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i--antimony · 3 months

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a day late because yesterday i was tooooo busy! some spoilers in here for dungeon meshi and saltburn!

listening: mostly background stuff. i still haven't played more nier: automata but the boyf got me listening to the soundtrack and it whips.

reading: more tgcf at night to soothe my frenzied brain to sleep. i finished dungeon meshi yesterday!! i did cry!!! it was so, so good, i loved it. i really liked that there was no set antagonist, per se, at least not until the very end with the fight against the winged lion, it was all just a bunch of characters with different but justifiable goals that had their aims all butting up against each other. very cool. i love kabru what a little shit

a collection of some good screenshots:

watching: many things this week. my partner is visiting for the week and we like to have videos on while we're cooking n eating so we watched...essentially the entirety of weird history food channel, started with the trader joes one and spiraled from there.

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we also watched the currently-released episodes of dungeon meshi. very charming. i cannot wait to see how they animate certain scenes.

on sunday night we did a friend dinner, so me and my boyfriend, roommate and hers, and one other friend; after dinner we movie night-ed it and watched saltburn and blazing saddles:

saltburn was insane! apparently there is shock and alarm at the sex scenes, which i am not very online about it so i have no idea what people are actually saying but imo it was not that crazy. there is a solo, uh, let's call it Moment towards the end of the film that is pretty out there, but besides that the sex scenes are the least of anyone's worries in this movie. it took me WAY too long to realize that the main character was the antagonist, i'm normally pretty savvy to those kinds of twists so that took me off guard. my roommate had seen it once (or even twice?? i think?? i have no wish to watch that movie again, good for her though) and i didn't start clocking it until immediately before felix tricked oliver into going home. as they were in the car i was like "there's no fucking way that he lied about his family to felix. right. right??" oops. some good cool symbolism in there, i had a bit of an xkcd "of course everyone knows this myth" moment when my roommate was like "huh i wonder if there's a symbolic reason for the bull-man statue in the maze at the end, or felix's angel wing costume" and i was like surprise pikachu. the minotaur, the labyrinth, icarus, hello? wdym you don't know the story of the minotaur??? much to think about with this movie. i searched it on tumblr and feel like a lot of people missed the point in favor of blorbo romance but like, fair, it is the blorbo romance website. 8.5/10.

blazing saddles was our palette cleanser after that doozy of a film. my friend said at the end "anyone who thinks this movie is racist needs better media literacy" and i'm inclined to agree. yes the n word is in there - but the people saying it are so unambiguously depicted as insanely stupid and wrong, and the leading man is a charismatic handsome black man, and tbh the smartest person in the movie? arguably more homophobic (the end scenes) than racist but even then the way 'f*ggot' is deployed hit me like modern tumblr humor.

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idk. even though it's a comedy it is Very clear to me that a message from this movie is "Racism Bad". i thought it was fun, didn't find the blonde lady's musical number very good or funny, got a few chuckles out of it overall. classic mel brooks. 7/10.

playing: wizord101.

making: started experimenting with english paper piecing! i forgot to take a picture yesterday so ill try to remember and add that later today. or maybe for next week's post. also started a pair of fingerless gloves for my mom

eating: my boy made us all a budae-jjigae type object on sunday and it was so so so yummy - photo from before simmering for like 30 minutes, with pork belly, spam, tofu, and a bunch of mushrooms, grunions, and kimchi:

before my roommate came back from a conference we did this cabbage and thin-sliced hotpot beef thing that was. so fucking good. we had it two separate nights in a row. just layering meat and napa cabbage and then cutting into ~2in strips, laying them in a pot, filling the center with mushrooms; make a broth of soy sauce/dashi/misc soup stock powder from leftover ramen, pour it over, simmer til cooked baby. delicious. this image is a little steamy bc i tried to take it right after opening the pot, lol

misc: wough. struggling to get back into the routine a little. i need to make more spreadsheets for my agonies (apartment hunting and determining what internships/programs to apply to for this summer). and i need to start using my planner again because i keep forgetting to do shit.

#tuesdayposting #Youtube

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fourseasonsfigs · 4 months

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Building Block Figs - Basking in the Sun

Following up on yesterday's Beautiful Fight Scene in the Middle of the Lake Part One and Two, we have another building block set!

I won't go into all the backstory on these sets (please refer to Part One for a lengthy story), if only to keep this at one post instead of another two-parter.

The name of this set is actually just "Tavern". This inspiration for this scene is actually my favorite scene in the show. It's the Basking in the Sun scene from Episode 12, where they are drinking in front of the tavern and talking about good and bad people. Wen Kexing has my favorite line: "I just feel, that to be alive, to have the sun shining, and having someone’s name for me to call, is so good".

Both A-Xu and I agree, he's right.

Before we get started, a few specs: this set is 1,726 pieces, measures 8.4 x 16.8 x 12.8 cm, and is rated 11 hours of assembly time. This is the longest rating out of any of them, with two others clocking in at 10 hours each. I will say that I have found their assembly times to be extremely accurate.

Here's what the finished model is expected to look like, along with the directions for each piece. As you can see, we have both figs, the tavern table, the (open) door behind A-Xu, and a lantern.

Once more into the breach! The kit looks so small and innocent there in it's box, doesn't it? It doesn't look like 11 hours at all.

Like yesterday's set, this comes with the small black utility tool, the sticker with the tiny image of the finished set, and the QR code for the directions.

You'll notice there's already quite a few bricks sorted behind the unopened box. Those are all the left overs from my previous projects in this line. I didn't want to waste all the time I had put into sorting the bricks, and since the color palette is so limited, I end up using the same ones over and over again.

It really doesn't look that bad, huh?

In order to encourage myself and give myself a sense of satisfaction from completing a piece, I skipped over the figs and went straight to the easiest component - the lantern.

It was indeed quite satisfying to finish this up and put it to the side.

Next up is the tavern door. I admit when I saw this I was a little confused - I know A-Xu was leaning up against a pole kind of thingy, but the background with the flags didn't really register to me. So, I went back and watched the scene again, this time for the background:

It looks pretty good!

It was a lot of building up. As I mentioned in the last post, they don't have thicker bricks, so it's all 1-ply bricks here.

Looks good! I like how they have one of the doors open.

Well, at this point I could no longer put off the main part of the set. Nor did I want to - I was excited to get into it.

Onwards and upwards!

I'll save you the bulk of the gory assembly details, but here's a shot of my counter with all the sorted bricks all lined up, along with the base that I have just started working on. You can see what I mean about the limited size and color palette. By limited I don't mean as a criticism, it's just what we have available to work with. 3 different colors of blue, 3 different colors of grey, and then pretty much just one of each other color.

As you may recall from the last post, here's a sample of the directions from one of the sets. It looks flat and 2-D here, but I can pinch and swipe my phone's screen to rotate completely around to see from all angles. You can also see the step's bricks listed there, along with the left arrow to go back if you need to check your previous work, and the circle with the number of how many steps you have left. As you can see, I'm pretty far from the end.

Here's my progress that matches the corresponding direction. I haven't gotten very far, here!

It's been funny for me to watch the progress of light and shadow across these pics - you can literally see time passing with the day going into the night!

At this point, I had finished the base, was well as the bottom robes of A-Xu and Lao Wen. You can see the steps behind A-Xu, and the table they are both leaning on.

Last progress pic (a couple days later). Now you can really start to see the figs take shape!

Here's a little bit of a better illustration of how I can rotate the instructional image to see different areas. Only 46 more steps here to go!

And here's the final assembled piece. I love it!

The way they modeled the poses are just excellent. We have Lao Wen's relaxed sprawl here, and A-Xu's equally relaxed pose on the stairs.

A little peek through the open door.

You'll notice that A-Xu's drinking gourd here is a pretty neon shade of orange, and that one of the dishes on the table is a similarly neon shade of green. This is again due to the limited color palette - there's no light brown or light green in this world.

Their hair is not as dramatic in this scene as it is in the fight scene from yesterday, but that makes sense, they're just basking in the sun. I still love it - we have A-Xu's multicolored guan and Lao Wen's silver guan rendered in tiny brick form.

They decided to show exactly how happy A-Xu is here by giving him a big smile! The same neon orange color as the gourd, unfortunately.

You can see here the way they have rendered the robe's drapery. And Lao Wen's little black boot there.

A full view of A-Xu's big orange smile! I could remove it if I wanted - as you saw, I have plenty of leftover bricks. I could take the orange off all together (which I think I will) or just leave on a little bit for his cheeks.

Here's the official Basking in the Sun figs to show the size up against these figs. This set is quite a bit bigger, but still not too bad, space wise.

Let's get a couple close-ups of our main stars...

A-Xu's smile is so funny! You can also see his bangs here, which I really like, and a little more detail on his robe. I think they did a fantastic job on the robes in general. Very evocative of the show.

Here's a top down view, with a particularly nice view of the hair crowns.

Ah ha! I was able to squeeze in one last picture before I hit the 30-pic limit. Here's our bottoms up pic - not very good I know. It's hard to do these ones with the bases.

In closing, I will say that when I told my husband I was putting together the "Tavern" scene set of building blocks, he got a puzzled look on his face and said, "which tavern? weren't they at taverns for like half the show?"

Fair. Very fair!

Material: Plastic building blocks

Fig Count: 504

Scene Count: 34

Rating: Let's drink!

[link to the Master Post Index]

#word of honor #word of honor merch #wen kexing #zhou zishu #wenzhou #figthusiast

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stupidheckermcgee · 7 months

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long Rain World ramble warning!!!!!

I got really damn sick yesterday and had a vivid dream about an Enot-like secret joke slugcat, and it was weirdly in-depth.

They were essentially a combination of all the positives and negatives of every other slugcat, with some tweaks here and there. (They had Rivulet's mobility but also their low rain timer, Saint's tongue but also their frailness and vegan diet, Enot's free eggs but also their 100% shelter failures, etc.)

(They also had Hunter's 20-cycle countdown, but I'll explain what that did later.)

Due to the dream slugcat not having a mouth, they couldn't use Gourm's item generation or Arti's grenade crafting; I assume that that was because those abilities are tied to item swallowing/regurgitation. They were able to do all other mouth-requiring actions, like Saint's tongue and Arti's explosive spears.

The most interesting part was all the stupid interactions all the mishmashed abilities had with each other. That included, but was not limited to:

The tongue made it very easy to gain height to use Gourmand's bodyslam.

The 100% cycle failures meant the lowered rain timer was much less punishing.

Arti's explosive jump still launched the slugcat, but it would stun them for a bit due to weak bones. (Doing a parry would also give them a snail pop seizure. They could still do the jump while stunned.)

They could eat corpses, but because of vegan diet it would just stun them and not give any food pips.

Throwing a spear would still exhaust them, despite them throwing like Saint.

Rivulet's speed would usually make the dream slugcat 1.75x faster, but would also make them 1.75x slower when exhausted. (Stacking with the initial exhaustion slowing.)

The generatable spears were colored with a rainbow gradient instead of white, for some reason.

They had a Citizen ID Drone that was colored like Andrew's pfp. I don't know what it did. (I also don't have a name for it, in case you guys have any suggestions. :3)

Though as you can probably guess, all of that was trivial compared to how they had to obtain food. Due to their

A. Inability to siphon with spears,

B. Carnivorous biology making non-meat food give 1/4 the pips,

C. Vegan diet that made then unable to eat any corpses, and

D. Lack of a goodamn mouth,

it was next to impossible to get any food in any feasible way. (Technically there's a bug that allows Saint spears to hit creatures like dropwigs and vultures, but it's very inconsistent and dangerous to do.)

There was ONE way to consistently get food, and it was through a "bug" with Gourmand's meal ability. If they took two different food items and crafted them together, they wouldn't gain anything from the food itself. (Cause no mouth, I guess?) However, the meal bonus will still apply and they'd get a SINGLE food pip. Unhelpfully, Arti's carnivorism meant that they'd only get 1/4 of a food pip if both of the meal components weren't meat.

I don't remember how big their food bar was, but this all means they'd need 8x the normal amount of food to fill a single pip. 👍

The most vivid part of the dream was how Hunter's cycle timer worked. Once it reached cycle 0, every single singularity bomb egg in the region would hatch into a new creature called an "Enot Long Legs". (Which was just an HLL that could fit in pipes and was recolored with Enot's palette.) It would spawn tamed, giving the dream slugcat a very powerful ally. The cycles would then continue into the negatives, and a new tamed ELL would spawn at the start of every cycle instead of an egg.

However,

each cycle below 0 would add a +2% chance for every item in the region to turn into an untamed ELL, capping at a 50% chance by cycle -25. This made scavenger tolls utter hell on earth because of all the hanging pearls and items the scavs were carrying. Assumedly, this would also kill Moon very quickly and make Five Pebbles much harder.

Due to the way their AI was set up, the ELLs seemed to always prioritize non-rot creatures. That meant that if they were aggro'd on the slugcat, then they would completely ignore the tamed ELLs. The tamed ELLs would then quickly eat all the untamed ones. (If the swarms lost aggro on the slugcat, however, they would easily overwhelm and eat all the tamed ELLs.)

-----------------------------------------------

Sorry for the long ramble, this dream has been sticking in my mind all day.

I don't think I dreamt a name, design, or hunger requirement for this slugcat, so I'd love to hear any suggestions! or just any ideas or questions in general! :3

#rain world #rain world downpour #rw downpour #rain world enot #rain world inv #rw enot #rw inv #long post #long #rambles #ramblings #sorry again for the college essay #i may be autistic #rainworld downpour #rainworld

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invincible-selfxmade-punk · 5 months

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Today is an in-service day to finish up our grades and our spreadsheets. We don't have to be in until 9:00 a.m. but I promise you I don't feel like I got the extra hour and a half of sleep. Still it is a day that seems to go by slow at first, but then when I realize how much stuff I have to do it actually ends up going by pretty fast in the end.

Yesterday was our Christmas party and I counted it a success because no one thought each other and no one threw up.

Everyone brought those nasty sugar cookies you get from Walmart that are really squishy and have about 2 inches of icing on them, and the extra dry tiny cupcakes with a mountain of pure sugar icing on top.

No one thought to bring drinks so I had to go and get some and then they're still really weren't enough. I'm really surprised with all that absolute crap to eat that it didn't end worse with kids going feral.

My Indian student brought some crazy biased and Herb bread that was cut up into little slices and of course I was the only one that ate it and I took it home because it was really good but extremely foreign tasting. Definitely open up my flavor palette to new things.

I actually got a lot of gifts this year and all the one came from first period

I was gushing over all of them and one of the kids asked: did you not get any Christmas gifts last year?

I honestly didn't. Those kids were so self involved giving anything to anybody else was just not in their frame of reference. I told him that the one year that I got the most and the best Christmas gifts was my first year teaching when I basically spent the year just trying to keep the kids from killing each other or killing me because they were so emotionally disturbed. Now of course I didn't add that last part I just said that the kids were really bad. And I have this one kid God bless him. If you look at them you cannot tell their gender they don't really care what gender you call them I'm not sure if they have figured that out yet but they're whatever they are they're okay with they just kind of I guess you could say their gender fluid and the fourth grade. They don't dress any specific gender their hair is very long and they are one of the most brilliant students and the most sarcastic that I've had. So anyway this kid pipes up and says

"Yeah the parents knew what crappy parents they were and they knew that their kids Behavior was all their own fault so of course they're going to give you a lot of gifts cuz they feel guilty.!!!"

And this is a fourth grader!!

Also though that first year I received what to this day is my favorite Christmas gift for kids. We did bilingual education a little different at that first goal to where all of the bilingual kids would be gathered in each class that I had and they would be taught with a bilingual co-teacher who was translating what I was saying for those that could not understand everything. The kids who were more advanced set in with the class but if they had a question the bilingual teacher was right there to the side so they can just go and ask her. It was different but it seemed to work pretty well.

So that year several of those bilingual kids brought me these little bags of homemade PAN DE POLVO-- which if you don't know is a Mexican cinnamon and sugar cookie that is solid but the incident you put it in your mouth it just crumbles and dissolves and is so amazingly delicious.

That year I was driving back and forth from West Texas to South Texas to visit my husband and visit friends over the holiday and I took those cookies with me and ate them all through that freezing cold 8-hour drive that I made. And I just remember how good those cookies were because they were made with so much love and that was the absolute best gift I think I have ever gotten from students.

#teaching #christmas party #winter break #Times Like These you learn to live again #Mexican cookies #Spotify

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theloveoftoms · 1 year

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This Christmas - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x Penny Benjamin

Summary: This Christmas, Maverick intends to find Penny the perfect gift. Will he succeed? Or will he wait until the 24th and end up asking Rooster for help?

A/N: in honour of top gun being on the paramount channel literally ALL day yesterday (you know I watched it more than once ;)), I decided to write this cute little Christmas story about Penny and Mav. I had such a blast writing this and I hope you enjoy! <3 🎄🤍 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! xoxo - mac

Wordcount: 3.4k

For the past forty years or so, whenever Christmastime rolled around, Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell would make it his goal to wait until the eve of the 24th to do all of his Christmas shopping. Gifts for his family and friends would frequently be purchased at whichever 24 hour pharmacy was in closest proximity of whichever naval base he had been living on. Maverick would browse the isles for discounted chocolates, keychains, coffee mugs, and other little nicknacks that could be found. By the till, he would grab whichever roll of wrapping paper was left, and wrap the presents in his car on the way to wherever he was going. It was simple, and it was maverick.

But this Christmas was going to be different. It was the first Christmas that he was spending with Penny and her daughter Amelia. Maverick didn't want to be seen as the boyfriend who waited until the very last minute to get his gorgeous lady - and her daughter - a gift that still had the price tag on it. He wanted to set a good example. He wanted to show both Penny and Amelia that he was really committed this time, and that he was finally ready to keep his feet on the ground - or at least in the San Diego area when he was up in the air.

Maverick's Christmas preparations begun in the first week of November. One night while Penny was running Amelia to the mall for an eyeshadow palette that she needed to have, Maverick found himself alone at home. And for some reason, the thought of Christmas popped into his mind. Maybe it was that he had been standing right beside the fire place, or maybe it was the universe's way of telling him to be a proper gentleman. Anyways, however the cause, it made Maverick realize that he wanted to give his girls a Christmas to remember.

November involved Maverick looking over Penny's shoulder any time she was looking at something online, which she rarely did. And for all of November, all she had browsed online was a pair of Uggs that she bought for Amelia's birthday, kitchen-aid mixer attachments, and various skin care products that maverick had a hard time telling apart from one another. To him, nothing could compare to a three-in-one wash that was good for hair, face, and body.

However, as the month of December rose into effect, and the generally warm San Diego air began to feel brisk and unfamiliar on Maverick's face, he realized that time was running out. So, on a Friday night while Penny was busy working at The Hard Deck, and Amelia was off at a friends for a sleepover, Maverick did the one thing that no middle-aged man should do on his own; go to the mall.

So, he hopped on his motorcycle and ventured down the interstate until he reached the district of Mission Valley, where the biggest outlet mall of the area was located. For a Friday night, the shopping mall was busier than Maverick had expected.

As the laughter of a group of lanky teenagers sitting at a nearby bus stop filled the air, a pit of worry began to spiral in Maverick's stomach as he begun his walk inside. His breath, what was usually composed of long, slow intervals of inhalations and exhalations turned into shallow dives as he walked up the pathway to the mall. Yes, you heard me, Pete Mitchell was nervous. He was nervous to go into the shopping mall.

When was the last time that Maverick had been to a shopping centre? The 90's? Early 2000's? Why on earth would he go to the mall? What would he even buy? But then, looking at his phone noticing his background, maverick remembered why he was here, he was going to get a gift for Penny and Amelia.

Amelia was easy to shop for, after all, she had emailed Maverick a very detailed list of items that she wanted for Christmas. The list was even complete with pictures, store locations, prices, and sizes. So as quickly as he could, Maverick walked into the Hollister that was located on the second floor of the mall, and browsed the shelves for the clothing that Amelia had wanted.

But within seconds of looking in the young women's department, and hopelessly getting lost in exactly which lilac coloured shirt it was that Amelia wanted, he decided to ask the employee, who was likely not much older than his Amelia herself, for help.

But just as Maverick was about to open his mouth to speak, the girl with auburn hair directed her gaze to him, "You look like you need some help sir."

Maverick chuckled, shaking his head, "Was it that obvious," and showed the girl the list on his phone.

And for the next twenty minutes or so, the employee, who's name-tag read "Amy," led him around the store and picked up one of every piece of clothing that was on Amelia's "Clothing" section of the list. And as Maverick followed her around the store, he hung the shirts and skirts, and pairs of jeans over his shoulder like one might with a towel before they shower.

"Would you like gift-wrap with that sir?" Amy asked him as she scanned through the pile of clothing that was set down in a heap on the counter. And Maverick, who didn't really have faith in his gift wrapping abilities agreed.

So, after Amy would scan an item, she would fold it neatly and then place it in the box, one atop of another, until she needed to begin another box. "Is this for your daughter?" Amy asked, folding the very last item, a cropped knit sweater that made Maverick nervous. But the comment, the very thing that Amy asked him, made his heart swell. Amelia was the daughter he never had. And Maverick, as trying as ever, was the father that left her and her mom. A comment like this would make Maverick smile just a little but more, enhancing the smile-lines forming in his seemingly ageless face.

The first time Amelia called him dad was when Maverick answered the door to one of her friends, and Amelia, who's hair was half-curled for the school dance, greeted her friend "Hey Chels, ugh dont mind my dad, come on, lets go get ready!" As brief as the conversation was, Maverick heard it, and although she called him Mav more than she called him Dad, he knew that what they had was special.

"Yes," Maverick replied confidently, smiling softly to himself as the employee tied a bright red ribbon around the box.

Amy offered him the machine, and a number popped up that made Maverick wonder why a cropped shirt must cost more than that of a full one. Seeing the numbers, three digits in, maverick looked up, raising an eyebrow at the cashier, "is this the total?" he asked with shock.

Amy nodded, "yes sir." And a defeated Maverick who cared for Amelia dearly, inserted his card and said goodbye to that new pair of sunglasses he had wanted to buy himself.

With two medium sized Hollister boxes tucked beneath either arm, Maverick walked out of the store and through the busy mall foyer. Each time he passed a window, he would peer in, looking if there was a gift suitable enough for Penny. But the clothes in the window weren't Penny's style. And a previous gift, a black leather jacket, that Maverick had gotten Penny for her birthday that was still unused said otherwise that perhaps Maverick shouldn't get his girlfriend clothing.

So as his feet grew tired, and the night carried on, Maverick continued to wander through the mall. He wandered into stores whenever he thought he saw something, and out of the stores whenever he realized that in fact he didn't. He had been there for nearly three hours, and the only other things he had purchased were a new pair of headphones, a baby blue water bottle, and a pack of fun coloured things called 'squishmallows' that Maverick had never heard of until that night. And each one of those things were for Amelia.

The only thing he had found for Penny was a box of peppermint bark chocolates and a pair of fuzzy socks that had winter-time drawings of polar bears on them. Yes he had green her something, but Maverick wanted to get her something special.

It was hopeless, Penny Benjamin was impossible to shop for.

So as Maverick walked slowly back to his motorcycle in the dark of the night, wandering how on earth he was going to drive home with two boxes of clothing and a another bag of Amelia's presents, he felt a sense of defeat that he had not managed to find one real present for Penny.

Each morning on his way to the base, Maverick would park his bike and walk down a different street of Coronado in hopes of finding something for Penny. He wandered into a book store, and then out when he wasn't sure if Penny even liked to read at all. He did this every day for a week, and by the time Christmas Eve rolled around, he was starting to get nervous. So much so, that he began to debate asking her what it is that she wanted, but mid-way through typing the text, Maverick decided against it as it was Christmas Eve and he didn't want Penny to think that he had done what he had done and not gotten her anything at all. So, he did the next best thing. He asked Rooster.

For all of the morning, Maverick had spent his time tracking down Rooster on the base, which was not an easy thing to do. Especially when he was in a meeting with a couple of the on-base commanders and Admirals. Maverick, the man with with quite the back bone, knocked on the door to the board room where the meeting was being held, and interjected whatever naval business was going on there. He cleared his throat, "Pardon my interruption, but I am going to need to borrow Lieutenant Bradshaw for a moment."

Cyclone, who gave Maverick a disapproving look, rolled his eyes and waved for Rooster to go. Rooster, who hated meetings, wasted no time in the act. "Thanks for the save Mav," he said, patting him on the shoulder once he got out into the hallway.

"If you think I called you out here just to talk, you're wrong Bradshaw," Maverick spoke, leading Rooster down the hallway.

"Well what is it then?" he asked.

Maverick thought about how he should word this next phrase. Would he rush into to, would he stagger it? But eventually, he settled on putting it all out in the open, "I didn't get a Christmas gift for Penny."

Bradley's eyes went wide, and then he began to laugh, "Mav," he chuckled, "You can't be serious!"

"I wish I was joking," Maverick spoke defeatedly, "but she is impossible to shop for."

"What?" rooster laughed, "You didn't want to get her some mouthwash and a box of chocolates from the pharmacy?" he chuckled, gesturing at the gift that mav had gotten him last year.

"Well, I can see who's getting the hemorrhoid cream this year Bradley," Maverick said as he slapped an arm around the boy.

"Ha ha, very funny," Rooster teased, "but why are you asking me?" he asked.

Maverick threw his hands up in the air in that usual dramatic way of his, "I'm asking myself the same thing," he groaned, "But I dunno, you seem to have it all figured out with Phoenix, and as much as I hate to admit it, I could probably learn a thing or two from you."

Rooster smiled, "Well, if you're going to flatter me like that, I suppose I could help you."

So, the pair, who were still clad in their flight suits, wandered out to the parking lot and hopped into Rooster's Ford Bronco, because two grown men sitting together on a motorcycle was something that neither one of them had wanted to experience.

As Rooster started the car up, the piano chorus of "Great Balls of Fire" sang through the stereo. It made maverick smile. "You really are just like him Bradley."

Bradley looked to Maverick, and then looked away, turning the radio down, trying to hide the smile that was spread across his face. There was a time where Rooster would have hated being told that, especially by Maverick. But over the past year, the two had grown close like they once had been. Maverick was practically his father. And although he would never admit it, Rooster thought of him like a father. Maverick could never replace his dad, but he could tell Rooster stories that made him embrace the past instead of run away from it.

"Where are we off to Bradley?" Maverick asked him as the vehicle pulled out the gates of Top Gun.

"Theres this little jewelry store on Orange avenue that 'Tash can't get enough of," Bradley spoke, "I hope you brought your Mastercard."

Maverick rolled his eyes, knowing he would probably spend a bit more money than he had planed to.

The quaint jewelry store called Diamonds of the Sea was nestled in-between a coffee shop and a restaurant that was located a mile or two off base. And Maverick and Rooster, who were both dressed in their government-issued uniforms and uniquely similar pair of aviators, pushed open the door delicately enough to make the chiming of the bell startle them. Jewelry stores scared Maverick. He always felt out of place in them. They didn't quite scare him as much as shopping malls did, but then again, he didn't particularly feel at his best in either of them. But at-least Rooster was here to offer his opinion and keep him some company.

The cases of glass filled the store, each one with a different variation of the same diamond ring, necklace, or bracelet. The details were microscopic; you had to know what to look for. And when Maverick saw just how many different pieces of jewellery were there, be began to feel just a bit in over his head.

"Bradley!" the store clerk greeted him with a smile, "Back again I see?" she asked in a cheerful tone.

Bradley shook his head, "Not me this time, Jessica. My friend Maverick here needs a present for someone special."

And for some reason, when Rooster described Penny as being someone special to Maverick, a blush crept up the back of his neck, making a warm pool of adoration rise in his chest.

"Well Maverick," Jessica smiled, extending her hand eloquently, "it's lovely to meet you. Do you have any ideas in mind of what you're looking to acquire?"

"A necklace," Maverick spoke, still a little bit unsure of himself, "But I don't really know what exactly it is I am looking for."

Jessica chuckled softly to herself, "If only you knew how many men in your position have said that to me this past week."

"Could you tell me something about this special someone Maverick?" Jessica said, "It might be a bit easier to help you decide if I know a bit about them."

But just as Maverick was about to speak, Rooster took the liberty of speaking on his behalf. "Its for his girlfriend," Rooster replied, "They've been on and off again since the 80's but now Mav here has finally decided to settle down."

Maverick ran a hand through his hair to hide the embarrassment that crept upon his face, "thanks for telling Jess here my whole life story."

Jessica laughed, "well how about we get the two of you situated in the consult room and we'll bring you a couple of selections and some champagne."

Maverick agreed.

Jessica, who's wage was paid mainly by commission, pulled out all the stops. In the consult room, she brought the two men a stack of necklaces with a range of prices. Some were silver and some were gold, and one had a light pink hue to it. But Maverick didn't like any of them. So, Jessica brought back another stack, and another, and decided to leave the guys alone with their thoughts for a while.

"What about this one?" Rooster offered, holding up a silver locket with a delicate heart-shape that you could insert a photo into. To which Maverick almost immediately shook his head, "its not Penny."

This routine went on for a while. Rooster would make a suggestion, and then Maverick would shoot it down. Poor Rooster, who was still very much wanted in the meeting with Cyclone was now occupied at a jeweller, helping his instructor and friend pick out a gift for his girlfriend.

An hour passed, and the two began sipping at the champagne that Jessica had brought, and the suddenly, Maverick saw it, the perfect necklace for Penny. He stood up slowly, holding the necklace carefully in his hands. It was like a scene from a movie. A moment of realization. This was it. This was Penny.

The necklace was composed of a faded gold chain that was almost brass in colour. And on the chain, a single charm. An anchor. It was simple, it was delicate, and most importantly, it was Penny.

Penny loved to sail, and although Maverick didn't admit it when Rooster had asked him about it, the anchor did depict something more that Penny's love for sailing.

To Maverick, it described his commitment to her. The anchor was a symbol that represented his willingness to stay and build a life with her. He may have missed out on it before, but now he was here, settled down as best as he could be, his feet on the ground; most of the time, whenever he wasn't flying. Penny was his anchor and he never wanted to let her go.

The necklace had costed more than Maverick would have hoped, but nothing was enough for his Penny. So, he had Jessica wrap it up in a signature sand-toned box, complete with a little white bow, and he placed it securely into the chest pocket of his flight suit.

So that night, while Amelia and Maverick were curled up on the couch, listening to whichever home alone movie happened to be on tv that night, Penny was busy in the laundry room, doing her weekly wash of Maverick's uniforms. She checked the pockets, as she usually did, but just as she was about to throw the deep green suit into the washing machine, she noticed something unusual in the chest pocket, a box, one that made Penny gasp. One that made Penny gasp loud enough to have both Amelia and Maverick come running into the laundry room to see what was the matter.

And when the two of them arrived, the box was held open and tears were pooling in Penny's eyes. "What is it mom?" Amelia asked, enticed to see what exactly was making her mother smile brightly amid her misty eyes.

"Maverick," she smiled with eyes of salt, "Its beautiful."

Amelia, who sensed that this was a special moment between her mother and Maverick to share, smiled at the both of them on the way out, "the commercials just ended, I'm going to go finish watching the movie."

Penny nodded and Maverick patted Amelia on the back on her way out, mouthing her a silent 'thank you.'

"You know Penny," Maverick said, looking up to meet her oceanic eyes, "you weren't supposed to see that until tomorrow."

Penny smiled, "well, maybe you should start doing your laundry" she laughed.

"Do you like it?" Maverick asked shyly, a blush of anticipation creeping up on the back of his neck.

"Maverick," Penny gushed, opening her arms and extending them around him, "this is the most perfect gift that anyone has ever gotten me. I love it, and I love you."

Maverick enclosed her in an embrace, pulling her close to his chest, placing a kiss at the top of her head. "Merry Christmas Penny," he said, smiling into her hair.

"Merry Christmas Pete."

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tomiyeee · 1 year

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4, 6. 7, 29, 30 for the ar ask~~

4: Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw

fish :( i love fish so so much and i've been wanting to draw my favorites, but there aren't a whole lot of good resources for learning to draw them compared to humans + more common animals, plus they're so different structurally from mammals that i can't use my usual trick of drawing a human but with the bones wiggled around, like with dogs or cats 😭

i did try studying arowanas yesterday though and i've seen a couple artists that draw very nice fish that i've been taking inspiration from 🥺🥺

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it)

not..entirely sure what this question means? but i guess maybe nolo pasaro hot wheels who i basically know how to draw from pure muscle memory at this point 😔 i think i have accidentally nolo-ified a few characters without realizing until halfway through the image, namely tighnari since he doesn't really have much of a facial structure for me to work with in canon.

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

palette knife oil paintings, specifically the impressionist ones. painting in general is just way too time consuming and messy to be enjoyable for me (even digitally, minus the messy part), but you could sit me in front of a nice oil painting and i could stare at it for hours 🥺 i just find it amazing when people have such a thorough understanding of how to use color that they can make such clear and recognizable images with just!! splotches????

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically

genshin, 100% genshin. the game is fun and the character designs are (for the most part) down right gorgeous, but anime art styles + styles where every character looks exactly the same do nothing for me. plus the designs are complicated as hell, so even the characters i do like aren't very fun to draw 😭 i think a big reason i've even stuck with it as much as i have is cuz it's one of the few things i enjoy where i can get any semblance of regular chinese practice lol.

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated?

honestly not sure?? i have a lot that i think are overrated; most of the time my art gets more notes than i was expecting 😭 (looking directly at that stupid mikey snack comic), but underrated...

i guess maybe this leo pic? it has less notes than a lot of other ones i've posted, but i am very proud of the composition + symbolism in it 🥺 it still got quite a bit of love tho which i'm grateful for 😊

#ask #ask game

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ladyhoneydee · 5 months

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30 Day Song(fic) Challenge: Day 27

Took yesterday off and nearly didn't get it done today either (in fact, I am very, very late) but I'm back again with today's Song(fic) Challenge! The prompt was "a late night moody song", and while I'm sure the original creator of this challenge meant something moody as in angsty, I went for my personal favorite song to listen to late at night: You Are in Love, by Taylor Swift. I adore this song as one to stare out the window to as someone else drives so you can watch the stars and scenery zoom by, but as an adult who has to drive myself places now, it's just as good to hold yourself and sway to in the comfort of your bedroom.

You Are In Love

Game: Twilight Princess

Pairing: Midzelink

Word Count: 3154

Keywords: Falling in love OT3 style

One night, six months into their arrangement, Zelda wakes. The glowing hands of the Twilaiin clock on Midna’s nightstand inform her that it’s three in the morning: witching hour. She certainly feels spellbound as she stares at her lovers; at Link’s green and brown and gold, Midna’s black and white and orange, and her own purple and white and gold. A mixed palette of one another. Complimentary colors, somehow, against every sense of color theory.

Read the fic on AO3, or under the cut!

Zelda hasn’t seen Midna since they were both six years old and under three feet tall, sharing a nanny while their parents were enmeshed in diplomatic relations. At the time, they hadn’t realized that their fast, close friendship was blossoming under the shadow of potential warfare, and while the meeting had adjourned amicably, the countries of Twilain and Hyrule had remained different sides of the same coin: touching, but separate. And so did their daughters.

At some point in that thirteen-year estrangement, Midna must have undergone a hell of a growth spurt. Zelda was not a short woman by any means, even among the very tall Lanayrish hylians she descended from, but Midna still towered over her by an entire head. At least, she seemed that she would, when her gaze passed over and then hooked onto the Twili diplomat from across the darkened ballroom.

Midna’s eyes were already on Zelda. Scarlet irises shining across the room. Zelda felt herself immediately hypnotized, a mink caught in the stare of a serpent. She could do nothing but watch one elegant hand lift and crook a single finger in an unmistakable summons.

Zelda’s mouth went dry, and for the first time that night, the bodice of her dress felt tight, tight, tight.

She was sure there had been other dignitaries in the room, but they seemed to fade away to the margins as Zelda floated across the room. The Twilight Princess stood on the fringes of the gathering, and as Zelda approached, Midna glided forward the final two paces to meet her.

“Shadows and snakes, I was beginning to think I was the only one with a brain at this party. Thank you for proving me wrong, Princess.”

Zelda flushed. “Now, I’m sure that isn’t the case—”

“Are you telling me you’ve ever exited a conversation with Count Fabian of Labrynna feeling enthralled, intellectually stimulated, and excited to have another?”

Zelda’s gaze flickered over to the count in question, who was currently holding court with an exceedingly bored-looking visiting dignity whose name she couldn’t recall. She shut her mouth and clamped down the corners that threatened to rise. “Fair enough. You’ve certainly chosen a…fit example.”

“I do adore choosing the fit ones,” Midna said, voice low, and Zelda felt every drop of blood in her veins combust as her childhood-playmate–turned-absolute-stunner looked her up and down with a stare that was at one ravenous and languid. “Do join me. Just because I’m from Twilain doesn’t mean I wish to live in the shadows of your attention.”

Zelda laughed despite herself at the faux-drama in the other woman’s tone. “You make a compelling argument…I’m not sure you could survive without attention.” Midna’s jaw dropped, and for a moment Zelda thought she had misstepped until she threw her head back with a cackle.

“Oh, Princess, we are going to have such a marvelous night together. Come, I have a bottle of wine already, you won’t need to up and leave for ages.” She looped an arm around Zelda’s own elbow, and escorted her to one of the window-framed alcoves on the exterior wall of the room. A candle flickered in the center of the table, next to the promised bottle of dark, sweet wine.

Here, the close shadows and distance from the main mingling floor made the incredibly public setting feel intimate. Zelda sat down, taking care to sweep her long skirt beneath her, and reveled in the soft velvet of the window bench.

Midna sighed appreciatively as she plopped onto the bench beside her. “Now I have two things to thank you for: the pleasure of your company, and the chance to get off of these heels.”

“I’m sure you could kick them off and no one would even notice.”

“True, but how would I get you to look at my legs otherwise?”

Traitorously, Zelda’s eyes followed Midna’s suggestion despite herself and flickered down to Midna’s shadow-stockinged legs and back up. The victorious smirk on her purple-stained lips nearly sent Zelda into a tailspin, but she managed to keep a tight lid on her sanity.

“Quite thoughtful, but I’m here for more than the view.” She turned more fully towards Midna and, quite courageously, placed her hand on the warmth of Midna’s right thigh, just above her knee. “I do believe we have about two decades of catching up to do.”

They spoke to no one else for the rest of the night, contact information seized and clutched close when the event eventually closed down and they were turned out into the winter air. Scraps of paper torn from the corners of invitations. Proof that they’d found one another again, at last.

Half a decade and the rise and fall of a madman later, Midna wakes to the crowing of a rooster and a sunbeam across her face. Eyes flicker open, only to immediately squeeze shut again in disgruntled discomfort. She adds one hand over her face for good dramatic measure, shading out the red the glare painted the inside of her eyelids.

“Link, you’re supposed to be good at everything,” she groans. “Can’t you turn off the sun for me?”

A hand caresses the curve of her thigh beneath the blanket. Fingers tracing delicious patterns on her skin spell out a response she barely manages to take in: “No can do, Princess.”

“Well, what good are you?” Midna blinks her eyes open, resentful at the brightness but not so much that she can hold herself back anymore from gazing upon Link’s gaze, blue as the ocean on a cloudy day; his tanned skin, with the muscles beneath corded from farming; his dark blond hair tousled from the previous night’s activities. He’s as delicious in the morning as he was the night before, and she drapes a possessive hand over his bare chest.

“You look like you’re going to eat me for breakfast,” Link signs. Rather than teasing challenge in his gaze, however, Midna can only find bottomless affection. Not in the mood for a morning round, then.

“Well, I might if you don’t cook up something for us.” She stretches like a cat, legs poking out from beneath the blanket and extending beyond the edge of Link’s mattress as they go taut. He watches her with interest, the kind that says I’m taking all of you in without the particular flavor of I want to take you, and when his gaze finally travels up her body to her face he returns her warm smile in kind.

“I guess I can part with some eggs,” he signs, and she rolls her eyes at the sass in every roll of his wrist.

“You better throw some sausage in there, too. I’ve got a big day today, you know.” She throws her legs off of the edge of the bed, and slowly lifts her upper body off the bed, vertebrae crackling.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve got a date with that woman, you only talked about it for half the night,” Link teases, and follows her in getting up. He tosses Midna one of his old shirts without needing to ask, knowing she prefers going around in his clothes in the morning despite them barely covering her midriff. “I was shocked you didn’t scream her name last night instead of mine.”

Midna narrows her eyes, but knows he can still see the warmth in them through the faux-glare. “Keep the sass up and next time, I will.”

They stumble down the ladder from Link’s loft down to the main living space. Link gets the pan heating up in short order and begins shaping small handfuls of ground seasoned goat sausage into patties. She watches with wanton abandon: he’s always so good with his hands, no matter the context.

Soon, though, the desire simmering in her belly subsides to something more warm and enduring. With his brow quirked in focus like that, it’s easy to see the man she fell for all those years ago, the one who challenged her when she needed it and held her when she wanted it, even when her faith in the entire world—and herself—had been shattered.

Link cracks four eggs, one after the other, into the pan atop the half-cooked sausage patties. “Can you make up some toast?” he signs one-handed, refusing to release his spatula.

Midna goes through the motion of cutting the bread and getting it on the heat, but her mind is firmly elsewhere. On nights where all they had were each other. On nights when they had more, but chose one another still.

She doesn’t notice Link’s signing until he’s tapping her on the shoulder insistently to get her attention. “Midna! Seriously?”

“What?” She glares. That was a nice memory!

“You burned the Din-damned toast!”

Midna looks over Link’s shoulder—an easy task, with how much height she has on him—to see four pieces of blackened bread smoking away on the counter. She belatedly realizes that the air smells awful, acrid with charcoal.

“In my defense, I was thinking of how cute you are.”

Link rolls his wolf eyes at her and thrusts a plate into her hands. A curved heap of pan-scrambled eggs smiles at her under two sausage-patty eyes. “Shut up and eat your breakfast.”

Link isn’t sure how he got here, but he’s pretty sure he likes it.

Well, that’s a lie. He knows how he got here, it’s just that it feels like a fever dream to remember. Still, remember it he can. Midna had suggested that he might like her mysterious woman as much as she does, promised that the woman had seemed intrigued and open to it as well, gave them the place and time. Introduced them. And then pranced off, cackling like some sort of storybook villain, into the night.

And here he is, arm in arm on the streets of Castletown with Hyrule’s princess.

With the winter solstice celebration on the horizon, Castletown buzzes with seasonal visitors. Candles meant to invoke and bolster the magic of the Light Spirits as their powers wane with winter’s coming line residential windows, and while many homes still have pumpkins and leaf wreaths from the harvest season on their doors, others are beginning to replace them with spicy-smelling pine boughs. Link wonders absentmindedly where they got them—the market? Did they go out and pick them from trees outside of the town’s sturdy stone walls themselves?

He broaches the question to Zelda, a little hesitantly. While their stroll around the streets and squares has been amicable so far, things still feel a little awkward. They’re both quiet in different ways: Link in the ‘I’m not great with new people’ way, and Zelda in the ‘I want to show you I’m listening and I care’ way, which is unfortunate when paired with someone who isn’t doing much talking.

“That is an excellent question!” Her eyes light up, and Link feels a flicker of satisfaction and pride at the response. “You’re actually correct on both counts. The closest pine groves to Castletown are to the north, but as you’ve no doubt noted, there is no north gate to the town, as the Castle lies that way. Thus those who source their boughs from outside typically go on day trips. It takes about half a day if one goes on horseback; those harvesting in bulk with a wagon spend about a day in total. Those who pick extra often do sell them in the marketplace, or gift them, for those people unable to go to the groves themselves.”

Link nods in understanding. “They’re very interesting. I like the ones with additional decoration.” He points to a wreath on a door to their right, barely visible from how deeply it’s set into the alley. That one has pinecones and bright red berries sprinkled throughout.

“I want to eat them,” he signs, the motions small.

“You what?”

His hands jitter in place with indecision, a kinetic ‘um’ of the first kind, and then sign an apology. “You weren’t supposed to see that!” At her quizzical stare—she’s really cute when she tilts her head to the side like that—he adds on, “I didn’t think you…were watching me that closely. It was just meant for myself.”

Zelda smiles at him, and he feels his heart leap up to his throat and embed there with the speed of an arrow. “I’m enjoying watching you. I like the way you watch everything so closely. You notice things about my world that slip my notice these days, and it’s refreshing to experience them through your eyes.”

Link flushes, and imagines that the heat of his skin is giving off steam in the cold night air. “That—I—you—” He stumbles through several more signs that amount to nothing more than babble. “I like watching you too!”

He about collapses to the cobblestones with embarrassment at her laugh. “Hm, but I’m not necessary to keep an eye on, since I don’t communicate through sign.” She arches an eyebrow at him, and something passes through his stomach with the gravity of a thundercloud over Hyrule Field. “Perhaps there’s something else that attracts your gaze?”

Oh, oh, there’s the lightning. He feels it crackle through his chest and down to his toes and back again.

“Perhaps there is,” he replies, and hopes she can’t see the way his hands tremble ever so slightly with newfound desire.

Of course, his hopes never come true when it comes to these women. “Your hands are shaking, Link. Are you cold, perchance?” Her tone is innocent enough that if he wasn’t looking right at the teasing heat hiding in her slate-grey irises, he might have thought her entirely sincere in her concern. “There’s a delightful shop near here that sells all sorts of warm beverages. Cider, tea, milk, even a new import known as kaffe.” She smiles. “I’m quite partial to it myself.”

“Doesn’t kaffe keep one up at night?” Link cocks his head in confusion.

“Certainly. It’s exceedingly helpful on the days I’m called into audiences with the Cabinet of Representatives, and then have a mountain of reports to read and paperwork to complete.”

“But…wouldn’t that keep you up way too late tonight?”

“I’d rather enjoy staying up late with you. In many senses.”

Link doesn’t even know what he signs in response to that, but it must have been some sort of vigorous agreement, because they’ve set off towards Zelda’s little shop with vim in their step. He tries to distract himself from taking in the flush in Zelda’s cheeks from the chill and their flirtation, the slight frizziness in her chestnut hair from her winter layers, the power in her stride and how it ceaselessly reminds him that she has legs. Unfortunately, as charming as the houses lining the avenues are, they hardly compare to hers.

One wreath does stand out to him, however, as they approach the shopfront. The residential balcony atop the shop has a particularly jaunty whittled squirrel accompanying the more typical pinecones and berries, and he grins at it.

He taps Zelda on the shoulder gently to get her attention. She pauses in the midst of reaching for the doorknob.

“Look up,” he signs, and points to the adorable squirrel. She follows the line of his finger, and he takes in the sunshine of her delighted smile at the same time that her shoulder brushes his own: the first time they’ve touched all evening with the exception of their linked elbows.

Lightning sparks through him once again. He can taste it in the roof of his mouth, under the root of his tongue.

Midna is very familiar with his taste in women, it would seem. He will never, ever admit it, under pain of death. She’d be insufferable for weeks.

Yet, as he walks through the door that Zelda holds open for him, he thinks he might not even mind.

They sleep conjoined for three nights straight. They wander Twilain with Midna as their erstwhile guide, who gets far too much of a kick out of Zelda and Link’s stunned expressions with every brush with techno-magic. Link nearly faints when Zelda cleans syrup made from some sort of tart berry off of Midna’s face with her thumb and then sucks it clean in the middle of the restaurant like it’s nothing, and then ends up cooking the next two meals in a row because they find themselves unable to get out of their rooms without someone being pinned to a door.

They argue about how this is going to work, how they’re going to share, how they can be together all at once when they are two princesses and a goatherd, when only two share the same physical realm and those two don’t share the same hierarchical realm. Link accuses Zelda of inane optimism, and she locks herself in the bathroom with magic for an hour until Midna teleports under the door with her shadow-hopping magic and brings her out after a hushed conversation. They fall asleep together, not one eye unreddened between them, but with a refreshed desire to try.

They exchange letters through an increasingly beleaguered Postman. They meet in Hyrule Castle, in Link’s treehouse in Ordon, in a bungalow in a Twilaiin mangrove forest. They are complicated and complex. They are unbelievably, incandescently happy.

Midna and Link blink open groggy eyes when Zelda wriggles between them, tears streaking down her face. Her eyes are wild but sure.

Link and Midna have devoted themselves to one another for years. Midna’s heart has held Zelda’s portrait in it for decades, fleshed out from a pencil sketch to an oil painting. They know immediately what this is, what it means. They can see it in the dark of the room; they can hear it in the catch of Zelda’s breaths in her lungs.

“I love you too,” Midna whispers, tracing one hand up the soft curve of Zelda’s spine.

“I love you too,” Link signs, his fingers tender on Zelda’s cheek.

“I’m yours,” Zelda cries, and throws her arms wide around them both.

It is an imperfect way to put into words what has been building between them, even when the language of tight squeezes and grasping arms is added in and built upon. No sentence or paragraph or lifetime of novels could cover it, if they spent the rest of their lives orating and writing it down. They are simply too complex and complicated.

But they are unbelievably, incandescently happy. And in this moment, it is enough.

#loz #midzelink #twilight princess #loz tp #my fanfiction #30 day song(fic) challenge

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whentherewerebicycles · 1 year

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yeah I know it looks a bit patchy lol parts of it are still wet!! I did so many touch-ups by hand I should’ve just done a second coat but whatever. I find hand-painting less annoying and messy than rolling anyway. we’ll see how it looks after it dries overnight—I’ve used a lighter version of this paint brand before and the next-day touch ups blended in really well, but I’m not sure if the darker color will dry the same way. anyway fingers crossed it all dries smoothly and I don’t have to buy more paint 🥴

more thoughts: the ugly tile looks significantly less offensive with the paint but it’s still… not my favorite, to say the least. one idea I had today was to try covering the most visible ones (on the wall facing the hallway) with those 12x12” ikea mirror squares you can stick to the wall. that would be a cheap, removable solution that would bring more light into the space… but then I was like um is it weird to have half a mirrored wall right next to the toilet lol. and also I’m not sure it really solves the issue since the brown tile wraps all the way around. so far I’ve considered:

peel and stick wallpaper or tile (expensive)

using fabric as wallpaper & adhering it to the wall with liquid starch or double sided tape

ikea mirrors

leaving it alone

honestly if I could just cover the strip of brown tile the other tile wouldn’t bother me! maybe like washi tape or ribbon of some kind??

but okay I’m gonna leave the tile for now. I think I’m zeroing in on the art I want to hang… currently leaning towards pieces with lighter backgrounds and some mix of vibrant pinks + more muted earthy goldenrod yellows as the dominant colors… maybe with paler pink or lighter teal/aqua mixed in as secondary accents in the rest of the decor? that would have nice continuity with the colors in the living room. once everything’s dry I’ll take a bunch of different colored objects in and hold them up against the wall to see how they look. could also see oranges-yellows-rust or terracotta reds too but bright pink and dark teal and golden yellow is such a happy palette to me. we shall see!!!

got my work tasks done for the day so the rest of the day is mine… I feel wiped out and headachey for some reason even though I slept okay. hoping very much that it’s my period approaching so we can get this show on the road. I know I’ll feel better if I spend an hour outside, cook real food, and put my phone away for a while. let’s say:

walk 3:30-4:30 in our little secret forest

make shakshuka + homemade pita bread

put my phone upstairs and finish cribsheet (it’ll probably take two hours)

I had good luck writing by hand last night… I wonder if reading over my notes from yesterday will spark some ideas. I’m trying to make writing feel deeply low-stakes, curious, exploratory right now… for some reason it’s just mostly not been “fun” since this summer and that makes me sad because when it is fun there’s nothing I’d rather be doing. so just trying to ease myself back into that space.

do adrienne’s bedtime yoga video before heading upstairs if I’m still feeling bleh

lights out by 10—for real this time!

#house tag #sorry y’all got a reprieve from house projects and probably thought the worst was behind you #luckily this room is so small it shouldn’t consume me for more than a week or two longer #and it’s distracting me from feeling despair about work lol

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windandwater · 2 years

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had the kind of day I missed having in New York yesterday, with a friend who I’ve missed so freaking much--she’s the most chill person in the universe but also drags me on the weirdest adventures, way out of my comfort zone, and I love being comfortable enough to go out of my zone.

(this is rambly and switches topics at the drop of a paragraph)

several bakeries were involved. god I missed bakeries. I went to Brooklyn and all over Chinatown and Soho and wound up in Union Square. I don’t do that anymore. my feet were killing me and I was still completely relaxed at the end of the day. (although FUCK YOU @ my ankle I’m so tired of your shit MADAM)

also I met her brother who was doing a medical school shift in NY for only 3 weeks--a goddamn shame because from a case study of two, her whole family is delightful--and the poor guy made the mistake of admitting in front of me that he tried to make gumbo and burned the roux. but! bought a cast iron dutch oven. he doth care about his craft!

so, I officially have two gumbo recipes now: one for me, and one to send to beginners. the “beginners” one is a mess of “you have like three options here so do what you want” and it’s going to keep getting updated. basically an email-able version of this post. truly a milestone, this recipe has a multitude of iterations across platforms. You could track its digital imprint over time and learn the evolution of my palette and cooking ability, probably. something for future internet archaeologists studying me specifically, odd specimen that I am. but you’d also have to track my brother’s and my mom’s, and their jambalaya recipes, because they’re doing wild shit, and my brother likes seafood.

(also also lmao at being the queer friend wandering around a bookstore recommending every gay book you’ve read while your remaining straight (ally! but straight) friend is like “I see” lolll.) (very VERY different from wandering around with your gay friends who are like “HAVE YOU READ ___ YET” “NO THERE’S ANOTHER ONE?” “YEAH” “FUCK”)

(to be completely fair to her, that did happen with her & I to a queer book we’d both read independently: “THERE’S A SEQUEL???”, and she completely unprompted made note of one of my favorite queer series that I immediately was like “oh you HAVE to read those--also THERE’S ANOTHER ONE??” so, you know, it’s a difference of having more teeth/being louder, not that she’s not supportive)

related: I keep seeing complaints on the internet about representation in media but I gotta say, y’all are telling on yourselves that you don’t read. there are entiiiire sections and you know what? you can pick and choose genres now. I went through and had the luxury, the absolute luxury, of saying “you know what, I don’t have to read this, this is not my speed.” I will note that one of the big problems still exists for ace books: the diversity of genre is still published by small publishers, and hard to get from libraries. and even that’s changing now. (note 2: I wouldn’t be surprised if books featuring trans/genderqueer characters were in a similar state, but that is not my area of expertise.) but otherwise? my god. And one specific shelf--and I mean bookshelf, not singular shelf on a bookshelf--felt like it was specifically “the fanfiction writers are all grown up and getting published” because hand to god every single one was “I’ve read that fic” “hm, that person wrote RPF” “ah, high school AU.”

not knocking people who don’t read or hate reading or don’t have time or whatever, I’m just saying that the problem isn’t that the media doesn’t exist, the problem is that television & movies are much slower than the book industry to pick these things up, and they have bullshit “but international audiencessss” excuses, and that’s a different and more specific issue. also there’s a direct pipeline from “written media” to “adapted from page to screen media” and sometimes these things take a minute.

anyway. idk. I’m like. going out again. and I missed it. I missed my chaos friends. I missed my friends. I missed having stuff to do. it’s starting back up again (my friends are dragging me out!! shoutout to my friends who drag me out!!) and I thought it would wear me down but instead I’m like oh, right, I’m a person and the thought is. is making me have breakdowns. I backslid so hard during the pandemic and the healing process might break me just as much.

(sometimes my text posts are just “this would be on livejournal” posts look fight me)

#adventures in text posts #about me #idk man I just sometimes gotta braindump #back to structure...later #gumbo

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capricornwriter5 · 2 years

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Always on time - Chapter 10

Pairing: Jooheon x female OC

Genre: childhood friends to enemies, enemies to friends, friends to lovers, smut (later chapters), fluff, angst, slow burn, idol AU!

Warning: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of workaholic disorder, curse words

Words: 3k

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Chapter 10

Jooheon didn’t realize how late it was until Kihyun called him and yelled at him through the phone to rush him to the bedroom and get ready. The rapper had spent about forty minutes wandering around before reaching the bedroom.

He wasn’t in a good mood. He wasn’t angry, he was just... thinking. But he threw all that away when he saw Minhyuk’s face. The poor man was on the verge of a collapse and Kihyun’s murderous gaze told him that his tardiness in arriving was not helpful.

"Hyung, change that face, will you?" Jooheon said. "You’ll see that everything will be fine today. You saw the exhibition yourself yesterday, everything is ready, don’t worry".

Minhyuk said nothing. He just smiled halfway and nodded. He was really nervous.

To avoid delaying things further, Jooheon changed into his outfit in seconds and asked the makeup artist to do something simple. So, in a matter of twenty minutes, he was ready to leave, along with the rest of the members.

"Jooheon-ah," Minhyuk said before heading to the door with the others, "I know it’s too late to go back, but... This was a good idea, wasn’t it?"

"Hyung, this IS a great idea," Jooheon assured him.

"What if they don’t like it?"

"They’re going to like it," Jooheon continued. "I’m sure they, and if you don’t believe me for not knowing art, ask Jules. I’ve known her for years and while she’s responsible, there’s no way she would have committed to this exhibit the way she did if she didn’t think your work was worth it. She is not someone who strives for things that are not worth the effort, hyung, and your art not only reaches the mark, it surpasses it".

"Yah, stop saying things like that, I’m going to cry if you keep talking".

With that, Jooheon managed to get a little heartfelt laugh out of Minhyuk and that was enough for him.

****

Fifty minutes later

Monsta X had arrived a few minutes before the doors opened. They had posed for the photos, signed autographs and Julie had let them in a little earlier to show them the full tour.

Julie was a little nervous about not being able to meet Minhyuk’s expectations, but the singer had nothing but words of amazement and gratitude towards the curator. The other members of Monsta X were also very impressed with the way the whole story unfolded, not to mention that half of the works on display were new to all of them.

"As you can see, it is a journey that seeks to follow a line in both color and shape," said Julie at the end of her presentation. "As we had talked about, Minhyuk-ssi, the different works were made at different times in recent years, but the idea was not to tell a flat or chronological story of personal or artistic evolution, but a dynamic one. Thus, we begin with an abstract aesthetic in which cold color palettes predominate to gradually move to more concrete figures and warmer color palettes, and finish again in abstract figures that combine artistic techniques and where this color unit is lost a little, but at the same time refers to the previous works. The idea was to show Minhyuk-ssi in an integral and complete way, so a circular structure is followed both with the layout of the path, in a spiral from the third floor to the first, and with this notion of beginning and end in abstract figures".

Upon completion of the explanation, Julie encountered six mute men. None knew what to say, some because they were impressed with Julie’s work and others because they were intimidated by her.

"I hope it meets your expectations, Minhyuk-ssi," Julie added to break the silence a little.

"Meet them?" Minhyuk said in amazement. "Julie-ssi... I don’t know what to say. Are those really my paintings? Is that... I mean, I know we’ve talked about this before and I went over all the details with you and Jooheon, but seeing them here... seeing them like this, it’s... it’s... Thank you, Julie-ssi, really".

"It was a pleasure, Minhyuk-ssi" replied Julie. "I’m glad you like it and let me tell you that I really enjoyed working on this exhibition. I’m sure your fans will also be delighted with the tour. Which reminds me... we have about ten minutes before we open the doors. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make sure that all the equipment at the entrance works properly, and I’ll be coming back for you in a minute so Minhyuk-ssi can prepare to give the welcome speech. In my office there are bottles of water, some snacks and anxiety pills, in case you need it... Jooheon-ssi..."

"I’ll take care of it, Jules," Jooheon replied. "Take it easy, we’ll wait for you".

Julie gave him a grateful smile and went to finish fixing the details for the opening speech.

Jooheon, for his part, did what he said and went with I.M. to Julie’s office to fetch bottles of water.

"Hyung, the display is amazing," said I.M.

"Don’t look at me" replied Jooheon laughing. "Minhyuk-hyung and Jules are the ones who take the credit, they set it all up".

"Sure, sure... and, uh, it’s her, isn’t she?"

"Who?"

"I’m slow, but I’m not stupid, you know?" replied I.M. "You went into my apartment like crazy hoping to learn art history in record time because of her, or am I wrong? Who is she?"

"Our Changkyungnnie still has air in his head, huh? Poor Liv" teased Jooheon. "Jules and I grew up together. We were best friends in elementary school and high school, our families are friends too. The last time I saw her was the night after the No Mercy final. I didn’t know she worked here, but you see… life".

"Mmmm, yeah... I see," said I.M. "And what else?"

"Ehhhh... nothing else".

"Don’t give me that," answered I.M. "I’ve never seen you try so hard for a girl, you like her, don’t you?"

"Wow, calm down, kid," Jooheon said. "Don’t get that excited either".

"Oh you don’t? Well, it’s a relief," I.M. said, trying to annoy him. "I heard Kihyun-hyung say Julie-ssi was cute. Maybe he’ll try something, what do you think? Can you give him some tips since you know her so well?"

"Yah, Im Changkyung, that’s not..."

"Guys, come on, it’s about to start," interrupted Kihyun entering the office at the time. "Everything okay, Jooheon-ah? Did something happen?"

"Ah? Yes... everything is fin, hyung, we’re coming." Jooheon didn’t notice the way he looked at Kihyun when he walked in. I.M. on the other hand, tried to swallow the laughter by seeing Jooheon jealous.

It’s about time, hyung, thought the maknae, it’s about time you found someone who makes you want to try.

****

The event was a success.

They had opened the doors about two hours ago and everything was going great. The inauguration had been intended as an activity behind closed doors and only for a select group of people, although as the fans could not be missing, in the last week special tickets had been raffled so that some lucky people could attend. In any case, the exhibition would be open to the public from Monday with a limited quorum per hour so that the gallery staff could do the corresponding tours and take care of the pieces.

Minhyuk had given an opening speech, followed by Director Kim’s speech which ended with the official opening of the doors. From that moment on, Julie became a hostess and there was no detail she was unaware of.

Despite her energy, Julie was also human, so after a full day of work, she asked Rei to handle the event for a few minutes as she went to her office to get some air. Upon returning, she took a few seconds to see, from the shadows, the people who had attended. At that moment, she was truly proud of what she had accomplished in a few weeks, and seeing the guests talking with Minhyuk, fawning over his works, she sighed in relief.

"Jules, there you are," Jooheon said, drawing Julie from her thoughts. The rapper had been looking for her for a few minutes and had begun to worry about not seeing her anywhere. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, Jooheon-ssi" she answered honestly. "I just went to the office to check some things".

"Jules, you’ve been working all day, you should be relaxing and..."

"Wow, calm down, Jooheon-ah," said the person who came with him. "She looks tired, don’t give her that… I’m sorry, he needs some sugar in his system. Nice to meet you, my name is Wonho. You must be the curator, it’s a pleasure".

"The pleasure is mine," replied Julie shaking Wonho’s hand. "I hope you’re having a good time".

"Everything is going great. I’ve never seen Minhyuk-hyung blush so much from comments that don’t come from a girl," Jooheon joked.

"That’s true," Wonho said. "The last time he got so red was when he his jacket opened on stage, only this time he is enjoying it".

"Yes, well, he deserves compliments. His pieces are really special and..."

"There you are, Julie!" a voice interrupted her. "I was looking for you to congratulate you. You really showed off with this exhibition".

Mrs. Park was now standing next to Julie hugging her and congratulating her on her work. Julie did not understand how her mother-in-law was present, as she did not remember sending her an invitation. The surprise was completely visible on Julianne’s face, as Mrs. Park just laughed and said:

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming. See, I thought I’d tell you I was one of the guests, but I was afraid it would only make you feel more pressured".

"Oh, sure," she managed to say. "Don’t worry, I understand. I appreciate the consideration, Mrs. Park, and I’m glad you like the display. Allow me to introduce Lee Jooheon and Lee Hoseok, both of whom are colleagues of the artist".

"Oh, sure, it’s a pleasure to meet you both," said Mrs. Park as she shook hands with Jooheon and Wonho. "I do not take more time, dear. I just wanted to say hello and congratulate you on the exhibition and..."

"Julie! I finally find you" a second voice called her, but this time it was a male voice that Jooheon recognized before Julie: Kang-Dae. "Look who I met at the entrance. I didn’t know your mother was going to..."

"AHHHH MY PRECIOUS PRINCESS!" interrupted Julianne’s mother ignoring both Kang-Dae and his mother, as well as Jooheon and Wonho, and running to hug her daughter. "I’M SO PROUD OF YOU! You always do a great job, but this is the best by far. I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!"

"Mom?! I thought you wouldn’t be able to come," Julie replied. happy that her mom could attend. She was fully aware that Jooheon and Wonho were still behind her seeing everything, but the truth was she didn’t care much.

"Yes, well, a few days ago I managed to move my commitments and decided to surprise my PRETTY, PRETTY GIRL," her mother said, hugging Julianne again.

Wonho, on the one hand, fixed his attention on the floor trying to give mother and daughter some privacy, although he found all the interaction completely adorable. Jooheon, on the other hand, did not think to disguise the funny of the scene and began to laugh behind Julianne.

"Wait a minute... Jooheon-ah? Lee Jooheon?" asked Julie’s mother once she gave a good look at the two boys standing behind her daughter. "It can’t be, it is you! How good it is to see you again!"

This time the one who received the bear hug from Mrs. Lia was Jooheon and he was not prepared for the strength of Julianne’s mother.

"Nice to see you again, how have you been, Miss Lia?"

"I’ve been fine, there’s nothing new, but we old people don’t change much anymore" she replied. "But YOU... When I see what you’ve accomplished, I feel so happy for you. Look at you! An idol. Is all what you dreamed it would be? I want you to know that I have bought all the albums you have released and I also have a lightstick!"

"It’s all and more," Jooheon replied. "And I really appreciate the support, you didn’t have to, but thank you very much"

"Nonsense, you’re like my son. Always remember to sleep and eat well, okay? God, you’re too thin, and so are you," said Lia, referring to both Jooheon and Wonho. "I hope you haven’t forgotten the recipes I taught you, Jooheon-ah. And I know you’re probably too busy to visit, so next time I’ll do all the dishes I know how to do and tell Julie to drop them off, okay?"

"You don’t have to bother, Miss Lia," Jooheon said. "I would love to visit you one day".

"GREAT! Come together one day... In fact, come with your whole group!"

"Miss Lia’s food is very good, you will not regret it," Kang-Dae intervened out of nowhere.

Both he and Mrs. Park were watching the exchange between Julie’s mom and the rapper and gradually were putting together the image of how close Julie and Jooheon had been in the past. Julianne had told Kang-Dae some stories earlier when he arrived at the gallery, but she didn’t go into details and he thought they were just schoolmates... Kang-Dae was upset.

"I know," replied Jooheon. "Anyway, I think we need to get back to the group... Mrs. Lia, would you like to meet the others?"

"I would love to! I want to see who has my Jooheon-ah so thin... Come on. I’ll be right back, honey," she said, saying goodbye to Julie and walking alongside Jooheon and Wonho.

Julianne couldn’t say anything. The whole conversation felt rather unreal, but she was happy. Her mother looked happy, Jooheon looked happy, Minhyuk looked happy... Everything was fine.

"You see, I did come in the end"

"Ah? Ah, yes, oppa, it’s a surprise," replied Julie. "I thought you had a meeting and..."

"I canceled it".

"Did you cancel? Really?" Julie asked in shock.

"Yes, I canceled," Kang-Dae replied, getting closer to Julie for a little more privacy. By that time, Mrs. Park had already left and the others were more aware of the exhibition than of the two of them. "This is my way... or my attempt to apologize to you, Julie. I’m sorry if in the last few months you’ve felt that I don’t support you or that I’m not there for you. To be honest, every time we talk, I can hear your frustration, but I don’t know what to do or how to do it. I am also frustrated that I cannot do everything I want, but you have taken the worst part and I am sorry, really".

"I... I did not..."

"I know that I have changed in recent times, and I also know that it is no excuse to justify how I have behaved, but I just wanted to ask you for a little... patience," Kang-Dae continued. "I promise you that soon things will calm down a little at work and after that, we can go back to how we were before. Do you think... that you could have a little more patience with me, Julie? Please?"

This was the last conversation Julianne expected to have that night. Yeah, she was frustrated and angry, but she didn’t expect Kang-Dae to apologize like this. He hadn’t spoken to her so sincerely in a long time. This was the Kang-Dae she fell in love with, this was the Kang-Dae she had missed and for whom he was still in this relationship.

Finally, oppa, you’re finally talking like you, Julie thought as she hugged him. She couldn’t talk, but she felt calmer.

"Ugh, well, that was good," Kang-Dae said as he broke the hug. "Now, give me a few minutes to go say hello to some people and I’ll be right back, okay?"

"Oh, okay, okay," Julie replied.

Kang-Dae walked away from her and went to find his mother and the other people he had to greet.

Julie took a couple of breaths looking at the floor. She felt really happy and calm, it seemed like Kang-Dae was not ignoring their problems and that things would finally start to work out. Everything was going well... and at that moment Julianne saw Jooheon.

For a few minutes, the rapper had his eyes fixed on the place where Julie and Kang-Dae were talking. The other members of Monsta X were thrilled with Julie’s mother, so none of them noticed how quiet Jooheon was.

Jooheon saw Kang-Dae approaching Julie, he saw her staring at him, first with doubt and then with happiness. He saw her hugging him and saw him breaking the hug almost immediately to leave her alone again. Jules, no, not him, you deserve more, Jooheon thought.

The rapper also saw her trying to hide her excitement for whatever the stiff told her and thought he should stop staring at her so directly. Jooheon was about to look down when Julie looked up and their eyes met.

Jooheon-ah... thought Julie. Immediately, Jooheon’s gaze changed and softened a little, but Julie knew he had something on his head, something that bothered him. Well, and so what, she thought. What difference does it make if he saw me talking to Kang-Dae or knew about our relationship? That would be normal, right? If he knew... I shouldn’t be feeling this... anxious...

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#monsta x scenarios #monsta x jooheon #lee jooheon #monsta x lee jooheon #monsta x jooheon fanfic #monsta x #monbebe #monsta x fanfic #enemies to lovers #i.m changkyun #i.m monsta x #minhyuk monsta x #kihyun monsta x

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katarh-mest · 2 years

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Wondrous Tales Bingo: Road Trip

While Katarh had the capacity for teleport travel, it required that one have visited the places in question before. There had never been any reason for her to travel elsewhere up until this point in her life. She was attuned to the aetheryte in Ala Mihgo, but teleporting to an occupied city was a very foolish thing to do, especially since it would not actually put her any closer to Ul'dah.

She had traveled as far as Camp Tranquil in her work for the Conjurer's Guild, but Ul'Dah itself would still be several days travel beyond that, if she went on foot.

She did not own a chocobo. She did not have any other personal means of transport beyond her own two feet and a generous supply of aether.

So, as one must when one has no other resources, she had to resort to spending money.

(Not that she had a lot of that, either. The Conjurer's Guild paid her in room, board, and training. Gil? What gil? What does one need with gil, when the forest can provide enough?)

Katarh had given herself a day to grieve before she seriously planned what she needed to do. She was able to fit her meager belongings into a single bag, since she owned none of the furniture in her shared acolyte's quarters in Stillglade Fane.

She could have written her sisters a letter, but by now they had most certainly already heard about the fall of Ala Mihgo. They were probably worried sick. Bad news should be delivered in person. And she was overdue for a visit, anyway.

She said goodbye to the Conjurers, promising to come back once she had taken care of her family business. A few of the other acolytes gave her a hug as she informed them of her journey, a surprise since the Gridanians were usually such a reserved bunch.

But you don't go through fighting back the Greenwrath together without making a few friends along the way.

Airship passage to Ul'dah would cost her 2500 gil, as it would turn out. Spending nearly every last gil she owned seemed like a bad idea, but there wasn't any other choice.

Unless....

"Do you know if there are any trading caravans headed to Ul'dah?" Katarh asked the airship clerk.

The clerk thought for a moment, and then nodded. "They're here pretty often. I believe one came in yesterday from the Seventy Seven, and they will likely depart tomorrow, once they have finished changing out their wares. "

Katarh thanked the clerk, and left the airship station, her mind plotting how to bargain herself a discount trip to Ul'dah.

___________________

"2000 gil," the grizzled Roegadyn said, the moment he heard Katarh's question.

She blanched for a second. Outrageous! Then she remembered who she was talking to. Ah, right. Ul'dahns. Any coin obtained is a coin earned, to them. Ala Mihgan merchants weren't that different - and even the Gridanian merchants could drive a hard bargain when they were dealing with scarce resources.

She took a deep breath and prepared to haggle.

"For that much I might as well ride the airship and be there in a few hours," she said back in a sharp tone, channeling her oldest sister subconsciously. "I'll pay you 500, and offer my services as a conjurer should the need arise."

"Your pretty spells won't feed the chocobos, and we ain't running a charity here."

She could practically see the wheels turning in the man's head. A single extra Hyur wouldn't be that much more weight, and no matter what he said, having an conjurer around was always handy.

"1500 gil, and your escort services."

She shook her head. "No good. I'll pay a thousand, but how about this - I'll also offer my services as an extra pair of hands for your loading here in Gridania, to help you leave the city ahead of schedule to make up for any slowness caused by my presence."

"You strong enough for that, conjurer? These palettes are full of heavy leathers and fresh produce."

Katarh knew she'd won. No Ul'dahn would be willing to turn down cheap labor.

She slid up the sleeve of her heavy robe, showing off surprisingly well muscled biceps. "I'm an acolyte, not a Hearer. I'm used to hauling whatever heavy things the Conjurers need to move around, too."

He guffawed and slapped his knee. "Welcome aboard then, Conjurer. Go ahead and grab that box, and we'll get started."

____________

Katarh's temporary employment to the Seventy Seven Caravans did in fact speed up their loading activities enough that they were able to leave that afternoon, twelve hours ahead of schedule. They would pause overnight at Buscaroon's Fold at the Lumberline, and pick up an additional load of goods sent from Quarrymill at Camp Tranquil in the morning.

From there, it would be a slow slog through the Twelveswood, before the forest gave way to the deserts of the south abruptly. They would reach Camp Drybone by the late afternoon and push on toward Ul'dah proper before nightfall. Arriving a day early was never unwelcome in the trading world, and that meant the goods could be unloaded overnight and the traders could enjoy some free time off.

Were there seventy seven little groups like this? Katarh wondered. The "caravan" really only consisted of the Roegadyn and three Lalafells, a covered wagon, and four chocobos - two pulling the cart, and two ridden by the Lalafells as outriders. Or were they seventy seven different trade routes? Some of them surely were too long for a single group to handle it.

This group covered the same route, back and forth, every two days between Gridania and Ul'dah, then back again, transporting goods between the two city states, with quantities of money changing hands at each point.

Wouldn't it get boring at some point? she wondered.

"No ma'am," the Roegadyn said when she voiced the question aloud. The chocobo reins were loose in his hands, the birds plodding along easily. "The same road is comforting. I know every landmark, every rut, every place that brigands might like to hide. I don't want any excitement in my life. I just want to follow the road home whenever I can, and see my children." He smiled. "The extra day you brought with you will be a day of rest for us."

_____________

By the grace of the Twelve, the trip was uneventful, and by that, Katarh meant it was really really boring. It wasn't until the passage from the Black Shroud into the warm dry landscapes of Thanalan that it felt like it was worth looking at anything outside of the cart.

The trip from Ala Mihgo had been in a similar conveyance, albeit a private coach that had in fact cost as much as the caravan had wanted to charge her. But there, the desert had given way to the woods just as suddenly. The Hearers had explained that the elementals guarded their water jealously, and ensured that none left the land they inhabited, keeping it well contained within the mountain ranges that separated the Twelveswood from the deserts to the south.

It was hot. Katarh's heavy Ala Mihgan winter robes, which had been so comfortable in the cooler climes of Gridania, got far too warm, and she found herself seriously thinking about shedding down to her smallclothes by the time they left Drybone.

When they finally arrived at Ul'dah, as the sun was setting, she was sure she was going to melt into a puddle.

But they still had to get through the gates, and unload the wares that had traveled with them.

Tedious, tedious.

The Roegadyn handed the Brass Blade at the gate their writ of passage.

"Says four employees on this, but I see a conjurer hanging out in your luggage. No human trafficking allowed!"

Katarh resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm not being trafficked, I paid coin fair and square to travel in safety with these fine gentlemen."

She saw the Roegadyn slip the guard a small amount of gil. "And there is your share of it, good sir."

The guard's mood changed immediately. "All is in order then! Please proceed on."

"I think I'm going to take a while to get used to this place."

"For coin and country, home is home" the caravan leader said with a grin, giving the Brass Blade a final salute as they passed through the inspection station to the Seventy Seven caravans loading bay outside of the gates.

She helped them unload their cargo, and as the first stars were beginning to twinkle in the desert sky, her temporary employment was at an end.

She said her goodbyes once again, and stumbled into the city gates, exhausted. She asked for directions to the nearest inn, and found herself directed to the Quicksand, a boisterous tavern, and The Hourglass, the inn in the rooms above it.

A few more coins later, and she was able to collapse on the bed and fall asleep almost instantly.

She would have to find her sisters tomorrow.

_______________________________________________

Resources Used

Speakers Network, 1.0 Camp Tranquil and Buscaroon's Fold https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhgd2zyf13Q&ab_channel=SpeakersNetwork

1.0 Camp Tranquil to Drybone Run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7juiwNhbOM&ab_channel=IanDale

Anadaeron's 1.0 to 2.0 Black Shroud Changes: https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/213203-Question-about-Cartenau-and-West-shroud-from-1.0/page3

#ffxiv #Wondroustailsofffxiv #WondroustailsofffxivWriting #katarh mest #holy moly this took WAY longer than I thought it would #and I had to do so much research I included a frigging works cited page #I can't believe airship fees used to scale with your level #keeping in mind all the things that were different in lore 20 years ago in the game timeline is also very hard #like the adventurer's guild hasn't been formed just yet #that'll actively happen while this story is taking place because of the other city states preparing for the Garleans to move in #but since it's been like a week... not yet haha

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