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charaznablespeteevee · 3 days

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I just finished reading the manga "Ganota no Onna", which is about a woman who is a Gundam otaku and is particularly obsessed with Char and all his red mobile suits.

Originally I read it because alas I Know What It's Like To Be That Girl, but it ended up having a surprising amount of yuri undertones, which I was NOT expecting.

To be clear, it's all played for jokes. It's not actually yuri, and the main character spends a lot of her time crushing on a dude (who hates Gundam). But there are a LOT of instances where the female characters suddenly end up in lesbian situations.

Multiple characters are also explicitly referred to as lesbians, either by other characters or by the narrative itself.

At one point, they even come out and say that all the Gundam fangirls in this comic... seem to like girls.

As I said, this is all largely played for humor, but there are some parts where there genuinely seems to be something going on between some of the women. The main character has some sort of tsundere thing going on with another woman (Makabe, shown below) and this goes on throughout basically the entire manga:

This is all deeply fascinating to me because an ongoing joke in English speaking Gundam fandom is that Char Aznable is some sort of lesbian icon to whom even many sapphics aren't immune, and I'm obsessed with the fact that this manga may be saying that is the case in Japan as well.

As for the comic itself, it's fun and worth a read if you like Gundam because there are multiple very funny Gundam references and jokes, and several Gundam characters make genderswapped cameo appearances. The ending is very abrupt and IMO kind of weird, but the rest was fun and while I would not call it yuri, you can absolutely ship some of the girls together since it really is very heavy on that.

Mostly I can't get over the fact that this entire manga seems to be joking about Char Aznable being an Unexpected Lesbian Icon because it's just funny to me how deeply universal that is.

#Pike's Posts #gundam #manga

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ramshacklefey · 2 days

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No but serious. Dungeons & Dragons is one of the least flexible systems out there. So whenever I hear someone asking, "Why can't I do X in DnD?" or "How would I do (thing that the system is totally ill-suited for)?" my first response is just "GURPS."

For those of you who aren't familiar, GURPS stands for "Generic Universal Role Playing System." I always say it's like the Linux of ttrpgs, in the sense that it's less a system and more a framework that you can use to do whatever you want with.

And I really do mean whatever you want. You want high fantasy? Done. You want gritty realism in a dystopian world? Got it. You want superheroes? Good to go. Super tech space opera? Oh boy we got you there. You want magic systems that aren't based on spell lists? Go for it. Horror games where character death is a constant and very real threat? Sure thing.

You can set up your game to be anything from a complex data driven grinder to a cinematic rules basically optional flight of fancy.

You can play characters who are anywhere from realistically squishy humans to god-like super beings.

Characters personal flaws and strengths can have a direct impact on mechanics. Character species can have a direct and serious impact on mechanics.

The existence of so many options can make GURPS seem overwhelming at first glance, but if you are willing to put in a bit of effort, it's actually a very simple system to play. Most of the hard work is front-loaded into setting and character creation. Once play starts it runs as smooth as can be.

It's totally possible to play it with just the two core books, BUT there are dozens of books that are nothing but tips and advice for how to build a particular type of world or a particular flavor of campaign.

And the books, while not nearly as pretty as DnD books, are laid out in a way that makes it incredibly easy to find exactly the information you want.

Some more mechanical things that I particularly like about it (under the cut):

Characters are created on a point-buy system, but you don't just buy your basic stats, you also buy your skills, advantages, and secondary stats. And you can gain points back by dropping stats below average or taking disadvantages.

The advantage/disadvantage system. This is sorta the core of the character building, and it is *so* much fun. See, rather than pick out a class or species, you have a list (selected by your GM from a much larger list) of things you can buy that will have mechanical impacts on you in the game. Basically, an advantage is anything that opens up more possibilities for you in-game, and a disadvantage is anything that closes off possibilities. They can be superpowers, species traits, cinematic plot armor, personality traits, or things like chronic illness, bad temper, physical or mental disabilities, or being doomed by the narrative.

Simple dice system. To play a GURPS campaign you need three d6. That's it. All checks and saves are done by rolling 3d6 (low rolls are better than high). This has an additional advantage over the d20 system in that there is a probability curve. You're more likely to roll numbers in the mid-range, which makes both critical successes and critical failures rarer, and therefore more satisfying.

Your target roll is adjusted, rather than adding/subtracting from the roll itself. Say you're trying to, idk, hack a computer. Your skill level doesn't affect your dice roll, it affects the number you need to roll in order to succeed. This makes things a lot simpler on the player's end, imo, because there's less they need to keep track of. (You're trying to roll under the skill check, so whatever the base difficulty is, the GM just adds or subtracts your skill level from that).

The basic stats are on a much tighter scale, and they make a lot more sense. Human average is a 10 in everything. When you make your character you can buy higher stats or take lower ones and get more points to spend on other things. All stats cap out at 18, because that's the highest number you can roll. At a 10 strength you are a normal person. At 18 you're basically Superman. You'd have to roll a critical failure not to succeed in a strength check, and remember: critical failures are far less common than in a d20 system.

I could keep going ad infitum here, but instead I'll just close with:

Come with me boy, play my games! We'll have cowboy times in space!

#gurps #ttrpg #i will shill for this game at every opportunity

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homestuckreplay · 3 days

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what kind of sick freak bakes cakes

(page 82-87)

THINGS ARE HAPPENING! THINGS ARE KICKING INTO HIGH GEAR! I'm so blown away by this update, it's definitely the one that's left me the most excited of any so far, for two main reasons.

First, THE TITLE CARD. This is it. The introduction is over, we're done messing around in the tutorial level, we've seen the title screen come into view and now we're ready for John's big boy birthday gamer adventure. I like how simple the animation is, with the slow zoom out as John gazes at the sky as though it's the first time he's realized how big it is, and the rushing wind and tinkling chimes behind it; it captures the banality of John's neighborhood. I just have one question - is the word Homestuck actually in the sky far above the house?

The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox. A familiar note is produced. It's the one Desolation plays to keep its instrument in tune.

The narration beneath the panel is so different from the irreverent jokes of most of the comic; it's got a sincerity that I think we have seen glimpses of before but never really leaned into. I'd like to, because I'm interested in John's inner life, and I'm interested in knowing who this narrative entity is who knows John's inner life.

According to the adventure map (/map/6) this is Act 1, titled 'The Note Desolation Plays', which means this is a title card for both the act and the comic. I really want to dig into this being the act title - it really suggests that this is the page to pay attention to, and that John running around his house playing pranks on himself is a distraction from a much larger feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction. This is a great starting point for a character, especially the 'something feels missing from your life', and I'm bookmarking this page for future thoughts.

Second, we've tripled our number of fetch quests and confirmed that the Sburb Beta is here, in John's house. We also now have the red and green packages, and enough attention is drawn to them that I desperately want to see what's inside. John's dad left one birthday present in John's room and one in the living room, so I'd believe he's doing a treasure hunt (or prank setup) by also putting one in the kitchen and one in the car, except 1. there wasn't one in the study, and 2. those presents were white; these packages are colored.

So of course, I took inventory of all the other green and red things in the comic so far.

Green: John's shirt, Sburb logo, check mark, flashing available captchalogue cards in interface, leaves on tree, 'Typheus', ^CAKE, grass, CD rack interface, strife specibus card, GREEN PACKAGE

Red: 'TRY AGAIN, SMARTASS" error text, GameBro logo, calendar doodles, blood capsules, captchalogue card error, RANCOROUS, TG's instant messages, mailbox lever, car harlequin, RED PACKAGE

Obviously a lot of these are typical associations of red as stop/error and green as go/success, but some are interesting. My best guess is that the green package has something to do with Sburb, because green has been linked to both Sburb and John himself since page 1. There's an outside chance that it's to do with the strife specibus - that's a more similar shade of green to the package, and I love the idea that when you allocate a hammer to your strife specibus, you immediately get a hammer delivered to your house.

The red package could be a cease and desist from GameBro Magazine for slander, but I think it's something to do with TG, as he's our most prominent use of red. If I'm right, I bet it's some sort of gag gift, since he doesn't seem the type to send a sensitive and thoughtful birthday gift.

Big things are coming. I can feel it in the air when John takes off his disguise for a moment to gaze into the sky over his house. Even if we get immediate tonal whiplash when he's tempted to leave a surprise for the mailman - it can't hide the real sense of anticipation to these pages.

#homestuck #reaction #i have a theory crystallizing. but im late to bed already #soon........

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austinramsaygames · 19 hours

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Thinking about Actual Play series and how there are 4 parts that IMO determine if people will want to listen to it.

1. High Concept: this is what the show is about narratively. Setting, plot, characters, themes, all the stuff you'd find in written fiction.

2. Performance: how compelling are the actors involved in the show? Are there suitably funny voices? Do they all have good chemistry? Is there buy in to the High Concept? And so on.

3. Production Quality: Bad mics and poor volume balancing between players can easily take some listeners out of the story. Some of this can be fixed in post, but it's always better to start with the best raw audio you can. That's the baseline stuff but some shows also add music (whether as theme songs or for ambience) and sound effects.

4. The Rules: the most unique part of Actual Play as a format. What rule system are the performers using to inform their performances? The rules place limits on how well the High Concept functions. If you try to tell a story where all the characters are super heroes but you're using Delta Green, there's going to be some friction (which of course could be the basis of the High Concept but absolutely needs to be accounted for).

Different listeners will have different priorities for each of these, and even within them. Really liking one of these aspects within a show may allow a less enjoyable one to get a pass.

For example The Adventure Zone's Balance season is something I listened to every week. I do not give a single shit about D&D actual play and am pretty ambivalent on the High Concept but the audio quality is great and the performances are stellar.

Another example: Friends At The Table's Autumn In Hieron has frequently bad audio quality but the great High Concept of the two diverging parties and the setting, combined with the good performances makes it stand out. Also doesn't hurt that I was interested in Dungeon World.

I don't think I'm saying anything groundbreaking here, but it may be useful for those interested in actual play, fans AND creators, to consider when starting a new show.

More thoughts like this from me on my Patreon! Patrons get early access to my game design work and thoughts. Just $1 a month!

#actual play #actual play podcast #the adventure zone #taz balance #friends at the table #f@tt #autumn in hieron #ttrpg #ttrpg community #my writing

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scintillyyy · 10 hours

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actually. i was thinking, though. what exactly *is* the metric of a tim civilian friend. as in, what exactly makes a character tim's friend vs a kid he goes to school with who he happens to friendly with (because tim is generally friendly with everyone). what's the distinction?

and i think the answer falls on "does tim's civilian life and robin life intersect in a significant way around this character"

because, listen. we all know that tim is a compartmentalizer who tries to keep the ideas of "tim" & "robin" separate. however, we also know that it's not one or the other with tim--he's both. and the closer you're allowed to that narrative intersection of both tim & robin, the more the civilian in question can then be seen to have importance in *tim's* life and a reciprocation of friendship interest by tim.

because you think of the gotham heights high crew--not only does tim use his skills to investigate what's wrong with ives at one point (he got an embarrassing job), he's also used the W&W crew for unknowing assistance against the joker, hudson leads him to a case at one point, & he runs into a case whole hanging out with them to see a play at the park. despite tim's best effort to seperate parts of himself the close interactions of his other life to his friends is not just tim accepting friendship, but tim narratively showing friendship in return--they are narratively allowed to be a part of his life as robin though they'll never know it.

and the brentwood boys are no different. though they're not allowed the secret, their lives are affected and improved by tim as robin. as they give friendship, tim gives friendship in return. and when tim leaves his friendship and reunion with ives is marked by a case, the one with charaxes.

and even later, with zoanne, her life and relationship with tim is complicated by tim's life as robin, but she is allowed that narrative closeness to his life as robin, closeness to the entirety of his life. she even makes a cameo as having spoken to vicki vale about tim, and vicki's story during that era is finding proof of the hidden life of the batfam.

louis grieve is interesting because darla is the friend of the era who meets this metric--her life as a mob daughter is doomed to return tim to his true life. her resurrection as warlock's daughter is what intersects her with whole of tim's life, not just tim. and bernard surprisingly doesn't have any narrative markers that would indicate these kind of particularly close feelings from tim towards him--tim does not help him on a personal level with his personal life, there's, hm. like bernard does bring him the news of steph being robin, but there's really no personal intersection of *tim as robin* with bernard or because of bernard or for bernard. they do interact during the school shooting but it's no more personal than tim and the rest of the kids. in post-crisis, at least, the lack of tim's as robin having any sort of notable personal connection to bernard narratively indicates a fundamental distance between them where tim is not shown to have any significant personal investment in/towards bernard unlike all the other civilian friends. i would say bernard does make in on account of his presence at the school shooting, however when tim's true self is both robin & tim, for him to not have any significant personal narrative connection to the real tim, it does makes him a notable outlier among the civilian cast.

#okay NOW i'm done.#i do think this is intentional btw there absolutely was room to put him + his trauma post the shooting #in a way that tim would have had a chance to intervene as robin and thereby connect bernard to the true tim #but the notable absence of tim having any sort of personal robin connection to him #does narratively indicate a functional disinterest in him on tim's part

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coniferousconman · 2 days

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FHJY EP16 Spoilers and Kipperlily thoughts

Kipperlily Copperkettle I hate that I see some of myself in you. I know a lot of people interpret her reaction to Riz in the anti-affirmative action sentiment and that’s fair to do so. She is not doing herself any favors.

That’s not what I relate to cause that be wild just be clear. Affirmative action is a general public good and a net positive.

However as a neurodivergent person I see in her the struggle of growing up neurodivergent where a lot of time you just aren’t happy most of time. Where even though you don’t have any large traumas you just aren’t happy. You get so mad or sad or just empty that you deep down want an event to blame on why you are like this. You are so scared you were just born “wrong” and just can’t relax or be content no how hard you try. And I do understand that part of it.

However I never get mad or jealous of someone with extreme trauma that would weird to just to make that clear.

Her feelings are wild and childish and irrational, but they do exist. In real life her feelings would be really fucking weird and f’ed up and should not say them out loud to people’s faces who do have trauma. However she is not a real person and she is clearly trying to get help considering how open she is to Jawbone and that she even attends counseling in the first place.

Her actions are not okay and you can totally just not like her, heck I don’t even like her I just have to see a weird fucked mirror of a me where I pull the asshole trigger and don’t just keep my mouth shut and my head on straight. I also am in certain ways that very type A that cares a lot about school and grades and is never late or tardy ever. I just am also very tired try to kind and respectful so I don’t have the aggression or vitriol towards others she has.

Also I will say in the meta narrative around dnd when you don’t have plot hooks to tie you in the story it is hard to get on an adventure. If we are to see the Rat Grinders as another table filled with nightmare players Kipperlily is the kind of player to make a character without plot hooks and is mad about not doing cool shit when she hasn’t given the dm anything to play with or use to make a moment for her.

Also it’s hard to know how many of her actual crimes she has had control over since she probs got literal magic rage resurrected by a god before any of her crimes.

#d20 #dimension 20 #fantasy high #kipperlilly copperkettle #brennan lee mulligan #fhjy spoilers #d20 fhjy #fhjy

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groguandin · 18 hours

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No but I’m obsessed with the promo process, it’s actually fascinating.

When Nicola and Luke know that they are on camera, they are definately playing a fine line between themselves, what Netflix want and the narrative the show needs. Yes there have been good moments of chemistry during pressers, but I doubt that’s how they are together once the cameras stop rolling. I doubt they are even remotely as close or as friendly as they make out.

I’m so glad I’m a no one because wow the pressure is immense, especially with the multi million dollar budget the show has.

oh it's gorgeous isn't it?!

yeah, the stuff at the moment like the hand holding, etc etc is press motivated. it causes a stir, it causes chaos, it causes attention.

they do have a really lovely friendship and relationship together, i don't think that's PR or faked. i mean, they lounged in between sex scenes on bridgerton completely naked with one another on the set. if that doesn't form an unshakeable bond idek...

it's a joy to watch but it must be exhausting for them. i couldn't do it so im happy to watch and just awe over them.

#bridgerton #nicola coughlan #luke newton #polin #we're so lucky

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a-cat-in-toffee · 24 hours

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me: yeah im gonna go to sleep

also me: *proceeds to send my friend 650+ words of pepsisprite analysis*

thinking about john being a literal embodiment of the narrative and davesprite being an embodiment of the game. the game and the narrative are intrinsic to each other's existence, but without each other they would be useless. what's the point of the game if no ones watching, and whats the point of watching if no ones playing? john and davesprite’s relationship sort of mirrors that, davesprite wouldn't exist as a sprite if john had never died, but john WOULD have died if davesprite didnt save him. they're necessary to each other's creation and to each other's continued existence and relevance.

they're the world's shittiest soulmates because their relationship is so riddled with the game and narrative but davesprite and john are tied together in a way which ends up with davesprite always ending up right next to john again. johndirk and pepsisprite are very related what with davesprite mirroring dirk in a bunch of ways, but the difference between the two ships is mainly when they would happen imo. (canon) johndirk can only work postcanon, mostly because they simply don't actually get to meet each other until then, whereas pepsisprite HAS to happen during the game, the 3 year trip to be precise.

all they had were those 3 years together, really, before everything went to shit. obviously they had known each other before then, but that was john and dave. the "real" dave, before the specifications had to be made. it's kinda sad how because of the timeframe that pepsisprite would be able to work out in, they could never actually have a relationship. like they were both dealing with their own issues (most of which never were resolved, not fully) but it mightve fixed them tbh.

thats really why I'm a big fan of back to the beginning post game aus that include the splinters because their stories are never really completely resolved, most of them are sort of just brushed away or swept into something new (e.g. davepeta)

also going back to what I said earlier on how johndirk mirrors pepsisprite in a way, it does! but there's a lot of nuance to the situations? davesprite is more like bro than dave is, thus making him more like dirk, but he's still a dave yknow. pepsisprite is actually a closer parallel to jakehal, especially by the end of the boat trip with the vaguely antagonistic relationship the two of them have.

actually i think they should be kismesis sometimes as a treat. john has so much emotion and anger built up and having somewhere to vent out that frustration would probably be really good for him. at the same time, though, they're also moirails because john and dave are quite literally the closest humans can get to moirallegiance. john and davesprite transcend quadrants in the actual definition of it, embodying the quads all at once instead of vacillating.

davekat (a ship most people consider to embody all quads) sort of does something similar, however a lot of the time their characterization is of vacillation between redrom and blackrom vs where pepsisprite is happening simultaneously.

davesprite *is* proud of john and he does really love his friends, however because of the trauma he went through growing up (which was later reinforced by all the shit that went down in the game) he can only express so "ironically" or backhandedly, and john is so repressed to hell and back that *he's* not even sure what emotions he's feeling half the time

I think the fact that the two of them can so effortlessly communicate despite all that, though, really shows you their relationship. john can see the genuine in davesprite's "ironic" statements, and davesprite can pick out john's feelings through all the happy freedom bullshit. they communicate so well despite everything because they're best friends and because they've known each other so long. davesprite is important to john just like john is important to davesprite, and they always end up right back next to each other.

#john egbert #davesprite #johndavesprite #pepsisprite #homestuck #hs meta #homestuck meta #they never leave my fucking brain y'all

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myuminji · 1 year

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the bride walked down the aisle to where the groom stood, and there they exchanged their vows in front of the altar...

#what do you mean this isn't how it goes? The flower girls are there to throw flower petals and wedding bouquets ready on their hands too...#just twt having collective breakdowns over them as usual #it's interesting that both played the role of the bride and the groom at the same time.#only they can pull it off I swear #trigun #trigun maximum #vash the stampede #nicholas d wolfwood #trigun maximum spoilers #vashwood #ish?#actually not really it's just the narrative that plays out like that #myuminjiart #just wanna point out my art a few things: the wine as bouquet. vash holding a shot glass also as bouquet.#vash trying to smile even if he says it's impossible. he tried.#the confetti thrown by the orphanage children...as if they're flower girl throwing flower petals for them....

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i-sveikata · 5 months

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okay so just finished reading dark heir and let me tell you THEORY TIME:

-okay so my guess is that anharion was actually being magically controlled by the sun king when the lady betrayed sarcean thats why he walked away like it was nothing

-sarcean managed to free him from it and thats why he was able to switch sides in the battle/ follow the desire he feels for sarcean and go against those in the sun kings court and the 'light'

-despite popular belief the collar doesnt actually control him, thats why james didnt feel any compulsion when it was put on again. it was devised by sarcean to ensure anharion has control of his own mind forever and nobody else can ever compel him if he gets magically drained (whilst also being a show of ownership because hes a possessive bastard)

-i also think that how james/anharion was acting once the collar was on wasnt even about being forced to do what will says. it could honestly just be that he understands him so well that he knows the exact right things to say to reassure him? and will was just too afraid at seeing the collar on his throat to look beyond it and consider the possibility of james/anharion actually not being under his control. which could explain that weird moment where he realised james/anharion was mirroring sarceans desires and not actually his own. like those last few moments to me seem like james/anharion trying to talk to sarcean- not will.

-because like maybe they were just genuinely lovers in the past?? Esp if the collar doesnt work how everyone assumes that it does.

-but all the rumours etc surrounding anharion and sarcean and anharions sudden switching of sides could only have been understood as by force because ppl always viewed sarcean and his magic as different and evil?? and anharion being so pure and of 'light' that they could only see it as being corrupted by sarcean and anharion not following him willingly

idk i just feel like theres so much of the story that we havent heard from either anharion or sarcean themselves and these books are about how bad perceptions of people can lead them to ruin and fuel a story rather than the reality of their actions. so anyway im so down for the next book in the hopes that we can learn more about their history!!

#dark heir spoilers #theory time #i just feel like there so much more to this narrative to play with and i really cant wait to find out where the story goes in book 3 #not to say that i dont think sarcean is a dick and that you cant write non con stuff but this would seem like such an interesting twist #like everyone blaming sarcean and hating him for stuff that he didnt actually do would so tie into wills current story too #where he is actually trying to be a good person and is constantly being punished by others perception of him

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skitskatdacat63 · 7 months

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Boy King AU | Vettonso + Martian | 1.3k

There's something about putting the future emperor of the Holy Realm on his knees like this. About how easily he goes, how willingly, how obediently. What would his adoring public think if they could see him now. If they saw their beloved king pressed down like this, in the cramped space between Fernando's legs. When they realized their little boy king took it like he was a little concubine instead.

Fernando's bitterness is lifted away in moments like these, like taking off a heavy cloak on a winter's day. It was hard to feel humiliated about his own situation when watching Sebastian debase himself like this.

He always gives himself up so easily. When Fernando threaded his fingers through his thick curls. When he pulled them, and then when he pressed his face down further down into the vee of his legs. Sebastian rubbed his cheek into the coarse fabric of Fernando's breeches and blinked up at him. Fernando had to smother an embarrassing sound; he was just like a little cat!

Sebastian quirked his lips up into an odd little smile and slightly rose up on his knees, "What's funny?" Fernando swallowed lightly and schooled his face back into being impassive, "Nothing. As you were." Sebastian simply smirked at him and let himself be pushed back down by the fist clenched in his hair.

Fernando scoffed internally, there was only so much pleasure in putting the other man in his place when he instead acted like this, this degrading action, was his birthright. He took to ruling and indulging in carnal pleasures as if they were of equal gravity. To be privileged to hold such high station and also let himself be taken apart like this…Fernando felt embarrassed for him.

He is dragged away from his musings when Sebastian moved to settle his hands in Fernando's lap, clutching his hips over the fabric and slightly squeezing; Fernando fought against the urge to shiver. Sebastian pushed up the skirt of Fernando's waistcoat and smoothed his hands over the opening flap of his breeches.

His eyes darted up at Fernando again, a daft smile on his face. Fernando scowled at him, "What?" Seb's grin sharpened, "You could stand to be a little more gracious. This is your future emperor, and future husband might I add, kneeling for you on this dirty, depraved, derelict- ah–" Fernando tugged on his hair again and hissed, "Well then, why don't you show me how eager you are to perform your marital duties?"

Seb licked his lips, completely unconcerned by Fernando's annoyance, and unbuttoned one side of the closure to Fernando's breeches and moved to open the other–

The door to the carriage flew open, arrival announcement dying on a wheezing breath as the servant took in the image the two kings made. One splayed across the seat, exuding power, the other kneeled, debauched, between the former's legs.

One would be hard pressed to determine which was higher on the totem of power and titles.

There was something gratifying about this to Fernando, about being caught. He had been humiliated enough throughout the entire courtship, what was one more thing? And, certainly, what was one more thing if he could drag Sebastian down into the dirt with him.

"Oh Mark, don't act so abashed! It's nothing you haven't seen before, in fact, we have been in this very position not even a fortnight ago!"

Oh. Yes. That.

It was hard to be completely pleased when he remembered how Sebastian had already spent years prior to their engagement sampling the palace's ample selection of fellow high-born men. And how all those men seemed to be completely and utterly wrapped around his little finger.

Fernando released his hand from Sebastian's hair as if it had burned him. He did not understand why he felt ashamed with Mark looking in on them like this. Fernando was the one marrying Sebastian, not Mark; Mark was just a lowly courtier who had the esteemed duty of spending practically every waking hour with the brat…something he himself was decidedly not looking forward to.

Sebastian stayed kneeling, staring impassively up at Mark, still fiddling with the clasp on Fernando's breeches. Fernando gritted his teeth and looked up from where he was watching Sebastian's clever little hands; Mark stared back at him placidly.

Mark's indifference made the entire situation worse. Fernando now felt as if he was not doing anything unique, not doing anything particularly new. How many other men had Mark caught Seb with in this exact position? Fernando felt like he was just another plaything of the boy king, soon to be boy emperor, except his position was forever, permanent. He was the "Kept King", the king who only kept his throne due to the whims of a boy who doesn't even understand what power is.

Mark coughed, "Well," he says, "Your Majesty, I do believe you have a meeting to attend." Seb pouted at him and whined, "We were just getting to the main course," but still braced himself on Fernando's thighs and got up off the carriage floor.

Seb pranced down the steps Mark had placed next to the carriage, miming tripping sown the stairs, snickering when his action made Mark reflexively reach out to grab him, and then playfully skipped off the final step.

Fernando couldn't help but stare as Mark made the weirdest grimace in response, and he inexplicably felt all his mortification seep away from him. Huh. Maybe Mark is-

Seb then turned around and frowned at him, seemingly disappointed, but his eyes are deceivingly sharp, "Fernando, I regret to inform you that I have other duties I must attend to, you will simply have to wait." He then grinned up at Mark next to him and giggled as the other man stiffened when Sebastian looped both of his arms through Mark's.

He leaned all his weight on the other man, Mark not so much as shifting his weight, "Oh Mark, won't you carry me back to the palace? I'm so very tired after all the horse riding," Seb looked up at him imploringly.

Fernando observed as Mark rolled his eyes and shrugged off the man, though notably not pulling his arm from Seb's grasp, and he got the distinct feeling that this exact scene had been played out countless times before.

Fernando clenched his jaw as he watched Seb turn and saunter off, Mark trotting alongside him like a loyal dog. Fernando was supposed to be the unaffected one in this partnership, the unflustered one, the unconcerned one. And yet here he stood, in broad daylight, in a foreign kingdom, on the steps of a carriage with his breeches half unbuttoned and his cravat in disarray.

He heard a cough from beside him, jolted and looked to the side. Sebastian's loyal Horse Master stood there, lounging against the side of the carriage. Fernando had forgotten who had even been driving the carriage in the first place. After Seb has let himself be pushed down, his hair still windswept from their ride together, everything else seemed to fade away. His thoughts were reduced only to how he could mess up the younger man's hair further.

Jenson grinned at him wolfishly, and casually crossed his legs, "First time?" he inquired. Fernando glared at him. The other man laughed openly at him, "What? He's a busy man with big prospects. You're not his majesty's only conquest, you know. Now your throne on the other hand…"

Fernando seethed, it was one thing to be humiliated by the future emperor, but to be patronized by the king's horse boy? No. It would simply not do. He closed his eyes in annoyance, pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaled, and prepared a speech about how he was not about to be talked down to by a man who didn't even have a throne to speak of!

But when he opened his eyes again and opened his mouth to begin his tirade, Jenson was already wandering away to tend to the horses. Dios mío, Fernando was not mentally prepared to spend the rest of his life with all of these impertinent morons.

#i love how i kept saying to people: no no i shant write any fic for this. only art.#me like two weeks later: hey guys :)#this is just: i was sitting in class and had a drawing idea but then im obv not drawing *this* in class so my brain went into narrative mod #not exactly 'baby's first ficlet!!!' but moreso ive not written in a while so i hope its alright???#but aaahhh this was actually pretty fun!! idk i think it was bcs i was also being brainrotted by the image of seb kneeling....#maybe ill draw it. but it felt like something that needed the context of narrative and not just oo here is a drawing!#anyways you can always ask me for a directors cut-(PLEASE PLEAE BEGGING PLEASE)#see this is why im not cut out for writing fic #its not like i dont think it can speak for itself. more that im just an overly reflective person who wants to explain all my thoughts #if i wrote fic itd really be just: chapter 1. chapter 1.5 chapter 2. chapter 2.5 #anyways i think its pretty obvious but this is before their wedding and just like peak bitterness.#well not peak. peak would be the first year- first few months of their marriage #but this is fernando who is only just realizing how naive all his expectations of seb were and getting a glimpse of his future #but mostly: mindgames and power play and: whos actually really winning?#also my god jense is literally the best chara in this au. he is vibing and basically just witnessing ye olde reality tv #mark and fernando are always in a weird powerplay with seb(even if seb isnt even consiously doing so) and jense is just free from it all #hmm now how does one go about tagging fic #vettonso #f1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #f1 #formula 1 #martian #sebmark #also idk why im always so concerned abt tagging when im basically just writing this for my little boy king following i have somehow formed #hahaha! it is art to me!:#catie.art.#boy king au

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