#that confidence ... come back

[ceruark]

I love your entwined au! Nothing like political intrigue with a dash of yandere, simply scrumptious. Your phainonposting has me curious on how you would incorporate the amphoreus cast into the au.

anon when i tell you this ask literally got me out of bed this morning… like i was laying down scrolling through tumblr and then i saw this and got a rush of adrenaline…

thank you so much for your kind compliments! i have certainly been thinking about it. i haven’t written anything formal because i haven’t yet played through most of amphoreus, but things have been happening upstairs. oh the wheels have been turning.

allow me to indulge you a bit ;)

cw: yandere themes - obsessive, possessive behavior. "ensnared" - original entwined au post | entwined au masterlist

disclaimer: obviously, tribbie is meant to be totally platonic here. aglaea, anaxa, castorice, mydei, and phainon are meant to be the usual par-for-the-course yanderes.

The palace descends into chaos the moment you get the letter.

Nothing is known about Amphoreus beyond the singular fact that it is a kingdom whose size and power rivals that of the IPC’s vast empire. They’d been under isolationist policy until the recent ascension of one King Mydeimos to the throne, who outlined his wishes in his letter to your kingdom of wanting to connect with other kingdoms and discuss trade agreements and alliances.

You and the rest of your court spend weeks discussing his letter and how best to proceed. There’s a healthy amount of distrust in all of you given that, to your knowledge, you’re the only kingdom to have been contacted by them, and there is absolutely no information on this empire. 

Veritas and Himeko are the most hesitant, cautioning against being the first to make contact with Amphoreus when there’s nothing to be said about their policies, motivations, or military prowess. Too many unknown factors creates far too great of a risk to justify any potential gains to be had from blindly rushing into an alliance.

Welt and Dan Heng, on the other hand, are more open to the idea. They both bring up the fact that your kingdom’s reputation is maintained by your amiable image, and turning away King Mydeimos now could tarnish that and have ruinous implications down the line, especially since your kingdom’s decisions usually set the tone for how others will respond. You’re a cornerstone of the world, and with exceptions such as Penacony and the IPC Empire, many others look to you for how to respond to global relations. Amphoreus may not take kindly to you shutting them out if everyone else follows suit, and you’re still not certain how much of a threat they might be.

March, brilliant young woman that she is, suggests acting as a middleman before making a definitive decision; who doesn’t like a party? You can host a ball in the palace where the rulers of Amphoreus can formally introduce themselves to the world, and any first impressions and negotiations can happen on everyone’s own terms, without all the pressure being on your shoulders.

After working out the details, you draft a response with your proposition of hosting a ball for Amphoreus in honor of King Mydeimos’s ascension and send it off to the distant, mysterious kingdom. The response is signed by “Heir Tribios,” who eagerly agrees to the event and sends their many thanks and behalf of all the “Chrysos Heirs.”

It’s information Veritas dutifully files away for later. He and Dan Heng have spent hours picking apart every last word of both letters you’ve received, gathering whatever meaning they could in an attempt to know what to expect come September, in three months, when the ball will occur.

You invite every ruler you believe is important enough to be present, and that you are on at least civil terms with: Emperor Diamond and all of his advisors; Queen Fu Xuan, Generals Jing Yuan and Feixiao, Lord Yanqing, and Lady Yunli; Lady Kafka and her equally notorious court; Prince Gepard and General Bronya; Queen Herta; Queen Ruan Mei; and—after swallowing your pride—Prince Sunday and Princess Robin.

You wouldn’t admit to it even if you were held at swordpoint, but somehow, Sunday’s presence would make you feel more comfortable that night; despite everything that’s happened between you two, you’ve always recognized how good of a leader he is, and just this once, you’ll appreciate his rather manipulative, cunning nature when it comes to assessing Amphoreus and their “Chrysos Heirs.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the IPC is the first to confirm their attendance, and for the first time, your palace will be seeing the rare honor of having all ten of Emperor Diamond’s advisors present at his side. The Xianzhou Alliance is next to confirm the attendance of the rulers of the Luofu and Yaoqing, shortly followed by both Queen Herta and Queen Ruan Mei’s attendance. The rulers of Belobog accept your invitation soon after that. You don’t hear from Lady Kafka, but she never formally responds to any invite, anyway. She always chooses to just show up when she feels like it, and you have a gut feeling that she wouldn’t miss something like this.

Penacony’s acceptance is penned by Sunday himself—you’d be able to recognize his flawless script anywhere. At first glance, his letter seems cordial and polite, but you know Sunday, so you’re able to read between the lines; he holds the same reservations you do, subtly responding to the doubts that you, too, had expertly hidden into the verbiage of the invite you sent him, one that had differed slightly from everyone else’s. 

Something bitter twists deep inside you at the thought of how easy it is to slip back into working seamlessly with him as you did so frequently as children and early adolescents, how even after putting so much effort into distancing yourself from him, you still end up relying on him in some way, because he’s familiar, and you two know each other as well as you know yourselves.

The taste of iron sits heavy in your mouth as you file his confirmation away with the rest.

When the day of the ball finally comes, you are surprised—one, to find out there are so many Heirs (and these are just the ones that have agreed to be here, there are still more in Amphoreus), and two, because they’re actually… nice?

Well, most of them are. At the very least, none of them seem to be outright threatening, like Lady Kafka. The first one you meet is a spry child with bright red hair and a blinding smile who introduces themself as Heir Tribios, but insists on being called Tribbie. Their manner of referring to themself in plurality is a bit… odd, but you don’t dwell on it too much—you’re certain Veritas and Dan Heng are already doing that for you.

Tribbie then introduces you to a well-built man decorated in countless battle scars and a warrior’s regalia. You’re a bit pleased to find out that this is King Mydeimos; you have a high level of respect for leaders who have actually fought to protect their empire. Though he’s the sitting ruler of Amphoreus, you come to learn quickly that he doesn’t consider himself higher than the other Heirs, and governs the kingdom equally with them. 

You find yourself quite taken with all of the Chrysos Heirs. After getting past her initial wall of wariness (that you can’t really blame her for, given your own hesitance), Aglaea proves to be a warm, comforting presence whose honesty is refreshing and appreciated by someone in your position. Anaxagoras can hold a conversation with you of such high caliber that you haven’t experienced with almost anyone before, perhaps not even Veritas. Castorice’s sweet nature comes through to you even with the distance she insists upon keeping, and you find yourself smiling to yourself every time she eagerly approaches one of the many animals kept on the palace grounds. You also somehow always get dragged into Mydei and Phainon’s banter, finding yourself laughing yourself breathless at the two’s antics, which you end up wrapped up in when they argue around you, refusing to budge from their places at either side of you, for some reason.

They’re the center of your attention throughout the entire ball—so much so that you don’t even notice Aventurine’s arrival, or perhaps, even more egregious, you don’t notice Sunday’s arrival.

Perhaps, if there weren’t so many of them bombarding you, you would be able to take a step back and realize that the opposite is true: you’re the center of their attention. They seem to be switching between occupying your focus, leaving you oblivious to the way Aglaea and Anaxa speak in hushed whispers to each other behind your back, a dark cunning revealing itself in their eyes, or the way Phainon and Mydei stand just a bit too close to you, closer than any other ruler present in the room who’s been familiar with you for years would dare to stand. With her distance, you don’t notice the way Castorice wards off anyone else at the ball who tries to approach you, or the way Tribbie distracts onlookers by eagerly introducing themself and answering questions about the vast kingdom of Amphoreus.

But you do notice Veritas standing in a secluded corner of the ballroom, willingly conversing with Sunday and Aventurine.

Terror is a frigid, biting thing as it courses through your veins—but you hardly have time to process it when Phainon is already placing a hand on the small of your back, inquiring about the palace’s grand gardens that he’s heard so much about and guiding you away from Aglaea and Anaxa before the words “fated one” can reach your ears.

[tubbytarchia]

I think my Tango becomes more of a cat each time I draw him oh no

bonus:

[intriga-hounds]

My sweet Kimmeh had a little bit of trauma in the backyard yesterday and did the Baby Death Scream. She was unharmed, but she was scared, and it took her quite some time to recover. Eventually I had to call in the cavalry (Ponzu) to comfort her because I wasn’t enough.

Today coming outside she hesitated running by the place where she got scared. I was really discouraged to see that it’s still on her mind. But I was able to coax her to run by it and come have breakfast.

After breakfast, she played a little but really just wanted to go back in, so I let her. I’m hoping for improvement at lunch. I’m just sad this happened, since I’ve been eyeing her as a possible keeper and this experience (especially at such a key age) could really leave a mark.

Shit happens, it’s just one of the perils of puppy raising, but it sucks. I’ve been through the wringer this week, with about three tough weeks ahead of me too. Hoping Kismet makes a full recovery so I have one less thing to worry about.

[littlespoonevan]

listen i love every iteration of evan 'buck' buckley soooooo much ok he's my special little guy and i am so proud of all the ways he's grown and become the person he is. but!!!! i would give Anything to get a glimpse of s1 buck in s9 buck's body. please please please just a little hint of that perfect blend of overly-confident charm and earnest innocence. like i'm sorry but boyfriend buck was at his Peak in season 1 and To Be Honest we've never seen him the way same way again. and i knowwwww buck lost confidence after abby ok i know but like. i need him back. i need to see him secure enough in his relationship that he's not afraid to flirt or tease or woo. now.......if only there was someone in buck's life who made him feel secure enough to act like that......a partner of sorts....perhaps a roommate.... :)

[hypertechnica]

star trek as a concept is completely sexless. it is utterly devoid of sex. not one drop of convincing sexual tension has ever graced the screen on any star trek show. the weird unintentionally homoerotic psychosexual mind game shit on the other hand,

[shiftinghoesblog]

I'm just on my way home from uni because we have just been released for the summer break at last, and I wanna thank y'all so much for supporting me throughout the creation of this blog. It will always be here hahaha this is a simple form of gratitude and sweet message to my moots especially.

This was the last semester of my second year in my fashion degree, which means that I will most likely return for my final year... scary, but I know that I will make it through, and from the minute I found out about shifting, I know that everything will be okay <3 Now I can enjoy my time off for a while, but I'll get really busy! As I'll be working hard towards my final major project.

This means that I may be on a shifting break to focus on graduating, moving out, perhaps learning to drive? and securing a summer internship (maybe), good paying job, of course, before I start thinking about seriously thinking about permashifting out of this reality permanently.

I simply want the version of myself that I'll eventually leave here to make the best out of her life even if I won't be "here" if you get what I mean, she will post my pre-drafted farewell blog to the community when I have made it but for now I wanna cherish my moments here and become the best version of myself towards my final days here! I hope y'all also understand. have a good day/night wherever you are, I love you all, and as always.

happy shifting ~

[vervielle]

Can you draw some Lars art in celebration of the Spinoff series about him that got announced?

Lars of the Stars (!!!)

Thanks for the request, Retro!! ★

close ups and line art n stuff↓↓↓

Skibidi toilet....... also uh I liked the no line art version just colour but I couldn't bring myself to figure out how to reconstruct everything so it didn't look weird and I'm tired very tired

this is no line art btw sighsss

ok see u i gtg

[mabelmidnight-takeover]

the thing that doesn't make sense to me regarding the "he was putting her career on the line" POV is that there's no previous behavior from abbot that makes that believable to me. abbot faked a teenager's exams (w/o her knowledge) so she could get an abortion, told another doctor said teenager was getting back for the pills and didn't seem to care that robby could very easily find out what he did, reprimanded but immediately praised santos for doing a risky procedure she wasn't allowed to and took every opportunity he got to do procedures the hospital board wouldn't allow on the daily. nothing from his behavior told me he would put someone else's career on the line with something we were shown he's very capable of doing. add that to mohan's arc this season and the possibility of that POV being the case becomes nonexistent to me. it never even crossed my mind before checking what people were saying about the episode. i read it as a joke bc nothing else shown would tell me it wasn't.

comparing it to robby and david's situation: it was Not a surprise how robby reacted after david was proven innocent from the shooting. he was a bit more asshole-ish to how he'd probably react in a normal day, especially after a breakdown, but where he stood on the whole situation was not new. we were shown and told robby could react like that; we were shown and told abbot didn't care about what could happen to him or his career if a patient's health was on the way

[userhangmanpage]

things didn't go well for our cowboy tonight with the DCF 💔💔 (last time this happened before his big match he won tho👀)

[evan-buck]

can someone go back and tell the person i was on november 7th everything about this past week pls? she didn't sleep for two nights or eat for almost four days lmfao she needs to know she doesn't have to put herself through that 😭

[momentofmemory]

— you're somebody else, flora cash

↳ @sceosource day 3

[goomyloid]

you're my kriselle dealer now.

i am this for many. this is just my life now

[evilfarmin]

"me": shen jiu we're gonna get you some friends on god.

shen jiu: don't want 'em!!!

Coda 𝄌: alternative icebreakers:

Shen Jiu and Wen Kexing manifesto VvVvV they don't even both like fans.

the THING. is that wkx is charismatic in a way that sj is not. Shen Yuan is charismatic. wkx is charismatic. we can see him charming uh zhao jing and the rest of the five lakes alliance. he has his off-putting swagger sure but he also. cannn....play pretty nice and cool and human if it serves him. and shen jiu, when he is feeling unsafe and ill at ease, cannot. he does not have that skill. (he could have a different charisma probably but he just doesn't seem to want to. We have no idea what shen jiu wants he's a black box. he doesn't "like" "anything")

but does he like fans?

Shen Jiu is a fan of the fans as a signifier of class and dignity and he can hide behind them. They might make him look like a whore but that's better than looking like an immature rage filled little at least whores are good people. Shen Jiu likes fans for their aesthetic value primarily. He would hold the fan if it wasn't a weapon. For Shen Jiu it issss like a security blanket.

Wen Kexing, on the other hand, couldn't care less truly. He likes the fan because it is a socially acceptable hidden weapon to wave around, but he'd stab someone with a chopstick. or a recorder. Wen Kexing likes the fan because he can impress his crush with all the cool fan tricks he knows (around the world, anyone?) Petition to get this man a butterfly knife.

For Shen Jiu, the fan is a personal identity thing. The fan is the one accessory that has never betrayed him. For Wen Kexing, this is a stim toy he could kill someone with. It is personal for Shen Jiu in a way that it is not for Wen Kexing.

[epiphainie]

this is one of those fic ideas i wanted to write for every ship i've ever been into so it will probably never happen but i'd like to have a silly story with 40 yo, single, lonely tommy kinard who's been down on his luck all his life - like i'm talking ridiculous levels of mom dying at childbirth, dad being terrible, horrifically unfortunate experience of the military, a series of failed jobs, a series of failed relationships, friendships never sticking for long, risks he takes always going south, somehow getting paper cuts through chainmail gloves, missing the bus while trying to avoid his daily encounter with the neighbor's dog etc. - one day opening the door of his downtrodden studio apartment to this beautiful man who stands there like a fucking angel. who looks at tommy with big apologetic eyes, red cheeks of shame, and twiddling thumbs of guilt and stutters, "so, uhm, i wish you didn't have to learn it this way but hi, i'm the guardian angel who, as it turns out, misplaced your files about four decades ago, and so uhm it just resurfaced, haha, and like yeah, i've been banished here for penance. i'll take the couch, it's fine."

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Just a girl who wants to be her mother’s daughter in the ways that matter

[askblueandviolet]

I need to see the spider demons please 😭🙏

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