#it's kind of like magic when you put it like that. maybe things haven't actually changed that much after all

[afniel]

AH I REMEMBERED WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY EARLIER but it's kind of stupid, lmao.

So my partner is getting into brewing beer and I got them a Tilt, which is a Bluetooth hydrometer. It measures specific gravity and temperature, which are things you want to know so that you don't kill your yeast or whatever. Except the sensor's Bluetooth range is super short, and it basically runs via a phone app, and the temperature we're logging currently is the crawlspace, accessible via the staircase closet. So they were like, wait, what do we do about this, because I can't leave my phone in the closet, that's my alarm clock.

In a kind of ridiculous turn of life imitating art, I was like, hold up, I got just the thing right at my desk. Bam. Old phone. We just needed to scrounge up a charger because the battery is so dead that after charging just enough to power on it claimed it was at 53% (to be fair to it, there is a very real chance that it's correct, and it just holds no charge at this point so the capacity is just THAT low) and now it lives in the closet logging sensor data.

And I was like, you know...didn't I just solve a major story detail with a much larger version of this...yeah, no, this is all vaguely familiar somehow, power supply issues and all. Kind of cool that the concept works though. Kind of weird that it came up at all?

We are not gonna talk about the fact that I still have at least two more ancient-ass phones in a drawer where that came from because look, man, sometimes you just need a camera/mic/mini computer with Bluetooth and wifi that fits in a pocket, and people just get rid of these things, but not me. I actually could build a shitty security system out of them if I was reaaaally inclined. I mean. I'm not. But it's technically possible.

For real though, If I pick up any stupid maker projects I still high-key am thinking about slapping Bluetooth into a necomimi headset and running that through an Arduino and learning to code just enough to let me skip songs/change the volume on Spotify with my brain, because it's entirely doable, and I mean yeah I could do that on my phone remotely too, but that's not funny, now, is it. I'm just not sure it's $350+ of parts funny. Kind of a big investment just to prove the point that haha look I am the extremely ADHD type of lazy where I would rather solve a problem via the most convoluted and complicated Rube-Goldberg type ass machine way possible rather than just perform a single simple action.

YEAH I'VE BEEN THIS SCATTERED ALL DAY AND I REALLY SHOULD GO TO BED SHOULDN'T I. I started playing Satisfactory. Mistakes were made. I'm going to dream about conveyor belts again and I did it to myself...

[harvestmoss]

 💫 Why Protection Magic Is Useful (even if you have no enemies)

A lot of witches will tell new witches (baby witches) that they should start by learning and using protection magic. However, I've started to see a lot of witches say that protection magic is not as important as other witches claim it to be. Saying that they don't have anyone coming after them or an enemy in real life to warrant a spell of protection.

I think this may also be due to how I've not personally come across anyone really explaining why a witch may want to use protection magic all the time.

Now, it is true that there's no need to be paranoid all the time and have protection up 24/7. But here's a list where you may use it, find it useful, or haven't thought protection magic could be included.

An actual person -- This one is obvious, you have an enemy in real life or on the internet and you need protection magic to protect you from their curses.

A malevolant spirit -- They can come from your windows, mirrors (including tv screens, computer screens, and other reflective surfaces maybe), they seep through floor cracks, hanging onto your coats from outside, etc. Just like how you'd use garden gloves to avoid dirt up your nails being trapped there. Protection magic is just like putting on those gloves.

An energy -- Say you have a neighbour who's arguing with someone. They're yelling and screaming and it can be heard through the apartment walls. That negative energy is seeping into your home and your energy. So it may be worth protecting your home and energy from that sour neighbour's energy. (ever been scolded by your mother and your mood is sour? it's kind of like the same here.)

Your own spell -- Now a self-love spell is probably not something you should protect yourself from. But let's say you're doing a curse. It would be a smart idea to make sure you're protected before beginning such a spell. Much like how you'd wear an apron to protect your clothes from stains when cooking food. You may not always spill your food when cooking, but damn it is it annoying when you do and the stain won't wash off. It's the same with a spell.

Unintentionally -- Sometimes things can happen that's out of our control and it's a good idea to be a little prepared. A black cat suddenly running across the street? Bad luck. Someone got jealous when you told them something good? Evil Eye. Think of it as going to the store with an extra bag for your groceries. You may not need it, but isn't it handy when you at one point do need it?

Protection magic doesn't have to be elaborate or grand or be convoluted. Protection magic is powerful but also extremely simple. All you need is a horseshoe above the door, a little talisman in your pocket, a sigil for your car, etc.

So don't dismiss the importance of protection magic. It may help to improve your spellwork and your energy.

[zaynesdesimc]

Magic

Moon Boys x reader<3

summary: you were married to Jake and after the events of moonknight, the boys get to know of jake and of you. Steven adores you but Marc just sees you as a friend. Right?

A/N: okay the timeline is a bit wonky but here's what i thought while writing the fic. Jake dated you for a year and a half before putting a ring on it. And you've been married for three years. You met Steven and Marc a year ago and have been dating Steven for eight months. Marc became friends with you a month after meeting you. please comment and reblog if you liked it!

Warnings: angst, hurt/comfort

@jake-g-lockley

Marc was a lot of things. Pig-headed, stubborn, horrible at communication, a fighter. But he wasn't arrogant He could admit it when he didn't know something.

But right now he knew one thing and one thing only, that Jake was a prime idiot.

Marc stayed in the background when Jake was fronting around you, most of the time. Not always, of course. He wasn't a perv and one to to intrude between a husband and a wife. But he knew you. So did Steven, and you knew them.

He'd considered you his friend. Maybe one of his best, just months after meeting you. You and him shared many a night after Jake's missions talking and watching movies, when your husband was knocked out. You made him fall in love with chai, something that knocked Steven's socks off and he'd taught you the basics of baseball so you weren't clueless when you watched baseball with him.

It wasn't always so nice.

"You're married?!"

"Yeah, what's your problem with that?" Jake had become defensive, he wouldn't let Marc or Steven breathe a single ill word towards you.

"No, it's no problem at all, pal." Marc seethed, outraged, "except for the fact that I was married to Layla! God what if she almost say you when we were married? No wonder it ended!"

"Fuck off, man. You know full well why your marriage didn't work out with Layla. And unlike her, I told my lady fucking everything. She knows everything, from the cave to the sarcophagus. So she knew what to do and what to be careful of, including you. So don't blame my marriage for the reason yours didn't work out."

This was when Steven had interjected, he was unsurprisingly on Jake's side.

"He's right, Marc. If his wife knows everything then you can't blame him, and it's honestly rather mean and unfair of you to be angry at someone you haven't even met."

It took a few hours for Marc to calm down, and actually, apologise to Jake.

Hesitantly, Jake offered, "Y'know, if you want you can meet her. She practically knows everything about you and uh, Steven's most probably seen her around. She goes to the museum every week."

"Wait a minute! That lady with the Van Gogh tote bag?"

"Yup."

"Oh wow! She's really sweet, and beautiful! Hell, mate. You scored."

Jake had to smile at that, he knew he scored with you. For the longest time he felt like you were too good for him and that someone as kind, clever, intelligent and beautiful as you shouldn't have had to settle for someone like him. But you'd kiss away every ill thought he had about himself and reassure him. Communication was a very, very vital and important part of the relationship and you had helped him learn that it wasn't selfish to voice his thoughts. Especially because he put everyone's needs before his for so long.

"I know, man."

Steven had readily agreed to front and meet you, and Marc was okay with being co-conscious during the interaction as well. So on one fine day, Jake had brought them to the house he considered his home. He worked to contribute to it's rent, and buy things for it and for you. It was home, after all. You were his home.

Marc didn't know what to expect but when Jake had stepped in and hung his jacket on the stand and taken his shoes off, footsteps could be heard running from the main bedroom and he saw you running straight into Jake's arms. Jake laughed wildly, picking you up and twirling you around, much to your delight as you kissed the life out of him.

When he put you down, he could get a clear glimpse of you. Your hair was messy and your t-shirt was rumpled. And when he saw you smile he knew why Jake had fallen in love with you. Why Steven thought you were beautiful and sweet. Verything about you screamed, home.

Your greeting to Jake threw both the boys off, "Who the fuck are you?"

Jake smirked, "The fuck you mean, ma?"

"I mean, who." you poked him once, "are." twice, "you?" thrice and Jake started giggling. Fucking giggling like some little schoolgirl. You laughed too, and hugged him tight.

"Hey, baby." he kissed your forehead and you smiled.

"Hi." you kissed his nose.

"I have two guys who'd like to meet you."he raised his eyebrows.

Your jaw dropped a little, "For real? Wait, you're being serious, you're not screwing with me?"

"Why would I screw with you, when I could just screw you?"

The men in his head and you all let out a simultaneous groan.

Steven met you first, and it went swell, you'd both bonded over history and literature. And a love for Taylor Swift. But that was a secret. You liked him a lot and he positively adored you.

Marc, on the other hand, was much more closed off, he'd be polite, but he'd be curt as well. A combination you didn't know was possible.

After a few weeks of trying to bond with him, resulting in almost a small meltdown. It had taken Jake being knocked out after a mission and being too tired to eat to actually get him to talk to you over a meal.

It was one of the best things he'd eaten in his goddamn life and the groan he'd let out after the first bite brought a laugh out of you.

So yes, Marc would consider you one of his best friends. Steven and you had started going out with each other a few months ago and it was going so well.

But not Marc.

Because he didn't like you like that.

Of course not, you were his friend.

You were his friend who made him laugh because you had the same dark sense of humour. You hugged him when he needed one but was too uptight to ask you. You, who googled the Cubs and learnt everything you could about them just so you could talk to him as well, the way you talked to Steven about Jane Austen and the Indus Valley.

He didn't know when it became something more to him.

And he didn't see how you'd look him at him when he laughed, or when he was focused on the TV, or when he made you tea the way you liked it, Jake had taught him how to do that.

No, to him, you were just his best friend.

And you were currently crying your eyes out because Jake and you had gotten into a huge fight. He'd missed your anniversary because of a mission and he was working with Hathor's avatar. He failed to mention the part where he was forced to pretend they were a thing to prevent being caught and you'd caught him smelling of her perfume and gotten rightfully furious.

Not because of her, but because he didn't tell you that it had been happening for a few days. That the week he'd spent away from you, he'd had to pretend he was someone else's and he was too scared to tell you. That's why you were mad, because you thought he didn't trust you.

You'd raised your voice as he turned his back on you and he turned around, face contorted in rage. Steven tried calming him down as he stalked over to you. You stood your ground, Jake would never lay a hand on you. You knew that. But it was what he said, that broke you.

"You're being a fucking nuisance. Instead of trying to understand, you're being more of a burden by finding shit to get mad at. Grow the fuck up."

That prime ass had the audacity to call you a burden. A nuisance.

And then he had the fucking nerve to leave and complete his mission and give control to Marc. Steven had chewed the fuck out of him and Marc would have loved to as well, but he needed to see you. See if you were okay.

As soon as he stepped in, he saw you on the sofa, rapidly wiping your tears away. You sagged again when you knew it was him. Somehow you always knew.

He furrowed his eyebrows at your disheveled state. Your eyes were swollen and wet with tears and you were breathing very heavily and in quick spurts.

"What do you need?" Marc asked you, sitting down beside you.

"C-can I have" you coughed, "a hug, Marc?" you said in a small voice, looking away.

Marc immediately moved to hug you close. Shushing you when you began to cry again.

What hurt was that he knew, and Jake knew, and Steven knew that you hated being a burden or an inconvenience to anyone. And today, the one man you trusted the most in this world had made you feel like that. And he couldn't even apologize.

'Jake you fucking idiot.' he rocked you a little, 'you better come out and fix this. she may be our friend but this is because of you, fix this.'

Jake remained silent in the reflection of the mirror next to the door. He looked wrecked at seeing you sob, and tears were falling down his own eyes.

'Mate.' Steven spoke up, he sounded mad, 'You made our girl cry. Stop being a fucking coward and fix this!'

When he was met with silence, Steven seethed, 'Marc, gimme the body.'

You knew exactly when it was Steven hugging you, and you kissed his cheek and breathed him in.

"Oh, love." he tried to comfort you, "I'm sorry. You're not a burden, I promise you." he kissed your forehead.

"I know that, Steven. I know I'm not a burden to you. I'm scared I'm becoming one to him. He doesn't even want to look at me!" you sniffed.

Steven glared at Jake in the mirror, who was wiping away his own tears.

Steven and Marc knew why Jake was so worked up. They knew that whoever Jake and Hathor's avatar was after called their bluff. They knew that those people had found the woman's partner and Jake was terrified for you and he couldn't even tell you because he never, ever wanted to be the reason for any feeling you had that wasn't bliss, happiness, content, or pleasure. And because he was sure he could find those assholes and beat the living shit out of them for even thinking of harming you.

But it wasn't their place to tell you, that much was apparent. Jake dug his grave, and then jumped into it. He had to crawl out of it on his own now.

"I just want to be someone he's happy to be with." you whisper and that's when Jake straightened up, heartbroken.

"Give me the body, hermano."

"All yours."

Only Jake scrunched the back of your shirts when he hugged you and you moved to hug him tightly as he whispered apologies in your ear.

"Baby, I'm sorry, I'm so fucking sorry I made you feel like you were a burden and that I was anything but fucking delighted to be with you." he kissed your nose and then told you everything. Looking away because he was scared.

"I didn't tell you at first because I didn't want to just say that I had to pretend I was dating someone else and then fuck off for a week. I made a mistake in assuming that'd you get mad and it's because if I was in your place, I would be. But you're stronger than me, tesoro, and I failed to see that and I'm so sorry."

"Baby, I forgive you." you replied and he breathed out a sigh of relief, "But please, don't keep stuff like this in, okay? You can trust me, you know that."

He nodded fiercely and then he kissed you. Noses nudging and lips parting as he breathed you in like you were his lifeline, and he yours. He cupped your face and held you tight against him and when he pulled away you smiled at him, your eyes shining.

Steven fronted again with a little smile and you kissed him lovingly with a whispered 'i love you'. He just winked at you and kissed the back of your hand and then your forehead again before Jake took back control and carried you to the bed, kissing you deeply all the way.

----

Marc was fine, no he just needed a glass of water. He'd carefully rolled off the bed, thankful that he was at least wearing sweatpants and padded to the kitchen.

He should have known that you were a light sleeper.

"Marc." you began, your voice raspy.

He hummed in reply and held out his glass to you. You accepted it and drank your fill, giving it back to him.

After a few more moments of silence, you spoke up, "I thanked Steven for comforting me. But I didn't thank you." you cleared your throat, "Thank you, Marc." you said, sincerely, "You're one of my best friends."

Marc smiled at you. Actually smiled. And you smiled back and kept going, "And Jake and Steven know this and are okay with it so I-"

"You don't have to thank me, honey." he patted your shoulder, trying to conceal his tears as he looked away because god he was dumb. Dumb enough to realize now, that he loved you, "I'm glad I'm your friend."

To him, you were everything. You were sunrays and moonbeams and everything that he believed was magical as a boy. Everything he stopped believing in as he grew up. The first time you made him laugh and joined him he felt sure that magic existed after all, because what else could you be?

He tried walking past you but you held his hand and he froze, tears streaming down his cheeks.

You walked over to him and held his face in your hands. His eyes shut as you wipe away his tears. And he whimpered as you kissed his forehead.

"Marc. Open your eyes and look at me." you said softly.

He was terrified. That you'd seen past his mask and were going to let him down gently. Because to you, what could he be? Certainly nothing more than a friend.

"Sweetheart. Please."

When his eyes finally opened, they met yours.

"Marc. I fucking love you." you confessed and he let out a sob. Pulling you into a tight hug.

"I love you. God I love you so much, Sweetheart." he says into your hair, kissing all over your face, but not your lips.

"Can I kiss you?" you asked him, looking at him with those beautiful eyes of yours.

He nods and your hands travel to his locks and pull them lightly as you bring your lips to his own. Humming sweetly as he wraps his arm around you and licks into you.

Yes, he reasons yet again as you hold his face in your hands and smile at him, magic does exist. And it's in his arms. He loves it and so do the men in his head who cheer for him, albeit sleepily, looking at you lovingly.

And they'd never let you go.

[anonymusbosch]

on wanting to do a million things

prompted by @bloodshack 's

i wanna learn SQL but i wanna learn haskell but i wanna learn statistics but i wanna start a degree in macroeconomics also sociology also library science but i wanna learn norwegian but i wanna learn mandarin but i wanna paint but i wanna do pottery but i wanna get better at woodworking but i wanna get better at cooking but i wanna bake one of those cakes that's just 11 crepes stacked on top of each other but i wanna watch more movies but i wanna listen to more podcast episodes but i need to rest but i need to exercise but i wanna play with my dog but i wanna go shopping but i need to go grocery shopping but i need to do the dishes but i need to do laundry but i need to buy a new x y and z but i need to save money but i wanna give all my money away to people who need it more but i wanna pivot my career to book editing but to do that i have to read more and i wanna read more nonfiction but i wanna read more novels but i wanna get better at meditating but i wanna volunteer but i wanna plan a party but i wanna go to law school. but what im gonna do is watch a dumbass youtube video and go to bed

I think I've been doing slightly better this year about Actually Doing Things. not great! but I do a lot and I've been "prototyping" ways to get closer to doing as much as is possible. and if I actually talk about it it's a bunch of very obvious statements but I'll try to make them a little more concrete

rule number one: experiment on yourself

there's no one approach that's right for everyone and there's not even one approach for me that works at all times. try things out. see what works. pay attention to what doesn't. try something else.

rule number two: ask what's stopping you and then take it seriously

example: I often want to do Everything in the evening at like 2 PM, but then get home and am tempted sorely by the couch, and then get stuck inertia'd and not doing much but being tired and kind of bored. why?

if I don't have plans, it's easy to leave work later than planned and hard to make myself do something by a specific time

i'm generally tiredish after work. 4 out of 5 times, that'll go away if I actually start Doing Something, but 1 out of 5 it's real and I will go hardcore sleepmode at 8 PM and just be Done

i use up a ton of my program management/executive function/Deciding Things brain at work and usually find it noticeably harder to string together "want to do Thing > make list of Things > decide on a Thing > do Thing" after I'm home. Even if I have a list of Things to Do, how does one decide! how does one start! and god forbid there's a Necessary thing. then it's all downhill

therefore, mitigations: have concrete time-specific plans in advance.

if I have an art class at 6:00 PM I need to leave work by 5:15 and NO LATER and I can't get sucked into "oh 10 more minutes to finish this" *one hour later*

that also means I have to have a fridge or freezer dinner ready and can't spend 45 minutes cooking "fuck it, what the hell did I put in the fridge, why don't we have soy sauce" evil meal that is not good

plans with friends: dinner! art night! music night! repair-your-clothes night! seeing a show! occasionally, Accountability Time where a friend comes over for We Are Doing Tasks with tea and snacks etc.

for some reason I'm way better about Actually Doing Things when the plan exists already. magically I overcome couch inertia even though I am the same amount of tired! and while I never learn the ability to decouch without plans I at least learn to make them

still working on:

a "prototype" for maybe next month is a weeklyish Study Session for a thing I want to learn about. I want to somehow make it employer-proof (I am accountable to some entity to being at place X at time Y) and haven't figured out a good way. Maybe I can leverage that the local library is open til 8 on wednesdays and somehow make it a Thing? maybe I'll try it!

oh god oh fuck the thing about plans is that if you want to have them you need to make them. christ. a lot of the time I can cover this with some combo of weekend planning + recurring events (things like weekly friend dinner/weekly class) + having cool friends who reach out proactively but it still requires active planning and it can fall thru the cracks

rule three: cool friends

they can take you to things

they can remind you that you can do whatever the fuck you please

i have a friend who is somehow Always doing cool classes and learning shit. and this reminds me that I can ... do that. and sometimes I do

you can take them to things!!

rule four: try to kill the anon hate in your head

obv this depends on your circumstance but sometimes it's worth it to me to look at constraints that "feel real" and check whether they're an active choice I made thoughtfully or, like, the specters of people I don't know judging my choices

time and money are obvious ones. recently was gently nudged towards looking at whether i could give myself more time to Do Things by cooking less. imaginary specters of judgmental twitterites: "it's illegal to spend money. if you get takeout you're the first up against the wall when the revoution comes. make all your lunches and dinners and hoard the money for Later. for Something. how dare you get lunch at the store. you bourgeois hoe. taking charity donations from the mouths of the poor cause you don't have your life together enough to cook artisanal bespoke dinners every night. fuck you." and obviously eating takeout 24/7 is not the answer, but realizing I was not making an active choice helped me try making the active choice instead. "how much do I actually want to balance cost, time, tastiness, and wastefulness of my food, given my amount of free time and my salary and the tradeoff against doing something else? can I approach it differently to do more quick cheap food + some takeout?" -> current prototype: substitute in 1 takeout dinner or restaurant-with-friends a week, 1 frozen type dinner, and then batch cook or sandwiches lunches w/ "permission" to get fast lunch at the store. we'll see how it goes!

i am really really bad at this and find it helpful to talk to other people who can help point out when I'm being haunted by ghosts about it.

rule five: what would it take? what's the next step?

this one i give a lot of credit to @adiantum-sporophyte in particular for, especially for prompting me with questions when I muse about the million-ideal-lives on car rides. what would it look like to do xyz? what's something I could do right now to move in that direction? what's the obstacle? like, actually ask the question and think through it. with a person talking to you! damn! maybe the obstacle to x is that I don't know if I'll like it or if I just like the idea of it. and I don't want to commit to x without knowing. Okay, so maybe an approach would be to find someone who does x and talk to them about how their life is, or maybe it's "spend 15 minutes looking up intro-to-x near me", or "actively schedule 1 instance of x", or something like that. Or maybe it's that I don't know what it takes to do x. Okay, how about on Tues after dinner Adiantum fixes a sweater at my apartment while I spend 20 min looking at prereqs for x. like, it's so basic to say "to do a thing, you could try figuring out how to do it" but I think the important thing here is the feedback/prompting to even recognize "hey, step back, if you don't know the next step then figuring out the next step is the next step"

rule six: habits

prototyping: exercise

I do a lot better when I exercise in the mornings. I do a lot better when I do PT exercises regularly. For a while I was doing PT with friend in the morning every morning before work (accountability! a friendly face to make it more pleasant!) but that didn't really solve - it's not the kind of exercise that makes me feel awake/active, it's like dumb little foot botherings. but: having the habit of morning exercise made it easier to swap out 2 of the 5 days for more intense exercise, and then to swap those 2 for a different more intense exercise when I needed a break. it's easier to build a low-effort version of the habit and then work in the higher-effort one than to just Decide to be the kind of person who gets up at ass o clock to do cardio or whatever

rule seven: set up the structure of your life to make it easy

this is also a "duh" thing but like. on so many levels it comes down to structure your life to make the choice more doable. this can be something like "i structure my life to make vegetarian cooking baseline and vegan cooking the majority by stocking the pantry with staples and spices from cuisines that work well that way" or "i chose an apartment that lets me commute by bike" or "i have my camping gear put away in a fashion that makes it easier to gather frequently and lowers the barrier to trips" or "i keep physical books around to prompt myself to read xyz" to "i don't use instagram or twitter or snapchat or facebook" to . idk.

and in terms of charitable giving: similar deal. I have an explicit budget at the beginning of the year (~10% of my before-tax income), I know in advance what charities I give to, and I know what timing I will use (basically, alerts for donation matching around specific fundraising times). Anything outside the Plan comes from my discretionary budget/fun money. That makes it less of a mental load (the choice is already made; I don't grapple with every donation request or every bleeding-heart trap because I have a very solid anchor on "I give to xyz, the money's set aside") and it's armor against impulsive-but-not-useful scrupulosity. I structure the rest of my spending/life to prioritize a set amount and it makes it easier to follow through

rule eight: if you can do it at work a tiny bit that counts for real life

(infrequently used)

"hi mr. manager I think it would be great if I could use enough SQL to make basic queries in the database so we don't have to go through the software team for common/basic questions. I'd like to take 1 hr on Friday to go through some basic tutorials and then 1 hr with Pat on Monday so he can walk me through an intro for our specific use case. I estimate this will help save the team a couple hours a week of waiting for answers from the other team." and then you have enough of a handle with baby's first SQL that you can add little bits and bobs as you exercise it. this is responsible for a medium amount of my knowledge of python and all 3 brain cells worth of SQL.

rule nine: life is an optimization problem

not in, like, "you need to optimize your skincare and career and exercise and social life and have everything all at once" that's not what optimization means. optimization is like, maximize something with respect to a set of constraints. i explicitly Do Not do skincare beyond "wash face" and "sunscreen" bc I want to optimize my life for like looking at weird plants in the mountains. explicitly choosing to put time and money elsewhere! can't have it all all at once. so fuck them pores. who give a shit. yeah i ate a lot of protein shakes instead of home cooked breakfasts this week bc i was prioritizing morning exercise. im looking at this beautiful bug and it doesn't know what fashion is or what my resume looks like. im holding a lizard. im not spending time on picking cool clothes or whatever bc i spent that time looking up lizard hotspots on purpose.

that's really long and probably mostly, like, not surprising? but i keep benefiting from ppl being like "hey have you considered Obvious Thing" framed very gently

[ordering-milk-at-a-bar]

Can you, maybe possibly do more winx club/fairy! Reader with the chain drabs- 📍(idk if any anon has this emoji but I want it.. whatever they mean)

Yeah, you can have that emoji. Of the people who have asked to be certain anons, none of them have used that emoji. I haven't come in contact with these emoji anons that much, but from what I can gather, they're used to mark a recurring fan who prefers staying anonymous.

--

“I think I see your problem here.”

Now you were by no means an expert on teaching magic, but when Hyrule came to you asking for advice, how could you possibly say ‘no?’ In a way, you were the best person for him to ask. While all members of the Chain have come into contact with magic - and even used it themselves - it was through magic items or fairies (which you were a little horrified to learn they often caught in bottles). Hyrule was the only one to actually harness magic and cast spells.

The two of you were similar in many ways: both of you learned about your magical heritage much later in life than others like you, there was the fact that both of you could transform (even if, like all other fairies of his world, he was much smaller than you), and the fact that you both felt different from the people you grew up around due to your magic.

“You’re trying to force the magic out, but at the same time you’re stifling it.” You spoke as you came closer, letting Hyrule relax his hand. “That kind of polarising pressure doesn’t allow the magic to flow correctly, which could lead to your spell backfiring on you. Believe me, it’s not good for your ego.”

You laughed a little at a memory of some of your first spells going wrong. You have no idea how, but you somehow messed up a spell that would change the colour of your hair. It was literally the first - and easiest - spell they taught you at Alfea and you managed to turn your hair into a technicolour nightmare.

But it seemed like your impromptu magic lesson had to be put on hold.

"[Name], my grappling hook got stuck in a tree and I can't pull it loose." A whiny voice caught your attention. "Can you fly up and get it?"

You know, sometimes you wondered if it wasn't such a good idea to tell these boys about your powers.

"Can't Wild climb up there and get it for you?" You ask a little annoyed. "I'm a little busy right now."

"But I wanted to show Wild a cool trick with it. If I go asking for his help, it'll be embarrassing."

You couldn’t say ‘no’ to that pleading look. Wind’s expressive face had its funny moments, but his puppy dog eyes were like weaponized guilt. Shooting Hyrule a look that said “sorry,” you received a small “it’s fine” in return. You’ll continue your training later.

You let out a sigh, looking up at the tall tree Wind was pointing at, “alright. But if this happens again, you’re on your own.”

“Deal!”

In just a flash of light you had transformed into your fairy form, wings out and fluttering to lift you off the ground. Following the rope, you found the hook stuck high in the branches, not only caught by the tree, but also by the rope itself. The whole thing was a giant knot looping around itself, one that you found hard to see where it began and ended. “Geez, Wind, how did you even manage this?” You groaned as you began pulling the problem apart.

“I was practicing a trick, but it went south.” The boy shouted from below as both he and Hyrule watched you work.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

After what felt like half an hour, you finally managed to untie the thing. Letting out a sigh of relief, you grabbed the metal hook, looped the long rope over and around your shoulder and flew down onto the ground. “Here.” You handed the grappling hook over to a very enthusiastic looking Wind.

“Thanks!” Wind then immediately turned his head away, rushing off somewhere else. “Hey, Wild! I can show it to you now!”

“Kids, am I right?” You laughed to yourself.

“Yeah.” Hyrule chuckled. “I don’t know where he gets all that energy from.”

“Now, where was I-”

You hadn’t even had the chance to detransform before someone shouted your name again. This time it came from Four’s corner of camp, where he, Wars and Legend were busy at a makeshift forging station. “We need a stronger, more stable fire over here.”

“I was doing just fine.” Wars shot back at the small smith. “You asked for a stronger flame and I gave you one.”

“I said a “fire,” not a “blaze!” You nearly singed my eyebrows off!”

Guess Wars really wasn’t quite as good with his control with the Fire Rod as he thought. Whose brilliant idea was it to use a weapon meant for combat for forging, instead? But then again, who asks an Enchantix fairy, a fully fledged Guardian Fairy, to be a living furnace, as if that’s somehow better? Probably the same kind of person who asks that same fairy to get a rope unstuck from a tree.

And the smithing group had devolved into a petty argument while you weren’t paying attention. Maybe this could be your out, let you finally get back to Hyrule. But if you were a betting girl…

You turned your eyes to Time, Sky and Twilight who were sitting around a small fire, watching a kettle of water start to whistle. “Let me guess, you’ve got a request for me, too?”

The oldest thought for a moment before giving you a cheeky smile. “No, but I’m sure Wolfie would appreciate an eye-in-the-sky helping him during his patrol.”

Yeah, it was definitely a mistake to tell them about your powers.

--

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

Hmmm Stan twins were born with wings? And only them tho, they're the only humans who has wings, Ford of course has owl wings and Stan... Maybe eagle? Idk. Anyway what will change? I think Stan in this doesn't have a fear of heights cause duh he love flying with his twin brother all the time! (Poor Shermie tho, he's the only son who didn't get wings lol) don't know if Mabel and Dipper will be born with wings just like Ford and Stan. Their fight where the portal opens, i just pictured it in my head and oh my god, they're fighting like two angry birds lol. Like their wings flapping crazy, feathers flying around. Maybe cause now they have wings Stan can fly to Ford and save him from being thrown into the portal, and they reconcile! After yelling of course.

(Sorry if this got too long)

Not long at all! I get way longer all the time lol.

Hmm. I can only see this as a horror show on their end at first. If they're born with wings, and no one else is? Fully functioning wings? If the government doesn't kidnap them, then they're spending their childhood hiding them from everyone, wings shoved under layers and only being able to spread them out and stretch when they're at home or in very secluded sections of the beach. Even more isolated and codependent than in canon, because they have no one else they can trust or relate to but each other.

They learn how to take care of their wings with each other, learn how to fly as teenagers, and spend hours in the air, before Ford gets focused on his scientific pursuits and Stan's left by himself more and more. The Stan o War isn't just an escape here, its their chance to finally be themselves without worry, spreading their literal wings.

Then the science fair happens, and Ford's been hiding himself his whole life, why not do it for a few more years? An education like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity after all!

Once that Stan accidentally ruins, a feather left behind and all Ford needs to pin the blame at his feet and feel the sting of betrayal.

Fords life is mostly the same, except he gets a freind in Fiddleford who learns his roommate has bird wings, then moving to gravity falls and finally gets to spread his wings out without worry. He's nowhere near the weirdest thing here after all! He can fly and stretch and not worry about gawkers! Sure its lonely flying, but there's other flying anomalies, and owls aren't social, so this is actually how it was supposed to be! (Ford is not an owl of course, but whatever he needs to tell himself to shove the ache of Stan's loss!)

Stan's life is even worse. Sleeping in a car with giant wings is awful, having giant wings in a world with none is a horror show. Any time he gets found out he's running again, so many people are after him, because who wouldn't want to control a guy with giant wings? Not even for the perks, just to put in a cage and marvel at. Also the government, who'd love to study him. He's even more wrecked then canon, can't maintain any kind of criminal career long term, can't get a normal job, wings aching from always being squished. Hasn't flown except for frantic escapes, feathers constantly crumpled and a mess from lack of grooming.

Then the post card, and man wouldn't it be fun if Stan got his wings clipped right before? He managed to get away, but his flight feathers haven't grown back, he's grounded and vulnerable, no idea how Ford even managed to find his location (~magic mailbox~ (that thing needs a theme like Perry the platypus)), but its Ford. Ford needs him, and Stan will go, even if two of his limbs are useless.

Rolls up, and there's Ford, wings on full display and looking terrible, missing chunks of feathers (you know Bill was ripping them out by the handful), streaked with blood, twitchy and paranoid. Everything goes the same, except Ford keeps giving him funky looks (Wondering why Stan's hiding his wings, why he looks so closed off and guarded, Stan should have been flying high after all, free in the wind. They'd never hidden their wings when they were alone together. Maybe Stan really has moved on from him).

Get to the basement, and Ford shoves the book in Stan's heartbroken arms, telling him to fly away over the sea (maybe albatross Stan? For more heartbreak and envy on Fords part, or seagull? Anyway), to the ends of the earth!

They fight, Ford flaring his wings and using them as giant weapons, Stan's still trapped under his coat, rollign around and spreading blood and owl feathers everywhere, when the brand happens. Except its not on Stan's shoulder, its on his wing. The hole in his coat makes it easier for his wings to finally burst through, and Ford gets to see Stan's own raggedy, clipped wings.

From here it could go to ways, it follows canon and Stan pretends to be Ford, hiding his wings from everyone and no longer able to fly (makes being an albatross even more tragic) due to infection and wing not healing right.

Other way i can see it happening is Stan still pushing Ford, but Ford using his own wings to fight the pull and misses the portal or manages to fly out of the gravity's pull. Slams into the ground, shuts it down, then is standing there, breathing raggidly while Stan's heart is still pounding and his shoulder hurts and oh god, he almost shoved his brother through a weird glowing portal.

Also his wing really, really hurts, he's hungry, he's tired, he was just in an emotionally charged fight. He's gonna pass out now. Ford watches his bro crumple into a heap of feathers, panics, and rushes to make sure he didn't kill his brother. Stan's too heavy to drag anywhere, especially with Ford living off of coffee and no sleep, so he's just gonna. work on the floor. rushes to get the first aid kit and as many blankets he can, makes a nest around Stan and spreads his wings out, heart clenching at the sight of Stan's clipped feathers and the brand on his wing.

His brother looks so small, wings nowhere as large and full like this, tired face already breaking out in a sweat and brand still putting off heat. Time for Ford to flex his nonexistent medical degree! He's gonna make sure Stan's nice and comfy in this blanket nest on the floor of his basement and just! Figure out Bill! Stan can't fly, he's grounded, and Ford tried to shove him out the door. He can't imagine never flying, can't imagine someone cutting his feathers off and oh god. Bill could, and will now that he's seen Stan's own. He needs to get Bill out of his head before he wakes up with no flight feathers.

Speed running Bill proofing the house. Maybe says 'fuck pure of heart, whats a horse gonna do to a bird with a goal' and just swoops down on a unicorn like a bird of prey.

Once the house is Bill proof and Ford can sleep he'd drag evrything down into the basement to stick next to Stan and keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't wake up and try anything like 'moving wing' or 'leaving'. Fords gonna make sure no one comes near Stan's wings again.

Also, picturing a scene where Stan's passed out, wings spread wide over a giant pile of blankets over books and boxes so that Ford could look at the brand and uncramp them, and Ford fixing up Stan's wings. Runs his hands through them, straitening feathers and removing loose ones, making them the neatest and cleanest they've been in years. Starts with the brand, removing damaged and burnt feathers and just. Keeps going. Stan wakes up feeling awful and weirdly relaxed, only to find his wings looking the best they have since he'd gotten kicked, even with the giant burn and clipped feathers.

[ariaxco]

How do you make friends at 19 I don’t wanna be 20 friendless

making friends in your late teens & 20s: what actually works ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🫂

being in your late teens or early 20s is weird. high school friendships fade, college ones might not click, and suddenly it feels like everyone has a group except you. maybe you’re 19 and scared of turning 20 still feeling alone. maybe you're 22 and wondering how people even meet friends anymore. either way, you're not behind. you're not broken. you just haven't met your people yet.

making friends at this age is awkward, but it's not impossible.

✦ start online first.

this might sound cringe but it works. some of the best friendships start from a random dm, comment, or shared hobby. online friends are real friends, and sometimes they turn into in-person ones too

join discord servers

comment on creators you vibe with

follow local people with similar interests

post things you're genuinely into.

message someone and say "i saw your post and honestly same."

it's not weird. most people are just waiting for someone to go first.

if things feel safe and natural, meet up in real life. pick a public place, tell someone where you're going, and keep it casual. safety always comes first. ( STAY SAFE PLEASE )

✦ if you're in college, use it

college is one of the easiest places to make new friends because everyone is lowkey trying to do the same thing.

talk to the person next to you in class. ask someone to grab food or study together. join a club that sounds mildly interesting. go to campus events even if you feel awkward. most people want connection. they just don’t want to look like they’re trying too hard.

also, if you live on campus, leave your door open when you’re hanging out or invite people to group study nights. it makes you approachable without having to say anything.

✦ say it out loud: “i’ve been trying to make more friends”.

this one’s underrated. telling someone you’re trying to meet new people is not embarrassing. it’s honest. and honestly? most people feel the same but don’t say it.

putting that out there can break the ice instantly. people are drawn to realness.

✦ follow up and make the second move

so you met someone cool. now what? text them. invite them to hang. suggest a chill plan like coffee or a walk. don’t sit around waiting for the perfect group chat to form out of nowhere.

real friendships are built through follow-up. not everyone you meet will stick, but some will. and that’s all you need.

✦ show up where people are, regularly

you can’t meet new people if you’re stuck in the same routine.

go to events

workshops

classes

the gym

the library, anything.

just be in the room. even if you don’t talk to anyone at first, showing up is step one. the more you go, the more familiar you become. and eventually, someone says hi. or you do.

✦ use your hobbies to your advantage

shared interests = instant conversation starters.

take a class

join a running club

go to a book event

start a creative project and invite others in.

hobbies are low-pressure ways to find people who already like what you like. you don’t have to force connection. it just builds naturally.

✦ build your own circle, even if it starts small

if you don’t have a friend group yet, create a tiny one.

host a movie night with one or two people.

invite classmates to a group chat.

plan a picnic or study session.

don’t wait for someone else to include you. become the person who brings people together.

✦ be the kind of friend you want to have

this one matters more than you think.

check in on people. follow up after plans. remember little things about them. be consistent, even if it’s just through texts or voice notes. people stick around when they feel seen and cared for.

✦ expect it to take time

not every hangout will be magical. not every connection will become deep. some people won’t match your energy. that’s okay. keep trying.

you’re not meant to click with everyone. you just need to keep putting yourself in the way of connection until it sticks with the right ones.

✦ and seriously, don’t underestimate online friendship

some of your future best friends might be mutuals right now. reply to stories. post your thoughts. join interest-based group chats. if you’ve been watching someone’s content and thinking “we’d get along,” tell them. you never know what could come from it.

last thing

you don’t need a huge group of people. you don’t need to be the most social person in the room. you just need a few real ones who get you. they’re out there. and they’re probably wishing they had someone like you in their life too.

show up. speak first. follow up. be real. try again even if it feels slow.

you are not too late. your friend era is coming.

[dropsnectar]

Pollen and Potions: Bee-men x afab!reader

PART THREE

This is a longer part than the rest, but its all necessary dialogue so it should be fine. More fluffy and romance than smut, BUT!! Their will be smut in the next section! I know I said this will only be 4 parts, but it may actually be more like 5 or 6. Anyway, hope you like!

So. You were starting to learn that using large batches of magic back to back weren't ideal for a young witch's health. It seemed like you might have overdone it, as when you woke you found you had been asleep for TWO WHOLE DAYS. So. If you were going to do magic, it looked like you were going to have to pace yourself, or perhaps use LESS magic.

You put yourself to learning more about witchcraft. The thing was, your grandmother's books didn't really go into the basics, and as witches were so rare, information was hard to find. Of course, the internet was full of supposed witch spells, or frameworks, but it was like throwing dice. Some spells didn't work. Some spells took up WAY too much energy. Some were just… fine? But not what you needed. 

Next you checked out forum sites. Maybe you could find a community through that way? But all you found were psychics and tarot readers. Nice people, but not what you needed.

Whelp. Maybe you needed to look at the issue differently. The environment used to be a beautiful, thriving area. What had changed between now and then? In order to understand a magic ecosystem, you had to understand ecosystems. So, for the rest of the week you busied yourself with ecology study. It was turning out that this project you had adopted on a whim would need a lot more time and breadth of knowledge then you originally thought.

***

When you met with Rena, under Lyith’s friendly gaze, you found that the magic you had cast hadn't waned at all. The flowers had grown beautifully and continued to give magic nectar that created the best honey. Rena was beside herself. “The elders of the hive say they haven't had honey of this quality since they were children! You are really onto something here, little one.”

Rena had now gotten in the habit of calling you little one. Sure, as a Bee-man she was slightly taller than you, but not by much. Also the constant fluttering and floating didn't help. 

“You've been given permission to test your magic on our other gardens as well. As long as we are careful and continue with caution!” Rena babbled. You gave her a small smile and felt Lyiths arm on your shoulder. He laid his head on your other shoulder, leaning his fuzzy head against yours. 

“Whats wrong?”

You wiggled a little. “I'm just having a hard time brainstorming how to do this. I know I said I'd help you guys, but I might not be able to use as much magic as last time. To be honest, I don't really know much about my mana and my limits…” you explained your situation. Expecting there to be disappointment, you were surprised to find none.

“I can’t help but think… How long will this last? One spell isn’t going to cut it for that long. I want to create something that will last for you guys, but that might take a while… and doing just this took all the mana I had. I want to do better. But I don’t want to hurt myself either, especially when I don’t know how this could affect my health in the long run…” The bee-men seemed to be catching on.

“Of course, little one. We wouldn't want you to harm yourself.”

 Lyith also popped up, his voice almost in your ear.

“Us Bee-men also have something like mana. Our magic is not never ending. We would have fixed this situation ourselves if it was.”

Rena reached forward and grabbed your hand, giving it a reassuring pat. “We don't have to do anything today. We can commence whenever you'd like. Our flowers have spread out beautifully and even this is enough.”

You frowned.

“I may have to do this every spring. Or even redo it in the summer…”

“You don’t owe us anything. You are trying your best to do us a kindness. And our hive knows and sees that. We are beyond grateful to you… Its… We’ve needed…We are truly grateful.” His expression fell at the mention of his hive, his antennas drooping. Rena moved forward and held Lyith, a sad expression on her own face.

There was a pause in conversation that grew somewhat awkward.

How do I make this better? You tried to brainstorm, but only one thing came to mind. 

You went over and gave the both of them a big bear hug. It was a tense one, but you tried to adjust your emotions, instead concentrating on how fond you had grown of the two. You tried to shout it as loud as you could through your brain at them.

This seemed to break the spell, as Rena started to laugh. Lyith looked at you affectionately. 

“I know we haven't known each other long, but I just want to say, you can count on me. If you ever need to talk about anything let me know. I'll listen.”

Rena and Lyith hummed in response, returning your group hug with a long squeeze.

Long hugs. The favorite actions of a Bee-men.

After some quiet reassurances, the two of you decided to idle while the two foraged on the edge of the Wood. You walked with them and asked them as many questions you could think of. How old were they? Were they able to do other magics? You had thought Bee-men to be isolated. How come they knew so much about human culture?

Lyith was the one who answered you most of the time. It seemed that bee-man typically lived double the life of a human, with Rena and Lyith being about 45, and 51, Lyith being the oldest. They were in the same season of life as you though!

Bee-man could do some other magics(they didn't go much into what), but they specialized in making their magical honey, which fortified the health and wellbeing of a Bee-men. 

They didn’t say it outright but it seemed like the dip in magic had affected the nutrition of their food source. They kept their own bees and shared honey, but it still wasn't enough, so they had ventured out into human society to buy fruit when it was necessary. They also did trade with neighboring beast-men, the Wolfmen being happy to share their fruit for their Bee’s wax waste. I 

“What exactly do you guys do for fun though?” You asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Lyith smiled. “Late night flying is fun.”

Rena snorted. “You mean late night spying. Lyith has a habit of looking through people's windows.”

Lyith wrinkled his nose at Rena. “If they did not want to be seen they would have drawn the curtains. It's not strange, I am just curious about human life is all.”

Rena reached forward and pinched Lyiths nose. “Poor thing. So bored he must make mischief.”

You looked at Lyith with surprise. His big eyes grew in concern and he pouted at you.

“You are not going to tease me too are you? I promise, I never see anything scandalous. I'm a good little bee.” He fluttered his eyes at you.

You giggled and pushed his shoulder. 

“As long as you're not spying on me I guess it's harmless.”

Lyiths expression shifted to one of his dopey smiles. It always surprised you how innocent he could look despite his size. Was it maybe…

“So… I may have read that you guys are telepathic right?” 

Renas face changed into a smirk. 

“Yes, and?”

“ Well, have you guys ever… used your powers on me?” 

Rena snorted. Lyith gave you an unreadable expression. “We Bee-man are very particular about sharing our heads outside of our hives. But no. We haven't done anything to you if that's what you meant…”

Oh. He was pouting now.

“No! Thats not what I meant! I just… i feel so comfortable around you guys it's almost supernatural. I just. Idk. Wanted to know. Please I didn't mean anything by it!”

Lyith wrinkled his nose at you and Rena continued to seem amused. You felt helpless and got a bit upset with yourself. You did your best to calm yourself down but you were upset. You had so few friends here and you were afraid you blew it. A wave of loneliness swept through you.

Lyith was watching you the whole time, before sighing. “All will be forgiven if you give us some of those fruit tarts you made yesterday.”

You looked at him, shocked. 

“I thought you said you didn't spy on me!”

“I wasn't spying, I just happened to be foraging by the window, and smelled something amazing. It was all incidental.”

“There's sugar in the crust. Won’t your tummy get upset?”

He just smiled. Rena laughed. “He named his price. For offending us, we must get fruit tarts.”

Finally feeling better, the three of you walked(they let you walk!!!) Back to your home. You served them up your tarts, when finally the questions started coming about you. Why did you move here? Do you have any siblings? What were you like as a child?

This went on until dinner time, at which point you decided to shoo your new friends away. “ I'll be back to do the flowers tomorrow. We… we will see what I can do.” You admitted. The two of them smiled at you, hugging you tight for a good three minutes. They always lingered, nuzzling your face and hair, as if they were getting a whiff of you. You could smell their own perfume and tried not to think too much. Their goodbyes always felt so intimate. 

 Rena decided to pepper your face in kisses before they left. Lyith just rolled his eyes at her. When they drew apart you felt empty, like some piece of you was going with them.

***

As always, Lyith picked you up that morning. This time, you made sure to bring a scarf and hat, alongside emergency snacks in your bag. Where he was taking you next was a little longer of a trip, a whole ten minutes to the usual six. That was a long time when you were hurtling through the air.

You were surprised to drop into a small crowd. There were ten Bee-men present besides Rena, who seemed to be communicating silently with them. The air was full of bee noises; humming, purring, the fluttering of wings. The air smelled amazingly fresh, floral and syrupy. It was an odd smell, but it seemed to put you at ease somehow. And maybe a bit peckish.

A Beeman a whole foot and a half taller then Rena fluttered towards you. They bowed, of which you awkwardly returned before they reached forward and took your hand gently. Lyith started,

“This is Elder Bisou. He is the eldest of our hive. He is showing you respect.”

Elder Bisou smiled at you. “Little Witch, I welcome you to our territory. My human is a bit… unused. Please receive our thanks for your efforts.” He took your hand and leaned down so that it met his temple. You could feel the rush of his magic, like your mind was a fish bowl and he was putting a gentle hand on the glass. You could feel his warmth, his deep gratitude through it. 

Your back straightened and you felt water prick your eyelids. You gave him a slow nod, becoming acutely aware just how serious this whole situation actually was. Rena and Lyith had been dancing around it, but the Bee-men must be slowly starving to death. That was the only explanation for the depths of what you had felt.

“I will do my best.” Was all you could reply. 

Lyith, acting as your translator, took you to each Bee-men he could and introduced you. It seemed that some of the elders, as well as some of those who had free time had come to watch the “little witch” work. Most took your hand gently, and sent you a ghost of what their emotions were. There was a sort of film around the emotions, a barrier of sorts. Whether this was on purpose so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed, or just how their telepathy worked, you couldn't tell. 

You did your best to not let your nerves get to you as you dissected the sections of the field where you would be doing your experiments. You didn’t know how these particular flowers would take to your spell, so it was still best to be cautious. The bee-men looked on with interest.

You did your chants in a loud booming fashion, and channeled in as elegant a fashion as you could. Like always, the magic came, and the spell did its work. These flowers were different, like rainbow colored lavender. Rather than letting the magic gush through you, you let it gently trickle out, pacing yourself. When the deeds were done, you still felt sore, and you still held a headache in your temple, but there was no nausea, so growth! 

Once you were done with your work, there was a large excited buzzing throughout the forest. There was clapping, dancing, stomping of feet, pumping of many hands, whoops from Rena and Lyith. One Bee, a worker named Aidenn held a small wooden instrument in his hands and started to play. This triggered a chorus from the Bee-men. There was a harmonizing among the crowd and they started to circle each other, laughing and dancing. A circle of flying, spinning Bee-men formed.

Rena grabbed you by the waist and hoisted you onto her shoulder before joining in the circle of the dance. You giggled as you spun, feeling the giddiness in the air like it was laughing gas. That same pressure filled your mind and a part of your heart started to soar. It was intimate, but not stifling and you loved feeling so close to everyone.

You lifted your hands and, feeling in the spirit, decided to hum along. At some point Rena had taken you in her arms and held you close as they continued to fly in a circle, spinning and perrying, and switching. It was similar to square dancing, where there was a pattern to it. 

At one point, the tune changed and Lyith swooped down from above and grabbed you out of Rena’s arms. She snorted at him but let it happen, joining hands with another passing Bee-men. When Lyith gathered you in his arms, he cradled you as close as possible, surprising you. One hand was gripping firmly around your waist and the other crushing you to him. He landed on the ground, and the rest of the bee-men followed, causing something of a ballroom dance. 

“You did wonderfully today.” He breathed in your ear, causing them to redden. You pulled yourself back a bit to see his face and he was looking at you with such pride and affection it felt like a weight crushing your chest. You moved your hands from his shoulders to reach his own hands. You were shaky, but you wanted to return his feelings somehow. His palms were soft.

This caused him to laugh, a purring sort of trill coming from his throat. You couldn’t help a silly grin form on your face.

“I’m glad you came to my garden.” Was all you could think to say.

He looked at you, with those big black eyes, then reached forward and kissed you on the lips. It was only a peck, but you could feel his joy through it. 

Something complex within you, a mix of happiness, excitement, hope, all of your feelings rose up into your throat. Unable to find the words to express yourself, you took all of those big heavy emotions, wrapped them all up together and kissed him back, right there, in the middle of your makeshift dance floor.

When you pulled away Lyith looked shocked, his bottom lip hanging open. Adorable as usual. 

Rena hollered from the otherside of the gathering, sending out a big whoop. There was laughter, buzzing and an echoing whoop from some of the younger bee-men. Elder Bisou made some clicking sounds, but the sides of his mouth were slightly upturned.

It occurred to you then that you were in the middle of a group of very telepathic monster people. Your cheeks grew hot in embarrassment and you pulled away from Lyith a bit. Your shoes suddenly became very interesting. 

Lyith eventually turned your chin back up to face him. He held a small peaceful smile, before bumping his forehead to yours. He didn’t share his emotions but the affection was still there.

After you grew too tired to dance, you took a seat under a tree, munching on a granola bar. Another one of the Bee-men, a younger drone named Haven, made his way to sit next to you.

“I don’t know if it was mentioned, but honey production has picked up enormously since you agreed to help us. I haven’t felt this great in… well ever! Thank you little witch!”

“I’m not little, but thank you for saying so.” You were starting to get a bit lightheaded now, and not from the dancing. It was possible that some of the symptoms of mana sickness were surfacing a little late.

“You are strong! That is true! Even elder Bisou has said he hasn’t met a human or beastman with mana like yours!” Haven turned his voice down to a whisper, as if he was sharing a secret, “Your magic smells so much like flowers, really, its a huge blessing! In fact, I would eat you up if I could!” He laughed as if he had made a joke. He sighed and looked up dreamily at the sky. “Alas, I am saving myself for when we find our queen.” He wrapped his arms around himself, as if to fend off imaginary suitors.

You wrinkled your nose. “Queen? You don’t have a queen? Isn’t that super bad for bees, I mean bee-men?” 

Heaven tilted his head at you, reminding you of Lyith. 

“Of course. That's why we are all so small and weak.” You stared at him in shock. He put up his hands. “We are doing well though! It's been 20 years since our queen died but we are still here! Oh! There is a hive up north! Any day now, one of their queens' daughters might descend and bless us! Or.. Or we--”

“Little One! You seem like you're getting sick!” Rena Descended from above and put a hand to your forehead.

“You are far too warm! Haven, mind if I take her out of your wings?”

Heaven looked up at Rena, his face a mask of confusion. He eventually gave in though and stood up.

“I should check on Elder Bisou! He might need something!” His voice was flat, obviously fake, but he ran away- flew away with gusto.

Rena took your face into her hands, tilting your head back and forth. Your lightheadedness turned full on dizzy. Rena’s face screwed up in an annoyed expression.

“You overdid it. And after that whole speech about not knowing your limits too..” She gently put a hand on your back and picked you up princess style. You would have been embarrassed, if your brain was functioning properly. Instead your gaze fixed on Rena’s beautiful iridescent wings. The lights were so lovely and they helped ground you. Honestly, everything about Rena was lovely. Well, maybe lovely wasn’t the right word. She was rough around the edges. A tease and a know it all. But she doted on you so, it made you feel a bit overwhelmed. Your gaze shifted from her wings to her lovely nose, pretty sharp for a bee-men. 

Rena started conversing with Lyith about you, pointing her jaw and humming. Huh. Rena was actually incredibly attractive. You had known that before. Maybe it was something about how dizzy everything was. The last time you had felt this way she had been kissing you, her textured tongue pushing nectar down your thoat-

“Little One”

Your mind immediately focused. She was using a demanding tone. 

“Lyith will take you home. Next time, we will only do one spell at a time.” She leaned forward and placed her cool lips to the side of your mouth. Making you blush. Well your face was already heated so you would have blushed. “I will see you again soon. Rest.” And she was off.

You were in Lyith’s arms again. A place you were starting to get comfortable in. He stared at you for a moment, his lips pursed, then sighed loudly. He held your gaze for a moment.

“I do not like this habit you are forming. You will not get sick again, understand?” 

You nodded at him, mind hazy. Sleepy. You were sleepy. 

You didn’t register the fly home, only that the coolness felt nice. You were carried from the porch, into the living room, up the stairs, and laid on your bed. You were covered in warm, delicious blankets. 

You never saw Lyith leave before you passed out. Probably because he tucked himself in right beside you, the cool air washing over both of you from the open bedroom window.

Part Four

[skyfallscotland]

Ok so Rebecca did a one hour panel today in Sydney with Lynette Noni hosting, where she asked questions and then they opened it to fans. I've kind of summarised the things I haven't seen mentioned over and over, but I don't frequent the subreddit anymore or use TikTok, so there might be overlap. In any case, it's long. Settle in. I've sectioned it into plot/character relevant first, then themes and interesting facts about her and her writing. Basically, you all came with me. 💗

• In book three (and every book thereafter) we'll be going to more and more new places. She specifically worded it as "watching the map expand" whether that's significant or not, I don't know. (I was thinking Isle Kingdoms for OS, but maybe that's just my wishful thinking).

• She implied Jack will have a reason (explained) for uh...being a power-hungry prick? lol

• She's hella defensive of Dain, which I love. #DainApologistsClub 😌 Some highlights include:

"You guys give Dain so much shit for the same thing Xaden does. You really do and you're so fast to forgive Xaden and not Dain. Why? Is it because he's hot?"

And, "when push comes to shove, all Dain did—yes he violated her boundaries, as does Xaden—but all he did was trust his dad when his best friend no longer spoke to him. That's it."

"When Dain looks at her (in the interrogation chamber) and says 'if you had just told me, none of this would have happened', he's not just talking about the interrogation, he's talking about Liam, he's talking about if she had just trusted him (in Fourth Wing) it never would have happened." 😢

• She was asked about Liam's appearance in the interrogation chamber and definitively put to rest any signet theories involving that. "She's so alone in that moment and...I don't read fan theories but sometimes they reach my ears; she's completely disconnected from her magic in that moment, she can't even reach out for Tairn or Andarna, which are the bonds that are actually most important to her. She can't reach out for Xaden. And that's the one person who would have prevented that from happening the last year, so it's natural that's who her mind would summon."

• She's thought about a spin-off series, but she's just trying to survive this series.

• Someone asked her if there'd be any redemption and romance for Jack Barlowe and honestly, thanks guys, I don't think she's ever coming back to this country 💀 ("Are you getting enough sleep? Uh...I mean, from his prison cell maybe? No.")

• Someone asked "what is Garrick's signet and why hasn't it been shown yet?" (shoutout to this girl, she's the real MVP) to which Rebecca said "it's very much in book three, I love it."

• Someone asked about the orange dragons and unpredictability re: Amber, Jack, Varrish and then Imogen and Brennan. Rebecca said some dragons might look for traits like their own and some look for balance because it's a partnership; and that Brennan as a strategist needed that little bit of unpredictability in his life (lol, I think he got it).

• She didn't always plan for Violet to have two dragons. Originally it was going to be one (Tairn) and the editor had hoped that she would sway towards a weaker, smaller dragon and she thought that was a little too close to Abraxos in ToG, and so they compromised and gave her both. She also went on to say she doesn't like overpowered heroines and since Tairn is extremely powerful, Andarna balanced that out. (I'm not...I'm not sure how that works out? But that's what was said.)

• We are definitely going to find out more about the original six (and Lynette asked if that was a spin-off possibility and was shushed, so she's thought about it at least, but I get the idea she's thought about a lot of possibilities 😂)

• There's no timeframe for the release of the final two books.

• Someone asked if Violet's dad was Malek to which she was kind of shocked. He's not a god, guys. And low-key I JUST WANT TO KNOW HIS NAME. 😤

• On Sgaeyl: "You do (get more of her) but holy crap is she pissed. So—I'll tell you that about Onyx Storm—she is really, really mad at Xaden and she's not exactly speaking to him at the moment. So it's hard for her to speak into that bond when she's not speaking to him." 💔

• She was asked about the Violet dated Halden theory (which was fucking hilarious because the poor girl misspoke and asked if Xaden dated the prince and we were all really confused about which TikToks the poor thing had seen (note to self: consider cam/xaden), anyway after we got to the bottom of that, Rebecca replied, "I think you should read the third book." Which I'm taking to mean, the man is making a damn appearance and we're gonna find out for ourselves 👀 Hey, if I'm lucky maybe we'll even find out his surname

• Finally she said she has EP on the Amazon series, they've all been exceptionally protective of it and that she's happy with how it's going (they're not near casting yet and she doesn't want to really comment on that ever, to leave each role open to as diverse a cast as possible). She said the production team has come to the signings in LA to meet readers and see what they love and are passionate about when it comes to the series to make sure that's honoured.

"Like I mean, I've seen certain...like what can I say without getting tackled to the ground? Let's just say they've already taken steps to make sure that what you guys love about the story is envisioned and that it's not run amok. And I'm very happy with it, they're super protective of it." Which could just be me reading into it, but the first place my brain went was the dragons 👀🐉 and the CGI or whatever.

• She was asked about where the inspiration for the universe came from and she said that when her Entangled decided they were going to do romantasy they asked her for five pitches and Fourth Wing was one of them (she won't say what the others were because she might still write them someday). She said she likes the fated mates trope but she wondered what that would look like if the dragons were the ones mated, not the humans and the humans who couldn't stand each other were forced to be around each other because of this. 

• Her first ever book was romantasy but it didn't sell

• She's never really written enemies to lovers before.

• She likes found family themes because she was raised in a military family and moved around a lot, so that makes it hard to keep in touch with your extended family, and after she married her husband and became a military wife, it was their found family that was there for her—it was her found family who helped her move her house, who sat with her when her husband was injured in Iraq, etc, so she thinks it's very important to show that your family is also the people you choose and that can be just as strong as any blood tie.

• She was asked (by Lynette) why she wanted to show death and the reality of war and she said, "I've been surrounded by it. My husband's been at war since 2003, he spent 22 years in the army, first as a 19 Delta cavalry scout and then ten years as an apache pilot and we buried our friends. And I saw what it did to him, and I saw what it did to our friends, I saw what it did to our children, to us, and I love being able to examine it from a fantasy perspective just because I think fantasy gives us a unique environment from which to critique our own world by viewing it through the lens of another. And I've always delved into those themes as to why we do this to each other and where is there hope to stop it?"

• As an author her favourite scenes in Fourth Wing were the dagger stealing scene (very important to their chemistry and romantic development—"she's the only person he's taught ever, how to actually kill him") and the first kiss scene.

In Iron Flame it was the interrogation scene and how that ends with Dain and Xaden and everything coming together.

When asked about a similar scene from Onyx Storm that elicited the same strong emotion from her she said "you're not gonna like it" and that's it 💀

• She would consider writing fantasy again after she's done with the Empyrean world, maybe one of her other pitches, but she won't truly think about it until she's survived this one.

• She spoke about the "kill your darlings" writing advice and how if you love a scene but it doesn't move the plot, you've gotta cut it, and how she did that with the final scene in Fourth Wing, which was originally 7k words of Violet POV pulling information out of Xaden.

• When asked about fan theories she actually said something I found a little sad. "I don't listen to fan theories. One, I'm not on TikTok—it's a little bit more important for me to be alive than to listen to what other people think they know about me, and two, I don't ever want fan theories to bleed into my writing."

〰️ And that's it! If anyone's going tomorrow, please voice record the whole thing and report back lmao 🙏 🫶🏼

ETA: part two is here, x

[vaguely-concerned]

I have so many thoughts I (ironically) can't put into words yet about the use of heightened and ritualized poetic language and phrases in connection to magic in Nevarra (or possibly within the mourn watch?). they don't default to an ancient language for it like tevinter predictably seem to, and while they do have a whole scholarly language for the academic side of it -- when they're actually casting it and interacting with the dead, they speak in common but through poetry and metaphor in ways we haven't seen any other culture do. maybe the avvar, as the closest, just in a different literary tradition. they speak to the dead, but in a living language. ingellvar rook gets a bit defensive and even reproachful during emmrich's recruitment quest when the other companion makes some sort of comment to question it. 'it's watcher tradition! >:('

'Open your hearts to the final day, companion of all the ages'. even a rook who doesn't take the almost religious element of the role of watcher as seriously knows that one by heart no matter what you make them say during walking the graves. when myrna in so many words says that the necropolis is still rook's home, the way they agree with her is simply to quote 'A home in life, a berth in death...' and her smoothly finishing the thought with 'a house of many mansions'. there are several times with emmrich where rook answers something he says just by quoting from some watcher text they both clearly know well. (if you do this to weasel out of answering when he asks if you're afraid of dying, he is understandably peeved you're quoting watcher 101 stuff at him, and rook clearly knows exactly what they're doing.) this shared base of literature -- and more than that a kind of oral tradition, it sounds like? it's just What You Say when you do certain things, do you think half of this is even written down anywhere? this shared inheritance of language making for a feeling of belonging and continuity is beautiful and moving in a way but also. a bit cold and distant, all mind and no body connection. which I feel might be a running theme around the necropolis haha they mainly seem to have interest in bodies once life has vacated them, they don't give that much thought to what makes it feel good to be in one while you're here. we can only imagine the psychological effects of growing up a crypt baby in this particular cultural milieu.

you know what it reminds me of a little bit in places, actually? the way the qun uses language and set phrases to convey layers of meaning. the qunari are an oddly poetic bunch. and I think there's also something here about like... cultures whose religious side are more about philosophy and the language used than an idea of the divine as such. yeah nevarra is technically andrastian, at least on the surface, probably largely for reasons of 'ugh it would be SO inconvenient to have an exalted march called on us :/ some of us have real shit to get on with you know this body isn't going to mummify itself. sure tell orlais we'll join their dumb club or whatever'. but within and beneath that the syncretism with and survival of much older traditions are still so obviously (and double ironically!) alive. how much does your average watcher believe in god, and how much and how immediately do they believe in the grand necropolis, and in their duty to what has been, what is and what will come after them -- the quest for knowledge? memento mori ass culture to the point of absent-mindedly forgetting about everything else including god (affectionate). maybe the maker exists, but he's just not that relevant down here. he may take the souls, but we still tend the graves. render unto the chantry what's the chantry's, and unto the watcher what is theirs!!! really is the whole thing huh

[mysteryanimator]

Thought process of Powerful Predatory Deadly Fan-Animatic

(Aka I ramble about how I went about storyboarding this because i have many thoughts)

I haven't done this in a proper while, where I just vomit out how I went about doing this kind of stuff (more so animation) to track progress! I stopped doing it because the self doubt worms were being really loud, but these are fun, so we're bringing this back (maybe)!

“Mystery there’s no way you thought and did all this in the span of 2 weeks with breaks ON TOP OF UNIVERSITY-“ Objection, hyperfixation and the drive to improve is absurd. Not only is this really enjoyable to me that I actively make sure I carve out time for it, but I also want to make sure I strive to do my best at all times. I want to be like my online peers and mutuals :D

(This was me streaming the process to my friends so I could lock in)

This is going to be different from all the other breakdowns because this is not an analysis; this is more of a personal run-through of how I went about it and how I am reflecting upon it! How I storyboard now is very different from how I used to approach it. By all means, I know there could’ve been stronger shot choices, better pacing, etc. There's a lot to improve on, but suffice it to say, between January to now, the difference is night and day.

This will be way more casual and more just a blabber of thoughts. This also means a huge chunk of it is just me word vomiting, which also means if the grammar is somewhat off, I apologise in advance.

Before we start with the actual shots, we have to go through

✨ iteration process and research ✨

While I do have a script, the story beats were as follows:

1. Tera and Mizrak meet in the forest (intent to 'lure out' Olrox via Mizrak)

2. Fight (put pressure heavily on Mizrak)

3. Mizrak says something that reignites Tera's grief and humanity

4. Tera momentarily loses herself, allowing Mizrak to get the upper hand, only to lose it a second later

5. Tera says/does something that reignites Mizrak's fear and humanity

6. Olrox appears, therefore ending the fight/scene

I initially went in with the mindset of this being a somewhat even fight (in every single script draft, Mizrak loses tho LOL). This meant that for me, at least, to keep the fight visually interesting was to have both characters move very differently. For Tera, I looked at ice skaters, ballet, and lyrical because I have a personal preference when fights look like a dance; it’s my most favourite thing ever. It also just establishes from the get-go Tera’s composure and control before I eventually had to break it and make the contrast that much more harrowing.

Mizrak was always going to be rough compared to Tera. I thought an interesting fighting style would be Arnis, a Filipino martial art style that uses sticks or improvised weapons for self defence and combat, which would be a fun a way to extend use of Mizrak's nails (also me, Filipino, just a wanted to finally have an excuse to board it). This would be combined with Muy Thai, break dancing and tinkling (that is so fucking cool for dodging ice). It also kind of already flows into Mizrak's melee sword style because it's very 'wooshy', and I noticed he does a ton of curve-up/down and follows the line of action from his sword. I digress, though.

As you can tell, the action shifted from a somewhat balanced 1-v-1 fight to a "this isn't a fight, this is a trap". This was paired with the horror aspect I was leaning into, which meant I disregarded a ton of my research. However, all the fight styles were not completely lost. They still find themselves using those techniques! Mizrak has shifted to just kind of doing defensive drills without sticks/nails to cement how he’s not used to dealing with magic fights, and he can't repurpose the ice that hits him because it shatters on impact. Tera, I'm not 100% sure if this was the right call for this, but I ended up just making her from the waist down really still until she lept forward. This was to make her seem very inhuman, controlled, and calculated like a predator (wow title) because:

"You've been stalking me for a month. What the fuck do you want?"

I felt like I had to showcase that and give that line proper weight. Like she knew beat for beat what she was doing, purposefully aiming for Mizrak's arms, knowing they'd shatter, throw him off guard, and pin him. Again, I'm not sure if it was the right call, but I wanted it to make it doomed from the start.

This is where I now delve into media-specific research. Since action is not a particularly strong suit, how to actually capture action on screen was challenging BUT fun. So with the addition of the storyboard classes I took (Ae Ri Yoon and Danny Araya are both wonderful teachers, and I learnt sooooo much; their classes are amazing. Ae Ri Yoon runs a class each season so definitely check her out if you want to do action!!) I did research into Legend of Korra. Specifically metal/water/ice bending. I limited it to just ice, cutting out the fire ability because I saw the potential to further the rhetoric of the lack of humanity/warmth in Tera's life. While I'm still not entirely happy with the core fight itself and not very confident about how it was captured, it is a step in the right direction into strengthening that skill. Only with time and more precision I get better at it presumably, LOL.

Even though a huge chunk of actual research went into just staring at LOK and filling my fyp with copious amounts of MMA fighters, I did want to lean onto horror. Often, when I’m doing uni assignments, I have a ton of video essays/films playing as background noise, and for a long while, it has been gothic/folk/religious horror media. After realising the potential of doing 'horror' due to dabbling in it for the Rabbits animatic, I set to properly delve into making this one horror adjacent. While horror/fear is subjective, and I knew I couldn't do true horror justice (also, this is an action scene), I still wanted to take the visual tension they do. I took inspiration from Mike Flannigan and Robert Eggers' work, The Ritutal, along with video games such as Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and the American McGee's Alice franchise. There's probably way more I'm missing out on, but this was simply a mosaic of all the stuff I love in all fairness.

The video essay "The Fear of Transformation" by ProfessionalViral, while it discusses Tokyo Ghoul, made me deeply think of Tera and Mizrak and what I could visually convey about the tragedy of still being human on the inside yet facing the consequences of being a 'monster. ' Unfortunately, that video has been copyrighted to hell and bac,k but it stuck with me a lot and made me still push really heavily on focusing on portraying Tera and Mizrak's anguish, so the "action" of it got smaller and smaller.

✨ process time ✨

I’ll briefly run over how I actually went about it.

For this, I did some explorative thumbnails, and some of them did stick around to the final- such as the framing box shots and Tera's ending monologue. Once I felt confident enough, I laid down roughs or just text placements, knowing what should be happening but not knowing how to visualise it. Some will be sentences, others will be WHOLE PARAGRAPHS just detailing the meaning behind a scene and what specific mood I want. With this board, I ended up jumping around a lot, never solely linearly going from beginning to end. Also, my roughs can be absurdly rough or absurdly clean, which is very funny.

(like dude what)

Also, I wasn't supposed to do shadows/lighting but also this is horror adjacent. I feel like it establishes the more eerie tone I wanted to go for :D

Fun fact: many of the forest shots came from me scoping out irl places for compositions/nature literally any time I went outside. While yes, I had very specific compositions in mind, actually running around was very helpful to figure out the space and understand perspective better since I do struggle with it from time to time🫰

now the moment y'all have probably been waiting for

✨shot breakdowns✨

While I'm not going to go through every scene for this to let people have more free reign to interpret each shoy as they wish, I sat with each individual shot for sooooo long. Trying to figure out why and when to cut, what story beats motivate for entirely new camera positions, etc. Especially with action, it is a new territory for me.

Split diopters!

This was a thing I wanted to play with as it commonly occurs in The Haunting of Bly Manor! Here, I've linked a video essay, but it should take you straight to the section talking about split diopters in the show. If that doesn't work, it is at 41:45!

As Haunting of Bly Manor uses it to highlight empty space, I also wanted to do that to create not only that same unease, but give Tera an immense amount of power over Mizrak even though she's not there, especially in the subsequent shot where a hugeee amount of of the space just nothing but trees, as Mizrak stands closed off with the house.

This here basically answers Mizrak question of "what the fuck do you want?"

Tera is here to dismandle the comforts of homely life for Olrox, which happens to include Mizrak. To get Olrox out of his comfort zone means also taking Mizrak out of it. Also, I wanted to convey that Mizrak is clocking what Tera is putting down, so he's positioned as if he's defending the house. This is also why I wanted to cut to a close-up.

This also becomes a nice moment to come back to because I reuse a very similar set up when Olrox gets introduced into this animatic.

Also, yes, that is a box; it's not a Myst animatic if there are no boxes/framing devices. While the boxes are still somewhat suffocating, as most boxed framing is, each windowed frame communicates wildly different things. Every single character who appears in this animatic has a full body in a specific frame, including Tera.

What I planned to communicate was the following:

Mizrak - He acts as one of the pillars to box in the house rather than being within the frame itself, implying stability and structure. This showcases how he wants to defend the house, however, it also establishes he's the 'weakest' amongst the three characters in this animatic because he's off to the side.

Tera - While using someone else's body as a frame, most of the time, it usually means the other person has more power. It's flipped on its head this time because it all the shots before this one have characters off-center to suddenly being dead in the middle. This breaks up the pattern and therefore breaks up our initial understanding of what's going on (hopefully). Therefore, it creates a lot of tension and unease. Also, Mizrak's legs practically go in the row of the trees, as he's lined up, which is where Tera wants him to be because Mizrak is now predictable. Tera has been stalking Mizrak for a month, as stated before, so she knows Mizrak's patterns and repetitive actions, like the trees showcased.

Olrox - He basically combines both Tera's and Mizrak's boxed frame. He's set off to the side like Mizrak; however, he's in the center of the hole in the wall. He also basically makes the frame himself by using the skulls and he blocks the only exit out of the house, creating an imposing force that puts Tera into a box off to the side. Also, if you compare the Olrox shot with the "(OS) Not exactly" shot, Olrox is placed where the house is, so it really really cements down that this is what Tera/Mephistopheles/Old Man Coyote/"Some other name" was after. It can also suggest a ton of other things relating to Olrox's relationship with Mizrak.

This was very very fun way to establish the character's power dynamics.

While sharing a WIP of the early script, someone mentioned Mizrak's line directly to Tera, and I just had to do a direct comparison. Tera should be allowed to mock him (everything changed for me when Tera was a lot more sassy towards Emmanuel; that was so fun to see that side of her, so I wanted to channel that here).

This camera truck from Tera to Mizrak was really fun! It helped to quickly establish the gist of the fight, with Tera being much larger that she doesn't fit the screen while Mizrak is way in the back and is really small. It also establishes that Tera is intentionally putting pressure on Mizrak to move back because it means they're getting closer to the house.

I also from the getgo wanted to just give a sense of impending traedgy that Mizrak is so fucked. He is losing this fight no matter what; that's the horror aspect of it. Rather than focusing on the horror for the audience, it's the horror for Mizrak that would hopefully seep into the audience because, presumably, I've gotten people to connect with Mizrak before this fight has commenced. Basically, my statement here is, "We're watching a man try to vie for his life." Not only does Mizrak ALMOST DIE, but the sanctity of the home is destroyed. Olrox is the sole reason Tera didn't accidentally overcommit to her grief and rage.

This shot was fun, I feeel like i could've keyed it out more BUT I like what this shot tells. It basically cements Mizrak into a trap and gives him no exit. There's also a momentary pause JUST before Mizrak does a spin around as if he is calculating what to do next but Tera already anticipated it.

Dutch angleeeee as it moves from a close up to a full body, and then we have the contrasting circular motion of the icicles against the straight line of Tera. This was also a very fun shot as it basically establishes how powerful she is and how much control over this entire fight she has. Also dutch angles not only appear more "dynamic" but it also shifts the balance to be uneven to cement how uneven this fight is.

My friend pointed out how this shorthand of Mizrak was just his chest, which is the funniest thing ever because I genuinely didn't know how else to shorthand him, because this is a hahaha what if season 3 had a Tera Mizrak face-off? He'd be wearing different clothes.

This was fun to showcase that while yes Mizrak is a vampire and supernatural, this feels really human, very much still a beginner at this new life (because vampirism in a queer context can mean self-acceptance of what you consider taboo). This was one of the shots I knew I had to keep grounded. Not entirely sure if it was the right call, but I wanted to showcase him being worn down and thought that this was a good way to portray it.

Also, if you watch carefully, all of this is calculated by Tera because again: "If you're worried, I'm not here to kill, and I'm not here for you."

In both of my storyboard classes, they mentioned something about having your "wow" moment. This was one of the intentional ones!

I'm glad people gasped and went, "oh shitttt", alongside the other mizrak eye shots I'll talk about a little bit later. It holds for a bit longer in an uncomfortable way. In a way, it has you questioning what's going to happen next as you grip your chair in fear (hopefully).

I also tossed up the idea of making Mizrak yell/scream, but I wanted to hold off until we got to the second important eye shot of Mizrak. So here, I hopefully gave off the impression of Mizrak trying to maintain control even though he's absolutely terrified. He's in adrenaline mode.

The Jesus implications :D not only do we have the very well-known puncture wounds in the hands, but we have wounds to the left side of his body! I was very close to puncturing his feet to really cement that connection and make it more horrifying how Mizrak was trapped, but I needed them free so he could land a metaphorical/physical gut punch to Tera later on.

In this instance, Jesus and Mizrak knew they were going to die, but they went through with it anyway. I also thought it would be visually interesting that Tera, the sacrificial ram, would be perscuting Mizrak to the cross. Allowing people to infer as they wish from it because that is very heavy symbolism.

I kept ending up doing a lot of cuts to close-ups in this fight, which I don't inherently love, HOWEVER, this fight is extremely emotionally loaded. It was very important to me to capture the faces of the characters, especially when they start verbally wounding each other.

To mirror Mizrak's shot to Tera was sooo important to convey the idea that Mizrak's words really tug deep into Tera, also helping to visualise the fact that if this was to be ever animated, for a few seconds- her vampire pointed ears get hidden and her eyes are shown off properly and it is as if we regain Tera back. For the majority of the scenes, I just intentionally blacked out where Tera's eyes were or just obscured her face a ton with hair.

I'm sure there are more ways to explicitly share their deep, vulnerable human moments besides close-ups, but for now, this is just what I've got, and with time and experimenting more, I'm sure I'll break out of this repetition.

Then we get the GUT PUNCH.

This was important because this is Mizrak's single and only physical attack against Tera, which on paper is REALLY FUNNY, but the mere mention of Maria disarms Tera, translating into Mizrak being able to fight back. I considered him kicking Tera to make you physically wince or some other thing, but I just went for the knee jab into the stomach because it felt the most like a "punch to the gut".

I also just needed another shot that wasn't a close-up. I needed something to pull you out of the close, intimate moment because Tera and Mizrak barely share the same screen space on purpose. It's an uneven fight; they're never going to be level and grounded in the same space, being really disconnected. HOWEVER, was this the best way to portray this disconnect and uneven balance? I'm not entirely sure.

This was me experimenting with switching to two backgrounds and pinning characters to the camera! I thought it was also a nice way to transition from Tera's initial loss and then seeing a gradual but quick switch up, which I thought matched well with this type of camera move.

Admittedly, I got really stuck on how to get Mizrak into the air and create build up for. It was very important to get to this shot. Like, I love how this shot looks and feels, but the build-up before it doesn't feel all the way there (personally) THOUGH, this became a point of i was fully stuck, and I just had to move on. This is supposed to feel like the final blow/strike within the fight before Tera begins to go overkill when they get to the house. Like here, she's won the fight, especially paired with fact that this goes in 'slow mo' and the subsequent scenes are Mizrak smashing into the house.

Which, by the way, THAT WAS SO FUN CAPTURING THAT. While I do realise now I could've made it way more gnarly and have him tumble/hurt more to really push for that Mizrak was completely outmatched, I think this was still cool regardless (I was consuming invincible boards to figure this out lol).

THIS WAS SO FUN.

The Tera monologue was actually one of the first things I planned out, and this close-up shot was important to me to see Mizrak's struggle. Not only was the hand piercing supposed to be one the iconic moments in this fight, Tera turning Mizrak's tears into icicles was also planned to be one of those moments.

Not only is it just cool (pun intended), but it's also directly showcasing how Tera is physically weaponizing his fear and humanity. Much like how Mizrak dug deep into Tera's grief and humanity when mentioning Maria to cause a literal gut punch, Tera is just returning the favor. Just ten times worse, you know. After this, we pair with a tonnnn of extreme closeups and quick cuts to get more of that chaotic feel as if Mizrak's attention is jumping between multiple different things to try and find a way to get out, contrasting this long monologue Tera is going through.

Which Tera is talking about how loved and lucky Mizrak is. I love doing contrasting imagery to audio.

Seeing Olrox BEFORE we actually see him was very important to me here because it somehow breaks the initial tension whilst simultaneously elevating it tenfold. Especially since the line JUST BEFORE the purple glow is "you are far too spoiled by god", only for Olrox, who's straight up associated with Quetzalcoatl, a Mesoamerican deity, to APPEAR.

Also, by this point, Tera has completely WON. Not only has she disarmed Mizrak to feeling human and vulnerable, but she's also brought Olrox to his limit.

When Olrox's genuine appearance occurred, I wanted to do very pulled-out shots, completely contrasting the much more panicked, frantic close-ups. Even the skulls are super skill. Despite this, I still wanted to make it feel quite suffocating but presented it differently to showcase an even more elevated power. Olrox is stronger than both Tera and Mizrak, and he displays that power. Olrox here is grounded, which is why we get 'establishing shots'. Not entirely sure if this is the right term since this isn't the start of a new location/sequence, but it is here to establish the new tone and properly ground us to the setting.

Also, intentionally, I'm not allowing you to see Mizrak. I'm stooping it in mystery (pun intended) to make people question if he's alright or not, and for the rest of the animatic, you just never see his face. I'm ripping that connection from you to make you sit in worry and, therefore, place you in the same headspace as Olrox.

Wow more closeups of side profiles, Myst (im sorry im a sucker for them but I swear it works here... I think)

This was fun because Tera and Olrox understand each other here, but they don't ever look each other in the eye/acknowledge each other's physical presence. Again, going back onto verbally wounding like what Mizrak does, except this one is way more subtle and controlled because again, Tera and Olrox amictably understand each other. They both understand how they are so interwoven with the ones they are loved by, so they know their places are not to kill each other. There's a lot of power in having Olrox let Tera enter the scene and exit it without moving. Double fun fact: the wall in the background have direct lines that Tera crosses over. This is meant to visualise how Tera is really testing Olrox, especially paired with Tera jabbing back at how love in the vampire is a dangerous thing to hold. This makes them both somehow be on the same level playing field, which is why I went for this specific shot of their side profiles back to back (and also why they both have the hair thing that goes across their face)

Holding on this shot was fun, too, because it's akin to holding your breath due to the tension. Any sudden movements and everything falls apart. It's a race to see who breaks first, which ends up being Olrox as we see how his skulls kind of flicker for a moment before dissipating as he looks in horror for Mizrak, which we don't get the luxury of seeing.

And we're done with the shots :D

✨ animatic editing ✨

So I know this portion I don't have to do, but also,

a) It makes the animatic feel that much fully rounded for general viewing

b) I have a background in media analysis and production. I miss doing the production part, like editing LOL

While admittedly I am a much weaker editor/ audio mixer, this was still a fun challenge! This was more self-indulgent than anything.

A fun note is that originally, Duo Seraphim by Monteverdi was going to be the music because it fit sooooo well, especially since a third singer joins later. However, the vibes did not work, and I just stuck to Powerful Predatory Deadly from the Nocturne soundtrack because that also fit really well for the haunting vibes. Also, Tera humming at the beginning was majorly inspired by Death from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish but also other villains who have melodic motifs to signal if they're in a scene before visually seeing them. It is soooo fun. This was also because I wanted it to contrast with how you sense Olrox's presence first with colour (also with an electric hum, but it's not distinct).

Ok now im done. This was supposed to be unserious so i could truly cool down from this animatic. I'm glad people liked this and also that people really enjoyed watching me improve over the last two months, it is superrrr appreciated! The sky is the limit and I know I do have much to improve on, but the final effect of getting people to have takeaways from these animatics and to actually feel something is fantastic. It means I'm definitely going in the right direction :D

Again, thank you guys for reading this really lengthy ramble!! Closing my eyes as i share this and immediately running lol

[doverstar]

"reblogging this now because I know they're gonna change this in the live action idiocy"

I haven't even seen it and only learned the spoilers and let me just say...YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

I saw some spoilers in writing [for the L&S live-action remake], and in fact, I think I've seen every spoiler by now. Maybe some people are exaggerating or leaving out details; I am not going to spend money or breath or seconds of my life sitting down in front of it and giving it any attention in order to corroborate those. Enough reviews are consistent that I can be certain of some things that definitely happened in the live-action film, and they are bad things. It's absolute garbage. It is not the same movie. They don't compare at all. 'Ohana is not about making sure you do not get left behind. That's the antithesis of the original film. let me throw my tantrum here we go- Nani would never, ever, ever choose anything over her sister Lilo. Ever. For any reason. She puts Lilo first. She and Lilo are all each other has.

Jumba is part of the family. He started out eccentric, egotistical, evil, but he actually has great capacity for care and cares about Stitch, who is kind of like his only thing resembling family - he just wouldn't have tapped into that, noticed it, or gone that route, a more selfless route, if he hadn't seen Stitch changing and choosing family and choosing good and choosing selflessness first. In spite of his nature. Which Jumba created. He watched Stitch choosing Lilo and choosing Nani.

David is not just some guy hanging around town with a passing acquaintance to these girls. David loves Nani - whether or not she'll go out with him. And he loves Lilo, whether or not Nani goes out with him. Nani needs support, and she has David right there in the original film, because he likes her. He is in love with her. He would care about those two girls regardless, because he is their friend, but it started with a crush on Nani. And with his unconditional love and consistent care, Nani is then able to keep trying with Lilo, and show her the same love. And Nani gets more support at the end of the original film through Jumba and Pleakley. And Cobra. And Stitch.

Lilo, my precious girl, my favorite favorite favorite, is weird. That is why she chose Stitch. She bites people when she gets angry because she has very little self-control because she is six and her parents died and life is too confusing and hard and she's lonely. She's not any little girl; she's odd. She's troubled. She needed Stitch! He needed her! And when she finds out he's an alien, because she and Nani are supposed to find out, it's not a dealbreaker. In fact, she loves Stitch anyway. She defends and reclaims him at the end of the film no matter what he is, because that's love, because he's family.

Gantu needs to be in the film - Jumba should not be the villain. Gantu is out of control and self-serving, exactly what Lilo, Nani, Jumba, Pleakley, and Stitch all actively decide not to be. It all goes together. It's a wonderful, fantastic, original story that nothing else compares to (and many, many stories have tried to recreate that magic and all have failed). It stands on its own. It could be told in any medium and it is an instant classic regardless. This remake was unnecessary and contrived and a total waste. Don't come for my fictional half-human-half-alien cartoon 'ohana. They helped raise me. I will drop you like a bag of dirt

[boiling-potato]

grabs you))!! I'm in love with Rpg Ink and as promised, here is the first of many questions >:D

What are Ink's opinion on the other members in the party? 👁 Is she apart of them, or does she not know them at all?

I think she will just keeps stumbling and coincidentally keeps meeting them throughout her journey, maybe sometimes fight alongside them and help them but she doesn't stick around, she often distance herself to society and people cause she's afraid that the mage will come back and kill whoever that gets close to her. So, until the mad mage is still running around, she can't join the party.. but she wants to just cause Celtic's party keeps finding shiny loots that she wants to steal.

Celtic (Neutral/kinda annoyed and wants to beat him):

Celtic often wakes up in the middle of the night with rummaging noises, often keeps seeing this sheep trying to steal their loot. Often fights with him to try and steal his team's earnings and for some reason, also wants to steal his sword. But whenever he stumbles upon Ink not stealing and just meeting her on the road, she often acts like their relentless fights didn't happen and was actually helpful if you ask her something. Keeps giving his team a basket of cabbages cause it's her favorite food, if Celtic ask her about their fights she would just stare and smile :}

Ink's opinion on him is like any party leader she came across with in her journey; strict, capable, strong-willed, determined, capable and a little annoying.

"He doesn't let me have any of their loots.. even though I give them cabbages on their journey, if only I could make him fall asleep.."

Zane (Neutral/admire his confidence):

She always can see him in the corner of her eyes, looking like he doesn't want to be disturbed and she'll respect that, though, his love for music and brave personality reminds her of someone she cares so deeply for.. wonders what kind of music he listens to and if he eats the cabbages she's giving them. Whenever she hears him boasting about himself... She wanted to know if those aren't just empty words... So obviously she'll test it by attacking him—

"Who? ..... Ah, the guy who likes music, he's alright.. Pretty cool too, I admire his bravery! If he's in my clan and keeps saying how strong he is, he's definitely going to be popular with the ladies! .... And be thrown in a lot of fighting tournaments heh."

Zion (Natural/Pities him tho):

Whenever he talks about his love, it often reminds her of the mage who destroyed her village. It puts her on edge, hearing or seeing anything that involves the topic of love and romance, given what it's done to a person. However, she never shows it; she'll often just stare into space and appear as though she's not listening. In reality, she's processing everything she's hearing, examining it in a practical way. That's why she pities him, his loss also reminds her of the loss of her loved ones. They haven't really had any one-to-one conversations, but perhaps that will change in the future. But she likes his eyes! Like a gemstone with several colors.. if only there's a way of taking and keeping it without hurting him lol

"So his name is Zion? That's quite a unique name for a unique person. The only thing that really caught my attention about him was his eye, I caught a glimpse of it once when he was washing his face in the river. Other than that, I don't know much about him, aside from his lost loved one.. I hope he's doing okay."

Vince (Neutral/*Looks at him while curiously tilting her head slightly to the side):

She finds him odd. How could a creature of the night, part of an adventurous team, someone who also wields magical properties, be so scared and timid? She's often inclined to examine and observe him to understand him better, driven more by curiosity than judgment. In her tribe, boys (and girls, though mostly boys) often act brave and strong to assert dominance and prove their capability. So, it baffles her why he's scared, given her glimpses of what he can do with his abilities and power. She'd love to test his limits, even considering attacking him to see his reaction.... but of course, Celtic often intervenes, stopping her and scolding her instead of him. She doesn't understand why Vince is crying, or why Celtic is scolding her instead of him. It's all quite confusing, and she's left feeling like she doesn't understand these people at all.

"He's scared of me and I don't know why.." *she said after trying to attack him*

Sylvester (Friends!):

Oh she likes him! His shiny hair, the shiny things around his head, his wings, his powers, and overall, him! Whenever they get the chance to meet, she often greets and talks to him with a genuine smile. She finds his personality and overall aesthetic pretty fun and cool, his powers amaze her and would ask him to help her train by making the gravity heavy around her so she could train her strength and stamina. She will often compliment him by his strength and shiny powers saying he could literally defeat any enemies that come in his way and one day, she's going to be as strong as him by only using her fist. Of course, challenges him to fights and training, even with how many times he'll make her crash to the ground or be thrown, she'll always stand up with a proud look on her face complimenting him about his attacks cause training with someone as strong as him makes her feel at home with her people.

"He's amazing! If he was in my clan, he'll definitely get a lot of praise! He could finish an enemy with just a wave of his hand, I know cause he's done it to me so many times! Someday, I wanna be just as strong as he is so I could finally take down that mage with one single punch!"

[auraisereigh]

"Hello to you too, Star"

Chapter 7, Part I

Brennan Sorrengail x Riorson reader Blurb: On a free day Star decides to clear her mind. wc: 4.9k ☆ SPOILERS FOR THE EMPYREAN SERIES. Actually quite peaceful. Star's magic alert. Star's logic? Let me know if i missed something. Uses pronouns: she/her. i use Star as a nickname as y/n sounds weird, and i'm awful with names.

A/N: I loved writing this one so much that i had to divide it into two parts because i wrote so much for this chapter.

Star's masterlist main masterlist

I wake up completely sore and worn out. Seems like I had a whole war while I slept, why not?

It's been a month since the first Assembly meeting and we've fallen in a good routine. We've been having meetings almost daily, we've started rebuilding and we have one person working in the forge now, Mainly making daggers. Better than nothing.

Today was one of those rare days we didn't have a meeting planned. We covered what was needed yesterday. Viscount Tecarus has responded to my letter, though I have yet to read it as it arrived late last night.

If there's one thing that changed the most this month it's the mess in my room, I've left all the paperwork in my dad's office but that still leaves all the empty plates, discarded clothes, notebooks and pretty much anything else you can think of.

Problems for later.

Once I get dressed and tidy up just a little bit, I make my way to dad's office.

Lord. Another meal, another note. Brennan has been leaving me meals and notes all month, not that I've been bothered to check on him, I haven't seen him at all and I wanna keep it that way. It still stings, that I so easily trusted someone just because of a mutual friend.

Naolin. I finished his grave a week ago. It took a while to find the right flowers but with my magic they shouldn't wither.

It's a simple meal, some bread, cheese and ham, a glass of orange juice all neatly placed on the corner of my desk, the note also neatly placed next to it. Those notes get longer the longer he keeps going with this.

"Heard you have a free day. Take some time to rest, you've been busy. Maybe you could read? Naolin used to tell me that you love folklore. And tonight you could go star gazing. Maybe you'll see Naolin."

B.s

I sigh and put the note down. I open the drawer of the desk and take out the bottle of medicine the healers gave me after I got a reaction to some kind of food. I swallow it with the orange juice.

Felix appears in the doorway. He leans against the doorframe and looks at me. He's taken it upon himself to look after me even though I insisted I didn't need that.

I hold up the note and raise a brow. I haven't told anyone about the notes and meals. It always happened when I was too tired. "Something I should know?" My voice still holds that hoarsness that comes with just waking up.

"Brennan has been released out of confinement. He's been questioned a few times and we don't see the harm, so we're giving him the benefit of the doubt." I raise a brow. What questions did they ask him? "Why wasn't I called in for the questioning?" I argue.

"You're too emotionally involved with him." He says calmly. "Oh really? I had every right to. This is my house, his mother killed my fathe-" he cuts me off. "And that's why we didn't come to you for the questioning. Trust me, I did the questioning too. He's harmless. He just wants to stay out of his mother's sight, he doesn't agree with what she's done and for all she knows her son is dead."

"It's her thinking that her son is dead that resulted in my city being burned down." I say back. "An action he did not have control over." He argues back, his voice saying that he will have the last word and that that was that last word.

He sighs deeply as he walks closer and stops next to me. He takes the note and reads it. "He's mourning the same person as you. He's a caring man. Just try to trust him, he's not his mother and you shouldn't judge him for his mother, he doesn't do that with you either. Nobody chooses their parents." He looks at me as if I'm the same. I frown at him but before I can say anything he talks. "You have a day off. Eat, rest, do something you enjoy, maybe get out of this fortress for a while. You've been cooked up in here for more than a month." He says gently before leaving me alone in my dad's office.

☆

I have to admit that meal was good, despite the person who brought it. I had been keeping all of the notes in a envelope that I shoved in the back of drawer. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm doing that.

I took Felix's advice to get out of the house. I glady took my bow with me outside to have some peace of mind. The chances of me actually killing something are pretty much zero but it's the idea that I have it say a certain someone would come looking for me again. I still hadn't figured out who that was but I also haven't told anyone, not even Brennan. But I have heard that voice before, you don't forget such a ruthless voice.

There's enough forest in Aretia for me to avoid the area where Brennan and I spend two weeks together.

Instead I take the route alongside the river that leads to a beautiful lake. There are still a lot of animals out, they dare more now that the woods don't get used as much. Despite all the chances I get I don't shoot or even try to shoot at an animal. There's no point, I've done it enough for a While. Truth is that I only took the bow with me to feel safe.

The walk to the lake is quiet, the kind of quiet I've needed for a while now. Just the sound of the water streaming pass by helps sooth all the emotions I've been feeling for a while now.

By midday I arrive by the lake. It's still as beautiful as the last time I saw it. The water is a deep blue that streams to the river. Here and there are rocks, and at the back of the lake is a giant mountain that creates a waterfall down the mountain. And all of it is pretty much covered up by forest so it gives that hidden, magical feeling. Not many people know this place exists and as there's a mountain most just assume it ends there.

I sit down by one of the larger rocks and lean against it. It's been a month since I've been able to just sit down and relax, to not have to think about anything. Where it's just me and my thoughts.

I have so many memories here, most with Naolin, some with my family. This lake holds so many emotional strings for me. And for once it doesn't feel necessarily bad, it feels.... Freeing. No one is here to watch me, I can just let go.

I watch as my magic swirls over the lake in red veins. Almost like they're part of the water, just in a different color.

I've always been both fascinated and scared of it. No one knows where my magic came from. According to dad it's not inherited from his side of the family. I've spent hours in the library to find something but I came up with nothing. As far as I know it's limitless, almost anything that I can think about is possible with it, it's just a matter of control.

I gaze over the lake, over the red swirls that trail over water and rock.

My mind Wanders to a memory.

☆

Its Almost sunset now. The sun has almost dipped behind the mountain creating a beautiful reflection from the mountain to the lake. I've been here for hours now. Practicing my magic by an old book that my dad had been given by Viscount Tecarus of Cordyn.

I hear a crunch behind me and my head snaps up but I calm down once I see the familiar face with the darkest brown eyes I've ever seen. A smile finds it way up my face as I stand up and run towards him. I jump in his arms and he catches me like it's no big deal. My arms wrap around his neck and he holds me tight.

"Hello to you too, Star." Naolin's familiar voice speaks up. It's been months since I've seen him. Now that he is officially a lieutenant and stationed on an outpost he barely has time to ask for leave.

"I didn't know you would be coming." I whisper. "Surprise." He says softly. He puts me down and his hands go to my cheeks. "I'm gone a few months and you grow up." He jokes which gets a small laugh out of me. He looks over to where I had been sitting. "Ah we're being obsessive again." He states, he eyes the old book.

His hand takes mine as we walk to my sitting spot. We sit down and he takes the book, going through what I've marked.

I stare at him. It's been months and he's here now.

"Anything useful?" He asks as he closes the book. Guess we're not practicing anymore. "Nothing that I didn't know yet." I respond while I stare at him.

His dark brown eyes, I swear they're so dark there almost black but you can see the brown in them. His dark waves of hair, messy from flight.

"You're doing that again." He laughs and I snap out of my haze. My brows furrow and confusion takes over my face. "What?" I ask confused. He laughs and flicks my nose. ow. "That face." He motions to mine with his hand. "That look on your face When I'm just back. Like I'm a ghost that you can suddenly see." He jokes and I can't help but crack a smile. "You can't blame me. I never see you anymore. Might as well be a ghost." I joke back but I know he knows I missed him. The letters I send to him say enough.

His smile goes from the joking one to the caring one. "Come here." He says softly, opening his arm to come closer. I don't hesitate, I've craved his touch for so long. To see my best friend for so long, when I didn't even know if I'd see him. He's on the front lines, for the same he dies.

His arms wrap around me and his head leans on mine. We stay like that for a long time, staring at the lake. Here and there we make a small conversation but I'm just happy that he's here.

☆

Taglist: @honethatty12 @smashee0789 @awkardnerd @randomperson1234sblog @bangtanxberm

[dreamjoymemoir]

wow! i just thought of smth really cool! (i think..)

anaxa and the herta dating a reader who is very self-sacrificial of their limbs/organs (in a way anaxa is, with his heart and eye and all) and invents super cool and elegant prosthetics!

maybe they have the coolest golden-robot prosthetic leg, or the same thing for an arm (a robot arm that looks like garment maker's?) either way, self-sacrifice but make it FASHIONABLEE

hope youre having a great day!!

thank you!!! hope you enjoy this!

-anaxagoras is very impressed by your prosthetics, curious about the construction of them and nonchalant about body modifications in the way you can expect him to be. robot arms are an incredible technological advancement for amphoreus, and as the inventor of the shotgun he clearly needs to step up his game. he expects you to have blueprints he can look over.

-he's a little worried about your mind when you tell him of the various sacrifices you've made, hypocrite that he is, and the necessity behind your body mods suddenly seems more grim when he knows how willing you are to give up parts of yourself. still, he can't deny that you've invented beautiful and functional replacements to your lost body parts, and he admires your capabilities. whenever you two are physically affectionate, he runs his fingers over the metal idly.

-he's more open to telling you the story of how he lost his eye, knowing you'll understand the sacrifice he made. he can only hope that you haven't suffered the same kind of pain as he did. he might even help you improve your inventions with the help of alchemy, the way he's tattooed his arm to let him use magic! if you're going to be making new parts for yourself, they might as well be as useful as possible.

-herta is also interested in your body, but she appreciates your sense of aesthetics most of all. as someone VERY fashionable who has 281 puppets in her image, she cares very much about visuals and elegance in one's inventions.

-being privy to many of the wild and strange things geniuses will do to themselves, she is less concerned about the self-sacrifice at least initially. you seem to be able to replace your body parts with even better prosthetics just fine, so she won't fuss over you much, but she will be annoyed if you go around tossing your perfectly good limbs away on a whim. it's just making more work for yourself when your intelligence could be put to better use elsewhere! and you better not be taking needless risks, because if she finds out you beefed it by ripping out your own heart for a useless purpose, she's going to be pissed. you DON'T want herta to decide necromancy sounds like a fun idea it won't be good for anyone. actually that goes for anaxagoras too you already know what he's capable of.

-when you get a shiny new modification, she leans in close and taps her chin as she ponders over your creation. maybe commenting on things she would've done differently or asking about what you did to this leg to necessitate a new one. she tuts about the mischief you get into and asks why you don't just create whole robots of yourself to sacrifice instead. she may even find herself missing certain parts of you that she liked and thought were already beautiful but which are now gone. you are lovely to her no matter what happens to your body, but she also likes you the way you are.

[coraniaid]

buffy/willow and/or kennedy/faith

Buffy/Willow is definitely the more interesting option of those two to me. I don't quite ship it (for reasons I'll get into) but I can imagine a world in which I did pretty easily.

1) Why don't you ship it?

Honestly I think the main reason for not shipping it is just that I've not read any take on Buffy/Willow that really leans into the things I find potentially fun or interesting about the idea of the two of them getting together?

I mean, I've not really seen much Buffy/Willow content at all, but what I have seen tends to focus on AUs where Buffy and Willow slowly realize they have other-than-platonic feelings for each other in Season 4 (before Willow meets Tara) or even earlier, and that sort of best-friends-to-lovers, slowly figuring out your own sexuality in a careful and healthy way thing just isn't something I find that interesting for these two? Buffy Summers is so, so repressed and tightly wound and yet at the same time quite genuinely convinced she is (in her own words!) "pretty easy going", while Willow's dreams in Nightmares and Restless suggest on some level she views her entire life as an elaborate public performance where she has to always be wearing the right outfit and saying the right thing or people will see the real her and despise her. If you're going to ship them, why not let them be weird about it?

Also, while I do think Buffy and Willow's relationship in canon is significantly more compelling than Buffy's connection to either Giles or Xander (on pretty much every level imaginable), at the same time I think it damages the dynamics of the Core Four a bit too much if Buffy and Willow actually became some of sort of official couple. I don't put quite as much stock in the Mind/Heart/Spirit reading as some people, but I do think it's an interesting one and I think an actual canon ship would have distracted from that.

And finally I think I just strongly prefer Buffy/Faith and -- while I don't think it's impossible to like more than one incompatible ship at a time -- I guess I'd feel bad for Faith if she ever learned that Buffy was into women after all but was dating Willow of all people.

2) What would have made you like it?

To be clear I haven't ever really given this that much thought before today (except perhaps for that kind of flippant idea I mentioned a year or two ago for an AU in which vamp!Willow comes back in Season 4, gets caught by the Initiative and ends up getting chipped instead of Spike). So, fair warning, this is going to be a kind of rambling answer. But I think it's mostly a question of timing and context. They have to get together after having known each other for a while and in circumstances where it is very obviously not a good idea for either of them. I want messy drama and tears and conflict in my ship, after all.

I think, if I could choose, I'd go for something post-Bargaining, after Buffy has died and been unwilling brought back to life and Willow has at least started on the path down to becoming irrevocably changed by her overuse of magic. As I've noted before, Season 6 is the closest the show ever comes to treating Buffy and Willow as (almost) co-protagonists, as opposed to the previous seasons where Willow is more clearly Buffy's sidekick (even if she sometimes rankles in that role). I think that's when a hypothetical ship is most interesting narratively: when they're at their closest to being genuine foils and having similar character arcs. And I think a relationship when they're both going through some of the worst months of their life would be kind of fun (for me, anyway). There's still some weird power imbalance stuff going on, but it's not at all one-sided.

Let's say things start to diverge from canon around Once More With Feeling. Willow's relationship with Tara is already on the rocks a little at this point -- they're arguing about magic for sure, and maybe Willow has already used the memory loss spell on Tara -- but for her part Willow is still sure she can turn everything back to normal [with magic, naturally] if she just makes a bit more of an effort.

Instead of Buffy being forced by magic to publicly admit that she wasn't in a hell dimension in front of all her friends, something else (non-magical) happens which makes her admit it privately to Willow. Maybe Willow just casually says something to Buffy about how awful her time in hell must have been which makes her snap? That way there's already this terrible secret that ties them together (well, Spike knows too, but I don't think Buffy tells Willow that he knows and it's not like Willow and Spike are hanging out socially).

Obviously Willow is devastated to find out she wasn't saving her friend from a hell dimension after all, as in canon, but she Buffy almost immediately get into a pretty vicious fight when Willow suggests using magic to fix things (again). A furious Buffy tells her how much she hates being back in the world and how far away from "fixed" she feels. Everything she told Spike in After Life, but this time putting the blame solely on Willow. How she "wishes she could feel anything" and she should never have been forced to come back because she knew in heaven that "everyone she cared about was all right". At which point Willow breaks down in tears and insists that that can't be true; that Willow herself wasn't ever "all right" over the summer Buffy was gone, and how could she have been when her best friend was dead? And she admits to Buffy how much she missed her and needed her to come back, "because I couldn't look after everyone myself, and you're my best friend, and I love you."

And then Buffy kisses Willow. And Willow's into it, just for a second, but then she breaks away like she's suddenly remembering cheating on Oz in high school, and she stammers that she didn't mean it that way and she "can't do this to Tara". And Buffy watches her run off without saying anything, and she can't quite figure out why she did that: was it because she just wanted to feel something, or because she's somehow changed after coming back to life, or because a part of her always wanted to but never let herself admit it? Does she actually feel anything for Willow? Is she angry at her or in love with her or both (or neither?). And now the kiss is one more awkward secret that they share (because who's Buffy going to confide in, exactly? Dawn? her new friends at the Doublemeat Palace, once she starts working there? Tara?).

Then, later, after Tara and Willow's relationship collapses anyway (for much the same reasons it does in canon), and Tara moves out, Buffy and Willow start secretly hooking up again. Because Buffy still hasn't adjusted to being back in the world, and because Willow hates being alone and part of her wants to prove she was right all along and that she can make Buffy happy (and, maybe, that she's more than just Buffy's sidekick but somebody just as powerful and special and important as her).

And, while they're spending time alone together, maybe Buffy gradually starts letting Willow try to use magic to "fix" her a little bit after all: instead of Willow getting the magic addict subplot and Rack and bringing Amy back, maybe it's Buffy who starts needing magic more and more in order to feel comfortable in her own skin and be able to get through the day. Not to forget that she was in heaven, but to have brief access to those same comforting fantasies that everything's actually fine for everyone. Willow doesn't try to go cold turkey this time, at least not right away, but she does try to hide her use of magic more (which is tied into all her other secrets). Maybe in this AU Normal Again happens not because of a demon or the Trio but because Willow messes up while trying to cast a spell that's supposed to just give Buffy comforting dreams about a happier time in her life.

And sure, there are some echoes of Buffy/Spike at work here, and of the hypothetical Amy/Willow S6 ship I talked about a few days ago -- Buffy is partly just trying to feel something, and Willow is rebounding from Tara in the worst, messiest way she can. But Willow and Buffy have so much complicated history already -- they both really do care about each other a lot, more than either of them can say, whatever else is going on in their lives -- and I think that makes things more compelling to me. A ship where both participants feel like they're the one wrongly taking advantage of the other, that they're somehow selfishly letting their best friend down. And perhaps part of Buffy still wishes she hadn't been resurrected at all, but the one person who can make her feel fleetingly happy again is the very person most responsible for her being back. That's pretty compelling, to me anyway.

Then, at some inopportune point, everyone finds out anyway (and maybe the others finds out about Buffy having been in heaven at the same time). And of course Xander is weird about it, and Dawn is appalled, and Tara is heartbroken (because hasn't Willow been telling her how uniquely special and amazing Buffy is since they first met? hasn't it always been clear to her that Buffy and Willow are part of an inner circle she'll never get to join? no wonder Willow chose Buffy over her; no wonder she'll always choose Buffy over her). But Willow still does love Tara, she knows this thing with Buffy can't be good for either of them, and she promises Tara she'll stop doing magic or spending any time alone with Buffy.

And for a while things are just incredibly uncomfortable, because Willow moves back to the dorms and nobody is talking to anyone. But then Warren shoots Buffy, and Willow goes on her whole Dark Willow arc thinking Buffy is dead (but actually Tara uses magic to save her, the same sort of forbidden magic Willow used to bring her back to life months earlier -- because Tara did choose to resurrect Buffy in the first place, despite knowing the arguments against it and how it had to be done, and maybe she's not that different from Willow after all -- only it takes her a while so neither of them can talk Willow down and Xander does it, as in canon [but without some of the sillier parts of that plot: no secret master plan on Giles' part this time please]).

And yeah, this wouldn't be a fun time for either of them but I think it could be fun to read about. Because it would be messy, and complicated, and painful, and I guess that's the sort of ship I like.

Alternatively I could imagine a Season 7 AU, where Season 6 played out as in canon, in which Buffy and Willow just gradually fall for each after Willow comes back to Sunnydale. (Starting from that final power sharing scene in Same Time Same Place, I guess.)

I don't really think there's as much potential for drama here, but I do think this is the point a relationship between the two of them would feel most organic. We know Buffy's type is former villains trying to find redemption, after all, and that's what Willow has become now.

And I do rather like Kennedy/Willow, as I've said before, but it's certainly true that Buffy and Willow really don't interact enough this season. So as an excuse for making them do that, if nothing else, I guess having them gradually fall in love this season works as well as anything.

(Combining these two ideas, in a Season 7 AU that follows up the alternate S6 -- a setting in which Tara is still alive because she never did get back together with Willow and so wasn't in the house to be accidentally shot, I guess I can make everyone mad at me by having her end up with Kennedy.)

3) Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Oh, yeah. absolutely. Like I said, I don't ship it myself but I absolutely think I could in the right circumstances.

Willow and Buffy are the two most interesting characters on the show to me, their relationship (platonic or otherwise) is one of the best parts of the show (and, as I said earlier, their relative lack of interaction in Season 7 is one of that season's big weaknesses).

It would be a very, very funny resolution to the initial Season 1 love triangle (in which Willow has an unrequited crush on Xander who has an unrequited crush on Buffy) to posit that Buffy in turn had a secret crush on Willow. I mean, I'll always be incredibly glad that the show didn't have either Willow/Xander or Buffy/Xander become a thing [no offence meant to Xander ... well, maybe a little bit of offence meant], but having Buffy/Willow be endgame could have worked too. (It worked for The Legend of Korra, after all...)

And there are definitely a few scenes in the show that you can read as evidence for Buffy having an (unacknowledged to herself) crush on Willow. Among others, we've got:

Buffy's reaction to finding out about "Malcolm" in I Robot You Jane, which can pretty easily be read as jealousy on Buffy's part ("I'm just trying to make sure he's good enough for you")

"I need my Willow" in The Zeppo.

Two scenes in Doppelgangland (Buffy's reaction to meeting vamp!Willow in the Bronze -- "holy God, you're Willow" -- and the way she looks at Willow in the library in the scene she realizes her friend is still alive

Buffy's attempt in Normal Again to assure Willow that the girl she saw Tara with must have just been a friend, because "Once you fall for Willow, you stay fallen." Is she speaking from experience, or...?

And of course it's very, very easy to read Willow's hostility towards Faith in Season 3 as a (probably unconscious) romantic jealousy, or to read something in to her impassioned defences of Buffy in Season 1 and 2 or the way she is so deeply invested in her love life (with Angel, with Scott Hope, with Parker, with Riley...). I don't think that's the intended reading, or even necessarily the only reading, but Willow does almost immediately like Buffy a lot and very quickly stands up for her in ways she very rarely does for herself.

Not to mention the fact that Buffy literally died for Willow just a few months after meeting her. She goes to fight the Master in Prophecy Girl for several different reasons, sure, but the most immediate trigger is talking to a tearful Willow who's just found some of her classmates murdered by vampires. In just a couple of on-screen minutes Buffy goes from begging her mom to let her run away from town because "she can't go to the dance" to telling Willow that nothing matters "as long as you're okay" and promising to do "what we have to" to keep her safe.

For her part, Willow literally changes the course of her whole life for Buffy. Whether that's learning magic or choosing to stay in Sunnydale after high school (I mean, she pretends she isn't doing that for Buffy, but come on) or, of course, bringing her back to life in Season 6. There's a lot of debate online about the ethics and motivation of Willow refusing to accept Buffy's death. Some people think it's selfish and a sign of Willow's increasing arrogance and hubris and she should have let Buffy stay buried and moved on with her life. Some people argue Willow is rightfully worried about what might be happening to her dead best friend's soul after jumping into a portal to a hell dimension, and that it's perfectly understandable to miss her best friend who died violently at such a young age, and that she's only doing what she thinks is right for Buffy and Dawn and the wider world. But surely something we can all agree on here, as serious scholars of the show, is that either way it's ... kind of hot?

I mean, Willow eventually goes on this whole corruption arc this season, and it all starts when she metaphorically sacrifices her own innocence and anoints herself with blood in order to rewrite the laws of reality and cheat death itself just to be reunited with the girl she's been obsessed with since from the very first day they met. I mean, yeah, maybe your favorite ship is cute and healthy and wholesome, but have either of them ever allied themselves with demonic powers in order to pull the other one out of heaven rather than go on existing in a world without them? Oh, they haven't done that? So they're just kind of casual, then? Not really that committed to the relationship yet?

... OK, maybe I do ship it a little bit.