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#yeah I've posted this a lot ..and will continue to do so...
bbjobo · 22 hours
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Hello hi it’s me, your resident entertainment PR enthusiast. I simply need to talk about the sequel announcement. This is all speculation, but I work in entertainment-adjacent communications and once convinced a household name celebrity to stay at my event to do select press interviews when his wife was going to go into labor at literally any minute, so I like to think I've got a pretty good sense of all of this.
So buckle in, because I'm about how actually fantastic this rollout was, because I’d wager they’ve been planning this since the premiere. 
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RWRB came out truly smack-dab in the middle of the actors' strike. We all know just how much press we must have missed out on, because the strike started before promo would have kicked off in earnest. And when it was finally over in November, the actors are potentially out of contract for promotion, and that’s not even taking into consideration that the holidays are coming up and the six weeks from American Thanksgiving to New Year’s is truly a black hole of press. So this little movie has to rely almost entirely on fan reaction and word of mouth to hit because they’re so limited in what they can do for promo. And it IS a hit! Records are broken! Comments for an extended version (which, ok Matthew we get it, does not exist) and a sequel start almost immediately.
The marketing team makes the most of what they’ve got: they’re keeping up the official character accounts, they’re dropping deleted scenes and BTS. We get cornettos! The fireside scene! Bloopers! Notably absent? Brownstone Thanksgiving. We’ve seen BTS photos of it, we know it exists. Thanksgiving 2023 would have been a great time to drop it, but they don’t. This is the approximate point at which my own personal sequel speculation began. After the strike ends, the posting pace slows considerably but it’s still consistent. It’s just enough to keep it in your mind but not enough to be like “why are you still posting this much about it?” And this continues into 2024.
On the contracting side, conversations were likely actively happening at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if negotiations picked up literally as soon as the strike ended. The producers would have had that time to get Matthew and Casey back on board and be fully prepped and ready to move on to contracting actors the minute they could. It’d be a shot in the dark to try to guess when these were finalized, but at some point between November 9 and May 9, yeah, they’re in.
But whew, Nicholas is booked and BUSY. Mary & George drops internationally March 5, The Idea of You closes SXSW on March 17, two weeks later M&G starts airing in the US and Canada, and a month after that, TIOY is available for streaming (and limited theatrical release, which is another whole post), and in between all those premieres, he’s everywhere. He’s criss-crossing the country (and tbh the Atlantic Ocean) for all of these appearances, truly going non-stop. The pacing of the premieres makes it nearly impossible to squeeze in another project announcement, and if they had, it would have been a bigger part of every interview he did after, which is something his own team would be working to balance. Plus between TIOY and RWRB, Prime would have been pitching stories against themselves. Better to let him finish out his other promotional appearances and then switch over.
At the same time, we’ve got awards and red carpet season starting. At nearly every red carpet appearance not for their own projects, both Taylor and Nick are asked about a sequel. If an interviewer is given enough time, they ask about a sequel. Sure, fans comment about a sequel on every vaguely rwrb social post from an official account, but the press asking about a sequel felt like a lot to me. Everyone always gave the same vague answer, that they’d be up for it if the story is right, that they don’t know but would be happy to. (Except one time, Nick does slip up and give an answer that feels a little more definitive here where he says “conversations are being had” all the way back in late February/early March). Press are asking the question so consistently that it felt like if it wasn’t happening, PR teams would have put the sequel on the do not ask list.
Then Prime starts actually ramping up on a FYC campaign for the movie. I'm gonna be honest, I was so surprised. It's a rom com, the odds of a rom com getting any sort of awards recognition is so slim, but I thought, "ok, sure, use FYC as a way to get the promo boost they need for an announcement of whatever's coming next." And then I looked up and Variety has picked it as the winner in the best television movie category, which is blowing my mind. The other categories they're submitting in are stacked and I think a nomination beyond television movie will be a long shot, but again, it's big for it to even be considered. And if they're being talked about, that means Prime's gotta put out a great showing for their FYC campaign.
Which brings us to this week. We start off on Monday with Nick at the Met Gala referring to Uma as his mother-in-law. Incredible. Love it. Wednesday and Thursday are a one-two punch of a FYC event and fan event, and the gang’s all here. At the FYC, we get the industry side of things: new portraits and interviews with Deadline, process talk, etc. Because this little rom com is actually doing pretty well and beating the odds? Knowing what we know now, the PR teams spent this week pre-briefing the press on the sequel announcement. Notable (at least to my knowledge) the sequel question doesn't get asked at the FYC event. Because the press already knows it's coming.
Now, on to yesterday. They do a fan screening and Q&A, and they literally roll out the red carpet. Nine months after the premiere and exactly six months after the strike ended, they get the gang back together with fans of the movie, who they relied on so heavily during the strike to help make the movie a success. The tagline on the screen’s giant promo image has been updated to specifically thank fans for “making history with us.” The moderator for the Q&A is the same person who interviewed Taylor and Nick at the beginning of FYC campaign season, their first joint interview since GQ (right? pretty sure. it's all a blur tbh). And at the end of the Q&A, minutes before 12 AM ET, when the embargo on the press release would have lifted, they make the announcement not to press, but to the fans. The fans who loved the book, who watched it over and over, who spread the word about the movie to help make it one of Prime’s top three rom coms OF ALL TIME.
It’s just… an absolute masterclass in how to execute a major announcement that embraces the fans in a time where fandom and interaction between creators and fans can be an absolute minefield. Prime saw the opportunity to lean into the fannishness of it all and they took it and it was a slam dunk.
So where do we go from here? IDK but here’s some unconnected thoughts in list form like Alex would want.
The book’s 5th anniversary is next Wednesday, the 14th.
Casey’s been posting about working on [redacted] for months at this point, which is almost certainly the screenplay
Nick mentioned needing to be back in the UK for filming soon
They would probably like to release this in US election off-cycle years, so that means 2025 or 2027 (and 2027 is too far away). 2026 would be less bad since it’s a midterm election, but still.
Filming could reasonably start sooner rather than later, and even without an unfinished script
I guess we’re back on content watch for blond hair and BTS pictures
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amethystfairy1 · 18 hours
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hiya it’s been a hot minute since I sent an ask but I want you to know that I’ve been reading all your stuff for months now, refreshing multiple times a day bc I can’t get enough and I adore everything you write <3<3<3 I think your more recent writing with the darker themes is well done, it adds the perfect amount of angst and stakes to the story, more than vague threats of getting hurt, esp in the under city, but it’s not too much at the same time. Also your newest TT treebark is probs my favorite fic thus far, and treebark isn’t even my favorite ship lmao. It’s so arghhh yesss with Rens acting but Martyn can’t tell nooooo 😭 I REALLY want to know what Ren was thinking that whole time negotiating with the bandits, esp when he finally looked at Martyn bc he could probably hear his cries the whole time and UGH it breaks my heart in a good way. AND MARTYN ACCEPTING THAT REN WOULD DO THIS, AND FORGIVING HIM????? The angst, the FEELS. Stunning. A masterpiece. I start my days checking to see if you’ve posted I’m so obsessed XD. Might have to draw the scene… anyhow. I see you get a lot of requests to write certain ships now bc all the stories r so captivating we just HAVE to know more. But. I hope you don’t feel pressured or stressed about it, make sure to prioritize your own wants first. The quality is worth the wait <3 that said, I’m going insane over Martyn. oH also!!! Ren grabbing the wolf pendant!!!!!! He knows how much it means to Martyn my HEART they’re so AAAaAAaAaaaaA!! And he waited until he was between Martyn and the bandits to attack! To protect him! 🥺🥺🥺 the little details are so sweet I’m dying to know rens thoughts. He probably has the rage of a thousand suns in him after seeing Martyn tied up, hurt, crying, bc they would DARE lay a finger on the only one who protected him, who was nice to him. Just. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. I’m def gonna draw this. Also side note love the new pfp
Hello!!!! Good to see you!!!!
I'm so glad you're still reading and enjoying my works!
Also very happy to hear you're enjoying the darker themes that have been coming up recently in both TTSBC and TT! You're exactly right, that's exactly the sort of thing I was trying to nail...oh yeah ANGST with Treebark right now!
I mean. If you feel inspired. I would LOVE if you drew this scene. Because like, I have that art you did of Ren asleep on Martyn's shoulder as the cover image to my Treebark fanfic doc 🥹
Thank youuuu I appreciate the thought about not feeling pressured or stressed, I promise I'm not! I know everyone is just excited for their favorite/most compelling storyline to continue! And like I've said elsewhere, I plan to stick to my mantra...when I try to write something I'm not in the mood to write, I burn out and don't feel like writing at all. That's what happened to me the last time I stopped writing, and I didn't post at all for nearly a year. I HATED THAT. So TTSBC and TT is the perfect situation for me! Lots of ships, lots of characters, lots of dynamics, and between the two I can write BASICALLY anything I feel like at any point in time! So yeah! I'll write what I feel like writing in the moment, because that's always when I come up with my best stuff!
THE WOLFS PENDANT YUP GOOD CATCH. Ren's a good guy, he pays attention to that sort of thing 💖
I'm glad you like my new pfp!!! I love it! It's by my same friend who drew my old pfp, but THIS one is of an original character of mine everyone who reads TTSBC is very familiar with and people very scared of, but I assure you, any resemblance to characters previously mentioned is purely coincidental, hypotheticals should be, should be, should be dismissed, and there is no need to be concerned. 😉
Thank you for coming by again!!!
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shaunashipman · 11 hours
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hi cleo, I've been reading a lot of your asks and posts and I'm not the last anon but also new to the fandom and just a little curious as to why you don't like buddie as a ship? you don't owe this a response and please don't feel the need to justify. I'm just surprised to see a rise in buddie-antis in a fandom that seemed only to love them from an outsider perspective until tommy came into the picture.
hi nonny
here's the thing. i don't dislike buddie as a ship. like oliver said, i get it, i see it. the actors have great chemistry, they've got a good dynamic, the family unit, it's all there. i've reblogged buddie edits and i will continue to do so, i've read buddie fanfic and probably will again at some point, interests vary over time. they are indeed a great ship.
i'd say a lot of bucktommy shippers, maybe even most, if they were buddie shippers before, or just enjoyed their dynamic, they probably still do. i still do.
i just don't think all my ships have to go canon, and in fact some i'd prefer if they didn't.
my problem is with a small subset of fans who insist that, not only will buddie most definitely going canon, but the show and the actors are sending secret messages and hints that this is going to happen. and if you don't think they're going canon, or disagree with their "theories", you are a bad fan and don't deserve the show.
my problem is with these fans, who, after screaming about how iconic buddie would be "for the representation", are now shitting on a character's canon bisexual journey, because it's not happening with the person they wanted it to. these same fans, who are calling other buddie shippers traitors for enjoying the two ships, who are calling me and other queer fans fetishists for enjoying this canon representation that we rarely get, who are actively wishing for biphobic and homophobic storylines, who are sending very offensive messages accusing actors in the show of being violent and homophobic just because they are getting in the way of their ship
so yeah, i am not anti-buddie. i am just anti this small group of fans, who insist on screaming the loudest
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Bringing this back...for personal reasons..
Vincent Price as Don Galico
The Mad Magician (1954)
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fisheito · 2 months
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Bottom yakumo fics i rotate thru bc the tag is playing games with me
EIDEN:
(Sequel) https://archiveofourown.org/works/49270402
(locked) https://archiveofourown.org/works/37453975
(locked) https://archiveofourown.org/works/48090496
KUYA (some dubcon+yaku whump):
ASTER:
QUINCY:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/54831790
EDMOND: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52916077
NOT EXPLICITLY BOTTOM, BUT FITS THE SUBBY ~FEELING~
https://archiveofourown.org/works/37413112
(locked) https://archiveofourown.org/works/49106176
https://archiveofourown.org/works/50601046/chapters/128881948#workskin
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ennakros · 3 months
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hey loves. i know this isn't ideal, but any future icon borders will start having a minimum price on ko-fi. i love creating things and coming up with designs, but i need to also focus on breaking even with the costs of my licenses, and perhaps stop making a loss financially with this. it's my hobby, yes, but i also view it as a side project & a pocket money style income stream. prices won't be expensive, but expect the minimum to be between £0.50 and £1.50 from hereon out.
free borders and dividers will still be shared, as well as psds when i come to making them. paid dividers will be due to their levels of customisation.
with all this being said — the rules remain the same regardless if they are paid or free: all content must be credited appropriately, failure to do so will result in blacklisting, if it happens on a consistent basis then that will result in all downloads being made private & through IM only, with evidence of crediting being provided. if you buy a product that allows you to input your url, that does not mean you can claim you made it yourself. credit me.
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sonego · 5 months
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how do israeli soldiers live with themselves. how
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dredshirtroberts · 4 months
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feeling a lot more stable about everything, i decided to forego keeping a bandaid on because my fucking skin cannot take the adhesives for that long omg itches so bad around them
I have a plan in place to replace the bandaids should i require not needing to see my elbow again about it, but i also wanted to see for myself how bad it was.
BOY HOWDY do I bruise purty. That shit is dark where it's not already going greenyellow. looks like I put a sharpie in a chokehold and barely managed to wrangle it into submission like damn.
#i am probably going to have us put on a replacement bandage over the bruising because it's honestly yeah a little distressing to see#but i no longer feel like it's going to explode open and spurt blood everywhere if i'm not careful and that's important#this would be easier if we were like one solid continuous consciousness but unfortunately we're not#and for anyone who wasn't there during the cause of the Visible Injury having a visible injury suddenly be a lot worse#than what you were anticipating based on what the last person who looked at it remembers (let alone was just expecting in general)#(because lets face it i've not bruised this badly after a poke before. i think the closest was the IV for sedation before i got my#wisdom teeth taken out) and if you're maybe significantly younger than most of the rest of the soup in the bowl at the time it can y'know#freak a guy out a little which is what happened yesterday/last night#i'm glad i'm not navigating this without the context of being several opossums in a trenchcoat because that would be i think even more#distressing than it already has been. it keeps embarrassment for uncharacteristic freakouts to a minimum at least#gonna try and let it breathe for a bit and just kind of chill out with the elbow exposed a little to hopefully help#both with like acclimation to the sight and also maybe the cool air will help it feel better.#but also like i just cannot do that much bandage adhesive on my skin for that long it is so itchy around where i was wearing them augh#doesn't help my upper arm where my vaccines went look like i got bit by the worlds largest skeeter like damn#miecz posting#garrett posting
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01tsubomi · 1 year
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i do like that i have a job where i can ask a student “do you know kagerou daze?” and she can nod a lot and then go up to my co-teacher after class like “sensei maya-sensei knows vocaloid and likes kagerou daze” 
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racinggirl · 3 months
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that's my girl
Lando Norris fic - requested
My inbox for requests
a/n: it took me a bit longer as I have been quite busy this last week, but it's hereeee! I hope you like it, I have to say I love badass Y/N a lot, so thank you for the request! It's a bit shorter, but we need some variation in life, don't we? Let me know your thoughts! It's not proofread, so be aware for any minor mistakes, if there are some. Lots of loveeee. Don't forget to send in requests! I love all the requests I've gotten so far 🫶🏼
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‘’What kind of snacks do you want?’’ You asked your boyfriend as you were preparing some somewhat healthy snacks before he would go live on Twitch. You were filling up a bowl with Maltesers because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t like those? You then decided to grab a knife and cut the cheese and cucumber to make the tray snacks somewhat healthier.
‘’Can you lay on the tray?’’ Lando wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, causing you to tilt your head when he planted soft kisses on your neck. ‘’You already had that snack not too long ago, mister Norris.’’ You teased, keeping your eyes closed as you felt his hands making its way under your shirt, close to your bra.
‘’Nah, ah.’’ You put down the knife and took both his hands in yours, moving them down and placing them on your hips before reaching back for the knife. Your action caused him to groan, and you simply smirked as you felt how much he needed you, because let’s be honest here, it was impossible to not feel him through his jeans.
‘’Grapes, mango?’’ You continued, focussing back on the tray of deliciousness in front of you. ‘’Chocolate covered strawberries.’’ He replied, walking to the fridge. ‘’Yeah, ehm, about those…’’ You bite your lip as you looked over at the – way too perfect – McLaren driver, who happened to be your boyfriend.
‘’No, you ate them?’’ He asked, turning 45 degrees to look at you with puppy eyes. ‘’Oh stop it! You ate my piece of cake the other day!’’ You laughed, feeling his hands on your body as he tickled you. ‘’Lando! Stop!’’ You managed to breathe out in between your laughter.
‘’You ate my strawberries!’’ He exclaimed; his arms wrapped tightly around you as you tried to somehow escape his grasp. But he was strong, of course he was, he was a Formula One driver.
Talking about his job, you were proud of him. The two of you had been dating for a few years now, the world only finding out in your 3rd year of dating each other. You had no idea how because you never purposely tried to be secret about it. You never went out in public, never really posted about one another on your socials, either. You only really started doing that when people noticed your relationship.
You were almost done with your degree now, though. Meaning you had more time to come to some of his races. You loved going there, not only to support your boyfriend, but also to learn about all the behind the scenes of the sport. It was something that fascinated you ever since you started dating Lando.
However, you tried to stay out of the camera’s as much as you could. You never held hands when you walked through the paddock with him; if you walked through the paddock with him. Most of the time you arrived after he did because you either had to finish some online work in the hotel room, or because you wanted to stay out of the spotlight.
You never really enjoyed being in front of the camera’s, hence why you were so invested in all the behind-the-scenes stuff. It wasn’t because you weren’t confident enough, not at all, because you were, and that’s something Lando always admired about you, especially when you started to receive hate. You just never thought being in front of the camera suited you, those cameras around you, people asking questions, it just annoyed you, and you decided you didn’t want to take a part of it.
It didn’t mean you never supported him, though. You were always there for him, and he knew. He never complained, he never told you you weren’t supportive, no. He loved how your relationship was different than the ones from all the other WAGS, he felt like he wasn’t sharing you with the entire world, that you were just his, and that’s exactly how you felt, too.
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‘’Good evening chat! Long-time no see, ey?’’ You heard Lando’s smile through the words he just spoke, waving at the camera as he leaned back in his chair. He glanced over at you, his eyes gliding over you before quickly shooting you a wink. You laughed and rolled your eyes at his action, simply knowing the chat would comment on his wink.
‘’I’m good, enjoying the off season as much as I can.’’ He smirked. ‘’Aren’t we, babe?’’ He asked and you got up, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘’I for sure am.’’ You winked before walking to the kitchen to get your snacks.
You always were seated outside of the camera’s view. As much as you loved staying out of the cameras at the track, you did the same whenever he streamed. You never did it purposely, though. You never hid away from the cameras; you simply never purposely were in front of them.
‘’Grabbing snacks!’’ You yelled from the kitchen when you heard Lando read the comments. ‘What’s Y/N doing?’ and ‘Where’s your girlfriend going?’
‘’She’s getting snacks, chat. You won’t believe it, but we actually prepared those for tonight.’’ He smirked, sipping his water as he read through the comments. ‘’We?’’ You asked, raising an eyebrow with a smile. ‘’Right, sorry chat, my lovely girlfriend Y/N prepared the snacks.’’ He said, watching you placing the tray of delicious food in front of him.
‘’I’m just missing one snack on here, but sadly there’s not enough room on the tray for that.’’
‘OMG HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT’
‘HAHAHAHA Lando naughty naughty boy’
‘DUUUUUUDE LANDO WHAT LMAO’
You sat down next to him, your legs over his as you grabbed a Malteser from the tray. ‘’You’re very original with your jokes tonight, Norris.’’ You smirked, reaching for your phone before you opened TikTok, keeping yourself entertained when Lando continued his stream.
He loved this about you, he loved the fact that even though he was live, streaming and being in front of cameras, you never backed down. You never changed when the cameras were there, you always stayed yourself. That was probably the thing he admired most about you, and things he definitely learned from you.
As the hours went by, the tray of food was nearly empty. You got up a few times to go to the bathroom, get something to drink, get some more snacks and so on. Lando got up to go to the bathroom for the second time this evening, leaving you alone with chat.
You kissed his lips before he left the room, you simply deciding to pop up in front of the camera this time. You read some messages, smiling as they told you you looked beautiful. ‘’Aw, thanks guys, or girls, that’s sweet.’’ You replied, leaning your chin on your hand as you continued reading a few more comments.
The second you heard him coming back in the room, you commented on a question in the chat, Lando sitting next to you with a smile on his face. He loved it when you interacted with his fans, which you sometimes did. It’s not like you were completely offline when it came to the fame he carried with him, you just never really bothered to become an influencer like some others did.
‘’Nah, ah, Norris, they are asking me questions now.’’ You teased, holding your hand up when he started to talk again.
‘HAHA Y/N’s such a vibe’
‘Yeah Lando, we’re chatting with your girl now!’
He simply chuckled, pecking your lips when you looked at him and he then enjoyed the scenery he saw in front of him.
After a while, you got up from your chair, going to the kitchen to refill your glass of water for the fourth time that evening, and made your way back to the room when you heard your boyfriend reading some comments out aloud.
‘Y/N doesn’t love him, she never holds his hand in the paddock, what a supportive WAG.’
You furrowed your eyebrows at that comment, and just as Lando was about to say something to defend you, you put your glass of water on the table in front of you.
‘’Last time I checked, my job title wasn’t ‘WAG’. I’m an engineer, not a runway model.’’
Lando looked at you, amazed, proud, and smiling like an idiot. ‘’You heard her, chat.’’ He smirked. ‘’That’s my girl.’’ He whispered happily.
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The end of the stream was nearing, and you got up to head to bed. ‘’Goodnight, babe, I’ll see you in a bit.’’ You whispered before placing a kiss on his lips, smiling against them as he returned the favour. You glanced over at chat one last time, feeling Lando’s hand on the back of your upper leg.
‘’Next time I’ll open the ‘WAGs Handbook’ to catch up on some of my duties.’’ You smirked at the chat. ‘’Goodnight chat, sleep tight.’’ You blew them a kiss before walking out of the room, heading straight to bed.
Not long after you positioned yourself in the king-size bed Lando had in his bedroom, you heard the door opening; your boyfriend making his way to you. ‘’You’re amazing, please never change.’’ He whispered and pressed his lips on yours, firmly.
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Later that season
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natailiatulls07 · 6 months
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Can you please do driver reader and she is the baby of the paddock and she gets sick and everyone is worried and looking after her including her team principal Christian
Worried Mothers Hens
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Formula one grid & female!driver!reader
Summary - You get a cold/fever, and the drivers become like worried mother hens
Warning - Blacking out, crash, ibuprofen, mention of breaking your back
Reader drives for Redbull
-
- You're the youngest on the grid
- Only being 18 years old and the only female on the grid was a huge accomplishment
- Fans love you
- They think you’re the most iconic on the grid
- Your tiktok is filled with candid videos of other drivers
- Like this one time, you asked Carlos to crack your back
- Thing is he didn’t know that you had a uncooked piece of pasta between your teeth
- So when he went to crack your back, he freaked out
- The poor Spaniard thought he seriously broke your back
- “¡Dios mío!”
- “Y/n! I am so sorry! Are you okay?!”
- He kept worrying and apologised
- But when you started to laugh, he expression was concerned
- “¿Qué? ¿Estás bien?”
- “Carlos! It’s okay”
- The fans loved it!
- It was race day for the new Las Vegas Grand Prix
- And many cameras captured each driver as you all arrived separately
- But everyone noticed your pale face and sniffly nose
- Your race engineer, much like everyone else, was concerned
- “Are you sure you’re okay?"
- "Yeah I'll be fine"
- You weren't
- You crashed into turn 5
- "Y/n! Are you okay? Confirm you're okay?"
- Nothing
- You had blacked out down that straight from turn 4 to turn 5
- Luckily you're RB19 didn't cause any collision with any other car
- "That's a red flag! Red flag!"
- "Wait who? Where?" The british McLaren driver asked
- "Yeah I saw the collision, who was it Max or Y/n?" Daniel Ricciardo asked his race engineer
- But when they all found out who was in the car, their concerns for you went up like crazy
- "Is she okay? Has she responsed?"
- They were all instucted to enter the pit lane and would wait there until the race continued
- It's okay though
- You got out of the car unharmed and were told to head to medical centre in the paddock
- So thats what you did
- This did calm some nerves of the other drivers but they were all still that bit concerned as they were told they would continue the race soon
- The medical team told you to go back to your hotel and sleep this fever off
- And thats what you did
- You fell asleep straight away when you got into your hotel bed
- Only to be woken up a few hours later to a knock on the door
- "Come in" You shouted from the bed, only now noticing your scratchy throat
- Opening the door revealed Max, Carlos, Charles, Lando, Daniel and George
- (Pretend Lando didn't crash into the barrier and won)
- "Hey buddy how are you feeling?" The Australian asked as he came to sit by my feet on the bed
- "I've been better"
- Turns out after the race finished they all went to the local supermarket and made up a basket full of cold/fever remedies and all your favourite foods
- lemon cough sweets
- toffee popcorn
- ibuprofen
- etc
- For the rest of the evening, they completely babied you
- Happily watched your favourite childhood film
- Made sure the bed was comfortable for you
- Made you drink a lot of water and eat a lot of vitamin C
- And it's not like the fans missed out on this whole thing
- They all made sure to post regularly on their instagram stories
- Even agreeing to do a tiktok with you
- Overall, being the baby of the grid and being the most iconic really worked out in your favour
-
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jonnywaistcoat · 8 months
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Hi Jonny, if you don't mind I have a question about the TMA TTRPG! So I noticed that on the player's guide there's this guy, who my friends and I assumed is probably Jon. If it is him, is this a canon design, or more like some of the non-canon stuff that's in the merch?
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So, I hope you don't mind if i use this ask to go a bit off on one. I'm not specifically dragging you (I'm actualy glad you asked, as I've thinking about posting on the topic), but all the discussion around the RPG art and how "official" or "canon" it might be is, to my mind, slightly silly.
First up, is it "official" art? I mean, yeah, its art for the officially licenced Magnus Archives RPG. This means Monte Cook Games have commissioned someone to do a beatiful illustration broadly based on some aspect, episode or character from the podcast and it goes in the book. But that's kinda all it means. "Official" is a legal distinction, not an artistic one. The fact that it's in an official product doesn't make it any less one artist's cool interpretation of a character that has only been vaguely described in audio.
Second, is it Jonathan Sims the Archivist? I mean, it's probably based on the idea of him, but it's certainly not set in stone. When we were first discussing art with MCG, we advised that character pictures be more vibes-based and not explicitly tied to specific people (ie. a portrait inspired by Tim wouldn't be captioned "This is Tim" and wouldn't be placed opposite a profile for Tim Stoker, archival assistant.) This was mainly because we wanted the artists to have plenty of freedom to interpret and not feel too tied down by the need to know everything about the podcast. But, to be frank, it was also because we know that there are a few fans out there that are kinda Not Chill about what they've personally decided these characters look like and can get a bit defensive over depictions that differ.
It strikes me as particularly strange to be having this discussion about art that's for a roleplying game book. Something that's explicitly and solely designed to give you the ability to play in your version of the Magnus universe. The idea that this is the thing where we'd for some reason try to immutably establish unchangable appearances for these characters would be pretty funny if some folks weren't taking it so seriously. Similarly ridiculous is the idea we could reasonably have said to MCG "We'd love for you to make a huge beautiful RPG book of our setting... Just make sure you don't depict any of the iconic characters or events from it!"
But... is it "canon"? Now, to my mind, this highlights a real weakness in a lot of fandom thinking around "canon", which is that it generally has no idea what to do with adaptations. All adaptation is interpretation, and relies on taking a work and letting new creatives (and sometimes the same ones) have a different take on it. Are the appearances of the Fellowship of the Ring in the LOTR movies "canon"? How much, if at all, does that matter? Neil Gaiman's book Neverwhere was originaly a 90s BBC series made with a budget of 50 pence; is anyone who makes fanart of Mr Croup that doesn't look like the actor Hywel Bennet breaking canon? What about the novel that describes the character differently? Or the officially licenced Neverwhere comic where he looks like neither of them? Which is his "canon appearance"?
Canon is an inherently messy concept, and while it is useful for a creative team trying to keep continuity and consistency within a creative work, for thinking about anything beyond that it tends to be more hinderance than help.
Anyway, all this is to say that the above picture and all the others in the RPG are exactly as canon as every other picture you've ever seen of the Archivist.
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koushirouizumi · 2 years
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{Blog Notice} [Uta*pri]
I'm noticing some new interaction from people who likely found me through my recent Syo + Uta*Pri postings
I just want to let you all know I Have a (+Natsu)Syo A.M.V. I made to "Tears in Love" over there Have a Syo blog going back to 2012!! (I still rb new things by O.P.s to it sometimes!) There's also a ton more of Syo and co on my old blog though a lot of that is very dated to releases of previous seasons.
(I'm still following Shining Live and any new things too, this is just my mainly DigiAdvs and inspirations focused blog!!)
#koushirouizumi posts#koushirouizumi blog notice#koushirouizumi blog psa#koushirouizumi utapuri#koushirouizumi syo#(Not sure if new lurkers trying to find Syo things know this so making a quick post now that I finally have a no rb option!!!)#(I've made some random Syo posts in past here too but it's not a Syo focused blog)#(I'm glad if you all can find random Syo things via me though!!!)#(I try my best to keep up with Syo things I'm just slower at keeping up as a whole with Utapri but I really do Try)#(Mainly I'm behind on a lot of the more random tls#(or things not yet tl'd)#(like Gameverse routes)#(by the way if ANYONE ever does full Gameverse route Syo tls besides the few I've found PLEASE let me know)#(also I totally don't mind Syo fan interaction just pls continue to acknowledge and respect my blogrules ThankYou!!!)#(I block if I see Nanami hate so please don't make me have to see it but lately interaction has been a lot better with that Thank)#(I will ALSO block if I see Natsuki or Cecil or Tokiya hate or distaste for St*rish group dynamic or fans in general because Yeah)#(by then it's like Why Even Follow then)#(I don't know WHY I continue to see ANY of that in this fan base when the entire series is focused on St*rish story and development)#(of All Of Them not just specific members)#(But You Know)#(It's still much less of a problem nowadays fortunately but still people need to respect my blogrules ThankYou)#(Speaking of which theres currently new TokiSyo Town event going on in Shining Live with him as super rare)#(which I'm very happy to see a TokiSyo duo event again even if the theme isnt amazingly unique theyve done similar before)#(but yes I'm keeping up with new Syo and co interactions hopefully we'll continue to see enough more new ones#(after this new one too!!!)#(By the way the fact my old blogs will blatantly still exist and show archives going back to 2012 Y u p)#(It's part of the reason why I've been so frustrated lately people will just completely ignore my rules or disrespect me)#(when my presence clearly shows my dedication to all these series and my Favs as a FAN not as some kind of hater)#(As long as new lurkers respect these things for any fan base I follow#(You'll be fine!!!)
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infamous-if · 2 months
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prologue done!
finally! <3 today will be spent play testing and by tomorrow or Friday it should hopefully be up for band tier. then I can go back to regular Patreon posts/holiday special + working on the rest. CH1 and CH2 should go by much faster because ive been working on them when I needed breaks from the prologue. CH3 has been outlined. The beta testers haven't all been chosen yet, so that will be announced when they do.
I've taken a lot of suggestions from everyone since the first demo came out, many of which you'll only see after the prologue. but in the prologue I've
expanded and added scenes
expanded choices (more personality choices for variation)(one example: you can now have an MC who is more reliant on drinking from the start aka more choices where MC expresses needing a drink lolol/more of a partier MC and on the other hand, there are more professional, reserved choices)(among others)
fixed prose, added more details, added more conversations
just added a lot more context
and more :)
the biggest would be the scene changes/additions. but yeah. I think this prologue is a lot stronger than it was. I hope it continues that way for the rest until CH3!
Obviously this is still alpha until the beta testers get their hands on it + give feedbacks and suggestions + the rest of the chapters may push me to add more context and additions but I really like it.
That's all! More info on the prologue's changes will be out when I post it on Patreon. Have a good day!!
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lost-and-ephemeral · 3 months
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Series: In Her Shadow, pt.2 (ft. main trio)
Part 1 | Part 2
Slowly but surely she replaced you in his heart.
Pairing: Xavier x reader, Zayne x reader, Rafayel x reader (seperate)
Tags: angst, hurt no comfort, reader is not MC, breakup
A/N: I recieved a lot of comments and request asking me to continue, so here we are! I've tried my best. Ty everyone, I appreciate every message, even if it would be hard to mention every single one of them in this post. Also, if you want to be tagged in future fics, let me know!
-`♡´- MASTERLIST -`♡´- 
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Rafayel
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You began to notice that Rafayel was spending less and less time with you, choosing his bodyguard over you.
It wasn't obvious at first, yeah, but as time went on, everything became so noticeable that you couldn't ignore it anymore. Especially when he forgot about your plans with him and didn't even consider apologizing for it.
The smell of someone else's perfume in his studio, the way Rafayel would leave you at home and take her to all the important events because "you probably don't like spending time among journalists and annoying guests." It seems that he didn't even notice the moment when you were completely estranged from each other.
And all your attempts to talk to him about it ended with nothing.
"She's my bodyguard," he'd say. "No wonder I take her everywhere I go. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Yes, a lot of things were wrong.
But he was completely unwilling to notice it, and you were tired of collecting the shards of your broken heart from the floor day after day. Those warm feelings that brought a sense of lightness and happiness in your heart suddenly turned into pure torture.
You had to end it all, even if it'll hurt so much.
When you arrived at his studio this morning, you came face to face with "Ms. Bodyguard" herself. She was just about to leave, and didn't even hesitate to embrace your beloved. Right in front of you.
Maybe you would've exploded from all these negative emotions, if you had any strength left to be mad or to cry. But there was only emptiness in your heart.
You became strangers to each other.
"I'm breaking up with you," you said without any regret and pushed him away as he tried to hug you. "I don't want to be a second choice after your precious bodyguard."
"W-wait, why? What... But I didn't do anything!" he replied confused, apparently not realizing how much he's been hurting you all this time.
"Maybe that's the point. That you'd do anything for her, but not for me."
He looked at you with the same confusion in his eyes, trying to figure out if it was a joke, but you continued before leaving this place forever.
"You were everything to me, Rafayel. But for you, I was just a small episode of your life. I'm tired. You've been spending all your free time with her, like I didn't exist. It'll be better this way. Goodbye."
No matter how long he was calling your name, asking you to stop, to come back and talk with him, you didn't.
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Zayne
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Loving a cardiac surgeon with his busy schedule is hard.
But it's even harder when he no longer cares about your existence and spends a significant amount of time with his childhood friend.
After Zayne forgot about your reservation at the restaurant, making you feel like you were the last fool in this world, some more time has passed.
Yeah, he apologized. No, he didn't start spending less time with his "friend".
It's hard to count how many evenings you spent alone when he stayed late at work for her or was invited to a "friendly" dinner with her. But it happened often enough so finally your love turned into suffering.
At first you tried to convince yourself that you're too jealous and he's just happy to finally reunite with someone close to him from his youth. You care about your friends too, don't you?
But it only got worse.
All your plans were constantly adjusted to his friend's wishes. She wants to take him to a cafe at the same time you were planning to go to the cinema? "Sorry, love, let's reschedule our date for another day". You've made him his favorite dinner? Too bad, his friend already brought him dinner at work and he's not hungry.
Eventually you started feeling like he stopped enjoying your time together and just continued to exist in the same apartment with you out of habit.
Talking didn't get you anywhere, because Zayne didn't notice how much he was hurting you (or he simply didn't want to notice it) with his actions and only distanced himself from you even more.
At some point you felt like he put an ice wall around himself again.
He stayed late again this evening, completely forgetting his promise to spend time with you. You packed your things with tears in your eyes, ready to say goodbye to life with Zayne once and for all.
And he showed up at the doorstep of his apartment just as you were ready to leave.
"What's going on?" his voice didn't betray a shred of emotion. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to leave you and your lovely friend together so I don't have to be an unwanted addition to your life."
Zayne was taken aback at this statement and was about to say something, but you interrupted him.
"You were the one who brought happiness and comfort into my life. You were the one who made me feel loved and wanted. But now I realize that I wasn't good enough for you. Goodbye."
You walked away and closed the door behind you, leaving him all alone.
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Xavier
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Before, you without a doubt would've said that your relationship with Xavier was the ultimate dream.
But now it wasn't actually true.
Yes, your beloved still showed care and attention every spare minute he had. Just not to you. It seemed as if his colleague started to occupy his every thought.
During dinner, on a walk, after missions. He was always talking about her, how strong she is, and how lucky he is that she chose him as her partner. His eyes were shining with delight you had never seen before.
You were happy for him, but only until it crossed the line. Only until you started to feel like he was in love with her, not with you.
One day you found yourself completely miserable. Xavier texted you that he would be late because they had "decided to celebrate another successful mission". Except that you were usually the one he shared his joy with. But things have changed.
Even though you were the brightest star in his world, you were inevitably lost behind the glow of the Moon.
You were trying to be better, to be more interesting. Trying to reach an unattainable ideal. But you couldn't. After all, maybe you were never meant to be together if it turned out like this. Maybe you weren't enough for him.
You couldn't remember the last day you didn't cry. Sometimes alone, sometimes locking yourself in the bathroom after another conversation about this "super-strong collegue". But Xavier didn't seem to notice it at all.
"I thought maybe you'd be interested to know what happens during missions," he said when you brought up this painful topic.
And, yes, you were interested. But all you heard was, "She took down that Wanderer so easily, I couldn't take my eyes off her." Or, "she's so good with her weapon, it's amazing."
He distanced himself from you so much that you hardly spent any time together.
He wasn't even home the day you left.
Xavier sent you a message saying he'd be late again. As usual, with her. Even though he promised to have a movie night and you had already prepared everything you needed for it.
Maybe it's even better if you don't see the look in his eyes the moment you tell him you're breaking up with him. You packed your things and left a note on the table, next to the snacks you bought.
"Maybe in another universe I would be worthy of you so you could look at me with the same adoration. I can see that you enjoy spending time with her much more. And we should break up so you don't torment my heart anymore. Goodbye."
You glanced around his apartment one last time before leaving it forever.
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♡ tags: @skyowlz @prettytemis @aishasreality @randompersonwhoexist @kreishin @reni502 @moonyzstarz @chin-chii
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ballroamblitz · 10 months
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caramel pie | J.P
summary: james smells caramel pie on the amortentia potion
james potter x fem!reader
word count: 3.750 content: teeth rotting fluff, angst warnings: crying, reader blushes notes: one thing about me is i love me some amortentia fic with a side of james fluff ughh also i listened to glue song by beabadoobee while writing this :) p.s i accidentally posted this on my side acc so if anyone wanna be mutuals my main blog is @beastofbrden :)
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- Someone please, kindly remind me why I decided that continuing Herbology after the O.W.Ls was a good idea? - Y/N huffed out, sitting at the Gryffindor table for lunch.
The four boys sitting around her laughed. 
- Learned a lot today, uh? - Sirius asked, ironically. 
- Oh yeah, loads! We had to feed toad flesh to those terrible toad-eating plants. For some reason, mine just didn't feel like eating it without regurgitating it all back on me! 
The boys went hysterics, and even the girl couldn't help but laugh along. 
- There's still a little piece there - James pointed. - Here, let me take it out for you.
He took out a small chunk of toad flesh off her hair. 
- Well, may I remind you, Y/N, that no one told you to keep up with Herbology. We all dipped from it while we could and no one else has pieces of toad on our hair - Sirius noted, clearly getting a good laugh out of the girl's toad disaster.
- I just didn't want to hurt Sprout's feelings! 
She sighed and brushed her hair with her fingers, only then looking at the food in front of her.
- Merlin, I'm starving! Could eat anything right now.
- Even toad? - Remus joked, sending the group on another laughing crisis.
By the time of dessert, Y/N started scanning the table for something. Clearly not finding it, her panic started showing. 
- Oh no. Where's the caramel pie? 
- They didn't serve any today - James replied, needing all the strength on his body to stay deadpanned. The other three boys were deep in conversation, and him being the one sitting closer to Y/N (as always) only he noticed the girl's agitation. 
- What??? What do you mean they didn't serve any? In the six years I've been here they never not served it and I can't believe they chose today to…
- I'm just joking - James pulled a plate that was hidden behind the steak pudding, smiling playfully at the girl - Saved it for ya.
- James! I would go mad if they stopped serving this pie, y'know! - she let out a relieved breath. 
- Nah, don't worry. They will keep serving it, or I would fight the elfs for ya. 
- One day I’ll hide your figgy pudding, then we’ll see.
- You wouldn’t dare, missy.
James watched with a soft look on his eyes as the girl took the first bite of her favorite dessert.
- Thank you for saving me a piece, Jamie - she leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment to show gratitude. When she got closer, he smelled the vanilla scent of her hair and the caramel pie on her lips.
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After lunch, the five went straight to Slughorn's classroom. 
- Good evening, dears, good evening! Now if you could get up and get closer, I want to show you something!
The whole class shifted near the table Slughorn was sitting behind. 
- Here, we have a very special potion. - He pointed towards a bubbling caldron full of a crystal clear liquid - Very tricky to make, very characteristic and perhaps one of the most dangerous we can brew. Can anyone tell me it's name?
Y/N's hand rose in the air.
- Yes, ms. Y/L/N. 
- It's Amortentia, or simply the love potion. Since true love can't really be produced by any sort of magic, it causes more of a crush or an obsession. 
- Correct. Ten points to Gryffindor! - Slughorn smiled.
- Nerd - James whispered,  messing up Y/N’s hair.
- Sod off, Potter.
- You see, one of the most intriguing things about Amortentia is its scent. Everyone smells something different, because its scent is completely dependent on what each person feels personally attracted to. Now, who wants to come forward and tell me what it smells like? 
No one volunteered. No wonder, since it's a very particular thing to simply say in front of a whole classroom.
- No one? I'll pick someone then. Let me think... - Slughorn scanned the faces around. - Ah! Mr. Potter, you will do. 
James was caught by surprise. He had been distracted by the warmth radiating off Y/N, that was almost resting her head on his chest. 
- Me? - he asked and pointed towards himself.
- Of course you! Is there any other Mr. Potter?
The whole class laughed as James stepped closer, his signature boyish grin splashed on his face. 
- Now Mr. Potter, lean in and smell the potion.
James ran his hands through his hair and did as told. One single sniff and his smile fell off his face completely. The scent was unmistakable: vanilla and caramel pie. Vanilla body cream, caramel pie for dessert, everyday. He had the urge to see if Y/N wasn't standing next to him, but he knew she hadn't moved from across the table. He knew he had to lie. If he said what it smelled like to him, everyone would know it was Y/N's smell.  
- So, Mr. Potter. Whenever you are ready to share. 
He looked at where Y/N was. She was looking at him, just as well as everyone else. She looked relaxed, the potion's glow making her look specially pretty, angel-like. Think of something, fast. Something not at all related to what you are really smelling, something like...
- It’s wood and broomstick polisher.
- Very well then Mr. Potter. Looks like you've got a thing for Quidditch, uh?
The class laughed, and everyone looked convinced. James Potter, Quidditch captain, smelling broomstick polisher and wood? Fitting. James high-fived himself for his quick thinking, and let out a relieved sight. Now, no one would go around thinking the wrong things. 
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Later that night, in the common room, however, the potions class was almost burning a hole through James' head. Slughorn said Amortentia smelled of what attracted each person the most.  Attraction was romantic, sexual attraction. But Slughorn had been pretty vague, hadn't he? He could've meant attraction in any context. It could mean anything. It could mean platonic love, right? If Slughorn didn't think much of James smelling Quidditch, it probably meant it could smell of anything the person liked a lot, right? But it was a love potion. That caused passion. And Slughorn said he had a thing for Quidditch. A thing. But he didn't have a thing for Y/N! He loved her, of course. Everyone knew she was his best friend, they did everything together and she was probably his favorite person in the world. Yeah, maybe he went to extreme lengths to see her happy, and yeah, maybe he was a bit too affectionate with her, but she was his best friend.
- Can't do homework anymore. - James was ripped off his thoughts by Y/N's presence. She threw her backpack at the ground in front of the sofa he was in and layed down - My brain feels like mush.
James looked at her. Her head was resting on his lap, and she looked extremely comfortable. That was obvious, since they always had been this affectionate towards each other. They both were very touchy people, and it felt natural to be in constant physical contact. James was always happy, eager even, to be like this with her. In a platonic way. Obviously. Today, however, her skin on his felt like it burned. 
- How was it? - James asked, coughing to conceal the way his voice failed a bit in the first word.
- Homework? Awful. It's not that difficult, but it's too much. And it just seems pointless, you know? What will I actually learn from writing 19 inches about toad eating plants? Nothing, I tell you what! - The girl sighed and closed her eyes again - Just wanna go to sleep, really.
He didn't know what to answer. He normally would have made a joke about the plants, added more criticism about essays or something. But he didn’t even do his homework, with how paranoid he was. For the first time ever, he was completely speechless in her presence. Her eyelashes were resting peacefully on her pink cheeks. The light from the fireplace made her skin look more flushed, and her hair had a golden glow to it. She looked awfully pretty. James knew that, of course. She had always been pretty. But tonight.. when she moved her head a little bit, he smelled the amortentia smell. Vanilla and caramel pie, just as strong as it was that afternoon. 
- You are way too quiet today, Jamie. - She opened her eyes and he felt something weird in the pit of his stomach  - Ate too much pudding? 
- Yeah, probably. 
She stretched and yawned, sending another wave of vanilla and caramel pie to James' nostrils. 
- Going to bed - she got up. Her hair was messy and the light from the fireplace behind her looked like a halo. - Night, Jamie.
She lowered herself and pecked his cheek lightly. 
- Sleep well - her soft voice was way too close to his ear, turning James' legs into jelly. 
He watched her going up the stairs to the dormitory, and the place she had kissed burned long after she was gone. 
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He had no reason to be this nervous for the potions class the next morning. Slughorn had already moved on from amortentia, since it was a difficult, dangerous and time-consuming potion to make, but James was half hoping the potion would be brought up again, and half hoping everyone would collectively forget about it completely. Slughorn didn't mention the potion again, moving on directly to Felix Felicis. He watched the whole class on the edge of his seat. He had decided he would ask the teacher about the potion just to calm himself down. Just to make sure. Everyone had been really concentrating on making the best draught of living death the whole period, but James just wanted the class to end so he could ask Slughorn and stop eating himself alive.  
- Alright, alright. Congratulations mr. Snape on your draught. Truly outstanding! - Slughorn said, raising a round of applause - Class dismissed!
Everyone started to gather their backpacks and leave, but James made sure to stay back. He pretended to be very interested in a weird type of algae that Slughorn kept in a little ampoule. Just a few more moments and then he'll say that no, I don't have romantic feelings for Y/N and that i just really like caramel pie or something, and then i'll stop going mental... 
- Gillyweed. - Slughorn’s voice dragged James off of his daydreams 
- Uh? - James frowned in confusion, wondering what the teacher was talking about.
- The algae you're looking at, Mr. Potter. Gillyweed. Helps the person breathe underwater. 
- Oh, yeah, right. Professor Slughorn, I was wondering if I could ask you something.
- Sure, my boy, ask away - Slughorn encouraged while distractingly stacking some parchments.
- I was wondering… about the Amortentia potion.
Slughorn stopped his movements and lifted his eyes directly to James. 
- Oh, I see - He looked very amused, for some reason. - What were you wondering?
- Let's just say a friend of mine smells it and it reminds him of someone. It could smell like someone he just truly cares about, couldn't it? Like, it doesn't necessarily mean he's in love with the person that the scent reminds him of, right? 
Slughorn's lopsided smile grew bigger.
- I'm afraid, no, my boy. 
- What? - James felt like the classroom got three times smaller and hotter by the minute - But I smelled wood and polishing oil, and I'm not in love with a broom, am i? 
- Mr. Potter, Mr. Potter... - Slughorn chuckled. - I think we both know you didn't smell any of that. 
James felt his face getting warm and red. 
- But, if you did, that would mean you have a crush on a Quidditch player, let's just put it like that. Amortentia is a very strong love potion, and we can only smell things in it that romantically attract us very deeply. Those of us that aren't in love with anyone would smell something quite abstract. But if this friend of yours smelled amortentia and recognized the scent as someone's, then boy do I have news for him. Does this answer your question? 
      - Hm, yeah, sure. - James agreed. He felt like he was gonna fall down from the absurd speed at which his mind was racing. - Thank you, Professor.
- Anytime. - James began to leave, completely out of it. - Oh, and Mr. Potter?
- Yes? - James turned around, hopeful that Slughorn would start laughing and admit he was joking.
- Tell your friend I wish him the best of luck with this new, blossoming love. 
As James went out of the classroom and up into the common room, he deeply regretted not stealing that ampoule of gillyweed and swallowing it whole. That way, he could spend the rest of his days in the black lake with the merpeople. I bet amortentia wouldn't smell like anything down there, he thought. 
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For the rest of the week, James spent every waking hour trying to not think about what Slughorn said and what it meant, and he was succeeding. He kept himself busy with classes, Quidditch and even homework. He also did his absolute best to avoid everyone. He ate before anyone else and made sure he was far away from the great hall by the time he knew Y/N and the rest of the Marauders would go down to eat. In classes, he sat very distant and left early. He even pulled some pranks he didn't even feel like pulling on Filch to get detention in the nights he couldn't schedule Quidditch practices. He walked the halls in the invisibility cloak. Anything to keep his thoughts away from the big fire alarm going off inside his head. The only problem was that he missed Y/N in all of those moments. When he was doing homework, he missed the sound of Y/N's pen scratching the parchment next to him. While he ate, he missed the warmth of her body next to his, the satisfaction humming while she ate her pie . He missed laying down together after homework. He missed seeing her on the stands at practice. He even realized that the real fun in pranks wasn't the actual thing, but to see Y/N laughing hysterically afterwards. To put it quite simply, it felt like he was sleep walking all the time. He couldn’t go on avoiding her forever, but what he was gonna do, he had positively no idea.
Until Friday night.
It was late, and he had been in detention. Filch had made him write “I shall not turn the school’s trophies into pigeons” a hundred times, and his hand was hurting from all the repetitive writing. Normally, he would have complained, but this time, he was glad for the distraction. Enjoying detention, he thought bitterly while crossing the fat lady, I must be really going mad. His grouchy thoughts were interrupted by a sound. It sounded like.. crying. Or better yet, it sounded like someone was sobbing their heart out. He looked around the empty common room, but didn’t see anyone. He followed the sound to the sofa near the fireplace, where he and Y/N always rest after studying. Before you turned into a chicken. 
Y/N was laid on the sofa, her face buried in a cushion, her whole body shaking with her sobs. James was flooded with panic.
- Y/N, baby, what happened? - he cooed, his voice altered with anxiety. Y/N never cried, except when something very serious happened.
Y/N looked up like she thought she was seeing visions. 
- Jamie? - her voice was soft and shaky, her eyes were puffy and bloodshot red, like she had been crying for multiple hours. The hurt on her eyes broke James’ heart in a thousand pieces. 
His mind raced with possibilities: maybe someone was mean to her? Maybe someone died? Maybe she was hurt? The thought of her being in pain panicked him even further. He sat down and pushed her into his lap, laying her head on his shoulder. 
- Are you hurt, baby? Where does it hurt? Please, tell me. 
She cried violently on his shoulder. He inspected her legs for bruises, but she seemed well physically. 
- Y/N, tell me what’s wrong, I can’t stand to see you like this - he begged. -  Did someone hurt you?
The question seemed to trigger something on the girl, because suddenly she was on her feet, out of his arms. 
- Did someone hurt me? Seriously? - the tears streamed down her face, but her eyes glimmered with something new: anger.
James was confused, to say the least. He noticed that she was wearing one of his old sweaters, one that had vanished from his suitcase a few weeks ago. 
- Baby...- he begged some more.
She looked as if he had twisted a knife on her wound.
- Don’t you dare “baby” me, James. Not after ignoring me like the plague for a whole week! 
Oh. Oh. James had been so involved with his own confusion regarding the amortentia incident that he forgot almost completely that Y/N didn’t know what he was doing, or why. She was crying because he hurt her feelings. That was a lot worse than if she was crying because of another person: he could’ve gone out to kick said jerk’s ass. But if he hurt her, what was he supposed to do? Punch himself? 
-Y/N - he cooed, apologetically. - Y/N, I…
She showed him her palm, urging him to stop talking.
- You don’t have to explain wanting to be away from me. I’m sure you had your reasons. But you could have at least told me that you wanted some space from me, or something, because I’ve been miserable, and…
She thought he wanted space from her. The sorrowful shaky breath that escaped her lips mid-sentence threw him over the edge. 
- No, no, no… - he repeated while pushing her back into his lap - Oh my god, Y/N, no…
He caressed her hair while she sobbed violently on his shoulder. Her fists were closed tightly on his shirt, her tears dampened his neck, and he couldn’t recall the last time his heart ached this badly.
- Did I do something? Did I bother you? I’m so sorry.. - she whispered softly, like she was voicing what had been repeating in her head over and over again during the last few days. Her words were laced with anger, resentment, but, above all, hurt. He wanted to double over in pain.
- Listen - James lifted her chin up gently, forcing her to look into his eyes. - I’m the one who’s sorry. 
The tears kept coming, but she was listening.
- I shouldn’t have avoided you last week, and it’s not your fault, okay? It’s my fault. I’m the one who got scared. 
She looked confused.
- Scared? Of me? 
James would have to confess what happened at Slughorn’s class. He had given zero thought about his messy feelings, and even though unraveling them in front of Y/N scared him endlessly, he would have to do it, because he could never let her think that he wanted space from her. That he wanted anything but to be close to her, at all times, if he could. 
- Please - she asked, incisively, noticing his wariness. - Tell me.
He took a deep breath, feeling vulnerable, raw. As if he would undress himself fully in front of her.
- Remember Slughorn’s class about amortentia? - Y/N nodded, encouraging him to move on - He asked me to smell it, right, and I…
- You said it smelled like broom polisher. 
- Well, yes. But I lied. - he decided to avert his gaze to the ceiling, or else he would never talk. - It was caramel pie and vanilla cream. So, I smelled… you.
Silence. A moment, two. He couldn’t muster the courage to look at the girl. He felt her hand grazing his cheek, urging him to look at her.. 
- Jamie… - She looked wonderstruck, and his heart seemed like it wanted out of his chest - Really?
- Really.
James was sure he’d never seen something as beautiful as Y/N after his response. She was smiling the biggest, most shiny smile he had ever seen on her face. Her eyes shined like gemstones at him, so soft he wanted to cry.
- Do you want to know what I smelled? - she asked, soft as a feather. 
His heart somersaulted when she brought her face closer to the side of his neck. She whispered on his ear:
- I smelled… - She sniffed his neck once - Sandalwood - another sniff, followed by a chuckle  - Broomstick polisher…
She distanced herself, looking deep into his eyes.
- And homework parchment. And fireplace naps. And figgy pudding.
His heart was hammering against his ribcage. Y/N smelled him. On the amortentia potion. Him.
- Y/N - James whispered, all warm and fuzzy on the inside. - Really?
She didn’t answer, just grabbed his hand, the warmth and softness of her skin overwhelming his senses. Placed his hand on top of the point of her chest where her heart was. Through the fabric of his shirt, he could feel her heart beating faster than a hummingbird's. She never unglued her soft eyes from his. 
She likes him. Suddenly, all the thoughts he had been avoiding throughout the week came crashing down on him, like a dam.
James was an affectionate friend. He liked physical touch. But he never liked it half as much as he did with her. James was a thoughtful friend. He remembered things about his friends. But he remembered every single thing about her. He was a sensitive friend. He hated to see his friends suffering. But every time he saw her cry, it was like his heart was being crushed. James was an attentive friend. He loved spending time with friends. But when he was away from her, he couldn’t even function properly, like he was missing one half of him. Y/N is his best friend. But she is more, too. He loves her. But there’s something else: he is in love.  Amortentia never lies, after all.
When his hands tangled on Y/N’s hair, he smelled vanilla cream. When he kissed Y/N’s lips, he tasted caramel pie.
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