Wandering Storyteller

This has rapidly descended into a Zelink Fanfiction blog and I have no regrets

[lorelylantana]

Saw this comic by @milwkwyxd and Had Thoughts

Sorry if the rendering is wack I’m still getting used to Procreate’s new brushes.

Alt. Text.

“You must tell me, Spider, what drove your devotion to that decaying corpse you call Hallownest?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking it. That I was the ‘Idea Instilled’”

Part 2 pending

[the-future-now-deactivated20170]

That’s Louis Rossman, a repair technician and YouTuber, who went viral recently for railing against Apple. Apple purposely charges a lot for repairs and you either have to pay up or buy a new device. That’s because Apple withholds necessary tools and information from outside repair shops. And to think, we were just so close to change.

Follow @the-future-now

[dopeluminarydreamer-blog]

Reblog if you:

Have an iPhone and are in need of repairs

Have a friend with that problem

Hate Apple and are more than happy to spite them in some way

No one will know which is it

[weaselle]

This guy inspired me to repair my own macbook. First of all, you should know that I am not… like, I have to look up HOW to look up what my computer specifications are. Tech, that ware either soft or hard, is not a subject in which I experience comfort or competence. But my puppy peed on my keyboard, and I asked the apple store, or the fucking mac cafe, or the godsdamn Computer House Chill Zone or whatever cute ass name they have for their bullshit store, and they said it would be TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REPLACE MY KEYBOARD. I’m not even exaggerating.

So I asked the internet, well how hard IS it to repair? And I saw this guy’s video, and while I am no techie, I AM fueled by spite, so I was all “oh, they do that shit on purpose specifically so they can charge me $1200 bucks or make me buy a new computer hunh? FUCK THEM” and I bought all the tools I needed for about $25 and I bought all the parts I needed for about another $25 and I watched a few tutorial videos, and I replaced my own keyboard.

So, once you are doing the actual deed, it becomes pretty obvious that they are finding creative ways to make this much harder than it has to be on purpose. On thing that stood out to me is, instead of all the tiny screws being the same size, there are about two dozen very slightly different sizes. They could easily be all the same size, or like, two sizes at most, but no.

These mother fuckers will take a panel that screws into place and they’ll use a different size screw for each corner. They are so close that you almost cannot tell them apart visually, but they each will only screw into the matching corner. Like, it’s a pretty clear “fuck you” to anyone trying to do repairs.

anyway, this guy is also fueled by spite, and doing holy work, and I have mad respect

[dragonfox-in-a-teacup]

This is awesome. Man is doing good ass deeds 24/7 because he’s giving people control.

[dantes-infernal-chili]

How dare you not leave a link to his channel, this guy is the savior of the modern world.

[the-original-b]

vittoria alla ribellione

[nonamehorse]

Fuck Apple, Fuck every big tech company

[theinfamousdoctorf]

iFixit: The Free Repair Manual

iFixit is a global community of people helping each other repair things. Let's fix the world, one device at a time. Troubleshoot with expert

And if you need the ‘proprietary’ tools; go here!

[twinanimatronics]

I Fixit is actually how I repaired my dad’s old iphone 12 and then claimed it as my own!

[theinstagrahame]

I had a similar situation to someone up thread, where a dog peed on their keyboard. This was years ago, when it was a little easier to fix, but I got a replacement keyboard for $50 and took care of it with a screwdriver and a Gin and Tonic.

It should be that easy to fix your stuff. Buying new only benefits Apple, or Samsung or Google or whoever made your stuff. If it works for you, it should work and you should be able to fix it.

[late-draft]

Before I watched the whole ATLA to the end, I had a pretty strong feeling that Ozai was going to turn out to be pretty mediocre at firebending in the end.

Two seasons kept his face hidden, sure; it does look like a setup for a reveal of a force-of-nature type of enemy. (I loved how dedicated the show was to not revealing his face for so long, it had a great effect.) But taking all the context into consideration, I have a feeling it wouldn't have been out of place to find out he's actually... not that strong. The system that obeys the Fire Lord to a fault is actually a huge problem. The children he was training into weapons from young age, one of them did become that and that's a huge problem. Azula still feels like a "twist villain" in terms of where she lands on the power scale, even if she was already used as a character in combat in the story.

Then, the relationship between Iroh and Ozai - Iroh began the show looking harmless, then it was revealed just how powerful he still is. I believe he isn't actually that old; he visually deteriorated a lot and gained weight after the tragedy of losing his son that definitely broke him completely. But Ozai? The youngest son always kept in Iroh's shadow, Azulon believing him not just to be a spare, but worse than Iroh in everything. Except in looks, if you asked Ozai. But we don't start the story knowing this, we start the story believing him to be the most powerful bender in the world. Inverse of how we were introduced to Iroh.

But this would leave Aang battling a single mediocre opponent; and Zuko and Katara two against one Azula. Sokka, Toph and Suki actually won the greatest victory that day, by stopping the entire fleet that was aiming to raze everything.

I'm still mulling over and trying to figure out what would be different and what types of plotlines I'd like.

[lorelylantana]

I think the show gives us enough information about Ozai’s self centered nature and the general Fire Nationalsim for a confrontation between an average bending Ozai and Aang thematically satisfying while still having the light show from Sozin’s comment.

I would also like to make a couple of observations, the first being we don’t have much concrete evidence that Ozai isn’t an average bender. The only suggestion that he’s talented comes from his apparent mastery over lightning, but in the grand scheme of things I don’t think lightning bending has much use in standard combat. Iroh mentions that firebenders act as a guide rather than conductor as when it comes to lightning, that combined with how electricity behaves leaves me with the impression that it’s liable to veer off course the second it leaves the benders hand. We only see lightning bending attempted in wide open spaces with nothing between the bender and the target, and the only time it hits is when Azula is aiming at Aang floating in the middle of the air. Lightning could then become a metaphor for what Ozai is, appearance and prestige with very little underlying substance.

Further, even if he trained diligently as a fire bender, that doesn’t necessarily make him a better combatant than, say, Zuko who’s actually been on the front line and had the chance to hone his art against different elements.

In a version of atla that features a mediocre Ozai, I think a key place to hint at a paper tiger would be the confrontation between Zuko and Ozai at the eclipse. Rather than the blink and you miss it lightning round, you could draw out the battle between Zuko and Ozai in a way that makes clear that Zuko, no longer a supplicating child on his knees, is winning. Zuko still has to flee before reinforcements arrive, but it’s a big enough bruise to Ozai’s ego he feels like he needs to prove himself stronger by taking the Avatar down himself, and Sozin’s Comet and the associated power up is his only real chance of that happening. This combined with his genuine belief that Fire is the superior element that naturally dominates the others, he may actually think he has a shot.

The one major change I would make to the final confrontations is coming up with a third front for Suki, Toph, and Sokka to fight on. Maybe they need to take down the navy before it reaches the Water Tribes. This leaves Aang with a satisfying final battle even if Ozai is kind of a loser. Aang gets to humble Ozai while taking down the airship fleet.

I think Ozai getting his world rocked by the realization that “no, actually, you can’t beat the Avatar with a once a century power up” would be a nice ending both in spectacle and in reinforcing the theme that drawing wisdom from all four nations is going to be far more potent and effective than whatever stale bread take Ozai had. At the very least, it would have made more sense on the whole than Aang’s last minute mercy conflict. While I don’t disagree with the lion turtle on its own, its existence and accompanying message needed a bit more buildup imo.

[askirmishatdawn]

People in the fe3h fandom, is there any underrated or overhated support you love?

[fantasyinvader]

I feel there’s soemthing very disturbing about the relationship between Edelgard and feminism. I mean, here’s the thing; she’s meant to be diametrically opposed to Byleth. Whereas Byleth, who is male by default, ends up acting as a mother to the people of Fodlan at the end of their route, Edelgard instead was made to fill a role that has always been done so by a man in this franchise.

Let’s look at Silver Snow for a second. It’s the natural progression of Byleth’s story from a mechanical point of view. It’s the default, but beyond that the option to join Edelgard is framed as the player changing the story to the, as the devs put it, Conquest route. The teaching position that Rhea gives Byleth leads to them developing emotions, going from being the Ashen Demon to a beloved teacher. Rhea is also the character Byleth can form the strongest bond with pre-time skip, and just starting the bond rewards the player with Byleth’s paralogue and her shield. And, as previously mentioned, this leads to Byleth taking a feminine leadership role as the mother-figure who supports those in their care. And this happens after a lifetime with their father left them an emotionless killing machine ignorant of the world.

If anything, Rhea is the character linked with femininity.

Then you look at Edelgard. It’s not just that she’s repeating the same lines that we’ve heard from past male villains. The game says that Edelgard’s crusade comes from what her father told her, and when she runs into information that conflicts with her narrative she ignores it according to Hopes. Adding onto that, her father is said to be a puppet of Thales, the guy who experimented on her and is said to have manipulated Edelgard into going to war in the first place according to Wind and implied by Moon. We also see Edelgard view the reign of Nemesis, a cruel tyrant who was also a puppet of Thales, as a good thing because it was supposedly an age where man ruled man. And then there’s Hubert encouraging Edelgard to do whatever it takes to accomplish her goals even if it means working with her abuser. And all this comes together to create a female character who was given a traditionally male role in this franchise.

Edelgard comes across as this victim of toxic masculinity being pushed onto her, and it’s those influences that pushes her to go after Rhea. To believe that what Rhea teaches is wrong and that people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and rely on their own strength. Edelgard rejects the idea of her using her power to protect and support her people, instead she sacrifices them for her own gain, she rejects that motherly role in contrast to Byleth, who follows in Rhea’s footsteps to bring the people salvation after Edelgard brought them hardship. Edelgard, on the other hand, goes on to invade other lands according to the Japanese script.

Then you look at how she goes after Rhea with the information campaign. She makes Rhea out to be the cause of all of Fodlan’s problems, and therefore any influence Rhea might have had should be forcibly removed from Fodlan justifying her conquest. There’s also the Western Church who want her gone because she’s not racist enough for them (and are being manipulated by the Agarthans), as well as Claude who is implied to be acting based on assumptions. In essence, Rhea is a woman in power who faces slander by those who want to remove her from her position and instead assert their own beliefs on how things should be run. You have Edelgard with her masculine influences, as well as Claude in Hopes who knows Edelgard won’t agree to peace but goes through with his plan simply because he wants to kill Rhea.

Consider also that Edelgard is linked to safflowers, symbolizing attraction, whereas Rhea is linked to white lilies, symbolizing purity, rebirth, INNOCENCE, and fertility (as well as the yuri genre). They can even symbolize everlasting love due to how they reemerge after each winter. White lilies are tied to women specifically in Japan.

If Edelgard is given the role of the villain according to the devs, then Rhea is the damsel in distress of the game, traditionally the hero’s love interest. Rhea is only able to be S supported at the end of the Silver Snow route, everlasting love after the winter route with Rhea being reborn after reuniting with Sothis.

Really, supporting Rhea comes across more as supporting women than Edelgard, especially since Edelgard is shown to lie and manipulate others.

[fantasyinvader]

I’ve been having this thought lately about the experiments. The experiments on Lysithea were simply to create a human bearing two Crests, and despite her physical weakness and a reduced lifespan she was considered a success by the Agarthans. Yet with Edelgard, her having two Crests seems to have had the opposite effect resulting in her having great physical strength for no discernible reason. There is no evidence that there was a third set of experiments in order to perfect the process, so what is up with the difference between how Lysithea took to having two Crests and Edelgard?

Bloodlines might have something to do with it.

It was mentioned in the Japanese text that part of Count Vestra’s duties was managing the emperor’s harem, and it was Count Vestra who appointed Hubert to look after Edelgard in spite of her having 8 older siblings. House Vestra’s own personal battalion also wears Agarthan robes, which according to Azure Moon identifies them as not being part of the Imperial army. We also know that the Agarthans got to House Ordelia and experimented on Lysithea when they were put under Imperial supervision, and Hubert executes his father over what happened to Edelgard. All signs point to Count Vestra being the one who performed the experiments, and in all likelihood an Agarthan himself.

Count Vestra appointed Hubert to Edelgard around the same time the experiments on Lysithea were happening, telling the boy to never let anything happen to her. Thales makes it clear that Edelgard is supposed to bring salvation to the Agarthans. So the question becomes, why Edelgard?

I think this is where the harem came into play. While it helped contribute to the moral decline of the emperor himself, especially sparking the Insurrection via his attempts at removing power from the families of his concubines, the fact it was managed by someone likely from Agartha and how long Agartha has been working towards this goal, it feels like they were running a secret breeding program. Basically, treating the Imperial bloodline like dogs to be selectively bred.

“But what about Edelgard saying her parents met at the Goddess Tower and fell in love?”

Edelgard also says in the Japanese script that everything she said to Byleth was her trying to sway them into joining her. She’s effectively trying to gaslight them into believing there’s romance between the two of them (which would explain her fandom sometimes). That event is treated as something that happened long ago, and it’s established early on that no Imperial heir has attended the Academy in ages due to a falling out between Church and Empire following the Southern Church being dissolved. Ionius simply could not have been a student like Edelgard claims he was, and was simply lying to Byleth. Now that that’s out of the way, back to the topic at hand.

IAgartha’s attempts to create their own Kwisatz Haderack was seemingly based on giving someone two Crests rather than one. Nemesis got the Crest of Flames and was defeated by Rhea. But with Lysithea, it’s clear that any champion they may breed into existing wouldn’t be the physical powerhouse they wanted. Maybe a frail magical powerhouse, but Edelgard’s classes don’t take advantage of her magic stat. No Axe-Emperor also flinging fireballs because that would be metal as fuck and we can’t have nice things. But there’s something about Edelgard’s lineage that most others would not have.

Edelgard’s family is said to be descended from both Wilhelm and Seiros. Rhea, a Nabatean, is supposedly is one of her ancestors. This would also add an additional meaning to the version of history her Agarthan-puppet father fed her, that Rhea’s family rules Fodlan. Maybe not from the shadows, though the Imperial throne room is shown to be pretty damn dark. If the power of two Crests, taken from Nabatean blood, is too much for a regular person, what about someone whose blood isn’t fully human? Would their body be able to take it?

[flangst]

This feels similar to an idea I've had before, that the reason the Emperor needs so many heirs is to find the perfect one to create a Nemesis 2.0 from. I think it makes sense! Makes me wonder about Anselma and Arundel's bloodline.

[fantasyinvader]

My guess is it's like the situation with Crests. The Crested bloodlines are thinning out, Crests becoming rarer as a result. And from what we can gleam, inheritance in the Empire is an all or nothing thing, with the kids who don't inherit leaving their families. There are likely a bunch of Houses that can claim descent from Wilhelm and Rhea, but they're not in the line of succession for the throne as they lost their claim when their sibling inherited it.

Now, think about the Flame Emperor Breeding Program. We have the Emperor, directly descended from Rhea, having his own harem overseen by an Agarthan. That Agarthan begins picking out members of the harem, choosing families with blood ties to the Imperial line and therefore the Nabateans. Doing this prevents the percentage of Nabatean DNA from being cut in half with every generation. The fact that Edelgard was picked out and given Hubert before the Insurrection happened, long before the experiments, possibly would suggest that breeding Anselma with Ionius produced the kid with the most Nabatean in them.

Edelgard was literally born to kill Rhea as part of Agartha's plan, indoctrinated by them to kill Rhea and dehumanizing her own ancestors while saying that they should not have influence over Fodlan. It actually does make a nice parallel with Snow's Byleth, learning about their lineage and being supported by them. Edelgard ignores the truth, rejects her ancestors and what they stood for, all for the empire she has inherited.

[flangst]

Hmm, I guess that puts the Empire at a higher risk for kids with potential inbreeding problems, but par the course for classic royalty I guess. And it doesn't matter anyhow for the game. But it is interesting to consider, if they accidentally pick a long lost aunt or uncle to add to the bloodline without realizing it.

That also really makes Edelgard's cut ability to block Byleth's time rewind a shame, because her having a special Crest ability would be at least one positive outcome of all the experimentation and lost lives. It's also interesting to note that Nemesis didn't seem to have the rewind ability. Maybe because Sothis wasn't "awake" inside him?

[fantasyinvader]

It might not just be Rhea's DNA. Hopes revealed that there was a Saint Luca, who fathered a lot of kids.

"…As another example, though much said about him is likely fiction, we have Saint Luca and his many offspring. The man loved love, and had great affection for the many children he brought into the world. However, appearances can be deceiving. Was he truly the comely saint? If we consider that perhaps he was simply using some sort of power to change his appearance, then.."

Not to mention stories of Seteth having affairs. It could be that the Saints did get physically intimate with people 1000 years ago, nd there are traces of Nabatean DNA from multiple sources within the Empire.

[lavabunart]

Early mornings in Hateno.

[ineecho]

Who made everything?

Just finished a reread of the Edelstein Triolgie and something that was bothering was that I don’t know who actually like made the Chronograph? 

I’m not sure if I accidently skipped over the explaination but who actually wrote the prophecies and made the chronograph. We know the Graf made the organization but its not like he could see the future so how did he come up with all the propecies that happen? I get the whole Newton calculating their birthdays thing, sure whatever, but the rest?? 

I thought maybe there was someone like Tante Maddy in the past and he used them but idk. Also my only guess for the Chronograph is that either he went into the past and had all his smart friends to build it or like after he made the Organization build it. 

He did also talk to that one girl he impregnated all about everything he knew which included the whole “Stein der Weisen” meaning he had the Prophecies as a younger man? 

If anyone knows please help!

[lorelylantana]

Hi! You may have found your own answer to this question since you posted this but I'm rereading the trilogy and have recently formed Theories so I thought I'd take a crack at these questions. Also I read the English translations so our names might be a tad different.

First I think the prophecies are only semi authentic. While the Count can't see the future, he can join his own Lodge under a different identity, which would enable him to write letters to his past self upon reaching the title of Grand Master. I think the 'secret writings' are a mix of information fed to him from the future and attempts to influence the lodge from the past. These writings are often observed as obscure and unreliable (One of the Count's prophecies is that Gwen will die for love, a thing she Does Not Do). When Gwen first meets the Count he asks what 'the magic of the raven' is, while we the reader know this includes the ability to see ghosts, the Count assumes in Emerald Green that this is a reference to her immortality, which he likely discovers after Lord Alastair's failed stabbing.

I think the question of the Chronograph is a much more intriguing question, and the mystery surrounding its origin and functions is likely the consequence of excluding women from participating in/collaborating with the Lodge. My current theory is that the Chronograph was created by someone from the female line of descent, most likely Cecilia Woodville or one of her female relatives.

First I'd like to rule out the possibility of the Count or Lodge inventing the Chronograph. Consider the language Mr. George uses when explaining things to Gwen;

"(. . .) The count himself used to travel every few hours as a young man, two to seven times a day. You can imagine what a dangerous life he lived until he finally understood how to use the chronograph." (Ruby Red, 133)

This to me suggests that the Count either found the first Chronograph by chance or, more likely, inherited his family's Chronograph with incomplete/damaged instructions. There's a good 20-100 years between the death of one time traveler and birth of the next one, which tells me that the earliest generations likely didn't see a need to pass on whatever knowledge or experience they gained over their lives to their children beyond an anecdote or two. It's possible the count interviewed them, however it's worth noting that the earlier generations weren't nearly as closely recorded as those who came after the Lodge's founding, so we can't say for certain how much they knew and shared with him.

Furthermore, if the Count and his Lodge truly understood how the chronograph worked they would be able to create their own and losing a chronograph would be a nuisance rather than a potential mission ending catastrophe. Even after centuries of study the Lodge can't replicate a chronograph, which goes against the assumption that the creator was a Lodge member. This is where the Count's misogyny starts to cost him. On top of being a straight up liar when it suits him, his views on women has caused him to make errors in judgement.

Let's take a closer look at how the Count describes his acquisition of the second Chronograph;

"' . . . But back to dear Jeanne. Did you have to use force? She wasn't very cooperative with me.'

'So she told me,' said Gideon. 'As well as the way you talked her into handing over the chronograph.'

'Talked her into it! She didn't even know what a marvel she'd inherited from her grandmother. The poor device was lying around unused, unrecognized, in a dusty chest in an attic. Sooner or later, it would have been entirely forgotten. I rescued it and restored it to its former glory. And thanks to the figures of genius who will enter my Lodge in the future, it is still in working order today. That is little short of a miracle.'

'Madame d'Urfe also thought you were prepared to strangle her, just because she couldn't remember her great-grandmother's maiden name and date of birth.'

. . . 'What's more, I[the Count] shared my chronograph with her in a truly fraternal spirit. (. . .) Sometimes a whole month would pass before she disappeared." (Ruby Red, 219-220)

The existence of multiple chronographs carries certain implications. Rather than assume the inventor had a near impossible memory I think it's safe to assume they/she created some form of schematic for reference. With this in mind it makes sense for there to be two chronographs, one for each time traveling family. If we consider that someone in the female line created the chronographs, it explains why the Lodge doesn't have access to the schematics or notes surrounding their creation. In denying access to women they lost the chance to access that information. Before the Count and his Lodge the chronograph probably wasn't a means through which to gather influence but rather a matter of convenience, the second one granted to the de Viliers family in good faith.

Given how quick the Count is to strangle Gwen I think it's safe to assume he did the same to Jeanne while interrogating her about her predecessor Elaine. The Count isn't subtle in his disdain and I think his 'popularity with women' is less to do with genuine admiration and more to do with how aggressively we socialize women to smile through there discomfort. I think Jeanne had the information the Count wanted but deliberately kept it hidden either out of spite or fear for Elaine. I think it's more plausible that her chronograph was stolen under threat of further violence.

Now let's address the idea that Jeanne is a 'poor time traveler' who rarely travels back in time. The Count is shown to be definitively incorrect when he says that women just travel less often. The fact that he says that Jeanne 'disappears' after months implies that he wasn't as free with his chronograph as he claims, but I still think she traveled semi regularly and her disappearance is a slip up through either extenuating circumstances or just not elapsing long enough.

"While observations of Count Saint-Germain led him to conclude that female gene carriers travel back in time considerably less often, and for shorter periods, than their male counterparts, our experience to date does not allow us to confirm his findings. The duration of uncontrolled time travel episodes has been shown, since observations were first made, to vary from eight minutes, twelve seconds(the initiation journey of Timothy de Viliers, 5 May1894), to two hours, four minutes (Margaret Tilney, second journey, 22 March 1894)" (Ruby Red, 160)

The Count's disdain of Jeanne de Pontcarre and women in general prevents him from connecting some dots. It's not that female time travelers do so less frequently and for shorter periods of time, nor was the chronograph forgotten in her house. Jeanne simply prefers to elapse at home in her attic. If we go so far as to assume that Jeanne has access to the notes/schematics left by the chronograph's inventor, possibly her great grandmother Cecelia, she may have made another one after hers was stolen and didn't tell the Count but if that is the case it isn't present in the book's events.

[lorelylantana]

Homecoming

A quick oneshot written as a companion piece to an art piece I made a while back, the version with the full work is hosted on Ao3.

Rating: E

How many days has it been since he held the sun in his arms? Felt the blessed weight of her secure in his arms as Link pulled her close enough to share a heartbeat? The scent of Silent Princesses drifting from her hair even as it dripped with water from Mabe Pond. Bit by anxious bit, Link felt the grief leave with every breath, lost to the breeze until finally he was at peace. 

Then came the fire. Delight at having her close turning to the darker desire meant for after night falls, running hot in his veins.

It didn’t take long for his pants to feel tighter. A sharp gasp swept through his hair, and he knew Zelda had noticed. One of her hands slid down his back and around his waist, but paused at the sound of hooves pounding on a dirt road. Link, briefly, felt conflicted. He of all people understood the desire to see Zelda after all this time, but if he let her go it would be hours before they were alone again, and he wasn’t ready to let her go. He’d noticed that his revived arm still wore Rauru’s rings, and the Zonai powers still lingered within him, so he called on them. It took all but a wave of his hand to bring one of his saved schematics to life. A wing fitted with enough fans to ensure a smooth take off dropped to the pond and Link took Zelda’s hand in his, dragging his fingertips from shoulder to wrist as he did so. 

“Come with me,” he whispered, burying his nose into her hair for a moment because he could. Then he pulled her onto the wing. It seemed she had some flight experience of her own, since she followed him with a grin instead of questions.It dipped a bit precariously, with both of them standing on it, but it held. Link took his stand by the steering stick but waited until her arms were firmly around his waist before taking off, taking to the skies just in time to hear the party from Lookout Landing catch sight of them flying away.

Link steered the wing south, away from their confused shouts. It wouldn’t take them far, but they would get far enough. Besides, Zelda’s laugh in his ear made it worth the risk. They should have just enough time to land in the Bottomless Pond. Even Epona, swift as she was, took a full hour to get from the Landing to the pond. Link could settle for an hour. The Wing began to blink out as they hit the water, giving him enough time to steer the shore and quickly detach the steering stick before the wing could dissolve. He turned and kissed her before his arms had a chance to settle around her, but Zelda was every bit as eager, pushing him down by the shoulders so they could kneel together before she climbed on top of him. She nibbled at his collarbone as she ran her hands all along his chest and stomach, savoring the indulgences they’d been denied for so long. It had been a few months on Link’s side of time, but his heart sank at the realization that she could have spent years in a foreign land before swallowing that cursed stone. He’d ask when he could bear it, but now was a time for soft touches and sweet reunions.

“This one’s new,” she mused as her palm ran across a jagged white line along his ribs. Link could feel her brow furrow where it rested above his heart.

“It was a Lyn-ah!” he choked back a goan as she sat back to get a better look at it, settling her hips over his in the process. He could feel her shudder above him, and his resolve shattered like a broken blade. He tried to let her do as she wished, he really did, but his lack of shirt made it all the clearer how overdressed Zelda was for this occasion. Unlike her previous dress, Link had no idea how to begin taking it off and didn’t want to spend any more time than he had to thinking about it. Oh well. If he couldn’t go through, he’d go under.

Link put his hands around Zelda’s waist (where they should be) before lifting her up. Hooking his ankles around the edge of the wing as leverage, he dragged himself down until his head rested between her knees. Once he got his hands under her skirt, pleasantly shorter than its predecessor, He drew his hands slowly up her thighs as she settled on her knees. Had she kept her panties, or did Zelda adopt whatever undergarments they used in Ancient Hyrule?

Neither, it seemed.

Zelda gave a nervous giggle at his hungry growl, moaning a bit as his hands tightened on her ass.

“I’d have to take them off to wash and-” she had to pause when he made contact, splitting her lips with his tongue, “I just got used to not wearing them.”

If the front of his trousers hadn’t been soaked already, that would have done it. He hummed against her as he licked, savoring the delighted shudder that ran through her. Her hands finally made their way into his hair, tugging gently just the way he liked it.

The added bonus to the Bottomless Pond was the reputation that lingered even as the quagmire faded. Stories of the old monster encampment were enough to keep most civilians far away. Link knew his princess well. Fond as she was of love out in the wild, Zelda preferred “a possible discovery to a probable one.” Still he was so focused on savoring the taste of her that it took him a few moments to realize she’d shed her dress. It wasn’t until she was shaking above him that he opened his eyes with a satisfied grin to look up at her. It’d been so long that his hips bucked into empty air at the sight of her alone, but it wasn’t long before he pushed himself up.

Link didn’t care if it was confidence or pure enthusiasm that led to Zelda taking the dress off, the sight of her bare chest was the only hint he needed. He nibbled at her breasts as she settled back into his lap and began to tug at his belt. Link let her sort out his trousers, determined to cover as much of her skin in kisses as he could. He wouldn’t rest until he’d given her at least two kisses for each day she’d been away. 

Still, Zelda was never one to sit idle, and soon enough his plan was derailed by her grip on his cock. He threw his head back at the shock of it, running his hand up her back as she got him at a good angle. His fingers slid into her hair as she sank on top of him.

At last.

Neither of them moved, his lips pressed into her shoulder. They just held each other for one, two, three breaths. Then she began rocking, and he braced himself on the one arm he was willing to spare. His other hand cradled the back of her head and her hands ran up and down his back. He kissed her neck, right above her secret stone, and she shuddered, highlighting her caress with a soft brush of her nails. It was her moan in his ear that did him in. He managed to get in a few more good thrusts in so they were both satisfied as they lay there together in the fading sun.

“Welcome home, “ he whispered in the honey gold of sunset, Zelda’s head resting on his shoulder. She hummed into his chest, idly running a finger along the scar she’d discovered as if to carve it into her memory.

“I missed you.”

[lorelylantana]

Soulmate AU where you can bend your soulmate's element in addition to your own.

Soulmates are pretty rare in this au, so Katara was shocked to discover a second element in the first place.

She's not sure how she feels about it, but she can't deny the fire's warmth during the South Pole's colder nights.

[creylune]

🌚

[yamtaroh]

beans

[shiny-huntress]

Here is some art for @lorelylantana story, Savageries of the Heart. This is of a species of snake called the Faron Python, with Zelda receiving one that she names Noodle, who is said be white with blue markings, which I believe is intention in order to link her to Naydra. I chose to expand on this and add two other morphs in the colors of both Farosh and Dinraal, since the breed is apparently a common pet.

[lorelylantana]

Omg thank you so much for drawing this! It really made my day to see art made from one of my fics! Noodle is adorable and I love how you expanded on the idea!

[shiny-huntress]

Here is some art for @lorelylantana story, Savageries of the Heart. This is of a species of snake called the Faron Python, with Zelda receiving one that she names Noodle, who is said be white with blue markings, which I believe is intention in order to link her to Naydra. I chose to expand on this and add two other morphs in the colors of both Farosh and Dinraal, since the breed is apparently a common pet.

[karekareo]

[gif] practice

[noodle-artist]

OOo 🫣 was not expecting that transition there I love this 👏

[saltyaboutfictionalcharacters]

i don’t understand why the fandom claims sokka never had a chance to grieve kya’s death when he explicitly states in-show that, while he was grieving, katara stepped up to take care of him, her older brother who probably should have been looking after her, instead. and he says that he views her as more of a mother than their actual mother. the show straight up tells us that she is the reason he was able to heal, whereas she never truly had the chance to.

meanwhile, she is begging for anyone to listen to her pain for the entire show and doesn’t get that kind of help or sympathy from… anyone in the gaang until the southern raiders??? and it’s definitely not sokka. she literally only gets emotional support from haru and jet up until the s2 finale, and out of the 3 people who actually take the time to listen to her pain, 2 of them immediately betray her and the 3rd barely shows up ever again. sure, zuko makes amends, but while he’s doing that aang and sokka are guilting her into forgiving the murderer right up until the end of the episode, and the 2 of them don’t stop until she snaps at each of them. and fandom HATES her for it, as if she wasn’t driven to that point by an entire SERIES’ worth of having to take care of largely ungrateful people who never reciprocate that emotional or physical labor for her sake.

[saltyaboutfictionalcharacters]

i also hate how people pretend that sokka is the most “unappreciated” in the gaang when he had a whole fucking episode dedicated to how smart and resourceful and talented  and funny he is, how valuable he is to the gaang, how everyone loves him and appreciates him and they end the episode by saying how much they missed him.

in contrast, no one ever directly expresses thanks or appreciation for katara for anything (again, besides zuko, who thanks her after she saves his life in the finale). the one time sokka says something complimentary about her, after toph had treated her really badly, neither of them say anything flattering to her face. she has to eavesdrop to hear them say ANYTHING positive about her. her only source of validation was always side characters like jet or haru or haru’s dad. every episode centered on her typically has her getting heavily criticized by her friends or tricked by someone (and sokka always being the one who notices something off long before she does). 

and she never calls them out, because she clearly feels forced into a motherly role that is deeply taxing to her, so she acts like a 14 year old and expresses her frustration through snapping at people. of course, the fandom has absolutely no sympathy and wants to burn her at the stake for it. and lots of those same people claim to be woke and progressive and superior to old fans because they… ship zukka. as if fetishizing gay ships cancels out their misogyny. like pemdas.

[shellshooked]

we’ll be white-hot forever.