath.

"Pa...?" Colin called hesitantly, and Rusl looked up, gasping and nearly falling backwards.

Eight eyes watched him, beady and black as coal, two incisors chattering excitedly beneath them. Rusl immediately grabbed his sword and shield in time to block a quick strike from the large skulltula. The force of the attack sent him on his backside, and Colin leapt forward, jabbing at the beast with his blade. The giant monster hissed, taking a few steps back before pressing the attack again. Colin yelped, dodging a blow, and Rusl quickly leapt to his feet to stab and cut one of its legs. He saw that one had already been chopped off entirely, and he recognized multiple sword slashes in the beast's body. How was this thing still standing?!

"Colin, protect Link!" Rusl advised, trying to press the offense and push the beast farther away from his boys. Colin grabbed his lantern and set it beside Link, lighting the area better so Rusl could see his opponent.

Link watched the fight with exhausted worry, eyebrows pinched but too weak to do anything. He turned his attention towards Colin as his little brother stood over him defensively. "Colin."

The blonde teenager jumped, startled, and looked down at Link. "It's okay, Link! Pa and I will sort this out."

"It's too... strong," Link advised, shaking his head slowly. "E-Epona..."

"Link, it's going to be okay!" Colin insisted, gripping his sword more tightly.

Rusl emphasized the point when he managed to land a stab right at the joint where one of the beast's legs met its thorax. That should cripple it nicely. The skulltula hissed and screamed, the leg in question giving out, before another swept across the ground, slamming Rusl in the ribs and sending him flying.

Colin called out, rising and ready to run to his father, and Rusl waved him off, blinking stars out of his vision. Link's hand finally left his wound to wrap around Colin's ankle, catching the boy off guard.

"Epona..." he tried again. "Bag... potion... Pa can't... fight it alone..."

Colin looked frantically between his brother and father. Rusl was still down, trying to catch his breath as the skulltula advanced quickly. Making a decision, the teenager rushed back to Epona while yelling to get his father's attention and warn him.

Rusl felt his head spinning, but he could hear the hasty footsteps of the beast, and he readied his shield in time to avoid getting bitten by its massive fangs. The onslaught was constant now, though, one bite after another, legs moving to position him more easily for the kill. He rolled away, grimacing through the damage to his ribs, but he eventually hit a tree and had nowhere else to go without getting up.

Gritting his teeth, Rusl let out a yell of defiance and pain as he rose, only to get smacked down again by one of the beast's uninjured legs. His world was beginning to spin, and he'd ventured too far from the lantern light to see properly anymore. His veins filled with ice as his mind registered this was getting out of control. He rose again, shaky, and jabbed blindly with his sword to create some distance. The skulltula retreated a hair as intended, and he could barely make out its silhouette in the darkness.

A snarl filled the air, something dark and fast rushed into view, slamming the skulltula to the ground. It crumpled with a shriek, legs sprawled and flailing. Light illuminated the area as Colin ran into the clearing, lantern in one hand, sword in the other. He stabbed at the beast's thorax once, twice, thrice, and it still wailed and wiggled, trying to right itself and continue the fight.

The dark, snarling thing that slammed into the beast stumbled into view, and Rusl could make out claws and paws and matted fur before the light around it was snuffed into nothingness. The light reformed with a hiss, and Link was crouching in their midst, trembling and bloodied but up and moving.

"Give me the lantern," Link hissed, grabbing it and smashing it over the beast, flames licking at the monster as it screamed. Link brought his blade down and cut the creature's thorax clean into sections, and the skulltula finally grew silent and still.

Everyone blew out a collective sigh of relief.

Colin broke the silence first, running to his father. "Pa, are you okay?"

Rusl watched Link turn to look at him, his own face cast in shadow, exhausted and filthy and wounded. The Ordonian took a shuddering breath, feeling his own chest scream in protest, and his world finally stopped spinning. He placed a shaky hand on Colin's shoulder, looking hisboy over and seeing that he was unscathed.

"I'm okay," he finally said. He would be better if he could get his racing heart under control. He'd never had such trouble fighting a single beast. He... was about to die if Link hadn't stepped in. His mind was caught in a spiral between concern for his boys and fear at his own mortality having been thrust in his face so unexpectedly. He'd faced death a fair amount, but not when the stakes were so high, not when his sons were right there.

Spirits above. They could have all died just now.

One of them was still hurt. He needed to help Link.

Rusl got to his feet, his body trembling, and he squeezed Colin's shoulder reassuringly. The flames on the skulltula were feasting happily, but they would soon extinguish so long as the Ordonians moved the dead leaves away from the corpse.

"We should go," Link advised quietly. "I'll guide the way. My wolf eyes can see in the dark."

Rusl stumbled somewhat unsteadily towards the young man, not acknowledging his words for a second. Both his hands went to Link's face, holding him steady with his gaze as he looked him over. How the young hero was suddenly standing when he'd been barely able to slew words together before was disconcerting and confusing. He was still wounded, wasn't he? The blood indicated as such.

"I had a potion, Pa," Link explained, putting an equally unsteady hand on the man's chest. Rusl saw the hand was stained, but the blood... why was it black?

He had far more questions than answers, but Link was right. They needed to go. They couldn't handle another fight like that. Rusl felt his heart skip a beat at the thought that something so dangerous had been anywhere near Ordon Village.

Link stepped away before Rusl had a chance to speak, crouching to the ground as shadows encased him. A wolf exited the darkness, shaking himself off a little with a small whine. Link couldn't hide his emotions or his wounds as well in this form, and it was clear he was in pain.

Reality snapped into place around Rusl, and he quickly kicked the leaves away from the skulltula's body, advising Colin to do the same. The last thing they needed was to burn down the forest. Link dug little trenches around the massive body. After a few minutes of work, the three were satisfied enough to leave the body burning, fire lazily crawling across and consuming as it went.

Epona nickered and ran forward to greet them when they made their way back to the original clearing. Rusl saw his horse waiting anxiously in the background. Epona and Link touched noses briefly, the wolf's tail wagging slowly.

"She got us," Colin explained. "She ran back to the village."

Link let out a small noise, licking tentatively at Epona's muzzle, and the horse nuzzled the wolf's face briefly.

"We need to go," Rusl finally said, mounting his own horse with a grunt of pain. He wanted nothing more than to let Link ride with him, but the boy wasn't wrong in that they needed a guide out. It was now night, and the crescent moon did little to guide their way, particularly with the cloud coverage. Colin got on Epona's saddle, and Link slowly began to limp through the forest.

As they moved, it gave Rusl more time to think and worry. How much blood had Link lost before he'd had a potion? Where had this beast come from, and how was it so powerful? Skulltulas were unpleasant, but they'd never been more than a nuisance unless in groups. Perhaps there had been more? Rusl hadn't seen any others, alive or dead.

Dead. Dead. He could have died, and worst of all, it would have left his boys at that beast's mercy. Rusl took a steadying breath, wincing again at his ribs.

He was getting too old for this. Facing his mortality hadn't been this terrifying since the first time it had happened. Then again, it didn't happen all that often. The last time he'd felt such fear clutch at his throat was when the Twilight invasion had started. He'd been nearly beaten senseless, and though he had been afraid for his own life, he had been far more terrified for his children.

But his children hadn't been present for that fight. Here they would have died if he'd failed, and he'd nearly failed.

He needed to contact the others about this. He'd never encountered such a beast, and he couldn't fight another alone. Link hadn't been able to fight it alone!

The sound of Ordon Spring soothed his worries a little, reminding him that they were somewhere safe now. He pulled back on the reigns to stop his horse, and the movement caught his boys' attention.

"Change back," Rusl ordered as he dismounted.

Link watched him a moment, intelligent blue eyes practically glowing in the dark, and then he complied. The young man shuddered, already crouching on the ground, and toppled over to his hands and knees. Rusl knelt down to hold him steady, helping him readjust to sit on the ground instead. Colin was at his other side in an instant.

"Did the potion not help?" Colin asked worriedly, not quite accustomed to the effects of such magical draughts.

"I'm okay," Link assured his little brother tiredly.

"We'll be sure of that when we get home," Rusl added, wrapping an arm around him. "You're riding the rest of the way, Link."

His eldest looked like he was going to argue, but a squeeze around his shoulders silenced him. Instead, he sighed, rising alongside Rusl. There was still some fight left in him, though. "It's not a long walk, Pa."

"Then I'm walking with you," Rusl countered, equally as stubborn as his boy.

"Me too!" Colin insisted.

"This is dumb," Link whined. "The horses--"

"Will follow," Rusl interrupted. "You want to walk, let's walk."

The farther into the village they went, the more at ease everyone became. Ordon held a peace to it that couldn't be easily described, except that the place radiated safety and peace and home. The symphony of crickets and gentle trickle of water eased Rusl's worries about any beasts following, allowing him to focus all his attention instead on ensuring his boy was alright.

Uli was waiting for them when they came home, medical supplies already at the ready alongside some milk. Her face was pinched in worry, but it relaxed a little at seeing everyone at least on their feet. Her eyes scanned the three quickly, and Rusl felt a twinge of guilt and gratitude mixing uneasily at the realization that she was well accustomed to searching for injuries by this point.

Colin escaped the fussing for the most part, aside from just the fact that he was the youngest. He insisted at least three times that he was unharmed, even lifting his tunic to prove it, and was sent to the blanket pile awaiting him in front of the hearth, a cup of milk in hand anyway. Link was next, immediately swept to the couch and told to lay down and take his shirt off. His unsteady gait had both his parents on high alert, and though it was evident that the potion had indeed done the trick (goddesses above, those had been puncture wounds, that beast had actually managed to bite into his boy), it was also evident he'd lost a faira mount of blood and possibly smacked his head. He was tentatively fed some milk and warm broth before Uli began to fuss over cleaning him up. Rusl helped her get Link out of his clothes and chainmail. As his wife wiped blood and grime with a warm, wet rag, Rusl examined the mail, looking at the breaks and resolving to repair it.

The warm water and soothing touch from his mother soothed Link into a half asleep state. Though Rusl knew Uli would prefer just outright giving Link a bath, the simple cleaning was more than enough for the chilly night, and Link's pride would only allow for so much fussing. Eventually the young man was snoring softly on the couch, dressed in Rusl's spare clothes and swaddled in more blankets than Rusl could count.

Rusl sighed in relief, the last tension finally draining out of him, and he dragged his feet to the table. His gaze moved between his sons, both of whom had fallen asleep. Colin was too big for Uli to carry anymore, so he tiredly resigned himself to the task, wincing as he rose.

"You're hurt," Uli said, and Rusl felt like it was possibly a death sentence in itself.

"Uli--"

"You're hurt," she emphasized, tears starting to shimmer in her eyes.

Spirits above, he couldn't make her cry. Rusl went to her, holding her reassuringly, and insisted he was fine. To prove his point, he moved to pick up Colin, trying to hide the pain from his face.

Uli was always a patient and gentle woman. She rarely expressed negative emotions outwardly - instead, it usually came up in her silence, in her melancholy and lack of energy. However, there were still times where it came forth, and she always expressed it in the worst ways possible.

His wife was hardly ever angry, but she would get disappointed.

"Don't," she said, her body stiff, breath short and choppy. "Don't pick him up. You'll set a bad example. They'll think it's okay to ignore injuries."

"Uli, I--"

"Do you want them to get hurt like this more? To hide it and make it worse?" And oh, if it wasn't the disappointment, it was the guilt and tears. Rusl felt exasperated and penitent all at once. He sighed, putting his pride aside and slowly sitting back down.

Uli burst into tears. Rusl immediately rose to go to her, and she pushed him back down.

"I'm sorry, I just--I get so worried," Uli sniffled, muffling her already soft sobs in a handkerchief.

"I know," Rusl said quietly, guilt eating away at him. "I'm sorry too."

Uli pushed a bottle of milk towards him wordlessly, fighting to regain her composure, and Rusl drank it without argument. The couple took in the silence and each other's company, and Uli settled beside him at the table as they watched their children sleep.

"We almost died out there," Rusl said suddenly. He cursed himself and was thankful that the words spilled out all at the same time; he didn't want to worry Uli, but he needed to say it. "That beast... I've never... it makes no sense. It was far more powerful than any skulltula I've ever seen, and it bled black blood."

"Black blood?" Uli repeated. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Rusl answered honestly, his gaze settling on Link. The milk he'd had warmed him from the inside out, mending and soothing the ache in his chest. Finally able to take a deep breath, he pulled Uli close as she rested her head on his shoulder. "But we'll figure it out together."

The pair sat there, taking comfort in each other, and a gentle silence hung in the air, holding the oncoming cold at bay.

[ef-1]

girlhood

[kindred-spirit-93]

way down hadestown

listening to hadestown bc ofc i am lol. its not like i have significantly more important and career determining things to be focusing on.

and this is my first time so im really enjoying the litte bits and bobs i can make out before eventually venturing into commentary and further content made for and about the musical someday

a few things so far i reeeeeeeeeally liked lol

euridice has the voice of a freaking angel i love her (the note she hit at harbour me? omg. also flowers is my favourite song hehe)

speaking of flowers persephone is such a gremlin and i love that for her. funny fluid body language and at times cheeky. good soup

her voice reminds me a lot of zira lol. scratchy vocals at time but smoother than a petal! adore her performance. i also want her bag

hades' voice dropping 17 octaves when hes wearing his sunglasses is so funny to me for some reason lol. ugh he really has a grimey vulture-y vibe to him. very cool and demanding presence tho

also him calling the workers my children whereas seph refers to orpheus at some point as brother is very interesting to me

on todays episode of it probably wasnt that deep but i brought a shovel anyway: aside from being a funny concept (and new to me lol), i think its fascinating to have seph associated so with wine. it made me think of dionysus at first, which made me think of the myths where zagreus is dio, and zagreus is persephones son. idk i just thought it was neat

hermes is the shit man i love his sweet but sarcastic old man energy. snazzy suits too he slays so hard

the fates!!! awesome dresses i need them immediately

idk what the style/ genre is called (blues???) but the note at pennies on the drum is the best thing ive heard in a while. powerful vocals, very kickass

never realised how hard it must be to be belting notes and doing full choreo as well. and in heels? my god hats off to them i cant walk properly in them lol

the set is beautiful the floor rotates and the lights and everything! so much work was lovingly put into it all and im so here for it

will add as i go on lol but have this for now

[picory]

don't get me wrong, i love obsessing over small details in the lore of whatever media i'm into, but i'll be frank and say i've never understood the big deal of the canon LOZ timeline... just ignore what nintendo is telling you and cook up your own version of the timeline if it really matters to you. i don't think the creators really care that much themselves, if the fact that BOTW/TOTK are completely separate from the newly established timeline is any indication lol. they couldn't fit those games anywhere... cause it's not that serious (said light-heartedly. if you care that's awesome. do your thing ❤️)

[ashes-in-a-jar]

The fact that I am being driven crazy by the strange obsession a lot of tma Tumblr users have with a wrong interpretation of Michael Distortion is actually so Distortion coded it's kinda funny