#nda english

[factsilike]

IT IS?

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous season 5 #miraculous season 5 premier #oh that's still so long awayh #this is Marinette's English voice actor for those who might not know btw #voice actors typically don't announce stuff like this unless it's officially confirmed #cause they're not allowed to #NDA's and stuff

[cbsesamplepapersblog]

#NDA - NA Chapterwise & Topicwise (2014-2023) Solved Papers General English for 2024 Exam

[oswaal-books-blog]

#NDA NA English Notes

[saintescuderia]

pancakes (pt. 4)

AKA - the story of how the naive australian rookie befriended the gym junkie F1 hospitality worker with the shoe collection - and inadvertently broke the grid's most treasured and unspoken rule: you don't go for y/n.

series masterlist here :)

A/N: apologies if this isn't 100%. i wrote this in between travelling to japan to attend suzuka. and then i got sick and couldn't even go lol.

P4 - L-sits and pull-ups

Charles Leclerc was known for being a nice guy. 

All the boys knew it. Lando experienced it when he saw how Charles was genuine with service staff whenever they went somewhere. Alex had experienced it in how Charles treated his family, leaving the F1 boys to spend time with Arthur whenever F2 joined the schedule - or when his mother visited the Paddock. Whereas George had just done a quick FaceTime to his mother on Mother’s Day, Charles had sent Pascale Leclerc a luxury basket with a surprise yacht trip and a massage.

“She was having a bad week.” The Monegasque reasoned when the boys found out.

Pierre’s PS5 was a result of Charles’ kindness; sourcing it for his upset friend who had missed the drop. Max's apartment was a result of Charles' kindness; helping him look for places in his home city for the Dutchman looking to buy property in the foreign Monaco. Max owed Charles a lot.

If not for his apartment, then for his F1 seat.

Mercedes were taking too long. Charles knew someone at Red Bull's junior team who could help him score an interview with Helmut Marko. And when you told Charles to stop being so nice to Max after all the drama that happened in F2, he shrugged and said it was the nice thing to do.

So you, a Torro Rosso trainer, helped Max Verstappen with an interview.

Because Charles was kind and he asked you.

And there was nothing you wouldn't do for Charles Leclerc.

Charles’ circles especially were all aware of you before he even joined the grid. It was just that sort of thing. Everyone knows everyone in motorsports. All those boys had seen you hanging around him at the karting races. Were it not for the stark difference in appearance, some might’ve thought you were family. Some did. Because for the longest time, that’s what you and Charles were. Family.  

You were always there for him. You celebrated him when he won. You supported him when he didn’t. You were always the first person he went to when he finished his race. Not his parents, not Jules, not anyone - you. 

He would come to you and you would quickly repeat some key English phrases for the interviewers who would surely come for him. You would pat him on the back and offer a warm smile - no matter the result - and offer some feedback based on what you saw. Performance was your speciality after all.

Then, after everything, you guys would finish with a homemade plate of your pancakes. No matter what. That’s how it went and how it would always go. 

Until 2018.

That had been a shit fucking show of a year. The rookie trio had been super confused when they finally arrived at F1 and saw you dressed as Hospitality. Charles gave no answer to Lando, Alex or George, no explanation to why he barely acknowledged you. It had been Pierre, the one who had been there through it all, who had quietly explained to them what had happened.

For a while, Alex had a hard time talking to Max when he found out. 

Charles hadn’t been surprised that the grid had found out. Nothing ever stayed a secret in this fucking place. NDAs were a joke. The whole agreement between him and Charlotte had been unearthed by some lower ranking Ferrari employee who didn’t know how to keep shut. Then again, Charles had expected it to come out eventually. Half the drivers were dating for PR anyway. 

Ferrari were already on his case about finding a new replacement, a pretty girlfriend for him to post boyfriend material pictures with so it can ‘increase his numbers’ with the female fanbase. Since Drive To Survive had done well to popularise the sport with a whole new demographic of F1 fans, teams were trying to capitalise on this as much as possible. Charles quietly suspected that this was part of the reason why Ferrari approached Carlos.

That and they probably wanted to get rid of Seb as quickly as possible after he found out what happened between to you and raged.

Though, Charles could understand Seb’s stance on it. He himself was conflicted about it, half the time unsure if he had made the right call to listen to Mattia. He had just been hurt and upset and his father had just passed away and the press had been vicious and Charles was just desperate to fulfil his dream of getting the coveted seat. 

Well, your joint dream. 

It had been the dream of the both of you. It was why you worked just as hard as he did. You had taught him English. He had taught you Italian. He networked and raced. You built cars and trained. He had helped you get a job in Torro Rosso. You had helped him get a seat in Alfa Romeo. 

Which, of course, led to him getting a spot in Scuderia Ferrari. 

Except by the time he was putting on the red, you two were no longer speaking to one another. Or, he was no longer speaking to you and you finally accepted he had cut you off. Gone were the days where he was searching the crowds for your face, rushing to you after the race finished.

Six years ago, he stopped eating pancakes. 

He knew you still made them, of course. And not because pancakes had been your everyday breakfast since you both turned fourteen and you started weightlifting and tracking your macros. He knew because he had seen some Alpine reserve driver eating them. 

His name was Oscar Jack Piastri. F2 Champion who also won F3 and the Renault Cup. He had more trophies than anyone else his age. For a moment, Charles thought it was because you back training drivers and were working with him.

Arthur later refuted this when Charles was grilling him that no, you weren't training Oscar Piastri. You actually hadn’t had much interaction with him when you would come down to F2. 

“Does this mean you’re talking to Y/N again?” Arthur had asked, assuming that’s why Charles was asking about you. “Can we be friends with her again?”

“No.” 

“You know maman still doesn’t believe what happened.”

Charles was known for being a nice guy, but he hung up on his brother. Charles really was one of the kinder drivers, but when Alex told them about the tweet, he had scoffed and sneered. When Oscar Piastri himself arrived in orange and held his hand out to greet the nice Monacoan driver, Charles glared and kept his arms crossed. Fuck this. He was not going to shake Oscar Piastri’s fucking hand. 

Even though, deep down, Charles knew there was no need for this. Arthur had confirmed that Oscar really was just a really talented driver - Y/N hadn’t trained him. This was no Max Verstappen situation.

Moreover, it wasn’t like Charles was in Daniel Ricciardo’s position.

If it weren't for the million cameras recording the first meeting of the two Australian drivers, Charles could only imagine Daniel's reaction to the rookie. It was one thing that Oscar essentially took Ricciardo's seat.

The other was that everyone had seen him with you.

Admittedly, Daniel had a reason to not want to shake Oscar’s hand, Charles could reason. Even if he still thought Ricciardo was an espèce de putain merde for what he did to you. 

Still, Charles couldn’t explain it. He wouldn’t explain it. He didn’t need to. The grid had so far understood it perfectly fine; you don’t go near Y/N. When Logan had joined the grid, Alex had the good sense to quietly fill him in on what had happened.

Why the fuck couldn’t Lando do the same?

Which brings us to right now: Bahrain 2023. A control unit failure meant a DNF for his first race of the season. When is this bad luck going to end? Charles retired his car, managing to make it past the McLaren garage on his way to the Ferrari red at the end of the Pit Lane.

It was just as well that his car was slowing to a stall. It meant that he managed to catch a glimpse of the McLaren garage - and the naive Australian rookie stood with a plate in his hands, very clearly eating some pancakes. 

Charles almost drove into a mechanic. 

-

It was 3am. $uicideboy$ was playing through your headphones. You weren’t wearing any shoes. 

This could only mean one thing: you were doing calisthenics. 

Your arms were shaking slighting as you bent your elbows and tucked your legs in before straightening them. Your grip on the parallette bars was slipping but you engaged your core tighter, hoping to keep balanced as you straightened out your legs and held the L-sit position. 

Oscar had DNF’ed on lap 13. The media was already going wild with questions about his decision to ditch Alpine for McLaren and whether or not this was just karma. McLaren looked horrible. Even his teammate had finished 17th. No matter your feelings on the young Brit, even you had to admit Lando Norris was a decent driver. 

During the course of pre-season preparations, wind had carried the gossip that Zak Brown had revealed the car to the team earlier this year with a sub-par level of enthusiasm. Whilst it wasn’t uncommon for cars to arrive at Sakhir with plans for future upgrades… you hadn’t thought it would be this bad. For McLaren. At this rate, the MCL60 was looking like a back of the field car. 

What’s more the team was struggling. One only needed to look at their qualifying session to see how bad it had been. Engineers giving mixed reports. Oscar’s radio not working and getting out in Q1. Lando getting mixed tyres and getting out in Q2. A whole ass clusterfuck, in your opinion.

And Daniel had been there, smiling smug whenever the camera decided to pan to the Red Bull garage.

The song changed in your headphones. Your arm strained. You dropped, fell forward. Cue the stream of expletives that would’ve made even Guenther blush.

You knew that going to the gym after the race had finished up - a night race that - was going to mess up your sleep schedule. However, you were too wired after everything to go to sleep. You needed the dopamine rush. There was too much going on for you to process any other way.

Because, firstly, you needed to get rid of the image of Daniel’s smug smirk that was currently etched into your brain.

You had skipped your post-dinner protein shake and had your coffees black today. You had started your session with a series of HIIT sprints on the treadmill before you did as many pull ups as your body would allow. It had been quite some time since you had done calisthenics training so religiously but you were already internally creating a new program for yourself. 

That is, you were already mentally preparing for the cut you had decided to undertake the moment Daniel Ricciardo had walked into the gym after finding out he'd lost his seat. And blame you for it.

You pushed yourself up off the ground and came to your parallette bars again. You grabbed each one and then lifted yourself up again. You closed your eyes and willed your brain to focus purely on the lactic acid running through your body. 

Because, secondly, you were stressing more than you should about Charles’ DNF.

You had watched the testing sessions carefully. You always did. Always keeping an eye out on the red car with the black T cam. Charles hadn’t done too bad but, obviously, it was hard to give a genuine judge. Everyone always sandbagged.

For example, Red Bull didn’t look as strong in testing, but then came out on race day and finished as they did. You could be happy for Max, especially since Jos was in attendance and knew just what that meant… but you also knew how it would look for Ferrari that Carlos had finished fourth and Charles hadn’t even finished the race. 

The car did look strong through. That was evident by how Ferrari had done in qualifying. Charles had out qualified Carlos, a narrow Ferrari 3-4 behind a Red Bull 1-2. However, your former childhood best friend had a bad luck streak unlike anything you had ever witnessed. 

And even though the word ‘former’ was in the equation, you never liked seeing Charles like this. Even if he was likely the reason no one in the grid spoke to you anymore.

Well, until now.

Because, thirdly, Oscar Piastri threw a spanner in the works.

You knew how it was going to look. You knew. It was one thing for you to interact this closely with a driver. It was another thing entirely for you to unofficially train him. However, as Zak Brown had found out, there was no way you could be allowed to join McLaren as a performance trainer for Oscar.

When the young driver had filled you in about his meetings with Zak Brown and his particular stipulation, you called him an idiot and told him to sign. When Oscar filled you in about his new plan to be able to work alongside you through all the loopholes his father's lawyer found, you called him an idiot and told him it wasn't worth it.

"I beg to differ. If you don't want to, that's fine. But not because of whatever drama happened."

He knew the drama. It was impossible that a team principle had looked into having you as his driver 's trainer and not found out what had happened. It was also impossible that Oscar Piastri, former Prema driver - as in, former Arthur Leclerc teammate - and current teammate to loose tongue Lando, didn't know about you and Charles.

You had honestly just waited for the moment he would bring it up. He never did.

Because Oscar, you were coming to learn, was far more level-headed and mature than most the drivers on this grid. And he was so young. You didn't want to see anyone fuck that up. You really, really didn't.

Still, you said no.

Then a week later you saw that fucking tractor make him DNF.

You leaned forward and brought yourself down into a handstand, counting to ten before bending your elbows and lowering yourself slowly. You lifted yourself up and then tucked your legs once more. Your whole body was shaking more and more know but and you fought to breathe through it. You finally lowered yourself and let out a deep huff. Whilst you weren't pleased with how out of practice you were, you were a little pleased that you finally managed to lower yourself - instead of falling down.

You looked ahead at the mirrors and then saw a familiar face of the driver walking into the gym. Oscar dropped his gym bag near yours and went straight to the treadmill to warm up. You kept your eyes on him as you held yourself up on the parallettes and watched the young driver fiddle with his phone and earphones before starting a light jog.

You took a moment before you pulled yourself up and went over to him. Oscar met your eyes as he continued to jog. He pulled down earphone but you said nothing as you pressed the button to increase the speed. Oscar raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"45 seconds on. 15 seconds off. 20 repetitions." You said. Oscar nodded and put his earphone back in. You shook your head. He frowned and pulled them down.

"You don't drive with music so don't play anything." You said. "Feeling something in your ear needs to become second nature."

He nodded and you went to his phone and pressed pause. Then you made a voice when you noticed that Ed Sheeran was playing.

"Don't judge me." Oscar said.

"I am. You're working out to fucking Ed Sheeran." You responded with a scrunched nose. Oscar shook his head, smiling slightly, but said nothing else. In the silence, you observed his form and counted his breaths. You noticed slight irregularity with his inhale and exhales and immediately pulled him up on it.

And so you spent the rest of the night training Oscar Piastri.

By the time you both finished, and he gave you a tired and sweaty high five, the clock read five thirteen in the morning.

-

taglist: @eugene-emt-roe @spookystitchery @vicurious28 @taytaylala12 @c-losur3 @hiireadstuff @samantha-chicago @fionaschicken @casperlikej @bookstore-of-dreams @itsjustkhaos @sam-is-lost @laneyspaulding19

#saintescuderia #f1 fandom #f1 fic #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #formula 1 #charles leclerc #max verstappen #lewis hamilton #japanese gp 2024 #carlos sainz #carlos sainz jr #oscar piastri #lando norris #daniel ricciardo #liam lawson #carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz x you #carlos sainz x y/n #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #carlos sainz fic #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #carlos sainz imagine #carlos sainz fanfic #daniel ricciardo fic #daniel ricciardo x reader

[staytinyville]

Kiss a Girl

↣ Summary: When Bang Chan is finally over a break up, he comes across someone that seemed to make things feel like he was a high schooler again.

↣ Characters/Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

↣ Genre: fluff

↣ AU/Trope info: idol!au, webtoon artist!reader, foreign!reader, post break-up, song inspired fic

↣ Word Count: 2.9k

↣ Warnings: none

↣ A/N: I am from Texas where country songs are just a must. I grew up on like 2000s country songs and will always go back to them lol. But I heard Keith Urban while I was in the store the other day and was like. This is giving Bang Chan. Could it be because they are both Australian? Quite possibly. But TBH I do wanna hear Bang Chan sing one of Keith Urban’s songs. 

Staytinyville’s Permanent Taglist

↣ Affiliates: @cultofdionysusnet , @k-labels , @k-vanity

↣ Special Thanks: Thank you @saradika-graphics for the amazing banners! Please go check her out if you have specific banners in mind. She is great!

You have been in Korea for the past month doing some things for a work project you would never have thought to be possible. You were just a simple college kid a couple years ago who enjoyed making comics about a couple OC you created years ago. When the story became a hit around the world it garnered a lot of attention. 

Especially TV companies that were asking you if they could create your story into a series. 

You, being someone who was studying in the entertainment industry, agreed they could use it so long as you were allowed to work on the project with them. Your credits in college really help to put them along for the ride. Now you were going to be living in Korea for a bit until production finished and the whole series came out on the TV. 

In the past month, you had made some good friends with the people you worked with. There were A-list actors who enjoyed your company and sometimes would invite you out to go drinking with them. While you did enjoy going with them, you found yourself attached to your translator a lot more compared to them. 

It was easy to find people who spoke English, especially in the area you were working in. But the way your translator had to stick closer to you than others, you both found yourselves becoming close friends. And for them, as someone who worked closely in an industry that called for a lot of high ends, they were the ones who often took you out to fancy places where normal people would only wait years to get reservations. 

“This is a very classy spot.” You told your friend as you looked around the club. 

“It's a very high end club.” Your friend/translator told you. “Like only a select few people can get in.”

You laughed out loud. “How did you pull it off then?” You asked. 

“Did you forget where it is that we work at?” They laughed. “Of course we are going to get the best stuff. Just gotta be careful because they will make us sign NDA.” They deadpanned at the end. 

You laughed even louder. You glanced around for a moment to find where the bar was, easily spotting it along with a crowd. Just as you were about to head in that direction, you froze for a moment just as someone passed in front of you.

You let out a polite excuse me, bowing your head just a bit. The person looked at you oddly for a moment before giving you a small smile and telling you it was alright. When the man began to walk away, you tried to keep a neutral face, but were secretly panicking inside over you had just ran into. 

“Bro!” You gasped quietly, smacking your friend’s arm. “Did I just see Yugyeom? Like the idol?” You gushed. 

“Probably.” They looked over your shoulders, frowning as they nodded. “This is a popular club for idols because it's so exclusive.”

“Why would you bring me here?” You looked at them wide eyed, feeling like you were going to make a fool of yourself and risk a lot of things. 

“This is where a lot of people in the entertainment industry come when they want to experience normal things. Like a club.” They explained to you. “This place is also really popular with the younger generations. You’ll probably come across a couple of people winding down from promotions and stuff.”

You did in fact see a couple of more idols. Your friend was the one who explained to you who was in attendance at the club for the ones you weren’t able to pick out right away. There was a good amount of older people as well, at least at the bar. 

Once you got a drink in, you dragged your friend out to dance, laughing as songs you weren’t able to make out the words to blasted on the speakers. WIth how much your smile seemed to stretch across your face, other people began to notice you. Many of them were much to shy or reserved to go out and dance along with you but there were a few who wanted to feel your excitable energy. 

“Hello.” A girl smiled while talking in English, coming into your closer circle. 

“Hi.” You beamed, holding your hands out to grab onto hers. “Come dance!” You swung her arms around as you tried your best to not look like a fool. 

But it seemed the more others drank and the night went on, you didn’t have to worry much about that. Things would never change once people had alcohol in their systems to make them let loose just a bit. 

With you dancing along with the girl, a lot more came to join your side as your contagious positive attitude had an effect on others around you. 

“Like this.” The girl laughed, trying to copy your silly jumps.

“Yes!” You laughed, trying to get others to dance as well. 

Just as a large crowd was beginning to form on the dance floor, there were others going around and enjoying their time with friends. There was an idol who had just arrived after finally getting out of his post-break-up slump. He was ready to get back out there and mingle with new people after being in a mental blockage when it came to friends. 

His bandmates had gotten him to agree to going out with his closer friends that weren’t any of them. They had other things to do, which did make him a bit upset but as they had told him, he had a life outside of them as well. 

“Chan!” Yugyeom hugged the man’s side. “Look at you! Finally out.” He said, showing him towards where the others of the group were. 

“I don't know.” Chan nodded to himself. “I'm ready to be out.” He said. 

“For once and it's not in the studio.” Another one of their friends teased, lightly punching Chan in the arm. 

The Australian laughed, looking around the club he had not been to in a while. He took in the large crowd that was going on around the dance floor. 

“There's a foreigner?” He furrowed his eyebrows, turning to the others. 

“She's cute!” A friend called out. “Been dancing and getting others to join. Seems social.” He added. 

“I'm going to go ask her to dance.” Yugyeom called out, going to join the crowd. 

Once others saw the boy coming down to stand next to the floor, everyone else seemed to join as well, having you get sucked into the crowd that was chanting as songs continued. Yugyeom came up to you giving you a smile as he caught your attention. 

“Dance?” He asked you.

“Oh, sure!?” You nodded your head, moving to turn and face him as his song started to play. You laughed watching as he tried to explain to you the dance moves that came along with it. 

You kept laughing, cheeks hurting from the fun you were having. You hadn’t really gotten the chance to experience something like this back home. You have been to bars but the energy isn’t the same as a club that was meant to pump people full of adrenaline. You enjoyed the atmosphere, it helped your need to be social. 

“Yes.” Yugyeom gushed in English that had an accent. “Like that. Good!” He gave you thumbs up to show that you were correct. 

You laughed at his way of trying to speak to you. You waved him off, telling him thank you in Korean which made him laugh even more. He tried to have a conversation with you, but you laughed most of it and tried to explain to him he needed to speak slowly in order for you to understand just a bit more. 

When a new song came on, you hadn’t noticed someone else coming up to your side. All you did was turn to face the DJ stand as you began to sing to Stray Kids TOPLINE. You laughed as those around you began to do the same, in your own world. You turned to the person next to you, shouting out lyrics as you both gave off the same energy. 

You started singing louder when you noticed it had been Bang Chan singing along with you. The chorus came around and you fully turned to give him your attention, trying to keep up. Bang Chan felt something in his chest as he danced with you to his own song. It wasn’t that he was proud, it was just that he seemed to be content with how you didn’t seem phased with who he was. 

When the song came to an end, you clapped for Bang Chan, giving him a dazzling smile that made him turn his lips up. 

“You know Stray Kids!?” He asked you, shouting over the speakers. 

“No, who are they!?” You shouted back, face looking serious. 

You almost laughed at how Bang Chan’s eyes went wide and he looked at a loss for words. “I'm just kidding. It's really nice to meet you.” You gushed, bowing your head.

“Oh, you don't need to bow.” Chan awkwardly giggled. “It's okay.”

“I got used to it here!” You told him, coming to stand up straight. 

“Would you like to sit with me?” He asked you after a moment.

Your eyebrows raised, eyes wide as you took in his question. Looking just around him, you noticed your friend quickly nodding their heads, telling you to accept the offer. 

“Am I allowed to?” You laughed.

He thought about it for a moment, looking over at his group of friends. “Ah, if you don't tell anyone.” Chan chuckled. 

“Sounds like a risk.” You hummed. “I'll take it.” The smile you had made Chan a bit dizzy.

It had been so long since he had seen someone look at him that way. He had a ton of people look at him that way actually, but never to someone who made it seem like they just wanted to be friends. Chan had no problems with hookups, but it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t over him because they knew him. 

You did know him–sure–but you were taking into account who he was which made you a bit cautious. While it was normal for others to be that way, you weren’t scared of talking to him like you had been friends for years. 

When he showed you where his friend group were, you laughed a little at how they seemed to begin hollering when Chan brought you over. 

“Don't listen to them.” He shook his head. 

“Even if I did, I don't think I'd understand much.” You told him honestly. 

“Are you visiting then?” Chan asked, allowing you to sit down first before he sat in front of you. 

The music was much quieter in the area, but you figured it had to do with the fact that the table was sectioned off in the VIP. They had their own bar as well, classy stuff. 

“It's for work. I'm going to be here for a few months.” You answered him. “I did study what I could but I still need people to talk slowly.” You explained. 

“Ah, I see. I see. Lucky you, I speak English.” He laughed. 

“Even if you didn't, I'd try my best.” You nodded your head. “Miss the chance to speak with Bang Chan? Mega producer who’s part of 3RACHA?” You gushed, making his face turn red. 

“I wouldn't say mega.” Chan shrugged, getting bashful. 

“I mean I don't know.” You pursed your lips in thought. “The Scoville scale is out here close to blowing up.” You laughed. 

Chan bursted out laughing, cheeks hurting from how much he was stretching them. “You're cool.” He told you. 

“Why thank you!” You waved him off. “I pride myself on being cool.” You said.

“Han would like you.”

“Just going to drop bandmates on me as if I'm not freaking out on the inside.” You suddenly said, making him laugh. 

“You and I both.” Chan answered truthfully. 

“No! Please don't! It's all cool!” Your eyes went wide hearing his confession.

You both spent a good hour sitting at the table laughing about stories that would come up or just things about the other’s life. Chan hadn’t noticed when his friends would get up to get more drinks or when they would go out to dance. And they didn’t want to disrupt you two either, eyeing each other with smirking as they teased the poor boy behind his back. 

Before you knew it, you were telling your friend that you would be heading back to your temporary home with Chan as company. They gave Chan a thankful smile, bowing down in respect for someone of higher standard. But they told you to be careful, having gotten used to you always telling others that whenever they would leave. 

You found yourself outside some plaza eating Tteokbokki from a small restaurant outside on the sidewalk. The night was nice and cool, leaving you in a refreshed feeling after having danced in the hot club. Chan was laughing at you struggling to get the rice cake on your chopsticks. 

“Why would you eat it like that!?” He laughed, covering his mouth.

“I can't pick it up with the chopsticks!” You exclaimed, stabbing the rice cake treat with both chopsticks so it looked like you were at least eating them correctly. You managed to put it in your mouth before looking up at Chan who was pursing his lips. 

“Don't look at me like that!” You gushed, smile on your face. 

“It's like this.” He moved closer to you, trying to get you to hold the chopsticks correctly. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t know how to use them, it was just that trying to pick up slippery food proved to be harder than you cared to admit. 

“I'm trying!” You exclaimed, moving closer to him as he kept trying to put some food on your chopsticks. 

As you were moving to place it in your mouth, the slippery cake fell from your utensils and onto the floor. “My Tteokbokki!” You cried out.

“Ok fine. Keep stabbing it.” Chan laughed, giving up.

Next thing you knew the night had come to an end and Chan had walked you to the building you were staying at. He had his hands in his pockets, looking up at the tall apartment building before giving you a kind smile. 

“This is me.” You told him. “I had a great time.” You confessed. 

“Me too.” Chan smiled softly. “Thank you for coming out with me.” He added. 

You laughed as your face flushed red. “Of course. Thank you for inviting.” You told him. 

“Ah. I guess I'll see you.” Chan nodded his head, shoulders dropping for just a moment. 

“Yeah.” You nodded your head, soft smile on your face. “I had a really great time. I mean it—thank you for taking me out. Only could ever dream of something like that.” You told him honestly. 

“Yeah.” Chan thought about something for a moment, which made you stop from going in completely. “Ah, is it okay if I ask for your number?” He asked you.

“I mean for me it is but is it for you?” You joked once more. 

“Sounds like a risk. I'll take it.” He mocked you from earlier.  

“You know though, I really don't want to make you sign an NDA.” He quickly added after you both traded numbers. 

“To kiss and tell is just not my style.” You sang off, grinning from ear to ear. 

Chan laughed for a moment, understanding your joke. “But the night is young and it's been a while.” He played along. 

“Ah, you know it! Wasn't expecting you to honestly.” You told him.

“I'm a music producer—I listen to a lot of things. Besides, it's kinda relatable.” He smiled a little, looking down as he took in a calming breath. 

You weren’t going to ask about it, it wasn’t your place. You knew what the song was about–it was one you had heard since you were a little kid. Besides, Chan was an idol who had secrets to keep from the public. That was one of the first things you had to get used to when moving to Korea and working in the entertainment industry. 

“Then I'm happy to be that girl you wanna kiss.” You joked, thinking about the rest of the song.

“I wouldn't go that far.” He laughed, shaking his head. 

You gasped, eyes going wide at the scene you had just made. “Making me sound like a fool then. Ah, forget about it.” You said in a rush, face red from actual embarrassment this time. 

“No, I don't think I will.” Chan hummed, stepping closer to you. 

You watched him step closer, feeling your heart stop for just a moment as he placed his lips against your cheek. “Goodnight, (Y/N).” He told you softly.

“Goodnight Chan.” You smiled. 

You waved him off, turning around when a cold breeze blew past you. He continued on his journey towards his car parked in the front of the building. 

“I wanna kiss a girl. I wanna hold her right. Maybe make a little magic under the moonlight.” You sang to yourself, nodding your head along to the nonexistent beat you were playing in your head. 

“Don't wanna go too far just to take it slow. But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol world. I wanna kiss a girl.” Chan quietly sang to himself as he walked home. 

Permanent Taglist: @hecateslittlewitchling , @ldysmfrst , @rln-byg , @vampcharxter , @angieskzzzz , @puppyminnnie , @marvel-potter-1d-korea , @smilingtokki

#stray kids #skz #bang chan skz #bang chan #bang chan imagines #bang chan fluff #bang chan x reader #stray kids imagines #stray kids fluff #stray kids x reader #stray kids scenarios #kpop #kpop fanfic #skz imagines #skz x reader #skz fluff #bang chan stray kids #stray kids bang chan #bang chan fanfic #cultofdionysusnet #k labels #kvanity

[moiraimyths]

Howdy, fateful friends! Are you an artist or illustrator with an interest in visual novels?

If so: Moirai Myths, creators of the visual novel The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe), are in need of guest artists! More specifically, we're looking for up to two artists to help us with the content graphics ("CGs") for Maeve and Shae's upcoming routes. All of the details will be listed on our application form (linked below), but here is the gist:

This is paid work with 20-30 business day deadlines per piece!

Complicated revisions in the post-sketch phase are compensated!

You will be prioritized for future guest artist opportunities!

You will be featured/credited on Moirai Myths' website and in the game itself!

Sound interesting? If so, apply here:

Click under the cut for some F&Q 👇

Who are you? (I'm new here!)

Hi! We're Moirai Myths: a small, newish visual novel company based out of Canada. We're making a game inspired by mostly Irish mythology, which was funded on Kickstarter in 2023! Our game's got fairy politics, a diverse cast, a Gaeilge-to-English translation tool, and routes that can be played either romantically or platonically! Also horses. An ungodly amount of horses, really.

If that odd pitch sounded intriguing, perhaps you'd like to play our demo! It's free on Steam & Itch.io.

Why are you looking for guest artists?

When we originally launched our Kickstarter, the plan was to have our three in-house artists collaborate on the CGs in the same way our header image was. However, we quickly realized that adding CGs, even if they're done collaboratively, onto the existing duties of our artists was a tall order. Add to that the departure of our original sprite artist (who has since been replaced by our graphic designer), and we determined that having our in-house team work on CGs was simply not possible if we still wanted our first release to happen in 2024. So, rather than omitting CGs or adding them in at a later time, we came up with the idea of hiring guest artists. Overall this means our CGs will be a bit more varied in terms of art style, but we like to think of this as a positive! NDM's development will take a number of years to complete in full, so we hope our CGs will allow us to feature a lot of artists either within the VN/indie dev community already, or artists who aspire to work in gaming and are looking for entry positions.

How long will applications remain open for?

This application will be open until Sunday, March 24 at midnight (EST)! If we intend to extend past that deadline, we'll make an announcement about it.

I can't apply right now. Will you look for more CG guest artists in the future?

Definitely! As mentioned, NDM will take a while to develop in full, so this is by no means your only opportunity to apply. That being said, we suspect we're going to end up shortlisting a number of artists over the course of this application period, and we intend to keep a list of all the runners-up. So, even if you won't be able to participate this time, it might be a good idea to apply anyway just to remain in our contacts! Either way, this will not be the last time we have apps.

Will you be looking for guest artists outside of CGs?

Maybe! We already have two guest artists (Nefukurou and Madi Funk) working on sprites and CGs respectively, so it's always possible that we'll have other artistic needs later down the line. Likewise, we may also reach out to past guest artists for future work with us, whether it's on this game or something else!

You say we need to sign an NDA. What does that entail?

The non-disclosure agreement essentially means you will be legally unable to publicly disclose any confidential information you become privy to as a result of working with us. This would include personal information about the developers, as well as spoilers from the game itself. In addition do this, you will be expected to sign over the IP and copyright of any artworks you produce for us.

Can I still use my artworks in portfolios, even if I don't own the copyright?

Yes! We'd only ask, if your portfolio is a website, that you wait to do so until after your art has been made public by us, either on our social media or via the publication of the game. Our first release is anticipated to happen later this year, most likely mid-autumn.

How do you guys feel about AI? Do you intend to use it, or would you ever train an AI off of the artworks whose copyright you own?

No.

Making a game is expensive and time-consuming, but AI is no replacement for human artistry. We fundamentally believe that any advancements in AI should be used for the purpose of giving people more time to make art, not take away opportunities for it. Moirai Myths will never, ever use AI or train an AI off your work.

***

If you've got any more questions for us that we didn't think to include here, feel free to send us an ask!

#the good people #na daoine maithe #ndm #visual novel #interactive fiction #otome #english otome #amare #amare game #visual story #visual storytelling #romance game #otome romance #romance visual novel #dating game #dating sim #moirai myths

[andysorbit]

Love Talk concept ft. Jisung????

I feel like Jisung isn't the type to necessarily hook up with a fan after a show but he would definitely have a "fuck it' moment after seeing you and in broken English ask you if you wanna hang out and you kinda just go along with it even though you don't know how tf you're supposed to hang out with someone who doesn't speak the same language as you.

so you watch a movie and you share snacks and it's really nice but then after the movie, you're both sort of just hanging onto the night because it's still early and you tell you him you like his company and he smiles because he feels the same way and you both promise to keep in touch and learn each other's respected language

so you don't expect too much from him and when you get back to his hotel room, you both end up using a translator app to communicate and he offers you snacks and room service which turns into you both watching a movie and you're not disappointed that he's not making any moves because you don't do hook ups and yes, you signed an NDA but that's because his managers were very "Yeah sure and I'm Pavarotti" and made you sign one anyway so you did

he gets brave for a moment, "I can kiss you? I uh... You're pretty. Sorry," he mumbles and you lean in to kiss him and suddenly you're both kissing each other frantically and he's mumbling in Korean and you whine "I don't know what you're saying"

"where can I touch you?" he asks as his hand eagerly cup you face. you nod and he playfully licks into your mouth.

"anywhere"

"what?"

"anywhere"

"here?" he asks as his hands glide down to softly grope your tits. you nod and he removes your shirt then your bra.

"here too?" he whispers, fingers soft teasing your nipples. you gasp and press kisses to his face and neck, "yeah"

"how about here?" he hums as he reaches down to cup your pussy.

---

this was awful and poorly written but I had to get it out

#neoculturecollectives #nct smut #kpop smut #nct hard hours #nct hard thoughts #nct drabbles #nct dream smut #jisung smut #jisung park smut #park jisung smut #nct x black!reader #nct dream hard hours #jisung

[blockgamepirate]

Update from the French Union investigating the QSMP case and a call for more testimonies

English:

QSMP – LET'S STRIKE BACK AGAINST ABUSIVE WORKING CONDITIONS

We made a few days ago a call for testimonies about working conditions at Quackity Studios, the company that hosts and manages the QSMP server.

Unfortunately, the first feedbacks we have received confirm several issues:

Illegal conditions (minimum wage not respected, legal rest time, burnouts, etc.),

Distressing working conditions (night shifts, work regularly assigned on an emergency basis, complete isolation of workers with no communication allowed, etc.),

Toxic management (erratic communication, threats and pressure, abusive sanctions, etc.),

An almost non-existent legal framework (no work contract, no staff representatives, absurd NDA, etc.).

There is confusion between paid and « volunteer » workers. This blur is intentionally kept up by the company, as shown by the lack of any clear documentation or public communication regarding the status of these « volunteers ». In such a context, it seems hard to consider all Quackity Studio workers to be anything but regular employees, with all the rights conferred by the status of salaried worker. After a full server lockout while an internal investigation about the accusations took place, the company’s representatives announced a restart, sidelining the « volunteer » workers (discontinuing the activities involved). According to French law, such job cuts are regarded as unlawful dismissals.

Some workers have been left aside for more than 10 days, with no clear insight on their possible future responsibilities. This sidelining can be considered to be moral harassment. Quackity claims to have solved the problem by firing the manager who drafted the initial company statement, that he declares not to approve, but the others responsibles of these inexcusable work conditions are still in place.

These are sufficient grounds to consider legal actions. To avoid it, we invite Quackity to be proactive by opening a social dialogue with all their workers. A negotiated outcome remains possible: it will need to address monetary demands concerning work already performed and that to come, as well as claims to improve working conditions.

All victims and witnesses of this situation are still welcome to contact us (preferably in French or English) at:

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

We guarantee total confidentiality.

However, note that as a French union, we will not be able to legally support workers outside France. We can help victims to know and contact each others, and help organize testimonials when needed.

(French and Spanish below)

French:

QSMP – LUTTONS CONTRE LES CONDITIONS DE TRAVAIL ABUSIVES

Nous avons lancé il y a quelques jours un appel à témoignages concernant les conditions de travail à Quackity Studios, l’entreprise derrière le serveur QSMP.

Les premiers échanges reçus confirment malheureusement un certain nombre de problèmes:

des conditions illégales (salaire minimal et  temps de repos legal  non respectés,  épuisement professionnel, etc.) ;

des conditions de travail dégradées (travail de nuit, missions régulièrement assignées en urgence, isolement total des travailleur·euses en leur interdisant de communiquer, etc.) ;

un management pathogène (communications erratiques, menaces et pressions, sanctions abusives, etc.) ;

un encadrement juridique quasi inexistant (absence de contrat de travail, absence de représentation du personnel, accord de confidentialité aberrant, etc.).

Un confusion existe entre les travailleur·euses salarié·es et les travailleur·euses « bénévoles ». Ce flou est volontairement maintenu par l’entreprise, en atteste notamment l’absence de documentation ou de communication claires encadrant le statut des « bénévoles ».

Dans ce cadre, il nous semble compliqué de considérer l’ensemble des travailleur·euses de Quackity Studios comme autre chose que des salarié·es, avec les droits accordés par le statut de salarié·e.

Après un arrêt total du serveur le temps d’une enquête interne sur les faits dénoncés, les représentants de la direction ont annoncé le redémarrer en laissant de côté les travailleur·euses « bénévoles » (arrêtant une partie des activités en jeu). Dans le cadre de la loi française, ces suppressions de postes sont considérées comme des licenciements abusifs.

Certain·es travailleur·euses sont laissé·es sur la touche depuis plus de 10 jours, sans aucune visibilité sur leur éventuel rôle futur. Cette placardisation s’apparente à du harcèlement moral.

Quackity prétend avoir réglé le problème en excluant la personne qui aurait rédigé le premier communiqué qu’il a dit ne pas approuver, mais les autres responsables de ces conditions de travail inexcusables sont maintenus en poste.

Ces éléments sont suffisants pour envisager des actions en justice. Pour l’éviter, nous appelons la direction de Quackity Studios à être proactive en ouvrant le dialogue social avec l’ensemble de ses travailleur·euses. Une issue par le haut reste possible : elle devra prendre en compte à la fois les revendications financières sur le travail déjà réalisé et celui à venir, ainsi que la mise en place de meilleures conditions de travail.

Nous appelons toujours les personnes victimes ou témoins de ce type d’abus à nous contacter à l’adresse suivante (de préférence en français ou en anglais) :

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

Nous garantissons une confidentialité totale.

En tant que syndicat français, nous ne serons malheureusement pas en mesure d’aider légalement les personnes qui ont travaillé depuis un autre pays. Nous pouvons tout de même aider les victimes à se connaître et à entrer en contact, et aider à la rédaction de témoignages.

Spanish:

QSMP-LUCHAMOS EN CONTRA DE LAS CONDICIONES DE TRABAJO ABUSIVAS

Hace algunos días lanzamos un llamado a declarar sobre las condiciones de trabajo en Quackity Studios, empresa que maneja el Servidor QSMP. 

Las primeras informaciones recibidas confirman desafortunadamente, varios problemas:

Condiciones ilegales de trabajo (salario mínimo y tiempo de descanso legal no respetado, agotamiento profesional, etc.);

condiciones de trabajo degradadas (trabajo nocturno, tareas asignadas regularmente con urgencia, aislamiento total de las trabajadoras o los trabajadores, impidiéndoles comunicarse entre sí);

una gestión dañina o toxica (comunicación errática, amenazas y presión, sanciones abusivas, etc.);

Marco jurídico casi inexistente (ausencia, de contrato de trabajo y de representantes del personal, acuerdos de confidencialidad abusivo e incoherente).

Una confusión existe entre los trabajadores de la empresa y los trabajadores “voluntarios”. Esa ambigüedad está mantenida por la empresa intencionalmente, lo confirma, la ausencia de documentos o comunicaciones claras enmarcando el estatus de “voluntarios”.

En este marco, es complejo considerar este conjunto de trabajadores de Quackity Studio diferentemente de unos trabajadores con derechos en acuerdo con el estatus de asalariado.

Después de un cese completo del servidor, el tiempo de realizar, por parte de la empresa, una encuesta sobre los hechos denunciados. La dirección y sus representantes anunciaron volver a reanudar el sistema dejando de lado los trabajadores “Voluntarios” (parando una parte de las actividades en curso).

En el marco de la ley francesa, estas suspensiones de puestos están consideradas como despidos indirectos y abusivos.

Algunos trabajadores fueron dejados en el banquillo desde más de 10 días sin ninguna visibilidad sobre sus funciones futuras. Esa manera de dejar trabajadores al margen se considera como acoso moral.

Quackity pretende resolver el problema excluyendo a la persona que consideraba ser el autor del primer comunicado sin admitir dicho panfleto. Al contrario, los otros responsables de esas condiciones de trabajo injustificables se mantuvieron en sus puestos.

Los elementos son suficientes para emprender acciones legales. Si la dirección de Quackity Studio quiere evitar dichas acciones legales y ser proactiva, los llamamos a que abran el dialogo social con todos los trabajadores.

Continuamos llamando a las personas, víctimas o testigos de estos casos de abusos planteados a contactarnos por medio de la dirección siguiente (preferiblemente en francés o inglés, pero también podemos traducir):

qsmp @ solidairesinformatique org

Garantizamos por completo la confidencialidad.

Como Sindicato Frances, nosotros no podemos legalmente, desafortunadamente, ayudar a los trabajadores de otros países. Sin embargo, podemos asistir a que las víctimas se junten a fin de unirse, conocerse e intercambiar, y en tal caso les podríamos suministrar o facilitar ayuda en la redacción de testimonios y en el desarrollo de su queja.

#qsmp #qsmp discourse #qsmp admin situation #sorry for the repost: the original wasn't showing in the tags

[dnalt-d2]

(Please note: I am only going to speak about things that are verifiable, either by Lea, who we know for a fact at this point was an admin, or by our own observations, like hearing what's happening on certain streams, or other verifiable announcements. I don't want to talk too much on things outside of that because it could technically be speculation, and I don't want to mislead anyone. I will do my best to state what is and isn't speculation in order to keep confusion to a minimum. I'm also going to remain as impartial as possible, and only provide facts as they've been presented to us. This is basically just meant to be to organize some of the things going on into one post so that people who aren't on Twitter can get a good idea of what's going on instead of just hearing it from people who keep vaguely doom-posting)

So as has been the case for the last couple weeks, the Admin Situation continues to unfold. In a manner of speaking, at least

Since Quackity made his initial statements, we haven't gotten any sort of concrete news from him, or even an acknowledgement that things are still developing. Like I've said in my previous post, I haven't been expecting any concrete updates, since that sort of thing would most likely be sensitive information that he legally can't share. However, I do find it disheartening that he has continued moving forward without so much as acknowledging the situation

I do understand that a lot of current plans have been in the works for a while now, and couldn't be pushed back that far without detrimentally affecting other people, including the new streamers who likely carved out large chunks of their schedule out specifically for QSMP. So keeping the server closed for too long could have easily had negative effects on many people, including the Admins. But I want to say that I just don't know everything going on behind the scenes, and this isn't fact. It's just what I understand to be happening

And while we still haven't gotten any official statements regarding the Admins since Quackity's statement, things have still been happening, most of which we are probably never going to hear about. Some of which though, we are hearing, and it's not sounding that great, unfortunately

Do keep in mind however, that the following is just what we're hearing about, and because of the NDAs in place, we likely CAN'T hear about anything else, including any potential positive changes that might be taking place. We still aren't going to hear about any changes until they're concrete. This has only been taking place for a couple of weeks, and none of the changes can be made immediately. With that in mind, here's some of the verifiable information that has been making the rounds recently

As I've stated before, the French Union has gotten involved, and by this point, has stated that the Admins CAN potentially pursue legal action if they so choose. However, I want to emphasize that this doesn't mean legal action is guaranteed. This just means they have the OPTION to do so. Which by the sounds of things, it doesn't seem like anyone wants to do that as of right now. This is essentially just one more thing to give leverage to the Admins, letting them and Quackity know that they have that right. But if things can improve, they don't need to take them

(Link to their English post here)

As of now, one of the higher-ups in Quackity Studios, Jose, has been tweeting out that he is speaking with other Admins/Ex-Admins about everything going on, and gathering testimony in a document to present to Quackity. Last we heard, he was still gathering testimony and speaking to lawyers to ensure that everything he was doing was legal. And that as of now, organizing a meeting with Quackity himself has been a little difficult, I believe for scheduling reasons, as well as the fact that he's still gathering information (I was actually hoping to wait until this document was out to make another post about all this, but people keep acting like things are only going downhill, and I wanted to go ahead and give my two cents)

(Links to his posts can be found here and here)

We have also heard about 2 Admins quitting in the last couple days. Pancks, who was the roleplayer behind Agent 18 and Xaninho the Capybara, as well as other Portuguese-speaking NPCs. He has not given a clear reason for quitting aside from the fact that he feels he is done with this chapter of his career and wants to do other things. He has also asked us not to speculate his reason for leaving, which I am going to respect

(Link to his post here)

The other Admin who quit is a writer named Ana, who put out a statement saying that she was removed from most of her roles without being given a clear reason, while other writers still retain theirs. She states that her main reason for leaving is the lack of communication since things have gone down, which is not a great sign

(Link to her post here and her document here)

Lastly, we know that merch is currently being announced. So far we have 4 standees of the Eggs, Dapper, Trump, Leo(?), and Pomme, and will probably get more in the next few days. I want to point out that it's incredibly unlikely for this to have ONLY been started for the current situation. I'm personally assuming it was originally meant to be for the 1-Year Anniversary of QSMP starting, but has been pushed forward slightly to help raise funds for everything going on. Organizing merch production usually takes a while, which is the only reason I'm assuming that this isn't just coming out of nowhere

To wrap up, things haven't resolved yet. And that makes sense

Reorganizing an entire business takes time, even for people who are experienced in that sort of thing. But from what I understand, Quackity is not, and that's likely what led to this situation in the first place. Anyone trying something this big is bound to mess up, and unfortunately, this just happens to be a VERY big mess-up. Not too big to fix, but big enough to be difficult. And while we are hearing about some negative things happening, I want to remind everyone ONCE AGAIN, that we will not know anything until it's concrete, good or bad. The people speaking up don't seem to be doing so with any ill will, and many of them still seem to see QSMP as a positive experience overall. Just one that needs to be improved upon for the better of everyone involved. Right now, I'd say the main problem is, once again, communication. It's unfortunate that people keep bringing up how they haven't heard about anything going on, and that is very understandable. It's hard being kept in the dark on something like this, especially for people who were actually personally involved prior to this

The Admins/Ex-Admins have every right to be impatient on this because they're the ones being impacted the most. Because they've likely been patient for far longer than we have, and know a lot more about what's happening. That's why Lea has been doing her best to be vocal and support the current Admins and pressure Quackity Studios, even with the harassment she's apparently getting for doing so

But for us, who are simply viewers, just doom-posting and assuming the worst won't help. (AND NEITHER WILL HARASSING PEOPLE) Yes, we should be vocal in our support for the people affected, but there will be a point where shouting into the void is gonna be more detrimental than helpful. I believe that by now, we've gotten our point across. That Quackity and Quackity Studios know that we don't want to support a project that has to take advantage of people to keep it running. I'm not saying to let everything go completely. I would personally advise that people who want to should stay as educated as possible, and help educate anyone who wants to know what's going on

But if this is still affecting your mental and emotional well-being, stepping back and waiting to see what happens is probably the best move you can make. Spreading outright negativity won't help you, and it won't help the other people involved. I know that sometimes not knowing things can cause a lot of anxiety. Heck, that's why I make these posts, so I can help other people know what's going on. But other times, it can be entirely counterproductive. It's why I try not to doom-scroll through most social media in general, because I know that sometimes knowing more just means having more to worry about. It's up to you guys to find the balance that helps you, and I hope you all take care of yourselves in spite of everything going on

#qsmp #qsmp admin situation #admin situation #qsmp quackity #quackity

[vinvantae]

Unmasked

Part 3/16

<<< previous part

Includes some bad French and Italian - English translations at the end

Word count - 2.7k

You looked out the window as the helicopter flew over to Monaco, the sky was grey and the city seemed unusually quiet. Your father had bought you your apartment as a present for your championship win - buying gifts was his way of showing his love, that he was proud. Because he didn’t know any other way to. The NDA about your job had caused some tension in your family but you were never close enough with them to be that bothered by it. Now, more than ever, you could afford to pay for your own lifestyle.

Usually during break you’d disappear back to your home-base, hide away from the world for a while and be ‘normal’. Well, as normal as the youngest 2 time faceless WDC could be.

But what you were about to do was anything but normal. As you touched down on the helipad, you could see Charles lent against his car in the distance - a soft smile tugged at your lips when you saw the bouquet he was holding. Damn, he was good at this fake dating thing. You crossed the tarmac after stepping off of the helicopter, heart fluttering a little when Charles’ face lit up at the sight of you. Gosh, he’s pretty.

“Those for me? You shouldn’t have.” You smiled softly, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. His free hand found a spot on your waist, kissing each of your cheeks.

He chuckled, passing them to you. “Can’t meet my girl without flowers now, can I? What kind of boyfriend would that make me?”

You gave him a hug, relaxing into his hold as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head - the PDA should have felt weird, but it felt scarily comfortable. The driver stepped away to open the passenger door for you, hand on the small of your back as you climbed in. Charles took a glance around and saw an older gentleman watching you both, almost as if he was trying to place you both. He simply gave him a nod and slid into the driver's seat.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke up, his eyes on the road. “Please let me know if I cross a line with the PDA stuff.”

“I will, but I can’t see that happening.” You smiled sweetly, giving his thigh a gentle squeeze. “I feel so comfortable around you, Charles.”

“So…” He smiled at some people as they crossed the road in front of you. “If I needed to kiss you..?”

Your cheeks flushed that same soft pink that he loved so much. “Got to make it believable, right?”

The two of you looked away from each other simultaneously, you hid your smile behind your hand as you looked out the car. You raised a brow as Charles drove past your street and kept driving.

“Uhm? You missed my flat.”

“Thought we could have a cute homemade pasta date… you know, for instagram.”

You giggled softly, the sound making Charles’ heart flutter. He knew it was part of the contract, but he couldn’t believe that you were really here with him right now.

“Oh yeah, for instagram.” You teased, taking in the sights as you continued your drive through the city - you pulled your sunglasses over your face, mostly to protect your eyes from the sun threatening to escape from behind the clouds but you were still trying to keep your identity a little mysterious. Leave people guessing who was in Charles’ car for a moment longer.

Charles pulled into the parking lot for his apartment, resting one hand behind your headrest as he reversed into his spot. “Let’s get you fed.”

“When did you have time to go pasta ingredient shopping anyway?” You asked, taking his hand as he helped you out of the car. “And hey, no one can see us, you don’t have to be all couple-y with me when we’re alone if you don’t want to.”

“I’ve been here a couple hours.” He hummed, draping an arm across your shoulder as you smelled the bouquet. “And I know, but you’re still my friend. Gonna treat you right, regardless.”

You lent into his hold, letting him lead you into the elevator. “Thank you… sorry, I’m just not used to hanging out with people.”

“Well that’s gonna change from here on out. You’re gonna be so fed up with me by the end of the break.” His grin was playful. “Here’s me.”

He swiped his keycard and held the door open for you, letting you step inside. You were greeted by what you’d definitely call a bachelor pad - it was somewhere he didn’t spend a lot of time because of the race schedule so it was well kept. He helped you remove your coat and hug it up on the peg.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks, it does the job. Place to sleep, place to eat.” He shrugged, kicking off his shoes. “I’ve never really settled in though.”

You hummed. “Maybe a homemade pasta dinner will make it feel a little different?”

His lips curled up into a smile. “I hope so. It’s nice to have you here. Been a long time coming really… I-I mean like… we’ve been friends for so long it’s almost weird that-“

“Charles, chill, I get it.” You teased, nudging your hip against his before heading into the kitchen. “Ooh spacious.”

The Monaco native moved around you as he pulled ingredients from the cupboard. There was a lull in conversation as you weighed things out but the quiet was comfortable, you didn't even notice snap a photo of you making a meal of mixing the dough before he gently nudged you aside and started kneading the dough.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and sent a quick message to the PR manager.

YN - can I post some subtle photos of Charles on my insta story? We’re making pasta

PR - Sounds perfect. Send them via me before you post pls :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yourinstagram added to their story

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The two of you sat around the table, enjoying your pasta with some comfortable chatter as you split a bottle of wine. You smiled softly as Charles relayed back some memories of before he knew you were Thirty.

“It was your first win of the season in 2018. You had climbed on top of your car and were waving around the Ferrari flag… you were so cool. I really wanted to be your teammate some day, I was worried you were going to retire before I got a chance.” He chuckled softly. “Little did I know, you were just a kid like me.”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” You smiled softly, twirling your pasta around the fork. “You know… you’ve never really told me how you actually felt about me being y’know… me.”

The driver paused for a moment, taking a sip of his wine as he thought back. He had a nostalgic, almost wistful smile on his face. “Honestly? At first I couldn’t really believe it. Not only were you a girl but like… young. I was actually so shocked.”

His eyes flickered over you as you dipped your wine before he continued speaking. “But mostly? I was so impressed. To have achieved so much you were an amazing talent and I thought it was a shame that they kept you hidden away. So many little girls could use an idol like you, y/n. Having you as my teammate has inspired me, so I can’t even fathom what it would mean to them.”

“Charles.” You said, placing a hand over your heart. “You’re going to make me cry, thank you… I’m grateful I met you. You’re such a good friend, and I’m glad - perhaps besides the circumstances - that we get to hang out more.”

The driver cheersed his glass against yours, not missing the way you’d called him a friend. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t real, as much as he wished it was. Whilst he could hold your hand and kiss you in public, behind closed doors you were simply friends. He never wanted to make you uncomfortable - he knew how frustrating it was for girls when a male friend you thought you could trust made a move. If anything were ever to happen, he wanted it to come from you.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Your voice snapped him out of his trance. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He shook his head. “Nothing, nothing. I’ll get you home in a bit, I imagine you’ve got quite a bit to unpack?”

You groaned. “Don’t remind me. I did have the flat cleaned before I showed up but I need to order groceries… Do we have anything tomorrow?”

Charles fished his phone out of his pocket and opened up the itinerary your PR manager had sent you over, eyes flickering across the screen. “I think they’re giving us a day to settle in.”

“Perfect. Because I’m shattered.” You stretched your arms above your head, a soft yawn escaping you. “But, you’re more than welcome to join me at my place if you find yourself with nothing to do.”

“Might be your only day free of me, love. I think you’ll get bored of me.” His voice had a teasing lilt but you could tell he meant it as his eyes didn’t meet yours as he started clearing the table. “I really enjoyed this though.”

With a nod you stood up, taking your empty wine glasses through to the kitchen - Charles close behind. “I enjoyed it too. Can I maybe help more next time?”

He playfully rolled his eyes. “If you promise not to ruin my pasta noodles again… needs a gentle touch.”

“Didn’t know you were so passionate about pasta, Charles.” You laughed.

“I am not, you’re just clumsy.” The smile on his face was fond. “Pass those here. I need to rinse before I put it in the dishwasher.”

“I was expecting you to be more of a slob.”

He gasped. “Rude.”

You returned his previous eye roll and passed him the glasses, stepping away to lean against the counter as he popped the dishes in the dishwasher. It still felt so crazy that you were allowed to hang out with him now, this time two days ago the most he could do was hide away with you in your driver’s room and now you were in his home. It should’ve felt weirder than it did, but you were glad how easy this was.

“I don’t know if you remember, way before you moved to GP3, when we were like… 7 or 8 maybe? That wet race in Belgium.” He turned to face you, standing opposite you now - you were mirroring each other's stance. “Where you drove through that puddle and absolutely drowned me.”

A fond laugh escaped you. “Absolutely I do. And do you remember why I did that?”

“…No.” He lied, feigning confusion. “I have no memory of that.”

You crossed the kitchen until you stood almost directly in front of him, his eyes bore into yours and your confidence wavered for a moment. He raised a brow, the corner of his lip tugging up into a challenging smirk. “Are you going to remind me or are you just gonna stare?”

“You yanked on my hair, said that girls had cooties and I shouldn’t be allowed to race with you.” You narrowed your eyes, prodding him directly in the centre of the chest. “So I think 7 year old you fully deserved to be splashed.”

“Well, 7 year old me was very stupid.” The Monegasque hummed. “I should’ve considered myself lucky being able to drive alongside a future world champion.”

“Too right.”

His eyes flickered across your face, you could almost see the memories replaying in the bright blues as he studied you. “You know what they say about when little boys tug on little girls’ hair though, right?”

Your heart skipped a beat but before his words could really sink in, his phone rang from the counter behind him. He kept his eyes trained on your face as he reached to take it - lifting it to his ear without seeing who was calling.

“Pronto?*1” He paused. “Ah Pierre! Ça va… oui… je suis avec un ami… Oui, Pierre, elle est une fille*2.”

You held in a giggle as he rolled his eyes at his friend’s insistence of being aware of every girl that ever roamed the planet. Charles held a finger to his lips, fighting back a smile himself as Pierre continued to ramble at him down the phone.

“Bon, à demain*3.” He hung up the phone. “So, you know how we had no plans tomorrow?”

“What on earth have you signed us up for?”

He gave you an apologetic smile. “Pierre is coming over to Monaco tomorrow, wants to go out. Would be a good opportunity for you to meet some of my friends, no?”

“Fine.” You groaned, letting your forehead fall against his chest. “Just Pierre?”

“…Max and Daniel as well.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.” He chuckled, his laughter vibrated through you as he wrapped an arm around you - pulling you into him for a hug. “You’ll have a good time. They’re good guys, I promise. And because you’re my ‘girlfriend’ Pierre should behave himself.”

“I’m not sure if I should be excited or nervous.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll order you a ride home, I’d drive but we polished off that wine.” Charles released you from his hug, smiling down at you. “I’ll swing round yours before we meet the boys tomorrow?”

You nodded. “Works for me. Just give me a rough time so I can get ready.”

After saying your goodbyes at the door, you climbed into the car and made your way back to your own flat - it was dark now, the dull grey of the sky had changed to a deep blue but the world around you remained illuminated by the bright buildings of Monaco. Your place was only 10 minutes from his, so you were home fairly quickly - making sure to tip the driver.

When you stepped into your apartment you noticed a large bouquet of flowers with an envelope tucked inside of them but you didn’t even stop to read it. Knowing it was from your father, once again too busy to make time to see you during your break from racing, instead just throwing money your way. You were grateful that his lifestyle had meant you were able to get into racing at a young age but you had paved your own way, able to fend for yourself.

Your Monaco flat wasn’t as lived in as your place back home but you had made it homely. Blankets and pictures dotted around, the soft smell of whatever candle the cleaner had used to cover the smell of cleaning solution. It wasn’t your intention to be here during the winter break but you knew it was easier for your contract with Charles.

But one thing you knew here was an old photo album from back when you were a kid. You fished through a draw and pulled it out, flipping through the pages until you found the photo of you, Charles and Max on the podium in that race in Belgium - the future Ferrari driver soaked from head to toe. You brushed your thumb over the photo before sending a picture of it to Charles.

YN - Looking a little damp here, Charles

CL - Can’t believe you still have a photo! Nice helmet hair 😘

You chuckled at his response before ticking the album back away, letting your mind wander to tomorrow. Meeting Daniel properly for the first time. Seeing Max and Pierre for the first time since you karted with them as a kid. Would they like you? Would any of them even suspect who you are? Would the younger two even remember you?

But more than anything you were just excited to get to know the people you’d worked with for so many years. You had existed in the same world for years but had never shared more than a congratulatory handshake or pat on the back. But now you were going to look them in the eyes, they were going to hear your voice.

It was just a shame they wouldn’t know who you were, they’d just think you were Charles’ new girlfriend. You just hoped that the day they learned the truth would be sooner rather than later, because until then, they would never really know the real you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Next part>>>

*1 ‘Ready’ - how Italians often answer the phone

*2 ‘How are you… yes… I’m with a friend… yes, Pierre, she’s a girl’

*3 ‘Good, see you tomorrow’

Hope you enjoyed ❤️❤️ thank you all for your continued support x

Mixed media won the poll so I hope you enjoyed this new layout! I may still post some edits separately but mostly they’ll be integrated into chapters like this

#Unmasked fic #f1 fic #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 #formula one #x reader #Charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #leclerc x reader

[aliennazero]

This is like... one of the gayest paneling I have ever seen in shounen, IT LOOKS SO INTENTIONAL ISTG. Fujimoto you can't keep get away from this.

The romantic/platonic subtlety isn't very visible in English, in the original Japanese ver HOWEVER—

*open my eyes wide to make sure I'm not insane and hallucinating*

I don't have such knowledge on Japanese language but I could read it for a bit. In this exact scene where their expression is shown face to face, when they talk, they didn't use any specific plural pronoun (they/you all) except for context giver in the middle.

When we exclude the middle frame and directly translate other lines, up and below, we will have something like this.

"Ore tte ii ko na no ni nande?" (But I am a good boy, why?)

"Kimi o kirai dakara sa." (Because you are hated)

*VERY DRAMATIC zoom in*

"Nande demo-tai to tatakatte nda?" (Why fighting the protesters?)

"Kimi o suki dakara." (Because you are adored/liked)

*gritting my teeth and punching the air* If we take a look at it again, that sounds like some sort of a VERY deliberate double meaning words right?

Since "Kimi o suki dakara" could mean "Because I like you" and it sounds like as if Yoshida also fighting for Denji versus people who hates him (the protester).

After that, it cut shorts to the next panel where Denji say this-

Then they had a brief moment of silence where Denji looked up at Yoshida and Yoshida's eyes remain hidden.

It's so??? Skskskskskk. Fujimoto, what kind of yoai are you sniffing when writing these two.

#yoshiden #yoshida hirofumi #denji #yoshida #yoshida x denji #chainsaw man #chainsaw man part 2 #I know what you are fujimoto #It's like I go to yoshiden fan competition and turns out the biggest competitor is fujimoto himself #they go through confession to divorce arc in the span of 5 minutes without even married it's crazy #chainsaw man 133 #csm 133 #look at this juicy angst material #longing desperate gay boy Yoshida you will always be famous #akiangel still on top of chainsaw man mlm list though

[sp0o0kylights]

oho? I love playing with character perceptions, so number 11 got my immediate interest!

AND THE LAST ASK for real thank you for sending in so many and another thank you to anyone who sent in any ask at all this was a blast:

Turns out this connected to a different document. I desperately need to clean out my drive ANWAY

11! "A large part of the Steve Harrington lore was that he left his throne, his popularity, childhood best friends, behind for Nancy Wheeler. This was a lie."

Snippet:

A thump as the object rolled out of its bag and onto the floor.

It was a wooden baseball bat, same as one might find anywhere--with one noticeable difference.

"Steve." Eddie said simply, eyes raking over the haphazardly hammered nails, some of which were bent from use, "What the hell is this?" 

Steve at least, had the good graces to look abashed. "Ahhh…" He said, trailing off as he clearly fished for anything other than the truth and came up empty. "A nailbat?"

Spoken out loud it even sounded like a fucking fantasy weapon.

"Is that blood all over it?" Eddie asked, tone amazingly even given the panic that galloped wildly through his chest. 

The fucking thing wasn't entirely covered but there was unmistakable red and black splatter that was either the product of the world's best prop artist, or the real deal.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think any of the blood is human." Steve said, who overall looked more embarrassed than anything.

Like Eddie has found his porno mags, and not whatever the hell this was. 

"No Steve, that does not make me feel better." Eddie managed to get out, the words a little strangled. "You don't think the blood's human? What the hell do you think it is!?"

Because he had to know. There was no way he could not know, with a literal McGuffin, sitting in between them.  

In fact this entire set up felt like something right of of a D&D scene and once Eddie was done panicking, he kinda wanted to write down a few notes. 

There was a very long, dedicated pause, where once again it became very clear Steve was racking his brain for a lie. 

Eddie let it go on, because he wanted to hear what possible excuse the guy could come up for this. 

Particularly given that Eddie had once shared an English class with him. Steve Harrington was about as imaginative as a child's first chapter book (and frankly, the book probably knew more words.)

"Rabid dogs?" Steve said, sounding more like he was guessing than anything else.  

How he had gotten away with lying to the cops about those house parties of his was a downright mystery.

"Rabid dogs that just might be human." Eddie deadpanned. 

Steve winced.

"I might have swung it at a few people." He admitted.

"No shit." Eddie said, staring at him flatly. It almost felt like he was two people for a moment--a perfectly calm one, demanding answers out of a nervous and clearly spooked Steve Harrington like disappointed mother discovering a baggie of weed--and a person who wanted to fucking book it, immediately.

Before Harrington lost his shit and started swinging the nailbat at him. 

There was no reason for King Steve, richest boy in town and previously its most popular (though given Hargroves penchant for violence, Eddie didn't doubt a lot of people would accept Steve back with open arms so long as the guy stood in between them) to own a clearly used homemade weapon. 

"Okay look, you've caught me in a lot of lies and I'm gonna be real with you, this one came with an NDA." Steve said finally, like that wasn't a wild string of words. "The less you know about it, the better."

And that, Eddie could agree with.

#Eddie: whatcha got there Steve? #Steve #holding a bloody af nailbat #“uhhhh....a smoothie?” #I finally recalled that this one involves Eddie tripping over Steve in a number of weird situations #sort of in the same manner billy tips over him in S2 at the byers house #and just constantly jumps to conclusions #except you know steve has a TBI #multiple concussions #is trying to figure out who he is #and navigate Eddie trying to peg him back into the King Steve persona #while shits happening lol

[cbsesamplepapersblog]

#NDA-NA Yearwise (2017-2023) 12 Solved Papers Mathematics #English & GK (Set Of 3 Books)

[sigmatiqvevo]

The entire Bayonetta charade is fucking hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, speaking as someone who never played the games and is looking at this thru the lense of "i worked in the gaming industry".

Here's a recap:

OG VA Helena Taylor posted on TWT that she was offered 4k for her to reprise her role as Bayonetta in B3. x

Taylor asked for us to boycott the game (first link) and send money we would've otherwise spent on B3 to charities instead. x

Support from the VA community and scrutiny both ensued

Local xenophobe and deplorable but yet ingenious and beloved Hideki Kamiya posts for the first time (in a long time) in English to call Taylor out for lying. x

His blocking tendencies and general cryptic messaging + the fact he isn't really viewed as the most friendly person on TWT have people siding with Taylor more than before. x/x/x

Hideki's account is suspended/gone from TWT for some time. x/x/x

Taylor is outed as a Blue Lives Matter supporter and TERF x/x

Replacement VA Jennifer Hale makes a statement regarding the situation but it is brief due to NDA x

Suspicions grow due to both Hale and Taylor being union VAs, and the game being union; something doesn't add up

Days after the videos and ridicule Bloomberg releases an article adding more details to the controversy

"Platinum Games sought to hire Taylor for at least five sessions, each paying $3,000 to $4,000 for four hours" contradicts Taylors own telling of voicing the entire of Bayonetta 3 for 4K.

Jennifer Hale is seen liking and retweeting some of the posts regarding the Bloomberg article

Jennifer Hale was allegedly outed as ableist and antivaxx via 5 years old tweets. x

Note about the last one; some people are claiming her apologies are enough, some are saying she's never directly apologized and only claimed she was misunderstood. Come to your own conclusion.

Will be updated when more stuff is known.

Updates 24Oct:

Platinum Games Official Statement.

H Taylor makes an announcement Twitter thread admitting that her initial offer was not 4k but instead 10k, mentioning it was then bumped to 15k.

In the announcement she also mentions that after declining and waiting 11 months in silence, they offered "a flat fee to voice some lines for 4,000 dollars."

"There were not “extensive negotiations.”" is in direct contradiction with P.Games's statement.

People keep asking where she's pulling the 450mil figure regarding the Bayonetta games. x/x/x

Personal Note, take with a grain of Basalt:

She claims "Any other lies, such as 4,000 for 5 sessions are total fabrications."; The 4k for 5 sessions, P.Games claims, was for her initial offer she refused. Seemingly, Taylor conflates and confused details from her own side.

Update 28thOct: It got worse.

Jessrine pointed out a very important note regarding the payment discourse/Bloomberg Article

The Bloomberg article stating "Taylor asked for a six-figure sum as well as residuals on the game" while she specified she never asked for $250.000.

New Twitt Thread from H Taylor claiming her post "hit a nerve with a lot of people." x

Down in the thread she lists charities to which you can donate

These tweets sum up the majority public reaction pretty damn well. x/x/x

Note: It's really funny how a UK Based VA is attempting to call to arm for donations to an anti-abortion/pro-life "Charity" across the pond all the way in the US of A. Because BB4Life is Kentucky Based.

#Bayonetta #Jennifer Hale #hellena taylor #Bayonetta 3 #drama #wolf talk #updated #discourse #bayonetta 3 drama

[perlelune]

Would NDA's Corionalus continue to be sexually involved with any employee until after marrying the reader?

Sorry for my bad English

Your English is fine. I'm not a native speaker either. We're all doing our best :)

No, he wouldn't. The only reason he was fucking maids left and right is because this man is perpetually horny, but he only fucks the reader from the point he started the affair and even after they're married.

[isaksbestpillow]

Minoru & anshin

I didn't make a translator's note of this, but seeing how the official sub differs here I am going to make one now!

In this scene, what Minoru says to Yutaka is 豊がいてくれると思うと安心するんだ, Yutaka ga ite kureru to omou to anshin suru nda. I've translated this to Being with you makes me feel safe while the official sub says Just the thought of being with you makes me feel happy.

I am now going to over this sentence in detail.

First we have Yutaka + the particle ga, marking Yutaka as the subject performing an action. The theme or psychological subject (marked by wa) of this sentence is I but has been dropped. This isn't really relative to what I'm trying to say here, so moving on.

Next we have the action Yutaka is performing. Yutaka's action is ite kureru. Iru is a verb meaning to be or exist in a place. Kureru is a verb that means to give to the speaker or the speaker's inner circle. The action Yutaka is giving to Minoru is existing. Yutaka also says this to Minoru in episode 7. Minoru ga ite kurete yokatta, I'm glad to have you in my life.

Next we have to omou. This means to think. To is a particle that quotes what proceeds it. What proceeds it here is actually longer than just Yutaka ga ite kureru. There are two incomplete sentences before this line. 今度豊と何を食べようとか、何をしようとか, next time what to eat with Yutaka and so on, what to do and so on. This is all part of Minoru's thinking. There's a quite a long pause and a shot of Yutaka's face before the final part of this multipart thinking process, so to avoid clutter I moved the verb to think here and translated it to When I think about what to eat with you, what to do with you.

So that was to omou. Next we have to. This is a particle that expresses causality. When X, then Y. X here is When I think that Yutaka gives me existing. Terrible English, but let's move onto Y, the actual point of this post.

What happens to Minoru when Yutaka gives existing? He anshin suru.　安心, anshin, written peaceful heart. Anshin means to feel safe, to feel reassured, to be free of worry or fear, to have a peace of mind. Anshin is the opposite of worry.

Being with Yutaka makes Minoru happy, sure. But more importantly, after all the worry and the fear, being with Yutaka makes him feel safe.

#bokura no shokutaku #our dining table