#dunking bird

[ifitwasediblewouldyoueatit]

Those tiny bird things that drink the water. You know the ones, those things that people used to keep on their desks. Those ones.

[queenlua]

the person teaching this hawk-watching class just read aloud the lovely poem "Hawk" by Mary Oliver, paused for a beautiful thoughtful moment...

and then grumbled, "It's titled 'Hawk' but her description makes me think she saw a falcon." and then they launched immediately into buteo field marks without further comment bahahahaha

[generalaisaku]

little potemkin doodle:)

[the-walking-spoiler]

Absolutely destroyed

[front-facing-pokemon]

[catastrothy]

chicken maid

[starlit-seadragon]

Day 19 - Taken

The Eorzean Alliance is yet young, though it has many allies.

Some of them are a little closer than others expected.

Set early post-SB

WC: 1453

Rated F for fluff?

My FFXIV Write Masterpost here.

Nanamo was the first to notice.

Had she not been seated next to Lord Aymeric, she might have missed the exchange entirely. Though the mountains in which Ala Mhigo were tucked cooled the air significantly, the day was still hot. For their privacy, the doors of the meeting room had been closed, but the windows remained open, curtains billowing lazily in the desperately-needed breeze. Outside the palace, far enough away that they could not hear, people milled about, performing various tasks.

Beside her, Lord Aymeric straightened suddenly and looked away from the conversation. Nanamo fought the urge to stare. She had not considered the present topic to be an offensive one, but perhaps there was a cultural difference with Ishgard that she was not aware of. She had a mind to inquire about it afterwards─and then watched him break into a radiant smile that was gone from his lips a moment latee but remained in his eyes.

Curious, Nanamo followed his line of sight.

Out the window, the Warrior of Light was walking past. When she caught Nanamo's eye, she waved. Nanamo waved a small hand back.

On her other side, Raubahn leaned forward.

"I must apologize, Your Grace, for not being engaging enough company to keep your focus," he teased.

"Your apology is accepted, Raubahn," Namao replied archly. "Pray rest assured you have my full focus─I merely chanced to espy our friend Shirayume through the window and was returning her greeting."

The other Alliance leaders turned in their seats to peer out the window. Now red-cheeked and smiling apologetically, Shirayume waved to them all. The leaders of the Alliance returned the gesture.

"Perhaps a short respite is called for" Kan-E suggested. "We have been in council for an extended period─a little fresh air and movement might do us good."

The group assented, agreeing to return at the next bell. Slowly, they rose, stretching and making small talk. Nanamo remained in her seat. Raubahn stood just behind his.

"Do you mean to remain here, Your Grace?"

"For a time, I think. I'll follow soon, Raubahn. I'd like to walk the garden. Pray take your leave."

"I should be glad to join you, Your Grace, when you do."

Nanamo smiled. "Then I shall meet you there shortly, my friend."

With that, he quit the room. Nanamo sat back in her seat and sighed. Though the long hours could be wearying, to have so many in the Alliance warmed her heart; these meetings gave her far less headache than did those of the Syndicate. With a prolonged yawn, she hopped down from her seat and rubbed her eyes.

Upon opening them, she noticed the Warrior of Light was still outside the window.

As was Lord Aymeric.

Shirayume beamed up at him, and he mirrored the expression as he spoke. She listened attentively, almost enrapt, one arm crossed over to hold the other, tail swaying gently back and forth. He was inclined towards her, bent slightly at the waist, lessening the distance between them. They did not touch as they spoke, but they stood so near to one another that a breeze could have pushed them into each other's arms.

Nanamo blinked, breath caught. She could not remember when she had last seen Shirayume smile so.

Footsteps announced someone's approach.

"Your Grace?" Raubahn asked. "Forgive me if I've disturbed you; I just wanted to see if you were all right."

Evidently, she'd been standing here longer than she thought.

Raubahn approached her, looking to where her attention had been focused. When he caught sight of the pair outside, he inhaled sharply.

Eyes still on them, he asked in a low voice, "Do you think they're...?"

"Without a doubt," Nanamo confirmed, turning her gaze back towards them.

"I must admit to some surprise. I never would have expected such a match."

Nanamo looked up at him. "No? Whyever not?"

Raubahn scratched his chin. "It feels somewhat foolish to say aloud, but given how long Ishgard had been absent from the Alliance, I expected it would take a longer period of time for them to 'warm to us,' so to speak."

Nanamo smiled. "They may still be warming to us, my friend. But I believe it quite apparent that Lord Aymeric has warmed to *her.*"

They did not hear other Alliance leaders approach until Merlwyb spoke behind them, "Well. That certainly explains the Grand Melee."

"Do you suspect it has been going on since then?" Kan-E murmured.

"For such a strong affection? It must have begun well before."

Kan-E nodded, brow pinched. "He seems quite taken with her."

"Can you fault him for it?" Merlwyb asked. "She has a way of disarming shuttered hearts."

"Has he the shuttered heart, or is it Ishgard who possesses it?"

"Well," Lyse drew out the word as she reached the group and joined their observation. Her cheeks widened with her grin. "I see their time apart has done very little to change their feelings for one another."

Nanamo, Raubahn, Merlwyb, and Kan-E all turned to look at her as one. The grin dropped off Lyse's face. A flush spread over her cheeks.

"...I don't suppose you could pretend you didn't hear that."

After a moment, Kan-E touched a hand to her chest. "Did they intend to conceal it indefinitely?"

Lyse huffed out a laugh. "Only from themselves. There's nothing happening between them. At least, I don't think there is. Though... Yume didn't really talk about what happened during their camping trip..."

"Camping trip?" The group echoed, brows raised.

A tense silence followed.

"Oh gods," Lyse muttered. She cleared her throat and raised her hands, fingers splayed in defense. Her eyes darted wildly between them.

"Look, it's really none of our business, is it?"

Merlwyb crossed her arms. "Ordinarily, I would agree. In this case, however, there is somewhat more at stake. The star can ill-afford its champion playing favorites."

Lyse's voice was hard and sharp as a blade. "She wouldn't. You know she wouldn't."

The silence that descended smothered like the heat.

Lyse scoffed. Her hands clenched at her sides "Has she ever given you cause to doubt her before? What of when she was an adventurer based in Gridania? Did she play favorites then?"

The other leaders exchanged a look.

"She did not," Kan-E conceded, slow and even-toned, "but this situation does not quite compare."

Lyse shook her head. "I don't believe this."

"Mistress Hext is right," Nanamo interjected. "We ought to trust in our friends and allies. We are all of us adults. Since Ishgard's rejoining of the Eorzean Alliance, Lord Aymeric has been naught but a staunch ally."

"A little before that, even," Raubahn admitted.

"And that aside," she continued, "Shirayume deserves our confidence in her. As our friend and hero, we owe her the benefit of the doubt."

Kan-E, Raubahn, and Merlwyb looked to the floor. Lyse leaned against the window sill.

"And... just look at her," Lyse said softly.

They did. Aymeric spoke with animation, and in response Yume laughed so heartily that a few other people around them turned to look.

"Even if it doesn't go anywhere..." Lyse said. "The Twelve know there's been enough misery lately... we can afford them a little bit of happiness, can't we? Just a little."

She threw them an imploring look. They acquiesed with tight smiles. Nanamo met Lyse's eyes with open regard.

"We should certainly make an effort to," Nanamo agreed. Lyse returned her smile.

The bell struck then.

All in the meeting room turned towards the open window to find Aymeric and Shirayume, looking back at them with disquiet. Only Lyse had the presence of mind to duck to the side, out of sight.

Their gazes held a moment longer before Shirayume's lips moved inaudibly. Aymeric turned to look at her and then nodded stiffly before walking away. Shirayume turned in the opposite direction. She did not look back to the window.

Moments later, Aymeric reappeared in the meeting room's doorway. His face was a mask of composure, the only sign of his discomfiture the redness in his cheeks.

"Shall we proceed?" he asked calmly as he took his seat. Without another word, he took up a quill and scanned the parchment in front of him.

The other Alliance leaders remained standing, staring at one another.

Finally, in strode Lord Hien, whistling an airy tune. He stopped short as he took in the scene before him.

With a hint of confusion, he spoke, "I... trust all had a pleasant and refreshing recess?"

Nanamo chuckled as she retook her seat. "Some of us more than others, I expect."

Aymeric froze, quill mid-air. Lyse smirked.

"But pray," she said. "Let us return to business."

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Adrien: I'm a what?

Gabriel: A sentimonster made by your mother to be our perfect child.

Adrien: (horrified) No! No, it can't be! I'm not... I'm not...

Nathalie: It's true, Adrien.

Adrien: But... but... wait, then why am I allergic to pigeons? How is that "perfect"?

(Gabriel and Nathalie exchange tense looks)

Gabriel: Well, you see, son, a sentimonster represents a person's emotions and, um, well...

Nathalie: Your mother f-ing hated pigeons.

Gabriel: Yes, she despised those miserable sky rats! Every time I see one I think of her and how much she loathed them. Her hatred was so strong that it bled into your amok and gave you an allergy, but that only made you more perfect to her! She never had to worry about you going near those disguising common birds! You were meant to be near more illustrious types of fowl! You are an Agreste, after all!

----

Guess what guys, I came up with a way that the pigeon thing could still pay off! (Post I'm referencing) Can we please get some variant of this in the show? I don't even care that it will validate this fandom's total lack of media literacy, I still want it to be canon. I want it to be canon so hard! It perfectly fits the show's brand of humor and it's so dumb that I find it hilarious.

[alejaolch]

ducking around… Dunajec River in Poland, December 2023

[untitledgoosegay]

dimitri learned most of his duscur from dedue. dedue is from a working-class family from the duscur border. dedue's border-town working-class duscur accent is inflecting dimitri's Literal Royalty Accent faerghan, where most bilingual faerghans would be starting from a working/merchant-class west faerghan accent. never mind that learning a language from one (1) native speaker who is himself not fully fluent in your first language is going to result in a weird-ass idiolect by nature.

what i mean to say is that when diplomacy reopens, the king of faerghus can negotiate (& makes a point of negotiating) in duscur, but he sounds 1) like a hick and 2) fucking weird

[trashogram]

If I were Octavia, and I learned that the parents I thought were in love and wanted me actually hated each other this whole time and only had me because it was an obligation, I’d be devastated and traumatized.

[ghostlyg0ssip]

okay it's 1am but i gotta talk about this

one of the g3 designers (i believe it was the person who does faces?) made a little joke about "loving" polypropylene hair (a bit tone-deaf to ignore and poke fun at valid constructive criticism but nothing outrage worthy imo) and dolltwt is FUMING about it 😭

like it's totally understandable to not like poly for a myriad of reasons but people are getting,,VERY upset and i personally think it's a bit dramatic and petty 🤔 but i guess i shouldn't expect dolltwt of all places to be capable of having civil debates

[baynton]

Jamie Winton in You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015) | 1x01: Who Are These People?

[principiumindividuationis777]

[russilton]

Posting this here bc I found McLaren FE fucking around with paddles far, far too entertaining

[chelseajackarmy]