#my posts are very inconsistent.

[darkwicks]

lightning straight to my heart! 💘

Alan always manages to fluster you without trying.

PAIRING.⠀Alan Mido x Reader

CONTENT.⠀female reader | established relationship, fluff, selfship-coded | ~0,4k words

A/N.⠀finally...something for my fave.... + also available on AO3!

“Hey.”

You hummed inquisitively, slowly taking your eyes off your tablet and looking at Alan with a curious gaze instead. His brows were furrowed as he stared at his phone, seemingly trying to find something. He wasn’t often on his phone like the average student was, only using it for calls and messages and nothing else. The sight of him fiddling with the device was quite a surprise.

“What’s up?”

“Your phone.”

You blinked. “My phone?”

“The… background,” he clarified. “How do you do it?”

“You want to change your background?”

“Yeah.”

You got up from your seat and went over to him instead, taking a look over his shoulder. “Okay, so you go to settings, and then you tap here, and then you’ll find these wallpapers that came with the phone—”

“I want it to be you.”

“Whuh?” came your eloquent reply. It took a few seconds before the meaning of his words sank in, leaving you in a flustered state. “You want me as your wallpaper?”

“It took me a while, but I figured out how to save the photos you send me,” he said bluntly. “I already know what photo I want. I just don’t know how to do it.”

You deftly tapped at the screen, opening up the gallery and waiting for him to pick out the photo he wanted. Seeing several photos of you in it made your heart rate pick up just the slightest. You never thought too much of it whenever you sent him photos of yourself or whatever activity you were doing. To know that he was saving them made warmth blossom across your chest, a sense of giddiness washing over you.

He tapped on a selfie of you two together. His face was in its usual stoic demeanour but you were more on the playful side, your fingers sticking up in the victory sign while you smiled at the camera. You bit back a smile, gaze drifting over to him for a moment.

“You want this one?”

He nodded. With you guiding him through the steps, it didn’t take long before Alan had a brand-new wallpaper for his phone. It was a stark contrast to how intimidating he appeared. Your heart fluttered within the confines of your ribcage, blood rushing to your cheeks as you sat down beside him and scooted closer.

“You’re gonna kill me one of these days,” you grumbled lightheartedly. “Big bad captain of Vagastrom, a total softie with his girlfriend.”

“Well, you’re special to me.”

“See? How do you do this so effortlessly?!”

[every-kakashi]

[theroyalsandi]

British Royal Family - Happy 43rd Birthday to the Princess of Wales! (b. 09 January 1982)

C A T H E R I N E according to me (❁´◡`❁)

[tunapesto]

let's fall down together

[jynandor]

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU TANGERINES (2025) dir. KIM WON-SEOK episode nine: THE WIND GOES WHOOSH, MY HEART GOES BOO-HOO The road ahead could be a million miles long, but the greatest joy you will every have is the one in front of you.

[l-in-the-light]

Trafalgar Law and his rare friendships (Law and closeness series part 4)

Let's venture into less explored territory. And we will start with no one else but our beloved Kinemon!

They met at Punk Hazard, Kinemon doing some rampage and Law was sent by Caesar to stop him. At first he cut him up into three pieces apparently, but I think Kin is colorizing here a lot.

Because let's take a look at his awesome feats. He might be cut into pieces, but he's still a decent threat despite that! I think Law started by cutting Kinemon in half, then got surprised he still tried to fight him, and then he cut off his head as well only to realize that even the head alone is probably bouncing around as well! So he caught it, but in the meantime the legs already run somewhere else and the torso escaped Law on his way back to lab somehow which is where Brook finds it later. And Law was probably like "screw it, I don't have time for this" and left it be for now. But I bet it wasn't "letting his torso to rot, and feed legs to wild beasts" like Kinemon claims. After all his legs turned out to be just fine lol. And we know by now that Kin's legs just run off on their own aimlessly, so this is probably what actually happened.

And this is how Strawhats find Kin. I guess Kinemon was still causing a lot of trouble despite being only a head. Maybe he tried to bite Law? Anyway, he must have been really *mad* to cut him up into that many tiny pieces. I think Kinemon was behaving like a little shit. It's important to mention Law never did that to anyone else before.

And he attempts to do the same to Tashigi who is also trying to bounce around while being cut in half.

Yeah, Kinemon and Law started off on a great note there. But I think Kin earned Law's respect for that, because this is probably what Kin shouted at him while being cut into smaller and smaller pieces:

And Law shoved his head into some closed off room, instead of giving it to Caesar. I think he was trying to spare him and hoping he can restore him back later on.

As soon as they both end up on Strawhats ship, Kinemon already treats Law with respect! It's no longer "that warlord" but "Law-dono".

It seems that despite what Kinemon says, Law actually earned his respect back there already. He even tried to catch his name or the title to know who he is.

It's so sweet he's already asking Law to give him a ride to Zou and before he can get an answer Luffy butts-in haha.

He's always listening carefully to Law's plan in Dressrosa and keeps closely with his assigned group. And yes, it's implied that Law was the one who strategically seperated the groups.

Kin is the first one to raise a concern to stick to the plan and not waste any time. He understands the stakes but won't venture off on his own, instead making sure the whole group knows what to do. That's because they left before Law finished going over the plan again. Kinemon took it on himself to make sure "they got the memo", so to speak.

Kin's also the one who seems most worried about Law, probably because when he almost rescued him he realized in what kind of terrible state he was. "Answer me!!" there is a lot of concern there he didn't show for any of the Strawhats yet, but he did for Law.

His idea to distract and cause some chaos by disguising himself was also something Law would approve of.

On Barto's ship Kin is already taking care of the dangers ahead of others, because he's aware his friends are still recoving from their injuries.

Kinemon never forgets that Strawhats and Law are in alliance and are two seperate crews. He asks Law specifically for help as well, clearly surprising him with that request. Kin's amazement seems to be very genuine and he is very polite in how he asks for help.

And then alliance happens, they bump fists together I bet Law must have braced himself for it and Luffy declares "Being in alliance means we're friends!". This is the moment Luffy defines what Kinemon and Law's relationship is supposed to be from now on: friendship. And of course Law is annoyed about that, it should be up to him to decide stuff like that! Luffy doesn't care though, pushing Law's boundaries further for him.

Law already takes on his role in the alliance, assuring Kin they will be safe in his submarine and no one will be able to suddenly attack them on his watch. Now this is a turn of 180 degrees, Law takes them as his own personal responsibility from now on, gives emotional reassurance and basically saying "count on me" but with different words. He already succumbed to the fate Luffy bestowed upon him.

And take a look at this. There is team Luffy, team Nekomamushi, Team Inuarashi and Team Kinemon. Do you know what that means? Yes, Law handed the leadership over the group to Kinemon! Meanwhile himself taking the role of a support and protection. And this trend will continue all the way in Wano as well.

Apparently he visited Kinemon at the castle ruins every single day. Most likely worried about his health condition.

Law apologized immediately to Kinemon the moment the other asks what's going on. Even takes the blame for himself, but also takes extra time to reassure Kin that his part of the plan is unaffected and no one knows about the samurais. I think it's implied again that it was Law who seperated the tasks in each group meanwhile taking a supervisor role himself. He told Kinemon to find Akazaya samurais and they had a whole operation going on in the background with gathering supplies of weapons and food, bit by bit, while officially putting the blame on some third party. Knowing Kinemon he wouldn't be smart enough to think of it this way, so Law at the very least helped him organize stuff. Besides we don't see Kinemon running around and making sure everything works out: that's Law actually, checking up with all the groups and resolving any potential crisis situations (like when he warned Sanji of trouble and took it on himself to lead the whole group to safety). Besides we have Sanji's words for proof when Law apologized to Kinemon: "What kind of shoddy operation are you running, Law?!" which is pretty direct in pointing out who the actual mastermind is behind the Wano's battle.

Seeing how Kin also wasn't the smartest at reading the coded picture message about the raid, I think it was originally Law's idea as well that the message should be some sort of code only people involved would understand. The raid picture also mentions meeting up at a port specifically, and that seems to be a reoccuring point plan in every of Law's plans ever since Rocky PORT Incident. Even in Dressrosa and Punk Hazard the chosen meeting points for all seperated groups were told to be specific ports.

When it turns out there was a traitor in the midst of their core team, it's Law who seems to have taken it on himself to dig up information from Hawkins. Interestingly enough every last samurai arrives for the raid despite that every single bridge in the country had been destroyed. I have no evidence but I think it's likely Law helped all those people travel to the "true" meeting spot. After all we didn't see him for days before the raid, and while many fans believed Law turned into a snitch, the raid itself denies it: Law was from the very beginning to the very end on the alliance's side. But then why didn't he take credit for what he did to make the raid a success? Well, he didn't take any credit at all before either, giving it all to Kinemon, so why would he start to take it for himself suddenly?

Here Law rescues the samurais, scolding them for underestimating the sea. Doesn't it look similar to you? Law is rising them up just like Oden did on his execution day. This symbolically proves Law is the actual person carrying the whole battle operation on his back. Just like his full name, Trafalgar Waterloo, should have hinted us all along. His reactions to all the others discussing what's happening are also very telling - Law's the only one not surprised that samurais aren't there yet, that there is a traitor, not even surprised that Kid is there. But he is taken aback about news of Big Mom and Jinbei, because that's some wild cards he didn't know anything about before.

Even though Law protests his submarine isn't samurais garrison, it's pretty clear who samurais themselves think runs their plan in reality. And worthy to notice here: Law no longer calls Kinemon by his full name. It's "Kin" from now on. And how many people did we ever see Law using such an affectionate name for before? With him you're either "something-ya" or a full name basis. Kin is literally the only exception. You can't see it as anything else but affectionate. Throughout Wano they became really close friends.

And of course Law saves Kinemon's skin by coming up with a backup plan on the fly and even decides he will carry the samurais to the back entrance of the island on his submarine. He also allows Kinemon to take the full credit, not really expecting any gratitude. He just sits there in the background, letting others take the spotlight.

And this is a good moment to remind us of what Sengoku told Law about love. It should be unconditional, which means you don't expect anything in return for your help. Law usually operates on "favour for a favour" basis or impersonal alliance level. But in this "alliance" he doesn't even want the credit, doesn't expect anything in return, and breaks his own rule of not calling people in affectionate ways. And does he even get anything for himself from this alliance besides the rise in his own bounty?

Imo there's only one possible conclusion here: Law accepted the condition of the alliance Luffy set up all the way back in Zou, it's supposed to be a friendship. Law indeed fullfilled that condition, he truly became friends with Kin. Of course he still wouldn't admit openly that they're friends, but like always with Law, we need to actually look at his actions and subtext. This friendship wouldn't have happened if friendship with Luffy didn't happen first! After the raid Law doesn't stay at the shogun's palace and instead stays with the ships at the port, but I bet you anything Kinemon ran to him at least once to tell him how grateful he was for his help.

So that's one confirmed friendship of Law we see in the series (besides the one he has with Luffy, but I elaborated on that one all the way back in part 2). The other friendships we can see in the series is that with Bepo, Penguin and Shachi, and Wolf in Law's novel. We know that Law created Hearts Pirates together with them, he doesn't consider Hearts to be his own creation, it's theirs as much as it's Law's. That friendship started off on a sour ground, Penguin and Shachi were bullying Bepo and Law saved him. But they quickly became friends and Law's strength and attitude earned their deepest respect. Penguin and Shachi sometimes allow themselves very cheeky comments ("Captain! You're so sexy now!"), they're also slightly older than him, but despite that they have really big respect for Law and always listen to him, despite sometimes complaining ("Captain got carried away" or "stop him Bepo!!"). They know each other well and as teens they spent a lot of late nights just talking together. They would sacrifice their lives for Law and Law would do the same for them, but he's also not beyond sending them to safety instead and taking all the risk on himself. They often shower Law in compliments, almost like they know he has low self-esteem, but then they know him for 13 years already, of course they would be best friends at this point and know that stuff about him (about his touching trauma probably as well).

Bepo is the only one privileaged with any physical affection, he is Law's safe haven, the last one he allowed himself to keep. The main Hearts also know of Law's past and his full name, as well as the fact he is a D. Of course they also started doing those silly power rangers-like poses when Law introduces his crew and I bet you anything it's a nod to Sora Warrior of the Sea. They're all fanboying the comics together. Law is probably slightly more affectionate with his Hearts than anyone else (which in this case means he allows himself to be a bit more open, but he still keeps some distance from them), but we can see he still acts like a leader for them, trying his best to earn the respect he received. But we also see him worrying about Bepo a lot in Wano when the mink ate a poisoned fish. He almost threw his own raid plan out of the window just because Bepo asked to not leave him alone; clearly they are his firstmost priority. Too bad we don't have that many of their interactions to analyze.

And then we have his friendship with the old man Wolf, inventor from North Blue, who took Law in (spoilers ahead for Law's novel!). At first their relations are mostly "favour for a favour" kind, something that Law knows well because he tends to operate on same basis. So, Law is allowed to stay at Wolf's place if he finds a job and helps with chores and testing the inventions. They take turns preparing the meals. Everything changes when Wolf has an unfortunate accident and Law saves his life. Wolf then asks for a friendship and Law thinks to himself that he can't really refuse a request from someone who doesn't usually do "friendships", he feels honoured with that trust. Wolf still acts as their mentor but it feels more like they became a family. Law is very grateful to Wolf for standing in defense of Penguin and Shachi. Wolf is also the one who teaches young Law how to be a captain and puts it into his head that he needs to take responsibility at all times. In general Wolf acts rather cold and rough, but always shows a kind heart when any of them needs it, and I bet Law took on his habits because that feels a lot like how Law himself acts on many occassions.

Wolf definitely became some sort of a rolemodel for him, but there were also few occassions when Law allowed himself to say some really spoiled and cheeky things to him (like: you do the dishes from now on). Law also helps Wolf make a tough decision: to resign from taking responsibility for his son's actions and not to kill him with his own hands, he literally stops his effort by saying "Family shouldn't kill each other". At the end Wolf gives them a partying gift: a yellow submarine, and encourages Law to go out to seas to look for freedom and experience life as he wants. Even 3 years later both of them think of each other fondly, implying that maybe one day Heart Pirates will return to share stories about their adventures.

That's all the canon provides us. Law generally keeps to himself, but in Law's novel he doesn't seem to have any problem to make friendships, every person he saves becomes eventually his friend, which really gives one more argument that there's no way Luffy would be the exception to that rule. But it becomes clear that the older Law gets the more reserved he becomes and doesn't seek out friendships. He probably wouldn't have perceived Kinemon as his friend if not for the condition of the alliance Luffy applied. And this begs to ask about the elephant in the room: why? Why is he that reserved and why did he allow himself to accept Kinemon as friend in the end? I think he felt it's okay to become friends with Kinemon, because he's a samurai thrugh and through. Even if they win and Kin lives, Law would leave Wano and probably never see him again. I guess that made the decision easier on him to some degree.

I have some ideas about possible reasons why Law avoids any new friendships or affectionate bonds with people and instead tries as much as he can to keep it impersonal. He clearly can be a caring and dedicated friend and I don't think his trauma is the only reason why he avoids people. Because there's no reason anymore (after defeating Doffy and Kaido) to not openly admit he made new friends. I will take a closer look at his possible reasons in the next post.

[oli-7]

fezthing

[ryllen]

Hear my plight,

I miss the old ENG voice of Zayne so much

Listen to him laughing 3 times wholeheartedly ... ; - ;

[itsfoxxheart]

Was meant to be simple shading practice/art de-rusting but I think I did a good so I'm posting it.

[tagerrkix]

[psink]

I've mentioned the kanji reading saying アイツ[that guy] instead of Kuusuke before, however there's a significantly more interesting case of this.

Throughout vol 10, almost every time Kusuo says 兄[older brother] it's got a different reading than the actual one.

The first time it happens, 兄貴[more casual way of saying older brother] has the reading for [that guy]. Up until the flashback, every usage of [older brother] has the furigana for コイツ[this guy].

This is most intriguing during Kusuo's flashback, because of how particularly inconsistent it is. I've marked it on the English translation: Red meaning Kusuo actually said [big brother], Blue that it's got the reading for [this guy] and Green - reading for [that guy].

This is the last usage of 兄 from vol 10 (+chapter 107). In future chapters, he says it normally every time.

Also, in Psi Battle, Kusuo calls Kuusuke バカ兄貴[idiot older brother] twice. It's notable as he says that whilst talking To him, not About him, and it's the friendlier version of older brother.

[nomsfaultau]

I recently got a comment about the use of the term Bird Pope within my charity one-shot Worth far more than your weight in gold, specifically about the world building implied there considering [Kristin] and [Philza] are notably very inhuman bird monsters (Ravengences). Specifically, the question was if there was Bird Catholicism and Bird Jesus died on the Bird Cross of Lorraine. (I think it would have to be a more complex shape given the extra wing limbs! Or perhaps an Orthodox Cross to pin the tail too?)

Anyway, let's examine the text between [Kristin] and [Philza] and the translator's note:

[Kristin's] expression changed utterly to one of delight, kneeling to affectionately bump her forehead against [Philza's]. “Praise be to the gods, I thought I was going to have to [bird divorce] you,” [Kristin] said with a relieved sigh, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.  (*While Bird Divorce is not forbidden, it is strongly discouraged by the Bird Pope.)

To explore Weight in Gold's species’ religious stance, I examined what terms they use:

Techno uses Gods (capital, plural). Ravengences refer to the seven winds (non capital, plural), gods (non capital, plural), and the Bird Pope (Capital, singular (*according to the translator)). Given Catholicism really emphasizes the singular God bit, I deduce Catholicism did not come from Piglins and Ravengences. Thus I am sadly assuming Worth in gold!Jesus was neither bird nor pig (which is good since pork is not kosher!).

As for humans, they are not worshiping Prime (as in, a god named Prime). Church Prime is the first church in the area. Akin to the format of First [Denomination] Church of [Town]. They worship the Catholic God, and centuries ago were very heavy into evangelizing. Has to be a very long time ago since Ravengences are mostly considered legends in the current time period, and aren’t particularly assumed to be sapient beings. So for the Ravengences it’s more of a legacy of cultural exchange than anything that’s happened of late.

Techno makes a lot of snide comments about the human church, and mentions not doing his sacrifices. But he does bite his tongue because the Church holds a LOT of power in human settlements. From this I gather Piglins on the whole are not Catholic, though as minorities have to navigate the sociopolitical power of the religion they don’t practice. Specifically, I note the way Techno uses the term Gods (capital, plural) which feels to me like a linguistic quirk picked up after the emphasis Catholics put on a capital G God, but in strict defiance of Catholicism by making it plural to reflect Piglins’ own pantheon before the humans started evangelizing. Along the line of 'Nyeh! Our Gods are just as important as yours!' Since we don’t see anyone trying to convert Techno, I reckon it’s something lots of wars were fought about way back when, humans eventually giving up (and probably writing Piglins off as demons in the process). Piglins rejected churches, partially rooted in the fact a central part is in money and donating it, and 1. Piglins do NOT give their gold away except in very intricate and personal situations and 2. Piglins think money is stupid. Using gold for fancy banners and clothing and murals (which Catholicism is very fond of) also didn’t fly with the Piglins. So a major part of human worship involves the (perceived!) frivolous use of gold, which is a big rift between human and Piglin culture.

Ravengences however do have a culture around donating gold, so it wasn’t as much as a massive conflict with human doctrine. In fact it helped facilitate the transfers in a way they liked. I imagine early evangelism with them was a desperate attempt to stop temple raids and was shockingly successful all things considered. To Ravengences, Catholic God is yet another god, added into the pantheon for flavor. I imagine they refer to God as god, since as tricky as crossing that language barrier is that particulars of capitalizing god names probably didn’t make it across. (Ravengences are seen only capitalizing names and the term Ravengence). Ravengences didn’t really agree with the whole abandoning their original gods things (what? You want me to STOP worshiping the seven winds? AND NEVER BE ABLE TO SAFELY FLY AGAIN? Are you MAD?!) and tended to eat conversionists who insisted on that point a little too firmly. The humans likely decided to shrug and declare that the Ravengence gods were really just saints if you think about it, so it’s probably okay please stop eating us now. And as the cultures lost contact, likely a lot of changes piled up in the centuries to follow. Ravengences probably lost the Catholic God (because of said lack of capital differentiation, and the lack of a name is tricky to keep track of when you have a lot of gods). But, positions like Bird Pope, which have lots of practical use regarding the distribution of donation gold so that families can have children, are likely vital to Ravengence society, and so remained, albeit looking very different to human popes. And the Bird Pope hates divorces, because Ravengences tend to want to take all of the gold for their new family, and the ex spouses probably tend to kill each other over it. Since, again, Ravengences are fond of the death penalty.

Alternatively: notably [bird divorce] [bird husband/wife] are within the translator's personal choices to explain concepts to a human audience, the mention of Bird Pope being within a translator's addendum. Even to the extent that within [Kristin’s] dialogue [bird divorce] is lower case, but the translator uses uppercase, further cementing the linguistic differences between Humans and Ravengences. So Bird Pope (capitalized) is how a human explains Ravengence culture to other humans, and may not reflect the capitalization Ravengences use (as they tend towards none) or even really the actual Ravengence cultural role being described. So all of what I just world builded could also be scratched out and explained with 'human translator trying to simplify for a human audience'. but one of those answers is a lot more fun!

[linka-from-captain-planet]

wait by the light of the moon #1: Rana & Vesta - Selfish

this Femslash February, I got myself all in my feelings about the usual (women) and began working on a collection of loosely-connected short fics exploring life as queer women in Tevinter, emphasizing friendship, community, and culture. Being me, of course a fair amount of focus is on supporting and obscure characters, because all women are main characters to ME.

To that point, first up is a lesbro origin story, featuring Rana Savas and (future) Warden Vesta

Rating: T || Words: 1274 References to homophobia, misogyny, comp het, and class issues.

On the outskirts of the city, just inside the walls, the Templar training camp is a grey, cramped, shoddy affair. Shockingly, the Magisterium doesn’t allocate it much money in the annual budget.

To the caravan of recruits coming in, though, it might as well be an oasis in the Western Front. Three meals a day, a roof over their heads, money in the pocket on the last day of every month. People with other options tend not to choose this one, but as far as Tevinter goes, there’s always at least one option that’s always worse.

The mid-morning sun is hot overhead, steaming the formation of junior knights in full plate. Tradition has them, two and three years into service, greet the new recruits. The miserable, rundown first-year grunts would probably scare too many of them off. 

At the front of formation, Knight-Templar Vesta Aquila watches two score bodies pour off a cramped wagon as one big mass, fanning themselves with their shirts and gasping the fresh air with relief. Looks like the usual assortment: mostly men, mostly hungry-eyed and raw-boned, some of them practically still with indents from chains on their ankles and wrists.

Some of them chatter and mill about excitedly; others stick with the pack, nervous and desperate not to be singled out. Before long, a sergeant comes blustering out of the office and barks at them to shut up, stand straight, and listen for their name to be called for intake, inspection, and kitting.

The crowd settles and spreads out a bit, and Vesta can’t help but notice one of the few female recruits sticking out like a sore thumb.

She looks like she got lost on the way to the Our Young Lady of Victory Pageant. A classic Tevene beauty: tall, slender, with shiny dark hair plaited all the way down to her butt, looking as out-of-place as Andraste herself would, standing stiffly in the perpetually ankle-deep mud of the Ferryman Training Temple courtyard. Her green eyes dart around nervously, but her pretty face is set determinedly neutral. 

Couldn’t be a zealot, Vesta decides idly, or the daughter of such; the chantry would be the clear choice, there. This isn’t the South. Couldn’t be a Laetain’s ungifted disappointment, dumped into service to recoup some of the family’s lost esteem with medals and titles without any risk of being sent to fight the Qunari; they’re only a small bribe away from skipping right to officer school. Couldn’t come from much at all, or else she’d be able to afford schooling or vocational training. Couldn't be coming in off the streets or the market, what with her clean dress and impeccable grooming. Too prim to be a troublemaker who picked this place over jail. Too uncertain to be the latest in a long line of Templars. Too young and far too beautiful not to have marriage, at least, to fall back on.

The sergeant barks, “Rana Savas,” and the girl startles, but squares her shoulders and follows her assigned admin drone inside.

She takes about three steps before Vesta raises an eyebrow and thinks, ah. 

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

Hours later, just before lights-out, Vesta makes her assigned rounds shooing recruits to their bunks. She sticks her head into the women’s washroom, and there she finds the girl—Savas, she remembers—standing in front of the mirror, running her hands over and over through what remains of her hair.

The men get their heads shaved promptly after signing the papers, and the women, their hair chopped off messily above the shoulders. Hygiene, they say; hazing, they don’t. Savas’ hair wound up even shorter than most, hacked up almost to her ears. The barber must have been feeling greedy; hair as long and thick as hers fetches good coin. That pretty braid will make a magister’s wife a real nice wig, but what she’s left with looks like something from a joke shop, bone-dry and sticking up all over. The harsh anti-nit shampoo they make the recruits wash with in medical inspection might as well be enchanted to turn hair to straw.

Vesta came in with her hair already cropped short. She had someone to warn her. 

Rapping softly on the wall to announce herself, Vesta calls, “Alright there, Savas?” 

Despite being sneaked up on, Savas doesn’t flinch at her own name this time. Her eyes remain fixed on herself in the mirror, her expression wooden, and she keeps stroking her hair. Hoping to get some oil from her skin into it, Vesta figures. 

Mechanically, Savas replies, “I’m well, thank you, Knight-Templar Aquila.” 

“Good memory,” Vesta says, feeling awkward. It’s not really the point, but she adds, “Just ‘Aquila.’ I’m not an officer. All us underlings just call each other by name.” Savas seems like a girl who appreciates a good rule to follow. Maybe it’ll make her feel a little less helpless. 

Savas nods, staring at the mirror two feet from her face like it’s as far away as the Archon’s Palace hovering up in the sky. 

Sighing, Vesta leans out the door to listen for anyone coming. The last thing they need is the sergeant busting in on his own rounds.

Coming to Savas’ side, she grabs the younger woman—barely old enough to qualify as a ‘woman’, now that Vesta sees her up close—and pries her arms down to her sides, forcing her hands out of her hair, and briskly turns her away from the mirror so they meet eyes directly. 

“C’mon, Savas. Snap out of it. Come tomorrow’s drills, you’ll be glad to have all that weight off your neck.”

It wasn’t meant to be patronizing, but something about it strikes a nerve and Savas’ eyes focus into a glare. So, it worked, anyway. 

Wrenching away, jaw set, Savas gestures frustratedly at the mirror. “Glad, they made me look like a man,” she mutters ruefully, quiet enough that Vesta isn’t sure if she was meant to hear it or not.

Ah, Vesta thinks. It really doesn’t; it makes her look like a pretty girl with an ugly haircut. If she’s concerned about coming off mannish—about tipping off people who aren’t like them—, she should probably worry about adjusting that walk of hers first.

Needless to say, Vesta keeps that analysis to herself. She has a feeling it’ll be some time before Savas would be receptive to such feedback. 

It hasn’t been too long since Vesta was in her shoes. She gets it. 

But it’s not the kind of thing they could talk about in the open. There are no laws, no rules, no regulations against it; it’s just not what’s done. You don’t grow up in Minrathous without learning damn well that many Soporoti see themselves not as Soporoti, but as temporarily-embarrassed Altus; so even though there’s really no reason for peasants like them to mimic the highbloods’ delicate sensibilities regarding bloodlines, inheritance, proper marriage and the proper breeding of proper mage-children… it’s just the way things are done. Even though it smothers them all. 

The chantry bell tolls, reminding Vesta that they need to hustle out of here if they don’t want extra laps tomorrow. 

But, it’s easier when you have someone to help keep your nose above water.

Like Knight-Templar Bosc did for her two years ago, Vesta steps up to the mirror and knocks the side of her boot against Savas’. She receives an incredulous look in return. 

Smirking and leaning in conspiratorially, Vesta says, “You’re not the only one with a bad haircut here, Savas. Don’t be selfish.” 

At ‘selfish’, Savas’ eyes widen and her ears flush. 

Good—that’s one less thing Vesta will need to teach her before camp ends.

[zuiz41]

IwaOi being goofy 💞

(fun fact: this is a redraw from my old IwaOi drawings. Was gonna put the pictures of it beside my art now for comparison but I don't want u guys to be traumatized <3)

[nafohcnis]

UMM NEXO KNIGHTS LINEUP + JESTRO who was only added last night in a rush so i could finally post this.

[mhmmaybe]

Hush design update?

Have little alien boy

(fuck hands)