#she did not make it out the other side

[seabunnbunn]

Lil Euanthe blender moment. None of this is canon, I just thought the symbolism would be fun to play with.

After the final horns ceased their call and the din of battle calmed, Artemis looked across the bloodied field before her. Searching. The huntresses that remained were calling their hounds and collecting themselves before starting the endless job of counting. The battle had not been fair, they were overwhelmed and they had known it, but they had pulled through. Thanks to a certain terracotta soldier, Athena had been found, caught up, and brought to the battle just in time to turn the tides. It was this terracotta soldier Artemis was searching for. Her finest creation, her most trusted huntress, and second only to her brother, her closest and oldest friend. She and Euanthe had been separated when Atlas threw down his pillar and split the valley in two. The battle had been hard for Artemis, it had been hard for Apollo, hells it had been hard for Athena. So few of her huntresses remained that she feared the worst.

In the distance, she saw Apollo in his chariot surveying from above. He made hasty circles in the sky, yelling down to huntresses, issuing search orders for people who would never be found. He started another loop around the field, but something must have caught his attention. He yanked hard on the reins and his carriage jolted to a stop as he stared at the ground below him in what she could only assume to be shock, although she was a bit too far to tell. She could tell, however, when his attention snapped to her and he came soaring towards her, cutting the sky in two with an arcing ray of sunlight.

“Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Hades have their champions accounted for, do you have eyes on Euanthe, cousin?” Hermes appeared beside Artemis, holding a scroll with hundreds, thousands of names, mostly crossed off. Her eyes were glued to her brother’s chariot as it drew closer, trying in vain to discern his expression, trying to figure out what had shaken him so thoroughly.

“Have you seen her?” she asked.

“Well, no, that’s why I’m asking you-”

The chariot landed not so gracefully maybe 20 meters in front of where Artemis stood, she had already started to close the distance before her cousin had the chance to finish his sentence. Apollo lept off and met her halfway.

“Artemis, come quick. I lost sight of her when Atlas- I couldn’t- I didn’t know what had happened I-” He was out of breath and panicking. She seldom ever saw him like this.

In the distance, she heard one of her huntresses scream. She turned to Apollo and ran for the chariot, Hermes had already lept aboard and the second Apollo got his hands on the reins, they were in the sky. She had to hold on to keep herself from shooting off the back and plumetting to the battle-torn land below. She searched for the source of the cry and saw a group of five or six huddled in a small circle. The chariot crashed to the ground not far from where the group of huntresses had gathered. Artemis lept off the side and ran. The small crowd parted as she rushed in, revealing a woman, shattering a crumbling, as she struggled to raise herself from the ground. The huntress by her side tried to help her stay still, but stood and backed away when she noticed Artemis standing before her.

The scene stopped Artemis in her tracks as Euanthe raised her terracotta head to meet her gaze.

“I think we were a- we were a tad in over our heads in that one, my lady.” Euanthe said with a grimace as she tried to sit up. Artemis dropped her bow and went to her, propping her on her lap, careful not to crack her anymore than she already was. She had seen Euanthe after particularly bad battles before. Sometimes losing a finger, sometimes so much as an arm or leg. It would take her several days to make a new one to the right size and to repaint her tattoos, but she had always recovered, it had never been this bad. Holding her here, she could see now that her legs were completely shattered, they just barely clung to their shape, but each time either of them moved, or a gust of wind blew past, more of her crumbled away. An overturned boulder lay beside them, skid marks marred the ground leading up to where she had found Euanthe, the spot of impact not far from where they sat.

“You know, I didn’t even see it coming. I was distracted by big guy over there, but don’t worry he didn- he didn’t stand a chance.” She said, jutting her chin at a mass of a soldier hulked over on his side, Euanthe’s spear jutted out of his core. Artemis held her as bits of clay from her arm crumbled into her hands, she looked to her brother.

“Do something.” She said, barely above a whisper, but he was standing there, mouth slightly agape, arms to his side, looking at the boulder. He gave her a slight shake of the head and looked back at Euanthe. Beside him, Hermes was on his knees, muttering something under his breath. Artemis looked back to Euanthe.

“Well aren’t we glad that you were here, who knows what he could have done. He could have easily taken out a hundred of our own but you stopped-”

“I wasn’t supposed to last this long, was I? I fear I’ve outrun my course.” Euanthe breathed as a bit of her ear crumbled to the ground below, reunited with the orange cracked earth beneath her. “Artemis, would that you answer a question of mine. It has been burning me as of late.” Artemis nodded, holding back the moonlit tears that threatened to pool in her eyes. “You must answer honestly, you owe it to me. When you made me, how long was I supposed to last?”

She couldn’t help it as a silver tear landed on Euanthe’s forehead, darkening the small splotch of clay. In her periphery, she saw her brother turn away as he wiped similar tears from his face. Artemis searched her face for any hint as to what she should say next. Finding nothing but the slightest his of desperation and curiosity, she decided on the truth.

“We didn’t know.”

“How long?” She pushed, her expression betraying nothing but earnesty.

“In our wildest dreams, not three days.” At this Euanthe let out a short laugh. There was a slight *crack* and one of her legs settled at an awkward angle next to her, rolling over slightly.

“And how many came before me?” She asked.

“Hundreds.” This time, she did not even try to stop the tears now falling from her eyes. She had tried her best to keep her voice level, however. It was true, they had tried hundreds of times before Euanthe to craft something like her, but the others lacked something that the twins had never been able to put their finger on.

“Hundreds…” Euanthe breathed. “And- how many shall come after.” What was once earnesty had defected to sadness.

The tears stopped, Artemis went rigid as the weight of this question struck her.

“None.” She said. And she meant it, there would never again be anything like Euanthe. It would have been impossible for them to make another with as much love and compassion as she had, even if they wanted to. But they had been with eachother for the last several hundred if not thousand years, there would be no reforging of a bond like that.

She let out a small huff and looked away for a moment. “How dare you”

“I-”

“How dare you torment me so.” she returned her gaze to Artemis, “Like the moon to the waves you push me out to sea, except I am the one to come clawing back to shore. There is your push, and my pull, and I am growing weak. I don’t know how much longer I will last, but I know when the end comes, I will greet it with open arms, for it will deliver me from this pain of pains.” She too now had silver tears streaking down her cheeks. With each word she spoke, a piece of her was lost to the ground beneath her. “I have long wondered what sits beneath my flesh, but I know surely now there must be something akin to a heart, for I feel it. I feel it cracking in ways my limbs will never know. There is not enough gold in the world to bridge the gap you’ve carved. You are the one who will have to live with that, not I. So make your peace, but do not aim it at me. One more strike and I will surely shatter completely.”

“I love you.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.”

The valley was silent. Where there weren’t bodies or weapons, where shields and chariots did not suffocate the earth, there was tall, green grass. Thyme and sage bushes sprouted out of the ground. They were in full bloom, a storm had passed not three days ago, the world drank it in. It was a lovely spring day.

“No, my lady, you do not. You are just a god. Cursed to love your creations, only to realize they love you back. Only to realize that you have passed on a little bit of that love, and that that is too much. It’s too much to lose, and you will lose it.”

What was left of the terracotta soldier was a gruesome sight indeed. As she lay there, her head cradled by the goddess, she dreamt. She dreamt of fairer days. She dreamt of a boatride down a starry river, of greener pastures, and of the moon.

“I love you all the same.” said the moon.

[hinamie]

10 years later

[payidaresque]

A bit more than you might think, actually.

[sevenines]

i saw this tweet and found it interesting for two reasons. one is that some people base how good cartoon network would be to toh by how it treated su, and despite the fact that su’s treatment by the network was considered poor at the time, now its thought to be exceptionally good in comparison to modern shows.

two is how exactly su got impacted by a limited budget. a common criticism is how characters like connie, peridot, and lapis are left out of missions. but balancing a lot of characters is not only hard but also costly (extra animation, extra voices—it’s been revealed that the show is limited to a set number of characters per episode otherwise they’re over budget). animation mistakes are not uncommon since retakes cost extra. the entire reason the original show got cut short was due to loss of funding!

[statementlou]

Tbh i am not surprised that a person who openly talked about having drinking problems since 1d days, because of how crazy 1d worked has been agressive. What surprises me is people being surprised (they never seriously saw drunk person?). But i am also confused about this whole book. Apparently Maya said that that book is not fully bout Liam but compilation about her exes and some of the worst parts are not about him. But recently she said that the book is “ofc about him” so what is true then? Or did she meant it that ofc some parts are about him or that whole book is about him?

Sorry, just confused

I also am not surprised- we've learned so much more about the real stories of things and about the guys' actual lives over the last years, and the story that has unfolded around Liam has been totally consistent throughout if you've been following it, and so the information Maya is telling us is shocking and upsetting but not difficult to believe. I got an anon yesterday saying they were worried about getting similar revelations about the other boys, like "if Liam could be doing this we just don't know, any of them could", and while in a way that's always true I guess, anyone could be doing anything in private like... that doesn't really concern me. Because none of these Liam revelations are coming out of nowhere, there have been many MANY steps along the way leading us here if you've been watching, and he has talked openly about both his mental health struggles and his addiction issues. So to answer that anon... to find out something similar about Louis would in contrast contradict everything we know about him and no I'm not worried about it. Is he probably very irritating, absolutely, but an abuser or a loose cannon, well that news would shock me. But anyway as for the book I don't find it strange that she was nervous when it came out and treading lightly and later decided, fuck it. In the absolutely on point tiktok she dropped today (YES👏GIRL👏FUCKING TELL THEM👏) she even mentions attempts to keep her from publishing the book, presumably by Liam's team, that I am riveted by and cannot WAIT to hear more details about actually- like I said I don't find it at all strange that she was nervous and downplayed it a bit then. But if she says now that it's just about Liam, well, I would say it's been clear from the beginning that the book is their story. Maya herself brought up the parallel of songs being written about stuff and I think it's the same thing; it's true (she was in an abusive relationship that involved certain kinds of events) but maybe not 100% literal (I'm sure details were changed to make the story work, it's not like a word for word timeline of their interactions or whatever).

[jessmalia]

stiles and malia playlist: the only exception by paramore

and up until now, i had sworn to myself that i'm content with loneliness because none of it was ever worth the risk well, you are the only exception

[serpentface]

Hibrides and Brakul having the world’s saddest booze-fueled girl’s night, probably a few months before the start of the story.

Anyway here's an extensive rundown of their shared history.

Hibrides Uryashta was the eldest daughter of a chancellor of the imperial city-state of Erubinnos (his lordship Erub Uryashta). She was brought up with great privilege and security, but (like most daughters of noblemen) was destined to be used as a bargaining chip in a political marriage arrangement. She was taken from her friends and family and moved to the city of Wardin at the age of 16 to complete her pledged marriage with Janeys Haidamane, the failson of the trade magnate Haidamane family. Janeys spent about a week poorly attempting to behave like a husband, and then took the first excuse to flee and engage in a petty military campaign against raiders on the Yellowtail trade route. She found herself left alone in his villa for three years with only hired servants for company. She made a few attempts to break into the city's elite social scene, but was quite shy and failed to make any headway.

Brakul had just spent a year and a half in a bit of a whirlwind. He was brought into a skirmish at the behest of an allied clan, who had been raiding the Yellowtail route and now was under attack by combined forces of an enemy clan and Imperial Wardi mercenaries. He killed one of the mercenary commanders and was captured as a prisoner of war, but was spared at Janeys' behest (who fucking hated that guy thought it was awesome that he got killed with a rock) and was ultimately recruited into the group. He had a chance to go back home, but actively chose to deadbeat dad out on his wife and child to be with his newfound lovequest, Janeys. He spent a year and a half as a mercenary, bonded closely with Janeys and swore brotherhood with him, and was eventually brought home to the city of Wardin with him. He found himself in the odd position of being simultaneously scorned as a foreigner and 'heathen', and the legal kin of one of the richest families in the city (and effectively the secret male concubine of their only male heir).

It was in this context that the two of them met, with Hibrides now being 19 and Brakul turning 27.

The two were initially wary of each other (Hibrides was particularly put off by his 'heathen' status) but bonded very quickly, partly due to their mutual states of being unmoored from their old lives, but in large part being just a natural chemistry. They had a lot of common interests and enjoyed learning from each other. Hibrides introduced him to traditional verse poetry (of which she was very fond). Brakul taught her how to ride khait, and even gave her a gelding from his own collection as a gift. They became very close friends over the next couple of years and spent much of their free time together.

A big part of the dynamic was that both of them are gay in a cultural context where there is no concept of Being gay, marriages are usually arranged and always between a man and a woman, and having children is a societal expectation. Each of them began to see the other as an ideal husband/wife, ie "if I had to marry why couldn't it have been him/her?". For Hibrides' part, Brakul had all the traits she would want in a husband: he was a pretty good friend and easy to get along with, he seemed like he'd do an excellent job of fulfilling expected roles as a husband and father (she didn't know about the wife and kid for a while), he treated her as an equal, and, most of all, had no interest whatsoever in fucking her. They were both in a sort of platonic emotional affair, and grew to love each other deeply.

Hibrides was pretty quick to catch on that something was going on between Brakul and Janeys, and found it strange and offputting but ultimately none of her concern. Her husband only being interested in his sworn brother and leaving her to her own devices suited Hibrides just fine, and Brakul always just kinda being There meant she was living with what had become her closest friend.

The stable state of this Feelings Triangle began to change in the wake of the brilliant plan to get Janeys (gay) (probably infertile) children he could pass off as legitimate via a Brakul/Hibrides pregnancy. It was something all three agreed to as a necessity; it was already drawing scrutiny that Janeys and Hibrides had been married for several years without a pregnancy, and producing heirs is a societal expectation and a central point of an arranged marriage between wealthy elites.

It was especially critical in this case, given Janeys was his family's only male child and only hope of continuing the family line, given both his golden-child sister Faiza and black sheep half sister Couya were Odonii, and thus sworn virgins and would never marry. (There's also a level to this that Janeys was regarded as a complete disappointment by his parents, and his mother made damn sure he knew that his only value at this point was to produce a better male heir to inherit the business. So this was a big fucking deal to him, and to Brakul by extension).

This was also not a route any of them wanted to take on any personal level, least of all Hibrides. She consented to the pregnancy and everything it entailed, but it was inevitably a painful and distressing experience all around. She had never wanted to be a mother to begin with (though had long accepted it as an inevitability), and now found herself with an infant daughter, which only meant it would have to happen again (they needed a male heir after all). And it would be utter social suicide and a profound shame upon her if the child's illegitimacy was discovered, which only added to the stress.

To make things worse, her first pregnancy shifted the entire dynamic with her husband and brother-in-law/best friend. Janeys changed from completely indifferent to actively spiteful and hostile towards her, and things had become extremely uncomfortable between Hibrides and Brakul. It only got worse with Brakul (the only one of them who actually WANTS kids) (kind of haunted by skipping out on his first child) finding it unbearable to be so close to HIS daughter and having to keep up an act that she was not his own, having no direct role in the kids life. He desperately wanted to be a father.

Hibrides, who was going through a fucking lot, started to become vindictive towards him for his role in things. She resented him more than Janeys, because Brakul insisted he cared about her and would desperately try to pretend things were normal, while consistently siding with Janeys against her wishes, including in preventing her from getting a divorce. (His excuse is that the children's legitimacy would be interrogated in a legal setting, which Is likely and Would be absolute social suicide with very real consequences. But the real reason on his part is that if she got out of the marriage, he might never see her or the children again). Hibrides began to do everything in her power to prevent him from having any relationship with his bastard children, even in secret or under the guise of a relative. Sort of an “if I have to suffer to keep up this facade so should you” thing.

They had two children in a span of three years, two girls (ruh roh!) named Erubi and Livya. By this point, Hibrides and Brakul were both experiencing what we would now call Clinical Depression and Alcohol Use Disorder (especially in the latter's case). Hibrides started to have affairs with both men and women, which she was sure to be very obvious about to insult Janeys and Brakul, but was mostly out of loneliness. Brakul turned his complete focus to Janeys and started avoiding Hibrides entirely, in hopes that she would become desperate enough to be willing to make amends (shockingly, this did not happen, and the rift only deepened).

In the present, their relationship status is: fucked. Both of them do still love each other on some level, but this is probably beyond repair. What little time they've spent with each other in the past year is sitting around being miserable and getting plastered. And now Hibrides, Janeys, and Brakul are all forced into the public eye on the pilgrimage together, and with a third child on the way. So that's probably going to be everyone's problem.

[dungeons-and-dragon-age]

Hiii everyone, say, how do your Hawkes go go about sharing their estate? If they do it at all? Is everyone free to come and go or are they more private? Or do they only invite their LI to stay? I'm curious!! :)

[fishareglorious]

manifesting this year's christmas special is greta hofmann all cozy on a armchair right next to a fireplace and it's a several hour long video of her just reading out loud the wikipedia synopses of various opera synopses in the same droning deadpan voice of hers in chapter 6 when she read tosca.

please bluepoch i won't ask for anything more

[artsycooky13]

top 3 fave bbys in the burrito show (bonus SUPER LONG tags on how i feel bout the characters)

[azuzulira]

Tl;Dr: Don't judge the game just because of its art, especially before it actually comes out.

Tbh, the discourse surrounding Echoes of Wisdom reminds me A LOT of the discourse that surrounded Wind Waker before its release. Like, there's always discourse about a Zelda game between its announcement and release (Zelda Cycle in full action) but like, one of the two main topics of discourse is that the game has a cute/silly art style some people dislike, and that's going to prevent it from being a serious game.

Which just seems like a stupid argument to me since it's literally the same argument that Wind Waker faced (you know, that game where Link's sister was kidnapped, he joined a pirate crew, the entire former land of Hyrule got flooded, and Link ended the game by stabbing Ganondorf through the head).

And also, people are acting like even the more serious Zelda games (which, there's a spectrum, but even the silliest Zelda games are still fun and praise worthy) haven't had goofs or gaffs or silly bits. Do I need to remind everyone about Tingle? About how he debuted in arguably the most serious Zelda game, Majora's Mask? Or how about Malo Mart in Twilight Princess?

But do you know what it actually means, that it's using the same art style and engine as the Link's Awakening remake? It means they have had more time to work on other parts of the game. They didn't have to build it from scratch. Much like how they built Tears of the Kingdom off Breath of the Wild, or Majora's Mask off Ocarina of Time. So, I don't know, but it feels like the precedent here seems like this will be a fairly solid game, by most objective measures.

[sysig]

Go play pretend on your own (Patreon)

[hinamie]

itakugi sillies fr the soul

[laugtherhyena]

Control over time

[thepromisedbride]

i don’t talk about bridgerton on here but just to clarify. i will not be having ANY eloise hate on this account. i will bite.

[novella-november]

Is this fanfic friendly? I feel like an outlier.

I guess this is my sign it's time to throw together a FAQ post to link to lol.

Yes, every event for this blog is fanfic friendly :D

Though as I mentioned on my Ominous October post, for events that include multiple short stories, I encourage everyone to flex their creativity and take one of their planned short story fanfics, and at least *attempt* to turn one of them into something entirely original; rebuilding a character and story from the ground up to stand on its own two legs is no easy feat, and that is what makes it so fun!

It really gets your creative gears turning, to make an "au of an existing material" to be something entirely original, and you can be pleasantly surprised about the things you come up with!

As a few people say, its not just a matter of "filing the serial numbers off" -- you have to add in just as much *or more* as what you take out when you are turning a fanfiction into something that is original and completely divorced from its original source material / inspiration, and that is a hard, but very rewarding challenge!

Obviously, this is not a requirement (there's no hard requirements for any of the challenges, other than no cheating, including no using AI),

but if you would like an extra challenge for the short story events and you're planning on doing entirely fan-fiction, I highly recommend trying it out at least once, and seeing where it leads you--

you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by what you find down that rabbit hole!