#the last line wording is so good that I almost want to add the “developer got so happy she exploded’’ tag

[symptomsofdeceit]

Omg I do not use tampons but now every time I get my period I have to think of that post and how mortifying of a situation that would be. Thaumo and Nalis are with me in the bathroom in spirit and nothing can make them leave 😭😭😭

I’m glad the tampon ask is haunting not only me but also those who follow me 😭🤝

#symptoms of deceit asks #the last line wording is so good that I almost want to add the “developer got so happy she exploded’’ tag #but I don’t want anyone browsing through that tag looking for fun cute stuff #to get jumpscared with Thaumo & Nalis in the bathroom while you’re dealing with a tampon posts 😭😭 #I appreciate this ask though thank you

[veryinnovative]

fifty shades of black

~2k words. nsfw. bratty experienced sub james and inexperienced dom regulus. jegulus microfic/snippet based on this post which i do recommend reading for some context so u kinda know what's happening since i have apparently decided to just go unchronological and do whatever the fuck. though, regulus has gotten some more experience at this stage of the fic.

The chime of a bell rings out as James enters the shop, bringing with him a gentle end-of-winter draft and his customary breeze of self-confidence that makes Regulus' skin break out in goosebumps all over. It’s late February, still ways from spring, but the potted flowers lining the shelves swoon at him just the same.

James Potter had that sort of effect.

“Hello, love,” he greets him, donning that dazzling smile like he’s swooped the sun out of the murky evening skies and swallowed it whole. Regulus could endlessly wax poetry about him and his mouth—the color, the plumpness, the self-assured slanted uptilt of his lips. 

But he doesn’t, no. He watches how James approaches the counter like a spoiled cat who’s so sure he’s about to get what he wants. Because James doesn’t learn, or refuses to, at least. Especially if last night was anything to go by. 

“Have you been good, Potter?”

James shakes his head and frowns at the name, the huff he lets out almost indignant as he staggers for breath. His cock is slumped against his stomach, terribly weepy with sad, thin dribbles of cum that are the aftermath of a ruined orgasm. 

“And do bad boys deserve to cum?”

He shakes his head again, furiously blinking through the tears. Over a month ago, Regulus would have caved underneath the crushing weight of guilt. He would have bitten his lip and worked James’ cock up again, a victim to crocodile tears and the angelic drawl of a voice he couldn’t resist. Fortunately, since then, Regulus had developed a significant tolerance and remained impervious to his relentless pleading. All the while maintaining that convincing pretense of stark indifference that had resulted in a whole reversal of roles. Because he had James whining the past couple of scenes, sputtering and cursing threats, fighting against binds, and biting on Regulus at every given opportunity. 

Tonight, James doesn’t fight back, because his cock is spent but still wholly unsatisfied. There’s a glint of fear in his eyes, together with arousal and a glowing spark of pride. 

Regulus yanks him by his curls. “But I let you, and what do we say to that?”

James’ mouth parts around a soundless gasp. “Thank you.”

Regulus quickly dispels the thoughts with a barely noticeable shake of his head. The last thing he needs are the flashing images of James’ sweat-sheened skin and quivering legs, the needy pitch of his voice when Regulus’ hand dragged down his chiseled chest towards—

“It’s rude not to greet customers.”

Blinking his vision back into focus, Regulus glares up at James who is sporting one of his knowing smiles like he can pry into Regulus’ brain and tell that with one look at him, he had been sucked into a vacuum of explicit and very vivid images.

Of course, other than being a multi-billionaire and head of Potter Enterprises, James Potter is also a telepath. Add it to his extensive list of redeeming qualities.

Regulus sighs, pinches his nose bridge, counts to five, and looks down at the register because he doesn’t trust what may come out of his mouth if he stares at James for a moment longer. “What do you want?” On cue, James’ lips part, and before he can answer with something unequivocally witty, Regulus interrupts him, “Other than me. An actual order.”

As expected, James’ mouth falls shut, though the amused smile never really disappears. “A latte, please. Double shot. Pump of caramel.”

The vocal emphasis on pump would have drawn a reaction out of Regulus a month ago, but he has spent enough time to no longer feel bothered by certain commentary. Instead, he casts a quick glance at the clock before jotting down instructions on the paper coffee cup.

“It’s getting late, you’re having a decaf.”

James’ eyebrows shoot up to his hairline before he looks at Pandora who is manning the bar. She grins at him, waiting for confirmation, undoubtedly bemused by their interaction and Regulus’ slow growth into a role, and chuckles when James offers a meek nod. “What he said. Decaf.” Pandora quirks an eyebrow and he hastily adds, “Please.”

That was also Regulus’ doing, teaching the spoiled brat to say please. It did him good to see the newly acquired habit extend into other areas of life. 

“You still want a pump of caramel syrup with that?” Pandora asks innocently, not bothering to mask a laugh when James looks at Regulus for permission, again. It’s become somewhat mundane: those brief, fleeting moments where they seamlessly fall into their dynamic. 

Regulus nods and Pandora is off with a hum, letting the ground beans fill her portafilter as she makes a start on his order. James reaches for his wallet but Regulus shakes his head, preventing him from taking it out with a single gesture. “No need. It’s on the house.”

Maybe freebies from a non-coffee chain act as personal affronts, seeing the frown etch itself deeply between James’ brows and the way he petulantly retrieves his hand from his pocket. This, they still need to work on: James’ spending habits and Regulus’ aversion to receiving gifts or anything material, really. Nine days ago he had opened his door to a wreath of expensive, rare flowers imported from various parts of the world and Regulus had given him an earful about it. Still, the harsh reprimands weren’t enough to discourage James’ attempts to shower him with expensive gifts because just two days ago he suggested getting Regulus an unfathomably overpriced watch. Quote on quote suggested as if the stupid box wasn’t peeking at Regulus from where it had been poorly concealed. 

So, James had resorted to acts of service, the expensive kind.

While James is ridiculously rich, Regulus barely scrapes enough together to pay his rent. He is working two jobs at the moment, a fact that irks James greatly for more than just one reason, and luckily none of which involves tarnishing his reputation by having a dom who is terribly broke. That had been one of Regulus’ insecurities, and James had been very quick to dissipate them. 

“So, dinner?” James asks after taking a sip of his coffee, though not without casting Pandora a quick, grateful smile. 

Regulus nods as he undoes the ties of his apron. Officially, he’s still got twenty minutes on the clock, but it’s quiet and Pandora assured him that she could close up alone and that for once, Regulus deserves a night off to himself. 

His encounters with James have been hasty the past couple of days, especially considering his hectic work schedule and demand to cover shifts. And as respectful as James was when it came to Regulus’ decisions, it was very apparent he struggled not sticking to Regulus like adhesive every waking moment. 

“Wait,” comes James’ voice when they finally make it out of the store and towards the car. He rushes past him and reaches for the door. “You need to let me do this, remember?”

“I can open my own door, James,” Regulus sighs.

“And I can order my own coffee,” James retorts. He waits for Regulus to slip into the seat before closing the door and rounding the car to get to the driver’s seat. 

Weeks, and for some reason, Regulus struggled more with the non-sexual side of their dynamic. 

“It’s not only the sex aspect, Regulus,” James had told him the second day after they signed their contract. “It’s about serving and seeing to your needs. Pleasing you in more ways than just one.”

“Isn’t a dom supposed to do that?”

James chuckled but swallowed all humor down when he saw the tight line of Regulus’ pursed lips. “I mean, this isn’t the movies, you know? There are so many more provider subs than there are doms. You’d be surprised, honestly. Most of us have all that we need and are looking to relinquish that control for once. Also the money, I suppose. It feels good getting you gifts.”

“I am not about to be your accountant and track how much you spend on me, James. There’s a limit.”

This time, James fails at stifling his laugh. “No need, I already have someone tracking my funds. But feel free to give me a good spanking if I splurge too much on unnecessary things.”

“Like towing my old car and getting me a new one?”

James shrugs at the memory. The very one Regulus had been livid at him for and Horace had to spend a whole day trying to get back a battered old Toyota. “Spending money on you doesn’t count.”

“And what if I say it does?”

“Then I’ll have to be a good boy and listen.”

And James listened particularly well. Well, at least when he could get something out of it. Because strung-up James who had not been able to get his hands on Regulus properly for any extended period of time, listened very, very poorly considering Regulus had specifically instructed him to drive them to this cozy, small falafel spot that undoubtedly put crack in their garlic sauce seeing how everyone’s pitas always overflowed with it.  

Instead, the car veered off the main road and right on the one that led it to James’ apartment. One of his apartments, at least. The one closest to them.

No complaint from Regulus, truly. In hindsight, he might have confused his appetite for something else entirely. Definitely has, now that his mouth is being eaten by James as he’s clumsily led away from the front door and further down the dimly lit hallway. James’ tie is undoubtedly still in the elevator where Regulus had yanked it off for better access to his chest. 

“You,” James breathes against his lips as he yanks Regulus’ shirt off his head, “have been returning my gifts.”

He’s hoisted up against the wall, practically shoved against it with how a picture frame rattles off and falls onto the floor. Regulus allows his head to loll back with a gentle thud as James’ mouth works down his throat, hot and greedy. 

“I told you—” his words are interrupted by a sharp hiss when James decidedly makes use of his teeth rather than tongue, working marks around his clavicles. “I don’t want expensive gifts.”

There’s a muffled sound of dissent against his neck before James brushes his clothed erection against Regulus’, drawing out moans from the both of them.

“I told you,” James gasps out through his labored breaths, tongue laving across the sharp line that is Regulus’ jaw before coming to tug onto his earlobe, “I want to spoil you. Be good for you.” 

Regulus had chided James for that too, told him he had to learn other ways that could earn him Regulus’ praise. James hadn’t liked that in the least. He didn’t like being told no. Not then, not now. Not ever.

James drives his hips forward again, chasing after the friction and pressure. The hold he has on Regulus’ thighs is bruising in a way that's guaranteed to leave marks.

“Am I being good?” James’ hot breath fans against Regulus’ ear, the skin around it wet from where his mouth had been, slick with spit as James keeps sucking the soft, tender spot below.

“Tell me.” James’ hips jerk where they’re slotted between Regulus’ thighs, uncoordinated now, bordering on frantic, his voice desperate, “Say that I’m being good for you.”

“Be quiet,” Regulus hisses as he bucks his hips, painfully hard against the seams of his jeans and aching for some relief. He's panting as well, trying not to lose himself in the vortex of delirium and instead regain some semblance of control. There's the wall behind his back and James' sturdy chest pressed against his own, the frenzied rattled beating inside his ribcage that Regulus feels against his.

James whines against his neck, still pathetically rutting into him and Regulus shushes him, carding his fingers through the sweaty, tangled curls that stick to the dewy skin of his neck before grabbing a fistful.

“You want to be a good boy?” he whispers into James’ ear.

James frantically nods against his neck and starts grinding against him harder, moaning unabashedly when Regulus meets his movements and tugs onto his hair.

“Then put your mouth to good use.”

#jegulus #james potter #regulus black #jegulus fanfiction #jegulus microfic #starchaser #sunseeker #james x regulus #ino microfic tag! #i cant believe i wrote this right after cursing out my deadline #i fr just write when im stressed and surrounded with exam woe

[99corentine]

Afterword: Will there be a sequel to GHD?

After almost four years, GOL HAH DOV is finally a finished project. 50 chapters, just shy of 375K words (about 4-5 full novels’ worth of writing) and I don’t want to know how many hours of furiously typing, here we are at the finish line. As we started getting near the end a few people asked whether I was going to write a sequel, but the answer was too complex to put in an author’s note, so I thought I’d discuss it in more detail here.

Unfortunately, the short version of this is probably not, but let me explain why.

So, there are many things that could go in a sequel. Off the top of my head, I’ve yet to write about: the events of the Dawnguard DLC. The truth about Chrysanthe’s past. How they contend with Hermaeus Mora, who is still gunning for them. How the civil war unfolds when the First Dragonborn looks at both the Empire and Stormcloaks and says ‘nah, I’ll make my own faction’. How the Thalmor react to this. Miraak’s rise to power when he’s not allowed to use his mind control powers, and Chrysanthe’s general struggle to keep Miraak on a morally good path.

All of this could definitely make for another longfic but what I don’t have is any sort of romantic development. The trouble with writing a soulmates fic is that once the couple have overcome their personal issues, there’s very little further tension. Chrysanthe and Miraak actually got together very early in the fic (about chapter 12 out of 50) and the rest has been about them learning each other, becoming more intertwined… but I’m not really sure how they can get more intertwined, after the events of GHD. There are many external points of tension (politics, Thalmor, daedra) but there’s nothing internal - only Miraak’s dubious morality, but we already know that he’ll change his course for Chrysanthe, so what else is there to add?

Essentially, I can’t see how to further develop the relationship, and to me the romantic tension is what makes a fic worth writing. Without it, I just know that even if I started a GHD sequel, I wouldn’t have the enthusiasm to see it through to the end. Now that may change, and I might think of something new… but for the time being, I’m going to put GHD down and focus on other things.

Those other things are: 1) The Tav/Astarion Baldur’s Gate 3 longfic I’ve started, Tooth for a Tooth, which has all my attention at the minute. It’s darker than GHD but the protagonist has the same steely-stoic paladin vibe, so if you liked Chrysanthe you might like him too 2) A while ago I posted a fic idea in which the Last Dragonborn (Chrysanthe, or a totally new character) ends up in the past with pre-Apocrypha Miraak. Again this is a longfic that I’m not sure I really have the spoons for, but I’d say I’m more likely to write this than a GHD sequel 3) Various other bits and pieces, unfinished oldfics, etc.

I know that might be disappointing for some to read, but I hope my reasons make sense at least! And I hope that you still enjoy GOL HAH DOV as its own piece of work, and come back to read anything else that I might write in the future. Thank you again for coming on this Skyrim adventure with me!

#gol hah dov

[sgkophie]

One Papaya For Me Please - Daniel Ricciardo (Part 2)  

Read Part 1 HERE.

Pairing: Reader x Daniel Ricciardo , OFC x Daniel Ricciardo 

Tag List: Want to join the tag list? Add yourself to my list HERE!

Warnings: smut, language, angst, fluff - we've got it all!

Rating: Mature

Synopsis: After the events last season, Poppy and Daniel agreed to just be friends. As George Russell's race engineer, Poppy wasn't ready to jump into a relationship, especially not with a McLaren driver. But after a lovely weekend in Australia with Daniel's family, the line between friends and lovers begins to blur. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad being more than friends with Daniel?

Word Count: 9300 words [because I have a problem]

AN: Hi Anon - Thanks for requesting! I decided to make this a part two of a Danny "one shot" I did! I loved that couple, and this seemed like a fun idea! Took a little liberty on this request, but I hope you still enjoy it!

We all need some DR3 love after the events of the last month!! <3

Comments always appreciated & enjoy!

Request:

The 2022 season had been phenomenal; George had won his second championship, and as his race engineer, we were becoming an unstoppable team. While I had received countless offers from other teams to leave Mercedes - many offering me senior level engineering positions and raises beyond my wildest dreams, I couldn’t find myself able to leave the team who had given me first race engineering job – or George. George had offered me the position of a lifetime to be his race engineer at the young age of 27, and I knew we had more work to do – more championships to win. 

Still, I had come close to leaving Mercedes when McLaren came in with a deal almost too good to pass up – a chance to be their number 3 engineer, to sit at the head panel with Zak during races and observe both cars. Instead of being a dedicated race engineer to one driver, I’d help further develop the McLaren car concept. It would be a dream position, but something stopped me. 

More like someone. 

After my date with Daniel Ricciardo at the Monaco Grand Prix driver’s dinner, Daniel and I had decided to remain just friends. I could tell that he was disappointed in my decision; Daniel had done his best to be very convincing that night, but my mind was set. The life of an F1 driver’s girlfriend was tough; not something I felt I was cut out for. They were constantly analyzed, constantly evaluated against one another. I didn’t want to throw myself into the mix; being compared against a bunch of beautiful models seemed like a complete dead end to my self-esteem. 

So, I told Daniel I wanted to just be his friends – it was a lie, but I knew it was the right thing to do. When McLaren came sniffing around, offering me the job, I couldn’t say yes. The idea of working with Daniel Ricciardo day in and day out was too much for me to bare. When Daniel heard about my offer from McLaren, he begged me to take it. 

While Daniel had, once again, been pretty convincing after the 2022 Belgium GP, I declined McLaren’s offer the next day, much to Daniel’s disappointment. Ever since that night, I felt like our friendship had taken a bit of a left turn, which I suppose I should have expected. Daniel and I had now slept together twice – not exactly something you do with someone you want to be just friends with. We were friendly at races and parties, it was impossible not to be with Daniel, but I could feel the unspoken tension between us – the awkwardness.  

As the 2023 season had begun, Daniel and I hadn’t spoken much. I suppose it made sense; we had agreed we would be friends, but the reality was, we weren’t really friends before we slept together, so there wasn’t much of a friendship to go back to. We texted occasionally, mostly him reaching out to me, asking how I was doing, but as the races in the 2023 season went on, the texts became less frequent, almost stopping entirely after the third race. 

The fifth race of the season was Silverstone, and after a strong showing from Mercedes, George had managed to finish P2, just a fraction behind Charles Leclerc who had managed to squeak out P1. Silverstone was always one of the highlights of the season, especially for George Russell as a British driver. Most of the drivers stayed in the UK that Sunday, and the entire grid went out that night to a party hosted by one of the drivers. This year’s party was hosted by Lando at a club close by. 

I was exhausted after the race, and truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to crash in my hotel room with a bottle of red wine and a plethora of cookies – but George and Carmen were having none of that, insisting that I join them at the Silverstone party. After a lot of begging – and more importantly, a ton of champagne –  I begrudgingly said yes. Carmen came into my room about an hour before we had to go, another bottle of champagne in hand, and handed me a beautiful red dress, wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively. 

“Wear this,” Carmen demanded, “You’ll be sure to turn heads.” Carmen winked at me as she threw the dress at my shocked face. I didn’t usually wear dresses this revealing to F1 parties, especially not red ones. Unless you worked for Ferrari, red was an unspoken ‘off limits’ color. Still, I tried the dress on and as much as I hated to admit it, I looked fabulous in the red dress. 

Fuck it. I hadn’t felt this sexy in a while. 

As Carmen and I left the room we were getting ready in, I saw George and Carlos walk out of George’s room. The boys had been drinking beers in George’s room while we got ready in my room which was conveniently across the hall from George’s. As I stepped into the hallway, I saw Carlos’ eyes rake over my body, and I internally smirked a bit. Was this Carmen’s plan? 

I knew Carmen had noticed Carlos’ expression, because she wiggled her eyebrows behind me when I turned to her, to which I just rolled my eyes in response. If Carmen thought I was going to sleep with another driver, she was out of her mind. I learned my lesson after Danny Ricciardo – drivers were off limits. 

The group of us arrived at the Silverstone party just after 10pm, around the same time many of the other drivers, girlfriends and their friends arrived. Once we got there, Carlos, George, Carmen and I headed straight to the bar, ordering a few more glasses of champagne, before we ventured to a table in the corner, sitting down and chatting about the weekend. 

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a familiar face – Daniel and Lando had arrived, Luisa trotting shortly behind Lando, happily chatting to another woman that I didn’t recognize. After a few more moments, I saw the girl I didn’t recognize lean her head onto Daniel’s back, giving him a small snuggle, as he ordered drinks for his group at the bar. I knew it was silly how much my heart sank when I saw the woman with Daniel, chatting away to Luisa. I couldn’t expect Daniel to stay single forever. I had my chance, and I turned it down – for good reasons. 

Everything within me was hoping that Daniel and Lando wouldn’t see us sitting in the back corner, but as per usual, the universe had other plans. As soon as Daniel and Lando had their drinks, I could see Lando make eye contact with Carlos, who was waving them over. My body immediately stiffened, which Carlos seemed to notice because he put an arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze, pulling me closer to him. 

“Come on Poppy, just because they work for McLaren, doesn’t mean you have to ignore them,” Carlos teased. Everyone in the paddock was aware of my McLaren job offer – Zak was about as subtle as the “b” in the word when it came to making McLaren’s intentions known. 

 I just rolled my eyes in response and motioned for him to scoot over. Carlos did so, but left his arm around my shoulders as we moved, making way for the other couples. Daniel immediately saw me and smiled, before letting his smile falter as his eyes move to Carlos’ arm around my shoulder. Carlos and I were just friends, but I could see why this looked incredibly off to Daniel. I’d made a huge deal about not wanting to date a driver, and yet here I was wearing red, all snuggled up with Carlos Sainz at a post-race party. 

Still, sitting there watching Daniel with whatever-her-name-was wasn’t fun either. 

Daniel slid into the booth first, sitting right next to me. He flashed me his famous Danny Ric smile before getting comfortable in the booth. Daniel and Lando had purchased a few extra bottles of champagne, and without even asking, Daniel was already filling up my glass. 

“So, Poppy, you and George look like an absolute firecracker out there,” Lando commented, cooly sipping his champagne as he snuggled in a bit more with Luisa. 

“It’s all her, mate,” George responded, giving me a wink and a high five, which I promptly returned across the table. “Dream team!” 

“Soon we’ll make Bono and Lewis look like amateurs,” I quipped, earning me a chuckle from Carlos who was still sitting next to me, his arm still draped around my shoulders. 

“Your confidence is inspiring. Although after rejecting that offer McLaren gave you, I think we’re all wondering what dirt George had on you.” Daniel said the words with jest in his tone, but I could sense the underlying meaning – the hint at me saying no to the offer. 

I could see Daniel’s eyes flicker between me and Carlos for a moment, before he returned his gaze back to his drink. I knew Daniel had said his comment with the goal of getting slightly under my nerves, but today was a good day – and I was going to take the highroad. Which, if I was being honest, wasn’t as satisfactory as taking the petty road, but I figured it was worth a try.

“I feel like I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, papaya just isn’t my color. We can’t all pull it off like you and Lando.” 

“I’d say red is your color, cariño,” Carlos butted in, a twinkle in his eye as he looked me up and down in my red dress. I knew I was blushing, as much as I was trying not to. “Feel free to come to Ferrari whenever you want to work with a real champion.”

“Oh, is Charles hiring a new race engineer?” Carlos rolled his eyes and gave my cheeks a light pinch as I said the teasing words, causing the entire group to laugh. 

The conversation flowed a bit more, all of us chatting on about the race today before the conversation moved to the golf plans Lando, Carlos and George had tomorrow. As they continued to get more excited discussing their new golf find, Daniel turned to me, pouring me a bit more champagne. 

“I’m good Danny,” I said choking, on the champing as it went down. “Any more and I’ll be tempted to start dancing on top of this table.” 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Danny laughed, still trying to pour a little more champagne into my glass as I pulled it away, sticking my tongue out at him. Daniel leaned down a little closer, whispering, “I like the Poppy who makes bad decisions. She somehow always ends up in my bed.” 

Before I could retort something back to Daniel, I saw whatever-her-name-was lean in to say something to Daniel; her face didn’t look amused. Danny went back to chatting with her, turning his back towards me. 

I felt a small sense of satisfaction at her jealousy as I turned back to Carlos, George and Carmen, joining in their new conversation. 

Toronto GP – Danny POV

Seeing Poppy that night stirred something inside of me. I know we had agreed to be just friends, something I hated all together, but I couldn’t say no to her. I’d rather have her as a friend than not at all. But as I saw her sitting there with Carlos, I let my jealousy get the best of me. 

Why was Carlos worthy of her attention? Why had I not been worthy enough?

In truth I didn’t know if they were actually dating. They’d sat together all night, but Carlos hadn’t actually made a move on her besides resting his arm around her shoulder. I knew Carlos was a touchy-feely sort of person, so it was possible they weren’t dating – although why would she be wearing a red dress if she wasn’t interested in Carlos? 

My mind was working a million miles a minute; I didn’t even see Lando come up to me, waving his hand in my face, trying to get my attention. 

“Mate – you good there?” Lando asked. 

I nodded a confirmation, but said nothing, still deep in thought. George was standing next to Lando, a cheeky smile on his face. 

“Wow, you’ve got it bad,” I heard George comment. As I looked up towards him, I quirked my eyebrows in question, not entirely sure why he had said that. Lando just laughed. 

“You being deep in thought got anything to do with why Alana didn’t come this weekend?” Lando asked. Alana had been the girl I was sort of seeing. It was a casual thing; Luisa had introduced us. But apparently after last weekend in Silverstone, Alana decided I still had a thing for Poppy and called our relationship quits. 

Honestly, I was relieved. I’d told her she was wrong, but we both knew I was lying. 

“We broke things off.” 

“Sorry to hear that, Dan.” George looked at me, as if he was expecting a reason as to why Alana and I had called our relationship quits, but how could I tell him ‘oh it’s because I’m actually sort of in love with your race engineer that I had McLaren try and steal from you?’ 

“Thanks, yeah it’s fine, it was a casual thing anyway.” 

Lando could tell that I didn’t want to continue discussing it so he turned to George, changing the topic of conversation. “So… anything between Carlos and Poppy? I noticed they were a little snuggly last weekend.” 

I didn’t know if I wanted to slap Lando or thank him for bringing this up – a little bit of both, if I was being honest.  I desperately both wanted and didn’t want to know the answer to Lando’s question.

It really depended on the answer. 

“Poppy and Carlos?” George laughed, a look of disbelief in his eyes. “Carlos wishes – not a chance from her, mate. You know Carlos, he’s a snuggly kind of guy and they were both drunk, but she ended coming back to our hotel room and eating pizza until 3am, falling asleep on Carmen and I’s couch. She and Carmen were so drunk, I had to get a late check out and change our leaving time.” 

I felt a sudden wave of relief come over me, which I tried not to show on my face. Lando, however, picked up on it as he looked at me questioningly. I just nodded my head slightly behind George, signaling for Lando not to say anything. 

“Ah, well bummer for Carlos then,” Lando joked. “You think she’s just not into dating drivers?” I gave Lando a harsh look, silently pleading for him to quit while he was ahead. George knew that Poppy and I had slept together, I mean he’d help set it up, clearly hoping it would turn into something more. When it didn’t, I made sure there was no hard feelings between us; George was incredibly protective of Poppy, and I hadn’t been entirely sure what she had told him.

Fortunately for me, she put the blame on herself, and George and I had resumed our friendship, pretending like I hadn’t slept with his race engineer. 

George shifted slightly uncomfortably. Clearly he was remembering situation with Poppy and I last year. “She’s a private person,” was all George managed to say back, before excusing himself from the conversation, claiming that Poppy was demanding he come back for a review of the FP1 set up. 

As George walked away, I slapped Lando on the shoulder. “Why so curious about her dating life all of a sudden?��� I demanded. 

“Why are you sitting here day-dreaming of Poppy instead of fighting for the woman you clearly still have a thing for?” Lando retorted. I hated when people answered questions with questions, but deep down I knew he had a point. I hadn’t really fought for Poppy last year; I was too scared of losing her as a friend.  

“She said she wanted to be friends. I’m going to respect that.” 

“Did you ask why?” Lando just stared at me blanking, already knowing the answer to his question. 

I hadn’t asked why. I was too scared of the answer, too scared of the rejection, of being told I wasn’t good enough. Last year had been tough with the McLaren car, and this year was proving just as bad. I didn’t need another thing going wrong in my life, so I never asked, even though I deeply wanted to know why. 

“Look, Dan, it’s none of my business, but if it was me, I’d be trying to figure out why and then attempting to fix it. I saw you guys last year – you looked like a lot more than friends every time you hung out, that’s all I’m saying.” Lando gave me a small smile and patted my shoulder before walking back to the McLaren garage, leaving me standing alone in the paddock. 

I started to walk towards the McLaren garage, only to see Poppy, hands full of binders and papers, walking quickly towards the Mercedes garage. I went to call out to her, but before I could, I saw her trip over her untied laces, sending her falling face first onto the concrete. I ran over to her, pulling her up slightly, checking her face for cuts which fortunately there were none. 

Poppy quickly bent down to pick up the binders and papers before they blew away. As she regained her posture, she lifted her head and gave me a shy smile and a nod. “Thanks, Dan – wow that could have been bad.” She shoved the binders and various folders into her briefcase. 

“Glad you’re alright.” Poppy gave me another smile and quietly thanked me again as we both stared at each other. Why did this feel so awkward? 

“You, umm, wanna grab a coffee or you got somewhere to be in a rush?” I asked, motioning to her briefcase stuffed full of papers. 

Poppy let out a small huff, but then unexpected nodded her head yes, much to my surprise. “Sure – coffee would be great.” 

We walked to the nearest F1 coffee stand and each ordered a coffee, before sitting down at one of the little two top tables. 

“How are you feeling about Toronto?” Poppy asked finally. 

“You know, the breaks are a little rough still – but the car does feel better this year. I have some hope.” I wanted it to not sound quite as sad and pathetic as it came out, but this was Poppy – I could never hide my feelings from her, and she knew as much as anyone that the car wasn’t very good. 

“If anyone can work it out, it’s you.” I could feel my spirit lift a bit as she said the words. Poppy had always been so kind and thoughtful, it’s what drew me to her in the first place. We sat and chatted for another 20 minutes before Poppy said she had to leave. I was already 5 minutes late to a McLaren meeting, but coffee with her had been so lovely I didn’t care. 

I didn’t want it to end. 

The rest of the race weekend had been fairly uneventful.  I managed to get a P7 race position which meant important points for the team. As I got out of the car, I high-fived the various mechanics and Michael before heading to my drivers room before I would be ushered to the media pen. As I looked down at my phone, I saw a text from Poppy come through. 

Poppy: Good job out there. Told you if anyone could do it, you could. Xx 

I smiled at the text from Poppy, my heart warming at her kind words. 

Me: Thanks P. See you tonight? 

Poppy: Yes, can’t NOT celebrate a Lewis race win and a double Mercedes podium – think I’d be fired! 

As soon as my press duties were completed, I quickly made it back to my hotel and got changed and ready, carefully picking out an outfit for tonight. Michael had made fun of me for being so selective on my outfit, but I knew Poppy was going to be there and I wanted to look good. 

“Danny – we’re over here!” I heard a voice yell out as I walked into the club. At the back of the room I spotted Poppy, George, Carmen and Carlos all sitting together again. I bristled a bit at seeing Carlos sitting next to Poppy, but reminded myself that they were just friends – just like Poppy and I were just friends. 

At least this time she wasn’t wearing a stupid red dress. 

“Congrats George!” I called out, plopping down next to Poppy and giving her thigh a quick squeeze. “Congrats to you, too,” I whispered a little more quietly to her, earning a bright smile from the Mercedes engineer. 

“Thanks Dan – you and Lando looked good out there.” George shook my hand as a I sat down and moved the bottle of champagne over, motioning for me to take a glass and have some. 

“Yeah the car is feeling better. Looking forward to Australia in two weeks. I think we might be able to place top 10, maybe even top 5.” 

The conversation flowed a bit more before everyone moved to the dance floor. Carlos had taken up the opportunity to chat to one to Luisa’s friends who had brought along, so I moved in closer to Poppy, grabbing her hand. “Wanna grab a drink?” 

“Sure!” 

As we made our way to the bar I ordered Poppy a Chambord, a drink I knew was one of her favorites, and we went back to the booth. 

“So, how are things with your family?” Poppy sat a little closer to me so she could hear the answer to her question. 

“My parents are doing great as is my sister. They’re really enjoying life in Australia at the moment; it’s hard being away from them and my niece, so I can’t wait to see them next week.” 

“I’m sure that’ll be lovely. It was so nice to meet them last year; they’re such lovely people,” Poppy hummed, sipping more of her drink. 

I nodded in agreement, not really sure what to say. We’d agreed to be friends, but the more I looked at her, smiling away and chatting about my family, the less I wanted to be friends – the more I wanted to throw her onto the table and make her scream my name over and over again, other people be damned. 

But, I didn’t – instead we kept chatting away, discussing what sight seeing she had planned in Australia this year. The conversation stayed casual and after another half hour, the rest of the group had returned, effectively ending my alone time with Poppy. 

Still, it felt nice to talk to her and be around her. Maybe I could do this friends thing after all? 

Poppy POV – Australia Race 

After that evening in Toronto, Daniel and I had been texting more and more. It started out with a ‘hope your flight was okay’ but by that weekend, we had gone back to last year’s frequency, sending hilarious memes and random recipes that we found on the internet.  I had missed this part of my friendship with Daniel. He always had something funny to say – always something uplifting. It was refreshing. 

Daniel had asked if I wanted to come to Australia a little early, do a little sightseeing with his family. After first I declined because I knew the media would be all over him that week, but after Daniel sent me a hilarious sad face of his mom along with a video message from her begging me to come, I was done for. Sneaky bastard knew how to get me over early. Daniel’s mom was incredibly kind, generous and like her son, an absolute joy to be around.  Whoever she ended up being mother-in-law too one day would be a lucky woman. 

I arrived in Australia the Saturday before the race weekend, which gave us a few days to explore Melbourne. Danny took me to all his favorite food spots, a few art museums and a couple of lovely hikes. I had offered to get my own hotel, but Daniels’ parents would hear nothing of it. I was surprised when they offered to put me up in their house that they had rented for the week, but they were both insistent. Sometimes his parents joined us on our expeditions, but more often that not, it was just Daniel and I exploring the city together. 

I was shocked – and relieved – at how little paparazzi was around. Toto knew I had gone a little early to explore, he’s even encouraged it, but Mercedes didn’t particularly want me plastered across Formula 1 gossip sites with Daniel Ricciardo. 

We spent the evenings relaxing with Daniel’s family. George and Carmen arrived on the Monday, and they joined us for the dinner on Tuesday. When we broke out into groups and played charades, Daniel and I teamed up and annihilated the other teams, much to George’s annoyance. 

Formula 1 drivers – so sensitive… so competitive, I giggled to myself. Of course I would never tell George that. His competitiveness was the reason I had received a big promotion and raise last year. Still, it made me laugh. 

When Wednesday rolled around, I said good-bye to Daniel’s family, promising to join them for an early dinner on Friday if I could get away from the garage. Unfortunately FP1 and 2 had gone horrifically for Mercedes, so I sadly had to cancel, promising to see them in the paddock after the race on Sunday. 

Once race day arrived, the paddock was buzzing with Daniel Ricciardo fans. Everywhere I turned was his face on a stick somewhere. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of papaya. As I got ready in my hotel room, I saw my phone light up with a text from Daniel. 

Danny Ric: How’s it feel to be surrounded by your favorite color? 

I rolled my eyes at his text. He knew I hated that color, always teasing me about it. 

Me: McLaren needs a better color – feel like I am drowning in papaya over here. 

Danny Ric: There’s worse ways to die. Death by papaya actually sounds pretty good to me. Btw the parents say hey – we missed you on Friday. 

Me: Thanks, trust me I’d have rathered be with you guys than in the garage until 2am Saturday morning. I had to kick George out, make him go get some sleep. 

Danny Ric: If anyone can get that car back together, it’s you. 

I smiled at Daniel’s confidence in me, looking at my phone for a moment before contemplating what to send text.  

Me: Thanks… You know it’d be easier to do if I wasn’t surrounded by Daniel Ricciardo faces everywhere. 

I attached a photo of one of the faces I’ve seen people holding, Daniel’s eyes cut out so the fan could look through the cardboad cut out of his face.  

Danny Ric: I would have thought being surrounded by such a handsome face all day would make it easier.  

Me: One Daniel Ricciardo is more than enough…. possibly too much already ;-) 

Danny Ric: How your lies hurt me! 

Danny Ric: I know you secretly want more Daniel in your life. 

If only Daniel knew how true that statement was. As I read that text, I typed out a response and then deleted it, only to type out another one and then delete it. 

Me: Well, I can concede to one thing, the world definitely needs more Danny Ric smiles, no doubt about that. Good luck today xx 

And with that I put my phone in my bag and made my way downstairs. I saw George standing by his Mercedes, waving to me; Carmen was already in the passenger seat. I hopped into the back seat and pulled out my notes, about to start running through some stats with George. 

“So… how was your week with Danny?” Carmen asked. She knew full well I wanted to talk stats, but the look on George’s face said he equally wanted the answer to Carmen’s question. 

“Fine.” 

“That’s all you’re going to give us?” George asked dryly. I could see him roll his eyes in the rearview mirror. 

“I had a nice time. He’s a good friend.” I put the emphasis on friend, hoping George and Carmen would get the point. 

They did, but they refused to acknowledge it. 

“I don’t understand. He’s clearly interested. What’s stopping you?” Carmen turned around to face me, giving me a small smile.  

“Now isn’t the time for a relationship.” 

“Oh come on, age 28 isn’t the time for a relationship?” George rolled his eyes at me, chuckling as he continued to drive us to the track. 

How exactly was I supposed to tell George ‘oh I don’t want to be a drivers girlfriend because the pressures are too much.’ Carmen was amazing at handling the pressure, and I loved their relationship, but I wasn’t her. I valued my privacy to much, and I was too sacred of losing it. 

“I am, in fact, happy being single. I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy.” 

“No one said you needed one,” Carmen said a little exasperated. “I’m just confused why you don’t want Daniel.”  

“Can we just drop it for now?” I didn’t mean for the words to come out of my mouth so harshly, but I was over this conversation.  George and Carmen silently nodded, a little taken aback by my outburst. After a few more moments of silence, I opened my notebook once again and began reviewing some of the car stats with George. 

***** 

“AND THERE WE HAVE IT. DANIEL RICCIARDO WITH HIS SECOND WIN FOR MCLAREN!” 

As I overheard the Sky Sports coverage in the garage, a small smile crept over my face. He’d finally done it, Daniel had managed to win at his home race. George and Lewis had done well, coming in P3 and P4 respectively, behind Daniel and Max. The crowd to meet the three of them as they parked their cars in the podium spots was massive. George finally spotted me in the sea of people, and he ran over, giving me a huge hug before giving Carmen a big kiss. 

“Good job, George – so proud of you!” I yelled. 

“it’s all your Poppy – all you.”  

I smiled at his response. George was great at thanking the entire team; he knew it was a team effort. As the podium celebration came to an end, I saw Daniel doing a shoey with Max and George, the three of them giggling like little school girls up on the podium. After the podium celebration was done, Carmen looped her arms with mine and we walked back to the Mercedes garage. 

I took out my phone to send Daniel a text, but I noticed that a text was already on the screen from him. 

Danny Ric: Got a shoey in my drivers waiting for you. 

Me: Not worried I won’t come steal the McLaren engineering strategy? 

Danny Ric: Nothing sexier than a little Formula 1 espionage ;-) 

I rolled my eyes at his response, blushing a bit. I knew I should stay in the Mercedes garage, but as I walked back out into the hallway, I heard Toto announce that the team would be able to leave early. We’d all worked so hard all weekend, so the debrief would happen back at the offices on Tuesday. 

Me: Fine – but it had better not be from the shoe you wore today! 

I grabbed my bag and started walking towards the McLaren hospitality suite. Michael was waiting outside of the suite, a look of mischief in his eyes. He and I walked back to Daniels’ driver’s room, where he opened the door and snuck us inside. With all the commotion going on around us, no one even noticed me walk through the McLaren hospitality suite, which was probably for the best. 

“I’ll be right back,” I heard Michael say. Before I could ask him what was going on, he had already left the room, leaving me to sit alone on the papaya colored couch in the room. 

After a few more moments, I saw Daniel walk into the room, a huge smile on his face. He ran over to me and gave me a huge hug, picking me up in the air and spinning me around. I squeaked as he picked me up, wrapping my arms around him. 

“So proud of you Danny!” 

Daniel sat me down and looked me straight in the eyes. His stare was intense, but his smile was still huge. I felt pesky butterflies begin to circle in my stomach. I shouldn’t be feeling this way… we were just friends, I reminded myself. 

“Where is the rest of the Daniel Ricciardo crew!? I’m sure everyone wants to celebrate with McLaren’s hero himself,” I teased. Daniel ignored my comment, gently placing his hand on my chin, tipping it up so I could look directly into his eyes. 

“I love it when you call me Danny.” His words were a tad slurred, and I could tell he was a little tipsy after celebrating on the podium. I felt butterflies forming in my stomach as he said the words. His eyes were looking straight into mine, and I could see some unspoken words in them. 

The moment felt incredibly romantic, so I smiled a bit and backed away out of his grasp, turning to his table and grabbing a glass, pouring myself some champagne from the large champagne bottle. 

I decided to change the subject. “So where are we going to celebrate tonight?” Daniel smiled and motioned for me to sit on the couch next to him by patting it aggressively. 

I did as he motioned and sat down, turning to look at Daniel as he spoke. “Michael has a club booked. I’ll text you the details.” 

I nodded in response, downing my glass of champagne. I went to say something, but I heard my phone going off. It was George. 

“Don’t answer it,” Danny said, a little bit of desperation in his voice. I gave Danny a look of annoyance and opened my phone. He knew I had to answer it. 

“Hey George!” I could hear a ton of commotion in the background, and could barely make out what George was saying. Still, after a little bit of back and forth, George was telling me he was leaving and asked if I was coming. 

“Thanks for the drink, Dan, but I gotta run – my ride is leaving.  But I’ll see you tonight, yeah?” I could feel the energy in the room shift, a look of disappoint on Daniel’s face. It’s as if he was building up to say something, but couldn’t get the words to come out of his mouth. Still, a sly smile formed on his lips and he nodded at me, taking the glass from my hand. 

“Of course – can’t wait!” 

As I turned to leave, Daniel called out to me one more time. “Oh, and Poppy, try and wear something papaya tonight, yeah?” he said with a wink. 

“You’re the worst!” I giggled out, checking the McLaren hallway before making a b-line towards the exit. 

***** 

As I walked into my hotel room, I kicked off my shoes and jumped onto the bed, collapsing from the exhausting day. As my back hit the bed covers, I felt something underneath me. Weird, I thought. The cleaning team had definitely been through my room. 

I hopped off the bed and looked down to see what I had landed on. On the bed was a – now squished – shopping bag. The bag was beautiful, with lovely tissue paper coming out of it. Wherever this piece of clothing was from, it was expensive.

"Must be a thank you from George," I mumbled aloud to myself. Before opening it, I sent George a text, reminding him he didn’t need to get me gifts – I was just doing my job as his race engineer. 

Me: I don’t need gifts, George… I’m doing my job! 

George R: I’m confused...is this you asking for a gift? 

Me: Ha ha, very funny… now stop getting me gifts!

I attached a photo of the bag in the text. I could see three dots form on our iMessage thread, then disappear, then form again. As I waited for George’s response, I went to the bathroom and hopped into the shower, letting the warm water sooth my aching body. Just as my shower finished, I heard my phone ding. 

George R: Poppy, you are family to me. I love you like a sister, and as my sister, I can sincerely say, I would never get you something from that store. No offense but… gross. 

I cocked my eyebrows at that text and then quickly dumped the items out of the bag, curious what was going to be in there. As the items hit the bed, I let out a huge “oooooh”, immediately understanding George’s text. 

On the bed lay a beautiful lingerie set from Agent Provocateur in bright orange – papaya to be more specific. Immediately a text from Carmen lit up my phone, and I rolled my eyes. Carmen and George shared literally everything – and while I loved them both, sometimes I hated their relationship. 

Carmen: WHO GOT YOU THE LINGERIE? AND HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT BRAND?

As a response I just sent her back a photo of the brightly colored lingerie. Inside the bag was a card, which had fallen out with the bra.

The card read: 

Saw this and thought of you.

Figured you wouldn’t have brought something Papaya with you.

Dan xoxo

I re-read the card no less than 10 times. I let my hands feel the lingerie; it was incredibly soft and beautiful. The price of the set was probably more than all of my bras and underwear put together. 

Carmen: So much for being just friends ;-)

So much indeed. I knew I should be frustrated with Daniel. I had made it clear that I was only interested in being friends, but as I put the lingerie set on, I felt myself getting less and less mad. It looked and felt incredible on me… and I felt incredible wearing it. It was simple yet elegant. 

Bastard knew I’d like this set. 

After another hour went by, I threw on the dress that I had brought for tonight and made my way downstairs to where I was meeting George and Carmen. As we hopped into the taxi, Carmen leaned over and whispered, “So are you wearing it under your dress?” She wiggled her eyebrows, causing George to laugh. I was a little horrified that George knew I had received this lingerie from Danny, but decided to ignore the nagging inside of me. 

Fuck it, I was wearing 250 pound lingerie, and I looked hot wearing it. 

I just gave her a sly smile but said nothing, instead looking down at my phone. The champagne had started to hit, and I was feeling a little bolder. 

Me: Wildest thing – someone broke into my room. ;-) 

Danny Ric: Oh? Hope they didn’t take anything valuable 

Me: Quite the opposite, my thief left me a girft… so inconvenient of him, my suitcase is already quite full. 

Danny Ric: Oh yeah? This thief leave you anything good?  

Me: I’d say so… although the color was a little off. 

As soon as I sent the text we arrived at the Melbourne club. The club promoter shuffled us inside the building and up the stairs to the VIP section that had been rented out for the evening. As soon as we entered, I saw Lando run over to us, giving both me and Carmen a huge hug. Luisa was behind him, shaking her head in slight embarrassment. Clearly the McLaren team had spent the rest of the evening drinking before coming here. 

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Danny start to move towards us. He had a huge grin on his face and a knowing twinkle in his eyes. I moved towards him and matched his grin, giving him a hug as I approached. 

“Danny, surprised you’re still standing,” I quipped, motioning to the drink in his hand. He had to easily be on the second bottle of champagne. 

Daniel leaned down, putting his face next to my ear and quickly whispered, “Don’t want to drink too much, sweatshirt, or I might not be able to see that little gift the thief left you later.” 

Before I could retort something rude to him about the unlikeliness of that happening, George came over and gave Daniel a big hug, congratulating him on the win and chatting about the few moments they went back and forth for P1. 

Carmen and Luisa each grabbed a hand of mine and dragged me to the bar to order drinks. 

“Soooo… you going to give Danny a congratulations present later tonight?” Luisa giggled, giving me a knowing look. I looked at Carmen who pretended to not notice my glare as she ordered from the bartender. 

“A polite woman never kisses and tells!” 

“Aww come on Poppy – you’re no fun!” 

I stuck my tongue out at the two of them as I took my drink from the counter and left, walking back towards the group of guys who had found seats at a booth closer to the back. I sat and chatted to Michael, Daniel’s friend, a bit before making my way to the dance floor, grabbing Carmen and Luisa in the process, demanding that they dance with me. 

As Carmen and I swayed to the music, I saw Daniel walk over and cut in. “Mind if I have this next dance?” Before I could protest, Carmen gave me a huge smile and ran off the dance floor towards George at a speed that I think matched the Formula 1 cars. Daniel gabbed my hips and we continued to dance together, letting the beat of the music set the pace of our bodies. 

As the song “6 Inch Heels” by Beyonce came on, I felt Daniel step closer to me, letting his hands gently roam up and down my waist as we danced. I wanted to pull away, but the feeling of his hands on me was phenomenal. I had missed Daniel’s touched – hell, I had missed everything about him. He was amazing in bed and as we danced closer, our bodies tightly wound together, I began to forget all of those reasons why we shouldn’t be together. 

As if Daniel could tell my mind was wondering, he lifted my chin up to face him. “You look so, so beautiful in that dress.” 

“What if I told you it’s not even the most expensive thing I’m wearing tonight,” I said in a sultry voice I did not recognize as my own. I could see Daniel’s eyes darken, lust filling his brown eyes as I turned around, letting my back hit his chest as we continued to dance. I could feel his cock starting to get hard behind me, pushing slightly into my ass as we swayed to the music. 

Daniel let his lips ghost the shell of my ear as he leaned down, whispering, “Oh really now… sounds like that thief really did leave a nice gift, maybe you should consider thanking them.” 

“Well, if I’m lucky, he might drop by my room tonight so I can thank him properly.”   

Daniel turned me around to face him once again, his lips still dangerously close to my face as we danced to the music, ignoring everyone around us. It was if the entire room had disappeared, and it was just Danny and I – not a care in the world. 

Daniel nodded at my words, as if he was contemplating them. “True, although now I think about it, Poppy, I mean if a thief has access to your room, maybe it’s not to safe for you to be there all alone. Perhaps you should stay at a friends tonight.” I didn’t miss the way he said friends, a hint of mischief and laugher in his voice, as if he was slightly mocking me. 

“Well, I would but I think all my friends are a little busy tonight… maybe I should see if Carlos is free?” I said nonchalantly, getting some internal satisfaction as I saw Daniel clench his jaw at the mention of Carlos.  

Before I knew it, I was being dragged off of the dance floor and towards the group. Daniel picked up my purse and waved at George and Carmen. “I’m going take this one home!” 

Daniel hadn’t even thought of an excuse, too wound up after my comment about Carlos. I wanted to protest, or at least put up a fake protest to put forward the illusion that I had some control over this, but as I turned around, I saw George and Carmen laughing, both giving me four thumbs up between the two of them, clearly enjoying my predicament. 

I knew those fools were in on this. How else would Daniel’s assistant have gotten the key to my room? 

As soon as Daniel told the taxi driver the address, his lips were on mine. The kiss was hot and passionate, full of lust. Our tongues were both fighting for dominance over the other as Daniel wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me as close to him as possible.  

Fortunately the club was a very short distance from the McLaren hotel. Daniel pulled me out of the cab and made quick work of getting us into the elevator. As we stepped inside, I saw a group of VIPs standing there, chatting away. They gave Daniel some compliments on the race, before the elevator door rang for Daniel’s floor. Daniel dragged me to his hotel room and quickly opened the door. 

Before I could say anything, he picked me up and threw me on top of the bed, licking his lips as he looked down at me. 

“Before this continues, Poppy – I have to ask, are you sure you want to do this?” Daniel moved closer to me, his pupils were now completely blown. His leaned down on top of me and looked into my eyes; the question lingered in the air a little while longer.  

“Yes,” I finally breathed out. 

“Good because after tonight, I don’t think we can go back to being friends.” 

“Fuck it – we were pretty terrible at being friends anyway,” I laughed, earning a chuckle from Daniel as he tore my dress over my shoulders, leaving me in my heals and papaya lingerie set. 

Daniel crawled over me and kissed my lips, before trailing his sloppy kisses down my neck and chest, making sure to pay attention to every mole and mark that he saw. I whined a bit as Danny played close attention to each of my breasts, giving them the attention he said they deserved. After a few more moments, Daniel began to make his way down my body to where I wanted him most. He slowly pulled my beautiful lacy underwear off, throwing it to the back of the room. I sighed at the contact when his lips left soft kisses around my core, opening my legs a little bit more and pushing myself down. I heard a chuckle come from Daniel, and I gave me a little pout as he looked up at me, a devious grin and twinkle in his eyes. 

“You’re so fucking beautiful. I love everything about your body, all the way down to each of your moles.” 

I felt myself blush, not that Daniel could see it, as he dove into my core like a man starved. Daniel’s tongue began to work its way around my clit, never getting quite as close as I wanted him to as he continued to tease and taste me.  

It didn’t take Daniel long to get me to my first orgasm. As soon as my orgasm hit me, I began chanting his name, grabbing the sheets with both my hands as the bliss tore through my body. As soon as I could open my eyes, still panting, I saw Daniel looking up at me with his beautiful eyes, saliva running down his chin as he licked his lips, clearly enjoying the taste of my juices. 

That should not have turned me on as much as it did. 

As Daniel began to crawl up my body, I stopped him and took the opportunity to switch us, causing Daniel to fall onto his back as I sat on top of his thighs. 

“Fuck Daniel, I don’t know what it is about this thigh tattoo, but its so damn hot.” Daniel just smirked at my reaction, grabbing my hips with both of his large hands to steady me as I observed his tattoo. 

“You want to ride me, baby girl?” 

I nodded in response, lifting my hips as he situated himself underneath me. I began to let myself sink onto him, gasping as he began to fill me up. I had forgotten how big he was, and even though he had prepped my body for him, he still felt massive. I let myself revel in the feeling of him for a moment, slowly moving my body back and forth to get some friction on my clit. As if on cue, Daniel brought his hand to my clit and began to rub slow circles over me. 

At first the overstimulation made me stop a bit, but as Daniel kept going as a slow pace, I began to feel myself hurdling towards that pleasure I remembered all too well. 

“Oh, fuck, Danny – don’t stop.” I continued to bounce up and down, letting my hands steady myself on his chest for extra balance as I could feel myself beginning to reach my second orgasm of the night. Daniel let out a string of grunts and groans, and I could tell that he was getting closer.

“Come with me, baby girl,” he begged – well, pleaded – as he began thrusting up into me as I came down on him, his hand working furiously around my clit. 

After a few more moments, I felt my walls begin to flutter around his length. I fell forward as I reached my climax. Daniel thrusted a few more times, before letting out a guttural sound himself, calling out my name as I could begin to feel his cum drip down my legs. 

We both panted a bit longer, attempting to catch our breaths. Daniel moved me off of him and laid me down as he got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. He returned from the bathroom with a warm wash cloth and cleaned me up, before throwing it on the floor and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. 

“That was…” he began, not being able to find the words. 

“Yeah…” I agreed. 

We both sat there in silence a bit longer, neither of us knowing what to say. 

“Glad you liked the lingerie.” 

“Bold move – dropping off lingerie at my hotel room.” As I said the words, Daniel pulled me closer into him, draping my spent body over his. 

“I meant what I wrote in the note. I saw the set and immediately thought of you. Well, I immediately thought of me pulling it off of you,” he added cheekily. 

I giggled at his comment, slapping his chest playfully. We fell back into a comfortable silence for a bit longer. I knew I had to ask the question that was hanging over us, a question I knew we both wanted to avoid. After a few more moments of silence, Daniel flipped me onto my back, his body was now leaning over me. His face was only inches from mine and he gave my lips a gentle peck. I felt his hands rub up and down my waist in soothing motions. 

Finally Daniel spoke, bringing forward the question I knew he was going to ask. “Why did you just want to be friends last year?” His words were gentle as he brought one hand up to caress my face, moving some hair out of my face in the process. 

“I don’t know, Danny,” I began, but he stopped me with another peck on my lips. 

“I can tell you why I didn’t fight for you.” His words took me aback a bit and I paused, looking deeply into his eyes, curious about what he was going to say. 

“I didn’t fight because I was scared you would reject me. Scared you would get tired of me and my jokes; scared you would be embarrassed about how I was driving the car.” He said the last part so low, I barely heard him. 

As he finished his sentence, I raised my head and pecked his lips, letting a small smile cross my face. “You were worried I’d be embarrassed to be seen with you?” I asked, confusion laced in my voice. Daniel just nodded in response. 

As he said the words I felt a pit in my stomach. I had denied Daniel because of my own insecurities, but as listened to how he felt, I felt silly – stupid even. I felt terrible that I had made him feel that way by denying our relationship, never giving him a reason why. 

But I knew why I didn’t tell him the reason – because he would have told me I was being ridiculous. That no matter what the journalists, gossip blogs or fans said, he’d always find me to be beautiful.  He would have convinced me it was all okay, tearing down the walls I had built up in the process. 

I didn’t tell him the reason because I was scared, but as I looked into his eyes, all of those fears began to dissipate. 

“I said I wanted to be friends, Danny, because I was scared. Scared of being a F1 drivers girlfriend. Scared that people would think I wasn’t worthy enough to be your girlfriend, or that sleeping with you might get me promotions I wouldn’t otherwise get. Scared of losing my privacy…”

I hated how small my voice was when the words came out of my mouth, but as I looked up at Daniel, I saw a huge grin on his face. “You – F1’s most savage engineer and 2x title holder were scared you weren’t worthy enough?” As the words left Daniel’s mouth, so did a chuckle. 

“Babe, fuck anyone who doesn’t think you’re worthy enough. Any promotions you get are backed up my phenomenal results from you and George. You’re incredibly intelligent and beautiful.” Danny leaned down to give me another kiss on the lips. 

I giggled a bit at his assertiveness and then looked away, not sure what to say. “So where does this leave us?” 

“There hasn’t’ been a day where I haven’t thought about you,” Daniel admitted to me. “I still want to take you out, show you off to the world, tell everyone that I have this amazing girlfriend. But I totally understand your concerns for privacy. So, I’d like to take this slow, do things the right way.” 

“Yeah?” I asked, a hint of disbelief in my voice. 

Daniel nodded, letting his body rest next to me now. I turned to face him and gave his cheek a kiss, snugging in closer to him. “You drive a hard bargain, Ricciardo; quite the negotiator.” I joked. 

“Oh yeah? Well, maybe there is still hope for me to convince you to become my engineer after all.” Before I could protest, I felt his lips on mine again. I knew I was in for a long night.

***********

Tagging you lovely people since you enjoyed Part 1 so much!

@d0ntjudgemy50shades @bluebadger8​ @desperate-and-broken ​

Anything tag list!

@ccloaned​  @canadian-girl87 @tita010​ @idkiwantchocolatee​  @sava207​  @organasith​ @elixiann  @carlito55 @valureads @myescapefromthislife @burntrubber-dirtyair​  @loverboysainz​  @cubedkiwi​  @expcteverything​ @the-scarletbitch​  @hungryhungariann​  @vita-di-moda​ @ferrariital​ @chiliwhore @sgkophie-writes

#daniel ricciardo x reader #f1 imagine #f1 smut #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x you #f1 x reader #Daniel ricciardo smut #dr3 x reader #Daniel Ricciardo one shot #f1 one shot #f1 fanfic #danny ric #formula 1 #daniel ricciardo fan fic #f1 fanfiction #f1 fic #f1 x you #Daniel ricciardo reader insert #Daniel ricciardo fic #Daniel Ricciardo x ofc #f1 #formula one #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo imagine #mclaren #formula one drivers

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 2

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

The Forgers' first family outing is when we start to get an idea of how well they complement each other. When he realizes that Anya and Yor aren't exactly Eden tier citizens, Twilight is understandably upset. He even goes so far as to think he may have chosen the wrong child and wife for the job (also the last time he ever thinks this).

As for Yor, we see that she has a noticeable liking for weapons, which makes sense considering her job as an assassin. She stares almost longingly at a painting of a guillotine at the museum, and fondles her knife at the restaurant, much to Twilight's confusion.

But what's interesting is that this is the only time we ever see her exhibit this behavior, and I think it's because she's since found more important things to feel deeply about, like motherly love for Anya and tenderness for Loid (she's always had Yuri, but she's not together interacting with and observing him as often as she will be with Anya and Loid). Whether this was an intentional tidbit of character development from Endo, I can't say, but from a narrative perspective, it definitely fits.

This episode also shows the first of many eventual times where Yor has just the right words of comfort for an exasperated Twilight. Despite the fact that, at this point, she hadn't fully embraced her mother/wife role yet, she takes notice of how worked up he had gotten at the restaurant and suggests that they go outside for some air.

When they see the old lady being robbed, Twilight shows no intention of getting involved – spies aren't supposed to attract attention to themselves with showy heroic acts after all. But once Yor rushes over to help, he decides to follow her lead because, again, he's a decent guy who wants to help people even though he prefers doing it secretively. There was no benefit to Yor for helping the old lady except for the fact that, like Twilight, she's a good person who wants to help others, but isn't inhibited by having to keep up a spy persona like he is. But as for why Yor is so quick to react when others need help, but is at a loss when she herself is a target, like when her coworkers were insufferably rude to her at the party, is a part of her personality that I'll discuss more later down the line.

This is also the first of a few scenes where Anya insists that Loid and Yor are flirting/going to kiss, and they immediately deny it, in an almost uncharacteristically abrupt way.

While it's a very short scene, it's especially strange for the calm and collected Twilight to get worked up about some silly thing Anya says. I don't think Twilight and Yor are romantically in love this early in the series, but the fact that they reacted like this does hint at the possibility that they know the other is not a typical man/woman (in a good way) and they're not sure how they feel about it. Hence the exaggerated reactions when confronted with those ambiguous feelings.

Later that day, as an exhausted Twilight tries once more to go over the interview questions, we get a scene from his POV of Anya and Yor happily sitting on the couch with their teacups. This causes Twilight to think back to the old lady's words about what a nice family they are, to which he tells himself that means they must have made some progress. There are several scenes like this throughout the series that show something from his perspective that is, what I like to call, "softly emphasized." The scene itself doesn't seem like anything major, and Twilight isn't making a big deal about it, yet the scene covers a decently sized panel in the manga and has a sort of "fuzziness" to its shading, conveying a warm, gentle feeling (the anime usually lingers on the scene for a few moments and/or may add fuzzy, warm filtering to the colors and sound).

While other characters do occasionally get scenes like this too, I think the reason Twilight has more of them is because of the kind of character he is, namely, an unreliable narrator. For most characters, even if they lie out loud, we as the audience get insight into their thoughts, and typically that's where we know what they're really feeling. But because Twilight is such a competent liar, and has spent much of his life donning one false identity after another, he insists on deceiving not only others, but himself as well. As a result, even his thoughts are not a reliable source for his true feelings. So to me, Endo includes scenes like this – something that seems mundane, but for Twilight, it's triggering feelings of warmth and comfort, despite whatever his expression, words, or thoughts might tell us – as a subtle yet more sure way of knowing what he's really feeling. In this case, despite his sour expression, he's slowly starting to feel comfortable with Anya and Yor, especially when he recalls that someone saw them as a lovely family.

Continue to Part 3 ->

<- Return to Part 1

#twiyor #spy family #spy x family #sxf #spyxfamily #loid forger #yor forger #sxf analysis #loid x yor #loidyor

[dazais-guardian-angel]

I hate to nitpick the Atsushi hallucinating scene in the new episode cause it was SO well done otherwise, but I'm still really sad that they cut out Francis being there. Like... it's not entirely necessary, I guess, but it just adds so much to his character and to the scene itself?

The Francis in Atsushi's mind is this looming, intimidating presence, because Atsushi did of course fight against him, he was his enemy at one point, but I think it undeniably says a lot that he's even included here at all.

I'm pretty sure I saw this discussed back when this chapter first came out, but while everything Atsushi's hallucinations say to him are framed as negative, putting him down, they can also be read as letting him know that the burden of responsibility for making such a huge decision isn't on him (hence why he decides to let Fukuzawa decide instead, because he can't make THE choice, but he can still choose to act to let someone else decide, and not simply do nothing), and Francis is no exception in this regard. Since he's naturally haughty and arrogant in his personality, this fake version of him doesn't at all feel out of character, coldly saying that "nobody expects anything of you", but again, I think this line especially can also be read as "you are not expected to do anything". In that way, it feels more reassuring, and maybe even dare I say kind -- the fact that Atsushi even considers him important enough of a figure in his life to think of what he would say to him in this moment means that he counts Francis among his allies now. Yes, they didn't get along at first when Francis lied and told him that he only wanted to revive Margaret just so she could kill Hawthorne (because god forbid he actually admit out loud that he cares about people, smh), and obviously because of the whole almost burning Yokohama down and trying to kill him and Akutagawa thing lol, but I'm pretty sure Atsushi changed his mind about him after he saw the state Margaret was in, and recognized how much Francis cares about her and wanted her to be alright. He probably still remembers him talking about his desire to bring back his daughter and save her and his wife, too. The guy still probably isn't someone Atsushi would want to hang out with and be buddy-buddy with during his free time lmao, but the airheaded vain old sport still has a good heart, deep down, and I think Atsushi has seen this by now, because he's a kind person, and so I think it speaks volumes that he unconsciously looks to him for advice here. Francis is just a really good and underrated character, and this is such a small but meaningful moment that shows his development so well, the only moment with him we've gotten or any of the Guild really in such a long time, so it makes me sad to see this cut 💔

I also just feel like not including him kind of weakens the impact of Akutagawa's appearance here?? Like, there's a progression of the order of people Atsushi hears/sees in this scenes: first, people from the ADA sans Dazai, who are all portrayed as on the same level, because he cares about them all equally, aside from I guess Kyouka (again, sans Dazai, the most important person to him). Then, there is Francis, and not to say that Francis is more important to Atsushi than the ADA, obviously not, but he's one of the last to appear because he used to be his enemy, and so he commands much more of a presence, has more of an impact -- but at the same time, like I said, it's complicated: he's not really his enemy anymore, but something between a rival and a friend, and so for that reason his words carry more weight. He is someone Atsushi, logically, shouldn't trust, after what he did to him in the past, and yet he does, because things have changed since the Guild arc, and he knows he can count on him to be there for him and the ADA now.

And then, after him, there is Akutagawa. Who is basically exactly the same as everything I just described for Francis, but times one hundred. Of course Akutagawa would be last. Of course, if there's someone Atsushi would simultaneously and paradoxically be both intimidated by and yet comforted to hear their advice because of their tumultuous history together, far more than Francis, it would be Akutagawa. The progression of ADA members > Francis > Akutagawa in that order gives Akutagawa's appearance much more weight imo than just going straight to him from the ADA members, especially with the specific framing of him standing in line behind Francis to judge/advise Atsushi.... it's just much more powerful, and I wish they'd kept it like this, for both Francis and Aku's characters.

#bungou stray dogs #meta #i know i am one of the 10 Francis fans to exist but dammit i'm defending my dumb sad American silly man!!! #he deserved this moment in the anime it's so important!!!!!! #'you just want Francis to be the weird new dad figure to everyone' and what if i DO OKAY #HE IS A FATHER WHO MISSES BEING A FATHER just let me have him being Atsushi's silly little weird uncle/father guy in his hallucinations oka #in my dreams he's Lucy's adoptive dad and therefore Atsushi's too because he supports her little crush on him #he and Dazai are just chaotic wingmen to AtsuLucy it would be the funniest thing ever okay i need this #(WHAT IF KYOUKA REMINDS HIM OF HIS DAUGHTER TOO 😭😭😭) #but i'm getting off topic ahem- #point is cutting Francis from this scene does it a disservice #it's FAR from the worst thing Bones has ever done don't get me wrong and the scene is still wonderful as it is #but i'm still sad :((((( #Francis crumbs are so rare as is so I was looking forward to seeing him here </3 after how much I loved seeing him in the chapter originall

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

About your last meta, since TV series Dream is going through his character development more rapidly(changing Gault into a dream, admitting he was wrong and apologizing to both Gault and Lucienne, saying that he will try to listen more) do you think he'll survive his tragic fate? I'm desperately hoping he does

honestly, i've almost written so many metas on this, and never ended up posting any, because the short answer is i just don't know

but if you want my evidence either way...

reasons the ending may change

everything is kinder in the tv show. the world it's working towards is just a better place. john not killing rosemary, unity and desire's relationship being consensual and meaningful, the changes in tone to sound of her wings, the fact that dream seems actually open to calliope's suggestion of reconnecting rather than just outright saying no, the corinthian actually taking care of jed rather than just stuffing him in the trunk of his car, i'm sure there's more i can't think of right now, but this adaptation is astoundingly accurate, most of the scenes are taken from the comics word for word. whenever a scene isn't lifted directly from the comics, i invariably find it's more hopeful than what was originally there

when neil was asked why john didn't kill rosemary, one of the things he said was that he didn't want comic fans to think they always know what's going to happen

as you mentioned, the entire gault plotline. dream's entire problem is that he doesn't believe he's capable of change. by making him realise that one of his nightmares is, that's certainly setting some kind of precedent! (and, while i'm not assuming neil won't pull a bait and switch here given the disparity between what lucifer's actually planning to do to dream and what it sounds like they are, "a new age" is certainly a Choice of line if you're planning on killing dream five years later)

rose and lyta. first off, rose is allowed to remember what happened to her, which immediately gives her a lot more agency over the plot. and she knows lyta a lot better, which means that lyta has a support system in the show that she did not have in the comics. if daniel goes missing, in the show, rose knows the entire story, and she's gonna take that straight to dream, if she can. i am sure the "if you have the power to destroy the world, then you have the power to destroy him!" "i don't want to destroy him" line is going to be relevant in the future

reasons it may not:

daniel's still a character. one way or another, i don't think morpheus is going to make it through this and remain dream of the endless

there's no changes made to desire and dream's last scene, where dream talks (in vague terms) about how that was a murder attempt desire just did, killing family will bring the kindly ones down on his head, like desire vowed to do way back when (and given one particular mason interview where they talked about looking forward to the audience understanding all the backstory behind that conversation, i believe this line is still foreshadowing, dream will still have to kill orpheus and lyta will harness the kindly ones against him)

i think the addition of matthew to the scenes in hell adds a lot to later comic scenes (see: this post for more on that)

tragedies are a specific form of storytelling with their own rules, they're not the same as "regular story, but you made the characters lose at the end". sandman, as a story, follows the rules of a tragedy. and as much as i would also like good things for dream, in order to tell this as a story with a happy ending, a lot would have to change right from the start. which, just personally, i don't really want it to, because a lot of the scenes i really like and find the most meaningful of this story would probably have to get cut or heavily modified to support that new story

and further on that, just from a writing perspective - in a story with a happy ending, tension is created by placing obstacles between the characters and what they want, things they have to surpass and fight for. in a tragedy, getting what the character wants has to be so easy, if they were anyone else in the story. tension is created through the fact that everyone involved can see the exit out of the tragedy, it's right there, but the qualities that fundamentally make the character who they are are the same qualities that keep them from acting.

the conflict in this story is undoubtedly between dream and himself. his need to abandon this burden that is far too heavy, vs his inability to take any action that runs counter to his duty. and it's made interesting by who he's placed in opposition to. what is the point of lucifer as a character, of destruction, if dream could listen to them? if watching someone change for the better could actually change him, then what's the rest of the story? he's already learned that from gault, you could cut it right here. and sure you could test that a few more times, but if we were writing a story about an immortal being who learns they're not beholden to their universe given duty, who has to overcome millenia of responsibility and feeling like they're not really a person in order to realise they're in control of their own life and can live how they choose - that's already lucifer's story. and destruction's. why aren't we writing about them, instead?

one of the big questions we ask in storywriting is why here, why now, why this person? and what makes dream unique is his utter unyielding dedication to the rules and to his responsibilities. and that means that, despite every other character in this story pointing out the glaring neon exit sign from the tragedy, he could never have done anything other than what he did

and you could do it, don't get me wrong. if you wanted to write sandman as a story with a happy ending, you could take dream down a path of learning to be someone else, to change enough that he's no longer the character that gets grabbed by the tragedy (though it'll still be a tragedy for lyta). and if we were gonna do that, and do it well, season one has been a good setup for it. but that's a different story, that will require different challenges, ones that actually make him learn, rather than making the situation progressively worse with every challenge he ignores. and it really comes down to i don't know how much neil is willing to entirely rewrite his masterpiece like that

i think s2 will tell, one way or another, because season of mists is where the tragedy properly starts. as much as i ended up writing a longer thing under reasons why not, that's just because they were more complicated concepts to explain, i genuinely cannot predict what neil is gonna do here. every time i think about this i feel like my opinion falls on a different side. but like i said, whether you're aiming for tragedy or a happy ending, you have to sow those seeds early on, or it's gonna leave the audience feeling betrayed, no matter which you choose. preludes and doll's house, they're early enough and unconnected enough they could fall on either side. but i think season of mists is gonna make it evidently clear

#if you want what i'm hoping for: i wanna see the gut punch comic moments on screen and i wanna see how things get adapted #if they do take a happy ending approach then i will have fun comparing the two stories #if they don't im gonna have a lot of fun being emotionally murdered by tom sturridge's performance #hopefully this is comprehensible i am very tired while writing this and i cannot tell #dream of the endless #sandman comic spoilers #mine #meta #the sandman #ask

[amywritesthings]

Hello! I love your writing style and I would love to know the whole process of how. Like how do you outline and do everything that comes with writing a chapter/story? The whole process basically, if it ain't too much trouble.

AHHH HELLO! It isn't trouble at all, sorry it took me a bit to get back to this. I really appreciate your kind words about my writing style. It's definitely the thing I'm most proud about as a skill, since I am also a writer in my day job!

My process is a little chaotic? I guess.

edit: this got long i'll put it under a read more, actually (w/a screenshot of my actual completed outline for a one shot!)

For new stories or new chapters, a scene that's usually mid-story will come to me out of nowhere, and I will build the story around that. I almost always exclusively write my work in bulletpoints before fleshing it out to actual (very short) paragraphs. I don't usually know the ending to fics that are beyond one shots. I tend to mold it as I understand my own characters and how they development way beyond my original concept, because I don't like pigeon-holing myself into one singular outcome.

Once I have the entire (or most of) the idea outlined, that's when I'll start going in between the bulletpoints and 'rough writing', which is literally just me pushing out anything I want. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't even have to sound good. My strength comes with editing after I see the structure written out before me, so my goal is to just get a general chapter/one shot done before I fine tune.

For long fics, I do this chapter by chapter. Sometimes I'll even jump to a chapter 3-5 ch from now and just blurt out a 600-word excerpt that comes to mind. Storytelling doesn't need to be linear, it just needs to be passionate and well-loved.

Then comes the real doozy, which is editing. That's when my real writing happens. I tend to be dialogue-heavy, so once I'm done my first round of edits... I read the entire thing out loud. I deepen my voice (ha) for all my guys I write. I even mumble my smut lines because if Din Djarin's dirty-talkin', I won't let that poor man sound like a moron in the sheets.

Then I format on AO3, copying & pasting to wordcounter.net as I make my last-minute edits so AO3 can't eat my stuff (bc that has happened before and oh it is pain) and post!

For funsies, I went back through my doc and found my entire holiday Nanami x Reader one shot outline for ya!

You can see that I kind of talk to myself through outlines (I'm my own best friend, yes I literally do this in all of my drafts of stories and they can get v unhinged) and I will also add dialogue that comes to mind while I'm outlining that I want to keep for the end story.

If you have any other questions, I don't mind chatting or if you wanna keep sending q's that is fine, too!

#questions. #anon response

[honeyymistt]

hi honey! it’s so good to see you again 🫶🏻

i have a bit of a situation and I’d love any words of wisdom from you if you’re willing.

so two years ago, I met someone and quickly developed a crush on her. a few months after we met, I confessed to her and she said that she didn’t think she had feelings for me and that she would like to remain friends. I was totally fine with that, so the next year was fine. she went abroad for school the year later.

now she’s back and we are co-running a dance club at school together so we are spending a lot of time working together. we have a bunch of mutual friends now so every so often she comes over to my apartment since she’s friends with all of my roommates too. we eat meals together and talk a lot and we make each other laugh.

long story (relatively) short, my feelings for her have returned and multiplied by like a million. I say “returned” like they left but I’m not sure if they ever did honestly. anyway I feel like confessing to her again wouldn’t be the best move, but I feel like, in both the best and worst possible way, I’m going to EXPLODE!!! I’ve been thinking about so many things lately and how me and her are running out of time (we are both graduating in the spring) and I think that sense of urgency is contributing to my want to do something about this.

I can’t know exactly how she feels because I am not inside her brain. all I know is that when anyone mentions love or the future, I automatically and unconsciously picture her. it’s a little pathetic tbh. but I’ve accepted the strength of my feelings and I need a way to express them or at least control them. I guess I’m writing to you for any advice you may have regarding this.

tldr: too much love. not enough time or ability to express.

sorry for the super long message but I’m not sure what to do. thank you so much :) hope you’re doing well

hi lovey!! thank you, it’s so nice to be back <3

this is a such a sweet message. so many people would love to be talked about the way you talk about her. she’s a lucky girl!!!! i always think that clear communication is the way to go. these feelings are a LOT to handle, and if pouring your heart out to her is going to make you feel better then i think, why not? if you don’t think that she feels the same way, you’ll obviously have to structure your confession as just that - a confession. but if you have a feeling that maybe she likes you back, then you could explain it and see if she can confirm it or clear it up. like you mentioned at the end, “too much love. not enough time or ability to express.” i think communication can do wonders for this situation. if she likes you back, then yay!! go on a date!! if she doesn’t, then you move on with acceptance because you did all you could do.

you could always say something along the lines of i know that i already told you this a year ago but i still have feelings for you. i feel like you deserve to know because we hang out so often and because we’re running the club together. i respect if you don’t feel the same way and i want you to know that i’m not going to jeopardize the club or drag in mutual friends. if you don’t feel the same way, i understand and i won’t act on it. i really admire you and i just need to let you know to get it off my chest. (you can adjust this according to how you guys talk to each other and add more details to explain yourself)

i don’t want to say this because it might give you false hope but this is just something to keep in mind. feelings can change. and i say this for both your feelings, and hers. my boyfriend and i went on a date last year and nothing came out of it. we went on a date almost a year later (a few months ago) and it was completely different and we’re dating now. people change, circumstances change and feelings change. just remember that!!

i think that everyone deserves to feel love and confessing could get you closer to that - love with her, or love with someone else. regardless, the choice is entirely yours and i trust that you’ll make the right decision. i can tell that you have a heart of gold, my sweet anon. i am sending you courage and support!!!! i’d love to know what you decide to do and what the outcome is. my inbox will remain open and i’ll always be here. <3

#chat with honeyymistt

[alto-tenure]

azran diphthongs + some other phonotactics notes

I said I wasn’t going to try this, but the semester’s over, so I have to have some project besides my fic to focus on :P You can block the tag “river conlangs azran” if you don’t want to see this.

Part 1: Consonant + Vowel Inventory

Some things I want to add before I get into the post:

/ə/ has to exist in the Azran language for Aurora’s name to be, like, pronounceable. I also put /f/ on the chart, and I decided to make my Google doc with both charts public. Here it is.

Some definitions:

Diphthongs are what you say when two vowels are merged. This doesn’t just happen in words that have two vowels next to each other; it also shows up in other words but is harder to detect.

Phonotactics are the rules of which sounds can go next to each other.

With that out of the way, let’s go.

The reason I’ve decided to put these together is because I honestly do think they go together -- which vowels can be put together goes with which syllables can be put together.

So. Let’s talk about diphthongs.

Other diphthongs that are canon (based on Aurora’s chant): /ei/ and /ai/.

I covered in my last post that the diphthong /oʊ/ is canon to the Azran language.

I scrolled through Wikipedia’s page on diphthongs, and from the languages listed, languages can have a lot or very little. I think three in the base language is good, but there would probably be more in dialects -- and considering the Azran are a worldwide empire, there would almost certainly be dialects. I’m not going to talk about any of those, because I really don’t want to build dialects of a language that I’m building.

Onto the phonotactics!

Something I noticed listening to Aurora’s chant -- there aren’t that many consonant clusters. Here are the ones I noted: /rn/ and /nt/. The city of Ambrosia does have another cluster in it, so there are the canon ones.

I would consider saying “screw phonotactics, let’s go wild with this”, except that it creates too many possible syllables, and I think the written language is probably a syllabary, for reasons I’ve covered in other posts. Also blah blah blah phonotactics are important to understand a language blah blah blah

The thing that makes this really hard is that rules were meant to be broken. And thus every bit of phonotactics must have an exception 🙃

So here’s a few of the guidelines I came up with:

the only vowels words can start with are /a/ and /ɜ/, but words can start with diphthongs that include /a/

the only allowed consonant clusters either have a nasal (/m/ and /n/) or the rhotic

/r/ is pronounced as an approximant after /ɜ/ and as a trill after /a/

every word has to end with a vowel (though not every syllable does)

Actually, I want to talk about that last part a little more before I keep going. I went back and listened to the voice line in Japanese (which does have /f/ in it as far as I can hear, so I feel validated for my decision to add it to the inventory). Now, I’m adding an additional disclaimer here that I am not fluent in Japanese in any way, but from what I do know about the language, all the words in Japanese also end in vowels. The transliteration of “Azran” in Japanese iirc is “asuranto”, which works with both the phonotactics rules I’ve set above, the inventory I’ve assigned the language, and it definitely makes sense for it to be translated into English the same way. Though I still think there’s a distinction between /s/ and /z/ in the Azran language that does not exist in Japanese, so that distinction would be used in the name of their people.

Consider all my posts on the subject living documents; nothing about this is final, and things may change in the future as I develop the language more. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that they will, since languages are flexible by nature -- even constructed ones should have the ability to change.

#professor layton #river conlangs azran #azran legacy

[whiiterice]

how do you do it? how do you cope?

well i look at everything that's ever happened to me. every collapsing domino, every star aligned, every chain reaction to bring me here. and i look at it as experience. i've always wanted to be interesting. to entertain and to attract and to make others laugh. make them cry. make them look at me and think i must be written in a book somewhere because she is so much. she is so much. she is an epitome of a lot. her life force flows like a fountain from her. she is so much. she captures attention like her brain captures the memory of it all. just barely as it brims. because there is just so much. i look at it like experience because everything that's ever happened to me will make for a good story. i will tell my years worth of tears while i giggle. i will unpack my baggage while i jest. and when you sit here in front of me. when you sit here crying, i look at it like experience. because it will make for a good story. a story to tell you, to help you, to advise you, to teach you. what i've once said in laughter was once choked through in tears and you will see that it is nothing now. it is just experience. it is just a good story.

pt 2

maybe it's unhealthy. maybe it's unprocessed, unfair. maybe it's not truly coping. but i never learnt how to do that. i never developed myself far enough for that. because i was left to my own devices when it came to it. so i sought the entertainment, the attraction, the laughter, the tears. and i received it. almost as if it was a gift. lined in silver wrapping paper. silver lines. silver lining. i am the silver lining. i am the product of the aftermath. i am the footprint of the consequence. i am the success of the ramification. i drew up the blueprint. i experienced. i lived a story. a good story. one to tell. i scribble and scram and give my last droplets of words because something must come of me. i must do something with my experience, my story. because it is my silver lining. and if i don't produce then what was it all for.

a small draft to get me started!! this couldn't be more unedited since it was written an hour ago but after months of writers block i will take anything my brain has to offer. enjoy hehe ALSO THE PT 2 WAS SO BAD BUT I LIKED IT ENOUGH TO ADD IT IN IM SO SORRY THAT YOU BEAR WITNESS TO IT

love, rice 🍙!

#writing #original poem #poetry #draft #first post #rambles #new #idk how to use tumblr #what am i even saying #it's one thirty but i think i devoured #want friends #want mutuals #whiiterice

[the-power-of-stuff]

4, 20, 25 💙💙

Hi!! 💗💗 Thank you so much for the asks! And I’m sorry for taking so long to answer them, I really had to think about some of these. 

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Okay, this is really stupid, but...

Sokka glared suspiciously at a cow standing beyond a wire fence off to the side of the road, just about the only sign of life they’d encountered since entering the park. The cow watched the trajectory of the car as it slowly passed, looking unimpressed.

This is from “neither human nor alien life to be found,” which is part of my Sukka modern road trip AU series, and it’s such a silly little line, but it brings me so much joy. 😂 It’s a combination of the image it conjures in my head, and the timing of when the scene occurs — it serves as a break between the dialogue and I think the extended silence is so effective. I don’t think I’m particularly good with humor in my writing, but this moment makes me laugh every time I read it, and I really hope it makes other people laugh, too. 

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

There’s a moment in chapter 3 of “count herself among them” where Suki’s reflecting on the almost-kiss between her and Sokka from when they crossed the Serpent’s Pass, and I use a bit of imagery that I’m really proud of but that I’m not sure anyone else appreciated. Here’s a couple paragraphs for context:

Then he’d touched his forehead to hers and said, “Thank you,” and those two words had felt so loaded, she hadn’t been confident what exactly he’d been thanking her for.

Thinking back on it now, the obvious answer was that he’d thanked her for escorting them. But when she recalled the previous night, how he’d pulled away from her when they’d been so close to kissing, she thought maybe he’d been thanking her for giving him space. Which…of course she had! But honestly, it had hurt, watching him walk away like that. Sokka’d left her standing alone on that bluff, underneath the waning moon, and she’d felt a loss somehow more profound than her own.

In this moment, Suki knows so little about what’s going on with Sokka. She knows he lost someone, but she doesn’t know exactly what that someone meant to him. She knows he can’t kiss her, but she doesn’t know why, she just assumes she went too far and made him uncomfortable. 

But the imagery of that scene in the show is so spectacular — the moon between their faces as they lean in towards each other; and then Sokka leaves, and we get this shot of Suki standing alone in the moonlight as a light breeze blows through. So when I wrote about that scene in my fic, and Suki’s feelings about it, I really wanted to emphasize that canon imagery. 

The moon got between them — both literally and figuratively — and then Sokka left her, and now, with Yue looking over her (but not at full strength; the artists made a deliberate choice to show the moon in retreat (or otherwise being covered up, if you subscribe to the theory that it’s actually an eclipse)), Suki feels not only the weight of Sokka’s rejection, and her own fear and disappointment that she pushed him away, but she also feels the heaviness of whatever is impacting him. 

It’s all there in canon, and that scene has probably been analyzed and talked about to death, but I was really happy with the way I called back to it in that last sentence above: “Sokka’d left her standing alone on that bluff, underneath the waning moon, and she’d felt a loss somehow more profound than her own.”

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

I answered this here but I’ll also add that something that’s equally as fun as my previous answer, if not more so, is being finished, and just getting to enjoy what I’ve written. I know some people hate re-reading their own writing, but I re-read my stuff all the time. I write because I want to read Sukka, so I love when there are more completed Sukka fics out there for me to consume. 😂

Thank you again for the asks, my friend! 💗

#ask game #answered ask #fic behind the scenes #fic meta #my fic #sukka #sukka fic #@sensiblegirl-fe

[theresthesnitch]

Would love to hear about your plotting process! 🥰

Claudia, darling! Absolutely, but I’m volleying the question back at you so I can hear yours.

Send me an ask about absolutely anything.

(Below a cut, because I’m too wordy for my own good)

For me, whether the source is a prompt or a trope I want to write, I almost always start with a particular scene that I want to make happen. It’s usually a pivotal point, either the climax or the introduction of some sort of conflict.

Plotting for me then involves figuring out a lot of scenes that I want to happen. In TS, the next scene I planned (once I settled on AU) was the fire pit scene in chapter 8 (which is a Big Moment for that Jily). For Ignite, it was a lot of scenes, like the Quidditch Locker Rooms, and the Governor’s Ball, and the *Climax*, which is not out yet. A lot of these scenes are pretty disjointed and not necessarily in any order, though I may have a vague idea if it comes “before” a big moment or after. I always start some sort of planning/outline thing that lists out these sense (usually just a few words), so that I don’t forget that I wanted to include it.

For example, for Three Strikes til you’re out, the scene ended up in Chapter 3, where Jily agree to fake date, but James says “whatever happens, you can’t kiss me.” At the time I decided on that, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a canon Jily to Petunia’s wedding or some sort of AU, but I knew I wanted that scene to be there. I actually drafted that one half with the intention of it being a canon fic, and had to cut a line about “Head Boy James Potter” because it no longer fit. For Ignite, it was the “civil tongue” conversation in chapter 1.

I start writing well before I settle on the plot, though, and a lot of times, the plot itself is still somewhat unclear. I’ll know a general vibe to the story, or maybe a few major points, but I figure out a lot of the plot as I go. I also have noticed that I have a tendency to plan the beginning, and the climax, but not the middle of my story. It’s usually something like “here’s how it begins up to BIG POINT….. stuff happens…. And here’s a CLIMAX POINT… and figure out later how to fix this.”

With one last time (never enough), I had it roughly planned out through the climax (which, of course, is James finding out about Harry), and…. Then I didn’t know how to fix the problem I created. I only came up with the ending in the last two ish months, which is wild since I’ve been writing and planning it since last October. It was sort of a looming disaster that I didn’t know how to get out of.

The final structure of the story develops as I’m writing. I tend to write a lot of the Big Points that I figured out earlier, and then figure out how to connect them. As I go, I determine where that fits within the story so that I can have that inform my character interactions. If it happens early in the story, then I know the Jily are still pining, or still angry at each other, or not yet ready to be as intimate as they would be if that scene happens at the end of the story. Sometimes I add small filler scenes to make the flow better between the Big Points, or cut some big points down to small points.

My final read through the story will be to make sure the flow works right, and the reactions seem adequate for how the story has developed.

#snitch answers ask #anon ask hour #or not so anon #writing process

[therandomavenger]

New Beginnings

               This is a big week for me. On Tuesday, the Spring Semester starts, and I will find myself a full-time student again for the first time in 13 years. This will not be my first experience as a ‘non-traditional’ student. In 2009, at the age of thirty-six, I went back to school to get a CIS degree. But that was while I was raising young children full time and trying to materially and emotionally support a spouse with a full-time teaching career. It was a lot. But I did well, even if I ran out of steam and fell about three credits shy of getting my AA.

               I think this experience will be different. I don’t have kids at home anymore, and my current partner is also a student, so we will be able to support each other. We’re even taking an ASL class together. No, this should be a completely different experience, though I know it won’t be stress-free. Also, I’m no longer singularly responsible for planning and cooking all our meals, and doing all the housework, the way I was before. My current partnership is much more equal than my last one was.

               I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, though. I’m older than I was, even if I’m just as healthy, I think. In the intervening years, I’ve done a deep dive into how my brain works, and I know how to be productive. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been getting a lot of stuff done, both housework and writing and reading and other stuff. So, I know I can do it. It’s going to be an adjustment, however, having someone else’s external schedule imposed over mine. I’m going to have to get up on time every day (which means breaking my addiction to the snooze alarm, which is already in progress). I’m taking sixteen units, which is kind of a lot. Only one of those classes is online.

               The subject matter is different from anything I’ve ever studied before. I’m going back to earn a certificate in Digital Art and Design, so I’ll be in a lot of Art classes. Starting with line drawing and beginning design, as well as intro to digital art. That’s just this semester. Halfway through, I’ll be adding an Adobe Suite online tutorial class. I’m hoping this will give me a new set of skills that I can use to support my writing career. But this is an entirely new area for me.

               I spent most of my teenage years obsessively drawing, and I loved doing it, even if the art I produced was terrible. I knew nothing about anatomy, or design principles. S put some nice pictures together but had no hope of making most of my projects match the image I had in my head. Through all those years, I never took an art class. So, getting back to this now, at 51, feels like a return to an old vision of myself that was never quite able to develop. Will I be any better with formal training? I’d almost have to be.

               Future classes will take me further into design skills, including graphic design, as well as digital photography, animation, and web design. I’m excited to learn about all of it. My goal is to be able to gain proficiency at formatting my own books and designing my own book covers, and maybe, if I get good enough, earning some extra money by doing that for other people.

               But even as I add this new challenge, I’m not abandoning my writing goals. I still plan to produce 30,000 words a month. I have been on my new writing schedule for the last two weeks, just to make sure it’s realistic. 2-4 on Wednesday and Fridays, 11-2 on Saturdays. I need to produce 7500 words in those three days, and I’ve met or exceeded that in the first two weeks. So, I know this is doable. I also need to work in time for editing and other publishing-related tasks. I want to release three books this year.

               I think it’s important, as we get older, not to settle into old patterns, but to stretch and grow and learn new things, and expand into new areas. It keeps you young, and studies show it can actually extend your life and help stave off dementia. I’m definitely doing that.

               Am I afraid I might suck at this? Absolutely! But really, if I try this, and fail, then I really haven’t lost much. I lose more by never trying, and always wondering if I could have been successful.

               So, this week is a new beginning. I’m really looking forward to it. I feel like I am at the cusp of an entire new life, and I welcome its unfolding.

#new beginnings #blog post #school year #life #writing life

[blairyg]

The California Sheen

Good Evening!

Tonight, I've been thinking about The Last Shadow Puppets' second record 'Everything You've Come To Expect'. The Turner-Miles collaboration project that has sorely been missed for the past 7 years is such a fascinating group to me, their first LP 'The Age Of The Understatement' being a 60s Pop throwback, wearing Scott Walker not just on its sleeves, but almost looking like him too. However, the 8 year gap between records clearly shows both Turner and Kane developing in all the right ways. 'Everything You've Come To Expect' holds a special place for me, with almost every song on the album being highlights in anybodies record collection. With a song like 'Aviation' kicking the album off, the contortion of strings at the start instantly conjuring Scott Walker's 'It's Raining Today' followed by the main riff of the song show that, while still having the same influence of the first album, the influences are more internal than external this time round.

'Aviation' has those classic harmonies that seem to be missing from your life until you hear them again, the string arrangement being more subdued compared to the first album, but still being a present force within the album (after all, what are The Shadow Puppets if not for James' Fords arrangements'). The second song off the album 'Miracle Aligner' while one of my favourite puppets songs, shows this 'California Sheen' I want to discus. The entire album feels like its wrapped in this strange 60s Californian wrapping that I cant seem to find anywhere else, while perhaps this is the simple fact of being recorded at Shangri-La studios, I'd just prefer to chalk it down to the magic of music. Circling back, 'Miracle Aligner' lyrically hold such fun lines there's to many to include, the strings in the verses really emplacing the idea that The Puppets are back, but they've definitely grown up a bit. Something else to note is the title track of the album 'Everything You've Come To Expect' with it sounding like if 'Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite' was written by the seaside, the song is the most experimental you'll find on this album. A waltyz-y feeling pervades this song, with the string arrangement feeling like waves by the ocean, and those Turner-Kane exchanges on the chorus being such an addition to the song. To again focus on lyrics, this song holds such fantastic lines. 'Hotel Room, Holy Bible, Hotel Room, Free Love Revival' a personal favourite in the song that holds so much for the listener to unpack (though I can say that about nearly every word).

Arguably, the crowning jewel of the album is the track 'Sweet Dreams, TN' (Although if you want to argue its any other song I couldn't possibly argue). The song is only sung by Alex Turner, with his vocals showing off this power and emotion that nobody really knew was there. The strings almost march along in this track, with the lack of guitar being noticeable even by TLSP standards. I remember reading that Alex Turner was done with love songs after this and its not something that I can refute (even if he then continued to write love songs, see 'The Ultracheese' and 'There'd Better Be A Mirrorball') the song holds such proclamations of love that only Turner can write, this time quite lustfully I might add. 'The Idea That You Existed All Along's Ridiculous' for me, is such a poignant description for something I've never been able to describe, 'You're The First Day Of Spring With A Septum Piercing' also holding a special place in my heart. The album closes off with 'The Dream Synopsis' (Although the far superior EP version should have been chosen to close the album). This song is something I can only describe as being snowy, but somehow being a goodbye kiss at the end of the album. The song has such a mellow, dare i say melancholy to it, with the words 'Awful' 'Boring' and 'Torture' all cropping up. Now clearly the song holds some humour with it, the song being all about dreams yet saying it 'Must Be Boring' to hear about them in a tongue-in-cheek way that Alex and Miles have become known for whenever they're in the vicinity. Now personally, the album really ends at 'The Bourne Identity' with it feeling like a final hug and wave goodbye as you gear up to leave The Shadow Puppets once again. The song holding that warm, daylight feeling but the words possessing such a story of low self-esteem and opening up. The first words 'Now I Know Jealousy, I Caught You Talking To The Real Me' something so personally relatable if feels like It was written just for me, about me. Something I particularly love is that the song starts with 'Now I Know Jealousy' which to me, sounds like its as if the album has helped the listener learn jealousy, seemingly covered on the title track with the line 'I Just Can't Get The Though Of You And Him Out Of My Head'. The album wrapping up nicely here, with its California sheen still intact, holds such a special place for me. Lyrically, Musically and the general ambiance of the album. The only thing now is for TLSP to return, and finally finish their trilogy.

[obikinetic]

Tag Game to Better Know You

Tagged by @shywhitemoose!

This is the first time I’ve done one of these, haha. I’ll add a cut so I don’t clog up the feed, it got a little long 😬

What book are you currently reading?

I shamefully have not read a physical book in a hooooot minute. I HAVE, however, read over 2 million words of fanfic since New Years 🥴 I’m in a hellish tomarrymort phase rn. It demands attention. But the last actual book I read was a side-by-side comparative read of Twilight and Midnight Sun, which is such a funny experience if you’re there for simple pleasures. Edward is the most dramatic immortal teen I’ve ever seen in my life.

What’s your favorite movie you saw in theaters this year?

The only movie I actually saw in theaters this year was M3GAN, which was actually very good and fun imo!

What do you usually wear?

I spend the vast majority of my time in my house, so sweatpants and sweatshirts/old t-shirts are my usual attire. If I go out, I’m a jeans/t-shirt or sweater/simple jewelry/makeup kind of gal. My mom has a tendency to dress up a bit when we go somewhere, and I’ve had this behavior imprinted upon me as a result. I have to at least look clean and put together, although I don’t like doing too much.

How tall are you?

I’m 5’4”!

What is your star sign? Do you share a birthday with a celebrity or a historical event?

I’m a Virgo! I share my birthday with P!nk, Martin Freeman, and Bernie Sanders.

Do you go by your name or a nickname?

I don’t have a nickname lol, I just go by my given name.

Did you grow up to become what you wanted to be when you were a child?

I honestly had no idea what I wanted to be when I was little. I had a very hazy idea of something medical, but that never went anywhere. I’m too soft for that and couldn’t stand going to school for that long! I ended up going to college for computer science and getting a job in tech, which was a completely random decision I made the last few months of my senior year in hs. Worked out pretty well though!

Are you in a relationship? If not, who is your crush if you have one?

No relationship, no crush…I reiterate, I do not leave my house 😭 My parents are begging me to get out and try to meet someone, but the odds of me finding someone I like in my area are extremely slim and the process is unpleasant at best. One thing about me though is that whenever I start to develop a crush, I create a timeline on my notes app and document every interaction and unhinged thought I have so that I can laugh about it afterwards. I highly recommend it because it’s absolutely hilarious.

What’s something you’re good at vs. something you’re bad at?

Hmm…I’m alright with artistic things depending on what they are, organizing things, and anything involving following directions. I’m bad at being in large social situations, talking seriously about my feelings, and being assertive.

Dogs or cats?

I like both, but I prefer to be around calmer animals. Most cats are calm, so I like them more consistently than dogs! I just don’t like when dogs are super hyper and loud and pushy, it stresses me out a little bit hehe. I own a very anxious and mercurial cat who I love with all my heart 🥰

If you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?

Ahhhhhh idk…I’ve got a lot of projects that are either almost finished or just sketches, so I feel like I don’t have much to post!! I did this picture of Jimin from BTS when he released his solo album FACE though, and I like how it turned out :)

What’s something you’d like to create content for?

Well. Since I’m in that mess of a tomarrymort phase, I’ve sketched a bunch of stuff from the various fics I’ve read that I would like to clean up and post at some point. I’d also like to delve back into Homestuck and maybe Percy Jackson too - those were middle school favorites of mine and my old notebooks are littered with little doodles. I actually recently decided to make a tumblr for posting all kinds of random fanart besides SW so that I could do that in the future! I haven’t made any posts yet, but if anyone’s interesting in following, I’m @delineate-creates!

What’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

Already mentioned it twice already lmaooooooooo 🫠 Tom Riddle’s evil ass. You wanna know how many random dreams I had with Voldemort in them? Not even just Tom, but Voldemort??? Twelve. And that’s only the ones I could clearly remember. I’ve lost at least that many upon waking. It’s so bad y’all I hate myself.

What’s something exciting you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

I don’t wanna say disappointing because I liked the show for the most part, but I was sad that there was no mention of Cas at all in the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters…like they literally had his adoptive-son-new-God show up, but I can’t even get a name drop??? Please 😭 Dean’s reappearance healed my finale-related trauma though, so I can’t complain much.

What’s a hidden talent of yours?

It’s not necessarily a talent because I had to force myself through years of toil and practice to gain my skills, but I’m actually surprisingly good at softball..? Like considering my personality and disdain for physical activities, you just wouldn’t consider me to be a sports person. Which I’m not really. But even more than that, I’m not a quitter! So after my parents sank some money into equipment and made a few comments about the lessons sports would teach me, I proceeded to grit my teeth and grind through twelve years of travel tournaments and conditioning. And my hs team won states and got runner up twice, so I think I did alright. Glad it’s over now though, I was not built for that stuff.

Are you religious?

Alright now…don’t judge me too bad for this y’all…I’m a pretty devout Christian. You probably wouldn’t think that from my posts, but this is really the only place I let myself act like a normal 20-something person and let loose a little. Irl I don’t go out much, am pretty reserved, attend church every week, have only verbally cursed once in my whole life on accident, and have never had an alcoholic drink. I even teach my church’s elementary Sunday school class. But I absolutely do NOT agree with the alt-right kind of Christianity, and I’m doing my best to teach my kids to be loving and accepting people that we can all be proud of instead of bigoted and small-minded. Please know that I won’t ever ever try to push my religion on any of y’all, especially since so many have been hurt by those that weaponize it. I am so, so sorry they made you feel that way and it sickens me. As naive and lukewarm as this sounds, I really do just want everyone to be happy and feel loved :(

Well. I sure know how to bring the mood down, lmao. Anyway, if anyone read all of that, thanks for listening! I don’t think I’m gonna tag anyone because I could never make a decision, but if you’d like to post as well, then please tag me so I can get to know you!!!

#tag game #I def did too much for this