#atla moo the dark one

[cocajimmycola]

names, pronouns and titles based on eldritch monsters + shadow creatures??

︵︵ NAMES Antumbra, Atlantis, Atlas, Aza, Bizarre, Cele, Celestial, Crow, Cthulu, Eerie, Ghos, Gloam, Grief, Grieve, Ink, Migo, Moon, Mourn, Ossian, Penumbra, Phantasm, Phantom, Remorse, Riel, Rue, Shade, Sin, Spectre, Syn, Trace, Tragedy, Twi, Umbra, Whim, Woe

︵︵ PRONOUNS Ab/Abom/Abomination, Am/Ams/Amself, Being/Beings/Beingself, Blo/Blood/Bloodself, Crep/Crepu/Crepuself, Dar/Dark/Darkself, Dea/Death/Deathself, Des/Desp/Despairself, Die/Dies/Dieself, Dour/Dours/Dourself, Eld/Eldr/Eldritchself, Glo/Gloo/Gloomself, God/Gods/Godself, Gore/Gores/Goreself, Grie/Grieve/Grieveself, Grim/Grims/Grimself, Hell/Hells/Hellself, Hor/Horr/Horrorself, Kill/Kills/Killself, Lor/Lord/Lord, Mer/Merc/Mercyself, Mo/Moo/Moodself, Omen/Omens/Omenself, One/Ones/Oneself, Pi/Pity/Pityself, Re/Res/Regretself, Sin/Sins/Sinself, Sini/Sinis/Sinisterself, Sor/Sorr/Sorrowself, Soul/Souls/Soulself, Su/Sull/Sullenself, Ten/Tent/Tentacleself, Ter/Terr/Terrorself, Tra/Tragi/Tragicself, Wi/Wic/Wickedself, Woe/Woes/Woeself

︵︵ TITLES The Dark One, The Harbringer of Darkness, The Omen, The One who Lurks, The Terror, The Terror Itself, The Horror Of the World, The Terrible, It who Lurks, The Despair Bringer, The End of all Days, The Ender, The Last God, The One who Destroys, The Destroyer of Worlds, The Last Breath, The One who Ends, The Omen Bringer, The One who Wilts, The Grief Bringer, The Old God, The Old Deity, The False Deity

[randombook4idk]

my lovely trio

Also:

mood

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres

ATLA

one thing about royalty (is that we love to feast) by HeavenlyDusk

Azula loves her brother the most. For him, a little bit of murder is nothing.

In the Soft Light by CSHfic, VSfic

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

or

Moon Spirit Sokka AU

Umbrella Academy

Time in a Bottle by Fernandidilly_yo

Five blinks away the dizziness that had enveloped him when they jumped and dazedly opens his eyes to a sight he hasn’t seen in years.

There is thick green grass pressed against his knees and a bright blue sky above his head. And suddenly, Five can no longer breathe.

(Or: A completely self-indulgent AU, where the Hargreeves rescue a fifteen-year-old Five from the apocalypse)

Tea Party by back2the_ocean

Five has a plan. It does not survive contact with his niece.

Untamed

This Lantern Shines For You by apollonie

“Young Master Wèi,” the healer tells him, “I’m afraid to say that you’ve been cursed.”

He laughs, it’s not exactly the first time that has happened, “Is that it? What kind of curse is it?”

“It’s a lover’s curse.”

“A lover’s curse? That’s ridiculous! It’s not like I’ve ever...” He falters a bit, “I mean, I don’t see how that could apply to me.”

The look she gives him is pitying, “It’s not that kind of lover’s curse, Young Master Wèi. This curse… It only affects people who suffer from one-sided love.”

the cow says moo, the chicken says squawk, and the demon beast of yiling says by Dragonskye

If Lan Wangji had been asking for reasons of fame or money or power (not that he was suffering a shortage of any of those attributes) that would have been one thing. But siblings were a different story entirely. If Jiang Cheng and Yanli were sick, then Wei Wuxian probably would have done just about anything to get those flowers.

"Huh," Wei Wuxian said. "Alright, you can have them."

Lan Wangji's eyes went wide, and Wei Wuxian choked. "I mean-! You can have them if you become my prisoner forever!"

(In which Lan Wangji, famed Second Jade of Lan, is not actually taken captive by the fearsome Demon Beast of Yiling. But for some reason, he stays anyways.)

BNHA

hide the bullet from the gun by dinomight

“I didn’t mean to lie,” Izuku says, gaze pointedly stuck to the speckled linoleum floor of the medical bay. He keeps trying to count the red dots, but he loses track every time. Iida closes his eyes, exhaling through his nose. “But you did. I asked you if you were hurt, and you said—” “I swear, I didn’t know.” Izuku turns too quickly, sending a wave of pain through his cracked ribs. But that’s not important—what’s important is the look in his friend’s eyes. The mixture of disappointment and anger, molten metal, hidden in depths of dark blue. The way Uraraka holds the same look but softer. “...at first.” (Or: Midoriya's friends try to get through to him about his self-sacrificial habits.)

the futility of remorse by wellthengetouttathesoupaisle

“It was him,” he says quietly. “It was Touya.”

Shouto’s lip curls downward in disgust. Fuyumi looks down at her mug and will not meet his eyes. Enji cannot bring himself to argue with them.

“I knew you were rotten,” Shouto tells him. “But I never knew you could drive someone that far.”

two hundred and fifty-three black sandalwood bath bombs by wellthengetouttathesoupaisle

“Come on,” Todoroki says, getting to his feet and pulling Midoriya up along with him. “You’re going to help us transport the goods.”

He’ll never admit it, but Bakugou’s heart nearly stops right then and there because—the goods? Is Todoroki running a drug ring? Is Midoriya helping him?

He halfway expects to end up crouching in the back of some shady alley when they drag him out of UA later that afternoon, which is why he is entirely confused when they end up inside of Lush, staring down rows and rows of bath bombs.

[popculturebuffet]

Legend of the Three Caballeros: Labyrinth and Repeat Review (Commissioned by WeirdKev27)

Saludos Amigos! We’re back on the Ride of the Three Cablleros as I intend to knock this wonderful series out at a steady cliip, and since I THOUGHT the premire was a two parter, it still ends on a cliffhanger but it’s too early to tell if this is just normal for this series like say Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, where it’s really more one continuous story, or just the end of the pilot. For now with all the exposition out of the way from part 1, we can jump right into the thick of things where we picked off.  PREVIOUSLY ON LEGEND OF THE THREE CABLLEROS: Donald had an enormously shitty birthday, loosing his job, his house and his nightmarish harpy.. er his girlfriend, all in one day. Things went up a bit though when he inhereted a Cabana belonging to his ancestor Clinton Coot and met two new pals: Ladies Man Jose Caricoca and loveable weirdo like myself Pancito Romero A Lot of Other Names Gonzales. The three soon had a yard sale with the various treasures inside the cabana and got an offer for a million dollars for the cabana and all inside from local waiter’s nightmare Baron Von Sheldgoose, whose deal includes a jewel incrusted golden atlas. Upon finding it our boys were attacked by a human goddess who popped out of the book and that’s where we pick up. 

Good. Let’s begin. So Xandra, said goddess, is holding our heroes at arrow point with their attempts to defuse the situation falling flat and their attempt to understandably flee by claming to be the cabs failing pretty much immidatley. We do get some good gags including Jose accidently telling Xandra she smells like feta cheese in greek. But lucky for our boys before Xandra can do a murder on them Donald accidently shuts the book.. and finds out she disappears when he does that. Cue our loveable idiots opening and closing the book for a while, easily one of the best bits of the episode. I will say while the pilot was pretty good comedy wise this episode solidfies how funy the series is. The series is at times a barrage of wonderful jokes and set pieces and it is awesome to behold.  Also a breif thing before we get back to the plot... Xandra is indeed human, or at least looks like one. Normally i’m against this as honestly Ducks just mesh better with Dogfaces, other birds and other anthromorphic animals. It just works better and is more consitent to have a world that’s simply anthro animals and non-anthro animals. But.. it works for me here since so the human characters.. are all gods. While i’d of PREFFERED them to still be non humans, like Ducktales does, it works since she’s not really a human but a god and thus it comes off more as her being something inherently diffrent and otherworldly, but something that’s not so distracting it pulls focus away from the rest of the cast, just otherworldly to our heroes.

So while our boy screw with the goddess who you know, tried to murder them for flimsy reasons without stopping to ask why three strangers look exactly like her friends, we get to know the triplets better. I also get a better bead on what voices Jessica is using. May is using Jessica’s Lynn voice, just a touch higher since May isn’t a preteen, while April, the one in yellow, uses the voice she’d later use for candace. Junes is a BIT like Lucy, but with obviously way more energy and emotion. But it’s clear the three are smart confident and willing to run a scheme, and easily get a thousand bucks out of sheldgoose for the spooky purple ring he saw last episode in a really chortleriffic bit where May serves as an auctioneer while her sisters up the price by bidding thus tricking Sheldgoose into paying. They also get past him having a claim on it as he dosen’t have a receipt or anything else other than a verbal contract with Donald, one that wasn’t even complete since the boys hadn’t brought out the atlas, so they were within their rights to fleece him for the ring.. even if him getting it at all is going to backfire, they had no way of knowing that so it’s whatever.  Back in the house the boys have apparently done the  book thing on Xandra about a hundred times, and Xandra FINALLY grabs the book. At least our boys are bonding. But while threatening them again , she finds out they don’t know what happened.. and recongiing clinton int he painting realizess time has passed, these boys are her boys decendants, and perhaps some explination is in order since she’s lost in a strange world. 

So after unveling a bookmark that allows her to project out of the book without being trapped, Xandra gives us our backstory: long ago, in a distant land I Aku master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable evil... wait sorry wrong narration. Long ago Xandra was guardian of the Atlas, which is explained to be the key to various magical hot spots around the world where various myths come from. Things were fine.. until the evil Lord Felldrake decided to screw it all up, binding Xandra to the book and using it to cause chaos and try and take over the world. All was lost till the Cabs stopped him, freed Xandra best they could, and then journed the world with them till she tragically was shut inside the book and seemingly lost. For whatever reason Clinton never opened the book, we’ll presumibly find out later, and well.. here she is.  Xandra is voiced by, unsuprisingly given this project’s all-star cast, voice acting vetran and modern legend of the buisness Grey DeLisle, also credited as Grey Griffith for a time. And like tress she has a rather massive and awesome resume, which naturally i’ll be going into since usually I go into shows mid way and don’t get to do this: Grey’s notable rolls include Daphne Blake ever since What’s New, Scooby Doo?, Lor from Weekenders, still not on plus and I will not let that fact go till I get a valid reason why not, Crazy Cat Lady and Lizzie Divine, Mandy, Doctor Ghastly, Kimiko Tohomiko, Sam Manson, Frankie Foster, Azula, Riley Daring, Freida Suarez, Black Canary (Brave and the Bold), Fire, Dr. Holiday, Aya, Master Nadia, Magpie, Moon Butterfly, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Lola Loud, Lana Loud, Lily Loud, and Martin Prince following Russi Taylors tragic passing, just to give you an idea of how long, varied and wonderful her career and range is. And to give a certain person paying for this review an idea of some of the shows i’m familiar with. Moving on.  Despite learning of their family legacy of heroics, our heroes are planning to still sell the book given Donald and Jose are poor, and Panchito’s giving in to peer pressure. Seriously Camil is already the MVP of the series, easily the best part of it and it’s a shame he wasn’t brought back for Ducktales, especially since by season 2 frank was aware of legend and Jamie had been on the show before. But Xandra offers them a life of adventure and heroisim.. and when that fails points out theirs treasure and the boys agree to hear her out.  So after showing some off Xandra takes them to a Labyrinth to retreive three mystic amulets, and goads Donald into going in by challenging his Ego after he tries to refuse to go. Panchito is naturally fully on board with a dangerous adventure and Jose is talked into it after Xandra pulls an explination why she can’t go out of her firmly toned ass that theirs a mystic barrier which he buys. So while Xandra conjurs a chair and a coconut drink to relax and wait to see if they die or not, our boys head in.  They find a massive, beautiful labyrnith and a large house containing a minotaur. Sadly i’ts not Ferdinand aka the Minotaur who worked as Wonder Woman’s chef, cooking up damn good vegetarian goodies for her at the Thymsicarian Embasy. All of this is real things that happened and all are things that should be in the next fucking movie. Seriously as much of a mess as Wonder Woman 1984 is, i’d buy a ticket in a heartbeat caution to teh wind if it was announced he was being adapted for it. He’s also very smart, kind and loyal if you were wondering. Get yourself a man like feridnand if your into men. 

Anyways Jose once again tries to speak a languge, and thus we get about a minute of Eric Bauza saying the word moo... sometimes... most times really.. I REALLY, REALLY love my job. But with the bull pissed off and going super sayian god super sayian, there’s only one thing left for our heroes to do...

So they do and we get a great gag where Donald, when deciding wether to split up as to lower the possiblity of him getting hit, has TWO shoulder devils, because inside every man is a battle between good and evil that evil usually wins while dancing and singing a jaunty toon over good’s grave. 

But it naturally backfires and the two devils tell him he’s on his own. So we get a fun chase sequence with the three before Donald finally decides fuck it we can fight back. Noticing Panchito’s talent with a rope, he has him rope and ride the Minotaur which he does, then uses Jose’s hankerchief to lure the minotaur and beat him. It’s a gorgeous, fun action sequence that shows off the series is as cool as it is fricking hilaroius.  So our heroes find the amulets, a blue one for donald, a red for panchito and green for jose, and put em on, proudly telling Xandra. It’s then revealed the Minotaur.. is an old friend of hers and this was just a test to see if they could work together and you know.. not die. They can, and she’s proud and plesantly suprised by how good they are.  So our heroes return home, Xandra storring the atlas on her back, and all three suitably impressed. Their further impressed when they find a hidden lair with more treasure, and three sets of armor, their ancestors old armor which as it did in the teaser at the start of the series, looks REALLY fucking cool and comes from various civlizations. Just.. lovely to look at. Our heroes pose.. and the nieces find them, wonder what’s going on, and mention Sheldgoose at the door, apparnelty not phased to meet a god or that their surrogate uncle has a hlemet.  Sheldgoose has come to offer the money.. and it’s REALLY tempiting. Donald has lost EVERYTHING remember, this money could help win Daisy back, get him a fancy house still in new quackmore.. even a third of a million is still enough to set someone as humble and easy to please as donald for life. But.. it’s here where this episode succeds where the premire fell. By this point we’ve SEEN Donald’s weaknsses: he’s greedy, short sighted and selfish. So it makes it THAT MUCH more impactful when he does the right thing, tearing up the check and refusing to sell out his legacy. Sure this could make his life better.. but it’s not worth his soul, his new friends or the world’s safety. He may not be able to get Daisy back or a new house.. but he’d NEVER be able to repalce his new friends, his legacy, or his wonderful new home.  Sheldgoose naturally throws a fit and vows vengance and what have you... and just as naturally gets dragged away by his ring. Like the boys he’s brought to a mystic secret chamber by a family heirloom.. but unlike the boys we get a wonderful sequence of him being slammed into things while Wayne Knight makes delightful noises.

But Sheldgoose finds thanks to the ring he was drawn to a styigan well leading to a talking staff... Felldrake surivived, if trapped in the staff.. and  he’s Baron’s ancestor, himself a sheldgoose who urges his decsendant to take the staff, accept his destiny and thus Sheldgoose revels in his new power as he and feldrake summon Feldrake’s loyal minon.  

So we end on Donald happy. His day was crappy to start.. but while he lost his house, his shrew and his job.. he’s found a new purpose saving the world, an ew life of adventure.. and forever friends in his two new amigos and goddess mentor. He’s finally happy. OR he is for a a second before Feldrake’s minon emerges from it’s sarcophagus and runs off with donald. TO BE CONTINUED. Not doing the jojo gag this time. 

 Before we go on one last cast member; Kevin Micheal Richardson is Felldrake, and he is unsuprisingly awesome and like Grey has a long and storied career.. you know the drill by now: He’s voiced  the Narrator for Clerks the Animated Series, Robert Hawkins (Static’s Dad), Dark Laser, Numbah 5′s dad who was a VERY poorly aged refrence to Bill Cosby, Mammoth, Trigon, Armagedddroid (Something I never realized holy shit good on him), Captain Gantu, The Joker, Pandabubba, Principal Lewis, Schnitzel, Tombstone, Omega Supreme, Cleavland Junior (They drove a dump truck full of money up to his house he’s not made of stone), Mal Duncan, Doctor Fate, Man Ape, Kilowogg, Sheriff Blubs, William Viceroy , Mr. Gus, Rhombulous, Shredder (TMNT 2012), Rosie Rosevelt, Coach Mitchell (Seriously watch Milo Murphy’s Law, we need a season 3), and Dot’s Zit. As you can tell the guy is VERY good at villians so he was a natural choice. 

Final Thoughts: This was a huge improvment. With the miserable parts of the pilot long gone this episode is a fun, breezy adventure that sets up our heroes, the series tone, and our bad guy some more while giving us tons of great gags. I highly look forward to whatever comes next and cannot wait for the next episode. Until then, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

5 for Nuts and Dolts, because the hug in the trailer is still on continuous loop in my head and the only thing better than an angsty hug is an angsty hug AND KISS 8 for Data Farm, because I'm weak for the idea of Oscar being unexpectedly prince-like and making Penny feel like a princess (or the other way around) I can't remember the number, but the interrupted kiss for rosegarden No pressure to do all of these, I just couldn't decide on one ship because I love all of them

(as a brief refresher: Data Farms Fic Link, Rosegarden Fic Link)

...and here’s to finally being able to answer this ask and revealing the ridiculous (sort of) secret plan I’ve carried out over a month (or two maybe idk) and what’s now a six-chapter fic!

(no, I’m not joking, this (Rose Puppetry) was literally A Thing bc I’m Like That)

So, to explain, way back when I was doing requests for this kissing meme, it was around the same time that you introduced me to the Mechanisms music, and then the Magnus Archives after that.

Subsequently, I thought it would be really cool to make one of these three requests Steampunk-themed.  I decided on the Nuts and Dolts one bc, when I first listened to Once Upon A Time (In Space), I associated Ruby and Penny heavily with Rose and Cinders (I think it was bc the album was brought up in reference to Souls or something like that?  Also Rose Puppetry was my alternative solution to just derailing Souls completely into Being A Steampunk Fic).

Anyways, I started out with the intent to do a short oneshot where Penny breaks into a facility to save Ruby, which would be reminiscent of the final attack on Old King Cole that led to Cinders being reunited with Rose.

Except then I got carried away by world-building (bc it was so freaking fun) and Rose Puppetry became an entire multi-chapter fic all of its own.

For the record, I think I originally @ you when I posted the first chapter bc I was going to say that the fic was a response to this prompt and then quite literally forgot to actually say that anywhere.  I then realized that, if I kept quiet about it, I could turn it into a surprise, which seemed like a fun thing to do, so I went for it.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the end of Rose Puppetry!

.

5. Throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips.

...

Rose Puppetry Ch6: The Tale of Little Briar and the Huntress in the Cottage

Summary:

A century ago or so, Atlas set out to conquer the world.  Penny was built to be a spy, an infiltrator meant to find weaknesses in Vale’s defenses before the invasion.

She did.  Then she fell in love.  And rebelled against the kingdom that had created her.

Ch1.  Ch2.  Ch3.  Ch4.  Ch5.

Every child in Patch knows of the Huntress who lives in the cottage on the outskirts of town.  Their great protector, who keeps the dangers of the woods at bay so they can go about their lives safely.  No one knows, not really, where she came from.  The youngest kids among them generally want to ask, but their parents usually shush them before they can try.  It’s considered improper, prying into what should be left well enough alone.

Briar knows more about the Huntress than any of her peers, but you’d never catch her boasting about it in the school yard.  No sir.  She can keep a secret extremely well, she can.  Well that, and she doesn’t want the Huntress to be upset with her and ask her father to not allow her to make the weekly deliveries anymore.  Briar loves visiting the Huntress’s cottage, with its duck pond and its thick bramble of roses.  But, most importantly, she loves being let inside and allowed to watch the Huntress work for just a little while.

For, in addition to being their protector against the scary monsters that lurk in the woods, the Huntress is Patch’s one and only mechanic.  There used to be more, of course, but that was back before Briar was born and they all got called off to fight in the Great War against Atlas.

Briar once asked if the Huntress fought in the Great War, too.  She remembers how the Huntress fell silent, the gloomy expression that had seamlessly eclipsed the Huntress’s entire being, and quietly swore never to ask again.  It’s not important for her to know, Briar decided.  Not like learning how gears, cogs, and screws all fit into machinery and make things like the big clock in the tower in the center of town work.

It’s a sunny day.  A few wisps of clouds linger in the sky, but not many.  Briar skips home from school, humming a happy tune of her own creation as she goes.  She briefly pauses to scratch the noses of the cows who’ve wandered to the fence of their pasture bordering the road.  The cows moo at her and sniff Briar’s fingertips for treats.

“Sorry, I don’t have anything for you today.”  Briar giggles as their chin whiskers tickle her.  “If I have time after I visit Ms. Rose, I’ll try and bring you all back something, but I make no promises.”

She continues on her way, only stopping in the Mech Field to pick a collection of bright, cheerful wildflowers.  Briar pauses to consider the ruins of the old war machines, but Ms. Rose once warned her very sternly not to get too close to the fallen mechs without her supervision, so Briar doesn’t.  Instead, she takes a spare hair ribbon out of her school bag, ties it snugly around the stems of her wildflowers to keep them properly bunched together, and heads home.

Her mother has the weekly grocery basket for Ms. Rose waiting when Briar arrives.  She helps Briar securely fasten it to the deliveries bicycle and situate the flower bouquet on top so the bumpy ride won’t jostle them too much.

“Keep an eye on the time,” Briar’s mother gives her the usual warning.  “And, if it starts growing dark, have Ms. Rose walk you home.”

Briar rolls her eyes.  She’s big enough to come home all on her own, even after sunset, she thinks.  Still, she promises, “I will!” before taking off on the bicycle.

Smoke lazily drifts into the sky from Ms. Rose’s cottage’s chimney as Briar makes her approach.  The huntress’s dog, a great, big creature with a lumbering gait and a lolling tongue, appropriately named ‘Wolf’, runs to greet Briar as she approaches.  She slows her bicycle to a stop and dismounts.

“Hey, Wolfie.”  Briar scratches behind the dog’s ears, and gets licked enthusiastically for it.  She laughs.  Wolf dances excited circles around Briar as she walks over and leans her bicycle against the cottage.  “Stop that!”  Briar commands Wolf, only half serious.  “I have to get the groceries inside!”  She nudges the door open and walks into the cottage.

“Ms. Rose?  Are you here?”  Briar calls out.

“In the workshop, Briar!”  Ms. Rose yells back from somewhere deep inside.  Briar grins.  With some care, she shoves the groceries in the refrigerator.  Ms. Rose will organize them however she pleases later, after a few more hours of work, at least.

Briar goes to hurry through the kitchen, but remembers herself, and pauses at the sink to fill a pitcher with water for her wildflower bouquet.  She carefully lowers the flowers in and unties her hair ribbon from around their stems.  Then, after tidying the bouquet a little, Briar walks further into the cottage.  She doesn’t go immediately to the workshop, but to a room Ms. Rose only recently granted her permission to enter.

Briar pauses and takes a breath in the doorway of the bedroom.  It’s always a bit weird to do this.  She’s never actually met Ms. Penny.  Not back before, when she was awake.  Ms. Penny doesn’t know who she is.  Never had the chance to, really.

Regardless, flowers always make Briar feel better when she isn’t feeling well.  With Wolf padding loyally at her side, Briar approaches the bed where Ms. Penny serenely sleeps and situates the bouquet on the table beside it.

“Good day, Ms. Penny,” Briar speaks politely, for she’s never spoken to a mechanical person, or one who’s never woken up, before Penny.  Briar still feels kind of odd about that, but, since she first stumbled across Penny’s room, she’s been determined to try and make her feel better (if that’s at all possible).

“Spring’s here.  The first of Mr. Oobleck’s lambs were born the other day.”  Briar starts her usual, short, babbling update about life in Patch.  “They’re extremely cute.  I’ll draw you a picture, so, when you wake up, you won’t have missed seeing them.”

“She’d like that, I think.”

Briar jumps, and spins around.  Ms. Rose stands in the doorway, leaning against its frame.  She smiles softly at Briar, and joins her by Penny’s bedside.  “Penny never…I think she always lived in cities before we met.”  Ms. Rose takes a deep breath.  “I’m not sure she’s ever gotten the chance to see a newborn lamb.”

“Then this will be her first time,” Briar says confidently.

“Yes.”  Ms. Rose smiles sadly down at Briar.  “Run along to the workshop now.  I left today’s assignment out on the table for you.  Try to see if you can get started on your own.  I’ll be along in a moment.”

Briar does as she’s told, but not before stopping just outside the bedroom and sneakily poking her head back in to watch Ms. Rose gently smooth Penny’s long, soft copper curls and place a kiss on her forehead.

“Don’t wait too much longer to wake up, my love, alright?”  Ms. Rose whispers.

Briar slips away, feeling a little guilty about spying on such a private moment.  She doesn’t know why Ms. Penny sleeps, what caused her to fall into her lasting slumber in the first place, but Briar does know that Ms. Rose came to Patch to have a quiet, safe place to repair her.

The assignment Ms. Rose set out for Briar that day is a small music box.  One that had, in all likeliness, played a lovely melody at some point, but has long since worn out.  Repairing it shouldn’t be the hardest of tasks.  Not now that Briar is a handful of months out of transitioning from ‘kid who gets to watch the Huntress work’ to ‘unofficial mechanic’s apprentice’.

Ever so carefully, Briar removes a tiny, rusty gear from the music box with her tweezers and sets it aside.  She looks to Ms. Rose, who smiles reassuringly back at her.  Briar finds the replacement gear, plucks it up with the tweezers, and goes to insert it right where it needs to—

“Hello?!  Huntress are you here?”  A voice shouts into the cottage.  Wolf scrambles up from lying under where Briar’s feet dangle off her stool and barks loudly.  Briar jumps.  Her tweezers fall out of her hand.  The replacement gear goes flying.

“Just a moment!”  Ms. Rose calls back.  She helps Briar retrieve the gear from where it’s fallen to the floor.  “Think you can work on your own for a bit?”  Ms. Rose asks.  When Briar nods, the huntress wipes grease and oil smudges off her fingertips onto her leather apron and goes to see who has come asking after her aid.

Briar half listens to the ensuing conversation about a broken down car on the road as it drifts through the cottage to her.  Ms. Rose briefly returns to the workshop for her portable tool kit, and then leaves to go repair the automobile in question.  She promises she’ll check Briar’s handiwork upon her return.  Wolf ambles back over to Briar.  The dog circles a couple times to settle, and then returns to napping.

For the next couple of hours while Briar works, things are quiet and peaceful.  She finishes repairing the music box.  With bated breath, Briar winds it up and sets it down on the worktable.  A soft tune fills the air.  Briar can’t help but smile.

Too excited to wait until Ms. Rose gets back to show off her success, Briar carefully scoops the music box up in her hands and carries it to Penny’s room.  She puts it down by the wildflowers she brought earlier, and lets it play its song a second time.

So caught up on listening to the music box’s melody is Briar, she doesn’t catch when it’s joined by the sounds of other mechanisms whirling and clicking.  Ones that have long remained at rest, but, at the sound of a comforting song, rouse again.

Movement catches Briar’s attention.  Before she realizes what’s happened, a pair of bright, dazzling green eyes meet her own.  They almost seem to glow, as if they’re lightbulbs that have spent a long, long time charging up and want to celebrate the chance to finally illuminate.

“H-hello?”  The voice is hoarse, creaky with disuse.  It’s nothing like Briar imagined it would be.  “Briar?”

Briar blinks rapidly.  “You know me?” slips from her lips before she can stop the question.

“Of course.”  Tentatively, Penny moves to push herself up in a sitting position.  One of her hands slips before she can put weight down on it.  Briar rushes forward to help support her.  “Thank you.”  Penny smiles gratefully at Briar.  “To answer your question, I heard you.  The days you came and talked to me and brought me flowers.”  She pauses.  “I’d very much like to see Mr. Oobleck’s lambs.”

“Oh.”  Briar takes a minute to process this.  “I didn’t think…” she’s not sure what to say.  She’s imagined this moment hundreds of times, but, now that it’s happening, Briar’s mind is frustratingly blank.

“It’s alright.”  Penny gives her a small, soft smile.  “It’s not everyday someone you’ve only known as a ‘sleeping lady’ wakes up.”

“I-err-yeah…” Briar pauses.  “If you don’t mind me asking, how could you hear me all those times?  Since you were asleep?”

Penny inhales deeply and exhales, the clockwork of her body moving with the motion.  “It’s a bit complicated.  A short explanation would be that, even without enough power to function normally, I could still record audio.” Penny shoots a knowing smirk in Briar’s direction.  “I would love to give you the fully detailed explanation.  Later.  If you don’t mind, there’s someone who’s long overdue for a hug, I think.”

Briar’s eyes widen.  “Oh!  Ms. Rose!  Of course!”  She scrambles up to fetch Penny a walking stick to lean upon as she gets up.  “She went out to repair someone’s car.  I think it’s just down the road!”  Briar hovers, ready to support Penny if she needs help with walking.  When Penny makes it to the doorway on her own, Briar relaxes a little.

Together, with Wolf keeping pace with them (and Briar would swear the dog is keeping as much a careful eye on Penny as she herself is), they make their way outside.

Penny pauses, and looks up at the blue, blue sky.  She blinks.  If she were capable of crying, she probably would have.  “I never dreamed I’d see it again.”  Penny whispers.  She turns to look ahead, down the road she and Briar intend to walk, and sees someone coming toward them on it.  Penny gasps.

There is one sight that Penny dreamed of, longed for, during her oh so very long slumber.  One sight, her vague, ethereal thoughts could never quite capture, but tried to constantly.  The person she sees on the road doesn’t quite fit the picture Penny remembers.  The person is no longer a youthful maiden, but a full grown woman.  Her black-red hair is longer, kept in an untidy braid over one shoulder.  She’s wearing the garb of a mechanic, and not combat dress.  Branching scars, leftover from a (Grimm) time Penny would very much like to leave in the past, dance across her skin.

“Ruby.”

Penny breathes the name out at the same time Ruby sees her, stops, and stares.

A moment passes where no one moves, where the world is held frozen in shock.  Anxiety ripples over Ruby’s face.  Worry that needs no verbal words to describe it.  That Penny won’t love this older version of her.  That this person she had to grow into while she patiently waited for Penny to wake up isn’t someone Penny will be able to bring herself to love.

Penny takes a step forward, and then another.  Her walking stick is cast aside as she recalls how to push her legs into motion as fast as she can.  She runs, reaching Ruby in the blink of an eye.  Eager to vanquish all the anxieties she sees in her beloved, Penny takes Ruby up in her arms and spins her around and around.  She laughs, causing Ruby to laugh with relief too.

They’re together.  Nothing, no war or conflict or spiders who want to control them, can get in the way of that any longer.  They may have once been puppets in a grand scheme, but they’re free now.  Free to do whatever they wish, as long as they wish.

Penny stops spinning Ruby around.  She holds her close, drinking in the sight of Ruby’s sparkling, silver eyes.  Without thinking about it, they press their foreheads together and simply gaze at each other.

Later, they’ll let Briar commit a condensed version of their story down on paper.  A fairytale, it will be.  One only a handful will actually believe there’s truth to, but that’s just as well to them.  Right now, this moment?  This moment is just for them.

Ruby wraps her arms around Penny.  Penny leans in.  Their lips find each other.  Tentative, unsure, aware they have a lot to adjust to again with each other (but eager to get started).  The kiss is soft and sweet.  A promise of many, many more to come.

They don’t live happily ever after.  For Penny and Ruby’s story doesn’t end here.  It goes on, with many days full of love, and equally as many filled with struggle as they learn each other’s embrace again.  There are moments when the scars of the past threaten to consume them, and moments filled with nothing but laughter and joy.

Overall, though?

Penny and Ruby live together for a very, very long time, and that time together is largely marked by their shared happiness.

[pundachimini]

Korean Kimchi's

Kimchi is probably one of the many foods that come to mind when you think of Korean flavors and cuisine. Kimchi, on the other hand, is much more than a fermented mixture of fiery red cabbage leaves. Kimchi is a type of side dish made from pickled and fermented vegetables that comes in a variety of flavors and textures.Although historians disagree on when exactly kimchi originated, the tradition of making kimchi arose from the need to preserve vegetables during the harsh winter months in Korea when fresh produce was scarce. As a result, vegetables were salted, stored in earthenware, and buried to ferment and preserve. On The Gas also mentions that, while kimchi makers used salt for preservation, it was also added to aid carb digestion in the carb-heavy Korean diet.According to On The Gas, the iconic hot red kimchi is a relatively new invention, a result of Korea's 16th-century war with Japan, during which the spicy red pepper was introduced under the guise of Japanese mustard. This is possibly why there are chili-free, watery varieties of kimchi.Needless to say, kimchi varieties extend far beyond the commonly assumed fermented mixture of red chilies and cabbage. You might be surprised to learn that some types of kimchi do not require fermentation at all!

Cut Radish KimchiWhereas baechu kimchi necessitates a time-consuming process of making rice and gochugaru slurry for layers of Napa cabbage soaked in salt brine, kkakdugi, or radish kimchi, is a more approachable variety of the fermented side dish. According to Serious Eats, all you need to do to make kkakdugi is chop radishes into chunks and massage them with a salt and gochugaru mix. Kkakdugi, for example, does not require a salt pre-soaking. Instead, according to the website, water will sweat from the salted root. The radish contains enough water to produce brine for fermentation.Though daikon radish can be used to make kimchi, many people prefer the Korean moo radish when making kkakdugi (via The Subversive Table). The firm radish, with a subtly sweet flavor, adds crunch, juice, and tooth to kkakdugi. Some people prefer to make this kimchi in the late autumn months, during the radish harvest season in Korea (via Familymart). This time of year, radishes are firmer and sweeter than usual, which some belief makes the best kkakdugi.

Chonggak KimchiChonggak kimchi is made from a strange vegetable called chonggak or chonggakmu (via Familymart). With small, round, curvy bulbs attached to long green steams, these radishes resemble a topknot, so they're also known as ponytail radishes, according to Taste Atlas. According to Beyond Kimchee, single men in Korea used to tie their hair in long braids similar to the shape of ponytail radishes in ancient cultural practices. When they married, the bachelors wore a bun to represent the shape of the white bulb. This is why Chong AK kimchi is also referred to as bachelor's kimchi!According to Beyond Kimchee, Chong AK kimchi typically takes one week to ferment. Despite soaking in tangy juices for a longer period, ponytail radishes retain their crunch particularly well. If you can't find these radishes, any other radish of similar size will suffice — think red radish, for example. The following steps are listed in a recipe from a cooking website: After the radishes have soaked in salt for a few minutes, tie the stems together. Each bulb is then coated in a kimchi paste made of rice flour, fish sauce, gochugaru, Peugeot, garlic, and ginger. After the fermentation period, the Chong AK kimchi is ready to eat!

Radish Leave KimchiPa kimchi, also known as green onion kimchi, is a simple dish to prepare. Pa kimchi is typically made and consumed during the spring months when the Korean green onion known as jjokpa is in season (via Familymart). Joppa is a green onion that is thinner than most, with dark leaves and small white bulbs at the end. However, if you are unable to locate this variety.According to Korean Bapsang, pa kimchi is also flavored with fish sauce and gochugaru, as well as sugar, garlic, and ginger. Maren ojingeo or dried squid are sometimes added to spice, create umami, and add a chewy texture to contrast the crunch of the green onion. Fish sauce can also be substituted for soy sauce in vegan Korean dishes. The Korean Herald reports that after rubbing the green onions in the spice mixture, they can be tied together using their long stems for easier storage and eating.

Gat KimchiGat kimchi is made from the Jeolla Do mustard leaf, which is named after the Jeolla Do province in Korea where it is grown (via Familymart). The large and rough purplish Jeolla Do mustard leaves are crunchy and have a slightly bitter and loamy flavor, similar to kale. While these mustard leaves are commonly used to make gat kimchi, peppery Chinese mustard greens (or gai choy) can also be used. According to this recipe, the Gai Choy with wide, luscious stems is the one to use for gat kimchi.My Kitsune Cafe recommends soaking the mustard greens in saltwater brine first, just like the Napa cabbage used to make baechu kimchi. livecasinofood The rice flour slurry is then combined with the three aromatic kimchi ingredients — gochujang, fish sauce, and Peugeot — as well as vegetables like carrots, chives, and scallions. The vegetable-spice paste is carefully applied to each mustard green leaf before fermenting until the flavors become pungent and acidic. My Kitsune Cafe recommends gat kimchi with meats and stews, as it does with most cabbage kimchi.

[umi-iro]

some fun facts you may not have known if you haven’t read the atla comics

sokka made a non-bender only club out of pettiness, complete with snacks and fancy hats

azula is the one who got zuko and mai together

iroh declared a national tea appreciation day in the fire nation

sokka joined the fire nation army for like, 3 days, then faked his death

zuko and azula have a 4 year old half-sister named kiyi and she’s adorable

also! zuko found his mother!!! its an excellent story you should read it here

there’s a character named moo-chee-goo-chee-la-poo-chee the third

he calls himself the dark one instead, which is almost just as good

aang almost killed zuko like. 3 times. bc zuzu was being an angsty edgelord and almost started another war

ty lee never got over her fear of azula

aang and katara are a grossly lovey-dovey couple its hilarious

ozai saved zuko from drowning when he was a child

the og air acolytes were just really intense fangirls

however, aang got pissed about their cultural appropriation when some of them got actual airbender tattoos. he then taught them how to respect and appreciate different cultures without appropriating them

toph just?? really?????? likes slides????????????

aang cut off his connection to roku after some bad advice

azula is freakishly good at arcade games

after the air nation genocide, the fire nation would use airbender relics to lure any remaining air nomads into traps, thinking they were going to find other survivors

aang bends in his sleep

there’s an earth kingdom orphanage that took care of physically and mentally disabled children. no one new came once the fire nation invaded

katara and toph dressed as boys in order to eat steaks

toph and bumi had a match to see who was the greatest earthbender or all time. it was a draw

I’m gonna stop here because this list is so long already, but these are just from two of the series and the extras that take place during the show! I highly recommend you read them, they’re such a good time!!!

[pkmnnovareset]

*whispers* rika i havent been sleeping at all lately do you have any advice? how would your fankids go about being sleepless?

*whispers* dw friendo i got u

When Paige Isabella is feeling restless and unable to sleep, she usually immediately goes to play LLSIF to try and tire herself out. It works, but she usually ends up sleeping at like 2AM WHICH IS NOT REALLY HEALTHY. When she has to find new ways to get to sleep, she usually drinks a glass of warm moo moo milk with sprinkles of cinnamon to try and get to sleep. It usually always works, and fast.

Daniel needs to be able to hear some sort of noise - ambient music, or calming stuff, or even listening to the raindrops against a windowsill, or leaf (ASMR). He’s also fond of listening to type writers. Paul will often have a playlist of ASMR sounds that Daniel loves to help him get to sleep. He usually doesn’t need it every night, but on nights where he’s feeling nervous, worried, and such, he’ll always turn the sound on and listen to it.

Ashley likes to block out sound and light in her room when she’s trying to sleep. Her door would be closed, and she’d put an eye mask over her eyes so it’s completely dark. She finds it much more relaxing and helpful when getting to bed. Though when those things don’t work, she does a little bit of training and exercise to tire her mind and body out. She’ll also take a nice bubble bath before going to bed.

Damien just studies, make notes, read comics/manga, and sometimes play a bit of visual novels to help go to sleep. But mostly studying. He... He always studies during his free time. So him studying when he can’t get to sleep kinda helps. It helps use up the energy in his brain and it does tire him out quickly. Especially if it’s late at night.

Chloe usually performs a sleep spell. Or make a sigil to help with sleeping, or even one of those sleeping charm/bags/pouch to put near her pillow. Alternatively she had a small bag of lavender just above her pillow since lavenders do help with sleep. And it makes her have really nice dreams too. Plus, it smells really good so that’s always a plus.

Atlas, like Ashley, will always do a copious amount of exercise to tire himself out and sleep. And it always works. Though he does end up pretty sore the next morning, but it’s pretty worth it. Zoey would have Atlas try other methods, and he found that meditating was a pretty good alternative.