#which is odd if you think about it but im just trying to be polite because i would never want to do something that could make him-

[lostgirlmuseum]

Maced

Maced

Summary: You think someone’s following you and you mace them. Turns out it’s just Bucky. 

A/N: this is my first ever fic im posting, so please be gentle with me, I know I have a lot of growing to do. This is just for fun!

Words: About 1k

Bucky x Reader

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“Stay back!” You screamed, spinning lightning fast and unleashing the spray into the perpetrators eyes.

“DAMN IT!” The man screamed, bringing the heels of his gloved hands to his eyes. “God! Fucking hell–” he roared, falling to his knees. 

That’s when you finally realized who this man was. 

“Bucky!” 

“Fuck! What the fuck!?” He ignored you, groaning as he rested his forehead on the concrete ground.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize it was you! Why were you following me?” You waved your hands around apologetically, but the damage had already been done.

“I wasn’t following you! GAH– what kind of fucking mace is that? Christ, oh my, fuck!” 

“It’s homemade!” You cried, unsure of what to do. You had never seen Bucky so distraught and helpless before. It was an odd sight to see such a large man all but rolling on the floor in pain.

His nonsensical curses and mumblings continued, his hands still clawing at his eyes.

“Cmon Bucky, I live right around here, let me get you inside and then I can help you.” You pleaded, about to pat his shoulder but deciding against it. He was writhing in pain and you felt guilty enough, worried that even touching him would make it worse.

He didn’t give an intelligible response, but he did make the effort to start standing up, albeit slowly.

You asked him if you could guide him, to which he just grunted, and you took that as a yes. Holding onto his side, the two of you walked thirty feet to your apartment building. Luckily, the elevator was already on the ground floor, so you were able to go right up to your floor.

After helping him flush out his eyes at the sink, you led him to lay down on your couch. You took a seat in the chair across from him, worriedly watching for any signs of renewed irritation.

“Listen, I’ve been pepper sprayed before, but never like that. What the hell was in that?”

“It’s best if I don’t tell you.” You insisted sympathetically. 

He just groaned. You quickly tried to hide your smile.

“Listen Bucky, I really am sorry. I was walking home and I noticed someone was following me for a long time, but it was too dark to make out that it was you. I just panicked.”

“I was on my way to my apartment.”

“I thought you lived with the Avengers?”

“I did, but I decided recently that it would do me some good to have a little bit of normalcy, like having my own apartment, away from Stark tech and the chaos.”

“Oh.” It was silent for a moment. “Which apartments?” You asked casually.

“The Summits on Plum Street.” 

“I guess that’s why you followed me for so long.” He looked up at you in question. “That’s where we are right now.”

“I didn’t realize you lived here.” 

“I can’t believe I maced my new neighbor.” You laughed. “I really am sorry.”

“It’s fine, at least you were trying to protect yourself.”

There came a lull in the conversation, to which you decided to check on his eyes again. You walked over to where he layed, and asked him to “let me see.”

He looked at you with his gorgeous blue—although, red rimmed—eyes. Like an ocean in hell. Or. Something. 

“They’re looking a little better,” you politely nodded, standing straight up after realizing you were getting a bit too close.

“Are you lying?”

You didn’t answer. You thoughtfully tapped your chin.

“I think I may have saline drops in a cabinet somewhere…” 

You wandered off to a cabinet, and came back with a small bottle. 

“Do you want me to do it for you?” You asked sweetly.

“I think I can do my own eye drops,” he responded, a hint of judgment lacing his tone at you even suggesting that.

You threw your hands up, signaling you’d back off, and handed him the drops. You sat back in your chair and stared off out the window. 

A minute passed before he begrudgingly spoke up. “Can you help me? Please,” he quickly added.

You obliged without a single word, already heading to wash your hands, but he still felt the need to explain. 

“It’s harder than I expected. Each time I see a drop coming, I close my eyes. I can’t help it.”

“It’s okay,” you nodded, taking a seat on the edge of the couch. You leaned over him, and looked at his poor eyes again.

“Tilt your head back, and look up.” You instructed. 

He did as you asked. 

“Do you want me to hold your eyelid, or do you?” You asked, realizing you should probably give him a choice to make him more comfortable.

“You can do it.”

“Okay.”

You gently pulled down below his right eye, the rest of your fingers resting on the side of his face.

“It’ll be quick,” you soothed, before doing a quick countdown and squeezing the bottle.

“Good, now the other one. Keep looking up for me.” You quickly switched hands and did the same to the other side.

“Now close your eyes and hold right here, just for like a minute.” You explained, lightly pinching the corner of his eyes. He copied your movement.

“That wasn’t so bad.” You stayed seated next to him, silently observing the details of his face. You’d never been this close to him for long enough to admire without him seeing you. The slight wrinkle between his eyebrows made you smile, as did the slight pink hue of his cheeks. Have those always been that color?

“Feel better?” You said once he peeked open his eyes.

“Yeah,” he breathed.

“Good.” 

AN: I hope the ending isn’t too abrupt, I just felt like writing a short little thing. Thank you so much for reading, it means a lot to me. If you’re comfortable with it, I’d love a like or reblog or comment, but no pressure. ❤️ 

#Bucky x reader #Bucky fic #Bucky fluff #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky fanfic #Bucky x female reader #bucky x f!reader

[everythingne]

marketing ploy - ln4 ch7

Lando recovers. McLaren and Red Bull own up. Olivia and Lando decide the future, and give Oscar a heart attack while doing so. We get our happy ending.

piastri!oc x lando norris, bestfriends brother/fake dating

warnings/notes: hospital visits, mentioned injuries, loopiness from medication, pregnancy/sex jokes, media being bitches, lando going 'guys i gotta keep her' and doing the absolute MOST lmao, this is also TECHNICALLY the last chapter but im gonna write more for olivia and lando most def (also olivia will feature as oscars sister in other fics bc i love her)

prev |

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I haven't run in years.

I can feel the burn of the air in my lungs as I force them open, adrenaline making every rib shake as I suck in a breath and force it back out. My shoes slam into the floor of the paddocks, sending jolts up my legs as I whisk my bag over my shoulder and 'just go' as Christian had said. My mind is swimming with a thousand thoughts. What if he was seriously injured? He was able to walk, but he collapsed, was it his legs? Or his ribs? What if it's his back? Or his arms? How long will he be out? Is this a whole-season issue or just a few weeks?

Fuck, I cannot be thinking about this right now.

I sweep the room quickly to make sure I have everything, patting my pockets to check for my phone--which is nestled in the back left pocket of my jeans, before whirling around and out of the room.

Once I'm out of the paddocks and towards the exits, where it opens a bit more, the wind whisks into my skin and bites me as I use one hand to dig through the side pocket to find Lando's car keys. I can't steady my hands, even when I'm trying to control their shake, they just get worse. Whether it's fear or anxiety, I find it plain annoying as I struggle to get the small keychain out of my bag. Lando had driven me here from the hotel and shoved the keys in my bag since he didn't walk in with his bag and didn't want to lose the car keys.

Luckily, he had, because talking to anyone in this state would be a bust. I could feel my attitude snipping at my heart as people shouted my name at me. I couldn't stop. I had to find Lando. I knew what hospital he'd be taken to, I had to get there in one piece.

And it was going to be hard with the fucking media right here.

A few reporters try to follow me, but I'm able to slip through the crowds like water. Once I make it to the parking lot, a woman steps in front of me with her camera held high and I shout.

"Can you fucking move?!" And shove her to the side as I zip out of the lot. Fuck the standards, fucking being polite, I'll ask for forgiveness later. And apologize, probably.

Throwing my bag haphazardly into the car, I follow suit and slam the door. There's time here for me to scream, cry, and rage in semi-private, but I bite back the bubble in my throat, throwing my seatbelt on and turning on the car's engine. I wait no time to slam the car forward into first gear, pulling out of the lot with shaking hands. My hands slip with sweat as I try when I remember his McLaren's manual. Cursing, I force myself to revert back to the car I drove in high school as my hands dance across the car in perfected practice.

Thank god I still have that going for me.

The highway is empty, where I thought there'd be lines of traffic there are only a few sparse cars. I slam the car as hard as it can go, watching the ticking of the speedometer, 50... 60... 70... 80...

I look behind me, merging into the fast lane and gunning it even harder. The car sings, and I feel an odd rush of momentary euphoria.

I hit around 165kpm at some point. The car doesn't even shake, it seemingly glides along with my movements, I hear sirens, I don't know if they're for me but I'm not staying to find out. I press harder, merging to the off-ramp and taking it, barely registering what's around me as I slam on my brakes and slip into the traffic near the hospital.

It feels good to drive like that. Maybe I should get back into racing at some point.

Once the McLaren is parked in a back corner of the hospital lot, I grab my bag, rip myself out of the car, and slam it shut, and triple-check it's locked. I turn and book it into the hospital, trying to breathe steady enough to keep myself from losing my shit. It feels like I can't run fast enough, slipping into the hospital and around people who dodge my clearly rushed pace. I pause in front of a desk, panicked and out of breath when someone comes to my side.

"Hi, honey, who are you lookin' for?" A kind nurse says, her hand finding my arm to apply soothing pressure as she notices the fear in my movements. I thought I was hiding it better than I was, I guess. I take a slow breath and let the shake in my hands come in, no longer holding everything back.

"Lando Norris, he just came in with Formula One?" I ask and the woman nods. She asks to see my ID and I fish out my license and Red Bull card to verify my employment.

"Olivia!" A voice shouts as my items are handed back when I'm cleared, and Jon comes up to my side, pointing at my head.

"You still have your headset on." He says softly and I look him up and down, pointing at him.

"So do you," I say. We pause and fall into soft laughter as I pull the headset down to my neck. Jon takes me by the elbow further into the hospital, out of the view of some of the reporters who try to snap photos of us as they're shoved out by the security. I hadn't even seen them when I made my way inside. Through the winding halls, and down to a smaller section of the hospital, Jon brings me to the door to what I assume is Lando's room.

"He's fine." Jon starts with, which eases me immediately, "He's a bit banged up, they think he might have broken or bruised one of his ribs. He's really out of it, the painkillers made him super loopy. Just a forewarning, he's also been dipping in and out of consciousness so don't be alarmed. It's just the painkillers."

"Is his family here yet?" I ask, looking at the door, and Jon shakes his head no once I look back at him.

"They're driving at normal speeds, so no. I don't wanna know how you got here so fast." He steps forward and knocks. A nurse pops open the door and welcomes us inside, Jon stays back while I make my way to the bedside. Lando's wearing a tee shirt and some loose sports shorts, he looks exhausted. I can see bruising on his legs as I nurse tosses the blanket over him as if trying to hide it from me.

"Here!" She pulls up a chair happily and I thank her as I sit down on it, taking my bag off and setting it on the floor, dropping my headphones in. I sigh, taking Lando's hand and feeling his pulse as if the machine that literally tells me that is lying. It feels good to feel his heart thrum under my skin and I kiss his wrist where the pulsepoint is.

"My girlfrien's not g'nna like you doin' that." Lando tries to take his hand from me, Jon snorting in the doorway. I let go of him and laughed softly, leaning up to brush his hair back from his face, the longer curls sticking to his forehead. He's still got the lines from his helmet and balaclava, and I trace one with my finger as he gives me the nastiest stink eye I've ever seen him muster.

"Hi, Lando." I croon, and he whines, slowly rolling his head to the side.

"I have a girlfriend." He states, poking my hand to push it away from him and I send him an odd look. Jon walks over and I can see he's recording, which makes a small amused smile poke at my lips.

"Lando," I laugh softly and Lando whacks my hands away softly, fighting through the weariness of his pain medication to wave his arms.

"I have a girlfriend." He pouts, laying his hands still at his side. I just laugh again, and Lando shouts in his dreary state, "It's not funny! I do!"

"Shush, shh, Lando." I stand and push my chair back a bit as I stifle my laugh into the back of my hand.

Jon calls from where he stands, attempting to help me not laugh by giving me something new to focus on, "Who's your girlfriend, Lando?"

"Olivia. Oscar's sister, which he was actually not happy about at first but I convinced him I was cool--" Lando keeps rambling on until I lift my hand and cup his cheek, running my thumb under his eye as I speak softly.

"Lando, baby, I am your girlfriend." I put a hand on my chest, "I am Olivia."

Lando blinks, eyes settling on me before he gasps and leans up to grab my face and pull me down for a litter of soft pecks to my cheeks and face. I catch myself on the bed and laugh, catching his lips as he happily grins up at me. It's all doe eyes, lovesick smiles on his lips as he keeps his hands tight on my face.

"Hi, baby." He whispers, bringing me in for another kiss and I detach one of his hands so it can rest by his side. I slowly situate him against the blankets with the help of Jon, and sit a bit closer to the head of the bed so Lando can be close enough to me. He keeps one of his hands in mine and I slowly run my thumb along his knuckles.

"Well, Mr. Norris!" A piercing voice calls, a young woman stepping into the room with a bit of an excited flourish, "You are all set! Jon's gonna look over your scans, specifically for those bruised ribs. We're thinking it'll be about three or four weeks of healing, and he's gonna make that like--workout plan and stuff with your personal doctor."

"Ah, thank you, Doctor." Lando smiles, watching as the doctor hands Jon some papers to look over. She smiles at me, a hint of recognition in her eyes.

"Olivia, right?" She asks and I nod, shaking her outstretched hand.

"I'm glad you made it here, Lando was waiting for you a bit impatiently." She kept her happy smile, rocking from foot to foot, "Kept asking us where you were, or when you'd get here. You've got a good man on your hands here, sweetheart."

"I know." My heart is bursting, "He's shown me that over and over."

--

11 JULY, ENGLAND. ↴

oliviapiastri and landonorris have posted new stories!

mclaren has made a new post!

liked by oscarpiastri, maxfewtrell, danielricciardo, and 876k others..

Thank you once again to @ oliviapiastri for taking care of our #4 and providing the team with love and some pics while he was recovering! Lando is at home now, and our official statement on the accident and other situations this season has been posted on our website.

View the story: McLaren.uk/formula1/landoolivia...

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mclaren.uk...

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON SITUATIONS BETWEEN LANDO NORRIS AND OLIVIA PIASTRI THIS SEASON.

WRITTEN BY STEVE ATKINS (M), ON BEHALF OF ZAK BROWN (M), ANDREA STELLA (M), ALICE MCLOUGHLIN (ORBR), ASTRID MARINA (UNAFF.), ADA LUANNE (UNAFF.), CHRISTIAN HORNER (OBRB), AND HIMSELF.

On the 22nd of February this year, Lando Norris (MCLAREN F1 TEAM, DRIVER) and Olivia Piastri (ORACLE RED BULL, HEAD OF ANALYSIS) were pulled into the office of Christian Horner (ORACLE RED BULL, TEAM PRINCIPAL) in Bahrain. A deal was struck between both parties and their corresponding teams to create a fake dating scenario, capitalizing on the tensions between Oracle Red Bull Racing and the McLaren F1 Team to push ticket and merchandising sales. This fake relationship was planned to eventually leak in PR and Social Media Strategy, however, due to Norris' crash in Silverstone, the entire program has been canceled. The program was also discovered by F1 Stewards upon investigation after Olivia's reaction to the accident cemented rumors in the media of the two dating. Both the McLaren F1 Team and Oracle Red Bull are under investigation, and fines are yet to be announced.

Norris and Piastri chose not to be a part of this statement and can be expected to make their own statements in the coming weeks.

On July 9th of this year, Lando Norris was involved in an accident in the pitlane of Silverstone. Engineers have determined this was caused by an overheating of brake lines that didn't allow Norris to stop his vehicle along with worn tires. No fines have been placed at this moment.

Olivia Piastri will return to work with Red Bull remotely immediately and will be in-person by Zandvoort. Lando Norris will return to racing with McLaren by Zandvoort and will be replaced by reserve driver Bianca Bustamente for the time being. Neither Norris nor Piastri will be fined for involvement with the media stunt, or with the accident as of this moment.

20 JULY, LONDON ↴

There’s a sort of haze around me as I blink sleep from my eyes. A warm pressure on my left makes me look to the side. Lando’s face is squished against my chest, soft snores leaving his slightly parted lips and rolling across my bare skin that pokes out from under my tank top. I take a moment to take it all in, how we’d gotten here, how we were, and I can’t help but roll to pull him closer to me and curl him inside my arms as I pepper a few kisses to his hairline.

How did I ever not like him? He's a fucking saint.

Lando, a heavy sleeper until I started sleeping in the same bed, noticed immediately and grabbed my waist with groggy whines about how tired he was. I coax him back to sleep, kissing his hairline and gently massaging his back until the snores return and I smile at Lando’s sleeping face.

“Awake yet?” Oscar calls from the door, and I wave. He laughs under his breath, waving me over, and it takes a bit of grace to detach myself from Lando. Once I do, I grab one of the spare throw blankets off the floor from where Lando had kicked it and slip over to where Oscar is standing by the door as I wrap it around me to keep out the morning chill.

“He’s exhausted. I think all the stress of the season is catching up on him.” I rub sleep from my face, and Oscar nods, handing me a piece of toast like a peace offering. I take it and tilt my head at him.

“They’re fining McLaren and Red Bull a lot for this stunt. It just came out.” Oscar hums, “said it’s a breach of contract and a risk for documents to be shared amongst the teams…”

My heart jumps to my throat, and I look at Lando’s sleeping form as he rolls into where my fading body heat is still in the blankets, “they want us to split?”

“Well. Lando’s contract ends with McLaren this year.” Oscar paused to take a sip of his coffee before leaning in to whisper, “and you didn’t hear it from me, but Christian has been looking at grabbing him for a few years now.”

“Is Checo moving?” I ask because I know Max wouldn’t leave Red Bull unless we forced him out by dragging him by his ankles.

“I dunno.” Oscar grins, stepping back and whacking my shoulder, “but you can date within your garage, so.”

With that, he walks away and I turn back to Lando as he starts to stir. I lean on the doorframe and watch as he blearily blinks his eyes open, hands searching for me in the covers until he lifts his head to see me off in the doorway.

“C’mere.” he croaks, and I smile, pushing off the doorframe and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed as he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on my thighs.

I can’t imagine him in navy. But it might look good on him.

25TH JULY, LONDON ↴

“is Max positive?” Lando pokes his head into the kitchen doorway, looking at the island where I’m staring at my laptop. I look up and shrug, sending an email back to Christian about the fines and the media being on his ass for the whole stunt.

“Kylie said it’ll be here in five minutes,” I reply, refreshing my email as if that will make the minutes suddenly not matter and for the email to pop up. Apparently, Max had gotten sick right before the next race. While I was home with Lando to make sure he wasn’t being strenuous and to keep media off my back until everything died down, they had to do a COVID test on Max and isolate him just in case.

“It would suck if he's out for his home race this year." Lando wanders into the kitchen and pulls up a stool next to me as he sets his phone down on the counter. He’s been living in Oscar and my apartment for the past few days, just until next week when he goes back to McLaren's training center for a bit to do a lot of physical therapy before getting in the car next weekend for Zandvoort.

Oscar calls my phone, and I stand up, telling Lando to keep checking my email as I make my way over to the other side of the kitchen to grab my phone.

“Yes, bitch?” I say into the phone and Oscar laughs at my sharp tone.

“Just checking in on Lando for Zak,” Oscar says and I look behind me and my boyfriend—like, actual boyfriend now, and smile.

“He’s been fine, ribs are still a little sore. I had him doing cardio earlier and he was faring pretty well so I—I think Jon said he can go back to training a bit earlier. He’s still coming back in Zandvoort though.” I hum, “how’s Bia faring?”

“She’s having the time of her life. I gotta start bringing her around more. You guys really would be an unstoppable duo.” Oscar laughs, “But good, Jon is off today so I’ll let Zak know to reach out to him and ask.”

“Ollie!” Lando whines and I turn.

“Yess?” I draw out as I walk to his side.

“It's negative.”

“Oh, thank fucking god.” I breathe, “That makes everything a lot easier for me.”

Oscar is quiet on the line for a few moments before asking in a small voice, “What’s negative?”

“Max’s COVID test. He’s just got the flu.” I say without thinking much of my brother's hesitance before he lets out a soft laugh.

“I thought you took a pregnancy test or something, I was about to start judging the type of cardio you’ve been doing,” Oscar says and I shout,

“Dude!”

“I feel like that’s a reasonable thing to be worried about!”

“Oh my god, we’ve only been actually dating dating for like two weeks!” I groan and Lando sends me a confused look, so I pop Oscar onto speakerphone.

“It only takes like—five minutes to make a kid!”

“Hello?!” Lando shouts and I sink to the floor in a fit of laughter, trying to bite back the volume of my laughter before Lando shouts, "Do you think I fucked your sister?!"

"No! Stop! Stop talking Lando!" Oscar shouts over the phone and now I'm hysterical on the floor in tears as Lando tries to backtrack and Oscar keeps shouting for him to just-- "Shut the fuck up, Lando!"

"Both are you are going to kill me, I'm losing it." I wheeze from where I'm now lying on the floor, Lando laughing alongside me as Oscar groans.

"First the house, now this?" He says and Lando makes some noise in the back of his throat as I manage to calm myself down enough to stand.

"What about a house?" I wipe under my eyes, leaning my head on Lando's shoulder as his arm wraps around my shoulder and he kisses my head, his fingers poking at my side and making me squirm as I push him away with a laugh.

"Nothing, love." Lando sighs, "Remember when they gave me those painkillers that made me super loopy the first night, and Oscar was watching over me?"

I nod, remembering how halfway through my grocery trip he had to call me because Lando was so loopy he thought that I was gone forever. And he had literally cried tears of joy when I answered Oscar's phone call.

"Well, I kinda... oh my god this is so embarrassing." Lando sighs and Oscar tells him he now has to tell the story and Lando hides his face in my hair as he recounts, "I was looking at apartments in London for us."

"Stop, oh my god." I whine, turning to Lando so I can kiss his cheeks and his forehead, pulling him down when he tries to move back so I can't, "That's so cute."

"No, it's embarrassing." He grumbles and I laugh, pulling him closer and kissing along his jaw and then the apples of his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

"I wouldn't mind that," I murmur to him and his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, his hands find my waist and he presses a kiss to my lips.

"Ew, I don't like that I can hear him kiss you over the phone." Oscar groans, "I'm hanging up now, don't do anything too strenuous."

"Fuck you, Oscar!" I laugh as the call hangs up, Lando keeping his arms firmly around my waist. We sit in silence for a few moments before his hand ghosts up the side of my neck to take my jaw in his palm, thumb hooking on my chin to pull me down to look at him.

"Would you seriously not mind?" He asks softly and I grin, leaning over to pop a quick kiss on his lips.

"Getting to have you with me every day?" I bring our foreheads together, his curls against my own as his hands find my waist to hold, my hands resting on his shoulders as I grin and flutter my eyes closed, "That's paradise."

"I'll literally buy one right now, don't even test me." He groans, pulling me closer and I laugh.

"Let's get Zandvoort out of the way first, yeah?"

JULY 28TH, TWITTER ↴

AUGUST 27TH, THE NETHERLANDS ↴

Luckily for me, I made it into the paddocks long before any media people. Max welcomes me with a slap on the back as I welcome him to his home race, and then I'm greeted by the Ferrari drivers once again as Checo laughs at my bewildered expression.

"I'm gonna tell the Tifosi on you both." I huff, but let both Charles and Carlos wrap me in tight hugs of congratulations as we laugh. Once the two are carted off to go do their actual jobs, I get settled in my chair and glance down at my desk before laughing.

A vase of freshly cut flowers and a little cup of coffee sits there, waiting for me, and I turn to look at Max who just grins.

"He's determined." Is all Max says before slipping away as he's called over to get dressed. I laugh and send Lando a quick thank you message, before taking a sip of the perfectly made coffee and settling down to finally get back into gear.

"Welcome back," A voice chimes and I glance up to see Christian in the doorway. I offer him a small smile and a nod.

"Good to be here." Is all I say in reply.

-

Lando and Max seriously just want to kill each other in these cars. Max takes the win at his home race by some insignificantly small number, they had to literally watch multiple playbacks to see who crossed first, which means Lando is still in good running for World Champion. Luckily, somehow a mix of car issues and the pure energy from Oscar, Charles, Checo, and Carlos managed to keep Max in P2 for most races, leveling out the chances for Lando to recover his lost points.

As soon as most drivers have returned to their paddocks, I'm mid-packing up when I'm ushered off by Logan, who finished P6. He quite literally hoists me off my feet and carries me into the crowd for the podium. A few other drivers lag back, and I look over to Oscar, who'd finished P4 behind Charles.

"Where's Lando?!" Logan shouts over my head at Oscar, who points, and then leans over to me.

"Here's that kiss they promised you'd have to do," He shouts in my ear and I laugh as the two lift me so I can be partially over the barrier holding back the audience from the racers. I wave Lando down and he laughs, slipping away from a reporter as he finishes an interview. Biting off his glove as he walks over, he drops it into his helmet and then grabs my jaw with that now gloveless hand, pulling me into his lips for a quick peck. I don't let him leave though, grabbing his jaw and pulling him back in for a few more deeper kisses.

Oscar cheers and Logan laughs before Lando secures one arm around me to pull me over the barrier. Logan and Oscar immediately hop over after me.

There's warmth in my chest as Lando keeps his hand on my lower back, pulling me through the crowd of drivers and up to where Max and Charles stand. A giddy excitement thrums across my skin.

I could do this forever.

--

SEPTEMBER 3RD, INSTAGRAM ↴

oliviapiastri made a new post!

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, charlesleclerc, and 876k others...

oliviapiastri: 6 months <3

charlesleclerc: damn y'all move fast

oscarpiastri: DUDE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE ARENT LIVING TOGETHER IN OUR WHOLE LIVES. CHEERS!

maxverstappen: cheers!! looks lovely

user1: THEY LIVE TOGETHER?

alexalbon: DUDE ITS BEEN SIX MONTHS??

⤷ landonorris: I KNOW??

landonorris: omg i can post this publically now

landonorris: i LOVE YOU OLIVIA<333

user2: lando going bat shit in these comments is so real

landonorris: I LOVE U SM DARLING

⤷ oscarpiastri: i liked it better before the FIA made them announce it. i wanna go back in time to before that happened.

⤷ oliviapiastri: get me a tardis then

⤷ bbcdoctorwho: we can make that work ...

⤷ oliviapiastri: HELLO?

user4: dying dead gone deceased i love them

landonorris posted a new story!

#f1 fanfic #ln4 fic #f1 smau #f1 fic #lando norris au #lando norris fanfic #lando norris fic #lando norris imagine #lando norris x oc #oscar piastri fic

[mxtantrights]

Omg, girl!! Im the one who requested the "enemies" to lovers with Jason Todd one, and GIRL. I loved it. Was better than i was expecting. Please, write part two!( kiss scene? Hehe)Or a whole Bible if you want. Honestly, i only said a "quick" one because i was trying to be polite, didn't want to push or anything lol.

Anyway, thank you for writing my request!!

thank you soo much!! <333 this is a second parter to this post, but it can be read as a stand alone. hope you enjoy it as much as I liked continuing it!!

The kiss happens in two parts. Not to say that you can carefully dissect it into two parts, but that the kiss almost happens once and then it finally does, kind of.

Once when the two of you are on mission. In a slimy dive bar in some redacted location. You've been following your mark all day and ended up here. He's slinging back cheap shots of an off brand liquor as you and Red watch from the roof of the place.

He's been followed all day and hasn't made you once, which is a good thing. Or a bad thing. So you and Red decide to switch it up. There was no need to drag it out any longer. You could confront him and get the info you needed.

That was the plan.

Until the two of you were about to corner your mark. You were waiting on the street and Red was on the other side of it. It was going well until all of a sudden he met up with a familiar face. Falcone. Red pulled off his side of the street quickly and met up with you.

He doesn't say much. He doesn't say anything at all as he takes your arm and drags you around the wall of a store. You have half the mind to question him but you don't. Until he starts taking off the bottom part of his mask.

You try to stop him, but he crowds into your space. He whispers a very clear apology for being too close to you. And then he explains that him being here, would be a dead give away to Falcone. He might blow up whatever plans he has.

Both of you can hear them walking your way. And the only thing you can think of is apologizing to Red before fitting his fcae right into your neck. In the darkness of the night no one can really see his helmet. Or both of your suits.

They walk by without any second thought to the two of you. And you wait about five seconds before telling Red he was okay to pick his head up from your neck.

The drive to he motel was awkward to say the least.

The second time is when you're in the middle of changing in said motel. It's the last night of the mission. You're just about ready to go home to your comfortable bed and front door that has more than one lock.

Red is in a room on this floor. But the two of you haven't run into each other outside of your masks. It's weird. Like weird as in, it probably should have happened by now, but it hasn't. You think to yourself maybe the universe isn't ready to answer that question yet.

With a towel wrapped around your body you're about to start changing into your sleep wear when you hear something odd. A pop coming from outside. Then another one.

You grab your firearm and go over to the door. You look through the peep hole and see nothing. But you know you heard something. So you open the door , just to peek your head out. And at the right time too.

All of a sudden you see a tall man, white streak of hair, coming your way. He's wearing sweatpants and a black muscle tee. Once he makes eye contact with you, he starts running your way. You don't have time to close the door before he's standing in your face begging you to kiss him.

He's out a breath, and he's practically begging at this point. You're not about to kiss a random man. But when you hear the following footsteps you know he is in danger.

So you agree. And this guy apologizes to you in advance as he leans you against your door and cradles the back of your head with his hand. You almost sort of melt into the kiss. Just for a second. only for a second actually.

Because you realize, the way this man just apologized for what he was about to do, is the same way Red apologized to you the other night. And your brain feels like it's on fire because you realize this isn't some random man. This is Red.

This is Red and you know what he looks like. And he definitely knows it you because your'e the same person he saved in the alleyway in Gotham. Coincidences like that don't happen. Especially when you kind of hinted at it with the first word you said to him as a civilian.

🏷️ @12134z03

#dc x reader #Jason todd x reader #Jason todd imagine #Jason todd blurb #dc blurbs #dc imagine #dc #Jason todd

[jounosparticles]

reply to the tags of your reply to my previous ask: PLEASE RANT TO ME ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP!!!! i want to hear. they rot my brain too and im glad that i found someone who's also suffering the suegiku takeover

OKAYOKAY YAY!!!!! this will be fun >:)

a huge suegiku analysis:

okay in the last ask you mentioned how tetchou stabs jouno for fun and sillies and stuff which happened to make me think a lot about how tetchou acts decently different around jouno than others.

tetchou is typically rather formal in the way he acts in a way? as in he's very straightforward, generally composed and calm in his words, and polite to anyone he's dealing with.

an example of this is when he still treated the cafe owner kindly despite him being an "accessory to terrorism" in jouno's words.

basically, in most situations, he remains very composed. even when he's up to his sillier antics (like when he was watching ants or doing pushups during a meeting). he's direct and straight-faced almost always around most people. he doesn't act that way to be seen as silly, it's just who he is (and i love it).

i would imagine he could act this way for many reasons. it is most likely him being professional, likely as a reference to the irl tetchou who had samurai lineage; making him act with the tone and professionalism of samurai.

despite his professionalism, maybe he has difficulty being expressive around most people, or maybe he doesn't want to be expressive around people by choice.

but this is where he's different around jouno.

firstly, i'll talk about the times he's stabbed jouno. this has happened twice, and both were to de-escalate jouno from his tendancy to mentally torment people.

the wording in these panels implies this is a regular occurrence. which is a little funny to me hehe.

anyway, we see by the way that he acts around others that usually he de-escalates situations by talking first instead of acting. he will turn to violence if he believes it's needed, but typically he talks first. we see this when he confronts kenji verbally before attacking.

yet with jouno he doesn't bother to tell him to stop first, instead opting to jab him. remembering that the hunting dogs have enhanced physical strength, a small stab wound probably isn't a huge deal for them.

because of this i think the stabbings are tetchou partially teasing jouno. him messing around like that isn't something he does with anybody else but he seems to enjoy pissing off his partner.

also. stabbing him directly in the ass? gay as hell. jouno following up by saying "don't poke my ass every single time" implies that his ass specially gets jabbed a lot. hmmmm

anyways

another example of this is when tetchou smirks/chuckles at jouno insisting that he's the greatest hunting dog. the small laugh was most definitely to bother jouno.

mmmm theyre both so pretty.

once again, tetchou pushes aside his composed self and being intentionally silly only really happens towards jouno.

arguably, this can be shown again in the pushups scene.

tetchou acting unbothered and then calling jouno's weight "just right" while he continues to exercise seems like a combination of him trying to (jokingly) annoy jouno as well as his tendency to not acknowledge his own actions as bothersome or odd to others.

anyway to sum up this segment: tetchou is only seen intentionally bothering and teasing jouno and nobody else. he acts much differently towards others but seems to let his professional guard down around only his partner. this shows a great layer of trust and comfort between the two!

oh. but im not done talking about this. not at all.

the other huge display of emotions for tetchou was everything that went down with kenji.

as displayed throughout most of tetchou's appearances, he's incredibly justice-orientated. he has a tendancy to put justice above everything. here's a couple panels showing this:

ooog tetchou is so pretty. i love that left panel so much

using his own logic here, he should have went after bram after having found him. tetchou even admitted that, but there was one other thing more important to him than that. jouno.

starting here, this panel takes place after bram and aya escape. at this point, tetchou had assumed the agency was using bram to control people; meaning it wasn't just kenji he technically had business with at that time.

i will also preface this by saying the book's influence likely had an impact on tetchou attacking kenji before they could finish talking.

however, the book's writing didn't stop tetchou from insisting on finding jouno before taking down the agency. his worry towards jouno's whereabouts made him change his stance on justice as well as deterred him from prioritizing taking down the agency.

now that he's talking to kenji, i'd like to start it by showing that he seemed genuinely grateful and happy when kenji initially offered to help him find jouno.

as well in the anime, his eyes soften when kenji offers to help.

after talking to kenji for a brief moment, he opts to attack instead of continuing. this seems out of character for tetchou; he even apologized to kenji before saying he needs to find jouno as quickly as possible.

the fact that he apologized, combined with how we've seen him treat people in the past shows that this isn't typically what he resorts to.

also, in the anime we can see the gloss his eyes slightly shaking as he says this line, which could display worry, sadness, or anger towards whatever could be happening to his partner.

he seems almost distraught, which is a huge contrast to his typically-composed self.

and, of course; there's the fact that mid-fight tetchou had to tell kenji that jouno is a good person despite what people think.

he looks genuinely sad here, as if he's speaking from his heart. jouno has very-clearly put up a tough exterior that he uses around everyone, but tetchou goes out of his way to defend him even when he absolutely doesn't need to.

he could have stayed silent or just said he wants his coworker back, but he insisted on stating that jouno is a good person.

it's also important to note that nobody else tends to speak kindly of jouno, which puts a lot more depth on their closeness to each other. tetchou sees through jouno's words and actions and knows that he is heavily misunderstood.

and of course, we have tetchou directly saying that he will place jouno above justice despite knowing what the right course of action should have been.

he is putting jouno above the very thing he basis his career as well as his morality on. that's how worried he is. that's how much he cares.

and in this panel, we see he's extremely angry towards kenji's lack of response.

lets compare this to the first time tetchou fought the agency.

in chapter 61, when he was fighting the agency alongside jouno; he kept a more menacing/intimidating look as he attacked. when he was not attacking, he kept calm-looking despite being pissed off. compared to when he was fighting kenji in chapter 100 and looked infuriated. even the different fonts used for the dialogue puts further emphasis on this.

now, i'm going to jump ahead to the end of tetchou and kenji's fight. tetchou recognizes his mistake and asks kenji to kill him.

it's important to note that his reasoning as to why he should have chased justice was because he doesn't think jouno would have condoned his choice.

he specified it again, even opting to call jouno his friend. also note how white his eyes are here, meaning his intent was pure and he genuinely felt awful for misjudging what jouno would have wanted. he cares so much that he was asking to be killed for misunderstanding what was the correct course of action.

and then after kenji insists on helping him find jouno instead, he smiles in relief before the two pass out.

one last small note is that we've only ever seen tetchou smile three times throughout the manga so far, and all of them were mentioned here and involved jouno.

to sum it all up: tetchou, who is typically very composed and justice-orientated, is willing to throw aside his entire stance on justice for jouno. he lets his professional guard down around his friend, allowing them to tease each other and be silly as well, which he doesn't appear to do around others often. this shows that the two have a close bond and genuinely care so much about each other.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

as for jouno, i don't have as much to say however there definitely is a few things i'd like to touch on.

firstly, despite claiming to hate tetchou a lot, jouno still uses a respectful honourific (-san) whenever he refers to him. i'm not a japanese speaker so please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong but there's a good chance jouno would opt to not use an honorific at all if he genuinely detested tetchou as much as he claims.

and when it comes to teasing, jouno does it much more often than tetchou does (however he also messes with more people, it's just a personality difference between the two).

clearly with the way they act around each other, jouno does not actually hate tetchou. i think they like to bother each other by play-bullying.

also, noting on jouno's criminal past, he was given an easy oppurtunity to be thrown into the DoA where he could be incredibly powerful and would likely not face any consequences for his actions had he joined.

we know he declined fukuchi's offer because he found joy in saving innocent people. but i would the influence of the other hunting dogs helped set him into that place of mind. tetchou seems to be the one he works with most, so there's a good chance he takes a lot of inspiration from how tetchou handles justice.

another thing i noticed with jouno is that his displaying of emotions is almost an inverse of how tetchou acts. jouno keeps smiling a lot despite who he's speaking to. in contrast, he can keep a straight face when interacting with tetchou a lot.

of course, that could make it seem as if jouno is unhappy around tetchou, but i would argue it's the opposite.

some people will force a happy expression to appear unassuming or kind (or in a lot of jouno's cases, intimidating). so him allowing himself to maintain a straight face around tetchou could mean that he is comfortable enough around him to not feel the need to express everything. he doesn't need to keep his guard up around tetchou.

jouno almost always keeps a very happy or calm composure around enemies, likely as an intimidation factor. yet he allows himself to express frustration and annoyance around the hunting dogs in general, and most often with tetchou. i'd like to imagine this just shows his security in his partner.

jouno talking to an enemy, for reference ^ i also just really love this page hehe

the last thing i'll mention here is a lot of speculation on my behalf. however i think that jouno seems like the type to push away those close to him. i kind of perceived his supposed hatred towards tetchou to be a combination of joking around as well as possibly a defense mechanism to try and avoid keeping people close?

my main reason in stating that is that he's claimed to not like any of his coworkers yet still opts to not betray them and still works well with them. if he truly hated tetchou, he probably wouldn't allow them to work together. he likely says such things to avoid being liked too much, and these actions proved to work since tetchou acknowledged that everyone sees jouno as cold.

yet through all that tetchou still knew he was good despite the exterior, which makes them well-suited for each other.

anyways: i feel like these two really do treat each other much differently than they treat the other people around them. that puts a lot of emphasis on their bond and closeness in general. they can be silly around each other, they can get through arguments no problem, they make a great team, and clearly care about each other a ton! they mean so much to me <3

i love my sillies :)

#i would apologize for such a long post but this ask enabled me. sorryif it's written roughly lol it is a lot longer than expected #also!! sorry for taking a whole day to answer. i wanted to hold off until i had the time to go in-depth on it !! #i doubt you were expecting me to go on for so long though. whoops sorry i am just super passionate over them #asks #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd jouno #bsd tetchou #bsd tecchou #saigiku jouno #tetchou suehiro #tecchou suehiro #suegiku #saihiro #jouno x tetchou #jouno x tecchou #bsd analysis #axls rambling #jouno saigiku #suehiro tecchou

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

everybody stay with me im shifting back into speculation & analyzing mode, this time about everybody's favorite pair of besties. ill put this under the cut for everyone's sakes

and please, take all of this with a Hefty grain of salt.

so ive been... thinking about a thing. a maybe-possibility. which if this has some merit, the part of me that loves characters having a good time and feeling good feels is screaming in fear. but the louder part of me that loves angst and hurting characters is rubbing its little fly hands together.

short version: i think Barnaby is going to emotionally distance from Wally, if not outright grow to resent him. maybe temporarily, maybe not.

full version: *cracks knuckles* strap in folks. so.

first of all, an entire chunk of Barnaby's bio is dedicated to his character relation to Wally. everyone else only has one-off lines dedicated to their relationships to other neighbors - even Frank & Julie just have single sentences about each other (note that they're described as "partnered with" and "depicted with" respectively. more on that soon). even Wally's bio has his Barnaby mention tacked onto the end of his first paragraph instead of being its own dedicated section

and then there's their character designs - their bios explicitly point out that they share characteristics; color schemes, hearts on their soles, similar outfits.

they were made to be best friends. literally. this quote is what made me start turning this theory over in my mind (sourced from @ /theneighborhoodwatch's collected & absolutely fascinating livestream trivia)

it appears that Barnaby literally did not have a say in whether or not he and Wally are friends. their bios even say "illustrated pages note that they were best friends multiple times." they have to be best friends.

which brings us back to Frank & Julie. they briefly reference each other in their bios, but they aren't described as best friends. it's incredibly likely that they were meant to be a romantic couple - i briefly covered that theory in this post (dont read the first one i was going insane) but they managed to avoid that. Frank and Julie defied the script and chose to be best friends instead.

and then in the trivia document a few more character relationships are briefly touched on, like how Howdy considers Barnaby a close friend, and Sally considers either Barnaby or Poppy as her closest friend, etc.

everyone else seems to be choosing who they're close with. they're forming their own opinions and dynamics and relationships. & its interesting that Barnaby is stated for both of these - as if implying that he may return the friendship feelings, or at the very least he's developed enough of a relationship with them to earn their affection

Barnaby and Wally... i doubt they ever got that. they were best friends from the start, no development, no choice. it's written into them.

and then there's how their relationship has been portrayed so far. i believe i saw an ask where Clown stated that Barnaby is very polite to Wally, which struck me as odd. have you ever had a polite relationship to your best friend? have you ever seen best friends be polite? i'd be surprised!

best friends mess with each other! they tease and rib and roast! what is a best friend for if not mutual tomfuckery?! jesting around? playfully pushing boundaries? a Polite best friendship... that's a straight up oxymoron. no such thing. that sounds boring and exhausting.

not only that, but the fact that Barnaby is often used for Wally's painting segments, and is the go-to guy for teaching Wally something new, is kind of concerning. it gives me the vibe that a big part of Barnaby's literal reason for existing is to be Wally's friend & guide.

which would make the fact of him being described as polite to Wally make sense. of course he's not going to push their relationship or try to deepen it - he's forming his own dynamics with the other neighbors. with Wally... it's already established. that is how they are with each other. that is what they are to each other.

and it's not like Wally can be the one to introduce nuances. i don't mean that as a slight or anything - he's just the way he's been described and the things stated about him that make me think that he wouldn't really... know how to? it just wouldn't occur to him. he probably thinks his and Barnaby's relationship is what a best friendship is and is how it should be.

but they have to hang out. they have to refer to each other as best friends. and while i believe that Wally does wholeheartedly think that they're best friends, close as can be... i doubt Barnaby feels the same. like - yes, he probably does care about Wally. everybody likes Wally.

but it's gotta be frustrating for Barnaby, especially as time goes on and he becomes more himself as a person over just being a character playing a part. it probably stunts his relationship growth with others, since his ~best friend spot~ is already taken and who would want to encroach on that? especially since its taken by Wally mcfuckin Darling?

their friendship might become less of a role and more of a responsibility. Barnaby might grow to feel obligated to stick with Wally as his "best friend". someone invites Barnaby to hang out and/or help with something? sorry, he has to pose for Wally's painting. Barnaby is trying to do his own thing? sorry, Wally is knocking on the door and asking for help with something.

i wonder if Barnaby ever hopes that Wally will go to someone else, or feels relief when he does. and then does he feel irritation/guilt over that denied hope or that granted relief? then does he get angry at himself for those emotions?

how would this effect how he treats Wally and acts around him? this confusing muddle of emotions and this strange growing resentment for his painfully earnest friend who only ever means well, if he means at all.

it makes me curious whether or not this theory has merit. and how this could come to a head. what would Barnaby, in this situation, do if/when he discovers that they're puppets on a set, and he's literally written to be Wally's bestie while everyone else changed their scripts and chose their own relationships.

personally, i don't think he'd be happy, and i doubt he'd handle it well.

#holy Shit this was tough to translate from my brain #i literally wrote it all out in my head while in the shower #and then i went to get it down on 'paper' and it was Tangled To Hell And Back #*taking a break from art* #brain: soooooo we're bored now. lets overthink and share these thinkings #welcome home theory #welcome home speculation #SERIOUSLY THOUGH IM SCARED FOR BARNABY AND WALLY #mainly for wally bc Ouch it would hurt him to have their relationship sour #barnaby getting resentful and wally not understanding why his best friend is acting differently towards him #and PLEASE keep in mind that im mostly talking outta my ass here #but like.... ugh #barnaby looking at wally walking over one day and feeling the urge to turn away or groan in irritation/exasperation #him posing for a painting and wishing he were anywhere else. #him wanting to be closer with other puppets but unable to bring himself to try bc of the Guilt #everywhere he turns hes called 'wallys best friend' and asked 'wheres wally? hes usually with you' when hes alone #and hearing 'if you want to find wally/barnaby go look for barnaby/wally. if you see one the other isnt far away' #that has GOT to get on his nerves over time #this constant stagnation of their relationship while everyone else is evolving and growing. hes Stuck. #even julie & frank who were written to be together find a way to circumvent that and add so much depth and uniqueness to their relationship #if you want a happy side of this. it could lead to barnaby & wally being really truly besties #barnaby could have an arc about thinking 'holy shit it was all fabricated. Fuck that and Fuck you[wally]' #and then going 'holy shit i Do actually love and care about him[wally] and i want us to develop a real meaningful friendship' #BUT WHO KNOWS who knows not me! #also it must be tiring to constantly have to explain his jokes and so many other things #bc wally Is a curious guy! he wants to learn! #but maybe barnaby just wants to have an uninterrupted conversation but he Cant bc wallys just built different #not said as a bad thing At All. #just... people are complicated. sometimes we have mean thoughts/emotions that conflict with what we really think/feel and our morals #we're only human. everyone is mean sometimes if only in our heads.& yeah theyre technically Puppets but lets not get caught up on semantics

[demoniccomplex]

heey, how are you? I'm happy about the event!! I'd like to request Chuuya x f!reader (or gn reader) with the prompts 10 and 5 take care of yourself and thank you in advance <3

10 ( “i..i promise there is nothing in the candy.”) + 5 (“you're my only reason im doing this”)

hi anon! doing well, i am too, im really exciting to being doing one of these and each request makes me really happy! hopefully i didnt make him too OOC, i tried my best with chuuya

-WC 770 // valentines event open!! tws: kidnapping, drugging

Slow days always seem to bother you but it was somewhat interesting today. You didn't want to push your luck with whatever and whoever, so you just choose to relax. The Port Mafia didn't take Valentine's seriously so you continued working as usual. You took your time doing paperwork, occasionally looking back at the clock. Thinking of things to do when you go home, probably treat yourself while binge watching another boring show for fun. Could go out on your own and do your ownself café date while just walking around and buying whatever catches your tastes. While in your mind-strucken daydreams a knock sounded from your door, pounding a little harder when you didn't respond the first time.

Finally snapping back, you called in whoever was knocking at your door. The door opened delicately and your higher up, Chuuya was walking into your room. You straighten up and recollect yourself in respect. Giving a smile you greet him, while nervously waiting to see what he's here for. His eyes quickly landed on you and started walking towards your desk. He was clear on what he wanted, asking you out for the evening, you squeezed your hand as you accepted his invitation. "Be there at 5 pm."

Slow days always seem to bother you, but, at least you have something to look forward to. It was still nerve-wracking since it was Chuuya of all people. Gently tapping your desk while looking at the clock. You're on friendly terms with Chuuya, talking for long periods if youre allowed. He's considerate towards you and seemingly kinder. He is always just.. there when you're around. You let these thoughts go easily, you should be getting ready after all. Putting the paperwork you've done to the side, you get up and get ready to leave, the nervousness still not leaving you. 

You tried to look your best, shaking off some self doubt, he's gonna be fine with how you look. deciding to leave just a bit early just in case of setbacks. Finally you reach the restaurant Chuuya told you about. nodding at the waiters politely when you found out Chuuya was already there. Walking towards him, his head perked up to see you, giving a gentle but anxious smile at him. He greeted you back just as politely, the date going well and you started to notice he stared for too long. The questions always led back to you. Was anyone bothering you? Has anyone hurt you? He must've also caught on about his odd questioning and cut back on it. Something was clearly off which made you start thinking back but you tried not to worry too badly. The date came to a close, but before you could get up Chuuya gently grabbed your hand. Gifting you some chocolates, they were open slightly. "My apologies, I didn't want you to struggle with opening them."

You continued onwards, the chocolates were fancy but looked normal. You started to chew and noticed the taste but you blamed it on the unfamiliar brand. However you couldn't help but ask what was in them despite your third consumption.

"I..I promise there's nothing in the candy." You froze, there was something in the candy and you could already feel the lag in your movements. Starting to panic, you tried to get up but Chuuya was already helping you up. Started shushing you while your consciousness was rapidly dwindling. 

You woke up drowsy, seeing double while moving slowly, everything was delayed. The nausea was overwhelming so you continued to try to stay still while everything swirled around you. Calming down, you noted your surroundings, you were on a bed, everything around you looked nice and expensive. "It's a precaution but I'm still sorry it had to happen this way." 

You tried to lift up your head gently to look up at the voice that spoke up. You didn't want to yell incase of feeling worse, your glare held anger and confusion. It bothered Chuuya, but he brushed it off as shock. "Look I know this is bad but-"

You didn't let him continue as you started shooting questions at him while also not letting him continue. Obviously this pissed him off a little, "you're my only reason im doing this!, I hate seeing you getting hurt so now you belong here."

His tone was firm yet he held back from yelling, it still got you to quiet down. The hatred in your eyes was still sharp, you did start calming down then the realization dawned on you. There's a good chance you weren't gonna leave this place.

#yandere bsd #bsd x reader #yandere bsd x reader #bsd #yandere #yandere chuuya #chuuya x reader #bsd chuuya #yandere chuuya x reader

[kivaember]

What does Rusty think about Pater, Hawkins and their lurid office romance? I mean, aside from probably hating them for being corpos of course. Pater's impression of Rusty was one of the more humorous bits from the game so I wonder if Rusty was aware of him doing it... Ditto for O'keeffe too, one of Pater's lines says that O'keeffe looked out for him and he gets upset if you kill O'keeffe so they must've at least had a positive working relationship.

CLAPS HANDS TOGETHER im going to ramble about Pater and Vesper dynamics now LETS GO

I hc that Pater likely joined just under a year before they were sent to Rubicon, and most of that year was spent with him being used as a glorified dogsbody. He was a Gen Ten, the most ~advanced~ augmentations, and likely was put on the Vespers as a demonstration of their technological prowess or whatever. Pater was a young, ambitious corporate ladder climber too, so he was very skilled at brown nosing and putting forth the correct persona depending on who he was talking to.

Just one problem: the Vespers are full of freaks.

Freud refused to acknowledge his existence beyond what was mandatory (tho he's like that for anyone who isn't a) his direct chain of command, b) snail or c) a good opponent), Snail privately resented him for his advanced augmentations and was low key trying to figure out what their benefits were so he could steal them for himself somehow, Maeterlinck was very neutral towards him bc she's actually the only sane person in this goddamn group and is just here to collect a paycheck and a good retirement package, and Swinburne saw him as competition that was going to snatch his Vesper number from him or leapfrog over him to the next number just like Rusty did.

So, his reception wasn't exactly the warmest. O'Keeffe wasn't warm towards him either, but O'Keeffe doesn't play promotion politics (he's already set for life and enjoys various perks the other Vespers don't) and he treats Pater as any other subordinate. O'Keeffe's a bit odd, but he's forthright and fair, and Pater appreciated that, esp as O'Keeffe gave him some helpful pointers on how to navigate life in the Vespers.

Rusty was a little more enigmatic, and Pater honestly could never get a good read on him. Superficially, Rusty was very friendly and always willing to chat whenever Pater crossed paths with him, but Pater could tell that Rusty's smiles were very practiced and artificial, and that there was very little true warmth in his eyes.

Actually, Pater genuinely thought Rusty was like him: just a better actor. Pater admired Rusty for his effective masking skills and studied him closely to better his own masking and friendly persona. Like, Pater was good, but he knew that sometimes he could be a little off-putting bc he either didn't strike the right tone of his smile wasn't quite right, but Rusty was very charismatic and charming and such a good liar, so Pater definitely jotted down a lot of mental notes and tried to emulate him.

(Rusty had no idea about this but he definitely would've been peturbed to know that Pater admired him for being such an amazing liar dfhdfhdf actually i want to write a Pater pov drabble about Rusty being a liar now-)

NOW ONTO HAWKINS.

Hawkins is a little like Maeterlinck where he's actually kind of normal, but, there is a but here: his augmentation time wasn't as easy or clearcut as the others'. He came on the heels of the rather fatal and dangerous Gen Five and Gen Six experiments, and it rests heavy on him that his Gen Seven augments were safe only because of how many lives were lost before him. So, he looks at Pater and sees a young lad totally oblivious (lol no) to the highway of bones he walked on to get to where he is, and wants to guide and look out for him.

Which turned out easy enough since Pater was delegated to help Hawkins out a lot with his logistical issues. Pater, thrust into a group where majority of them saw him as either a hindrance or competition, basically huddled under Hawkins' protective shadow bc Pater's a survivor and a ladder climber and he knows to stick to his useful assets and allies like glue.

Hawkins developed feelings for Pater, and yes there was the telenovela drama of oh no, i can't, he's my junior!!! but eventually Hawkins came clean and Pater calculated.

He does hold genuine feelings of affection for Hawkins, but he also ran all the calculations on what this relationship would bring him, how useful it'd be, its pros, its cons, and after weighing all that was like yeah it'll give me more than i'll lose so let's go for it!

Pater, I feel... DUAL NATURE and his emblem make me feel that Pater is well aware of the life he leads, where he has to don a mask to get to where he is and further. i don't think it's meant to represent like, a split personality or anything like that, but more like a representation of what the cutthroat, capitalistic society has forced him to be.

You don't promote being honest and earnest and trusting - you just get stabbed in the back. You have to get close to those who can do things for you, enter into deals of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" to create a web of favours and obligations and "put in a good word for me!" or "oh he's such a nice guy, let's do this for him". You have to be good at donning the right mask, the right persona, at watching someone you have affections for be cut down and in real time make the very conscious and sharp adjustment of "oh my god no" to "ok ok you have to think what this'll give you you have to think about how you can use this" bc Hawkins being dead means he's lost more than just the emotional support, he's lost the material, the physical, he has to focus on "how can i turn this into a win?"

That turned way more rambly than I thought shhsadfd but Pater fascinates me because he really is a product of the kind of corporate society in armored core 6. There's no honestly, no earnestness, no true self. Just masks upon masks, ruthless social calculations, and stuffing down any true feelings because the only real comfort you get in this world is success and winning.

i have completely lost the thread of what he question was but i hope you enjoyed that ramble???

#armored core 6 #armored core #v.viii pater #my brain just picked this topic up and sprinted with it #i really do wanna write that pater pov on rusty tho #that admiration for a guy who's perfected the art of masking #pater unaware its bc rusty is a corporate spy #tho the possibility crosses his mind #but he's like well if he is he's doing a good job at it so good for him

[anglerflsh]

for the statecraft/political thing, im trying to figure out the semantics of a government with shapeshifters in it, they naturally have lots of different body types but also odd disabilities that need to be accounted for like inability to shift/fly/magic illnesses etc. As far as i have its just that most of the power is with the citizens but they do have a figurehead ruler that tries to deal with other systemic conflicts imbalances and issues with immigration (as little as there is bc you need magic to get in), asylum, and healthare stuff. Theyre kinda smaller scale than usual after a big war made a lot of lives lost and scattered and theres someone that is supposed to be the rulers right hand specifically so if the ruler is unfair they can be killed and selection begins again. Most of the city is laid out around a round central square and is roundly shaped in general but im thinking that other nearby towns would be shaped differently based on the occupants veiws and magic abilities. This particular city is mainly focused on community, but still has poorer sections where people are less magically inclined and those sections tend to fall into disrepair. If you got snything at all, critique or addittion, city plans or politics, its much appreciated and i hope you have fun!!

Alright!! It seems like you're dealing with an elective monarchy that is coadivated with some sort of public assembly or council. This is a mixed type of Government, and it's a nice one. I'll leave some consideration and some questions that you could consider to further the system under the cut ^^

The ruler has power only over a specific set of issues - all of which from what you've said seem to me to fall into Domestic/Internal Social Politics. And I'm assuming all that the ruler does not decide is then handed to the citizens, again, from what you've said. I'd say to narrow down what exactly is competence of the monarch and what is of the democracy - does the ruler choose on wars, do they rule the army, or are those decisions of politica estera left to the democracy?

The ruler isn't in a hereditary position! Fascinating. This combined with the specificity of their duties would make me think that this role would ideally be taken by someone who's specialised in the field… you could either make this position elective, with candidates coming either from the general public or some sort of nobility group (families with a lot of wealth and power, of that have had a lot of governmental roles in the past, that sort of thing), or you could make it selective and make it be chosen by some sort of group - Depends on how democratic you'd like to make this: before hereditary positions were the norm, kings were chosen by the upper class from the upper class, so you could go with a similar set-up.

Is the right-hand able to take any decisions, or are they only there to act as a check? Are they also elected, and if so, is it in the same way as the king? Does the right-hand change after the king is killed, or does it stay the same person? It reminded me a bit of the consul system in Rome, so maybe looking into that might help.

If every other decision is taking by the citizens, you do have to figure out how exactly that happens, too Is there a popular assembly of every single citizen voting and debating and proposing decisions? That works in small settlements, but you seem to be working with a multi-city state. There are a couple of ways to go about it, I can suggest either to divide the territory in electoral colleges - by geography, by class, by census… anything, really - and have voting happen per-college to reach a final consensus (like the roman republic did with centurie/curie/tribù), or to have each place elect a rappresentative that can then go to some other collegial organ where the decisions happen.

Are there smaller decisional organs, like city councils, to decide on smaller matters that only pertain to a certain place? Can anyone propose something to decide on, or just some group/s? Does your country have a legal system? If so, are there laws that only the ruler can make, or are they within the realms of the democratic system? What's the justice system like? Is the ruler also the highest judge, like in medieval monarchies, or is that system completely different?

Who is in charge of the execution of the decisions? Is there a burocratic system of government workers?

Are there associations of traders in the same field who decide the inner regulations of that type of work (think le Arti in italian medieval times) or is that left to the government? If so, to which half of it?

This system sounds really cool! Hope all my questions can help you figure it out a bit more, remember that if you're writing a story you don't need to have all this figured out! Just the parts that matter for the story to make logical sense. Like, if you never touch on commerce or on the justice system you can leave that out completely. !! thanks for letting me play in this space I'd suggest you to look up the two or so different irl systems I mentioned for inspiration

#[.asks] #solary-cycle #infodump tag #worldbuilding #there are More Things I haven't touched on but this is mostly a me giving a nudge to your initial starting point #a few of the More would be what are roads like! how's the agricolture - what are these people actually Living Off Of and how is it produced #is there a religion? is there more than one? #etc and etc #again I'm not an expert!! I'm just a history student who likes to ask questions about this and there is so much I haven't touched yet :')

[mtkay13]

im not op but im gonna bounce off on it still!!!! mt such a great analysis i love what youre saying about how the narrative in tyk works, how through recontextualization (either by the narrative itself, shifting angles at a later date, or the reader when rereading the novel) things come to light that were intentionally or by happenstance hidden before. many thoughts regarding narrative and how it works (and how zzs makes use of it). this topic specifically has my brain rotting since i first read the novel. tyk has always felt like a tragedy disguised as a comedy to me, youre putting it so well. anyway, this is not an analysis but your words (and also op‘s words) reminded me of the scene in ch.8 (i think) when wenzhou are in the forest and investigate these two sudden murders and follow wkx‘s underling into the abandoned graveyard. especially the scene at the graveyard, told through zzs‘s eyes, is so super interesting to me. i imagine in other wuxia stories this would be atmospheric, spooky, maybe intimidating and creepy. but zzs seems so unimpressed! he relays the atmospheric markers (he remarks on the state of the graveyard, mentions the rat with its red eyes, the single owl perching utop the branch, the odd fog) but narrates it in such a way that the first time reading it, it sounded jarring and almost comical to me. it gets even weirder by wkx starting with his ghost stories and trying to impress zzs, who continues to not be impressed at all. i feel like, since zzs is such a die hard jianghu fanboy, and this is basically his first time doing jianghu things (and he seems to be aware that this scenario is characteristically wuxia), he is basically not just narrating whats happening but also commenting upon it from the angle of someone who had higher expectations and is very eager to follow that path to its end to see what turns up, but doesnt really seem all that moved when happening upon these things in reality. zzs is not the usual wuxia hero, and tyk is very earnest in taking these differences and zzs‘s familiarity with violence seriously and has zzs react and act in authentic ways. like, when they find that murder scene in the woods upon following the scream, and immediately start their weird investigation-flirting-insulting and wkx goes and casually pulls that guy whos hanging in a tree to the ground so they can have a better look at it, and it just severs the poor guy’s head. thats so fucked up and strange!!!!! but its so downplayed its actually jarring!!!! its almost comical!!!!! anyway hello hi hello mt!!!! i didnt mean to write so much i just have a lot of thoughts hehehehe

hahaha hello!!!! Sorry I took so much time to respond!!

Yes yes to all this!! Essentially answering so this can be out in the open hehehe. One thing that I feel like reacting to, though---translating Qi Ye, I recently stumbled upon several references of ZZS being a "seasoned jianghu traveller" and having had a lot of experience in jianghu already; so I guess we can conclude that he does have experience in jianghu (only that he left it around 8-9 years ago) but that he probably always had a remote look at it, from the shadows from which Siji operated. This time, he gets to "play" too, in a way. I feel like, given how smug he tends to sound when bringing up Siji's skills and activities, he may have this sort of patronizing look on the "sillier", more "classical" strange wuxia adventures, which he has been able to watch but almost like a puppet master (since Siji controlled a lot of the politics etc) and his fun, curious, detached and "demystifying" approach could be reflecting that. Anyway, thank you so much for the thoughts!!!

#ask #meta

[vulturesrottencorpse]

Is this part of my autism or am I just an asshole

ok so basically, there's this really nice girl in my class, she keeps trying to talk me me (guess she wants to be my friend) but I don't like her. I go to a school that isn't mainstream so we get a lot of people with autism, ADHD, ect. You'd think this would make this easier to make friends, right? No. For some reason I'm a very picky person with who I talk to, I need someone who's smarter than me or gets my humour or something. This girl, she just talks, and talks and doesn't get the hint when I try to politely shoo her away. I'll be drawing, she will comment on it and if I respond even with a thanks, she takes it as an invitation to pull her chair over and sit and draw with me. Constantly asking "should I do this?" "How do I draw this part" " what do you think" every 2 minutes. It annoys me because 1, I don't want to be rude, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings so I can't just tell her to go away, and 2 , I HATE socialising, even with my friends I find talking hard (irl, at least)

Getting too long but, is this normal? Am I a bad person for not liking this person who wants to be my friend, who's really nice and shares all my interests? Aren't you supposed to like people who are just like you? We are almost exactly the same yet I can't stand her. Maybe this is what it's like for other people who talk to me. I don't know.

Edit: a part I forgot to mention was that she has anger issues and gets annoyed pretty easily. When she's mad she just starts yelling and stuff, if I accidentally offend her by telling her I don't want to be her friend I'd be the centre of attention as the person she'd yelling at, which would probably give me a panic attack.

Since the start of this year I've become a very VERY shy person. If you were to ask anyone in my class or any teachers (from my class only) about me theyed probably shrug and say "who?" Or, "oh. The one that draws all the time" which is super odd because basically my whole life I've been bullied and to combat that I became a very loud and outspoken perdon. I still had social anxiety but with my friends I was pretty much obnoxiously confident. I've gone from being told to "shut up!" And "stop talking to loud" to "speak up" and "talk a bit louder nobody can hear you." So the switch is pretty sudden, and attention, ANY attention, a teacher saying hi to me in class, someone walking past and even glancing at me, sets me into panic.

So I can't tell this girl to simply go away, even if I wasn't scared of being mean.

Also, rereading this post I'd like to clarify that I asked if this was autism because of my extremely low social battery, people pleasing behaviour, ect. And I asked if im an asshole because you're SUPPOSED to get along with people who are the same as you. With people who have similar interests or struggles but I HATE being around those people. I hate being around people who remind me of myself. My whole life I've been friends with the confident, loud and unapologetic people. But the more I think, the more my brain tells me "you just don't like them because they have autism, and that annoys you" (IM LITERALLY AUTISTIC)

This is quickly turning into a long ramble session rather than an explanation. So, feel free to just ignore this wall of text lmao.

#autistic things #autism #actually autistic #pls help #I don't wanna be a bad person #But I can only handle so much #Socialising actually physically hurts #What to you mean I have to talk to people

[thesherrinfordfacility]

LWA: /Does/ Aziraphale build actual relationships with humans? It's an interesting question, because his interactions with Maggie or Nina are not much more intimate than they were with Anathema Device after he and Crowley ran her over. Aziraphale doesn't go to the pub because he wants to /avoid/ people ("this is why I don't go to the pub!"). Gaiman has said repeatedly that Aziraphale is just not that interested in interacting with people beyond a certain point. He's polite and friendly to everyone--which is the point: he's polite and friendly to everyone, including the two guys who threatened him in Edinburgh. Aside from the ball in S2, he doesn't invite humans into his shop to socialize. We know he went to a "gentleman's club" to learn how to do the gavotte, but enjoying a night out is still not the same thing as developing individual friendships. Presumably, like Book!Aziraphale, he was on good terms with various prophets, but even Book!Aziraphale doesn't go much beyond thinking about them with mild fondness. He and Crowley are attached to /humanity/, rather than to individual humans. The flip side of this is that it's not clear that either one of them would be much fun to be around for any length of time! They are canonically reality warpers, they don't exist in time the same way, and beyond a certain point they don't understand human psychology.

I was idly thinking about miracle ethics the other day, which maybe has some bearing on this question. I'm not sure that either the novel or the TV series has a thought-out position on the matter (in the novel, Adam denounces "messing about," but then Aziraphale and/or Crowley miracles up a reservation at the Ritz...which is surely messing about, or is it?). I think everyone is in agreement that in S2, the ball crosses a boundary line once Aziraphale begins overwriting everyone's minds, and both Nina and Maggie call him and Crowley out for treating them like toys. S1 and S2 also suggest that Crowley's interrogation technique is troubling, and it's noteworthy that Aziraphale dislikes it: in S1, Aziraphale objects to hypnotizing Sister Mary Loquacious and at least tries to be kind while questioning her, while in S2 he resists interrogating Gabriel "properly." Crowley's second interrogation in S2 comes across as invasive and even violent, enough so to cause Gabriel pain. By contrast, neither the novel nor the series seems to suggest that there's anything wrong with Aziraphale doing the Jedi mind-warping thing if it's in self-defense. (In fact, it's arguably odd that he /doesn't/ do it in 1793 and 1941.)

LWA!!!✨ hello, hi, been a while! i hope you're well :)

you're right, it is an interesting question! and its boggled me for a good little while - but the conclusion ive clumsily arrived at is that it's kinda as you say and what neil has said, but i do wonder if there's a little bit more to it (at least from how ive interpreted it, anyhow). because whilst i think aziraphale doesn't initially want, need, or set out to form emotional connection to humans, he arguably ends up doing it anyway, and to those humans the connection is indeed meaningful. in time, i think they come to mean something to aziraphale too.

because my thought process on this is indeed clumsy, the points im essentially trying to make are the following:

aziraphale definitely has respect and admiration for humanity - and this is in part due to things about humanity or that humanity has come up with that aziraphale personally enjoys

he indeed doesn't invite humanity into his inner sphere, or actively seek it out (your eg: bookshop and pub), and its his innate benevolence as an angel that manifests as friendliness and politeness

but i do think he does inevitably end up forming connections with certain individuals out of his tendency to kindness and protectiveness, even if he doesn't intend on forming those connections originally

whilst he may not have huge emotional investment in these relationships he unwittingly cultivates, they certainly have meaning to the other party

and whilst he may not feel any deep attachment to individual humans, he does seem to develop more personal sentiment as time goes on.

i think it's fair to say that the bonds, significant or otherwise, that form between aziraphale and individual humans appear to be a byproduct of his kindness and potentially of his protectiveness. that would track, given his perceived original purpose on earth, but i think aziraphale carries out his duty a little more subjectively than was originally intended.

he was sent to earth as guardian of the eastern gate which, by my reckoning, was more to keep danger out of eden rather than to directly protect adam and eve. but he hears they are to be exiled from paradise, will be thrown into the cold whilst eve was pregnant, and gives them his flaming sword as a means of protection. the scene from s1 doesnt show that they converse to any extensive degree, or that there is any significant interaction between them, but from aziraphale's recount of it, it does appear to be out of kindness and anxiety about what will happen to them without it (immediately proved right by the lion sequence). i don't think it would therefore be much of a stretch for adam and eve, retrospectively, to look back on their brief interaction with aziraphale as meaningful, and that there would have been an idle outline of a bond between them as a result; but in aziraphale's part, his connection to them appeared to start and end with this rebellious act of kindness, rather than any deep, personal stake in their wellbeing - again, perhaps just sheer protectiveness over god's first humans (that he helped to design and bring into being?) because to his mind it was the right thing to do.

next that springs to mind is shakespeare; whilst this could be seen as self-serving, i don't think that's entirely the case. it wasn't until shakespeare was whining, "been like this every performance, juliet, complete dud; it'd take a miracle for anyone to come and see hamlet!" that it seems to even occur to aziraphale that he could do something to help. he does push this on crowley to perform, but it is essentially his idea. and actually... what would aziraphale have to gain by it being more popular? he's seen the play and presumably enjoyed it, and whilst popularising it would perhaps mean he could see it again, i doubt he was thinking this deeply about it. instead, i think he just wanted it recognised as an act of kindness. he doesn't outright compliment the play (only compliments burbage), but the fact that he sees it as worthy of being made popular would indicate that it deserves it. the interaction he has with shakespeare didn't form any significant bond, but given shakespeare's exploration of fatalism in his work (especially hamlet), i don't think it's impossible that he would have looked back on this interaction as being potentially linked to hamlet's sudden (?) rise in popularity, even if he didn't fully understand just how true that is. again, a connection that to aziraphale maybe means very little, but to shakespeare may have meant a great deal.

then jumping to current day, aziraphale certainly appears to have possibly his most significant human relationship (as far as we can call it that) in the form of maggie. we know that she has been around the record shop since she was very young, and so has likely known aziraphale all that time, and he does seem familiar with her. it seems that it goes beyond friendly professionalism, or generic fondness; it takes him a while to understand the situation about the rent, and it's largely self-serving to forgive it, but the first interaction we see between them is aziraphale being kind enough to wipe the debt and allow her to keep her tenancy. again, yes, mainly so he has his steady supply of 78rpms, but the way he immediately jumps to "why? don't you like it anymore?", and "well it's entirely my fault for not collecting the rent!" feels like he genuinely at least has some feeling of protectiveness over her. when talking to her in the record store about nina in ep2, he again seems genuinely affected that she's upset, and that he can't quite help her with the issue. now, again, it may not be the case that aziraphale feels anything for maggie beyond fondness, almost like one would for a child, but her reaction on both occasions - and her subsequent protectiveness in kind over aziraphale come ep5 and 6 - indicates that from her perspective, whatever relationship they have with each other holds importance.

(caveat to the above, for anyone else reading - i do feel like there is something more to maggie, which ive half-heartedly theorised about, but may well look further into in the future. in any case, i think there may be more to why aziraphale and maggie have the level of connection that they do - and no, not that maggie is a demon)

there are multiple other interactions he has with humans that kind of follow the same theme. aziraphale seems to act out of perhaps self-interest predominantly, but there is always an element of kindness and/or protectiveness that comes along with it. and no, aziraphale doesn't appear to invite connection with all of humanity/just anyone, but i think this is the point; instead, i think he does evolve to entertain forming connections to certain individuals based on their own merit. i think it would be ever so slightly reductive to consider that he only does this out of angelic, detached benevolence, and instead i think it's a mark of a deeper personal character development; that aziraphale is allowed to form meaningful human relationships because his purpose on earth is no longer dictated to or audited by heaven, and he is free essentially to do as he wants. i don't think it's a stretch that aziraphale has suffered by his ostracism from heaven and the other angels, and other than crowley he has no interest in being friendly with demons; so why not open himself up to connections with the beings that he designed and nurtured, has protected, and has provided him with various means of finding happiness?

moving on to miracle ethics... yeah. the ball was a complete nightmare in this regard; aziraphale may have his ulterior reasons for the ball and it going the way it did (👀 @ crowley), but it is a huge violation in more ways than i probably could talk about and keep this answer length somewhat reasonable. that being said - did aziraphale even intend it to go as far as it does, or is he so furiously driven by his subconscious (?) motive to manifest a further development in his and crowley's relationship that even he is swept away in the tide? he remarks in ep2 that you cant just miracle up love, but instead he could create a situation (inspired by austen - what a dork) where it would happen organically.

there certainly isnt, as far as i recall, any intent on aziraphale's part to play god by assuring that the falling in love of nina will happen, but perhaps more in his own personal excitement for what the ball may precipitate for him and crowley, his power has manifested a bit more than he originally planned or even noticed. nina and maggie's comments about treating them like toys is still true - you could say that about humans setting up their friends or engineering blind dates etc - but i don't think aziraphale ever meant for the scale to be what it was. guests came in through the door in their fancy clothes; there's certainly no indication from aziraphale's perspective that they weren't already dressed like that (if he even noticed, frankly). there's nothing to suggest to aziraphale that humans wouldn't know how to dance the quadrille, and he doesn't partake in any conversations that sound like they are directly lifted from the pages of pride and prejudice. and that would parallel, as you said, his apparent disdain for the forceful removal of control that crowley seems to prefer to use. maybe this is a reflection on it being unkind and therefore against his angelic identification, or a more personal distaste for removal of agency (aziraphale seems pretty adamant in both s1 and s2 that being human comes with choices, even if the context in which he asserts this is... questionable).

as for aziraphale and his little dalliances with miracles being used in self defense; ill be honest LWA, im drawing a blank on when this occurs - other than perhaps the men that turn up in the shop threatening him into selling... is this the scenario you mean? (feel incredibly dim rn, but it's been a long day!)

#i havent proof read this btw - fuck it we'll do it live #getting LWAs really disrupts any ability to blog normally here #is it nervous anxiety or ocd that means i can barely post until these are answered? your guess is as good as mine lmao #anyway LWA IS BACK!!!✨ #good omens #ask #flashback meta #crowley meta #aziraphale meta #s1 meta #s2 meta

[dateamonster]

might be underlying transmisogyny or, more sympathetically, the essays are all in a certain circle of people who happen not include trans women?

i shouldve clarified its like a whole professional published 300 pg anthology not like a project by a circle of friends or anything like its def the kind of thing where if theyre styling themselves as a queer anthology they rly have a responsibility to include more transfem voices imho. im trying not to judge too harshly off the bat bc you know theres still time, im mostly just bringing this up bc it struck me as odd and because im trying to be better abt calling this stuff out where i see it even when its in something i like.

as i say that though, what i really should have mentioned is the one essay (so far) which is by a trans woman is the girl, the well, the ring by zefyr lisowski (who prior to this i was only familiar with from her poetry) and its very good! it focuses very heavily on the disability politics of horror which is both something i think is underdiscussed and super interesting, and it stood out to me in particular as the only one of the featured essays (so far) which doesnt really try to redeem the politics of the films it discusses.

my highlighted passages:

"Every time we see her, the girl in the well is clearly sick, and no one who purports to care about her cares about this at all."

"There's a whole canon of literature determined to talk about the redemptive qualities of horror as a mode of truth-telling--the feminist or subversive ways they can be a home for marginalized viewers. That's not what I'm interested in discussing. These movies hurt me and I kept watching them, and there's nothing redemptive about that. They were all I had."

#ask #horror #writing

[compassionatereminders]

Hi, I sent the anon about supporting ppl when ur down. I wish to be as uhhh idk the word but like. Knowing where your boundaries are without feeling selfish. I am nervous sending this ask because I’ve never rly sent anons at all despite being on tumblr for years. Social anxiety even if I have the safety of anonymity. I have Ocd. Im trying to work my way up to getting in detail about it, is it okay if I send like, broken up anon asks, as I try to bit by bit get my thoughts out, or would you prefer I word it all in one ask so I don’t end up spamming you?

Sorry if this is weirdly written. My ocd is getting in the way of wording myself properly right now. I don’t mean to sound hostile or cross. I would try to sound more polite and peppy if I could, which I think is one of my compulsions, but right now I am so exhausted. It’s difficult to get words out when —-I forgot what i was going to say. I hope this isn’t too weird. I am trying to be genuine and let my odd habits show. To explain myself. And mannerisms —let my odd habits/mannerisms show. I am having difficulty. I’m sorry.

You are welcome to send me asks, but if you plan to send many, some kind of signature would be useful according being able to recognize you from ask to ask. And there's a chance I might not answer all of them immediately or even at all, and if that happens it's not personal. I'm really hoping to be able to get some rest soon, and that just means I might return to the conversation at a later point - not that you did something wrong

#chat with kat

[rollercoasterwords]

hey rae, congrats on winning the costume contest! gotta be honest, i got very curious about what you think about promising young woman's politics and the ending. i remember enjoying it, other than thinking it was a bit irresponsable at some parts... but also i watched it a while ago and dont really remember much from it. im currently reading the zombie essays you rec'd, and im franlky loving it so so much. monster theory my beloved. And this is the first time im reading about zombies through sexuality lens, all essays i've read about zombies so far were about afro-latin religions and black resistance during colonization, but im loving, reading it in bed while giggling and quicking my feet, etc.... bc "queer zombie jesus" deserves to be a bed read cmom look at that sexy combination of words. hope you're doing well!! xxx substack guy

hi substack guy <3 would love 2 share my thoughts abt promising young woman but i will do that in a min + put it under a cut bc. spoilers etc. love that ur enjoying the zombie essays tho!! there are so many different angles 2 approach zombies as a monster; if u have any reading recs abt religion + colonization my inbox is always open...i have a book or 2 downloaded but have mostly read scattered articles in that vein. agree that 'queer zombie jesus' is SO fun that was one of my fave articles from zombies & sexuality lol. also just recently bought a book called dead white & blue that's abt zombies + usamerican nationalism so. excited 2 start exploring that topic as well...

anyway. promising young woman thoughts (got long...also tw sa):

still thinking & working thru them etc but. generally speaking i am not a huge fan of movies that fall into the rape revenge genre so i typically start them skeptical, and ultimately i thought it was...an odd choice to have the main character be seeking revenge not for herself, but on behalf of her dead friend's past assault...talk abt a dead girl haunting the narrative etc...but like. usually one of my issues w rape revenge is the tendency to turn the person who's been assaulted into this figure of the Righteous Victim such that they become less a person + more a symbol onto which an audience gets to project + live out violent catharsis etc...honestly don't necessarily think there's an inherent issue with creating or seeking out that form of catharsis in film but i just. do not think it is particularly politically useful...+ this setup just like. took that to the next level by literally removing the Victim from the narrative entirely, stripping her character of all agency + personhood, and making her friend the Agent seeking Justice on her behalf which. i mean it's a bit ironic innit...

was also not too sure how i felt abt the whole setup of "woman goes to bars, acts drunk, and there's ALWAYS a creep who tries to take her home + assault her"...i'm somewhat torn feeling-wise here bc i used to very much have this sort of "all men are [potential] monsters" mentality that like no matter where u go there will be someone there ready 2 take advantage of u but. i no longer feel like that is a very useful framework 4 discussing or addressing sexual violence. firstly in that it tends to devolve quickly into the sort of gender essentialism that i am fundamentally opposed to, but also bc it seems so defeatist to me. how are u supposed 2 address a problem if u assume that the problem is already so baked in, and in such simplistic terms? so while i do understand that this is a film and it's sort of dramatizing what is a very real issue, i'm not sure i was entirely sold on the way it was dramatizing it...felt like it was trying 2 highlight but in the process was also flattening 2 a certain extent...

and then like. i did to some extent appreciate the way the film is trying to highlight that it's oftentimes "nice guys" committing sexual violence, especially bc rape revenge films often just portray the "bad guys" as like. cartoonishly evil. but i felt like even there the film was still wanting to get back into that black + white territory, which manifested especially in the bo burnham character. like, on the one hand the film wants to highlight the fact that people committing sexual violence are often sympathetic, perhaps even kind, "nice" people and not obviously evil bad guys, but on the other hand it did not seem to want to sit in the gray area of what that means at all (ie, asking the audience to actually sympathize with or relate to anyone implicated in acts of sexual violence), meaning that whenever we found out a character was involved in an assault that character immediately became a completely unsympathetic bad guy. and like, again, i understand why the film wants to do that--nobody wants to encourage someone to sympathize with a rapist. but irl sexual violence is by and large not black and white, and the fact is that most people are able to sympathize with and relate to people who have committed these forms of violence, because they're not cartoonishly evil bad guys--they're friends, partners, coworkers, family members, etc. and so again, this just isn't a framework that i find particularly useful in addressing irl sexual violence, bc i think it leads to this dichotomy we so often seen where if The Perpetrator/The Accused is not clearly Evil, then they must be Innocent. so like. the film tries, in some ways, to trouble that dichotomy, but i think in the end it just falls back into it--it's just that the guys we thought were "nice" are actually "bad"; imo the audience isn't really encouraged to sit in any emotional stew beyond that.

i do give the movie props for the actual way it handled portrayals of assault; i thought it did a pretty good job there. in particular was a fan of the way they elected to never show the actual video of nina, and how in basically any scene with sexual violence the emphasis was largely on the face + emotions of the person experiencing it. and i mean i did enjoy the movie, for the most part, while i was watching it--like i thought it was a pretty engaging film, good acting, etc.

but if anything the ending really. solidified my disappointment in the politics of the movie. not just bc cassandra died--honestly, i think the death was an interesting choice and there are ways they maybe could have played it that i would have liked more. but having the "triumphant" ending be the cops swooping in to arrest al...give me a fucking break lol. like u set up this whole movie abt how the legal system + these various institutions fail people who have experienced sexual violence, and then...i'm supposed to expect the cops to handle it? the justice system that already failed previously in the movie? and the entire framing of the ending--cassandra's final texts, the music, etc--makes it clear that this is supposed to be a triumphant moment. so i was just like. wtf....like in the end both women are dead. what form of justice is the suggestion that their abuser might go to prison? especially when prison itself is a violent + corrupt institution that must be abolished as part of the fight to end sexual violence? just a very shitty ending overall to what was already a movie that had me sort of going "hmmm...idk" throughout lol. so! those r my thoughts currently

#ask

[brekkie-e]

I can not stand how the Inquisitor can genuinely follow a different religion from the Chant of Light, but is not allowed in the narrative to speculate that perhaps they do have a holy calling.... it was just bestowed upon them from a different force than Andraste.

Im going to focus mostly on the Dalish playthrough since that's the one Im most familiar with. You are able to establish if your Inquisitor is religious, and if they follow the Elvhen pantheon or not. Given that is a fact, the narrative should further reflect such a character would be living their life with a different worldview than an Andrastian. Not just an "oh yeah, im an elf btw gang" comment here and there. They are percieving this world through a religious and political lens that is vastly different than Andrastians.

:readmore:

Why wouldn't a practitioner of the Elvhen gods not have hidden doubts about the mark being a gift from one of them? Or a holy calling to rally their people? Or simply a sign that yes. Your prayers were heard, despite all odds, the gods of your people never stopped listening. Or perhaps a punishment? For forgetting part of the old ways and insulting them somehow?

Consider the struggle of them trying to parce out which god it is from? The obvious hope that it is their "patron" god. Which Dalish wouldn't dream of the one who's vallaslin they bear choosing them as their champion? If not their patron, perhaps June? Blessing them with the ability to craft the heavens as he once blessed their people with the ability to craft weapons? The secret fear that no matter how much they hope that is true, the most logical choice is Fen'harel as he is the only one still believed to walk the land.

The thought they'd never voice that creeps in during the dark of night, that perhaps it is a gift from the Dreadwolf. But if it means he has decided to turn his gaze on the human world for a change and give their people a slight reprieve, they are willing to be a pawn.

Now this is all well and good for a characters internal battles over beliefs. But the opportunity for narrative conflict feels like a gaping hole in a wall. Imagine if the Inquisitor had the ability to outright contest Leliana and Cassandra's belief it's a gift from Andraste. Not in a "I dont think it's holy" way, but looks them dead in the eye and claims it's from an Elvhen god.

Could Cassandra deal with that level of heresy? Later in Inquisition, after befriending the Inquisitor, possibly. But I doubt she would have been able to at the start of the game.

Many of the companions would be pretty horrified or upset at the suggestion. Solas would most likely be extremely frustrated and get close to blowing his cover at such an outright display of Dalish religious beliefs. And he's known for being so sweet and charming when someone ticks him off about Dalish things.

Ultimately, this could allow for a much more interesting political narrative. The Inquisition is Andrastian. It is founded in the Divine's honor by her left and right Hands. That can not be denied. And if the advisors and the companions have to found the Inquisition with a "Herald of Andraste" whom has explicitly stated they think the Mark is holy in an altogether heretical way, the political maneuvering is suddenly much more evident. There is no ambiguous "who is to say" while they build the organization. They are having to build their holy order with one hand behind their back clutching to a secret that could unravel all they are working for.

I know that they toyed with the idea that Inquisition never outright stated the Inquisitor is holy. But I think raising the stakes in such a way would have made for even more interesting party dynamics, better roleplay-ability, and more outright politics. Which the latter two are things I think the game desperately needed to improve on. Yes, it's full of politics. But in a gawdy completely in your face manner that loses much of what makes politics interesting. Not to mention it ultimately did not seem to have large narrative influence.

Anyways, I am sure these are opinions that have been tossed on the internet quite a lot already, but I wanted to get my thoughts on the matter out there cause it's been rattling in my head for a few days.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #brekkie thoughts #text post #long post #lavellan #dalish

[eccentrickleptomaniac]

hi im just gonna dump my america headcanons here because ive been thinking about him

so, this guy, he's.. really odd. on first glance, yeah, he seems cheerful, but like, the second you start to really get into conversation with him, you begin to realize: oh. he's only cheerful. no matter the topic, how dark it may seem, he is always cheery. something weirder is that he also always has this sort of.. advertiser voice? he always sounds like he's trying to sell you something. which is weird, because he is literally never trying to sell you something.

he does all actions neutrally: he does not believe what he does is good nor bad, merely something he has to do. (this can be interpreted as a savior complex, among other things.) this has led to a lot of things.. he'll only backtrack on an action if its something that earns him backlash. he will never apologize for anything if you do not make him. and even so, he will never feel guilt or remorse about it. the only thing he'll regret is making it visible so that he had to apologize.

despite his oddities, most countries would prefer to be his friend. why? he's.. he's incredibly powerful. he is really good at manipulating the scene around him so that he manages to come out on top. he always manages to be in positions of power, his friends are less so friends and more allies or puppets to get his message across to his enemies. this isn't.. inherently obvious, however. its very rare for someone to actually realize his whole jam. he's really good at hiding it.

america's always had the sunglasses. for as long as anyone can remember, he's had em. which was.. weird i guess for his parents but it wasn't really a problem at any point. he still acted normal. while he never takes them off in public, or ever, really, his eyes are grey in color. he does not clean his glasses due to them being his signature item. when he feels they're too dirty he breaks the old ones and summons a new pair in private. he has problems with bright lights but he does not tell people.

he wasn't always like this.. emotionless goal-oriented guy LOL i believe he only started acting like this after the civil war ended. nobody really realized it until the spanish-american war though, he was always aloof in other people's affairs. prior to the civil war he was a very reckless guy. also very funny. he was likable! sort of a class clown archetype.

some misc trivia: he is aroace! the only reason he would date someone would be for political gain. this also means that both heads of either side of the blocs during the cold war were aroace (yes the ussr is aroace lol). he is possibly trans. he does not tell people. his favorite game is connect 4. his hc voice is whizzer from falsettos.

edit 08/08/23: his """"government assigned"""" username is uniformSoundscape.

#essen talks #ch hcs