#WN was full of them too

[booasaur]

The Dragon Prince - 3x08 || 4x08

#tdpedit #the dragon prince #general amaya #tdp janai #the dragon prince 3x08 #the dragon prince 4x08 #amaya x janai #femslash related stuff #cuuute #so I've actually made a few gifsets from different fandoms over these last weeks that I hadn't posted because I didn't have the time #but my flight's leaving later today so let me get these out at least! #also I'll probably put off asks which I can answer on my phone :o #anyway I love when nerds make stuff because they love their callbacks lol #WN was full of them too #also! I'm glad janai actually knows a good amount of sign language #maybe just not ''marry''

[symphonyofsilence]

Honestly, it looks like at least after the Guanyin Temple, WWX is actively resisting understanding that JC still cares about him. JC takes a Stab to the chest for him, asks him why he didn't keep his promise & stay by his side, has a full breakdown over his sacrifice, gives him back Chenqing that he's kept for all these years, gets angry at JGY on his behalf, JGY spells out for WWX that JC is angry because he feels WWX was wronged, and that JC must have come to rescue not only JL, but WWX too, & targets WWX in the middle of the fight, fully trusting that JC would rush to his rescue, and he does. JC even thanks LWJ and holds a fallen WN. & I think one reason that WWX might be subconsciously fighting against getting all these clear signs and still avoiding JC might be that as much as he thinks he can’t handle JC’s wrath and blame and wants him to forgive him, he actually can’t afford JC’s forgiveness and unconditional love. Because he still blames himself for JZX’s and JYL’s deaths and even the massacre of Lotus Pier. & JC is the only one who has the right to be angry at him for all of these. He and JL. JC’s the only one who knew JYL & genuinely cared about her. WWX doesn’t think he deserves JC’s forgiveness. In fact, he looks terrified of it. Just look how quickly he turns from JC after thanking him for giving Chenqing back to him (Chenqing that after all these years still sounded like he had first used it. A very telling sign of JC's affection in itself.) Even though even JL who was watching from afar could say that JC had something to say to WWX:

JC is an outward force blaming him and being angry at him. WWX can tell him that he doesn’t know what to say to him when asked for an explanation, he can tell him that it’s all in the past. Let it go. he can beat the shit out of him. He can apologize to him and be judged by him. He can avoid him. Pretending that by ignoring him he doesn’t have to face the past. JC blames WWX and is harsh to him so WWX doesn’t have to fight himself and blame himself all the time. post-resurrection WWX keeps misinterpreting everything JC says and is unwilling to listen to him and get the hints JC keeps giving him about how he just wants WWX to come back home & interprets everything JC even doesn’t say in the worst ways he can bc it’s not so much about JC than it’s about WWX projecting onto JC. Because he thinks JC MUST be thinking that way. BC WWX thinks he deserves JC’s hatred. And judging by how he keeps misinterpreting JC even pre-time-skip, and in true WWX fashion fully believes himself to be right & doesn't second guess himself and or makes any effort to understand JC, & JYL is always the JC translator for him, from the moment she says to him that despite his tantrum JC is happy to finally have a playmate, to the moment she says that JC was the one who offered WWX name JL, and without JYL there to take their hands and pull them to meet each other in the middle the brothers can't communicate, Jiang Cheng has never been so much his own person in Wei Wuxian's mind as WWX's interpretation of him. WWX's shidi. An open book to WWX in WWX's mind. When he was not WWX's fragile shidi who needed protection (which @cerusee has written a great meta about here.), then he was WWX's betrayed, angry shidi who blamed him & resented him. If JC forgives him and continues to be his loving brother then it’s clear that the only one who can’t forgive WWX is WWX. and what is he gonna do about that?

#mdzs #idk i might be wrong but it's really baffling how WWX just DOESN'T GET IT #HOW CAN HE NOT UNDERSTAND #but then again WWX didn't get LWJ's feelings either & there was no baggage between them so... #maybe he's just an idiot #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #tgod #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #mxtx #the untamed #jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #wei wuxian #yunmeng shuangjie #twin heroes of yunmeng #twin prides of yunmeng #yunmeng bros #my two cents #jiang yanli #yunmeng siblings #mdzs meta

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Okay, I have officially gotten to the post-timeskip era of the show in my rewatch, so time for some overarching thoughts!

Basically, I owe my past self an apology, because a lot of things I'd assumed I missed the first time around due to being overwhelmed with information/ relying on Netflix's iffy subs/ not paying close attention... are simply not present in CQL canon and/or aren't explained.

Sunshot, for example. I came away from the show thinking Sunshot had only lasted for a few months, and up till now had felt very silly because it's a massive multi-year war, right? NOT IN THE SHOW IT ISN'T. Sunshot begins in earnest in response to Lotus Pier's destruction; it is introduced alongside the core transfer, which occurs 1-2 weeks after Lotus Pier's destruction. When WWX returns from the Burial Mounts three months + 1 week later, he hangs out with everyone in the Unclean Realm for around a month before they make a final push against Nightless City. No other military action is shown during this time. Based on all the timestamps given, the active combat portion of this war took place over a period of less than 6 months.

(the following is said with the full understanding that I might sound like an insufferable CinemaSins video)

The consolidation of the Massacre at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds to one terrible, horrible, no-good very bad couple of days also diminishes it. All the Wen remnants--every single one of them!! nobody is left there when WWX wakes up!--just decide to let themselves be executed on the off-chance that WWX will be left alone with his sought-after cursed object and get to happily rejoin society after accidentally killing his brother-in-law. Why on earth would they all agree to that, especially without consulting WWX first? WQ and WN alone, sure, but ALL of them? Even A-Yuan's caregivers? WQ herself says that the jianghu gentry already decided WWX is guilty no matter what proof WWX offers! How will this solve anything!

(On the topic of the Burial Mounds: I assume that the reason the Burial Mounds are inhabitable and people are freely able to come and go without getting obliterated by ghosts is that WWX tamed the place during his time there earlier. Otherwise, it isn't "WWX spent 3 months cultivating resentment to survive until he was powerful enough to escape thanks to his hard-fought refinement of the Yin Tiger Tally" and more "WWX spent 3 months doing evil ghost science in a desolate yet fully habitable haunted forest just because.")

I also didn't get what the big deal was about WWX, because he... didn't really do anything? And again, I figured I must've just missed something, but no! He does atrocities at Yiling as he pursues Wen Chao and then he just sits there dodging concerned questions from loved ones and punching JZX over soup until the last minutes of the final battle, during which he summons some evil clouds that make people fall down. That's it. And then everyone, himself included, acts like he's the strongest and scariest dude ever. Part of the problem is that they only have like 50 extras in any of the battle scenes so there's no sense of scale, but even if there WERE hordes of CGI dudes... that is one battle, one time. Declaring himself an instrumental part of Sunshot is an overstatement, and it also raises the question of why he didn't use Chenqing or the Yin Tiger Tally sooner. He does nothing but use Chenqing as a baton until things get truly dire. I'd be suspicious of him too, if I'm honest!

And Wen Ning! Wen Ning, the oh-so-scary Ghost General, kills like a dozen guys one time and people think he's a terrifying death machine. This could have been chalked up to overblown rumors--oh, WN is just a little guy! he is just sitting there with his turnips! it's so messed up that people think WWX's trusty soft-spoken friend is a mindless tool for violence! UNTIL QIONGQI PASS 2.0, where WWX uses him as PRECISELY THAT. Why is WN coming with him to Jinlintai anyway, if not as a weapon? He certainly wasn't invited as a guest! Does he really think JGS is going to let the not-zombie who killed his employees come to his grandson's party when JC isn't even willing to let WN attend the surprise soup picnic?

Speaking of Qiongqi Pass 2.0, I do not understand why, if the whole thing was a nefarious scheme orchestrated by JGY to kill his brother and cause turmoil, WWX and WN were allowed to return to the Burial Mounds. SMS has the ability to control WN, and WWX can't fly on a sword. Just use WN to subdue WWX, capture them both, take the Yin Tiger Tally from WWX, and gain your father's esteem for obtaining the cursed object he wants and bringing his favorite son's murderers to justice! Come ON, JGY! If you're going to be extra evil, at least be clever about it! You aren't even at your breaking point yet!

I think the adaptation changes--the Yin Iron stuff, the not-zombies, XY working with WRH, the fairy statue backstory with WN's soul being easily detachable--actually do work in the front half of the show, where it's not following the text as closely. These things go together decently on their own! But from Sunshot onward, the new lore and changed characterizations that can't be fully discarded clashes with novel canon plot points that are too major to skip. It's a weird reversal of what happened with the first FMA anime, where the first half more or less follows the manga with some core changes baked in, and the second half deviates based off those changes since it outpaced the manga and didn't want to spoil it, resulting in two high-quality but fully distinct canons. Here, with the story unfolding chronologically, we have a first half that deviates with a lot of new content, and a second half that has a text to follow, resulting in ????

I'm still having fun, but I knowwww thinking about literally anything is gonna be such a mess from here on out. It's a testament to how much I like the actors' work and the expanded time with the supporting characters (and how much I do NOT vibe with Book Wangxian lol) that this is still my preferred canon.

#I would love to take the same approach that I did for WOH and go 'no plot concerns just vibes :)' #unfortunately I am picky and if I'm writing something I Need Things To Make Sense #and I want to KNOW when I'm deviating from something in the canon of choice #masala necromancy wizard hour

[miixz]

I was looking for quotes in the early chapters of MDZS and I just noticed that WWX's thoughts on LWJ aren't really shared by that point. We get glimpses of them, like this when he arrives in Mo manor:

Unfortunately, the person who came happened to be from the Lan Clan, but even more unfortunately, he happened to be Lan WangJi! This was one of the people who had fought with him before, so he should retreat quickly.

And we do have his reactions to him told to us, but not something as clear as "Wei Wuxian thought that Lan Wangji would [feel like this, think like this about him]" like we get for JC, at least not that I've found.

It's pretty clever because from his reactions alone we can be a little misled in thinking that their relationship was worse than it truly was, and that WWX is more reluctant to be near LWJ than he really is.

I think its one of those little things about MDZS that encourages us to think about whats happening instead of just outright giving us the information. WWX says he and LWJ have fought before, that he's been familiar with Bichen because it was used both on his side and against him, he runs away from LWJ when he comes to help the juniors.

But when LWJ catches him playing the flute he isn't concerned for himself, thinking only that LWJ might go after WN.

“The situation looked unpromising. Lan WangJi had seen him use the flute to control corpses with his own eyes. Lan WangJi used one hand to steadily grip Wei WuXian. Wen Ning stood still at about two zhang away from them, slowly looking around as if he was searching for the flute melody that had suddenly disappeared. From far into the forest, the light of flames and sound of human voices were spreading. Wei WuXian thought quickly and made his decision at once—so what, if Lan WangJi had seen him do this before? There were tens of thousands of people who knew how to play the flute, and the number of people who imitated the YiLing Patriarch’s method of using it to control corpses could form a sect on their own. He wouldn’t confess no matter what!”

"Fortunately, his orders were clear enough. Wen Ning retreated quickly, disappearing into the dark and gloomy forest without a sound. Wei WuXian feared that Lan WangJi would chase after Wen Ning, so he backhandedly grabbed him instead. But, surprisingly, Lan WangJi never even looked at Wen Ning once, but stared at Wei WuXian the whole time. The two stood face to face, gripping each other’s arms, and stared."

He goes to CR with him willingly (divided opinions aside, I'd be happy to elaborate on why I'll defend this if needed), he spends his time there trying to annoy reactions out of him, and when LWJ goes traveling after the arm, WWX stays with him.

His words and his actions are full of contradictions and without his actual thought process being shown to us in detail, its up to the reader to realize that WWX, while understandably reluctant at the beginning, was never really afraid of LWJ or what he might do to him, and has always liked him too much to stay away from him when LWJ isn't try to make him go.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji

[sinysterautica]

WOAAAH YOU CAN ASK MY CHARACTERS THINGS TOO?!?!!

Also inspired by my friends' askboxes (with @architect-lumicent and @lostchelicerate starting this up), I decided to try this out as well! I haven't talked about my characters that much here on Tumblr, yet, so this would be a nice way to get people a little more informed about my weird head puppets. From left to right, we have RY-MI, LO-RE, Ren-EE, a little lower with their arms wide open R-ELI, SW-AN, that little human Erin Webbs, and finally TA-WN! I would have included my good ol' CO-NA, but he's a massive super computer Architect and drawing him in would have been awkward. He's literally just a bigger RY-MI. Feel free to ask my characters anything! Whether it is lore related, or absolute tomfoolery, just lay it on us. Anonymous asks are also open, I just only ask to keep it PG-13!

More information about the characters after the break. This will double as a character "master post" until I make a separate one.

RY-MI :: This young Architect is the apprentice of CO-NA and specializes in space drydock management, spacecrafts, and other vehicles. He was the best friend of R-ELI while the two were still broodlings and assisted in their escape from their Network's High Order. RY-MI is also notorious for "taking his dad's car without permission" and test driving spacecrafts. LO-RE :: As the designated historian, record keeper, and anthropologist of her closed off faction's Network, LO-RE is incredibly no nonsense. She takes her work incredibly seriously and is currently stationed on 4546B to salvage information, though fortunately she is a tolerant individual. Can't say the same for Erin, though, she hates that poor guy. Ren-EE :: Ahh, the founder of the closed off faction that a majority of my characters are part of. He split of many Architects from the main Network and created his own nation with them due to the Kharaa, but even after the pandemic died down he continued to keep his people in secrecy. While he himself had a rebellious streak and is rather hardheaded, when R-ELI showed the same attitude he was not swift to understand... in fact, he was swift to shun them into the cosmos. R-ELI :: They are an exiled Architect who used to be the apprentice of the High Order. However, due to their very pointed opinions and all the issues they caused for the High Order, they were removed. Forced away, they're now in charge of their own education/research projects, space travels, and creative progression. They also have severe trust issues because they know too much about people and people want to know what it is. They're pretty silly otherwise. SW-AN :: Stationed on 4546B with LO-RE in order to help them navigate the water planet, SW-AN is a well recognized and educated marine biologist. However, he is also fairly antsy and is spooked easily. He is incredibly close to Erin Webbs and is the partner of TA-WN. Erin Webbs :: He is an Alterran who was sent down with the disguised LO-RE and SW-AN in order to carry out Architect research... which was hidden from Alterra otherwise. He tries his hardest to assist the other two as much as possible and he shows a considerable amount of care for them, even if he makes plenty of quips, but LO-RE does NOT want him to know anything at all... well, that's until he finds out they're actually Architects anyways and he's forced to abandon Alterra. TA-WN :: Commonly referred to as the yeehaw Architect, TA-WN is an ex-industrial worker and is now a full time wildlife conservationist. She knows damn well how to pull her weight and throw the weight of others around. CO-NA :: The Commander in Navigation and Armory. His vessel has been altered to be able to hook up to technology all throughout the Network, however he specializes in vehicles, navigation directory and paths, and weaponry. His vessel also doubles as a massive super computer and for these reasons, he mostly stays within a facility and has his apprentice do the work that requires actively moving about. Very chill guy, just needs a ridiculous amount of Architect coffee and a break from Ren-EE. Psst if you made it here, Architeresa / TA-RA is also available to be asked.

#subnautica below zero #subnautica #architect subnautica #architect oc #subnautica oc #ask box #sinysterautica ocs

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Investment plans

@cullen-blue23 🧟💌⚔️ I have returned with my Wen Ning appreciation agenda! I keep imagining WWX discovering the Ghost General simps and immediately deciding to throw hands to defend his besties honour. WN is confused, but very flattered (and no longer feels safe being left alone with Lan Jingyi)

Some kind of part 2 to this one

This was an incredibly funny piece to write, shoutout to Lan Jingyi for seeing a business opportunity and running with it.

Wei Wuxian rushes through the Cloud Recesses, Suibian in hand, unsheathed - and that never happens unless there is a great emergency somewhere that he knows he can't fix with just Chenqing. There are very few such instances - one was when Lan Sizhui got kidnapped, and another was when some poor sod put a curse on Lan Wangji, and to this day nobody knows or dares ask what happened to either of those people. So to see the Yiling Patriarch (who's usually just fun and mischievous Wei-qianbei) exude murderous intent, everyone makes way for him to storm out of the Cloud Recesses without issue. Not that they're scared he'd kill them - but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Lan Wangji struggles to catch up to him, and that's saying something. "Wei Ying!"

"Leave me alone, I'm going to kill this Yan Bai person myself! How dare he!"

"Wei Ying!" Lan Wangji tries again, finally reaching close enough to his husband to get a hold of his shoulder.

"What?! You've seen those ridiculous drawings and read those horrible stories too! Aren't you supposed to be righteous?!"

Lan Wangji is not going to take offense to that and he's not going to fight with Wei Ying in the middle of the Cloud Recesses where everybody can see. In fact, there won't be any fight at all.

"You can't kill Yan Bai."

"Like hell I can't, I've killed hundreds, what's one more!"

"We'll circle to that later, but the reason you can't kill him it's because he doesn't exist!"

Wei Ying blinks at his husband incredulously. "Lan Zhan, do you take me for a fool? What do you mean he doesn't exist? Then who created that ludicrous sexy Ghost General calendar? The fanfiction subscription service? The fan letters?!"

Lan Wangji sighs like the weight of the world rests on his shoulders. "Come with me, I'll tell you in private. And please put Suibian away."

---

Inside the jingshi, Wen Ning and Jingyi await. Now, Wei Ying is even more confused than before, joining Lan Wangji at the table. He takes a seat, and says, "Wei Ying, please meet Yan Bai." as he elegantly gestures towards Jingyi, who looks very much like Wen Ning down - a living corpse.

There is such tense silence in the jingshi that it feels suffocating. Jingyi has long accepted he's going to die today, he's said his goodbyes and even sent a last letter roasting Jin Ling express shipping to Jinlintai. All his affairs are in order, might as well get it over with.

"How much money did you make?" Wei Ying asks, his voice flat and neutral, and somehow scarier than when he's angry.

"I... Double my allowance, sir."

"Per month?"

"Per week... sir."

Wei Ying whistles lowly. "What did you spend it on?"

Lan Jingyi keeps quiet, eyes stubbornly squeezed closed.

"Well?"

"I cannot say."

"Why not?"

"It is forbidden."

Wei Ying rolls his eyes. "So is drawing porn, yet here you are."

"It's not - porn... it's-"

"Erotic art, whatever, same thing. I would know. So, where's the dough?"

"..."

"Lan Jingyi."

"We're saving up for something! It's - well, a surprise..."

"And you've decided to exploit Wen Ning for it?"

"It's not... exploiting. It's a... business. I overheard some people talking about him in a certain way and had an idea..."

The new information is nothing short of surprising, so Wei Ying turns to his friend. "Wen Ning, did you know about this?"

"...somewhat. Not to its full extent, but I agreed to the- stories."

"So then what's the big project that had you sell yourself out like this?"

"Please don't say that... I didn't... do that."

Wei Ying crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know, Wen Ning, I received a letter from Yunmeng-"

If Wen Ning could blush, he'd be beet red. "I didn't do anything for cash, I mean... all that you've heard about, I've done it... um, for fun..."

Wei Ying sighs so deeply he feels like he's taken up the whole air in the jingshi. This conversation is terribly embarrassing and he still wants to know what the hell they're saving up for.

"Here's how it's gonna go. Jingyi, you tell me what you've been investing in all this time, and I'll convince Hanguang-Jun over here not to punish you for the next 15 years."

Jingyi steals a look towards Wen Ning, and they seem to be having a silent conversation before Jingyi finally looks up at his seniors.

"We've been - the lotus pond we've been nursing in the Cloud Recesses died last spring, and we know how sad that made you. So we bought a piece of a lake near Caiyi and have hired someone specialized in lotus cultivation to help maintain them and make sure they don't die out like last time." A pitiful sigh, "But they're really expensive, even with all the help we got from Jinlintai... Jin Ling can't just give money out right now, so we had to... be creative. We actually got the idea at the last discussion conference, sect leader Nie dropped something about Yiling Laozu fanfiction selling really well in the past and, well..."

Wei Ying can do nothing but stare. Everyone - the kids, Wen Ning, even Nie Huaisang - all contributed to this one project that's more time-consuming than anything and that takes up a whole lot of money... and all that because he cried over the lotuses that dried up last spring instead of blooming. All that because they wanted him to be... happy.

He stands up from his seat abruptly, and Jingyi squeezes his eyes shut again, awaiting deliverance - instead he finds himself and Wen Ning pulled into a hug.

"Thank you."

Jingyi's eyes widen. "You're... not mad?"

"I am very mad. I married into this super rich sect for you lot to go sell porn for money?!"

"Wei-gongzi, it's not-"

"Quiet, Wen Ning! You should've just asked Lan Zhan for cash!"

"With all due respect, Hanguang-Jun is not adept at keeping secrets from you..."

"...fair. Still, all this was... a bit too much. Even if I appreciate it, it's not okay to do. So, there will be some kind of punishment for you, Jingyi."

"I know..." and he begins reciting, "...for lying, keeping secrets, making illicit money, drawing and reading pornographic material, distributing said material, pricing highly, not reporting earnings..."

"That's a long list of crimes to atone for. I'll leave Hanguang-Jun to do that. Wen Ning, come talk to me outside?"

"Yes."

---

"How do you feel... about all that?" Wei Ying asks as they stroll along the pathways around the jingshi. "The... materials, I mean."

"To be entirely honest... I am not that upset... You know I have not been very confident before... and this, surprisingly, helps a lot."

"Don't you feel... I don't know, objectified?"

A shrug. "Not really. Sure, it's a bit... weird to see so much... erotic material about me, but it's better than people calling for my death..."

Wei Ying sends him a sympathetic look. He wishes people could see him like that, kind and loving and soft, the way he truly is - nothing like the monster people accuse him to be.

"And anyway... I'm not entirely innocent either... so I'm not surprised there is, um, demand for such things."

"Right... uh, you should probably be a bit more on the down low with that in Yunmeng... I know people from there are really attractive but...like, I'm not trying to police what you do or anything-"

"It is fine, I understand what you mean." A conspirational smile. "I was planning to visit Qinghe next anyway, so you probably will not be receiving any more angry letters, hopefully... Though I must admit Hanguang-Jun's response was... quite hilarious."

Wei Ying chuckled. "He got the 'no bitches?' thing from Jingyi, which is why I think he won't punish the kid that harshly... but how do you feel about what he's done?"

"Well. It is... a bit excessive... but... I cannot say the idea is bad... I did get some of the proceedings myself after all..."

"Man, you guys have a whole business going on! Next thing you'll tell me is Sizhui's keeping the books or something."

"..."

"Wen Ning."

"..."

"WEN NING!"

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #wwx #ljy #wn #nhs #hope you like this one even if i strayed a bit from the prompt <3 #writing attempts

[thatswhatsushesaid]

While I do sympathise and agree that many of the ‘immoral’ thing JGY did were a direct response to others attacks on him, for survival and family normal or pragmatic behaviour (I honestly didn’t blame him for the incest at all, I agree there was nothing to be done; and I’m glad JGS died) I have some questions. Especially since you and another user mentioned that him being in power was better for more people (that he did things that benefitted others and him as a side effect too) - then how does one reconcile with what happened to the Tingshan He sect? And even the gamble he takes on JZX’s life by sending him after JZixun? That seems like self serving ambition…

Honestly, anything JGY did to get around or harm JGS and even NMJ, I agree. While one was better than the other, I don’t think either of them were great leaders, nor were they always reasonable, and he was likely a better leader than them.

(Also, I’ve heard varying accounts about the watchtowers being useful/useless, good intentioned and not, can you please point me towards the chapter that makes that clear?)

Thanks

hey anon, sorry for taking such a long time to respond to you! I believe that I answer most of the questions you raise here in my reblog over here, but I'll try to pull out the salient points for you in my reply. fwiw I'm not going to dig down into the jgy-jzx stuff because I think @lansplaining did a great job of that already over here, but my tl;dr version for myself is that I just think mdzs-jgy was mad, made a bad judgment call, and assumed that wwx would have more control over wn than he did.

okay, now to address the rest of your ask:

the tingshan he

the first thing to remember about the tingshan he is that jgy is demonstrably not in power when this sect is brought to xy's demonic cultivation wonderland. jgs is still the jin sect leader. I bring this up because I think it's important to acknowledge that the tingshan he were going to die whether jgy was present to serve as death's ferryman or not. their fates were sealed as soon as they began actively agitating against jgs's desire to establish the position of chief cultivator. here's the relevant sections I highlighted from the villainous friends extras:

as I pointed out in my linked reblog, what this shows us is two things: 1) jgy began with diplomacy and negotiation to try to bring the tingshan he to heel, and I believe we can reliably trust that this is true; if it weren't, he su would have protested this as a lie; and 2) in he su's own words, the tingshan he were prepared to oppose jgs's desires with violence.

however, anon, if you're hoping I'll write something here that will thoroughly cleanse the figurative blood of the tingshan he from jgy's hands (since he is not the one doing the actual killing--xy is), then that's not going to happen--just like there is nothing that anyone can write about wwx's actions vis-à-vis his gruesome murder of wang lingjiao, wen chao, and the other wen sect cultivators that he tortures, mutilates, and kills in the aftermath of the sacking of lotus pier that will remove their literal blood from his hands. I'm not going to say anything that will make one of these actions more morally (I hate this word now) redeemable than the other, because even though their circumstances are different, the acts themselves are still quite awful!

one thing I did not point out in my linked meta, however, and which I do think is significant to call out when examining the full context of the violence that jgy oversees, is the amount of control that jgy does not have over how xue yang chooses to kill the tingshan he. please note that these excerpts are pretty gruesome because, uh. well, canon-typical xue yang, pretty much:

so, on the one hand, xy clearly cuts out he su's tongue here because he is flinging the usual shitty insult at jgy, making a dig about his birth status and his mother. which, yay, thank you xue yang c': but also, jgy is clearly surprised that xy does not kill he su and the rest of his sect before giving them to the fierce corpses. then we have the paragraph that follows:

here, jgy is visibly disturbed by the cries of the children specifically, and though he doesn't step in to intervene, I still find his visceral reaction to what he is witnessing significant when considering his character and how he feels broadly about the violence he facilitates. because yes, he brought the tingshan he to this place knowing that they were going to be killed because of their political opposition to his father's plans. he knew that bringing them to the demonic cultivation grounds meant that they were going to be given to xy for his macabre body horror experiments to pursue demonic cultivation. neither of those things mean that he expected them to be ripped apart while still alive, or that he's emotionally or psychologically untouched by what his actions have brought about.

so... how should we reconcile /gestures @ all of this, The Horrors with all of the tangible good that jgy puts into the cultivation world later on? my short response is, the exact same way wwx stans reconcile wwx's Horrors with his later good deeds (tho as you've probably guessed I don't lean as much on inherent moral goodness or badness in my analyses). so to make this work, we also have to take a look at what constitutes jgy's good deeds. nb: this is essentially what I wrote in my reblog meta, but I'm going to copy/paste or paraphrase/lightly edit it here just to keep everything in one place:

jgy's tangible positive impact on the jianghu

the initial points I raised in my reblog meta (different link from above) emphasize the tangible positive impact that jgy's actions put into the world: peace and stability for both the gentry and the common people. here are the following points where I provide more support for my initial arguments.

his tenure as chief cultivator and jin sect leader objectively does preserve jin ling's place in the line of succession, because once he is gone, we see that jin ling's position is not secure. period. this is in the text. this isn't an opinion. [edit: there’s some good discussion between myself and @madtomedgar in the comments of this post wrt jgy, jl as heir, and how much responsibility jgy has for destabilizing his life in the first place.] from chapter 116, the "banquet" extra:

furthermore, jgy does rein in the fiscal corruption that had been rampant under jgs's tenure. we know this because the text tells us so in the "iron hook" extra (chapter 123):

beyond making it unquestionably clear that lanling is in a much shittier position now that jgy is gone, this part 👆is further confirmed in the official character index of the 7seas translation--which is not something I usually rely upon in my analyses, but it makes clear the broad perception of life in the jianghu under jgs vs jgy:

jgs's character summary: "Under [Jin Guangshan's] rule, the Jin Sect was loathed by the cultivation world for its shameless abuses, corruption, and excesses."

jgy's character summary: "Jin Guangyao rose from humble circumstances and became not only the head of the Jin Sect but also the Cultivation Chief of the inter-sect alliance. His work as an undercover spy was instrumental in the success of the Sunshot Campaign. His skill at politicking and networking is matched by none, and through restructuring and reparations he was able to largely make up for the damage done to the Jin Sect's reputation by his father's rule."

in one of these scenarios, corruption was rampant enough that everyone was unhappy. in the other scenario, that corruption was reined in, and that matters.

the jianghu is also objectively the safest and most peaceful it has ever been under jgy's tenure as chief cultivator, and I don't think this gets acknowledged enough. looking to chapter 45 when wwx and jl are talking about the past, and jl is sulkily pointing out that both his uncles became famous at "fifteen-or-so," wwx's own thoughts are:

Wei WuXian commented in silence, That’s not the same! Back then, the QishanWen Sect was still on top and everyone had to watch out. If they didn’t fight and cultivate as much as possible, who knew if they’d be the next one to run out of luck? During the Sunshot Campaign, you’d be hauled to the battlefields no matter if you were fifteen or any other age. Now, since the situations is stable and the sects are at peace, of course the atmosphere isn’t as tense and people don’t cultivate like they’re crazy. There’s no need anymore.

in other words (to paraphrase some commentary by @xiyao-feels) when the wen were in charge, the world was a shitty and dangerous place filled with war and violence--and now the world is peaceful, and kids like jin ling are allowed to grow up without the very real possibility of being marched off to war hanging over their head at all times. jgy is the chief cultivator who made this reality possible.

and a big part of why the jianghu is a more stable and peaceful place also comes down to the watchtowers, which is one of the points you specifically wanted more details on, anon! so we'll go to chapter 42 in the novel to look at them in more detail:

After Jin GuangYao officially succeeded the position of Sect Leader and became the Chief Cultivator, he immediately gathered people and resources from the sects, and started to carry out his past goals. In the beginning, the voices of opposition were deafening. A lot of people suspected that the LanlingJin Sect used it to gain personal benefits and stuff its own pockets. With a smiling face, Jin GuangYao persisted for five years. During the years, he allied but also fell out with countless people. Using both gentle and forceful methods, he did all that he could and what he wished for was finally completed. More than twelve hundred “lookout towers” had been built.

These “lookout towers” were scattered around the more remote places. Every one of them were assigned disciples from certain sects. If anything strange happened, they’d take action at once. When they couldn’t deal with the matter, they’d send out messages to other sects or rogue cultivators for help. Even if the cultivators who came wanted something in return while the locals were too poor to give them any, the money that the LanlingJin Sect gathered throughout each year would be enough to support them. [red emphasis mine]

All of these happened after the death of the YiLing Patriarch. Wei WuXian only heard the ins and outs from Lan WangJi after they passed a few lookout towers during their journey. Rumors had it that Koi Tower was preparing to build the next batch of lookout towers, increasing them to three thousand in number so that they covered a greater area. Although after the first lookout towers were built, they received widespread approvals due to their notable effects, the voices of suspicion and ridicule had never died either. When the time came, the cultivation world would definitely be thrown into chaos again.

five years!! that is a long-ass time to devote to a project, particularly one that costs him substantial political capital as well as actual money, if your only goal is the consolidation of political clout, because a lot can happen in the span of five years. it certainly isn't the right way to go about laundering money, since for a money laundering scheme to work, it has to actually, you know. pass through a system that is actually making money in the first place, which this one transparently was not. if it was a guaranteed money-maker, jgs would not have opposed wasting time on something that 👆(see above) clearly devotes lanling jin resources towards supporting the poor who cannot protect themselves. whatever the political opposition to the project by jin sect opponents, for the broader jianghu and the common people, the success of the watchtower program was a net positive. anyway: when acting exclusively under his own power and allowed to make his own decisions free of fear and danger, jgy is fundamentally not a destructive character. (thank you again, @confusion-and-more)

okay I think this should answer most of your questions, anon! please do hmu again if you want me to dig down into anything else, I am, as always, super happy to talk about jgy at the drop of a hat.

#asks answered #mdzs #mdzs meta #jin guangyao #he did crimes??? good for him 😌

[majaloveschris]

I hope so too 😬🤞🏼 The last time they were seen together was November at Disney. She didn’t like his last post when she still had IG. Thanksgiving week was full of trolling, but Christmas and NYE have been unusually quite. Not even her bestie is trolling us, but I think that’s because they didn’t get invited this year 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think it’s done, but only time will tell.

And he didn't like her tweet about the end of WN.

One thing is for sure: If Justin had been around Chris, he definitely would've posted something. The same goes for Alba. She would've found a way, and I doubt that after Mama Lisa's like she was happily eating with them on Christmas. He was in MA, she was in Portugal. 

I also hope it's over, but I don't want to jinx it, and we also don't know the details of their contract. Let's hope for the best. 

#chris and alba pr #portugal amorim #mama evans #majaloveschris #cevans-love

[jtl07]

I've been reading your thoughts on each episode of WN as I've been doing my own rewatch and I agree with so many of your points on story structure and pacing. I just finished episode 10 and I'm so looking forward to your write-up of it because holy shit does that episode have some issues. I'm also curious about your thoughts on Mother Superion and how much she knows going into episodes 8 through 10. Cheers!

Hey! Thanks for this, so glad to hear some of my ramblings are actually coherent lol

But yeah, it’s been a mix: there’s some brilliant stuff (I’m still very much intrigued with how they’re setting up Vincent’s betrayal and now that I’ve watched Beatrice’s fight in episode 7 in context, I love it so much more, so excited to write that up) but there’s also some frustrating things - with pacing, as you’ve mentioned, and just execution in general.

The two things that are chafing at me: lack of subtext in the dialogue and how that's made things sluggish (which I’ve mentioned already in my ep5 rewrite) and making full use of the camera.

(Side note re: the former - I wonder if it’s a nod towards how in religion, everything is told orally? idk maybe I’m reaching lol)

For the latter, I’m thinking of framing, of blocking, of how and where the camera lingers. They do the last bit a couple times with Ava in the first episodes, which were beautiful, but I wish there was more of that. I just watched episode 7 last night and there’s two moments that immediately come to mind that could’ve been heightened with different shots: Beatrice leaving the armory after talking with Camila, and Mother Superion leaving the idk courtyard? after Duretti tells her the Pope has died.

Like, wouldn’t it have been cool to have held on Beatrice as she leaves, even from Camila’s pov, viewing Beatrice from the back (and give KTY more opportunity to show that fantastic physicality she has) as she walks away, trying to keep her head up, trying to remember how to walk unarmed? And that moment with Mother Superion, having a different shot could have heightened the change that I think they were trying to show - like maybe straight on as she grapples with the changing situation, or maybe have harder shadows to show the weight she's carrying ...

But speaking about Mother Superion: I was quite surprised that she’s been kind of in the periphery (though maybe that’s just been my attention lol). I feel like I didn’t really start paying attention to her until e7, mostly because of everyone pressuring her. The problem is that I’m not completely sold on her struggle. I think it was in e6 when she agrees with Duretti (disagreeing with Vincent and Beatrice), but then near the opening of e7 she disagrees. Sure, they’re about two different subjects (the shield vs the rejects) but I’m not sold on the whole “keeping herself distant because she cares too much” (which we only know because Mary says it). Part of it might be due to them spending time building up Vincent (so that his betrayal hurts more) and also Duretti as the villain, leaving not a lot of time for Mother Superion (maybe they’re banking on the reveal about her being rejected by the halo as a heavy hitter?) Not to mention, they’re constrained for time because they’re telling two stories in parallel since Ava’s been away from the OCS.

(Actually, a thought just occurred to me: What if ep4 had Mother Superion on comms during that mission to get the shield from Arq-Tech? Maybe even listening in when Beatrice calls out Lilith - maybe even giving the order for everyone to fall back when the alarms when off. OOOoooh yknow what would’ve been spicy? Have Beatrice defy that order, or at least say something like, “I can do it,” and Mother Superion be conflicted about letting her go alone. Oh man, that would’ve been cool, now I’ve made myself sad that we didn’t have that)

Uh … this got away from me lol. But I will say that you’re comment about “how much she [Mother Superion] knows going into episodes 8 through 10” has my curiosity piqued because all of my previous knowledge has only been clips and gifs, focused mostly on avatrice, so I’m very curious at how they’ll build up Mother Superion these next episodes!

Thanks again for the ask :))))))))))

#kasadilla11 #jt watches wn #jt rewrites wn #sister beatrice #mother superion #so much of what i love is really the acting more than the writing tbh #and while the writing has given fandom things to play with and holes to fill in #it's really frustrating to watch sometimes #if y'all have different thoughts and interpretations i am sosososo open to hearing it! #warrior nun

[gravitywonagain]

I want to know about your WIP Bury The Sunlight

*cackles maniacally* okay. so. this au was built between me and a friend a while ago, and the gist of it is that lwj goes to protect wwx and wn at qiongqi dao, ends up too late to save jzxuan, but covers their escape and ends up getting his 33 lashes for that. but! rather than accept this and go into seclusion, he makes that insane trip to the burial mounds, only instead of finding a'yuan, he begs wwx for asylum. so he ends up healing from his whipping with wwx and the wens in the burial mounds -- aka probably the worst possible place to attempt to heal anything for anyone ever. the title (from "Failure" by Breaking Benjamin) alludes to the way resentment might affect healing -- especially from such massive damage -- for a sword path cultivator, and how the balance of energies might shift within their body. the fic would largely deal with wwx alternating between beating himself up for corrupting the pure and perfect hanguang-jun and only barely not destroying the cloud recesses for daring to hurt him like this. also i really want doctor!wq and patient!lwj interactions because i think they'd be hilarious.

snippet:

Wei Wuxian wakes with a start. A broken string twang reverberating up the nerves along his spine. A cultivator at the gate. He struggles to sit himself upright, muscles protesting the motion, head spinning with it. He feels raw, drained. Empty. Jin Zixuan. Shijie's husband. We Wuxian shuts his eyes as the dim light of the Demon Subduing Cave swims around him. Blood. Blood blooming along the gold-silk petals of the Sparks Amid Snow peony. Blood dripping from his lips, from Wen Ning's clenched fist, rivulets following the black corpse lines up his arm, upsidedown, inverted world. Twang. So, they've come. For blood. Wei Wuxian draws on the resentful energy that saturates the blood pool. Pulls it into himself. Gulping it down, overflowing himself with it. If the Jins have come, they will not have come alone, and Wei Wuxian will need all the power he can get. It is difficult to hold this kind of power, this much resentment. His control wavers, his mind frays. The toll it takes on his body-- Well. It's not like that'll matter for much longer anyway. He'll buy the Wens time. That's all he's ever been able to do, after all. Buy them time. He hopes they don't hate him for it. Wen Ning follows him to the edge of the wards. The gate, such as it is. The seal rattles in Wei Wuxian's sleeve, in Wei Wuxian's head. There are ghosts inside the seal. Ghosts with voices, with teeth, with claws. Until he sets them free, he is their only available target. They agitate his anger, bring it raging to the surface. It's good, the anger. He cannot be weak now. Not when he may need to take on an army.

(full disclosure: i do not remember which of us wrote this. i have no record of her writing it, but it's so much her style that i wouldn't be surprised. i know that i did write some of it. but idk how much...)

thank you for asking!!! <3

WIP Ask Game

#lordmushroomkat #bury the sunlight #my writing #at least partially #wip ask meme

[getmetothesnow]

HC for WN

After winning the Holy War, the OCS refocused their missions to recursing women and children taken by gorilla army groups/militia/rebels etc as hostages.

Ava, after her time with Reya, has learnt how to amplify the Halo’s power and now she is in full control of the Halo (the Halo IS sentient), and she can project its power into and/or onto others for a short time.

So the team gets dropped off somewhere in the middle of nowhere in a helicopter, and walk easily towards the camp. Ava holds Bea’s hand as Camilla. Ava goes in and speaks first, as the peacemaker but also as the one who can’t really get hurt.

When the rebels laugh and sneer at her, Ava tries to reason with them. She pulls out the swords - which glows a beautiful vibrant blue - to add some weight to her argument. She sees some of the men falter and back down. She knows Bea will make a mental note of who they are and not hurt them too badly.

The group’s leader still won't concede that they won't win the fight. 15 plus men against 6 ‘Girls’ they call them - he likes those odds. She can hear Bea sigh, and Lillith chuckle. Ava reiterates she doesn’t want to hurt them, but she will if they don't let the women and children go.

The women look to her with wonder - they have heard from their ancestors stories of the Woman who wields a sword of blue light. The women shield the children from the fight they know is coming, by gathering the children in the middle of their circle, standing around them arms linked.

The OCS team (Ava’s called them the A-team), stand behind Ava in a 1,2,3 formation. Bea, more lethal than ever to her right, Lilith to her left. Behind them, Cam flanks Bea, Yasmine in the middle, and Mary (found and rescued by Lillith in Reya’s Realm) on Lilith's left shoulder, finishes the group.

The Rebel’s leader is wild and too proud, and he grows tired of Ava quickly. He is insulted by her words, and to prove a point, he shoots at one of the women who had been a thorn in his side…the one who he likes to make an example of to keep the others in line. 

Ava and Halo see this, and she projects Halo's protective power onto her, with the bullet falling dead at her feet. He tries again, multiple bullets this time. This time they dont even make it to her, falling to the ground easily in front of her. 

Both the women and the rebels are stunned, but the leader looks at the group with hate and murder in his eyes. He charges with a group of his most loyal members. 

Ava, Bea and Lillith are unfazed by their assailants. After winning the Holy War, they know they will win…it is usually just a matter of how and how long.

Their fighting styles have not changed, but have rather grown in capability. Ava doesn’t let a hand touch her, and taunts her opponents with puns or commentary on their fighting style to rile them up.

Bea is efficient and clinical to not drag out the fight. She wants this to be done as soon as possible, so she can go home with Ava, and continue on making up for her own, and their, lost time.

Lilith, who now understands her purpose and place, and is at peace with what happened, spread her wings to fly. The men yell and scream as they turn to run, which she just beams at. She leaves the ones who cower before her, Mary will most likely deal with them. But the few brutes who are there, she gravitates to. She picks them up from behind, soars to the tallest tree, and drops them into it.

As soon as the men are engaged, Mary, Yasmine and Camilla break away from the group to tend and reassure the captives, and offer additional protection and aid. 

After all the rebels are dealt with and secured (Mother Superion says no to unnecessary killing), Ava approaches the group of captives. She places her sword back in its hold. She senses Bea on her left, with Lillith remaining on guard behind them. Ava notices that one of the women has fresh cuts on her arms (not from the fight) and rope burns around her wrists. 

She approaches slowly, arms low and soft, as she asks with her eyes to touch the women. She nods her consent after looking at some of the elders, and Ava holds her arms gently. 

Ava closes her eyes and breathes three deeps breaths. She feels Halo course energy through her arms onto the lady…a gold glow enveloping them both. Halo continues this until the cuts and burn are healed. When Ava opens her eyes, she sees the tear of the women she has healed and smiles fondly at her.

Lilith yells at Ava that one of the leaders is back (she makes a mental note that she will have to go further and higher next time). Ava, having seen the state of some of the captives, decides she is over this. She turns to face him with rage in her and without saying anything, draws on Halo’s power, and blasts a beam of light directly into him. 

#warrior nun #ava silva #sister beatrice

[vroomvroommbtch]

So it goes: Part 27- MI x OC

Masterlist

Summary: If it was Daniel's birthday, then there was gonna be alcohol. If there was alcohol, then Maggie was going to drink. And if Maggie was going to drink, then she would open her mouth and say a few things that she always wanted to say to Michael.

Pairing: Michael Italiano x fem!OC

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol, Maggie being a drunk mess, mentions of Z*K Br*wn and the orange tractor.

Word count: 8.7k

A/N: If this thing is up it’s because miracles do exist and I wanna thank Grammarly for making it possible with their app 😭♥️ Okay, this can be a mess because I normally edit it WAY more than I did but I’m an anxious bitch so bare with me 🫶🏻 Also if the format its fucked up I apologize bc my phone shows me a different shit than my computer and I won’t be able to fix it till I have a new charger for my goddamn computer🥲 BUT HI! Okay we’re back to the usual schedule of me taking forever to post bc vacations are over but I’m trying my best istg 😭 So, hope you like it, enjoy, thanks for the likes and let me know what you think! See ya! 🫶🏻

---

Part 27 - Let me down easy.

They couldn’t catch a goddamn break. None of them could get more than a week of peace. It was like life was laughing at their faces all over again because every single time they thought things were fine, something shitty had to happen. But the ultimate shitty thing on this occasion was the British Grand Prix and how it completely ruined Daniel’s birthday weekend.

It started okay. It started more than okay because they were in the UK so it mean their families and friends coming for the race and especially for Daniel’s birthday. It also meant Olivia spending time with her grandparents because Joe and Grace flew to the UK too, so they were all kisses, hugs, and smiles.

That’s actually how things have been for the last month. First, it was Maggie’s birthday and all the happiness it brought her. A week later Jas' birthday came, which was just a little happy celebration with just the six of them in Canada, where Jas insisted that she would have loved to have her family and friends over, but she was happy to have her little family with her and that they could all celebrate later when they get together for Daniel’s birthday. But then Montana came and that was Maggie’s little piece of heaven.

Montana wasn’t in Maggie’s plan. She wasn’t planning to go there after Canada. Instead, she was planning to fly back to Dublin, stay some days there, and then go to the UK in time for the Silverstone race, but none of that happened. The second Daniel hear the words ‘Dublin’ and ‘Flight’ coming from her, he insisted that she couldn’t miss their trip. Besides, Daniel insisted that they didn’t want to handle Michael and his lovesick puppy face because he missed her, so she needed to go. On the other side, there was Jas, Blake, and Michael telling Maggie to do whatever she wanted to do, but deep down she could see how Michael wanted her to go with them, so she didn’t have many options. It took half an hour, a soft ‘I’d love you to come with us’ from Michael and one very much insisting Daniel for her to say yes, but she didn’t regret it.

Montana was somehow a gift to all of them. It was like the breeze of fresh air they needed desperately. Maybe it was the fresh air or the fact that they didn’t have to think about planes and flights and all that for a week, but Maggie was happy. She had been drawing more than she had been doing in months, she had been learning how to play the ukulele that Daniel gave her for her birthday, and she had been laughing her ass off constantly thanks to their friends, so it was good.

What made everything better was how happy her family was. Daniel was all happy to be able to be a full-time dad the whole week without having to worry about interviews, publicity, racing, or going to the MTC. Jas was happy to spend time with her fiancée and her daughter and Olivia were just over the moon about everything. She was everybody’s toy and the little spoiled tiny queen of the group, and even if Olivia was just a five-month-old baby, she loved it. Just like her dad, Olivia loved people, she loved to play with people and they knew it would be a different story if she could walk because she would be everywhere. They also knew she wouldn’t stop talking if she already knew how to do it, but meanwhile, she was a happy, giggly, babbling thing who loved to play peekaboo with whoever was available and ready to be her play date.

And to add to all that, things with Michael were better than ever. Even if they had a still pendent talk for the summer break, they were almost back together. They were sharing a room without silly excuses and without sneaking into each other’s room, they were waking up and going to bed together, they would go hand in hand everywhere like they used to, and Michael would tell to everyone who would listen that Maggie was his girlfriend. He was a happy man saying she was his girl and Maggie was over the goddamn moon.

Everything about that damn trip has her over the moon, but especially those little stolen moments with Michael. From riding a horse like she always wanted to and finally doing it with him because she was too scared to do it alone the first time, laughing so uncontrollably that her tears were streaming down her face, snuggling on his lap by the fire at night and sharing beers while they watched a rodeo, it was all a dream. Even trying to warm him up with a towel and wrapping her arms around his body after he and the boys jumped into the goddamn cold river was a damn delight. It was just one memory behind another and all of them were with her family and friends, but especially with Michael, so it was one of the best trips of her life.

But just like it came, it went away. Their little week was over and they had to go back to reality, flight to London and they all went back to their regular schedules and normal lives, which sucked. But the thing that London brought back and that did not suck at all was Maggie’s return to her favorite place in the UK -and in the whole world- and that was Michael’s apartment. After months of coming and going from Lily’s to Jas and Daniel’s apartment, Maggie wasn’t thinking about where she was going to stay when they landed in London. Even if she had the keys and she could go whenever she wanted, Maggie was too tired to go all the way to Lily’s, so she figured the best thing was to stay with Daniel and Jas. She didn’t even ask simply because she didn’t have to, but the one who asked was Michel.

She wasn’t expecting the question, not when they were in a plane flighting over the middle of the ocean. She wasn’t expecting it while she was trying to get some sleep against his shoulder while Michael was reading a book on his Kindle. She wasn’t expecting it, but suddenly another kiss on her head and a whisper brought her back to reality, making her look up at him. Not even the grumpy mood she was in for yet again not being able to sleep on a plane stopped her from smiling at him. And out of nowhere, Michael asked where she was planning to stay when they get to London. She was too sleepy to answer, so she just whispered a little ‘Dunno’ as she shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. She wasn’t looking for anything with that answer, she was just being honest because she had a slight idea but she wanted to lay down on the first bed she could find. And since she wasn’t looking for anything, it took her by surprise when Michael asked if she wanted to stay with him those couple of days until they went to Silverstone. She could see the expectation in his eyes when he asked. She could see how he was worried about a negative because she hasn’t stayed there in too long. She could see how Michael wanted her to say yes.

Her answer was an absolute yes. There was no doubt she was going to say yes to such a proposal when she missed that place more than any other. But before Maggie said yes, she moved her hand up to cup his cheek as she gave him the softest and smallest kiss, whispering against his lips that she missed his bed. That was the shortest way she could find to say she missed every single thing about that apartment, but Michael didn’t need explanations.

But what finally made her say yes with both her words and her head was his answer. The second he whispered ‘Then come home’, Maggie could have sworn her heart jumped out of happiness. It took all from her to not cry right there in the middle of the plane, so to calm herself she nodded while she whispered ‘Okay’ against his lips, stealing one kiss and then another. That made the trick finally made her fall asleep. Knowing that in just a couple of hours she was gonna be in bed right there at his place was like a magical solution to her problems.

But the real solution to almost all of her problems was finally walking inside the apartment. It was coming home after a terrible trip that lasted months, all to find her things still there where she left them. Her books were still on one of the shelves in the living room, her favorite blanket perfectly folded and resting on the back of the cream couch, her favorite cup in the kitchen, her shampoo and all her things were still in the bathroom, and the drawers were her things used to be were still empty waiting for her things to be back.

But what made her heart melt was the picture on his nightstand. For years the last three years it has been the same picture of Maggie smiling at the camera. He took it in Abu Dhabi, the first time Maggie spend his birthday with him even if they were surrounded by people and even if they were nothing serious. She was smiling because the one behind the camera was Michael, but also because he was telling her how happy he was that she did everything in her power to fly in time and spend the day with him. She was smiling because Michael was telling her that she looked beautiful even when she knew she was a little disaster fucked, with her hair all messy after being against the pillow and lips all swollen and red after spending so much time making out. She was a mess but how happy she was to be sitting in the middle of that bed, wearing nothing but his shirt and her panties and not caring if someone could find them.

Maggie knew perfectly fine how Michael had every single picture of her and them together hiding on his phone. She wasn’t surprised because she did the same thing. Every single piece of evidence about what they had was hidden on their phone and that’s how things were until everybody found out about them. The same thing happened with that picture on his nightstand. Maggie knew that Michael used to hide it in the drawer of his nightstand every time someone went to his place. He hated to do it but nobody could know about it. It was their little secret so nobody could know, but that picture was a vivid memory of those days. Every single time she got into the bedroom and saw that picture, Maggie couldn’t help but look at that little happy twenty-five years old version of herself and think of how everything changed. All that twenty-five years old kid wanted was to be able to sneak and steal a couple of stolen hours with the boy who she liked, the one she was convinced she could never have for more than some stolen nights.

But the twenty-eight years old actual version of herself kept wanting the same thing. In the middle of all the mess and the rollercoasters and everything that happened in between, all she wanted was the same guy she liked so much, the one that she finally got, the one that she thought she lost and that finally now she was feeling that she was finally getting back. The one that was making dinner reservations so they could go with Jas, Daniel, and Olivia that night.

It was the same guy that found her looking at the new picture on his nightstand because he changed it for one with Maggie and Olivia. They were in Perth and everyone was happy because the youngest Ricciardo was finally in his father’s hometown. In the middle of the mess of things and suitcases, there was Maggie, holding Olivia in her arms as she showed her around the place. Maggie knew perfectly fine a two and a half months baby would never understand what she was saying, but she knew talking to babies was good for the development of the brain, so she did it. She went around showing her the house and where everything was and then she went outside and did the same thing. That’s exactly when Michael took the picture. Maggie joked about how much he loved to take pictures of her in her worse moments because she was a disaster again, just out of a plane after an insanely long plane, barefoot wearing one of his shirts, messy ponytail, and no makeup, but the smile on her face was huge. She looked happy because she was in one of her favorite places in the world with her whole family and it was all good.

And just like that afternoon in Perth but months later, everything was good in London too. She was with her back against Michael’s body as she looked at the picture on his nightstand, all while he held her close with both arms around her waist, and it was good. It was all good. And it felt good.

Everything was incredibly good all week, but then the race happened and it was a disaster. And since it was a disaster and grandparents were in town to look after Olivia, they decided to drink. It took them five minutes to decide where, but then they agreed the low-key place to go was Lily’s apartment because the neighbors in front of her were her friends and the neighbors downstairs were on vacation, so there was gonna be zero complaints. Once the location was all settled and done and Daniel was done with media and debriefing, they all drove back to London and before they all knew it, there were bottles and pizza boxes everywhere. From tequila to wine and bottles the champagne, there was everything because Lily was always a wonderful hostess and she said that her Aussie brother deserved nothing but the best for that celebration. Besides, it was a double celebration considering that none of their friends were around for Jas’ birthday, so double the celebration, double the bottles.

And like Cam used to say ‘Double the bottle, double the trouble’

“Okay, okay c’mere to me, y’all!” Lily yelled, standing in the chair where she was sitting before, hitting the glass of champagne in her hand with one of her rings so they would pay attention to her.

“Lil you’re already drunk, babe” Jas laughed, as they all turned to look at Lily.

“Shush! I wanna make a toast!” Lily exclaimed, finally making Jas stay in silence so she could start talking. “First, thank you for coming to my humble residency, make yourself at home, and please don’t puke in my plans or my vases” she joked, making everyone in the room laugh with her. “No, but for real this time, I wanna make a toast, first to the beautiful Jas, the woman who treated me like nothing but a sister since I can remember. I love you and I’m nothing but proud of you and to see the wonderful woman you became and especially to see the wonderful and cool mom you are. And to the birthday boy. My mate, you’re the coolest friend and dad out there, D. Also you’re the best and fastest racing driver in the whole goddamn world, no matter what results or your goddamn team says. This is my flat and I make the rules so fuck em all. I think I talk for all of us when I say you both are the glue that keeps this crazy family together. And I think I also talk for all of us when I say we all love you with all our hearts, so happy birthday to you both. Cheers!” Lily yelled all happy, but before she raised her glass, she was talking again. “Sorry, no! I mean Enchanté! But hey also a toast in honor for dear Mr. Zak Brown and his team with his shitty orange tractor!”

That last part had everyone laughing after a general Enchanté from the group as they raised their glasses and bottles. Of course, they all were laughing because after the disaster of a race there was nothing else they could do, especially Daniel. But between all the laughs and smiles, there was Michael. “Don’t be mean, Lil” he smiled as he shook his head.

Of course, he was the one who said that. Maggie wasn’t surprised he was the one who said that. There was nobody in the world as good as comprehensive as the man by her side resting his free hand on her waist. Every single day Maggie wished she could be half as comprehensive as her boyfriend was; she wanted to be half of the good person he also was, but that night it wasn’t gonna happen.

“Mean? I am mean? Shut up, mate! You’re too good” Lily asked, getting down from the chair as she laughed.

“Are you serious saying she’s mean? Really babe?” Maggie also wondered, looking up to her boyfriend with a tiny smile on her face. “Okay listen to me because I’m gonna say something too” she stated, walking to the chair where Lily was standing before so she could give another speech to her friends.

“You tell 'em kiddo!” Ben yelled from the couch as Cam on his side applauded, both with big smiles on their faces.

“Listen to me, you flutered bastards! I wanna make a toast for this mate right here” Maggie pointed to Daniel, who automatically raised his beer as everyone cheered for him. “My boyfriend here is the most wonderful person in the whole universe and he says we’re mean for calling the orange car a tractor, but hey! Maybe you’re right, love, I mean tractors are faster”. And there was again, everyone in the drunk laughing because of a stupid comment. But the good thing was that even Daniel was laughing. Even with all the shit he was going through he was laughing and Maggie couldn’t love her brother-in-law more. “But for real, I wanna make a toast for our Danny boy, because this man right here gets his ass in that bloody car almost every single weekend to drive at 300 hundred and something kilometers per hour. He goes and works his ass off all damn day every single day to be the best of the best and not only does he do that, but he’s also the coolest dad and friend and he’s always there for us. We don’t appreciate you enough, bro. You have a daughter and a wife and a mom and dad and a family and friends who love you so damn much and there you go risking your life every single fucking weekend to do your job and what does your team do? Give you a shitty strategy and an even shitty car, goddamn it! They fuck you up every single time and you go and put on a smile like the good guy you are! They don’t deserve you, mate. They don’t deserve you and you deserve way better” she finally breathed, blowing Daniel a kiss as all the room cheered again before she continued, all while looking back at Michael. “So, mon amour, my girl Lilian might be mean, and I might be mean. Damn, I might be a mythic bitch, but I can assure you, the CEO who promised Danny everything and more is meaner than us. So happy birthday, Enchanté, and cheers to you Dan, and that orange tractor. May life bring you nothing but happiness and a winning car because you deserve a championship more than any other human being out there”

Maggie didn’t need to get down from the chair because Daniel did the job. With the biggest hug that possibly existed, Daniel held her as tightly as possible and then stayed there for a bit more after Maggie finally put her feet on the ground. She knew perfectly final after that terrible day he needed all the love, hugs, and affection he could get, so she didn’t let him go. She didn’t let him go until he did, but before that happened, Daniel kissed her on the head. “Thanks for having my back, kiddo”

“I’ll always have your back, mate. That’s what family does. Besides I somehow still have to pay you back for introducing me to that handsome friend of yours” Maggie shrugged, slapping his chest as carefully as possible, knowing perfectly fine that even when they were partying, Daniel must be destroyed after the race.

“He’s a cunt but he’s alright I guess” Daniel shrugged too, looking back for a second to where Michael was standing and then back to Maggie. “I love you, y’know that?”

“I know, D. I love you too” she winked.

But before Maggie could do anything, she felt two hands on her shoulders and there was no need to turn around to know who those hands belonged. She knew those rings and those always black nails too well to not recognize her sister’s hands, so she leaned on the side so Jas would stroke her cheek.

“You’re right and they’re cunts” Jas pointed out, letting her sister go to be able to hug Daniel’s side. “We all know they’re cunts”

“See? Your wife says so! They’re an absolute geebag” Maggie insisted, pointing to her sister, trying to somehow show Daniel that she was right about what she said in her speech.

To say things between McLaren and the Irish sisters weren’t nice was nothing but an understatement. To say things between any of their friends and family members and McLaren weren’t nice was more likely. They were all pissed. David, the all-time McLaren fan was in the middle of a breakup situation with the team, not believing how they were treating his son-in-law. On the other side was André, the French grandfather with the biggest ‘I knew he shouldn’t have left Renault’ speech buried deep inside his heart but without telling anything to Daniel because he didn’t need more pressure than what he already had. Then there were their friends who refused to go to the race with Mclaren’s shirts even if they had a 3 on them and instead they all went with Daniel shirts because Jas designed them and because they felt represented Daniel way more than with the team shirt. Then was Esme and Aoife and both of them wanted to go and give Zak and Andreas a piece of their mind because they were overprotective mothers and grandmothers and they hated when someone messed with their family.

Then there was Maggie who was pissed. She was absolutely pissed when she heard Zak talking about Daniel, but she had Michael calming her down like always. He was there telling her that’s how the sport was and how he understood why she was mad, but that there was nothing they could really do except support Daniel.

But if Maggie was pissed then Jas was furious. When the declarations before Monaco surfaced, Jas wanted to take the first flight to wherever Zak Brown was and give him more than a piece of her mind. She wanted to have a long talk with him, but Daniel calmed her down which was probably worse.

Maggie and Jas were almost like twins but the difference was that, when Maggie bottled something up, it ended up running wild in her mind until she let it go. But with Jas, there was no letting it go. When Jas bottled something inside her and especially when someone messed with her family, all that grew inside her and that fire ended up turning into a bomb. She was like that when someone messed with any of her friends or family, but it was a hundred times worse when someone messed up with Daniel.

From day one Jas needed to protect him. She had the feeling inside her and it just grew bigger and bigger as the time with Daniel passed. She knew it was impossible all things considered, but she needed to try and, at least, protect him as much as possible. So when her husband’s boss said the things he said and when Jas couldn’t take it out, it turned into a bomb. Everyone was expecting it to be a mass destruction kind of bomb, but instead, it was like a silent one that would kill slowly.

Jas used to like Zak, he looked like a friendly guy and she decided to believe him when he promised to give Daniel a fast car to win races, but one day all of it changed. From chatting at the paddock and the garage and even at the MTC, Jas went from that to refuse to go with Daniel to having dinner with Zak simply because she didn’t want to fake a smile the whole dinner. She begged her future husband to forgive her for not going with him and invent some excuse as to why she wasn’t going, knowing perfectly fine that wherever Daniel was going, Jas was going too. That’s how things always were no matter the team he was in. It didn’t matter where or when, Jas was always his plus one, always by his side with a smile on her face, always trying to rise to the occasion. For four years Jas never refused an invitation and she was always ready to go, but she refused to be at the same table as her fiancée’s boss. So from a friendly talk, she went to a serious and deadly ‘Morning’ the first time she ran into him that first morning at Silverstone. Maggie did exactly the same thing and then both the sisters went to their business talking about whatever topic they were talking about.

Maggie knew Jas wasn’t planning to talk to him that weekend. It was Daniel’s birthday weekend so she wasn’t planning to ruin it, but it all went to hell on Saturday. Jas was joking with Dom and Maggie at the paddock, right in front of the Mclaren building when apparently someone heard their jokes. It was right after FP3 and before quali that Blake went to find Jas and she didn’t need him to say a thing to know something was happening. Maggie was right with her when it happened and she also knew there was something wrong, but her first thought was Daniel. What none of them were expecting was Blake saying that Zak was looking for Jas to talk to her. Blake offered to go to her but all Jas said was a simple and short ‘Thanks B, but I can deal with this shit on my own’ before she went straight to Zak’s office.

Ten minutes later Jas came out, just as serious as when she went in. To say everyone was expecting her to say what the hell happened inside that office was not enough. They were too curious and too worried, but Jas didn’t say a thing. She just whispered that it was all fine and settled. It wasn’t until she went with Maggie to Daniel’s driver's room before quali that she told Daniel, Blake, and Michael what she and Zak talked about. It wasn’t pretty at all. It was civilized but it wasn’t nice. Maggie was surprised they would let Jas get inside the Mclaren garage and hospitality again, but she was absolutely proud of her sister. And by far her favorite part of the talk was the last thing Jas said to Zak. ‘He’s Daniel Ricciardo, the Gran Prix winner, the man who people love and the man who gave you your first victory in a decade. He’s the only driver who gave you a win since you have been in charge of the team. But you? You’re just some CEO who failed during his time at Mclaren and the man who’s trying to ruin one of his driver’s career and reputation to justify the incompetence of his team. But let me tell you one little thing, Zak. You picked the wrong guy to fuck it with so good luck doing it’.

Everyone’s jaw dropped when they heard those words coming from Jas. Maggie knew perfectly fine her sister was capable of that and much more. Damn, the boys knew it too, but they were in a mix of surprise and disbelief. But then they were all trying to figure out what the hell to do. Daniel was all proud of his wife, Maggie proud of her sister all while Michael and Blake were trying to convince Jas to apologize before everything became worse. But Jas didn’t apologize. She stood tall in the garage the rest of the Saturday and then all Sunday. But the one who talked with his boss was Daniel. They talked that same Saturday after the quali, but for what Michael told Maggie, Daniel didn’t go to apologize about his future wife’s words, he just went to make clear he was gonna put his family first in any kind of a dispute.

But the detail that Jas forgot to tell them and that she remembered later was nothing but the fact that she disinvited Zak to the wedding, which made Maggie laugh her ass off as soon as she heard it. So after all, it wasn’t weird to hear Jas saying they were a bunch of cunts.

“And my wife is always right” Daniel affirmed, kissing Jas’ forehead.

And just like she didn’t need to know Jas was the one placing her hands on Maggie’s shoulders, this time Maggie didn’t need to know the one placing his arms around her waist and hugging her from behind was Michael. She could recognize his hands and arms anywhere, but most importantly, she could recognize his touch anywhere. “Talking about wives, here’s mine” he smiled, bending down enough to be able to kiss her left cheek and then her neck.

‘Here’s mine’. If he was trying to kill her that night he wasn’t that far from getting it.

“Hey you pretty boy, when are you gonna put a ring on my baby sis’ hand? And not that cute little one you gave her. I mean a real stone” Jas asked, making Maggie choke with her beer as Daniel laughed his ass off.

“Wow, no pressure” Maggie coughed, trying to breathe normally again so she could keep talking. “This is the part of our lives where everyone around us starts to get married and have babies and I’m kind of scared so chill, for fuck’s sake” she practically begged, leaning her back against Michael’s chest.

Maggie wasn’t joking when she said people around them were starting to get married and have babies. Jas and Daniel were getting married in a month, Dom proposed to Sara one week ago and they were getting married at the end of the year and she knew Ben was looking for a ring to finally propose to Cam after a lifetime together, so that left just Lily who was single and Maggie and Michael who were in their little word. That plus Olivia bringing the baby fever to the group was making Maggie feel nothing but pressure. But there was Michael, kissing her head, holding her closer with his arms around her waist and his hands resting on her stomach, making Maggie forget about all the problems and worries.

“Listen, I’m not planning to run away and I’m especially not planning to let her run away, so don’t worry. The rings and the kneeling will come eventually” he explained, kissing her cheek again, tickling her with his stubble.

But before Maggie could say anything, Lily was dragging Maggie to the kitchen without giving her time to kiss Michael. And maybe Maggie shouldn’t have followed her friend, because two hour later she was drunk. She tried to convince herself she wasn’t drunk drunk, but she was definitely not sober. And when Maggie wasn’t sober, she would always look for Michael because if he was around, she would automatically turn into an affectionate and clingy kind of drunk, needing nothing but love from the man of her dreams.

“Heyyy that’s my Mikey! I was looking for you!” Maggie exclaimed as soon as she saw Michael in the living room, opening her arms to hug him and resting her head on his chest.

It was an automatic response for him to hug her. It was automatic for him to place his arms around her waist and kiss her head, and she loved to feel his smile against her skin, almost as much as she loved the way he smelled. “I was just talking with Ben and Dom at the balcony, sweetheart”

“I missed you. I really, really missed you” she spoke against his shirt and she had no idea if he hear over the music, but her brain was yelling that she needed to tell him. He needed to know, so she just went with it.

“I missed you too, baby girl” Michael affirmed, kissing her once again as he moved his hands over her back, stroking her slowly.

“Listen to me. I had a bloody brilliant idea!” Maggie suddenly said, moving away enough to look up at his eyes, but never leaving the warmth and comfort of his arms and his body. But before she could say whatever she was gonna say, she decided to change the subject even if for a second. “Did I tell you that you look quiet tidy tonight? You look so cute with this shirt” she wondered, moving her fingers over his chest, touching the white material of his shirt.

“How much did you drink, babe? Because the British in you is showing up and for it to happen you need to be very drunk. First comes Irish drunk and then British drunk. Then if you reach the Aussie drunk is cause you’re smashed”

Maggie could see his efforts to not smile. She could see how he was really trying to stay serious because clearly someone had to be responsible and look after her drunk ass, but it only made Maggie melt even more. That tiny little smile on his face and those wrinkles on his eyes just made her go feral, losing the point for a second as she kissed his chest and hugged his waist tighter.

“Doesn’t matter, but listen to me! I wanna take you on a date!” she suddenly exclaimed, moving her hands up and placing them on his neck.

Maggie wanted to act like she wasn’t that drunk, but she realized that maybe she was very much drunk when she didn’t realize that Michael made them move to one of the chairs on the small balcony. At least she didn’t realize it until she was sitting there on his lap, which made her smile more because she loved to sit on his lap and snuggle there as long as she could.

“You wanna take me on a date? There’s no need to do that, sweetheart” Michael smiled, moving her hair out of her neck and shoulders and then stroking her cheeks with one hand, all as he held her waist with the other one, making sure she wasn’t gonna fall anywhere.

“But I want to! I wanna doll up and dress all nice for you and pick a cute place to go! We never do that. We never go out alone. We can count with both hands how many times we actually went alone on dates. I mean, I can’t count right now 'cause I’m kind of sloshed but you get it” she insisted, looking at him with the bigger pout trying to convince him.

And Maggie knew it worked as soon as Michael traced the pad of his thumb over her lower lip, so she made it more difficult for him as she kissed his thumb, all while a little smile appeared on her face. “Yeah, I get it. And you’re kind of right about it. We didn’t get that lucky with timing for dates”

“See? I’m right. Besides, I gotta win my baby boy back. I gotta show my favorite Aussie man how much I love him” she murmured, closing her eyes as she let Michael stroke her cheek with his thumb. “I gotta win my boy’s heart back”

Since her eyes were closed, Maggie had no idea what to expect, but it was more than a happy surprise when she suddenly felt Michael’s lips over hers. It wasn’t a deep, passionate kiss, it was the contrary. He was so soft, so sweet, so gentle and so loving that Maggie wanted to stay there forever. It was just slow and so full of love, just sharing peck after peck like there was nobody else around. There was no hurry and pressure, so it made it all better.

“Sweetie, you don’t have to do any of that to win me because I’m all yours, you hear me? I’m all yours” Michael whispered against her lips, almost like a secret between them. Everyone there knew it, but she loved that little secrecy. “But we’re gonna go on a date. I promise that we’re going somewhere nice this week before we go to Austria”

“We can go next week. We have a free week. Or we can wait for France and you take me on a date in Paris. That’s romantic shit” she giggled like a little girl, pecking his lips like it was the biggest secret in the world and then hiding her face against Michael’s neck after that short kiss.

“I thought you were taking me on a date”

“I take you to one here, you take me on one next week, and then we decide one together in Paris. J'aime Paris mais je t'aime plus” she giggled, all proud of herself for being able to talk in French when she was so drunk.

“I love that deal. But I love you the most” Michael affirmed, kissing her forehead as Maggie snuggled even closer to him because there was no proximity enough for her at that moment. She needed to feel him as closely as possible, so she hugged him tightly as possible, even in her drunken state.

“I love you the most” she repeated, opening her eyes to look at his face and kiss his cheek. But what caught her attention was another scene. There was Jas and Daniel, right in the middle of their mess of drunk friends, dancing like there was nobody else in the apartment. They were just holding each other, moving at their own rhythm and smiling while they kept talking about who knew what. Maggie couldn’t be happier for her sister. Jas waited for so long for someone to share her life with and she waited even more for someone like Daniel and now she finally got that. Jas got her fairytale with the man of her dreams and the most beautiful baby in the world, just like Maggie always knew her sister deserved. “You think we’ll be like that one day?? The kids, the dogs, the white picket fence with the pie at the windows?” she asked, pointing with her head to Daniel and Jas.

“You want all that? The minivan to take the kids to football practice too?”

But even in a drunk state, Maggie could notice that under that little joke there was part of truth. She knew those brown eyes too much, so she knew that little sparkle mean something and it made her stomach twist and her heart skip a beat.

“God no, I hate minivans. I could never be that kind of mom. But you? You’re totally that kind of dad. Taking the kids to football practice and being the team coach” she joked too, moving her hands to his neck, letting her fingers run through the short hair on the back of his head.

“You can bet your pretty ass, sweetheart. I mean it's my job after all” he stated, looking down at her with the biggest smile on his face. “Do you wanna have kids someday?”

To say that question took her by surprise was an understatement. It took the air out of her lungs completely. Maybe the shock was bigger because she was drunk, but whatever the reason was, it hit her differently. They have always joked about it, they did it more than once but Michael never asked if she really wanted kids. It was always teasing about assumptions of how things would be if they had kids one day, but nothing more than that. She never dared to ask either, too scared to ruin it with the question, too afraid to hear the answer, and even more terrified of what could happen if they were on different pages.

“What kind of question is that? Of course I want, but just with you. Wouldn’t have a baby with anyone else than with my baby” Maggie admitted, looking up into his eyes again. That was her chance to do it. That was her chance to find the answer to her very simple and yet so complicated question, so she took a deep breath and let it go before she finally threw it. “What about you?”

It was another whisper that she wasn’t sure Michael could hear over the music. It was just another murmur carried by the breeze, not really knowing if it was gonna be answered. But then Michael smiled at her. He smiled like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Like it was easy to answer and even easier to make it happen. He smiled like that was the most logical thing in the world and like it was something that was gonna happen soon.

“I want everything with you” Michael wondered, kissing her forehead a couple of times, all while her heart jumped with happiness thanks to his answer. “How many do you want?”

“Two. I have two hands so that’s it. That’s all I can control considering I can barely take care of myself” she giggled, kissing his cheek and jaw.

“Hey, I’m here to help take care of yourself, beautiful” he affirmed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And meanwhile, Maggie thought it was going to be a way better idea to get up and sit again on his lap, but this time facing Michael and placing her legs on both sides of his. “Also two it's good. I like it. And I could always convince you to have another one”

It was ridiculous, but as soon as Michael said that she was giggling like a little kid, hiding her face on his neck as he placed his hands protectively around her waist once again, holding her close and making sure she wouldn’t fall at any second.

“I don’t think so, stallion. Three it's like too much, especially if they’ve your energy. But hey, c’mere to me, you going to S and Dom’s wedding? S told me you’re invited”

Sara and Dom’s engagement were pretty much the subject of the weekend. That, the Ricciardos’ wedding and Daniel’s birthday, and everyone’s hate against McLaren were the four subjects. Sara and Dom were trying to keep the news of their engagement and tell everyone after Daniel’s birthday because they didn’t want to steal the spotlight on his weekend, but they were two sillies. Between Sara forgetting to take off her engagement ring and Dom not being able to keep his mouth closed, they blew it and ended up admitting and telling everyone about it. So now all the talks were about weddings and invitations and preparations for it, which was nothing but fun.

“Do you want me to be your plus one?”

“You’re the only plus one I want” Maggie confessed, even if it wasn’t a secret. But instead of answering, Michael smiled. It seemed like the answer to every single question they had was gonna be a smile. But Maggie was more than okay with that. They knew each other like the back of their hands, so there was no need to say it to know what was on his mind. The happiness of hearing her say those words was all around him, showing up not only in his smile but also in the way his eyes were shining. “Besides it's gonna be during winter so I’ll need someone keeping me warm”. Not that there was any need of convincing him, but she could try.

“Just tell me when and I’ll be there” Michael agreed, kissing her temple, her cheek, and then her lips. “Besides, I’d never miss the chance to get under your skirt after the wedding”

“Or during the wedding. We do love toilets. You putting a baby inside me during a wedding would be a hell of a story”

Just like Maggie knew Michael enough to know the jokes were hiding part of truth in them, she also knew Michael was trying to calm himself as they talked. She could feel the shifting in the chair, the way he was trying to keep his breathing calm and steady, and especially the way his arms squeezed her body against his a bit tighter. She knew perfectly fine all that drunk talk was doing things to Michael, and how she loved it, even if she was probably going to die of embarrassment the next morning. “I think we should plan that a bit more. Timing is not really on our side right now, baby”

“But think of how fun it would be to make it, Mikey. All the practice so you can finally be my baby daddy” she whispered against his ear, kissing the spot on his neck that Maggie knew would make him tremble. “We can even start practicing today”

But again, Michael did nothing. He and his composure made him stay still, taking deep breaths as his head leaned against hers. “One day, sweetheart. I promise you one day it will happen, but not tonight. We’ve to go home and we’re gonna give you a warm bath, a warm tea, and then straight to bed. And no complaining. You gotta let me take care of you”

Maggie knew perfectly fine it wasn’t a question. She knew perfectly there was no way that she would convince him to do anything because she was drunk and he was a sunshine in form of a handsome Aussie man. There was no way anything was gonna happen that night and, even when she was dying to get inside his jeans, she couldn’t be more grateful to have to sweetest, most caring, and a wonderful boyfriend in the world who was ready to carry her drunk all the way home, make her a tea and then give her a bath to fight her deplorable state. Plus, Maggie knew he was also gonna look after her hangover ass the next morning, so she needed to make a mental note to thank him in some way.

“Just cause I fancy you” she stated, kissing his cheek and then moving just enough to look at his face once again. “You’re gonna miss me when I leave to go to Dublin?” she wondered out of nothing.

“You’ll be away one week” Michael pointed out, resting their foreheads together, sharing the same air as their noses brushed slightly, moving his hands under her shirt and resting them again on her lower back.

Michael wasn’t joking when he said Maggie was going to be away one week. Instead of going to Hungary with them, she was going to fly to Dublin to help her mom and the girls with the last-minute organization and preparation for Jas and Daniel’s wedding. Better said, with the first or their two weddings. The first was going to be in Dublin and it was gonna be way more intimate, just close family and friends, and then the big one was gonna be at winter break during the Australian summer. That meant Maggie and Michael being away from each other for a whole week, which haven’t happened in months, so it was starting to make Maggie feel a bit anxious even if it was illogical.

But the most illogical thing was the fact that she didn’t get the joke the first time she heard it, all thanks to the alcohol inside her body. “And? That means you won’t miss me?”

And there was again, the soft smile on his face, the shiny eyes looking at her and his left hand going from her back to her face, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb, being so careful about it that it looked like Maggie was going to break at any second. “I’m gonna miss you every second of every single day till I see you again, Margaret”

“That’s what I wanted to hear” she murmured as she kissed the palm of his hand and leaned her head against it, closing her eyes for a second that felt like a century. “Babe, I want fairy cakes. Or better, your banana muffins. But with chocolate chips and nuts. Can we have some of those?”

“I’m making you some tomorrow morning. Otherwise, you’ll get all grumpy” Michael joked, which made Maggie tickle his sides to make him laugh, making her feel all happy and warm inside thanks to that sound.

“Hey, I’m not grumpy. Not with you”

“You’re grumpy when you’re hangover and when you’re sleepy. And sometimes when you’re tired. But I also know you get grumpy with everyone else except with me” he clarified.

Michael was right when he said Maggie was never grumpy with him. In fact, he was the only solution for her grumpiness. That or a nap or sometimes ice cream was what would get her out of that state. But Michael was the most efficient solution for it, fixing everything with some hugs, some kisses, or even just being there by her side. Sometimes something as simple as holding her hand or placing one of his hands on any part of her body would make her feel at ease. It worked because the grumpiness would turn into clinginess as she wouldn’t let him go from her side, focusing on nothing but the way he would move his fingers over her skin as he promised that everything was going to be okay.

“Cause you’re my baby. You’re my sunshine and my love and all my dreams come true and you’re the prettiest” she explained, cupping his face between her hands as she spoke. “Like you have the prettiest face in the world. Did I tell you before how much I like your face? I love your freckles and your pretty brown eyes. I really hope all our babies look like you cause then they’ll be the prettiest babies in the world”

“I love your face too, sweetheart. But I insist, I love you more” he insisted, giving her a soft, little kiss on her lips, making her smile again. “Let's get you some water and then I’m calling us an Uber so we go home, yeah? You need to get some rest”

“You’re taking me home?” Maggie wondered, as her shiny eyes looked up at him with nothing but expectation for his answer. For a second Maggie forgot she was staying with Michael again. She was so used to going from one to another and not staying with him and she was so drunk that her messed-up brain was nothing but confused. She needed to know if they were going home. She needed to know if they were going together back to his place. She needed to know if she wasn’t imagining things and if she was finally going back home with the man she loved.

“Yeah, princess, I’m taking us home” Michael answered, and with that Maggie let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

That’s when Maggie finally got to catch a break.

---

Taglist

@jamminvroomvroom​ @starlightoctavia @dr3lover​ @monte-carlando​ @brightlightsinlife​

#michael italiano #michael italiano oneshot #michael italiano imagine #michael italiano fic #f1 #f1 imagines #f1 fanfic #f1 oneshot #formula 1 oneshot #formula 1 #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 fic #formula one oneshot #formula one imagine #formula one fic #formula one #so it goes fic

[sistertinysips]

You gave a good answer to anon. I only hope she will be alright and she doesnt feel like she ever has to give up anything. He doesnt deserve her but ohwell I guess

Im more worried now then I was before for her returning as Ava

I won't comment on him not deserving her, because if she chose to marry someone is because she very much believes they are worth marrying, it would be insensitive from me to criticize her partner (if I wouldn't tell a friend of mine if I disagree with their partner choice, unless they are abusive to them, why would I be broadcasting if I agree or not with a stranger's choice in partners). My opinion is worth half a cent, because we don't know each other. Parasocial relationships are all fun and giggles, but there's still a very real person with a full, rich, complex life behind our screens, worthy of respect and their right to privacy.

That said, I too hope that whatever she chooses to do from now on is what she wants to do, wether she comes back for future WN related projects or not. But I truly hope she can come back to play Ava

#alba baptista #ava silva #warrior nun

[tatsumi-harem-chronicles]

m##bdmdndfnn i dont know how it would happen but. cinderella niki popped into my head

👀👀👀 rinnes a prince he throws a ball

VJSBDKDBFJF

*yeet *

niki doesnt even care about the ball itself he cares about the food they might serve ghsdbJSBFJndbdjfn his fairy godmother shows up and nikis like great! i want a full course meal

LOL

godmother: dont you?? want a spouse?? niki: is a spouse food. can i eat it

crack idea his fairy godmother is either a wandering mam+kohaku or himeru

FHDBWJAAOHDJDNFNG HIMERUDHEJFBFKNDSKDNF

if its mam+kohaku mam just gives him the food and kohakus like "get ur fucking ass to the ball we have deadlines" bc lets face it, double face r defs mercenaries for various royal fams and someone defs hired them to crash rinnes ball (probs rinne himself)

crackier idea: it's mayoi on his journey to "better himself" by offering free miracles to those who desire it so he can be worthy of prince tatsumi who saw something special in the mean and dreadful witch of the deep

toku why are you so poggers

all these ideas r so good what if they all just appear at the same time and each person fufills a diff segment of the cinderella-ify-ing

himeru: according to this Very Real Prophesy himeru has been mysteriously ordered by his master to carry out, himeru must bring you to this ball and you are not allowed to not attend niki: what the hell. i bet they dont even have quiches there himeru (increasingly frustrated by this situation): they have quiches. niki: i bet they dont even have pies there himeru: they have. pies. niki: i bet th himeru: THEY HAVE. FOOD. SO MUCH OF IT. THEY HAVE SOUPS. THEY HAVE PASTRIES. THEY HAVE CHEESE. niki: oooh i do love cheese

this makes himeru sound like a genie 👀

hsjdvJSBFJjsjsbdkadjkf himeru: (reading off terms and conditions) additionally, if you’ve already summoned himeru, you should be aware that himeru’s very presence feeds off your life fo oh god eichi: ahah heyyy himeru: not YOU again

eichi, would

imagine himeru functions more as like a monkey’s paw than an actual like genue

also funnier idea what if eichi was princess fiona and wataru was shrek/j thats too cracy even for me 😭

[convo gets derailed so we’re skippin to when it continues:]

niki cruising into the royal ball with 5 different magic contractors each with their own agendas for how they're gonna try to make the evening go and he immediately beelines it to the cheese fountain mayoi who's trying to ensure niki has a good time: h-hey if he-e likes thee cheese s-so much j-just let him dro~wn himself i-in it ffor a bit longer may~be? kohaku and mam who are trying to lure niki closer to the buffet table where prince rinne just so happens to be while keeping his presence at the ball very background so he doesn't cast any suspicion on them as they move closer to their target (making niki act as their cover): but there's a rather nice meat platter on that table over there he should try it it looks good eichi who's trying to get niki to dance with rinne so he can prove his capability as a matchmaker/ability to show compassion and love by uniting the prince with his soulmate (completing the task set for him by the elder council of wataru's kingdom so they can get married (wataru's kingdom might be allied with rinne's (or at least their elders are) idk)): oh, the prince is over there too! perhaps a dance would be fun? himeru who's trying to keep niki at the party for as long as possible to prolong their contract and get more of that sweet sweet lifeforce: how about you all slow down and let niki decide niki who's still busy stuffing his face with random things he's dipped in cheese: 🤤 (blissful ignorance)

GUDWBJDBFKDDBF [1]RINNE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY PINS DOWN WHAT’S GOING ON BUT IS TOO ENTERTAINED AT THE SIGHT OF FIVE GUYS TRYING TO GET THIS IDIOT TO DO WHAT THEY WANT

it's a miracle rinniki met at all rlly [1]he is so amused he actually falls in love the idiot lol

rinne initially: wow he has so many bitches maybe we should talk. not that im interested in him though rinne after spending several nights helping niki hide from the Many Guys™️ trying to get him to be with rinne in the first place: wow this guys decent and not in fact pompous and isnt trying to get with me at all and he instantly knew what foods i liked and hes so stupid he doesnt even know im flirting with h aw. aw fuck

himeru: himeru doesnt understand why this isnt working. he even picked out a great suit eichi: personally i think shiina kun would look great in a ball gown, perhaps you should try granting him that much? mama: hey where did he even GO?? HOW do we lose sight of him every single night. WHY has the prince just stopped coming to the ball at all. what is going on mayoi (who picked up on rinne and niki ditching the ball on a nightly basis): ahaha. haha. mmmm. wh-who knows.

kohaku: wait. hold on. himeruhan picked out nikihan’s outfit. m- (cringing) mamahan took care of his transportation. mayoihan blessed him with a normal appetite. what did you do eichihan eichi: i am his emotional support ♡

how did eichi even get there ?!?!? also i love how all of this is going on in the presumed aftermath of hiiro faking his death with aira

fhsbsjdbf imagine his family tasked him with courting rinne but he decided it was WAY funnier if he could get this commoner guy to marry him instead

wait i thought this was before that

wait when is the cinderella in the timeline is it b4 or aft the snow white fake deaths?

[2]post-kaname at the very least

[2]while hes stuck in the beasts castle or b4 that?

before that

[3]i thought the timeline was rinniki gets together -> rinne finds out about the council's plans for hiiro -> rinne fakes hiiro's death and runs away -> rinne ends up in jun's castle

lmao just realized we could also also make kaname a little red riding hood parallel to match jun's big bad wolf/beast

[4]if we somehow twist this so that this is before hiiro’s presumed death, the mental image of hiiro standing in for rinne at the balls while rinne’s off with niki….. xkdndkdbdkf

[3]seems legit [4]na he looks to good boy to stand in for rinne, he jsut covers/lies abt his wereabouts to the elders 4 him probs the reasons the elders got fed up and decided to super weapon him, actually

:cantdothis: and it is rinnes fault………

kinda yes as always ^^

#enstars #ensemble stars #fairy tale au #niki shiina #himeru #eichi teshouin #double face #mayoi ayase #rinne amagi #rinniki #hiiro amagi #mod talks #misc

[appleciders]

6, 8, 18, 19

beautiful flipped symmetry in these numbers bro thank u!

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

ooh, all the time i'm not sure, but i'm a serial bookmarker (LOVE to bookmark something) and i definitely do come back to stuff!! i'm having trouble thinking of names right now. there's just so so much incredible fic out there tbh. if you're willing to do some sifting, here's the full unfiltered (💀) list that's been growing since i was like 14

(oh wait: actually, just remembered one that i do come back to probably at least once a year, until the sun makes the hills its grave. i have no idea how i even found it, given that i only watched the first two seasons of the 100 and i'm missing half the context for it, and i don't know why this one resonates with me so much, but there's a certain kind of mood i get into where i love to reread it)

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

i haven't been writing too much at the moment! moving and life stuff has thrown a wrinkle in it. i've got a bunch of half-finished ficlets for bad sisters that i don't know if they'll amount to anything bigger, especially bc the response to the last one wasn't super interested. for in-progress projects that have been on new-hyperfixation backburner that i hope to return to, i've got my mary circle of magic au for wn and my lupe butching her way through domesticity fic for aloto

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

oh hmm. this chunk from housed as they are has been sticking with me all through this year, so right now i care for it a lot!

“Another part of me can’t stay here.” She tips her face toward Addison, almost apologetic. “Both hurt. But I love too many people to keep away from either.” “So go,” Addison says. “Go and come back.” Like the tide, Maggie thinks. Like the circulation of blood from the heart. Go and come back.

less seriously, i love a lot of the silly little jokes i made in this same fic lol

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

i wish i could give you a chunk from the prompt that's sitting in my inbox, because i do hope to get some wn brain soon to be able to fill it for you!! but here is some mary&lilith from the mary fic i mentioned in the meantime (with bonus shannon)

Lilith makes a face, entirely ungrateful of Mary’s prodigious restraint. She looks around. “Where’s Beatrice?” Shannon and Mary give her matching looks. “Still? Yanna’s hands.” Exasperated, Lilith appeals to the Living Circle god of healing. “One day, the pipes for the private baths will break, and she is going to have to bathe in the trough with the pigs.” Mary shrugs. “She might prefer that. Over you.” Lilith scoffs, splashing a wave of water at Mary. Mary slaps the water to spray her back. Shannon, caught in the crossfire, retaliates by shoving Mary off the bench. Mary grabs Lilith in her attempt to keep purchase. The two of them fall sideways in slow motion, Lilith’s vice grip clenching around Mary’s wrist. They surface, spluttering. “Oh, you–” Mary starts. “Shannon,” Lilith harmonizes. To any outsiders, Shannon would seem placid, at most mildly amused. To the two who know her best, she is utterly, unbearably smug. Mary looks at Lilith. Lilith looks at Mary. As one, they lunge, grabbing Shannon on each side and yanking her in. She lets them; she comes up laughing. All three of them are grinning, then, neck-deep, droplets of warm water hanging like clear beads from their faces. Lilith doesn’t even start a whirlpool, though, as she readily threatens, she could.

#not that small i guess but! here u are thanks for the questions <33

[ohlexa]

don't hate what you are, what you are is beautiful. oh my god OH MY GOD. that line!?! i was hooked. like instantly they had my heart in a vice grip and my only thought was, fuck, no. because i pretty much knew how it ended. i've never been more thankful for writers. i'm already half way through sixth to the ninth hour and they weren't wrong, it's incredible. i'm pretty picky and i don't know these characters all that well yet, but it feels perfectly in character. exactly what i was looking for tbh. i know you prefer au but i highly recommend it.

do you have any headcanons for them? what's your favorite scene? did this fandom go through the whole top/bottom debate we seem to love to have? are there any must watch moments or interviews with the actresses? do you have *one* single favorite fanfic for them? fave fan video? i'm sorry for all the ? but i need more damnit 😅

Seriously - what would we do without the fandom creators?! I have Sixth to the Ninth Hour bookmarked so I'm hoping to start it soon - I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Okay, headcanons....🤔...well, I've always loved the idea that Ava loves space. (Don't even get me started on the whole Ava can't move and is literally tethered to the earth vs. that shit doesn't matter if you're in space so OF COURSE she's going to love space conversation....) And you know how her bed in the orphanage was right below a window? Well, sometimes Diego would sneak over, open the blinds, lay down next to Ava and they'd look at the stars together and make awful puns about them (so awful that most times Ava would say "I'm starry! I'm starry!"...ya know how it is). So couple this with Ms. Encyclopedia Brown (am I aging myself with that reference??) that is Beatrice No-Last-Name and it's just perfect. Beatrice spouts all about Greek and Roman astronomy and the little she knows about astrophysics (which, of course, is way more than the average person) and Ava eats it all up.

And while I've never been to Switzerland, I can only imagine how beautiful the starry sky looks like over there. Beatrice surprises Ava one day with a telescope and they spend the entire night looking at all the constellations they can find. Ava's looking up, her face full of wonder while Bea can't help but stare at Ava...because well, you know how it is.

Oh, and that hat Ava wears throughout s2? Bea totally bought that for her, too.

It's so tough to choose a favorite scene (THERE ARE SO MANY), but I'd probably go with their night dancing and drinking at Bar La Vasseur. I find myself going back and rewatching that scene the most. So yeah, that one. (What's yours??)

Ya know, I'm not really sure if there was a "debate" but from what I gathered, most think Bea is a top? (Is this correct? I feel like I joined the fandom a little late to really see it all go down. I'm with KTY though - they flip flop!)

Watch all of the interviews. All of them. KTY did a handful after s2 aired and there are several ones with AB after s1 came out and they're all fun to watch. If you haven't already, I suggest visiting AngeChats on YT - they've interviewed a lot of the WN cast - insightful stuff! (And we can't forget KTY reading thirst tweets!)

I hate you (affectionate) for asking what my ONE fav fic is, but I'd probably go with of greater marvels yet to be. And I really enjoy this fan video.

No need to apologize for all the questions - glad you're here, anon!

#anonymous ✨ #inbox #long post