#FOR SUCH A GREAT PRICE TOO!!!

[piecesofchess]

GO BUY THESE RN!!!

Psst!

[laswells-ashtray]

John never thinks too hard about his childhood, he thinks he's past it. Drunken dad who died when he was a teen, mum who died the day he was born. No point wasting time on that and he thinks he's outgrown that point in his life. Maybe Dad was a bit heavy-handed with the belt but that was more acceptable back then, no need to fuss, and when he compares it to the stories Simon let slip when they both went a little too hard with the drink, he has nothing to complain about.

He never shares any family stories, yeah, Soap will share a story about how he was named after his dad and it sparks a conversation, Kyle will explain the origin of his name proudly, Simon will offer a sparse answer and none of them will ask for any further context. John will offer some half-assed explanation about being named after his old man's old man, someone he never met and never thinks about. Kyle asks him about his mother with a gentleness that can only mean he's noticed that John never talks about her, he offers the classic "never knew her" and it isn't a lie. It isn't. Because he didn't know her, she left earth the same day he made his appearance on it, the value of his life has always been at the cost of another, it's why he makes such a good captain. And he's sick of hearing "oh, I'm sorry" whenever he mentions that he's dead. He's a grown man, he can only hear so many apologies before they become just pointless words that hold no value.

So, it doesn't bother him. Two people he knew are dead, they started the list of countless other names that he doesn't bother thinking about.

And then he comes back from a mission one day, it was a shitshow. Nothing went to plan because their intel was fucked and everyone is frustrated. Ghost had to get stitches in a wound on his arm, isn't the end of the world but it was avoidable. Gaz, the poor fucker is concussed and Soap has the fun job of waking him up every two hours to check on him, a job he was assigned by a medic after they pulled the glass out of his hand. John is almost certain his ankle is sprained, his entire body is a bruise, he lost a good fucking cigar and he snapped at Laswell over comms so he owes an apology that he's planning in advance.

He wants Nik, it might be juvenile but he's tired in a way he can feel in his bones and he wants his pilot.

He finds Nik, he doesn't have to say anything as they head back to his room. Nik knows, Nik always knows. There's the briefest of exchanges as he strips out of his kit and he heads to the shower with the slightest relief knowing that his night is going to end in lazy sex and being stuck under the warm blanket of the Russian bear of a man.

He walks out with damp hair in a pair of boxers and socks because the floor is fucking cold with the constant draft and all but collapses face-first onto his bed. He'll offer Nik a murmured apology later for being selfish but he just isn't sure he can form the words right now.

He can hear Nik kicking off his boots behind him with little care as to where they land, it's a familiar sound from nights like this. He's as relaxed as he's going to get until he hears it, the sound of someone fumbling with their belt buckle. For years it's been just a noise but for the briefest of moments he tenses up in preparation, shoulders raised instinctively to try and block the leather from catching the back of his neck. He's not sure if he's breathing and he can smell whisky, the old fucker must've lobbed the bottle at the wall again and the last dredges of Johnnie Walker red label are soaking into the carpet again. If he doesn't remember to clean it before he goes up to bed then he's fucked, the old drunk will wring his fucking neck just like last time when he-

"John?" The hand on his back is warm as it lands between his shoulder blades, it should be comforting and he should relax into it. He doesn't. He's ashamed of the way he flinches, kicking out a leg as he tries to push himself up the bed and away from it hits him. It's Nikolai. The hand belongs to Nik.

He turns to face the other man, lying on his side and propped up with an elbow. He isn't sure if the sheer mortification he feels is obvious, or the tremors in his hands. He hasn't reacted like that since he was a boy.

"Fuck, Nik. Sorry, just lost in my own fucking head- Sorry, give me a sec and we can get to it." It's humiliating, he's the one who asked for sex and a fucking belt sends him over the edge.

"No, no `getting to it`. We shall continue another night." And there he's gone and done it, his fucking inability to keep his composure has just put a dampener on their sex life.

The cautious way Nikolai reaches out for him hurts, he's being treated like some scared animal. The large hand on his shoulder does act as a source of comfort when he knows who's behind it. "John, перестань. Talk to me, captain."

"I don't- I don't know, just give me a moment." How long can he spend pleading for just a little more time before Nikolai gets sick of it.

"The belt."

He looks up at the Russian with wide eyes, mouth open as he tries to form a denial of some kind, waiting for words that won't form.

Nikolai stares down at him with a look so gentle he has to look away, he can hear the faint sigh of resignation and the following mutter of something Russian that he isn't paying enough attention to in order to translate it in his head.

He sits in silence as the other man joins him in the bed, leaving a gap between that and offering John the chance to cross it on his own time. He shifts over and plaster himself against his partner's side, face buried in his neck.

"I assumed the scars down your back were from torture, just not the military kind."

"From years ago, don't matter much now do they? Taken a lot worse than a belt since then." His body was covered in scars of varying sizes, from anywhere to the scar on his hand from slicing a bagel to the silver band wrapped around part of his left thigh from a bastard with a blade that damn near nicked an artery. He'd stuck that poor sod's blade through his own throat and left him to gurgle on his blood.

"I assume your father is dead?" The fact that Nikolai sounds hopeful isn't lost on him.

"Drank himself into oblivion years ago." John had always thought it would've been his liver that did him in, would've bet money on it. Would've lost too. The old man had asphyxiated on his own vomit, silly prick.

"Good."

[necrolacrymans]

TPOF's memelord mode is actual gold (Derek's route edition)

+ Bonus Tom being the delicate angel he is

[galedekarios]

reading a new interview and seeing larian's lead writer refer to gale as "the guy who annoys everyone" and "constantly eats your most treasured possessions" really explain a lot of things that are in the game tbh

[s0fter-sin]

prince!ghost and lord in waiting!soap

ghost is a warrior prince, next in line after king price and it’s always been accepted he would be the lone ruler; never one for entertaining the courts or indulging foreign rulers trying to consolidate their power. he hardly acts like a prince at all, in name only when he spends more time as a pseudo captain of the guard. price has never begrudged him that, not when he himself has been a lone king since his inauguration

though he’s a warrior prince, he’s never lost the favour of the people; many see him as a guardian even if he doesn’t interact with the people as much as benevolent and stalwart king price. who he does interact with is the kingdom’s children; always ready to bend a knee and listen to bright voices, to praise stick swords and shields or hear the plight of a struggling family. it was a common belief that if he wasn’t out protecting, then he was with the protected; face covered, blonde curls shining in the sun

soap’s always loved ghost. as his lord in waiting, it’s been his job to attend him since they were young and even as a child, he’d idolised him; his skills in battle, his surety. he thought his life would be nothing but service, clothing a brat prince and making sure his shoes shined. but ghost has proven more than that; he treats him as an equal, consults him on strategy and court politics and over time that idolisation turned into love

and ghost has always felt the same. he’d begrudged the idea of a lord in waiting, not wanting someone always in his business but then came this spitfire who never missed an opportunity to push back on him; to make him dig deeper. johnny is more than some mere servant; he’s his confidant, his best friend, his… everything. he could be simon with him, not prince ghost

but simon figures that out too late

king price gets word from king shepherd, a kingdom they’ve only recently stopped feuding with and he’s offering up his son, prince graves, as a way to bond their kingdoms together and firmly put war behind them. price is ready to deny him, he doesn’t fear war from shepherd, when he sends some ancient laws that leave him unable to refuse. he hates it, hates that he’s ruining ghost’s happiness and feels like he’s betraying his adopted son but there’s nothing he can do

graves comes to their kingdom within the month and it’s clear from the moment he walks through their gates that he’s the opposite of ghost; arrogant and conceited, his ceremonial armour glossy and untouched by battle. he’s dismissive of their servants, of their ways, of their people and ghost hates him

graves insists that the wedding happen as soon as possible, pushing the craftsmen and cooks beyond their limits to prepare and every moment ghost spends with him, the more he dreads his wedding day. every evening he retreats to his room, exhausted, and it’s all johnny can do to keep him afloat; trying to keep him positive as ghost falls away and simon breaks in his arms. he wants to whisk him away like the old tales, the pain his oldest friend and love is in making his heart ache but all he can do is promise to be there with him

but it seems graves wants to take even him away

“soap’s been my lord in waiting since we were children,” ghost protests, voice barely clinging to civility. “i wouldn’t want to lose such a valuable worker.”

“there are plenty of decent servants in our kingdom; you’ll forget this one soon enough,” graves waves away, carding a possessive hand over his curls and it’s only bc he’s looking for it that soap sees ghost’s jaw twitch beneath his neck gaiter. “it’s custom for one marrying into our kingdom to embrace all that it has to offer, leaving who they were behind to become someone better. you’re entering a new life with me; you don’t need the baggage of this dreary place.”

soap feels sick as he walks behind them, his blank expression hiding all sign of his breaking heart.

“soap is beholden to me,” ghost declares. “we were sworn together by the old laws. i’m afraid a custom isn’t enough for me to break a vow to the gods.”

graves lets out a disgruntled noise, tugging harshly at one of ghost’s curls with only a thin veil of fondness; his conceding smile not reaching his eyes.

“i never made a vow to the gods,” johnny points out later. “price gave me to you because he was sick of me setting fire to the kitchens.”

simon hums and sets his freshly cleaned armour aside, turning to him with a twinkle in his eyes he’s barely seen since sheperd’s missive. “you pinkie swore that you would never leave me; that’s more powerful than any promise to the gods,” he says and soap’s thrown back fifteen years, to a willow tree big enough to touch the sky; to two boys from different stations who didn’t care that one was dressed in silk and the other in scraps.

johnny feels a lightness he hasn’t in a month as simon winks at him. “besides, do you really think graves is smart enough to figure it out?”

the days pass quickly, graves’ veneer of affection growing ever thinner, and before either of them are ready, it’s the eve of ghost’s wedding.

he’s said nothing, done nothing but stare at the wedding robes graves had tailored for him in the fashion of his kingdom and johnny doesn’t know how to break the silence. he draws out each second as he fusses with the cape piece and ensures the shoes shine in the fire light until he has no more excuses.

he sighs as he straightens up, brushing off polish onto his pants. “i suppose this is where i leave you,” he says with a weak smile but it quickly dies when simon still doesn’t look at him. “i’ll be here in the morning to help you get ready… good night, simon.”

johnny bows and makes for the door, trying to convince himself he didn’t just say goodbye.

but he’s stopped by simon’s hand loosely wrapping around his wrist.

he looks back as simon finally tears his eyes away from the robes, looking at him with such clear longing it almost brings him to his knees.

“i don’t want graves to be the first man to touch me, johnny,” he confesses and johnny’s breath hitches. “i don’t want to be married to another… not when the one i’m set to wed isn’t you. but if i have to do this… please let me feel loved one final time.”

simon’s thumb brushes the back of his hand; their kingdom’s greatest warrior caressing him with a touch light as silk. he doesn’t pull johnny in, doesn’t need to; johnny’s already sinking into his touch.

desperation and love tinge every movement; johnny dancing his fingers over simon’s neck gaiter until he all too happily removes it, baring his scarred cheeks and lips. johnny kisses each one, willing his love and his touch to linger above all others as they move together; sharing breath, sharing body, sharing soul the way they wish they always have.

when ghost makes his way down the aisle, it’s not in the fine embroidered robes graves had laid out for him. he’s in his battle armour; dark and weathered, the sign of the ghost, the warrior prince, going to battle. the only thing missing is his helm, tucked under his arm.

showing his hair; curls gone and shaved tight to his skin.

a thing done only in a time of great mourning.

graves looks irate and it’s the only spark of joy ghost feels as he stops before the altar; set beneath the willow tree where johnny promised himself to him. one final insult.

ghost is silent throughout the ceremony and in spirit and in grief, so is the entire gathered kingdom until the priestess reaches the final vows and suddenly, a great roar rises above the crowd as seemingly every child in the kingdom swarms the altar.

ghost is too shocked to do anything but let them push him away from graves, bullying their way between them like they’re preparing to protect him just as he’s always protected them.

graves is furious but the children stand firm in the face of his threats until he moves to strike one-

and freezes as soap’s blade finds his throat.

“you would dare hurt these children?” he growls, sword following graves as he stumbles back. “you’ve kept up your charade the entire time and here is where you show your true colours. i think it’s time i show mine.”

graves splutters as johnny turns to the priestess and king price, falling to one knee and offering up his blade. “your grace, i wish to challenge prince graves for the hand of prince simon!”

his voice rings clear and he feels the eyes of every person in the kingdom.

but he only cares for one man.

who is watching him with more love than he’s ever felt.

“who are you to challenge me?” graves sneers. “you’re nothing more than a servant; no better than the dirt on my boots.”

johnny doesn’t bother to look at him, too caught in the love in simon’s eyes and the grateful look on king price’s face. “then you should have nothing to worry about. you’ve been crowing your accolades from the rooftops since you got here; let’s see if you live up to the hype.”

because simon only ever introduced him as his lord in waiting.

never as sir soap- his second in command and one of the greatest swordsmen their kingdom has ever seen.

[alumints]

⚔️ TGAA/DGS Asoryuu dolls ⚔️ I made unofficial Asougi and Ryuunosuke plushies!!! Explore, eat, and fight for justice with your very own aibous ⚖️⚔️ They are 20 cm tall and will include an adoption card! All the stretch goals have been unlocked and the bonus items will be included for eligible orders: ✦ Two stickers will be given per plush ✦ One enamel pin will be given per pair Pre-order end April 30th 11:59 PM PST 🌸 http://alumints.com 🌸

[nohh-r]

the most special girl...The serotonin machine...

[shimmeringweedsart]

Quick musical redraws to test out new watercolor paper.

thank you to Niebo for the photo refs <3

hug performed by Wu Yihan and Teng Chunpeng. the grumpy old married couple act is by Wang Yifei and Zhu Hanbin.

[starflungwaddledee]

Mmm... Does Starstruck Dee like Carambola(also known as Starfruit)?

starstruck has quite a complicated relationship with food in general, and while she is incredibly unfussy with flavours/textures/general-edibility-of-food she typically does not enjoy eating too much of anything.

but i think, if nothing else, she'd absolutely love the novelty of carambola/starfruit!

a star you can (legally) eat!!! what's not to enjoy about that!! stars are perhaps one of the few things she's good at eating!

[nightmanatee]

i think i'll always wonder WHY DE is the way it is considering d9's desire to make a game about moving on. i've just rewatched some true colours clips and this game would suit max so much more?? a little small town mystery with the majority of the game focusing on the mc's feelings and her settling down, moving on and learning how to process trauma with a nightmare focused on the mc and her learning to love herself and put herself first. a perfect little dating sim with 2 healthy options.

instead of that we've got a trauma upon trauma for max. no reason to move on from powers OR chloe/arcadia bay (bc heaven springs makes you want to stay here or at least consider it. caledon? not so much). max abuses her powers to be with one of the love interests despite chloe's letter suggesting that that's one thing max needs to learn to let go and not do. and her second l.i. is not ready to settle down and be with her.

she doesn't tell about her powers to people on her own like alex did but rather is getting "outed" by safi and the storm (ain't that a "great" allegory for a queer character huh). she doesn't forget about chloe (considering any timestamp of their break up - whether it's 2017 right after the Away or 2022 like the letter says), mentioning her quite frequently.

any time max is being pushed by the game to move on she does it ONLY after remembering chloe (her and safi's convo in ep1 straight to the "amanda, thoughts?"/ep3 with max wanting to call chloe), and she

constantly

writes

TO CHLOE????????????

and true colors even had some flashforwards to make sure alex IS moving on? "a little by little time does it's thing"/ "thoughts of jed, of typhon, even of me, begin to fade into the background".

we were robbed of max and chloe from max's imagination (blue haired on bay and come other colour in bae) telling max to move on and live her life like gabe did for alex.

[ifindus]

Watched the annual Sports Gala earlier tonight and got inspired by all the sparkly outfits ✨

[josephtrohman]

i owe poshmark my life lowk

[ghastlybirdie]

Thinking about Price and Ghost cause im mentally ill /hj and thinking about how Price really has the ability to heal and guide Ghost and dampen the static fuzz that cloud the space in-between Ghost's ears

Maybe it started as sharing simple items like a bottle of lotion to balm their chapped hands and fingers. Or maybe it was picking up a cup of tea when Ghost was lagging behind from being stuck in his own headspace

Perhaps Price always bagged an extra lunch for Ghost when Ghost was lost in training or writing summary reports, even though Price himself hardly had the time to feed himself

for the longest time Ghost couldn't function well on a mission without Price, he needed to be guided by hand and told where to go by just one specific voice- just one man, and when he couldn't hear it he would be lost to whatever voice that was silenced only when John demanded an order without raising his voice- it was vital to Ghost's function, to his entire being

But over time, Ghost would stop being Ghost, and turn back into a person, not an entity- back to Simon. And Price was there to catch him and hold him upright and strong while Simon caught his breath after being buried under the weight of trauma and grief for so long- John was there, holding onto him tight

Simon wasn't walking around alone anymore, he wasnt lost and scared and static-filled- he was broken, at one point, but John Price wasnt the type of person to leave his men broken and alone, letting Simon stretch his legs and even letting him sink back into a mask, into Ghost, cause John knew that Simon would always come back to him back where he belongs

[shyravenns]

Nikprice monster au that I decided to go and color!

Price’s design is based off of @/bluegiragi and Nick’s is just me wanting to draw him shirtless

[aspiringnexu]

Okay, so, Alastor theory. As far as I know nobody's discussed why Alastor ever made such an apparently disadvantageous deal.

I mean, his power is apparently leashed. He cannot access his true strength. He essentially handicapped himself in Hell. Alastor detests not being in control, he craves power because it nets him control and therefore nets him safety and security, a very rare commodity for a demon. Even an Overlord.

So why the hell would Alastor make such a shitty deal? He's a dealmaker, he knows how this works, it can't just be the result of tricky wording, there must have been something else at play.

Additionally, I'm in the camp that its Eve that has something to do with it. Lilith makes sense of a sort but why would she leash Alastor and then have him help Charlie with a project that would piss off Heaven? She's Lilith, she knows that trying to bypass the initial judgement and redeeming yourself would upset the bigwigs in Heaven. She knows they don't like having their rules bent and twisted. She gains nothing from pissing off the Heavenly Host by indirectly helping her daughter. She made a mysterious deal with Adam to get into Heaven, why would she knowingly jeopardise that?

But why would Eve care? Simple. She feels like Lucifer and Lilith betrayed her by gifting her the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. They betrayed her and she was forced into a life of pain and suffering with a husband who she realised didn't truly love her and children who started to turn on each other the moment they could. And then that same husband (or ex-husband by that point) turns around millennia later and gets Lilith into Heaven.

What the fuck?

So Eve decides that the best way to sort this out is to do what Lilith supposedly did. Betrayal disguised as assistance. Charlie is a well-known bleeding heart by now, all Eve need do is find a way to stoke that altruism until it becomes a Problem that Heaven needs to solve. Poke the altruistic bear enough and that Problem will blossom into a Shitstorm that'll drag Lilith off of her cosy perch in Heaven to sort out her wayward daughter and try to avoid Heaven deciding to exterminate every demon in Hell. Plus it'll give Adam a headache which is only a plus in Eve's eyes. And what better way to help the Princess than gift-wrapping Hell's most powerful Overlord and depositing him on her doorstep?

Her ultimate goal might be provoking an all-out war or simply petty-revenge that'll eventually get out of hand but I digress.

How does she persuade Alastor to accept such a shitty, hampering, restricting joke of a deal?

Again, simple. She's in Heaven and as such has access to angelic steel and a plethora of souls. Including Alastor's mother. The only person he ever truly loved in his life.

I'm willing to bet Alastor would do anything to safeguard his mother. Even selling his own soul.

Of course there's still the seven-year gap to tackle but who says Alastor didn't spend those seven years in Heaven? Maybe Eve managed to smuggle him up there and disguise him, let him enjoy seven years of bliss by his mother's side before blindsiding him with her ultimatum. Makes the clipped wings comment more literal.

Just my thoughts, of course, but I really can't see why else Alastor would sign his own soul away if not to protect the one person he lets himself love. He hardly made the deal for power if the deal restricted his powers and he was certainly in no danger from the other Overlords. So he made the deal, he saved his mother, but that doesn't mean he's not gonna try to find a way out of it.

[cupiidzbow]

im doing something different for commissions this coming time