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bratzforchris · 1 month

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Inked Daisies (Chapter 2)

A series

Summary: For the past year, you've been running the flower shop that's next door to your friend, Matt's, tattoo studio. But what happens when the feelings start to get more than friendly?

Read Chapter 1 here

Pairing: Tattoo artist!Matt x floristfem!reader

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol/drinking (reader and the triplets are 22 here), characters walking in on each other showering, nsfw content (no actual sex), a few uses of y/n (sometimes it's inevitable, y'all :P)

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: Y'all are about to kill me for this cliffhanger 🤗

“You’re here!” Chris smiled, throwing open the door. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“It was yesterday, Chris,” You giggled. “Now let us in so we don’t drop your dinner.”

“Us?” the youngest triplet asked you, cocking his head to the side.

Chris opened the front door wider to reveal Matt standing behind you, clearly annoyed at the fact that he hadn’t been let into his own home yet. You were holding a box of breadsticks and drinks from your favorite local pizza place while Matt carried the four boxes of pizza. Despite your protests that you could carry the pizza, the boy had refused, saying that he could do it because it was him and his brothers that could easily slam a whole pizza each by themselves. Secretly, you just thought it was cute that Matt wanted to help you, despite his “tough guy” façade.

“You guys came together?” a look of what could have been confusion, but also something else flashed across Chris’ face.

“You’re wack if you think I’m leaving her downtown alone at night. She’s too trusting; it’s like a puppy.” Matt murmured, shoving past you and Chris and into the house.

“Uh oh, Mattitude’s out now.” whatever expression had been on your best friend’s face was gone now, leaving you with the happy, sunny Chris you had always known.

“Out now? It’s always out.” You laughed, making your way into the kitchen you were all too familiar with.

“I heard that.”

You giggled to yourself, sitting the boxes down on the island. Breathing in the familiar scent of the boys’ home, any trace of the unease you had felt at Matt’s earlier demeanor disappeared. The triplets had been your best friends since high school, and not much had changed now that you were all adults, other than the fact that your hangouts were less frequent. Just like old times, you all piled onto the couch with your plates of pizza and drinks, scrolling through Netflix for a movie to watch.

You had sandwiched yourself between Nick and Chris, while Matt sat at the other end of the couch, silently eating his pizza and scrolling through his phone. You didn’t take the silence personally, though. After the conversation at the shop about the man who was making his job more difficult, you couldn’t blame the brunette for wanting a break. Though you weren’t as close with Matt as with the other two brothers, you still cared deeply for him. If that meant him being a little more quiet in order to rest, you didn’t mind it.

You turned towards Nick, snatching the leftover crust off his plate. “The stickers are selling well.” You stated, taking a sip of your Fanta.

Being close friends with a graphic designer as a business owner definitely had its perks; for example, the small, cartoon-style flower stickers that read “One Trick Peony” had sold out within three hours of your shop being open for the past week since you’d started stocking them. Despite his busy job as one of the most reputable graphic designers in Los Angeles, Nick still found time to prioritize your business. The stickers had been just one of the hit merchandise pieces he’d supplied you with.

“Do you know what you should sell?” Chris added, poking your cheek and then smiling when you looked at him fondly. “Alcohol. Lavender martinis would sell like crazy in a flower shop.”

“I’m not getting a liquor license,” You snorted. “Besides, I don’t even think the store has enough room for a bar.”

“Who said anything about a bar? All you need is a bartender.” Chris hummed, pulling you into his lap.

It was true. Chris had become quite skilled in his ability to make drinks any and everywhere over the past year since he’d gotten his bartender certification. In your opinion, the job was perfect for him. The fast-paced, fun environment and the amount of money you could make if you were entertaining and talkative was right up the brunette’s alley. His good nature made it pretty normal for him to come home on any given Friday night with about 600 dollars in cash.

You snuggled into your best friend’s chest, breathing in his boyish scent happily. “Maybe one day we can open a flower and brunch place with a bar.” You told him.

“You guys hear that? I’m the one Y/N wants to run a business with.” Chris chuckled, sticking his tongue out at the other two triplets.

“Just wait til she figures out how you actually act,” Nick grumbled, pressing play on the movie you all had decided on. “Now be quiet.”

Before looking over at the movie, you turned your eyes towards Matt. He was still withdrawn into himself, curled into the L-shaped corner of the couch now. He had put his phone down, though, and in a feat of chance, turned to look at you at the exact same moment. Matt cocked his head like he wanted to ask you a question, but then shook his head, averting his eyes. You shrugged, figuring it still had to do with the exhaustion and stress from earlier in the day, but you couldn’t help but notice the feeling growing in your tummy at the thought that Matt had been looking at you first.

One terrible, low-budget movie later, you sat up out of Chris’ hold and looked around the living room. Nick had abandoned the movie in favor of his laptop, seemingly editing some sort of advertisement. That was just his personality. If something recreational didn’t immediately capture his attention, he was back to working his ass off. Maybe that was what made him such a successful entrepreneur, but either way, you admired him for helping people bring their dreams for their designs to fruition. Chris was scrolling through his phone, every now and then migrating into his work group chat to chuckle at the stories his fellow bartenders had to share about cutting someone off for the night. Matt, on the other, had fallen asleep, chin resting in his hand. You felt rather bad for him; January was always a stressful month for tattoo artists and piercers because people had Christmas money and gift cards, and they wanted their modifications to be healed by summer time.

“I’m gonna shower,” You told your two (awake) best friends, standing up and stretching. “Do you guys mind?”

“You know that’s like asking to shower in your own home, right?” Chris stood up behind you, tickling your sides.

“It’s…still…the polite thing to do!” You laughed, gasping for breath at the tickling.

“But yes, we don’t care. Go ahead.” Chris placed a friendly kiss on the back of your head.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary for you and your best friends to share platonic cheek kisses, cuddles, and hugs, but it didn’t make your heart any less happy. You smiled, making your way to Matt’s bathroom. You had kept shower stuff at the triplets’ home ever since the four of you had moved to LA. After all, you were at their house almost more than you were at your apartment. You trekked towards Matt’s bathroom since it was the closest to the living room. You knew he wouldn’t mind, especially because A) he was asleep and B) you’d done it before.

You warmed the water up, ridding yourself of your clothes from the day, and stepping into the steamy heaven. You didn’t bother locking the door, knowing that on the off chance Matt did wake up, Chris and Nick would inform him that you were using his bathroom. You began to wash your hair, letting the rose scent of your shampoo fill the bathroom as you massaged your scalp, washing away the worries of both a busy day at your business, and the odd encounters you’d been having with the middle triplet all evening. You were so caught up in thinking that you didn’t even hear the doorknob to the bathroom turn as Matt stepped into the bathroom.

Matt knew he shouldn’t have. You were one of his closest friends. There was no way he should be watching you showering. It was weird and wrong on so many levels, yet he couldn’t pull his eyes away from your body. You looked peaceful, head thrown back under the water and eyes closed, soft moans escaping your lips as you relaxed. The way the warm water and soap suds caressed your body and curves as they cascaded into the drain made him think about what other white substances would look like dripping down your body in the shower.

What the fuck? Why was he thinking about railing you? You two weren’t even that close and he didn’t like you like that. Still, Matt couldn’t deny the tightening in his cock at the image of you in front of him, and the image of you in his mind. He told himself that it was just because he hadn’t been laid in so long, but the brunette couldn’t help the soft groan that made its way out of his mouth.

At the sound, your eyes flew open, head turning towards the door. “Matt?” You futilely tried to cover yourself, knowing it was useless. Matt had already seen it all.

“Fuck, I…uh, fuck–Y/N, I’m sorry,” he grumbled, clearing his throat. “I was just coming to brush my teeth and Nick and Chris didn’t tell me you were…in here.”

You shut the water off quickly, grabbing the towel you’d thrown over the side of the glass door and wrapping it around your body. “Shit, I’m sorry, Matt. I should’ve locked the door.”

“It’s um, it’s fine,” Matt coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as his face turned red. “I’m just gonna…grab my toothbrush and use Chris’ bathroom tonight. ‘S all yours in here.”

You watched as Matt grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and scrambled out of the bathroom. You were still standing in the draining shower, dripping wet and shivering. Part of you couldn’t believe that one of your best male friends had seen you showering, but for some reason, another part of you wasn’t mad about it. Unbeknownst to you, though, Matt was feeling the same way in his cold shower downstairs.

tags ♡: @jake-and-johnnies-slut @chrissfavwh3re @suyqa @chrissturnswife @mbsbaby @herxysc-blog @lovingchrissposts @caffeinatedscorpio @spencereidenthusiast @crazychrisl0v3r @sturnioloxlver @whicked-hazlatwhore @blahbel668 @sturncakez @junnniiieee07 @biggesthat3r @sturniolowhore @patscorner @julesgrl @0strawberrysorbet0 @strombolilovr @matt444nixi @remussbitch @devthepoet1221 @mattyblover07 @loisnotaa @mollyquinnxoxo @graysturns @pepsicolapussy333 @ginswife @emmagirouard @athaliahxoxo @bitchydragonparadise @ilydeaky @soggyslugg169 @m00n-0n-paws @books0fever @stingerayyy2 @sunsetsturniolos @mimi-luvzyu @raysmayhem-72 @faygo-frog @oobleoob @billsslutt @aemrsy

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suugarbabe · 11 months

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Peaceful Sleep

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x y/n

Warnings: drinking, fluff

The start of the year party was still in full swing when you and your group of friends tucked away into the back corner to play your usual game of truth or drink. Theo, Draco and Blaise sat across the big couch, in that order. Mattheo took the chair to their right while Pansy and Enzo sat in the loveseat on the left. You sat on a cushion on the floor, elbows resting on Draco’s knees. You had designated yourself as the shot pourer as you were (1) the most sober, though that wasn’t saying much and (2) Mattheo had a heavy hand and you didn’t trust him not to put an extension charm on the shot glass.

As you sat down, Pansy gave you the eyes, wiggling her eyebrows seeing you snug between Draco’s legs. You sneakily gave her the finger as you rolled your eyes, essentially telling her to shut her drunk mouth. Pansy had stayed at yours for two weeks over the summer holiday and you had essentially blabbed about your growing crush on Draco since year three. As soon as he stopped slicking his hair back it was like he was a whole different person, a hotter person. Each summer was just so good to him. He looked a little stressed this year, but you chalked it up to you all having to take your N.E.W.T.S. at the end of the second term.

“Okay, I’ll start us off,” Mattheo began “Truth or dare Enzo!” Enzo rolled his eyes, “truth, I s’pose”. Mattheo’s grin turned delivish, “Okay, how many wet dreams did you have about Pansy this summer!” Enzo’s cheeks immediately turned red. Pansy rolled her eyes, “Merlin, Mattheo, really this is how we’re playing tonight?” Mattheo smirked, shrugging his shoulders, “Isn’t this how I always play? Enzo, boyo, answer the question now.” Enzo shook his head, declining to answer. So you poured him a shot and he took it happily.

Enzo turned to Theo, “Truth or Dare.” Theo sat up straighter, though his eyes were half lidded, indicating he was far more drunk that he was trying to appear, “Dare, give me your best shot.” Enzo sat, thinking for a moment before Pansy leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Enzo’s grin grew as he nodded his head. “Okay, Theo, I dare you to go ask Looney Lovegood to hogsmead this weekend.” Theo looked over to the dance floor where Luna Lovegood was dancing with large glasses on, quite oddly, with a group of friends.

The group watched as he walked over to her, talking for a few minutes before walking back to the couches, a confused look on his face. “Well, what’d she say?” You asked as the group leaned in closer. Theo shook his head, “She said my head was full of Wrackspurts and that I should see Madam Pomfry tomorrow.” You all burst out laughing. You thought Luna was nice and she meant well, but you couldn’t deny how odd she truly was.

The game continued as such, dares being thrown out, truths being avoided. It seemed like any time it was Draco’s turn he would always choose the shot versus a truth or even a dare, which he normally loves. When he began leaning forward, resting his chin on the top of your head, you knew it was time to get him to bed. You softly pushed him off you before standing up and extending your hand to him, “C’mon Drunko Malfoy, you’re going to bed.” He made no arguments, standing up and draping an arm over your shoulder for you to lead him.

Pansy shot you a look but you did your best to ignore her. You heard the others continue with the game as you lead Draco up the stairs and down the hall to his and the boys room. Draco had a growth spurt between fourth and fifth year, making your height difference even more dramatic than it was, and making this walk more difficult than it should have been. You flicked your wand to unlock and open his door before flopping the large boy down on his bed.

You pulled off his shoes as he attempted to pull off his shirt. Your cheeks tinted a slight pink at the sight of his bare chest, his skin like porcelain in the moonlight from the window. You pulled back the top half of his duvet and attempted to make him lay down. “No,” he mumbled shaking his head. “C’mon, Dray, you need to go to sleep. You’re practically sleeping sitting up right now.” He shook his head again, eyes closed as he mumbled, “Can’t sleep with pants on. Belt too hard, help me y/n/n.” He reached out, grabbing your wrists and bringing them to his waist.

Your breath hitched in your throat as you slowly undid his belt for him before he pushed his trousers down, leaving him in silk black boxers. Your face was on fire and you were thankful that Draco’s vision was probably half blurry at this point. He finally tucked his legs under the duvet and you covered him up. “Sleep good, Draco,” you whispered, kissing his temple. You knew you shouldn’t have but you couldn’t help it, besides he wouldn’t remember tomorrow right?

As you turned to leave, Draco’s hand shot out from under the blanket, grabbing your wrist, “Don’t go.” He said it so softly, almost like a child begging. “Lay with me, please, y/n/n.” Your heart wouldn’t let you deny him, so you nodded, “Okay, Draco.” You grabbed a t-shirt from his trunk, slipping your party dress and heals off and throwing his shirt over your bra and panties. It hung on your thighs lower than your dress did that night.

You climbed into bed next to him, laying on your back, hands behind your head. You looked over at Draco. His eyes were closed so you assumed he was sleeping until he spoke up. “I’ve been having nightmares all summer, I don’t wanna do what they want me to do.” You furrowed your brows in confusion, “What do they want you to do? Who’s they?” His eyes opened, they were still glossed over from being drunk, but tears were brimming the edges. “You don’t have to talk about it right now, Dray, I’m sorry. C’mere,” you pulled his face into your chest as he sniffled slightly. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you even closer, hooking your leg over his hip like he was trying to melt into you.

You lightly scratched his back until his breathing evened out. You listened for a few moments, making sure he was fully asleep. After about ten minutes you attempted to roll him off you so you could go to your own room, not knowing how Draco would feel waking up sober, hungover and you in his bed. However when you tried to pull his arm off you Draco’s grip only got tighter. You sighed, not totally hating your predicament.

You closed your eyes, feeling exhausted, eventually falling asleep yourself. You awoke to what felt like your sides being tickled, not purposely but like someone was lightly dragging their fingers up and down your skin. Your eyes fluttered open, you looked down to see Draco awake, his hand tracing the lines of your side, disappearing beneath his shirt and back absentmindedly. “Good morning,” you spoke softly.

Draco jumped slightly at your voice, sitting up in his bed, “Oh, I’m sorry, y/n, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You sat up again his head board, “S’okay, Draco. How did you sleep? Any nightmares last night?” His face dropped, “I told you about those?” You nodded sleepily, “You didn’t tell me what about, and I didn’t push, don’t worry.” He nodded his head, shoulders relaxing a bit before admitting, “That was honestly the best I’ve slept in months.” You smiled widely, “Well I’m glad I could help.” Your heart was beaming, you couldn’t wait to tell Pansy. Draco ran his hand through his hair, “You might have to sleep over every night now, yannow, if you’re okay with that. We do have very important exams at the end of the year and I need to make sure I’m well rested.” You laughed nervously, though you hope it didn’t show, “I think we can definitely make arrangements.”

#draco malfoy x y/n #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy #harry potter #mattheo riddle #theo nott #theodore nott #Lorenzo birkshkire #blaise zabini

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cerastes · 4 months

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With the exception of Arknights what are your thoughts on gacha games?

I don't feel like I need to exclude Arknights from the statement, I can criticize things even if I like them.

In general, I don't like that their widely accepted and even defended business model is "Capitalize on FOMO, exploit gambling addictions, create dependent users". I also think that the use of the "game as a service" model, and one that needs to keep pumping content forever and can't risk to alienate the player, severely limits what can be done with the medium in terms of creativity, because you can't kill off playable characters nilly willy (I actually think Epic Seven was cooking with this, Epic Seven will kill off playable characters and remove them from the plot if it feels like it, or at least used to back when I played, don't know nowadays), relationships and dynamics with characters tend to be limited because otherwise your audience can feel like you are cucking them, and I wish I was kidding but just look at the absolute dumpster fire of a drama going on as we speak (22nd of January, 2024) in Girls' Frontline 2 over in China over one of the characters having interactions with a male NPC, and you can't ever bring a true sense of finality to any given arc because everything ends up having to be foreshadowing, set-up, build-up and so on and on and on. In many cases, you also have a mold cast of Must Have tropes in your playable cast: The Maid, The Idol, The One That Worships The Ground You Walk On, The Underage And Underclothed One, The Underage (But We Treat This One As A Precious Child!) One, Foxgirl, The Cold And Highly Analytical One (But Actually, Loves You), Chuuni, etc, so it feels like in every game I kinda already know at least a third of the cast minimum already and I'm kind of primed to not really want to know them, even though there's subversions I end up liking sometimes (Fenny from Snowbreak is an example of an Idol-type I ended up loving despite not liking Idol-types).

On the other hand, even with these negatives in mind, having a game that periodically updates and adds content, and that you can discreetly play pretty much everywhere on the go due to smartphones being their main 'console', games that foster community and something to talk about with your friends that also play and that will always have something new every couple of weeks, as well as inspire fanart, fanworks, analysis, and commentary, and that tend to be more risque and interesting with their designs is honestly good to have. I personally enjoy the community aspect of gacha games, I consider it one of the two most important aspects for me, because I know I can come here, for example, and see people talking about the story, the characters, the music, the gameplay, and more, every day, and the other important thing to me is how discreet they are, since I can just play a few maps or stages in my phone real fast midst a social situation at work, and then hop back in with a renewed social battery or when a topic I like comes up.

I fully get when people showcase their disdain for gacha, yeah, but if we really want to be nitpicky, the majority of the game industry is kind of a cesspool of toxicity, which is not to say "stop bashing gacha" and instead say "bash the whole thing if you're going to be bashing it anyway" (and we should! Game devs and other personnel in the industry have been crying for better conditions for years now!). Either way, if someone decides to sit at the gambling den, it becomes their responsibility. I want there to be more safeguards for people with actual addictions and to protect them, but with this in mind, if anyone still decides to sit at the den, it's assumed they are going to take responsibility for their actions and financial decisions.

So all in all, yeah, predatory games that suffer in quality due to their own trappings, but also good sources of community, inspiration, and effective at being discreet games you can play anywhere and that get periodic updates (this isn't necessarily exclusive to gacha but it is an aspect of them that bears mentioning, which I point out since no doubt people will want to point out there's good non-gacha smartphone game options out there)

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yournowheregirl · 11 months

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part 1 [part 2 - coming soon]

Robin is panicking.

She’s standing in the middle of Lovelace Lingerie and she’s panicking.

There are two reasons why she has always avoided this place like the plague. The first and obvious one being the whole ‘I'm gay and if I stare at this model wearing nothing but a lace bodysuit for a second too long, everyone is going to know exactly how gay I am’ bit. The second reason is just a plain habit. She bought her first bra at the department store, she knows what brand she likes, she knows her size and she knows that she doesn’t want all the frills and the bows and the lace. Just a plain black or white bra (maybe blue if she’s feeling fancy), nothing more, nothing less.

That is until Vickie said something when she stayed over the other day.

“Why are all your bras so boring, Robin?”

Robin never thought her bras were boring. Sure, they were plain and nothing like the colorful lace bras Vickie likes to wear, but they were just there to serve one purpose - to hold her boobs in place while she goes about her day. Plus, before Vickie, she was the only one looking at her bra and she was doing just fine, thank you very much.

But Vickie’s words got stuck in her head, as they often do, which made Robin decide to take matters into her own hands and buy something that’ll make Vickie happy. A final hail Mary to make up for all the arguments they’ve been having these last few weeks.

Though she’s beginning to regret her decision as the sheer amount of choice start to overwhelm her. There’s just so much lace. So many straps. So many colorful bows and flower designs. So many things that say they’re bras, but look more like a flimsy piece of fabric tied together with two strings of floss.

In her state of outright panic, Robin rushes through the store and grabs one of each pair of lingerie that she thinks Vickie will like. She doesn’t even bother to look at the sizing - honestly, what good is a size anyway when this bra is just a bunch of straps and two hearts cut out of red fabric - she just grabs them all and heads straight to the fitting rooms.

As it turns out, she should’ve been looking at the label because nothing seems to fit or suit her. The fabric of the lilac one is scratchy and the green one is just plain ugly. The black one makes her boobs look saggy, while the yellow one is too tight and make her boobs spill out. And don’t even get her started on the neon pink one - that one isn’t even a bra, it’s a torture device.

Oh God, she’s never gonna make it out of this alive. She’s gonna die, right here in this pink and red monstrosity of a fitting room, choked to death by satin straps, and, and- are those walls closing in on her or is she just imagining things?

A knock on the door of the fitting room snaps Robin out of her downwards spiral but her mouth still runs faster than the brain when she calls out, “Who is it?”

“Uh, it’s... it’s Nancy? I work here?” A woman responds from the other side of the door. “You were taking a long time and I was wondering if you were okay, if you needed any help.”

Help. Yes, that’s exactly what she needs. Someone who knows their way around all these lace-y things, who knows what she needs to buy to keep Vickie happy and get out of here as fast as she can.

“Yes.” Robin croaks out. “Yes, please. I definitely needs some help.”

Robin immediately regrets her decision when an actual angel steps into the dressing room rather than an employee. And Robin’s not over-exaggerating, the warm light of the hallway does make it seem like there’s a halo around her brown curls, but it’s Nancy’s smile that makes Robin grow weak in the knees. It might be a customer service smile that she knows all too well, but Nancy makes it look genuinely sweet.

Focus, Robin. She tells herself. You’re here for your girlfriend don’t get distracted by Nancy’s blue eyes or rosy pink lips or-

“Wow.” Nancy breathes, looking around the mess that Robin made of the fitting room.

“I’m sorry! I just got overwhelmed and I just grabbed everything and then I just panicked and then- then this happened.” Robin rambles apologetically.

“Don’t worry. I’ve seen worse.” Nancy smiles politely. “How can I help?”

“Is this sexy?” Robin blurts out and Jesus Christ, can the ground open up and swallow her whole right now? Why would she say something like that?

But Nancy doesn’t seem all that bothered with her question. She just blinks and cocks her head to the side, examining Robin with precision in her eyes.

“It is from our Super Sexy line, so it’s literally designed to be sexy.” Nancy says. “But the most important question is, do you feel sexy in it?”

Robin turns around and takes a good look at herself in the mirror. The color of the bra is nice and the flower and butterflies that are stitched into the fabric are pretty, but she still feels the need to wrap her arms around her body and shield it from prying eyes. It looks like something Vickie would like, it’s similar to what she owns and wears, but Robin feels that it’s just not her.

“Not really.” Robin says softly. “I’m not... all of this. I don’t wear all this complicated lace-y, girly junk and- oh shit, I’m totally insulting your job right in front of you.”

Nancy chuckles and shakes her head. “Oh believe me, you’re fine. We have a lot of things that are a bit... out there, so to say. But if you tell me what it is you’re looking for, I can see if we have something you feel more comfortable in?”

There’s something in Nancy’s eyes that Robin can’t put her finger on, but all she knows is that she’s suddenly telling Nancy everything. From her bra shopping at the department store to Vickie (Robin’s just in time to call Vickie her partner instead of girlfriend) telling her the bras she wears are boring and how she’s here in the hopes of finding something that will make her partner happy.

Nancy listens and nods along to the story, asking her questions about her preferences for colors and styles and even though Robin has know clue what she wants or what she’s talking about, Nancy doesn’t seem to mind. She just smiles and explains things into further detail with no further judgement and that somehow puts Robin’s mind at ease.

Maybe things will be alright after all

“I think I have just the thing for you.” Nancy says. “What’s your size?”

“Uh, I- I think it’s this one?” Robin grabs at the price tag on her back, but she has to twist her way like a contortionist to be able to see it. Nancy’s at her side at a split second, looking back and forth between the price tag and Robin’s cleavage.

“I don’t think this is the right fit. Do you mind if I measure you?” She asks, grabbing the yellow tape measurer from where it was hanging around her neck, a stark contrast to the black dress she’s wearing.

And yeah, Robin does mind, actually. If the satin straps aren’t the ones that are gonna kill her, a pretty girl touching her boobs just might do the trick. Still, Robin finds herself nodding and lifting her arms above her head so Nancy can easily measure her.

The tape measure is surprisingly cold when it hits her skin and instead of focusing on Nancy and her lovely petite hands, Robin starts reciting conjugations of French verbs in her head. It does little to distract her, mostly because Nancy is standing so close that Robin can swell the sweet flowery perfume she has on. Nancy’s touches are light and of course, totally professional, but Robin still feels a goosebumps spreading across her skin when Nancy’s fingertips ghost over her skin.

Christ, get a grip Buckley.

“Be right back.” Nancy smiles as soon as she’s done and disappears out of the fitting room, grabbing the bras that Robin threw on the floor earlier on her way out.

Robin leans against the wall and sighs deeply once she knows Nancy’s out of earshot. She really hopes that Nancy wasn’t able to feel the way her heart sped up just now, but the flimsy fabric of the bra she’s wearing probably did shit at hiding that. Her hand reaches up to check and yup, Nancy was definitely able to feel that.

Oh God, why can’t she just be normal for once? She has a girlfriend for crying out loud! Vickie’s the whole damn reason she’s in this pink boudoir hell-hole in the first place! She just has to keep her eyes on the prize and not let Nancy derail her from the process.

Which is easier said than done when Nancy reappears with a new bra in hand. This one is black and looks plain at first, but Robin is quick to notice the mesh detailing and cut-outs, as well as the silver decorative thread in the straps. It’s simple, yet still more exciting than any of the bras Robin currently has in her closet.

“Just let me know when you tried it on, okay?” Nancy says and with another sweet smile, she disappears again.

Robin shimmies out of the blush pink monstrosity she still had on and puts the black bra on instead. She can feel the difference almost immediately - the fabric is soft and doesn’t itch, the mesh detailing isn’t overtly sexy but just suggestive enough and it must be made of magic because her boobs have never looked this good.

Giddy with excitement, she knocks on the door and lets Nancy back inside.

“And?”

“You’re a bra wizard!” Robin beams, gesturing to herself. “Seriously, look at this! I’ve never looked this good!”

“Just doing my job.” Nancy chuckles, a faint pink blush appearing on her cheeks as she looks Robin up and down. “Uh, how’s the fit? Nothing too tight or anything?”

“Fits like a glove.”

“Good.” Nancy says. Her eyes dart between Robin’s face and her cleavage again, her gaze lingering for a beat too long, before promptly looking away, almost as if she’d been burnt. “Uh, if you decide to buy it, come find me in the store and I’ll ring it up for you, alright?”

“Yeah, alright.” Robin replies softly.

Nancy nods and quickly walks out of the fitting room, shutting the door behind her with a loud bang.

As Robin puts her clothes back on again, she can’t help but wonder what all of that was about. She knows she’s not the best with social cues but even she can recognize that there was something going on there.

Could it be-

No, no, Nancy is just a good saleswoman and Robin is just a customer in her eyes. Nothing more.

Still, Robin can’t help but feel guilty when she feels her heart skip a beat at the mere thought of not just being a customer to Nancy. With a loud sigh, she zips her jacket back up, grabs her bra and heads back into the store.

She manages to find a pair of black panties that match the bra and armed with both of those in hand, she’s able to find Nancy on the other side of the store. Nancy immediately smiles when Robin waves at her and it does nothing to slow down Robin’s already rapid heartbeat.

“Were you able to find everything?”

“Yeah, got something to match as well.” Robin nods, awkwardly holding up the pair of satin black panties.

“Oh, I know from experience that those are very comfortable. Good choice.” Nancy says, and yeah Robin’s not going to stop thinking about that one, isn’t she?

She follows Nancy to the register and her mind is still a bit hazy as she pays and watches Nancy neatly wrap her new items. She even spritzes some sugary sweet perfume onto the bag before she hands it to Robin with a bright smile. “Here you go.”

“Thank you so much for your help, honestly.” Robin says. “I mean, you saw what a mess I made back there, I was so overwhelmed and you- well, you saved me, actually.”

“I was happy to help, really.” Nancy replies. She pauses for a moment, a frown appearing on her face as if she’s thinking about what to say next. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I really hope you’re also buying and wearing this set for yourself, not just your partner. You should wear something that makes you feel good, not just because your partner wants it. ” Nancy says firmly. “And frankly, your partner is an idiot if they think you’re boring without a fancy-looking garment. Trust me, you don’t need all the extra frills and ruffles.”

That... That sounds suspiciously like a compliment, maybe even a flirty compliment and Robin’s brain does not know how to deal with that right now. Not after her meltdown from earlier, not after feeling Nancy’s kind eyes and cold hands on her, not while Nancy still has that twinkle in her eyes that makes Robin go just a little insane.

“Th- thank you.” Robin stammers. She grabs the bag a bit tighter, as if that’ll help her get back to reality. It’s still pretty hard though because Nancy looks even prettier in the daylight and- “I gotta gay. Go! I mean- I gotta go. Bye!”

“Have a nice day!” Nancy calls out after her, but Robin’s blood is pumping so loudly in her ears that it mostly gets drowned out.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, what is happening to her?

A firm hand on her shoulder shakes her from her thoughts and Robin turns around with a loud yelp.

“Jesus, it’s just me.” Steve says defensively. “Did you buy the whole store or something? You were in there for a while.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine. I’m good.” Robin nods a little too obviously, making Steve frown at her. Dammit, why can he always see right through her? But that doesn’t stop her from lying through her teeth. “I’m fine, Steve. Really. I promise.”

Steve hums, still unimpressed. “Alright. If you say so. Glad you got everything you need to woo her right off her feet.”

“Wha- what? Woo who?” Robin panics. How did Steve already know about that weird thing between her and Nancy? Did he have supersonic hearing or something? X-ray eyes? (which, gross, don’t use those eyes in a lingerie store, Steven)

“Ha, you sound like an owl.” Steve snorts. “But I’m talking wooing Vickie, idiot. That’s why you went in there, right?”

Right. Vickie.

brought to you by: me going bra shopping earlier today. also sorry to the vickie stans, i’m sure she’s lovely but she’s not gonna be lovely in this series. stay tuned for part 2! (kudos if you can spot an iconic line from glee that i just had to add in for funsies)

#ronance #ronance fic #robin buckley x nancy wheeler #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #stranger things ficlet #stranger things #ronance ficlet #am i turning into a ronance blog? maybe #but the girls deserve some love too!!#okay going to bed now bye bye

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multifandomslxt · 13 days

Note

Hey Krystal! 💎 It's me again 😌

Hope you've been well. 🥰

WayV members as type of rich bfs (sugar daddies) 👀..... Anything and everything within this prompt is most welcome 🤭. Have a great day bye ❤

Hey sweetheart! how are you?

You scared me again with the name ngl lmaoo

but it's all good

ENJOY<333

Way V Members as Sugar Daddies

MDNI

MINORS GO AWAY

Kun

He's a bit hard to get through to at first IMO

When he says sugar daddy he means money in exchange for accompanying him to events

he's so strict with himself that he really doesn't allow it to get past that.

That's all it is for a few months yk?

until you express that it seems a bit weird because you were definitely expecting more...

And Kun like the damn provider he is

gives you just that...more

but definitely explains to you that he's a possessive little shit.

good pu$$y turns a perfectly sane man in to a mad man pt.1

he's mad asf for youuuu

now that s3x is involved this man SPOILSSSSSSS you

way more than he was doing prior

which seems a bit impossible because babyyy you were getting bagsssss

he's so strict too like he makes it clear that you belong to him

period.

istg at some point he graduates from sugar daddy to husband

you want a spontaneous trip to some crazy rich island? ok, no problem

you want a bag that costs way too much money? he'll get you that in the next 2 hours

also...don't let that cute smile fool you, the man is a menace.

"Can't believe I deprived myself of this pretty c*nt" he thrusts inside you so slow...dangerously slow

"That's right baby Daddy's right here to give you everything you need"

Ten

Maam.

he gets right to it. lmaooo

Tells you that he needs you to accompany him to events and asks you if you're ok with other "stuff"

duhhh

first off the chemistry between y'all is AMAZINGGG

We all know this man loves fashion so having the latest designer pieces is a given

what starts off as a lil service after events

blooms into something more

very protective of you

baby he doesn't play about you or the custom diamonds he put around your neck. TRUST!

compared to before the relationship bloomed the s3x between you two was rather respectful?...yh that's the word

now?

LMAOOOOO

he rips that shit off youuu

President of the "I'll just buy you a new one" club

it's rough btw unlike Kun, Ten is rough and occasionally enjoys it when you're on top

hehe

"fuck...I'd choose this pu$$y over diamonds any day"

Winwin

See how pretty this man is?

yeah he's gonna make sure you're even prettier than him

Literally bathes you in expensive shit.

SPOILLS you omggg

it's worrying sometimes

to the point where the bank calls him

asking if he's aware that there is a concerning amount of money leaving his account

From head to toe it's luxuryyyyy

the s3x is good....just good

I'm sure I've said this before but Winiwn strikes me as someone who just gets to it.

not too rough not too gentle yk?

its just right

he does like when you wear that little diamond collar he got you when he's ball deep inside you though

he's strictly sugar daddy btw

I think he'd prefer that

Xiaojun

if you manage to pull him and keep him you're one lucky mf

this man moves through sugar babies like the days of the week

He likes the thrill of it all imo

yes he'll spoil you

but you better make sure the pleasure you give him is worth the 100k he just splurged

"C'mon now princess, Daddy knows you can do way better than that" he whispers teasingly as your body trembles from exhaustion and overstimulation

he likes to be kept on his toes

and you keep surprising him

your bills are paid and you're getting f*cked dumb

and he has the prettiest girl to spoil and break

It's a win-win honestly

Hendery

he's so sweet at first omlll

yes he dotes on you and all that jazz

but you guys actually become friends yk?

he's a whole gentleman

never crossing the line

just kind and attentive

gets you WHATEVER you want

and mean ANYTHING

nothing is out of reach for his baby

he just expects you to behave

but what's the fun in that?

let him catch you trying to buy things with your own money

or some shit like that

you are DONEE

when he f*cks you

he ensures that you merge with the mattress

takes "fuck you into the mattress" literally

ass up face down supremacy

do not play with him like that.

"Move your hand baby, I told you actions have consequences"

Yang Yang

This mf is just horny

lmaooo

very possessive oml

and not in the mature way like Kun or the gentlemanly way like Hendery

but possessive like a damn child

you go to parties together and he doesn't want you talking for anybody else too long

look at him and only him

the fucker got you a carrier bracelet with his name embedded into it

and told you to wear it at all times

for the most part, he's harmless

extremely touchy-feely

controls his urges well though

unless you're fucking around too much

then he has to show you why you should just let him be

it's fast and hard

I'm so serious

This MF can go roundsss

because he's desperate asf

BABY TRAPPING CENTRAL

"Such a fuckin' tease. let's see how much teasing you'll do when I swell you up hm?"

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enivez · 3 months

Text

CHAPTER FIVE (+ .5k written)

SYNOPSIS…. Gaming is a common hobby for college students nowadays, with Overwatch being the game of choice for both Lee Heeseung and his favorite streamer loved.venus. The boy shows his love for his favorite streamer behind the screen name lee.bambi, though he doesn’t realize it was the campus fashionista that he hated ever so much behind the screen.

written chapter below

Heeseung can’t explain the pure distaste in his body when he sees you, the infamous [name], scrolling across campus with a latte in one hand and your friend Sunoo linked to your other arm. How can someone like you be so happy? How could someone of your status pursue their own passions? Being the only grandchild of one of the founding technology companies, why were you allowed to pursue your dreams and he wasn’t. He knows that he has no honest reason to his hatred but he can’t but scowl as you walk by, getting a confused look from the friend on your arm.

”What’s his problem,” Sunoo questions his friends as he turns around to take one last glance at the senior. You meet Sunoo’s curious gaze with a confused gaze.

“Can’t say I know,” continuing on, not giving it much thought.

You were familiar with Lee Heeseung, as he is quite popular among students on campus for his looks. You’ve never personally interacted with him, at least not that you remember. Especially nothing that would lead to your friends constantly pointing out the boy’s souring expression whenever you cross paths with him.

Nevertheless, you were too busy with the upcoming portfolio submission for the finalists of the fashion week slot. Still having no idea of what you wanted to submit as a representation of you and your art. You were racking your brain for the perfect idea or concept to present to the world.

As you ponder over the endless ideas that flood your brain, you find yourself in front of the building that will be your home base for the next few months. You had been in it countless times before, it being the main building for your department but it felt much more intimidating knowing you now had your own office within its walls. Luckily those competing were allowed to appoint two classmates within the department to aid you, which is why Sunoo was currently dragging you towards the space that now had your name printed on the designated door plate. Opening the door you were met with the other classmate you decided to recruit, the one and only Ningning scoffing at your late arrival.

“For someone pissing their pants over this whole thing you still manage to be late,” the girl says as you set down your stuff, setting down a cup of lemonade in front of her. Rolling your eyes at her comment and began to explore the room assigned to you. It wasn’t massive but it was larger than you expected, with the room's main feature being the large work table in its center. One wall was just shelving to hold fabric and other necessities while the other had a massive cork board that could be used as a place to display sketches and notes. Feeling the pressure of it all, you plop down in the seat next to your friends with a heavy sigh.

”Well let's get to work,” you say with exhaustion present in your voice as you pull out your well loved sketchbook.

PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

A/N: first written chapter!! i actually wrote this before i even wrote chapter 2-4 and im excited to do more written chapters in the future <33 +pls ignore time stamps

TAGLIST⊹₊⋆

@cholexc @woninluv @myjaeyuns @eleanorheartschishiya @dimplewonie @heelovesmeknot @lprww @haechansbbg @xuimhao @defnotfertilizedtoesw @kgneptun @jwnghyuns

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i-literally-cant-with-this · 3 months

Text

Kat's OG/HC ::: mitsuya would MAKE the teddy bear for the first date thingy.

A/N ::: You. Guys. I'm so giddy about this that you'd think I was the one who just went on a date with Mitsuya. I'm so fucking happy with this - like, I just smiled the whole time I was writing it. Thank you again, @katkitkats for the HC's.

⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣ Funsies ⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣

⍣ I've Been Loving You Too Long // Otis Redding I wholly believe that Mitsuya has a deep appreciation for music and would listen to this song like a dummy who's deep in love. Listen if you want the full effect of the high I got while writing this ⍣

(For the best experience put it on repeat or read really fast lmao - sorry, my sense of timing is horrific).

⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣ TEDDY BEAR PREP ⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣

⍣ Doesn't see the appeal of buying stuff that he can make for you.

⍣ Can make anything he puts his mind to - up to and including a teddy bear.

⍣ Would start out by searching for just the right kind of fabric (I think he'd use minky - so freakin' soft and cuddly and lasts forever and ever if you're good to it - a lot like love 🤔 - it's just insane)

⍣ Works out all the details, drawing out a pattern that he can pin fabric to, cut around the design, sew it together and add the finishing touches then stuff it.

⍣ Hand stitches the bear's arms and legs with an "X" pattern so it looked like "real" stitches, using a special type of embroidery stitch for its little eyes and nose (the nose would be pink and its eyes would be one of each of your eye colors).

⍣ Finally, it would be done a few days before the big first date.

⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣ THE DATE ⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣

⍣ Would pick you up on his bike.

⍣ Has an extra helmet (in whatever your favorite color was because he just so fucking thoughtful I can't stand it) and leather jacket for you if it was cold.

⍣ The reservation would have been made 2 weeks in advance - even though it's at Smiley and Angry's Ramen shop.

⍣ Took the little bear over there the night before because he wants it to be brought out with dessert.

⍣ Wants to impress you by walking in and saying "2 for Mitsuya, please *slips Angry some 💴 for the best seat in the house*.

⍣ Will offer you some of his dish (from his chopsticks/eating utensils!) and ask if you're sure you don't mind giving him a bite of yours, even after you shove it at him - he has 2 little sisters and knows how sacred food can be sometimes.

⍣ Waves at Smiley and Angry to signal he's ready for dessert and the handmade bear to be brought to your quiet little corner/window table.

⍣ Hands you the cuddly snuggly bear and the first thing you notice is not how soft the bear is, but how warm his hands are. You don't want to let go but he seems so proud of this gift that you take it from his hand and hold it close to your heart.

⍣ Tells you about how he made this design and bear specially for you, the fabric was special ordered and it was sewn/hand stitched by him (by the very same warm hands you didn't want to trade for).

⍣ Blushes when he points out the bear's eye color (he didn't even have to see you again or ask anyone what your eye color was because he remembered). You blush back when you tell him it's the first thing you noticed about it.

⍣ Gives you the first, middle and last bite of the cute little dessert the boys whipped up for you two.

⍣ Pays for EVERYTHING.

⍣ Asks what you want to do now - you want to just ride around on some back roads and cling to him - "Go for a ride?" you suggest instead of just prattling off the truth.

⍣ Was praying that you'd say that.

⍣ Smiled so hard when his prayer was answered.

⍣ Rides out to the near middle of nowhere and parks next to an empty field and lays out his jacket for you to sit on while you two stargaze and talk about your interests.

⍣ Catches you staring at him but plays it off like you two just looked at each other at the same time because he was staring at you once and he low-key hoped you wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

⍣ On the ride back to your house, at every stoplight or stop sign he will pat your hands that are wrapped so tightly around his waist and ask if you're "Doing ok back there?"

⍣ Feels his heart skip a beat or two when you just hold him tighter as he takes off again.

⍣ Walks you to your door and stands on the steps below your front porch while still holding your hand.

⍣ Kisses you between your first and second finger knuckle in such a manner that you're so wildly turned on by the gentleness of the gesture that you jump off of the steps and plant a huge kiss on his lips.

⍣ Smiles the whole way back to his place, vowing to never wash his jacket, his hand or his mouth again.

⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣ CUTE BONUS ⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣

⍣ He wrote a little note and sticks it in the center of the bear's belly in all of the batting: "Y/n, I know this is only our first date. But I think you're a really special and beautiful person. I am so excited to see what is in store for us. - Takashi)

@kazutora-kurokawa @southside-otaku @darkstarlight82 @arlerts-angel @viburnt

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starlit-mansion · 9 months

Text

I've decided that i want to disrupt the strightsized/midsized thriftblogger industrial complex for my fellow actually fat people. I havent been as small as a size 18 since senior year of highschool and my waistline is sitting comfortably at around 50 inches these days and i thrift but it's frequently humiliating. Here are my tips.

one: there isn't nothing. It might be slim pickings. It might be a single rack in a 2 story shop. It might be only 2 pairs of pants in the whole place. But you've been on the street and in the grocery store. You know there are other people your size in the world and their stuff ends up a thrift store too.

two: avoid trendy areas like the plague. do you live in a smaller town? do you have reason to go to one? go to a thrift store there. if you know there are more people your size in an area, then that's a good sign for your chances. you aren't looking for designer pieces at a steal; you are looking for some gently used lane bryant and this is where it lives.

three: it isnt all or nothing. you can get some things thrifted and some things you're probably going to have to buy at a plus sized store. Getting a few nice blouses for cheap can free up your budget for a pair of new pants from a plus sized retailer. For instance, I really cant thrift a pair of shoes for shit because i have extra wide feet and cankles for days, but my partner who is a similar weight has regular sized feet and could thrift shoes easily, and that's a lot of money that could be saved there.

four: if it only almost fits, put it back. if you're anything like me, the fact that you can button or zip it is going to feel like a miracle, but if it hurts or digs in any way, it'll sit in your closet for weeks while the things that don't hurt get worn many times in a row. we don't always have the luxury of everything in our wardrobes sparking joy but it can at least not spark pain.

five: be honest. if you aren't going to fix it or take it out, don't waste your money on a project piece that's going to sit around for the next 2 years and go back to the thrift store from whence it came.

five point five: be a little adventurous though. especially with shirts and dresses. maybe you've never tried that color before but it looks good in the store. this is a low stakes way to expand your style. you can always get rid of it if you decide against it, either within a return window, or donating it back. If your thrift store gives coupons for donating, taking a small grocery bag with a few pieces will get you the same discount as a car full of old furniture, so donate small amounts and often.

six: if you're thrifting online, thrift the brand you trust. like i hinted above, i trust lane bryant. i also trust torrid because i'm tall and torrid is for me and the transfems. search on shopgoodwill or depop or whatever by the brand you know the sizing of. hell, you can also seach the box store brand like time and tru or ava viv on there if you miss that one piece from a year or two ago that was cute and fit you perfectly. Speaking of...

seven: goodwill gets target overstock. you can find new overstock stuff from last season on the racks. i've seen many a thing go from clearance at my local target to on the shelves at the goodwill. keep it in mind if you're broke but used clothes yuck you out. you can find new with tag stuff in plus sizes, either from stores directly or people who just aren't fussed about money.

eight: you have to go a lot to find stuff. that's how the bloggers do it; they made it their side hustle in some way. i don't suggest doing it if you have no interest in it, but if you can put aside a half hour once a week or twice a month to check while you're running your errands, you can start finding stuff. Keep your trips and your budget small, and start looking for stuff for the next season months ahead of time to keep the pressure down.

nine: save a treat. either literally go for a treat afterward for being a big brave bestie and confronting the fact that you have a corporeal form and it needs clothes, or look through the fun thing that relaxes you. Looking for silly mugs? trying to find fine leather purses? want to look at ugly figurines and take pictures of them to text your friend and say "it's you'? Do that. Every time you go to the thrift store, add in the fun thing. If looking for work clothes can't motivate you, maybe looking through the children's paperbacks to try to rebuild your collection of animorphs books that you got rid of in 2005 will.

lastly: cut out the middle man. if you have a friend or relative of similar size to you: TRADE the pieces you're pruning from your wardrobe with each other before you donate them. It will give you the spark of newness that you both are looking for. Also you can reference the "those shoes... look familiar..." vine when you see them wearing something you gave them.

tl;dr: thrift often and in small doses, make it fun for yourself if you can, and also i just heard a tip where if you want to check a waistband size without trying it on, have the waistband fully closed and hold it to your hip. if the ends of the waistband reach your spine and bellybutton, it'll probably fit. So that's pretty handy.

#thrifting #fatsion #fat positive #plus size #plus sized fashion

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quaranmine · 6 months

Text

ranking fire lookouts i visited last week

i didn't expect to see like...any on this trip. most of them snuck up on me LOL and yet we were able to find FIVE of them! who knew all I had to do was go to national forests in a different state? here there are ranked from highest to lowest

1. The Probable Federal Crime

this one was the coolest! i climbed this one! It's 100 ft with a 7'x7' cab up top. It was in service until 1987 but it still serves as a radio repeater. There are several buildings at the bottom, one of which clearly had the sound of machinery behind the door. It had signs of recent maintenance even though it has been decomissioned. It had spectacular views, with no towns or human settlements visible in any direction:

2. Rich Mountain Lookout

I could have broken into this one but I did not. I withheld my desire to commit a crime. My dad mocked me for not crawling under the fence LOL. This one has a proper catwalk and was possibly a live-in one. A whole family lived here in the 20s when it was first built, but this version is a replacement from the 50s, so I have no idea what it looked like before them. It is approximately the height AND style I have been imagining in my AU so I was delighted to see it. It is slightly taller than the one in the Firewatch game, but a remarkably similar design other than being steel instead of wood.

3. Devil's Knob Lookout

Not in good repair at all. Missing the ladder at the bottom and the final flight of stairs. We saw two deer. My dad climbed it anyway because he's an idiot

4. The Occupied State One

we spotted this one from the main road and turned down the next side road to hunt it down. We ended up driving along the wildest road of FANCY vacation houses, mostly still under construction. A few of these houses had the steepest driveways I've ever encountered in my entire life. Eventually we found the correct turn off for the lookout, drove straight past the no trespassing sign with confidence, only to immediately turn around because there was a guy there despite it being the holiday. Later I learned this is one of the few still in operation in the state. Unsure why it might be manned in November since there is a lower risk of wildfire in fall/winter, but it is in operation so maybe that guy was working.

Bonus:

the tire shop pulled this out of our tire the next day after we went poking around the vacation home construction site. miraculously this did not ruin the tire and they didn't charge us for a patch!

5. Supposed Former State Forestry Lookout

This one has basically no workspace up top and I'm interested (mildly suspicious) of its history since it seemed out of the ordinary. Clearly it was used as an observation tower but as a regular, everyday job? unclear

Also, I had to break into this one too. I jumped the fence. This was because the quarter-fed turnstile did not work. It was $1 per person but we put $4 into it and it only started turning once. Then it stopped turning immediately and briefly trapped me in the middle of that metal cage. Fortunately it turns freely in the opposite direction so I could escape and was not, in fact, trapped forever in its bars. Although the moment it stopped did put the fear of God in me a little before I realize I could still get out. Thus I did not feel bad for climbing the fence. We actually overpaid.

Bonus:

devil's head lookout, you are still #1 in my heart

#i need a tag for when i'm just being insane about a particular topic #i guess i'll throw it in my #hc_firewatch_au #tag even though it's not directly related. it's. research i suppose LOL

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hollycircling · 11 months

Note

would you consider dropping some tips on how you color? your art always has such a nice feeling to it

Thank you so much, and yes, absolutely!

So... I have been agonizing over how to answer this question for over a week because I tend to make a lot of my major decisions based on what looks and feels good to me in the moment. It’s sort of hard to explain. Then I started getting philosophical with it (“how does one color? How do I explain aesthetic?”), and I started rambling, and had to cut the answer way, way, way down lol.

But here’s what I can help with right now. I think the most important part of how I color is my tools and what they allow me to do. These are currently my favorite brushes to use:

From top to bottom, I use Kyle T’s Gouache for just about everything. A lot of my recent pieces are done entirely in that– I love the chunky texture and how the pressure mimics traditional gouache. It’s great for children’s book illustrations, and filling linework, and realistic portraits. She is my soft wife and I love her.

I practically never use the default hard round. Ignore that.

The roller brush is another one I use for painting. It was my go-to before KT’s gouache, so you’ll find it a lot in my older work (and as a big texture thing in my current works). The “Sampled Tip” below that one I usually use for children’s book styled illustrations. It’s like a really dense, waxy crayon, so it’s fun for textured lines and details.

I always paint in my own shadows and highlights, but I like to use the soft round if I want to blow the shadow or highlight out. It’s for extra large areas.

And finally my pencil. I use it for sketching as well as linework, if I plan on doing a linework-centric piece. I don’t think there’s much of a difference between the two there… one is probably smoother than the other.

______________

The reason why I like textured, pressure-sensitive brushes so much is because they’re important to how I paint. When I blend, I don’t use a blender brush or a smudge tool. What I do is layer two colors– lightly– then use the eyedropper to select the color between them and continue painting with it. That’s probably the key to most of my work. I’ve gotten pretty fast at it, so I’m constantly selecting colors from the painting and reusing it throughout my painting.

I still use the color-wheel to hand-pick what I think will look best, though. This is probably going to be a really frustrating answer, but I choose color palettes based on basic color/lighting theory combined with personal aesthetic preference. It can take some studying (of both theory and other artists’ work). If you’re ever looking for a really great reference on the former subjects, I highly recommend Color and Light by James Gurny. Even if you’re not into watercolor or dinosaurs or realism, the guy is a master at explaining all that different stuff in depth.

Shape and negative space are also pretty important to me, but that's a whole other thing. And as a side-note, I recommend following more children’s book illustrators. Their work may look simple, but a lot of intention goes into how they use color, shape, space, and texture.

Also, on texture, I hand-draw most of mine. I love to add little scratches and drops and splashes when the painting is almost over. It's one of my favorite things to do :')

____

Now, the other most important tip:

Once I’m happy with the sketch/linework, and once I’ve laid down the basic colors of my piece, I do a Really Terrible Thing. I become a graphic designer’s worst nightmare and collapse everything onto one layer.

Then I paint directly on top of it, linework and all.

I do this for a lot of reasons, but mostly because 1) my tiny brain is overwhelmed by the clutter of too many layers, and 2) it forces me to approach a piece as if it was traditional media– a process which I find a lot more comfortable and rewarding. I paint right on top of the base colors, and right on top of the linework, effectively redoing and cleaning up what I already have there. Even if I'm working with a blank background, I'll paint a new blank one on top because it gives the feeling of a more unified piece, if that makes sense.

Basically, I approach my drawings as if I’m using traditional media. I like chunky brushes, utilizing (what I personally think are) interesting color combinations and textures, and smashing everything down onto one page so I can just paint.

Anyway, please let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to go into detail on, any pieces of mine you’d like to know how exactly I went about it, etc etc etc. I’m happy to answer ^^

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truetalesteam · 3 months

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Week 2 of our Season 3 Crowdfund!

Hello Everyone!

Here at True Tales of the Illuminati, we are humbled and excited to announce that with three weeks left in the campaign, we are almost halfway to our crowdfunding goal. That means that we’ve been able to release the second of our four crowdfunding minisodes, and we’re rounding the corner towards the third! You can listen to them, and to our first two seasons, on our podcast feed now.

That’s right, our marketing strategy for asking you help us make a third season is to make a mini-season and hold it hostage! Find another podcast that does that! (Okay Wooden Overcoats, sure. Fine, we ripped them off, so sue us, they’re our heroes. No you shut up)

If you haven't heard of us yet, we're an audio comedy about conspiracies gone disastrously wrong, fruitlessly spinning the wheels of history like a car in park when you floor the gas. Inspired by (and aspiring to be) BBC audio comedy like Cabin Pressure and Hitchhiker's Guide, with rapid-fire jokes in the vein of Archer, Community and 30 Rock, we're proud to have been Audioverse award finalists for our first two seasons.

Here are a few of the things we’re excited about in our third season:

New characters ripped from the real Enlightenment-era Illuminati! Watch Beck get drawn to this group of navel gazing nerds like a pannier-wearing moth to a flame! See Jackie fall under the influence of a mysterious new mentor figure! Listen to Ishmael swill coffee and make bon mots!

New Dal! Dared to find a hobby "besides murder," watch her harass and bully shop proprietors into giving her a personality a second dimension!

Five whole episodes with an explosive two-part finale that calls upon all of Ishmael's bravery, courage and brain cells!

Here’s where the funding is going to go:

Recording studio time rental! In the past we’ve recorded with our full cast all together at The Bridge Sound and Stage recording studio in Somerville, MA. Not only does that make our audio sound great, having our cast all together, able to bounce off of each other live as we record means we get our amazing cast chemistry bubbling away to make each joke land even harder.

Paying those amazing actors! Every one of our cast members is paid for their time and talent, and as we have a big cast and tend to pack character after character into a scene, that’s quite a large line item! Why do we keep writing scenes with 5 characters in them!

Sound design! We’re once again working with the phenomenal Beth Crane and Hedley Knight, who you may know from their show We Fix Space Junk. Beth and Hedley have an incredible ear for sound, and some of the finest comedy brains out there, and they use those gifts to make sure that when a character jumps through a pane of glass, that that is the funniest pane of glass that there is to jump through.

Administrative fees! Podcast and website hosting aren't free! Look, some of these are just going to be true, not fun.

Places where the funding does not go:

Our pockets - We make this show because we love making it, and because we want to make the funniest thing we can. Every penny we raise goes right into making this show better and making more of it. The only ROI we see is getting to put something we think is really good out into the world. Does this make us fools? Economically, yes! But spiritually? You decide! (Please say no we need a win so bad)

Local political contributions in New South Wales - (we’re only 80% on where it is)

Actual occult organizations - (We don't know how to join the illuminati, no matter how desperate or strange the marketing emails we get are)(we WOULD say this though, so keep trying!) PLEASE STOP ASKING US ABOUT THEM

Non-Fiction History Books About The Weirdest Shit We Can Find - We use the library, bitches. We didn't spend a cent on The Witch of Lime Street!

Intrigued? Generous? Cool? Please help us bring our next season to life over at truetalesteam.com/crowdfund

#true tales of the illuminati #ollominoto #ttoti #ttoti season 3 crowdfund #crowdfund #audio drama #comedy #podcast sitcom #please help us make our weird comedy project!

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flowerandblood · 1 year

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The White Flame (Part 2)

[modern! rockstar • Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader]

[warnings: sex and sexual tension, angst, harassment, swearing, fluff]

[description: Aemond is the bassist of the band whose leader and vocalist is his brother. The whole band decides to use the marketing and design help of their guitarist's friend. The story is an interweaving of domination, desire and slowly burning feeling.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist

_____

It's been a week since Bunny gave him the designs. The two of them exchanged a few words from time to time, but he felt that she didn't talk to him longer than necessary, even though she talked with Aegon, Cregan, and Momo all the time. It frustrated him and he wondered if she had sensed his intentions in the car that night and was afraid he might do something to her.

After a few days, he came to the rehearsal with a bandage on his arm, and everyone knew he had a new tattoo. He placed it on the outside of his hand, from wrist to elbow. Tuning his guitar with a cigarette in his mouth, he saw Bunny looking at him curiously, her gaze warm. She must have wondered if he had picked one of her designs.

After three days of wearing bandages, when he saw that everything healed, he finally took them off. He was sitting in an armchair reading a new composition that Momo had suggested them to play next, when he saw Bunny approach him timidly. She apparently noticed that the tattoo was no longer covered.

"May I see?" She asked excitedly, a wide smile on her lips. Aemond only murmured, agreeing, as he went back to reading.

Bunny sat on the armrest of his armchair and grabbed his arm, wanting to bring it closer to her. Aemond flinched as he felt the touch of her soft skin. She did it surprisingly gently, and he let her do what she wanted with him.

She moved his hand so that it was now above her legs. She bent over, examining the details of the tattoo. Aemond chose her version of the design with the snake encircling the dagger. He knew it was a common theme, but he liked her version very much. His gaze slid down to the line of her skirt. Between her and her long woolen socks was a strip of exposed skin. Aemond swallowed softly.

He placed his hand slowly on her outer thigh, on the fabric of her sock. His thumb brushed over her exposed skin and he felt a shiver run through her. She clenched her thighs. Aemond looked at her intensely.

He wanted her to look at him, but she didn't. She pursed her lips and swallowed softly. After a moment, she took his hand in hers, lifted it, and kissed it tenderly. Only then did she look at him, meeting his completely surprised gaze.

“It turned out wonderful.” She said and smiled, then got up and left the room to join the others. Aemond stared after her, he felt a vein throbbing in his throat, his jaw clenched. He sighed softly, feeling that, to his surprise, the brief exchange of touch between them made him hard.

On the same day, they played in one of the famous clubs, which invited them at least once a month. The owner was a great man and one of the first customers to support them. He let them have little after parties in the back of the club and entertain the guests if they wanted to.

The concert drew crowds, sweat, alcohol and a lot of energy hitting everyone straight from the speakers. Out of the corner of his eye, Aemond saw Bunny dancing with his sister, Helaena. She, Bunny, and Momo spent all their parties together, separating themselves completely from what they were doing.

After the show, Aemond felt he needed a drink. He sat in seclusion in one of the VIP lounges that the club owner had made available to them. He saw a cute girl approaching him timidly. She smiled at him and looked at him shyly.

"You played great." She spoke loud enough for him to hear her over loud music playing in the background. Aemond blew the smoke out of his nose without looking at her, flicking the smoke into the ashtray.

"That's all?" He asked matter-of-factly and only then looked at her. He saw her eyes, her pursed lips, her short dress. He thought for a moment, swallowing softly, taking the cigarette to his lips again. He thought of Bunny, her warm lips on his hand, her soft thighs.

He glanced at the table a few meters away. Helaena was obviously on her way home, standing in her jacket calling a taxi on the phone, Momo and Bunny talking animatedly to each other. Larys, Cregan's brother, was sitting at their table, apparently waiting for them to say goodbye.

He thought he felt this tension all day and couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and motioned for the girl to follow him. She jumped in excitement and followed him back.

She kissed him right away, even before they had time to lock themselves in the cabin. She smelled of some bland, intense feminine perfume. He was in no mood for affection.

He turned her back to him and she moaned loudly as he lifted her skirt and slid down her lacy panties. He thought as he unbuckled his belt, that with her dark hair and shapely legs she looked almost like Bunny from behind. He felt his cock throbbing harder at the thought. He put on the condon, looking straight ahead impassively.

The girl was breathing quickly, excitedly, she was already wet, although he hadn't even touched her. He entered her and she moaned loudly. He covered her mouth with his hand. She thought for sure that he didn't want anyone to hear them, but he just wanted to focus in his head on a completely different voice than hers.

He fucked her, his eye pinched shut, his breath deep, thinking that it was Bunny right in front of him, that it was her neck he was kissing now, that it was her warm, wet inside that surrounded him. He began to pant, feeling himself more and more aroused, imagining it was her scent he felt now, her hips responding greedily to him.

"My little girl" He whispered tenderly in her ear as he felt that she just had an orgasm, her moans muffled in his hand. He came hard, with a hollow moan, resting his forehead against the cold tiles.

"My sweet Bunny." He whispered.

The relief he felt gave way to disappointment as the girl turned her face to him and his vision blurred. He told her never to approach him again, not to write to him and not to look for him.

She gave him a resentful look as he closed the door behind him, and she hadn't even had time to put her panties back on. He left the toilet without even waiting for the her.

He went back to his table and was relieved that Bunny hadn't noticed anything. She was sleeping on Momo's shoulder, obviously tired, her friend was discussing something lively with Larys.

Mathylda got up, positioning Bunny so that she rested her head against the backrest behind her, said something quickly to Larys, pointing at her. She probably wanted to go to the restroom and asked him to take a look at her in her absence. Aemond watched the scene impassively, drinking the last of his whiskey. He felt completely empty inside.

He froze and felt as if he had been pinned down with something heavy, as he saw Larys' hand under the table go towards Bunny. He kept staring straight ahead, sipping his drink as if he were just sitting there, but Aemond could see his hand moving under the table. He wondered why Bunny wasn't waking up. After a moment he realized what was going on.

He stood up suddenly, furiously covering the distance between them in a few steps. Larys looked at him in surprise and took his hand away as if nothing had happened, but Aemond wouldn't even let him open his mouth.

He grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the table with all his strenght. Several people around screamed loudly, Larys howled, clutching his surely broken nose, which was bleeding.

"Do you like groping unconscious girls, Strong? Hmm?” He asked, gripping his hair tighter as the bodyguards pushed slowly towards them, Cregan saw from a distance that something was going on.

"I knew you were a fucking fetishist, but I didn't know you were such a piece of shit." He blurted out through clenched teeth, his jaw clenched tight, his eye full of anger.

Cregan ran to them, obviously dismayed.

"Dude, what are you doing, calm down!" He said, but Aemond pushed him away easily with one hand so that he staggered backwards a little drunkenly and nearly fell over. Cregan wanted to throw his fists at him, but stopped when he heard his words.

“Your little brother put something in Bunny's drink and groped her under the table. Right?" He asked, shaking his head, his fingers still clenched tightly in his hair. Laris shook his head.

"You can see she's drunk, I didn't touch her." He spluttered, but Aemond looked at the bodyguards.

"Check the footage on the cameras."

***

Cregan and Momo covered their mouths as they saw what had happened on the owner's laptop. As Momo and Bunny went to see Helaena to the taxi, Larys poured some drugs into the nearest glass, sitting with his back to the dance floor, covering everything with his body.

Then on the acceleration, Bunny and Momo came back, talking to him, drinking, and Bunny slowly began to slide down until she finally fell asleep on Mathylda's shoulder. Momo burst into tears when she saw this.

“I had no idea, I thought she was just tired. We left drinks with him because he's your brother, I tought we can trust him." She said heartbroken, gasping for breath as Cregan put his arm around her.

"I'll take him to the police. Mark, copy this video for me, we'll play it to them. Let him explain himself to our father." He looked at them, pale, tired and discouraged. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know he could do something like that." He said and left the room.

Aegon was lying on the couches, completely drunk. Aemond tried to wake him up, but he was just babbling and he gave up. Aemond and Momo carried Bunny to one of the rooms at the back, which was a kind of mini-hotel for all bands guests.

Momo knelt next to her couch and carefully covered her with a blanket. She stroked her head, weeping softly. Aemond watched the scene silently.

Momo went to sleep on the couch next to her. After a few minutes of crying, she fell asleep, tired and slightly drunk herself. Aemond was sitting on the floor next to Bunny's couch, watching her.

He thought that if he hadn't gone out to fuck that girl, he would have seen Larys put the drugs in her drink. He could have reacted faster, maybe Larys wouldn't even touch her.

He lowered his head, feeling a tightness in his throat. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He could have taken the sleeping pills he always had with him, but this time he decided not to.

After a few hours, sitting in complete darkness, lost in his thoughts, he felt Bunny move. She began to breathe quickly, she seemed to want to get up, but she couldn't. Aemond turned to her and took her hand. She got scared and tried to get away, but he started talking to her.

"Easy. It's just me. Lie down. Larys put something in your drink." He whispered softly, stroking the skin of her hand with his thumb. He felt her whole body shaking. She was breathing unevenly.

"My head is spinning terribly." She sputtered, tears must have flowed from her eyes because he heard her nose was stuffy from crying. “I can't even get up, everything is blurry. I'm scared, Aemond."

Aemond pursed his lips at the words. He leaned over and kissed her hand gently.

"I know. I will stay with you. Try to sleep on, it will be better in the morning." He said softly. He heard her ragged breaths respond to him as if she were suffocating.

"Please, hug me." She whispered helplessly, he could feel her whole body shaking. Something tightened in his chest at her words and the sight.

He got up slowly, took off his leather jacket and boots, placing them on the floor. He lay down next to her on the couch. She snuggled up against him right away, clasping her hands tightly around his back and gasping loudly, as if she were drowning. She sobbed quietly.

He couldn't help himself and hugged her, squeezing her into himself. He immediately felt his cock begin to throb in his pants. He suspected she felt it, but her mind was too foggy to understand what was going on. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent.

His fingers stroked her head, playing with her strands. He felt her slowly begin to calm down, her breathing returned to normal, she stopped shaking. He felt her fall asleep again. Her scent filled his lungs completely. He closed his eye to the sensation and, feeling the warmth of her body next to him, fell into a deep sleep himself.

_____

Thank you all for such a warm welcome to the first part. I'll be away for a few days now, so part three won't be out until next week. If you want to be tagged, leave a comment below. ♥ Bold is for the ones I couldn't tag.

@zenka69 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @astral-blossoms @echos-muses @neptuneiris0

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mirai-e-jump · 10 months

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Hero Vision Vol.7 (2002/Summer) ft. Kamen Rider Ryuki Cast Members with Ryohei & Hidekazu Ichinose (translations below)

Takamasa Suga (Kido Shinji) Interview (page 6-7)

"At the time of this interview, the double filming for both the movie and TV series were underway, and it appears to be a real nightmare."

Suga: I'm already overwhelmed. I don't have time to sleep or even memorize the script. "What am I suppose to do?!" is the current state of things (laughs). My body is starting to get used to it, but it's still very difficult.

"Despite the demanding schedule, he always has such a sweet smile on his face. It's been six months since he started playing the role of Shinji Kido, the main character of Kamen Rider Ryuki. He says that his image of Shinji, which at first felt like a blur, has recently become more defined."

Suga: In the begining, I was so preoccupied with filming, that I honestly wasn't thinking about Shinji. I hadn't seen "Kamen Rider Kuuga" or "Agito," so I didn't know about the whole Rider process. However, when someone said to me, "Producer Shirakura said that after the transformations in Episodes 1 and 2, that was Ryuki's Shinji," I thought I had a better grasp of what was going on. I thought it was the movements of suit actor Seiji Takaiwa in the Mirror World, so I though, "Alright, I'll do that." At first, I thought Shinji was a pretty pathetic guy, but he's actually a strong leader, and always does what he thinks is right. I've recently realized how cool it is that Shinji's charm has the power to envelope everyone around.

"Not the coolness of a dependable hero, but rather, humane and tasteful coolness. He and Takaiwa-san had a close meeting to better express Shinji's emotions before and after transforming. Whether it's how Shinji sleeps, or how Shinji goes about his day after waking up."

Suga: Even in my private life, I notice I'll say, "Eh!?," or some other Shinji like reaction. Sometimes, I get caught up in a strange emotion where I can't tell who is the original, myself or Shinji.

"Suga-kun, who is now a huge part of Shinji's life, had never seen "Kamen Rider" until he was given the chance to audition. Although he had always been interested in the entertainment industry, he was unsure of his career path after high school. It wasn't untill he saw the movie "Swallowtail," directed by Shunji Iwai, where he decided to become an actor."

Suga: It felt as though I had watched that movie with my whole body. I saw it with my eyes, heard the sounds with my ears, and even felt like I smelt the movie. After watching, I was still in a mix of emotions and thought, "What is this feeling?" Then I realized, "Oh, I know! I want to be on the screen!" It was a real Shinji moment (laughs).

"After working on TV dramas and gaining some experience, he auditioned for Ryuki a few years later, but with the feeling that he was "grasping at straws."

Suga: When I went into the second round of judging, all the models around me were on the same level as Ryohei-san, so I thought this was definitely not going to work out. Even after making it to the final round, I was so nervous that at one point I said something unintelligible like, "I love beer!" When I received the news two weeks later that I got the role, I didn't believe it right away and was cautious, saying, "I don't believe this."

"When you went to the costume fitting with high expectations of what kind of cool Kamen Rider you'd see, when seeing Ryuki for the first time, you though……."Kendo?!" You were very surprised.

Suga: When I first saw it, I thought it was a really strange design that I had never seen before. Now, I'm very attached to it, and think it's the coolest out of all the riders. I love it so much.

"Of all the episodes that have been filmed so far, episodes 13 and 14 are the ones that you value the most. It's the episodes where he was distressed by the thought that he had killed Zolda."

Suga: It was then, that I once again found myself thinking about my sense of responsibility as a Rider. It was like I had just shed a layer of skin. But, even though he grows little by little this way, I would like to keep Shinji's "roots" planted as they are. Everyone around Shinji is carrying something on their shoulders, except for Shinji himself. He's quick to say, "I'll protect people," while having nothing to back up his words. No one to protect, and no past. I once thought about it deeply, and asked the producer, "Does Shinji have a past?" I was told, "No, Shinji is just a young man who had a normal upbringing." I think that's when my mind began to wander. I don't have anything to prove it, but I'm not sure that's something Shinji would say. What I am sure of, is that his emotions are straight and pure like a child, which I like. I also cherish the bad and idiotic parts of Shinji as well.

"You get along well with your co-stars, Matsuda-kun and Ryohei-kun, who are of the same generation."

Suga: We'll talk about upcoming scenes and say things like, "Ren, how do you feel about this part?" and "Ok then, let's do that part like this." We'll work through this process by trial and error. Everyone has a strong character, so I hope we can create relationships on screen that brings out the best in all of us.

Suga-kun talks about Shinji and Ryuki with more enthusiasm than usual. Everything in his life is all about Ryuki now, and he seems to be enjoying it very much. _

Satoshi Matsuda (Akiyama Ren) Interview (page 8-9)

Matsuda-kun was dressed in a black tank top, with black leather pants, and short black boots. Just like Ren, black seems to be his main image color. We asked, "Are you trying to convey Ren's image?" He responded with, "I think Ren is trying to convey me." If a normal man said those words, you'd think he was being sarcastic, but when Matsuda-kun says them, they sound natural.

"Matsuda, a native of Osaka Prefecture, still occasionally speaks with the Kansai dialect."

Matsuda: Recently, I've been able to play the role of a Ren naturally. Ren's a really cool guy, isn't he? Before, I worked hard on creating the "extreme" part of him. You don't normally see people like him in real life (laughs). People who have known me for a long time will say, "You and I are exact opposites." Usually I'm just messing around while speaking nonsense.

"Ren (Kamen Rider Knight) is a complex character, being neither right nor wrong. Therefore, when acting, Matsuda says, "I try to give weight to each word instead of saying too little." He also said, "If I move too fast, I'll look weak, so I try not to move too fast except for when I run at full speed. Like when I'm chasing after Shinji, you know?"

"He won the role of Ren through an audition, but even before doing the audition, he "debated for a week whether or not he would accept the role." According to his manager, who is Toei's producer for Ryuki, Shinichiro Shirakura, he had been paying attention to Matsuda-kun since his debut work in "Natural Girl Next ~ 100 Nights in Yokohama". Matsuda-kun, who never heard that before, shyly said, "This is the first I'm hearing of that!! I'm so embarrassed (laughs)."

Matsuda: Before the audition, I had some hesitation due to the fact that Ryuki was a children's show. So I worked with the manager, faxing each other back and forth, talking about all kinds of things, like what kind of fans the franchise had, the kind of material we had, who would watch us, and so on. In the end I decided, "Okay, I'll accept!! After all, I went through all this trouble of research, so I'll definitely have to do it now!"

"Oooh, so cool Matsuda-kun!!"

Matsuda: Afterall, I would look like a complete idiot if I failed the audition because I said, "I don't want to be associated with tokusatsu" (laughs). That's what I thought, so I didn't push back at all when I entered the production.

"Ren plays the "Secondary Rider" role in the show, and while Shinji is the main character, according to Matsuda-kun, "It's probably better than having the lead role (laughs). The camera follows Shinji, and Ren follows him in order to make the story more interesting." He goes onto say that Shinji and Ren have a bad relationship."

Matsuda: Rather than liking, disliking or having a friendship with him, I feel it's more like, "It's stupid to even hate this guy" (laughs). When he says to Shinji, "I owe you one," he says it as if embarrassed, and I think it's Ren's way of dealing with Shinji that he'll carry through to the end.

"There are rumors (!!) on the internet that you're on bad terms with Takamasa Suga, who plays the role of Shinji."

Matsuda: I'm often asked by magazine reporters if we don't get along (laughs). But, it's actually really surprising to be asked such a question. Sugacchi (Suga-kun's nickname on set), is a good friend and co-worker, who I usually go home together with, or out on the town together. So, I'm trying to figure out what else I should do to emphasize how well we get along with each other.

"It's been said that you're also on good terms with Hassei Takano, who plays Tezuka Miyuki (Kamen Rider Raia)."

Matsuda: He and I are strangely compatible. On my way to the studio, we meet up at a convenience store near the train station and make the 10 minuet walk while goofing around. That's what we like about each other (laughs)

"He says that working as an actor is difficult, but also enjoyable. He says that tokusatsu programs are particularly appealing because he can play a role over the span of a year. However, he also has his complaints."

Matsuda: I've begged the staff to do more action! Riders fight after transforming, so there's not much action before the transformation. And since Ren is supposed to be a strong fighter, he can knock out his opponents with a single punch. Well, that's not exactly what I mean, I just wanted to make a big statement. The other day, there was a scene where Takashi Hagino, who plays Takeshi Asakura (Ouja), filmed a scene that I really liked, and I watched admiringly while also being jealous (laughs).

"Matsuda-kun was originally scheduled to work for a fashion related company, but after his debut, understood "the depth of the industry," and chose to be an actor."

Matsuda: Ryuki is a battle between 13 Riders, but in reality, it's also a war between the Riders to see who can survive and who will be eliminated. That's why I myself, feel like I'm in a very serious competition as Akiyama Ren. There's no end to how difficult it is to be an actor, and the fact that there is no answer, not a single one, is fascinating. It's perfect for a arts major like myself.

Ren (Knight), wasn't the only one who continues to fight without an answer. Actor Satoshi Matsuda's battle has only just begun. _

Hassei Takano (Tezuka Miyuki) Interview (page 10-11)

Two years ago, Takano-kun gained popularity for his cool acting as Hiroya Fujimiya (Ultraman Agul) in "Ultraman Gaia." He didn't expect that he would also appear in Kamen Rider Ryuki as the fifth Rider, "Raia." As expected, no one else has appeared in both productions but him.

Takano: At the time I overheard from a friend of mine that, "There are going to be 13 Kamen Riders this time around." "Eh? That many?," we talked about it so normally. Then he said, "My friends are going to be in it." It turned out to be Matsuda-kun (Akiyama Ren) and Yuge-kun (Yura Goro). So, while I had heard stories, it was a surprise that I was also going to appear in the show. It felt almost like fate (laughs).

He had no hesitations about appearing in a tokusatsu program for a second time, as he thought to himself, "I want to do it."

Takano: If I had been the me from a little while ago, I might have been a little put off, but this time, I'm enjoying the challenge of how to play the hero and making them look good.

"The days of Ultraman Gaia were the dawn of a new era for tokusatsu. This was followed by "Kamen Rider Kuuga," which marked the new wave of tokusatsu, as these series of works have made the public recognize tokusatsu programs more and more in recent years."

Takano: I felt this phenomenon firsthand. The quality of "Gaia" was high, and I felt that the range of people watching the show was expanding, but since filming Ryuki, I've realized how popular these shows are.

"This is a comment only a performer of two works can make. What did you feel was the different between Ultraman and Ryuki when you actually played the role?"

Takano: The difference in enemy size (laughs). In Ultraman, alot of the performance is looking up and imagining the enemy in the blue background. Furthermore, for Ultraman, the SFX team would split up my shots in two directions, whereas in Ryuki's case, I would just keep saying, "Ok, I going to transform," so I really felt that I was transforming. I'm actually really fond of it. Uh…But, when I was shown a picture of Raia's image for the first time, I honestly thought, "Eh-?!" (laughs). The color is kind of mediocre, like it's pink metallic with some orange. Personally, I love blues and black, so I thought, "It must be nice being Knight~." Everyone else has a clear motif, like a bat or dragon, but Raia is a stingray? Can't I be a shark or maybe a whale? Furthermore, I'm a fortune telling stingray? eh? (laughs). At first, I was surprised by the world view of Ryuki. "A net for grilling meat?", "Transforming with a card?" things like that (laughs).

"That was a very honest yet blunt comment by Takano-kun. But now, he loves playing the role of Raia. As for the character of Miyuki Tezuka…"

Takano: I liked him from the very beginning. Tezuka wanted to change his Rider's fate. The desire to push back against something that's already been decided is a natural trait inherent in humans, isn't it? "If I can decide my future, then this wasn't it!," and I think everyone wants to change something. I think Tezuka, who says that he creates his own future, is a very charming and passionate character to play.

"Takano-kun says that he also admires Tezuka. In the show, there is a scene where Tezuka asks Shinji, "Have you ever felt so lost that you feel you could die?"

Takano: I've never been that unsure. I am indecisive, so when I'm in doubt, I'll ask someone else to decide for me (laughs). Even when I'm hanging out with friends, they'll say, 'Where do you want to go?" I'll say, "You decide. I'll follow you." I admire Tezuka's way of life, but it seems so extreme that I'd rather not live like him.

"By dying, Tezuka proved to Shinji that he could "change his future" with his own hands."

Takano: For Tezuka, when I read the script about him becoming a Rider because of what happened to his friend, I cried a little.

"At first, Takano-kun heard that Tezuka's friend (Saito Yuichi) was initially suppose to be a racer. The story was originally about him being unable to use his legs due to an accident, then, it was changed to him being a pianist that lost the ability to use his hands due to an incident caused by Ouja (Takeshi Asakura). This is what caused Tezuka to become more agitated before the battle with Ouja."

Takano: What's most sad to think about, is that I'll no longer have a role in the show after I die. In Ultraman Gaia, I was always out of sync with everyone else and was often alone, but this time we were always together.

"As their senior in tokusatsu, he gave advice to Suga-kun and Matsuda-kun, and in return, they taught him about Ryuki. On one occasion, when filming for the day finished early, the three of them went out for drinks in Shinjuku"

Takano: At that time, there was a counter across from the table where we were sitting, and there was a young woman reading a copy of Hero Vision. I noticed and went, "Ah-!," and all three of us were exposed immediately. I thought to myself at the time that the popularity of tokusatsu programs were reaching new heights (laughs).

Kamen Rider Ryuki, which was made with the help of people of his generation, will likely be a very memorable work for Takano-san. _

(partial translations for the rest below)

Kamen Rider Ryuki - Film Site Report (Page 12) (top, 1st photo): "Between takes, they made friendly conversation. They were constantly surrounded by the neighborhood children, but only Matsuda-kun kept his distance from them (laughs)." (bottom, last photo): "In his hand is Dragreder. Hidden away in his bag is a Ryuki Plushie." _

Satoshi Ichijou (Shibaura Jun) Interview (page 14)

"The sixth Kamen Rider, Gai (Shibaura Jun), is a smart, game freak, and coldhearted college student, while Ichijou-kun, who played Jun, is also an active college student."

Ichijou: During filming, I had to ask my friends to help me with various things like, "I’m sorry! I lost my attendance card somewhere" (laughs).

"When Ichijo appeared in Kamen Rider, his friends reaction were, "We can't watch it because it airs tooooo early in the morning!" The reaction of his friends are very natural."

Ichijou: On my days off, I hang out with my friends in my hometown. I also play street futsal with the guys from my high school soccer team, as well as those from the baseball and basketball teams who liked to play soccer. There's a place behind Meiji University in Ochanomizu, where we play all the time and always win, plus, it's free to get into (laughs).

"At first he wondered how he was going to fit in, but it turned out "they were all nice people" and he settled in easily."

Ichijou: I was aware from the beginning that Gai would be gone in five weeks, so it wasn't a shock to me that he died. But, I had been wondering how he was going to die. I really didn't think he would die in an explosion (laughs). Furthermore, what's inside the suit of a Rider whose been bombed to death with such incredible force? I wonder.

Ichijo-kun is an active university student with a flexible attitude. I wonder where we'll see him next?

Yasuko Kobayashi (Main Writer) Interview (page 15)

"When the production of Kamen Rider Ryuki was announced, we were surprised at how ambitious the setting was."

Kobayashi: I think that 13 riders were chosen in part because Bandai was going to produce alot of toys. Rather than having just one rider with multiple forms changes, Bandai said, "Let's have a lot of Riders." We planed to use this as a strategy to create an impact in terms of the number of participants. At first, we wanted to say, "Let's send out 50 Riders!," and I think Bandai was also interested in the number of people who would be involved in the project. Bandai also requested that we integrate cards in and to fight in a different universe. That's why Producer (Shinichiro) Shirakura-san must have thought a lot about it, until he decided on what we now call the "Mirror World." We wanted it to look like there was a "story" first, and not the "setting" first.

"In certain situations, only the main character, Shinji, "Has no reason to fight", which we think is very original."

Kobayashi: I think it's important to sometimes say "It can't be helped," because other people are carrying a variety of burdens. Because he's not carrying anything on his back, he's able to look at the battle from a "pure" perspective, which is what makes him the main character. I think the strength of not carrying anything on one's back comes out in the genuine strength of a person. Because, even though there is nothing of interest at stake, it's usually impossible to do something dangerous or foolish like risking lives, especially for today's generation. That's why Shinji is the strongest of them all……is what I think.

"However, Shinji watches and fights for Ren and his friends suffering, and in the end, Shinji too is able to grow.

Kobayashi: But, I don't think it's a good idea for him to grow based on circumstances of the people around him, due to them being so grave. However, how we move Shinji forward is an issue for the future. What will happen to the relationship between Ren and Shinji is the most important thing now. _

Ryohei & Hidekazu Ichinose: The Secret Records Vol.1 (page 17)

"How did you two get to know each other?"

Ichinose: I went into the office because I wanted to ask for some advice. Goro-chan immediately stopped me at the entrance (laughs).

Ryohei: Goro-chan is a bodyguard, you know (laughs). Actually, we had a mutual acquaintance. The first time we met was before I got the role in Ryuki. It was after I had auditioned, so it must have been last fall.

…

"Recently Ichinose-san has completed filming for "Ultraman Cosmos."

Ichinose: "The question now is how can I make the most of what I have gained during the past year? The other day, I was in Myanmar to live on a lake as part of the filming for "Sekai Ururun Taizaiki," where I had a great time, and I hope everyone enjoys the broadcast! I slept soundly every night, and even drank tea made from boiled river water without getting sick or having an upset stomach. After this I hope everyone will continue to look out for me.

Ryohei: I'm currently putting all my energy into Ryuki. I'm happy that I'm popular among adult women, but what I really want is for children to focus on me. I would be happy to receive fan letters from children. I really don't understand them at all (laughs). I like kids, but they're all afraid of Kitaoka, so when they see me on the streets, they back away, and, I'm pretty sure won't look me in the eyes?

Ichinose: The children become frozen.

Ryohei: It's strange, isn't it?

"It may seem unconvincing, but we're rooting for you to become popular with the children!"

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sweetaswithscottymac · 1 year

Note

any advice on how to get into indycar? i see more posting about it these days and it seems fun but i don't know anyone personally who watches it

Okay, I took like three weeks to reply to this because I am using it as an excuse to make the “Indycar 101 from the perspective of a new fan” post that I have been meaning to make for a while, because I would love for more people on here to watch it!! It’s extremely fun, close racing, with some great talent and interesting narratives. It’s a less polished product than F1, and sometimes upsettingly American, but it’s great and it genuinely brings me a lot of joy.

This primer is light on the history of the series, designed to answer the basic sorts of questions that will come up if you just put on a race and try to follow what’s going on. It’s also 100% targeted at people who watch F1, since, you know, that’s the corner of the internet we’re in.

There’s three basic sections, so feel free to jump around as is useful, because this turned into a probably unnecessarily long post.

Part 1: Basic series info

Part 2: How to follow a race weekend

Part 3: Who to root for

Big thank you to Fir @josefnewgaydengayden for their contributions <3

Part 1: Basic series info

Teams

I think the first thing to know is that there’s no teams championship which imo is a big part of why the teammate dynamic is quite different to F1. Team orders aren’t really a thing, and there’s not really any such thing as a “number one driver” in a comparatively meaningful way

Teams have varying numbers of cars. Anything from 1-4 is common (last year’s grid had that full spectrum). You can also have part time or shared entries - for example Marcus Armstrong and Takuma Sato are essentially sharing one of the Chip Ganassi cars this season, with Sato running the ovals and Armstrong running everything else

Currently, the two top teams are Penske (Power, Newgarden, McLaughlin) and Chip Ganassi (Dixon, Palou, Ericsson, and Armstrong/Sato). Last season the championship contenders at the back end of the season were Power (who ultimately won), Newgarden, Dixon, McLaughlin and Ericsson (yes there were five title contenders down to the finish)

The close competitors - teams what will almost certainly win at least one race this season (very possibly more) and could have their best drivers in title contention are Arrow McLaren (O’Ward, Rosenqvist, Rossi) and Andretti (Herta, Grosjean, Kirkwood, DeFrancesco)

There’s other teams that I will leave you to look up based on which drivers you’re interested in

Cars

The cars are mostly spec—they have the same chassis and aero package. There are two engine suppliers: Honda and Chevrolet, and the tyres are Firestone

Teams are allowed to build and develop some of their own parts, like the brake ducts and certain suspension parts

Overtake assist is Push to Pass rather than DRS — drivers get a set number of seconds per race where they can push a button to get a power boost. They can use it anywhere on track, offensively or defensively, but once it’s used up, it’s used up

Unlike F1, the cars have no power steering. That’s why Josef Newgarden looks like that (jk but also not)

The cars also don’t have anti-stall, so if a car stops on track, you’ll often see it have to be fired up to get going again

Tracks

Indycar races on street courses (street tracks in F1), road courses (equivalent to what just get called tracks in F1, like Barcelona or Bahrain), and ovals

I wasn’t 100% sure about the whole oval thing, but oval racing can be crazy exciting (and absolutely fucking terrifying). I would highly recommend this twitter thread as an intro to Indycar oval racing—and in general Cassie is a great follow for new fans!

The Indy 500 is its own beast and won’t get into it here. Really though, the main difference aside from the Stature and Importance is the qualifying format and the extra entries—in terms of the actual race, it’s conceptually similar to other oval races

Where do I watch it?

If you’re willing or able to pay, Indycar Live is a great deal—it’s only $3/month or $20 for a season pass. They also have individual race passes! You’ll have to use a VPN though, if your location is not on the access list (due to broadcast restrictions)

Otherwise, check whatever the way to access it in your jurisdiction is - in the US/Canada I believe you can get it with a Peacock streaming subscription, and in Australia it’s on Stan Sport (although it is so much cheaper to get a VPN + Indycar Live)

Alternatively, all your usual illegal streaming sites should have what you need!

Part 2: How to follow a race weekend

In broad strokes, it’s very similar to an F1 race weekend. Practice, qualifying and race sessions, although obviously some of the details differ…

These car liveries girl help 😭

This was probably the thing that I found hardest in terms of watching a race and understanding what the fuck was going on - teams don’t have the same liveries on all their cars (although sometimes, e.g. McLaren, they go for similar looks across them), and cars don’t necessarily have the same livery race-to-race

My advice is to just pick a few to learn and pay attention to throughout a race. The livery of your favourite 2-3 drivers, or ones that are really easy to pick out (because they’re bright colours, or just catch your eye, or whatever). Once you know a couple of livery + driver combos, that’s a useful anchor to the timing screen, so you can find who is in front/behind them. You’ll pick it up much faster than you think—and you really do not need to know every single one, I certainly still don’t!

I’ve put the spotters guide for the liveries for the St Pete race just gone below and circled a few I would generally recommend learning. The circled ones are all what those drivers are running this weekend in Texas, with the exception of Josef who has my fave livery of the weekend with the fruity PPG look

Liveries I’d recommend as good starting points: Scott Dixon’s PNC Bank because he doesn’t change much and tbh it always pays to know where he is in a race. Kyle Kirkwood is often in the hot pink Andretti. Josef’s Hitachi livery, and Will Power’s black and red Verizon are pretty easy to spot. McLaren are generally easy to spot if you’re used to looking for the papaya cars - I’ve circled Pato’s papaya and black livery below. Colton Herta’s yellow and black Gainbridge and RoGro’s DHL liveries are also pretty distinctive!

Practice

It’s free practice who gives a shit

Qualifying — Street/Road courses

In generally, it’s really similar to F1—there are 3 timed stages, with a cutoff position in Q1 and Q2. The main difference is that Q1 goes out in two groups, and the fastest 6 in each go through to Q2, and the 12 get whittled down to 6 for Q3

Qualifying — Ovals

For oval races, drivers go out one at a time, in reverse championship order. They get two warmup laps, and then two consecutive qualifying laps

Average speed across the two laps is the driver’s qualifying speed, and the fastest speed gets pole

As I said above, Indy 500 qualifying is its own beast, although it broadly follows the strokes outlined above

A word on the goddamn qualifying timing screen because this is the hill I will die on

Look, if you watch F1 quali, you’ll know enough to follow the basics of a street/road course quali session out of the box

However, the timing screen is not good and you just gotta live with it. The number on thing I wish we could bring over from F1 is the broadcast timing screen and some of the broadcast graphics

When drivers are on a lap, there’ll be a delta time next to their name, and the box with the time will either be green or red. Sometimes the delta time is to the cutoff (i.e. the delta to the person currently in P6) or to P1. Sometimes it’s clear from context which of the two it is, sometimes it’s not. Also because everyone is on the lap, just because someone is green, doesn’t mean they’re safe as everyone else below the cut could also be green, and unless you can do really fast math… no hope. The size of the delta will give you a sense of how safe or not someone is, and if you’re focusing on one driver it’s mostly manageable but it’s not ideal

In general, I would say qualifying matters less than in F1, as the cars are closer in performance and there is in general a lot more overtaking, so I can live with it

Race start

Indycar always has a rolling start — they do a formation lap, then the green flag goes and the race starts as they cross the line. Sometimes I miss the drama of a standing start — lights out in F1 is pretty fucking cool. That said, the Saudi GP of 2021 cured me of the need to ever see a standing start again in my life so it’s good, actually. The start is still exciting and stressful, just a notch or two less so

Pitstops

These really can be chaos personified. There is no such thing as a safe release. Pray to any god you believe in that your guy makes it out alive, especially if a ton of people are in at once on an oval

Stops are significantly longer than F1—the limiting factor is typically the refuelling time, so there’s less of a hustle on tyre changes (although they are obviously still very fast). 7-8 seconds is typical

Races will often have more stops than an F1 race, too—3-4 stops is not uncommon

Strategy

This often comes down to tyre strategy and fuel management

Similar to F1, everyone has to use both a hard tyre (called the blacks, or the primary tyre) and a soft tyre (called the reds, or alternate tyre. This season there’s actually a different alternate compound, with a green stripe, for street courses. So you might see commentators/drivers referring to “sticker reds” when a driver is quite clearly on a green-stripe tyre

Similar to F1, drivers have to use more than one compound; the rule is actually that drivers have to complete at least two laps on each tyre type. Drivers can start on whatever they want and use them in whatever order, but they have to use both

There’s a single type of wet tyre for rain, and also a specific tyre compound for ovals. (Note that oval races don’t run in the rain on account of how it would be extremely fucking dangerous)

Tyre deg management is conceptually similar to F1, and broadly the same strategy considerations apply

Fuel management is absolutely critical and fuel saving strats and ability can make all the difference. I feel like it’s especially critical on ovals although this might just be that it has been for the oval races that I’ve watched. If you start watching Indycar you will, inevitably, hear a commentator talk about how Scott Dixon is a master of fuel saving

Part 3: So who do I root for?

So I am a firm believer that you don’t pick your fave—your fave picks you. But that said, here are some of the narratives for some of my faves, fave-adjacents and popular picks that may or may not be of interest to you. Listen to your heart…

Scott McLaughlin, aka Scotty Mac. Kiwi driver, came across to Indycar from Australia’s V8 Supercars series in 2021 (as a three time champ in that series) and took to single seaters like he was born for it, scoring a P2 in his third ever race (and first oval) and winning rookie of the year. He had a breakout season last year, with three wins and admittedly a bit of a midseason slump. Super fast, super racey. Genuinely a title contender, but there’s a lot of that going round in Indycar. For me the narrative this season is whether he can build on last year and be a proper front runner, and build some of the consistency that was lacking last season

Josef Newgarden, America’s Boyfriend. Handsome in a corn-fed, broad-shouldered, pure American beef kind of way. Two-time title winner, with a hattrick of runners-up trophies. Number one Scott McLaughlin fan. I think the narrative for him this season is if he can find his happy place every single week. He had a frustrating year last year—true win or bin. He won more races than anyone else, but had quite a lot of DNFs too, often not of his own making. Changes to his crew and team meant that things weren’t exactly seamless, and I think it was really clear that it was a frustrating year for him. I really hope he can find some goddamn luck this year, to go with the mountains of talent and hard work

Scott Dixon, the GOAT. He’s won six championships, and has been a contender in almost every season he’s run. He won his first title in 2003, and his most recent one in 2020. Fuel saving king. Nothing in life is as certain as death, taxes, and Scott Dixon being in the title fight. Literally does not matter where he starts a race, you’d be silly to ever assume he’s not going to find his way to the front. Root for this guy if you love a capital w Winner. (And if you’re a FE fan, his WAG is the man who finished 33rd in the 2008 Daytona 500, Dario Franchitti.) Narrative-wise, there’s a few records he’s chasing, and a seventh title would obviously be a huge deal, but his Big Thing is that for a driver with as much success as he’s had, he’s only had one Indy 500 win. It was all lined up to be his last year, but I’m too traumatised to talk about it but a 1 mph pit lane speeding violation scuppered his chances

Will Power, yes that's his real name. Imo Will wrapped up his Compelling Narrative last season, when he won his second title with one of the biggest mindset and energy shift a professional athlete has ever pulled off? Historically a big hothead, he won the title in 2014, but was never able to get it across the line a second time. Last year he came in with a totally different attitude—he was zen as hell, so much so that it clearly freaked out and bemused the commentators because it was a talking point literally ever race. He was Mr Consistency, always always maximising his points and staying out of trouble, and it won him the title. This season it’ll be interesting to see if he can deliver the same kind of energy and performance - signs from race one point to yes

Colton Herta, he’s just a funky little guy! Front man of garage punk band The Zibs moonlighting as a racing driver. You've probably heard of him in some way or another if you're following the McLaren-Ganassi Saga last season, and the subsequent superlicense eligibility back and forth that followed. He's highly rated for a reason: he's IndyCar's youngest race winner, and since his debut in 2019, only three other drivers have won more races than him (Colton won 7, 2 of them in his debut season in a non-clear front runner car). He's still rough around the edges especially when it comes to patience, but you can't deny his blistering pace, car control skills, and racecraft. With Alexander Rossi moving to McLaren, as the most "senior" member of the Andretti Autosport organization this might be the year he's expected to step up. Fights alt right trolls on Twitter from time to time

Romain Grosjean, the ex-F1 driver (there’s a bit of that going round in Indycar). If you’re coming from F1, you obviously know the backstory here. He had a great first year, but a frustrating second one when he moved to Andretti. He’s had two poles, and been close to race wins, but hasn’t closed the deal yet. (Personally I think the man should not try it around the outside of turn 4 at St Pete but maybe that’s just me.) I do think him getting a win is very likely, either this season or next—I don’t know if he’s title contender material yet, but the thing about Indycar is you kind of never fucking know

Pato O’Ward, no. 2 entry on Zak Brown’s list of twinks under contract. I understand why people tend to sort of compare him to Lando, but I personally don’t really see it? He’s a bit of a shit stirrer and trouble maker, but he’s extremely funny about it—he’s annoying (affectionate). Multiple race winner, and general consensus is that he has what it takes to be a champion, but can McLaren Get It Together. He lost out on what should have been a win at St Pete due to an electrical (?) issue and he was incredibly pissed off about it in a way that made me like him enormously. The other potential interesting narrative is the light potential for a McLaren Civil War between him and Alex Rossi which isn’t something that’s expected to happen so much as something I am desperately hoping for

I’ll leave it there otherwise it’ll end up covering half the field because, well… There’s hard-done-by F2 drivers who didn’t have the money or connections or whatever to make it to F1 (Callum Ilott beloved, and Marcus Armstrong), there’s the good-but-never-quite-delivered-on-his-promise Alexander Rossi driving for a new team (McLaren) for the first time in his Indycar career, a 33-year old rookie in Augustín Canapino who’s only ever raced tin tops but has no fear of god or the english language and is doing a full program, including ovals, this year, Florida Man Kyle Kirkwood, a man whose actual name on his actual birth certificate is Sting Ray Robb… the list goes on and on.

So...now what?

Indycar is back this weekend in Texas for an oval race (which had a crazy exciting finish last year) and then in two weeks at the Long Beach street course. I can’t recommend giving it a go enough, and my inbox is always open for questions, and my DMs for in-race screaming (and also questions.) I’m still pretty new to the series myself and almost certainly won’t know the answer but I will do my best and point you to someone who can answer you if I can’t.

If you’ve made it to the end, thanks for reading and pls watch Indycar <3

#this is too long sorry i got carried away #also if i did your fave dirty (sorry marcus ericsson fans he deserves more than this) pls feel free to add your one paragraph #on why someone should root for them #indycar #asks #anonymous

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blackberreh-art · 8 months

Text

Sleep part 2 (first half)

Five months had passed since Toshinori became All for One's live in guard (Neighbor), and Toshinori had learned a few things about his former enemy-now-charge.

All for One was a slob. He left his own apartment a mess, rarely clearing trash from the counter or cleaning dishes, or making his bed or folding his clothes. That task often fell to Toshinori, which - surprisingly - he didn't have much to complain about. Toshinori had a terrible habit of getting into his own head when by himself and often forgot to clean up after himself, so cleaning up after two was a good way to keep him distracted.

He made sure to complain, though. All for One would just shrug him off with a lazy hand wave and say that he would get to it later - and then proceed to not do that. It was like he was used to others cleaning up after his messes.

What a princess.

He was also a snob - to be expected. He expected the finest things, despite the fact that Toshinori was granted a small budget to keep All for One fed and watered while at the HPSC's beck and call, and it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy All for One and his need for expensive food and shiny designer clothing. And collectables. Rare figures and the like from decades ago that Toshinori had heard him clucking his tongue over as he browsed listings for on auction sites (one of the few things he was allowed on the internet to do under supervision), muttering about their real worth. Such things weren't even in the budget, much to All for One's disgust.

Amongst other such things that were not a part of the budget - alcohol. All for One was apparently a real aficionado when it came to booze of all sorts, and once gotten on the subject would *not stop talking*. Toshinori often glazed over when the ex-villain got started because a) he didn't care, he'd never been one for drinking and cant do so anymore with half his organs gone, and b) All for One was more tolerable when he was talking about a topic he was interested in, and telling him to stop would make him pout, which made Toshinori want to punch him.

(And Toshinori had come to realize that he liked All for One's voice. The morning of the realization he'd locked himself in the bathroom and ducked his head under the sink faucet and tried to drown himself.)

(Not really, but the cold anchored him and he was able to bury those feelings deep down amongst the guilt and rage he had locked away)

(Toshinori had become very good at compartmentalising)

The amount of time that All for One spent in Toshinori's presence grew as well. Some days Toshinori woke up to him having raided his fridge for leftovers and left a complete mess on the kitchen counter, and having taken over the entirety of the couch with his body entertaining himself with whatever book or magazine caught his attention that day. Other mornings Toshinori came into the kitchen to see All for One had made breakfast, of all things. Still made a mess that he refused to clean, but hey, who would have though the villain could make a decent meal?

(It was food Toshinori could actually eat too. A kindness that pulled at those feelings Toshinori had hidden deep away, much to his despair.)

("Don't get used to it." All for One had scoffed the first time. "I had a craving and happened to make more than necessary."

"It's not poisoned?" Toshinori asked suspiciously, despite knowing for a fact that he wouldn't have been able to get his hands on poison no matter how hard he tried.

All for One scoffed at him, fished a spoonful of perfectly-cooked-congee from Toshi's bowl and ate it with the most obscene hum imaginable. "You'll know if I drop dead shortly, won't you?"

Toshinori ate, and it was good, and he cursed at All for One the whole time.)

They spent more and more time together. All for One didn't sleep much beyond those times he crashed for a day or so each few weeks, and he kept himself occupied will Toshinori got his own rest whenever his mind allowed. They ate together. They watched tv together. They read together. They just existed together, and day in and day out fights grew less frequent, then almost non-existent. Heated debates ended in eye rolls and scoffs instead of rage and blood. All for One's attempts to get a rise of him had turned into something more teasing than malicious. In turn, Toshi was a little less on edge, more exasperated than frustrated and angry.

Whenever forced to leave on errand runs, All for One followed along with nary a complaint - perfectly content to just be let out of the apartment complex in general. Toshinori stopped rushing to get those errands done, instead lingering on the way through the nearby park and ducking into stores they didn't really need to enter.

All for One was like a tic who'd latched onto Toshinori and was sucking him dry of vitality, growing fat and content, while Toshinori stewed and stewed, anger and guilt carefully packed away and ignored with each new flare.

(Toshinori thought he'd been long sick of All for One's presence. He didn't understand why one morning when he exited his bedroom and saw All for One stretched out on his couch, holding Toshi's favourite mug in hand and a dog eared book hovering over his face - and didn't feel the usual surge of irritation.)

(He'd felt, of all things, a slither of amusement. All for One dog eared his books. Who would have thought?)

Every other evening, they played Go together. It had been at least a decade since Toshinori had last played, so he was rusty, and All for One had expected it to be an easy win.

It almost was. But Toshinori had always been quick to adapt, and he had All for One on the ropes by the skin of his teeth for nearly the whole evening. The ex-villain won, barely, and the way he'd glowered at Toshinori with an anger that was quick to shift into thoughtfulness.

All for One must have forgotten that Toshinori was a master strategist as well.

The next game, there was something like an aura of satisfaction around the ex-villain when they played, and he hardly kicked up a fuss when Toshinori won an hour later. Toshinori had been so unnerved , wondering if the villain was planning to spring something nefarious on him, but all he'd done was purr an eager "Next time, I'll win." Before he was sauntering away.

Next time, he did win. He'd swept the floor with Toshinori, smirking the entire time, and it awakened a deep, burning desire to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

Toshinori was determined to win, now.

(Sometimes, All for One grew Bored™️ with go, so it was with a sense of bemusement that Toshinori found himself entertaining All for One with various different games. Chess was the next best contender, and they tackled it with the same determination to win as they had Go, and Toshinori -

Toshinori had fun.)

(More guilt is felt, firmly locked away. It was getting harder, and Toshinori was beginning to feel like he was choking.)

#afomight #old man yaoi au #my writing #im impatient so take this snippet lmao

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