#this is shorter than the others by a bit but i wanted to get the next chapter out

[taiey]

a minor analysis of Manepear's manipulation (mane-ipulation)

A few thoughts to frame the discussion: Clownpierce has the mace; Clownpierce has not yet died. Clownpierce doesn't log on very often, and of everyone on the server Clownpierce is closest to Kaboodle.

With that in mind... 1hr 13min into 'A New Leaf..?', after a lot of open honest conversation about the war, morality, honour and Mane's potential as an interior decorator, Kaboodle brings up her constancy towards Clownpierce and Manepear starts telling her she should put herself first, because Clown doesn't.

He starts with the basic, obvious facts: Clown doesn't log on very often, he's never attacked Mane for her, he's never sacrificed himself for her like she has for him. Even... Woogie..? backs him up on all that.

Then she starts bringing up counter-examples and he pushes back, with subtle mis-framings like "it would have been easy for him to say I searched for Mapic on purpose so that I could get back for you" when, like, I saw that video and I bet you did too, he said that to Mapicc, and not to Kaboodle. Or brushing off that time he did fight Mane's team as if there's "10 people he knows he's not going to get targeted and if he gets a kill on Main and Flame that would be huge for him", when, uh, it's not that Mane has specific knowledge that the other group chat was considering jumping Clown for the mace earlier in the day, but I do feel that dynamic is sufficiently common knowledge.

I've actually had this thought before because I thought that he was, I was, I was confident that he was betraying me cuz I was thinking like "why would Clownpierce betray and and use everybody except for me? how does that make any sense? why would I be the only one?" and it doesn't make sense like nothing would make me special

Drawing parallels digs into her fears without him directly saying she's not special so as to elicit sympathy and not offense. (and pay no attention to the dissimilarities in their relationships to clown)

I think it was easy for him to defend you from Subz because he knows that he can kill Subz but if it was me in that situation I'm not so sure if he would he would have done the same thing

(y'know i didn't actually notice at the time that uh that's a very different line than his Subz Glazing to Zam&Mapicc)

Mane: did he leave my alliance or did I force him out? Kab: you did force him out Mane: he didn't have a choice not to choose you Kab: yeah that's a horrible... Mane: [crosstalk] he could have at least shot me a DM—wait! Oh my gosh! I just remembered

Things I did not notice on first listen: sorry, when could he have shot you a DM? When you turned on him?? No, no, that segue makes no sense. Mane absolutely did not "just remember". DMs only came into this because he wanted a segue into: his climactic reveal.

When I was looking for your base, I told him about my, my plan to find you using dogs, and he was telling me how to do it more efficiently.

So. Let's look at [the screenshots that i copied off someone else o7]

The first thing that stood out to me, as I was watching the stream, was this: Mane says "he was telling me how to do it more efficiently", and then he lets Kab stew in that for a bit, and then he sends her these screenshots. The framing is set up. But there is not one line in there that is Clown giving Mane advice on how to track her.

The nearest he gets to advice is "she knows when you do tho". Mane glosses that to Kab as "he was telling me exactly what not to do as well", but listen: look at it. The closest he gets to advice is: maybe don't track her. Maybe you shouldn't even try.

Mane asked "what should I say", he relates it like it's another example of advice, which looks like it could lead to advice, and then the screenshot cuts off. And... it's shorter than the first one. We know for an absolute fact that the height is not limited by, say, the height of the screen. It cuts off there because whatever comes after that does not back up the narrative Mane's selling her.

Laughing about her, saying she's scared: it's emotionally affecting, but it's not actionable information. It does not help Mane find Kab. All it does is give the feeling that Clown is on Mane's side.

After exiting the conversation Kaboodle grieves to chat about it; she starts off thinking of it as"actively telling Mane how to find me is, is..." but a few minutes later she's caught on to "if you look at the messages he's not actively selling me out"; she has prior history of coming back the next day going hang on...

Very interested to see how far she gets with it. That thing with the dogs was streamed live; I watched it. The memory of it tickled at my brain, so after today's ended I tracked it down, and found:

Clownpierce: Did he find the manepears? What? Kaboodle: So all the manepears teleported to me when they hit, when he hit them. Clown: [AWKWARD LAUGHTER] Kab, fearless: I'm thousands of blocks away, I'm really far away. Clownpierce: Maybe they... they sometimes do move in the direction they teleport to, maybe he knows the location. Maybe - maybe move around.

Clownpierce was DMing Manepear saying "ok good idea"—and then, on a call with Kaboodle, telling her Mane's tactic and what to do about it.

:)

(He doesn't maximally betray Mane, he doesn't tell her he knows Mane's doing that or tell her before it starts happening; there's a degree of trying to stay on both sides. But he isn't neutral, and he is ultimately, materially, on Kab's side.)

I, like Kaboodle, saw Manepear's "removing all netherite" video and really enjoyed it (the twists genuinely surprised me) but there was this doubt where—videos and not streams usually feel this way to me—I wasn't sure whether, to convince the server that he wasn't the guy on his friend's account, he had to actually convince them. I just knew that was a kind of story he wanted to tell, and hoped he'd try it on Lifesteal.

Now, though, I believe it. I've seen maybe two other fandom people even doubting this. I believe he did because I see he can. And oh my goodness I love it.

[awbublie]

OKAY explaining more on the choices i made :3~~~~~~~ Aphmau:

flower crown from Garroth(gets gifted a new one before the other wilt)

has heavier Indigenous Mexican features i.e. broader face, prominent cheekbones, almond eyes, wider nose, full lip

𝓶𝓲𝓬𝓻𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓼

on the sturdy and short side

her outfits at first are very simple common wears, but after cadenza moves into phoenix drop her closet consists mostly of empire waists and poofy dresses. SHAWLS

Kawaii~Chan

her fur is everywhere except her face and hands, kinda like izutsumi from dungeon meshi

devon aoki inspired, so wide face, caramel tone, small full lips, smaller nose, and a bit flat faced.

permed hair, i love the idea of her diy-ing her hair

wide eyes and her eyebrows are hidden by her bangs

shorter than aph, and more chubby as well

wears common wear with frilly aprons. she has a collection

Katelyn

long hair, has silver hairs growing in already, eye bags galore

long triangle shaped faced, larger hero nose, pinkish tone, falconed eyed and tight small lips

muscular on her arms and top heavy, shes working on her quads atm. TALL

i wanted to say rhea rippley but one i found that suited her build better was early monica granda

her prized armor

Cadenza

i wanted to give her red feathers to match her chicken transformation but i settled on cream colored...maybe she has red feathers else where like her arms?

meteli always felt more Italian inspired, so she has an Italian tan, medium-long lips(she likes reddish tints on her lips), sun bleached hair(its supposed to be more orange), and a long face with smooth cheeks and a pointier chin

she has a more pointer nose

average height with a lean rectangle body

i think she looks a lot like Laurance so its hard to tell that they're not bio siblings.

later on after the time skip she starts covering her feathers as the people of meteli grow less sure of her as a lord if she has any "flaws"

SHE HAS A NEW FIT EVERY DAY!! so if i can draw her in anything!

HEADPIECES SNOODS VEILS

Nicole

very pale after living underground for a while....looks a little malnourished at first

wanted her to have more of a molly ringwalled face, erm but i didn't get that across very well; so lets just say her face is well-defined,oval eyes, and has a dainty nose.

thicker brows, pointier lips, longer lashes, and rounded brows

wears poofy shorts because she can!! whos gonna care if shes showing her legs!!

muscular but over all still lean and taller than most.

Lucinda

I LOVE HOW SHE CAME OUT OMG BECAUSE I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPY WITH HOW I'VE DRAWN LUCINDA OVER THE YEARS AND IT FINALLY CLICKED

3b-3a hair i know i still can improve on her hair design, I'm not very knowledgable on it but i want it to look like she takes well care of it and its healthy and shiny

i want to draw her in more hairstyles

fuller figure and tall- i want her to be luxurious in dress so she does wear heels!

has more of the sleepy eyed look because that's the only eyes I've ever imagined for her

small wide nose, chubbier cheeks, pointy top lip

she wears what she can make living off of the village, but once shes in phoenix drop her closet is still sleek and dark!

IK I MISSED SO MANY theres still donna, zoey, michi, emmalyn, hyria, ivy, zianna SO I MIGHT DO THOSE SOON >.<

i love dressing and drawing women

i really wanted to focus on making sure i got their facial structures and tones right. i might add another post later explaining their features!! I LOVE DRAWING WOMEN I LOVE IT SO MUCH

i spent so long drawing men HIDING MY TRUE PASSION !!!

[spiderb00]

Teach me - Megan Skiendiel

Megan Skiendiel X Reader  Synopsis - You've always liked football, so your girlfriend surprises you with the Rams game.  Genre – Fluff  a/n - I don't know MUCH about football, but I think my basic knowledge saved me here. Enjoy. <3  (request)

Sitting and watching the Rams game was relaxing, after days of work you just wanted to sit back and relax. Usually, this was one of the times when Megan wasn't with you, most of the time she would be out with the Kats, or doing something else while you were watching the game.

Today, however, the girl had sat next to you, and asked you to explain in detail how a game worked. You were confused, Megan had never had any interest in games or anything involving sports. But of course you explained everything she wanted to know, after all, all this just gave you more time with your girlfriend.

"So they basically kill each other?" Megan said, looking at the guy lying on the ground.

"They don't kill each other, they just have to stop the other team from scoring points." You said, eyes glued to the television.

"I never asked why you like these games so much..." Megan said, leaning on the couch and laying snuggled against your chest.

"I used to watch a lot when I was little. My family always liked sports, so we always got together to watch the games" You said, putting your left arm around your girlfriend, stroking her back, making the whole environment feel cozy and warm.

"Oh, what is he doing now?" Megan said, pointing to the screen, where the player was positioning himself.

"Ah, he's Kicker, he is responsible for field goals, extra points and kickoffs. He's very important to the team." You said, calmly explaining to the girl who was clearly confused by all the terms.

"Look, not that I'm complaining, but why did you take any interest in all this? You've never seemed this interested before." You said, giggling.

"Well, me and the girls were kind of invited to watch the Rams game, so I kind of wanted to understand at least a little bit..." The red-haired girl said with an embarrassed smile.

"Oh my god, Meg, this is amazing, baby. You're going to love it, it's really cool to be in a stadium, the energy kind of gets to you." You say, happy for your girlfriend.

"Well then I think you'll also like to know that I can bring a date, and I want to bring you." Megan says with a smile on her face. Your face lit up, Megan knew how much this meant to you, and she was happy she could make you feel special.

"No way, babe! Oh my god I love you so, so, so much." You said, as you spread kisses all over the girl's face.

Megan just laughed, the tickling that the kisses made on her face made her heart warm. After exchanging kisses, Megan looked at you smiling.

"Do you know who else will be there?" Megan asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Sophia's girlfriend?" You asked, your excitement growing even more as you waited for the answer.

"Sophia's girlfriend." Megan stated with a smile on her face, it was really cool to her that you all were friends.

Even though Sophia's girlfriend is a little older than you (you're 19 and she's 21), you've always gotten along really well.

Oh my god, I love that girl, I HAVE TO CALL HER!!!" You said, forgetting about the game temporarily and going to grab your phone to call your friend.

In the end it seems that Manon was right.

The energy in the stadium was uplifting, having Megan by your side made everything better, and being in the presence of the girls definitely made you feel like the little girl watching the game with her family.

Everything seemed perfect, and when the game started, you made sure to watch everything alongside your girlfriend, commenting on everything and answering every question that crossed her mind.

"Thank you for bringing me here." You say into the shorter girl's ear.

Megan, who was clinging to your bicep, lifted her head from your shoulder to look into your eyes.

"You deserve, baby. I love you." The red-haired girl said, standing on her tiptoes and reaching his lips.

bending over a little to get more comfortable, you gave the younger girl another kiss on the lips, that moment was perfect, and every day you knew you fell even more in love with the girl.

I think you've noticed that I love making references to "Fam out", but you can't blame me, I'm kind of obsessed with them

[paninicupcakke]

I Call Shotgun💉⚾️🚛

(BLU blunt trauma one shot + Engie mentioned)

(Suggestive /slight nsfw/ fluff ending)

(CW: this is set in the 60’s & there’s no seatbelts mentioned. These guys are fictional maniacs cramming themselves into a truck, don’t do this irl it’s not safe!)

The three mercenaries had planned to travel together for a supply drop across town for work. Engineer had volunteered to drive, leaving Medic and Scout to argue over the shotgun seat. More specifically, who would be sitting where. This BLU supply work truck specifically only had one passenger seat. Scout made sure to wake up extra early that morning to be the first one seated. Medic and Engineer both walked over to the parked supply truck. Engineer casually hopped into the drivers seat. Medic swiftly opened the passenger door and immediately glared at his colleague. He let out a frustrated groan. There Scout was, comfortably sat with both hands behind his head. He glanced up at the doctor with a smirk, plucking his headphones off and tossing them aside.

“I call shotgun!” Scout teasingly declared.

“Stand up.” Medic sternly ordered.

“No way! First come, first served.” Scout replied. Engineer let out an agitated sigh.

“Will you two quit this nonsense already? We have got to get movin’ within the next 5 minutes.” Engineer sternly scolded. Quickly sticking the key into the truck's ignition.

“Why should I have to sit on him?! It makes more sense for me to have this seat, and for him to be sat on mein lap!” Medic angrily proclaimed while folding his arms.

“Yeah? Why’s that?” Scout asked in a snarky tone, manspreading even wider.

“Dummkopf. You weigh less than I do! If I sit on you, I am going to be crushing you this entire ride.” Medic explained in an agitated tone. Scout deviously snickered at the doctor’s words. The runner was fully aware of that already. That was the entire reason he had raced over to claim the seat in the first place. This was a rare opportunity to have the doctor right where he wanted him.

“You ain’t big enough to break me! Quit actin’ like I’m some toothpick. Now quit flappin’ ya gums and get in the truck.” Scout sternly ordered while folding his arms. Medic continued to glare at him, clenching his fists. Scout instinctually flinched, assuming he was going to get forcibly removed from his seat. Surprisingly, Medic refrained from doing so. He took a deep breath and finally climbed up into the truck.

“Fine.” Medic replied in defeat, swiftly shutting the door behind him. Scout immediately perked up from being slumped over in his seat. Straightening himself out and moving his legs closer together. Medic had smoothed out his lab coat before carefully sitting down onto his colleague’s lap. Scout anxiously bit down on his lip as he felt the doctor’s full weight on top of him. Trying his best to contain his composure. Meanwhile, Medic was quietly seething in his seat. He decided to begrudgingly avoid eye contact with both of his teammates for the time being. Feeling utterly humiliated and emasculated. Engineer let out a sigh of relief and began pulling the truck out of the driveway. Driving outside of the base and onto the dirt road they would be glued to for the next hour.

“Do you seriously want to be like this for the next hour?” Medic asked with his back facing the shorter man.

��Oh, God yes.’ Scout desperately thought to himself.

“It could be worse.” Scout replied with a small shrug. Medic sighed as he whipped out his pocket sized crossword puzzle book. The three mercenaries were now locked in for a two hour long car ride with each other. Scout put his headphones back on, resting his head back into both of his palms. Secretly enjoying the current view, a beefed up German maniac sat on top of him.

⏳

The first hour had passed and their manual labor was all done for that day. The three of them had stopped at a gas station while on the way back to base. Once done with his much needed bathroom break, Scout made sure to hurry back to his seat after getting his fill of beef jerky. Throwing his hat and sunglasses off and onto the truck’s dashboard while plopping back into his seat. Medic grumbled as he walked out of the gas stations doors and back over to the truck. He swung open the passenger door and climbed back inside.

“You seem very passionate about this seating arrangement. Why is that?” Medic asked in a snarky tone. Scout was caught off guard by that question. Letting out a frustrated groan before replying.

“I’ll give you two reasons why. One, because I called shotgun. And two, because I like how pissed off you get about it.” Scout slyly replied. Medic furrowed his eyebrows even further, glaring daggers at the young man’s devious and arrogant smirk.

“C’mon doc, just sit back down and I’ll share my jerky with ya.” Scout continued on, teasingly patting his lap. It was a miracle the doctor hadn’t violently choked him out yet. Medic rolled his eyes and begrudgingly sat back down in his lap. Scout grabbed the stick of jerky beside him and offered it to Medic.

“No thanks.” Medic piped up, taking back out his crossword book from his pocket.

“Suit yourself.“ Scout replied. Taking a huge bite of the delicious processed meat stick immediately after. Once devouring it all, he threw the jerky wrapper onto the floor of the truck. Both men silently waited for Engineer to refill his coffee cup, as well as fill up the gas tank to the truck. Scout began to feel very anxious all of a sudden. Not knowing where to put his hands this time around. He awkwardly placed them to his side, drawing his hand back quickly. He had accidentally touched Medic’s thigh. The doctor couldn’t help but notice his teammate’s sudden switch in behavior from the corner of his eye. Analyzing his hesitant expression and body language. The Scout’s cocky demeanor had diminished completely. Medic suddenly threw his crossword puzzle book onto the dashboard of the truck. Shifting over onto the younger man’s lap. Crossing his legs and sitting sideways, now facing him directly. Scout's eyes lingered on the doctor's pointed boot crossing over his thigh. Medic suddenly grabbed the young man’s lanky wrist. Scout yelped in fear, resembling a stray mutt caught in the doctor’s grasp.

“I know exactly why you want me sat here.” Medic proclaimed with a salacious grin.

‘Aw crap.’ Scout immediately thought to himself. The runner was left speechless with his cheeks flushed red. His eyes darted up and down the doctor, quietly panicking on what to say next. Medic lightly snickered before speaking again.

“So ein böser Junge. I never would have expected you to be even remotely interested.” Medic flirtatiously continued on. Guiding the runner’s gloved hand back over onto his thigh. Scout couldn’t contain himself any longer and began desperately fondling the doctor’s body. Gliding both hands all over his teammate’s thick, muscular thighs. Nearly drooling at the fact Medic willingly placed his hands where he’d been wanting to set them this entire time. Medic snickered devilishly at the young man’s desperate touch and pathetic whimpers. The doctor couldn’t help but find his shame filled, beady eyes alluring. Scout shyly rested his head onto Medic’s shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry! I can’t help it! You look damn good a-and you smell so nice.” Scout anxiously admitted in defeat. Eagerly drowning in the doctor’s clean scented cologne mixed in with a light chemical scent lingering on his lab coat. Medic snickered, watching the mutt underneath him desperately fidget and grind up against him. Medic then wrapped one arm around Scout’s shoulders, pulling him in closer. Beginning to gently pat the young man’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, just try not to get too riled up. We still have a long way home.” Medic warned.

“I-I know. It’ll go away, I promise!” Scout bashfully said. Referring to a certain issue poking underneath the doctor’s thighs. The truck door loudly swung open and Engineer plopped back into the drivers seat. Scout flinched, immediately shutting his eyes and went into hiding. Burying his face deep into the crook of Medic’s neck. Engineer set his coffee into the cup holder and glanced over at his two teammates with a confused expression.

“Looks like y’all finally made up.” Engineer quietly mentioned. Noticing their position had changed and how they were more entangled into each other. Medic gently caressed the back of Scout’s head.

“Ja, I much prefer him when he is like this. Unconscious and silent.” Medic slyly whispered. Implying the young man was asleep. Scout was relieved that Medic had lied on the spot for him. He continued to act limp. Engineer chuckled quietly.

“Well, just one more hour to get through and we’ll be back in time for supper.” Engineer whispered with a small grin. He soon started up the truck again, driving out of the gas station and back onto the bumpy dirt road.

Half an hour had passed and Scout legitimately did fall asleep. Snoring lightly as he nuzzled into the doctor’s soft chest. Medic ended up drifting off into a nap as well. Engineer glanced over at them occasionally with a wide grin. Just the other day, both his teammate's were relentlessly arguing over who would get shotgun. Now here they were, fast asleep in each other's arms.

[peachhcs]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachhcs/767959888939941888/httpswwwtumblrcompeachhcs767185748593164288

don’t apologize love writing takes time!

i love them and so glad they are communicating well ! i see will just taking more time to reassure making sure she feels a bit better more and maybe he starts calling her first more just to talk more and it helps a lot

maybe because she is hurt and cant play she comes to visit will for while doing some of her school online and it helps them a lot

part 10!! wow i can’t believe this accumulated so many parts. i think i’m gonna split this into two and make samy visiting will in california it’s own post if that’s ok and that’s what y’all want :) so sorry this one is a bit shorter than the others 😖

au masterlist

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9

it’d been almost three weeks since samy’s shoulder injury. she was getting a lot better every week and pt was for sure helping, but she still couldn’t play. the doctors hadn’t cleared her yet, so instead, the brunette was stuck doing what little she could at practice like legs or any footwork the coach had the girls work on.

she was bit discouraged because it was the first time since she started soccer that she couldn’t play every single day. it wasn’t something samy was used to, especially being so stationary all the time.

she left practice early wednesday night after not having anything to do. hannah was still in class when samy got into their apartment and that’s when her phone started loudly vibrating in her backpack.

“what the hell,” the soccer player cursed to herself as she dropped her backpack onto the ground and began rummaging through it.

she got her hands on her phone in the second pocket, her slight frustration turning to happiness when she saw will’s name on the screen.

“hi, will,” samy smiled when his face appeared.

“hey, pretty. what are you doing?” the blonde wondered while samy shuffled into her room to talk.

“came back from practice early today. there wasn’t a lot i could do today, so i just left,” the brunette shrugged, falling back onto her bed.

“i’m sorry. how’s the shoulder?”

“it’s fine. i guess i’m just bored and wish i could be playing instead of sitting around all day,” the two shared a frown at her words.

“have you tried doing other things that don’t involve using your arms? walking? running?” will suggested.

“yeah, but it bores me really quickly. i think i need things that are high intensity and quick moving. walking is a bit too slow for me,” samy chuckled to herself.

“figures. you did grow up doing the most contact, quick moving sports.”

“how are you though? how’s everything?” samy changed the subject. she didn’t really like talking about herself that much so she always made it a point to ask will about his day.

“i’m good. practice has been long, but it’s been fine. i miss you,” will hummed and that made the girl smile. even though they did just see each other about two and a half weeks ago, they’ll always miss one another no matter how much time passed since last time.

“i’m glad everything’s going well. coach didn’t kill you too hard for just leaving without a word?”

“no..not really. i do have to, uh, clean the rink after every practice for the next like month, but hey i’ll take it,” the blonde shrugged and it always amazed samy how nonchalant will could be about hockey sometimes because if that were her, she’d probably be freaking out more.

“well, i admire your coolness about it. thanks for coming to visit again, by the way. i liked seeing you and hopefully we can see one another again soon,” the brunette grinned.

“you know, i’ve actually been kind of thinking about that. since you aren’t really playing because of your shoulder..i was wondering if you..wanted to take that opportunity to come to san jose for the first time since you and my mom and sister dropped me off here?” will asked like he was asking his mom to let him spend the night at someone’s house when he was younger.

a flush rose to samy’s cheeks, “like..come to san jose? i-i don’t really have money or anything..”

“i’ll buy your ticket,” the boy immediately cut in.

“i can’t ask you to do that. we’ve talked about this, will,” samy flushed some more.

“i know, i know, but i figured it could take your mind off of things for a weekend? i can show you around san jose some more, we can do whatever you want really. plus, i have the money. i don’t mind. i wanna see you,” will explained his reasoning making samy’s flush turn into a pink blush on her cheeks.

“i wanna see you too. you really don’t mind buying my ticket? i..i don’t wanna make you think i’m like relying on you to do that..”

“baby, i promise you’re not. i want to. let me buy it for you and anything else you want when you come visit?” will cheered and samy rolled her eyes.

“maybe not that far, but i guess a trip to san jose won’t hurt. i have been trying to figure out when i can come visit you,” a smile crept its way onto will’s lips the more samy’s decision leaned to yes.

“exactly. let me at least take some of the burden off of you by buying your plane ticket.”

it seemed to be decided as the brunette slowly gave in. her smile turned into a grin and so did will’s seeing her pretty face. “okay, okay, i’ll come visit. next weekend i have no tests or anything to worry about,” the hughes decided.

“yes! i knew i could convince you. i’ll buy them right now,” will exclaimed and the girl giggled as she watched her boyfriend open up his laptop.

“i love you,” samy hummed.

“i love you, too,” will blew her a kiss through the phone which samy caught. she held her hand to her heart and giggled when will spun his computer around to show her the tickets he was thinking about buying.

[s0fter-sin]

thinking about the way ghost doesn't hesitate to start killing shadows when graves betrays them but soap only takes one hostage

you can almost hear the voice in his head telling him it doesn't have to be this way; they can still talk it out

"i'm calling shepherd"

his first instinct when confronted with betrayal is to play it by the books: to go up the chain. that goes against everything we've seen him do. he bucks authority at every chance except for the one time he's confronted with the barrels of his allies' guns

he wants a peaceful resolution; for the first time we've ever seen, he doesn't want violence to be the answer. there has to be another fix, a solution that doesn't end with him killing the same men he's been working with; his friends

nothing's happened yet

it doesn't have to go this way

but ghost has been betrayed before. he knows the way this ends; either with him six feet under or his enemy

he doesn't hesitate

it's only when they knock alejandro out that soap shoots; when they spill the first blood and cross a line they can never come back from

only when ghost orders him to run and he has to cover his retreat

and somewhere along the line, between civilians’ screams and taunting voices, between his shaking breath and ghost steady in his ear, that naivety is stripped away; his trust turned to teeth that he uses to sink into throats of men he'd have given his life for

"be careful who you trust, sergeant; people you know can hurt you the most"

he's learned the price of trust

just like ghost did

but unlike ghost, he has someone to guide him through the aftermath

"good advice, It"

[starrysnowdrop]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #5: Stamp

Verb (Used with object): to impress with a particular mark or device, as to indicate genuineness, approval, or ownership; to stamp a document with a seal.

Following the events of 5.3; Zenos looks around his newly deceased father Varis’s private quarters in the Imperial Palace and finds an item of particular interest.

After searching through the seemingly endless piles of monotonous tomes, paperwork, and notes strewn across the late Emperor Varis’s desk, Zenos found a small, unassuming key, which he quickly surmised would unlock the drawer of the desk.

He inserted the key and turned it, unlocking the drawer. When he slid the drawer open, there seemed to only be more tedious stacks of papers, all of which were of little concern to him. He tossed each slip of paper off to the side, and he was soon about to abandon his search for anything of import from his father’s private quarters, as nothing had stood out to him whatsoever.

After a few minutes of searching, he lifted a slip of paper from the stack to reveal an envelope, which would not have peaked his interest if not for the particular ink seal that was stamped upon the front of the envelope: it was a round seal, in the Hingan style, with an imprint of a mountain peak shrouded in mist.

“Ah, now what it is?” Zenos asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

A small smile graced Zenos’s countenance as he ran his fingers across the seal. He had recognized the seal from a particular tome that he had read some time ago, a time before he had experienced his one shining moment of pure joy and ecstasy.

Whatever the envelope enclosed, Zenos would soon find out, but it was sure to be of immense significance to him in some way. Because why would his father have kept an envelope stamped with the official seal of the Aino Clan of Hingashi… her clan’s seal?

Yume’s Blog: @firelightmuse

[sysig]

It’s not going away, so get used to it! (Patreon)

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Stuck In Her Head

short contemporary YA coming-of-age set in Hong Kong, following two teen girls who are friends

one is a musical prodigy but has lost her passion and wants to explore different possibilities for her future

the other is passionate about music but dealing with mental health & family issues

the latter develops a crush on the former, who is aroace, and they have to re-navigate their friendship, while working on a music/coding competition project together and dealing with their own issues

[dkettchen]

me, procrastinating on one project with another one: it's fine they're both for content I do this for the people and the people will receive SOMETHING sooner by me working on either one 😤

[perilegs]

i cut several inchess of my hair off (it reached past my shoulders now its back at like. chin/neck length) and no one at work has said anything bc it still looks the exact same

[sophiethewitch1]

why is it that whenever im not paying attention i go straight back to psychologically torturing www!reader

[brutal-nemesis]

YWDaC: Maybe It’s Not So Fun After All

Hiii here is part 2 of pirate shenanigans I’ll probably do one more to finish this out but it probably won’t be for a while cuz I have some other stuff I wanna work on so enjoy for now ✨

←Previous - Castys Masterlist - Next→

Ingredients: pirate battle, wood splinters in a guy, stitches

The next few weeks were truly a learning experience, and also just an experience. Castys learned far more than he ever thought there was to know about ropes and knots and wind and how to clean things, all while his back slowly hurt less and less. He hadn’t even been whipped that much, but it was still super unfun as an experience, enough to motivate him to be a good little pirate. Well, more like a sailor, they hadn’t done any pirate activities since he was so kindly given a spot on the crew.

And of course when battle did come, he wished he could go right back to the peaceful days of hard labor and yelling.

Kamon had been teaching him to use a sword during their free time, since Castys’s spear wasn’t well suited for combat aboard a crowded ship, but before he even got a chance to use it, the ships had to fire their cannons at each other a bunch. It was loud, somehow way louder than he’d been expecting, and his arms burned from carrying ammunition up from the hold. By the time the fun part started, he was already gonna be exhausted, just great.

His new orders were to take supplies up to the main deck, and he was somehow surprised that there was even more chaos and yelling up here than down below. They were getting pretty close to the other ship now, and it was probably almost time to board them and steal all their shit, which he was actually excited for. Mainly the stealing part.

Just as he set the crate down, there was a loud crack next to him, and his body lit up with all these sharp little pains, like…he looked down, and he was indeed covered in splinters. They were a wonderful variety of sizes, from tiny little ones that weren’t even making him bleed to ones that were as long as his hand, but the worst one had poked completely through his fucking cheek, filling his mouth with the taste of wood and blood, which was a weird combination. Ears ringing, he stumbled away from the destroyed railing, and was just about to start pulling the splinters out before he remembered the medic’s stern warning to not pull splinters out yourself. So he had a cheek piercing for now, hooray.

Before he’d made it back belowdecks, Captain Izogie called for everyone to get ready to board, so nevermind to hauling stuff. Castys pulled out the sword he’d been given, the weight still feeling a little unnatural, but it was all he was gonna get. He saw some dudes climbing up the rigging and swinging over on ropes, but he’d rather just wait and walk over on the plank like a normal person. Was boarding another ship a normal person thing? Okay, really, swinging looked fun, but he didn’t feel like climbing when he was full of holes that were full of wood. Also he didn’t trust himself to land without breaking something.

And then it was his turn to cross the plank, running so he didn’t have time to look down and think about falling into the cold ocean, jumping down into the chaos of the fight, trying his best to weave through the clashing metal and warm spurts of blood, and suddenly he was face-to-face with someone, someone he didn’t recognize, and he raised his sword, but just as he was about to swing he remembered that he’d never fought another human, not for real, and he couldn’t help but hesitate, and they didn’t, they swung, he only jumped back at the last second, it was them or him, he had to fight, remember what he’d learned, remember what it felt like to slice through flesh and hear screams, and it was more familiar once he did it, coming back to him now, his grip steady as he jumped over the body and moved on, belowdecks, rummaging around for valuables, helping his crewmates pry crates open and carry them back to the ship, the wood almost slipping out of his hands, when did they get slick with blood, he wasn’t sure, it was all a haze of back and forth, up and down, fight and slash and stab and dodge and search and carry and he almost walked back across the plank onto the now-sinking ship, all of its contents plundered, all of its crew dead. 

The fight was over, and everything hurt. 

With shaky hands, he tried to put his sword back in its scabbard, but someone stopped him. “Clean your blade, newbie. And then go see the doc. You look like shit.” Castys nodded, wiping the blood from his sword with his shirt before sheathing it and stumbling belowdecks. Maybe he’d get less of a share of the treasure this way, but at the moment he didn’t care. He just wanted the damn splinters out. And the gash in his arm probably needed stitches, which were always his favorite. 

He found Alfyn’s quarters without much trouble, having been there before after he’d been flogged on his first day. The healer was busy tending to people with more pressing wounds, so Castys just sat on the floor and watched. Alfyn’s healing magic was so strange to watch, the way he could just hold his hands out and make flesh rejoin the other flesh super unfamiliar to Castys. Neither of them could use magic back on the islands, so the whole concept was sorta new to him, especially this weird healing stuff. His fingers teased with the splinter through his cheek, wiggling it against his tongue. It would be kinda funny to pull it out and then try to squirt water out of the hole in his cheek, but that would require pulling it out and then finding water and also someone who would think he was funny, which sounded like a lot, so he settled for fucking with it and waiting for Alfyn.

By the time he got to him, Alfyn’s nose was plugged with a rag that was either completely soaked in blood or just red, but maybe it was red because it had been soaked in blood before. He looked Castys up and down, and Castys showed off his arm gash since it was very painful. Alfyn nodded, beckoning Castys to stand. “Nothing you’ve got’s pressing enough to use my magic on, but I’ll still get you fixed up. You’re…Castys, right?”

“That’s my name.” Castys sat on the little table, the spots of blood on it soaking into his pants, which kind of sucked, but what wasn’t dirty on this ship, anyway? “So why can’t I take out the splinters myself?”

Alfyn laughed a little, coming back over with tweezers and a metal bucket that had a bunch of other splinters in it. “I don’t trust you lot to get them out completely. If you do it wrong, little bits can get left behind.” He then started pulling out Castys’s splinters the right way, which seemed to be to do it slow and to use tweezers, but Castys could be wrong since he was a little distracted by all of his little wounds hurting all over again. Alfyn did the one in his cheek last, and once it was out Castys poked at the hole left behind with his tongue despite the pain, which got a sigh out of Alfyn instead of a laugh.

“Please don’t make the wound worse, Castys.”

“Sorry.” He was then a very still and patient and well-behaved boy while Alfyn cleaned all of his wounds, arm gash included. Whatever liquid Alfyn was pouring on everything stung a lot, but he sat still so he didn’t make things more difficult for Alfyn, who looked really damn tired now that Castys was paying attention.

“Alright, your arm and cheek are going to need stitches, so please keep holding still like you’ve been doing.”

“They used to call me statue boy.” Kind of funny considering the time he almost did get turned into a statue, but that was a joke for just him. He clenched his fists and Alfyn approached with the needle and thread. He’d been through this more than once, he’d be fine, it was all things he’d felt before. The sensation of the needle poking into his skin, the tug of thread following behind, the hand on his chin…

“Hold still.”

“I’m trying, but it’s hard not to laugh at the faces you’re making.”

“I’m trying to focus here, Castys, come on. You don’t want this to be a super nasty scar, do you?”

“Uh…I don’t really care. As long as I can still eat food and stuff what does it matter? I don’t see anyone else besides you, and I don’t think you care either.”

“I-I don’t, but…maybe there will be other people, someday?”

“Even then, whatever. If they’re scared off by a scar on my face they’re probably losers, anyway.”

“So you’ll fit right in, then!”

“And yet you still hang out with me all of the time.”

“Yeah, ‘cause there’s literally no one else, dumbass. It’s not like I have options.”

“Sucks to suck. I’m…I’m okay with just you, though.”

“...Me too, Castys. But that might change if you don’t sit still.”

His scars hurting more than his actual wounds was stupid, but it was certainly happening. He left Alfyn’s quarters in sort of a daze, trying to bury everything the stitches had brought to the surface. Focus on anything and everything else, on the awful food, on talking with Kamon, on getting more respect from the other crewmates, on drinking stolen ale, on the share of the treasure he was promised once they reached land.

But that night, lying awake in his hammock as the crew snored around him, his scars still hurting, the pain cutting through the warm haze of the alcohol, he didn’t feel any less alone.

Next→

Castys Cult: @as-a-matter-of-whump @blackrosesandwhump @fanmanga1357-blog @thehopelessopus @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @hearse-song @muddy-swamp-bitch @whumpasaurus101 @yet-another-heathen @galaxywhump @starnight-whump @his-unspoken-words @misspelledwitch @suspicious-whumping-egg @pumpkin-spice-whump @painsandconfusion @i-can-even-burn-salad @befuddled-calico-whump @whumpinggrounds @whump-queen @whumpedydump  @theelvishcowgirl

[themyscirah]

This is technically a Diana's age poll but I framed it partially around Julia's rescue because that's the event I need to contextualize and whether or not Diana is a thing yet is p important for my purposes. I would keep the Pérez run and postcrisis continuity in mind when answering this bc that's when this is relevant but I'd keep in mind that even though Diana is very young there (like early 20s) we don't know I don't think if she ages differently as a child (esp as a themysciran AND being made from clay) and in some versions she is older than she looks and was made earlier

Edit: I accidentally logic-ed this out in the tags lol 🤦‍♀️but feel free to still vote however you want. Going to publish this anyway bc I think I made some good points later in my tags

[gamebunny-advance]

HmHm.

I think a Hairdorables head on a Cave Club body would make a decent Mayday doll.

Nothing's gonna be perfect, but I think Hairdorables matches her face/head shape a lil'better than the base Cave Club.

Ya know. If somebody wants to get on that.

[astrxealis]

i am so used to my pinned post i kinda don't want to change the format but i want to