#11-31 December 2022

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing 11-31 December 2022

Here’s the roundup! December 11th - December 31st!

Remember to give your content creators some love! Be sure to join in on the events at the bottom! And remember to send in any new works you see or make next week!

~Mod Hel

PS: So sorry everyone! This is late even for this week, but between being sick and then just busy, and being the forgetful nut that I am... Well, here’s the end of 2022’s round up!

Fanfiction/Ideas/Snippets:

@bobo-is-tha-bomb

Christmas Saved (Ch.8-12) https://archiveofourown.org/works/43366266/chapters/109501035

F/M, Heero Yuy/Reader, Mentionings of Duo Maxwell/Relena Peacecraft

Heero Yuy, Reader, Duo Maxwell, Relena Peacecraft, OCs

Teen And Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Romance, Drama, Angst, Fluff, Christmas, Holidays, Trauma, mentionings of domestic abuse, Violence, Lime, Family

In order to nurse your broken heart, you chose solitude. Your family’s cabin in the mountains, far away from the civilized world, seemed perfect to spend the winter. Why celebrate Christmas when you needed to find yourself again? But when you find a wounded man in a snow storm, you need to reevaluate your choices. He might just be what you need this Christmas…

@miyurinq

Heart (Ch.19) https://archiveofourown.org/works/40914714/chapters/110064336

M/M, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner

Quatre Raberba Winner, Trowa Barton, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei

Not Rated, No Archive Warnings Apply, Post-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Minor Violence, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort

All Quatre wants is to help. Even when the war is over, so many people suffer because of the consequences. Helping rebuild is the least he can do. But he seems unlucky, things go wrong all the time and people get hurt.

Trowa hardly recognizes Quatre. He has changed and seems to have problems. He reluctantly tells him about his bad luck, but Trowa doubts that it's just "bad luck" and decides to investigate.

Arts/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@ghost-proof

https://ghost-proof.tumblr.com/post/703679304090976256/gifsets-of-sephiroth-from-crisis-core-final

Duo Maxwell, fanart

@gladyscontrerasart

https://gladyscontrerasart.tumblr.com/post/705025504722419712/an-old-gundamwing-doodle-of-dorothy-being-super

Dorothy Catalonia, fanart

@keiko1183

https://keiko1183.tumblr.com/post/704985537162952704/in-the-mood-for-a-badass-quatre-edit-i-added

Quatre Winner, fanart

@noromax

https://noromax.tumblr.com/post/702101234060001280/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E3%82%92%E7%A5%9D%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AF%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A0%E6%97%A9%E3%81%84%E3%81%A8%E6%80%9D%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99

Heero Yuy, fanart

@nullphysics

https://www.tumblr.com/nullphysics/704183401153986560/another-zine-drawing-no-longer-available-for-a

G-Boys, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/nullphysics/704123899778039809

Trowa/Heero, fanart

@rxntwo

https://rxntwo.tumblr.com/post/705084563908640768/post-mission-nap-in-some-vague-timeline-where

Heero/Duo, fanart

https://rxntwo.tumblr.com/post/704543900990308352/smooch

Heero/Duo, fanart

@the-reanimated-bhg

https://www.tumblr.com/the-reanimated-bhg/703984263645839360/i-would-gladly-go-into-battle-for-senpai-treize

Treize & Une, photomanipulation

https://www.tumblr.com/the-reanimated-bhg/704034384376889344/if-they-had-a-real-sibling-relationship

Milliardo & Relena, photomanipulation

https://www.tumblr.com/the-reanimated-bhg/703671792964927488

Zechs & Howard, photomanipulation

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@janaverse

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/704983707038138368/morning-thoughts-always-still-wishing-for-the

Heero Yuy, Sims, screenshot

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/704275865839845376/a-complete-gathering

G-Boys, Sims, screenshot

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/703913914022395904/my-what-big-ears-you-have

Trowa & WuFei, Sims, screenshot

https://janaverse.tumblr.com/post/703451417079316480/bbq-ribs

Heero Yuy, Sims, screenshot

Fandom Discourse:

@bryony-rebb

https://bryony-rebb.tumblr.com/post/704001721047908352/today-i-am-daydreaming-about-an-au-in-which-the

Today I am daydreaming about an AU in which the fall of Cinq did not happen. I’m finding it very entertaining, although it is not something I can fathom ever writing.

@fallenwingzero

https://fallenwingzero.tumblr.com/post/704216327020298240/do-you-mind-if-i-ask-about-what-happened-after

Ask & Answer over Battlefield of Pacifists

@gamerzylo

https://gamerzylo.tumblr.com/post/703718465298644992

Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, poster

Quotes:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/704924722376392704/howard-i-went-to-l2-recently-and-a-7-year-old

Howard, Sweeper, & Professor G

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/178736562794/wufei-every-talk-i-have-with-you-people-gets-more

WuFei & Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/705015262530977792/heero-dont-do-anything-i-wouldnt-do-trowa-that

Heero & Trowa

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/704834111053971456/sally-you-have-a-way-of-saying-thank-you-that

Sally & WuFei

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/705196538075463680/duo-new-year-same-me-im-perfect

Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/178079511594/wufeichristmas-is-cancelled-duo-you-cant

WuFei & Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/181132848339/trowa-comes-home-and-sees-duo-wrapped-up-in

Trowa & Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/704018703777447936/duo-bitches-b-like-im-baby-but-have-childhood

Duo

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/703837562124615680/duo-you-know-that-voice-in-your-head-that-tells

Duo & Heero

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/703928136029569024/au-duo-on-my-second-date-with-wufei-we-were-in

Duo

Calendar Events:

@gundamzine

Battle Scars and Kitchen Cabinets

Applicatons Open~ https://gundamzine.tumblr.com/post/705258971113619456/applications-are-open-to-apply-fill-in-the

@gwcocktailfriday

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday, January 6th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/705147307073617920/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-january

In need of prompts!

@thisweekingundamevents

Events Calendar https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/644080386309275648/events-calendar-update

If you are hosting an event currently, or are planning on one, hit us up with links and dates! We’ll add them to the Calendar and reblog your notices to get the word out!

GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2022

Rules https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/giftexchange

Can’t wait to see everyone’s gifts posted up between January 8th and 14th!

[food-log-life]

〆のお寿司🍣#夕食 #大晦日

[seniouesbabes]

Lily Maymac 🌸🍒💋🌸 Still going 2am in the morning 🥳🥴

[glimmerofawesome]

[waywardalpacagamer]

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

all nct 127 imagines can be found here personal favorites are marked with ☆

last updated October 28 , 2024

Johnny 

lovesick fool {college!au} posted November 21, 2020

Johnny is your work husband and feels fine with being just that until something someone makes him realize he wants more

☆ [5:58 pm] posted September 12, 2021

FaceTime with Johnny and a your mom joke, but really- you’re at his mom’s

[2:57 pm] posted February 26, 2022

Going out shopping with Johnny when someone calls his last name which also happens to be yours

[2:21 pm]  posted June 12, 2022

Johnny wants to get your attention after an argument by making you ask for help, but you find your own solution

[4:50 pm] posted November 13, 2022

CEO!Johnny has a few minutes to send something important but he doesn’t want to move so he uses you as a desk

☆ [12:07] posted May 6, 2023

Dad!Johnny and you take your daughter to the beach for the first time +BONUS fake instagram post

☆ [4:51 pm] posted October 22, 2023

CEO!Johnny’s employees have a bet going on for when the two of you will get together, but you already are??

[8:12 pm] posted December 22, 2023

You’re spending your first Christmas in Chicago with the Suh’s and Johnny’s mom is making sure to document it all 

[10:14 pm] posted May 4, 2024

you’re really hoping Best friend!Johnny comes over to tell you his date was horrible…

Taeyong

[1:16 pm] posted January 7, 2021

Taeyong does your nails

[7:05 pm] posted January 3, 2022

Taeyong still gets shy when you tell him you love him

[10:38 am] posted September 18, 2022

Parent!Taeyong just can’t say no even when you already have said no

[10:57 pm] posted August 5, 2023

idol!reader breaks up with Taeyong after the hate becomes too much when your relationship is revealed

Yuta

[7:34 pm] posted January 11, 2021

After a date with a little wine, Yuta doesn’t want to hold your hand

☆ [12:06 am] posted September 19, 2021

Yuta comes home drunk with something interesting to show

[3:19 pm] posted March 19, 2022

Yuta ruins his wedding band… again

☆[3:19 pm] posted March 19, 2022

Frat!Yuta can’t wait to get out of this stupid gala especially when you’re dressed this well

☆[1:12 am] posted January 8, 2023

Yuta’s coming home from tour! But do you know that?

[1:24 am] posted June 24, 2023

Frat!Yuta and you always find someway to sneak off and makeout when you drink, how has it become a problem for your friends?

[1:29 pm] posted February 3, 2024

Dad!Yuta and you have a leash kid

Doyoung

[8:32 pm] posted April 25, 2021

Doyoung brings home something surprising and quite frankly, unbelievable

☆[4:41 pm] posted November 14, 2021

You may be mad but you still love Doyoung

[2:19 pm] posted Auguest 14, 2021

Doyoung is an extremely nervous boyfriend- wait, boyfriend?

☆[4:41 pm] posted November 14, 2021

Sneaking around the office with SecretBF!Doyoung would be a lot easier if you didn’t wear lispstick and your secretaries weren’t so observant

[5:44 pm] posted June 3, 2023

Seeing your horrible ex boyfriend at the grocery store has you picking a random stranger, Doyoung, to be your fake boyfriend

[7:27 pm] posted December 21, 2023

CEO!Doyoung finally confesses his feelings for you at the company holiday party

[1:08 pm] posted April 6, 2024

surprisingly, the messiness of fatherhood isn’t something that bothers Doyoung

The Return of Superman- Doyoung posted August 9, 2024

Doyoung and his two kids go on The Return of Superman

[2:09 pm] posted October 4, 2024

dad!Doyoung is starting to notice your son is a miniature version of you

Jaehyun

⋆⭒˚｡⋆fratboy!Jaehyun masterlist⋆⭒˚｡⋆

Pick me posted October 12, 2020

After getting engaged, Johnny and Taeyong keep fighting over who gets to be the best man

[5:42 pm] posted July 25, 2021

Jaehyun is uncharacteristically clingy  

☆ [9:33 am] posted December 18, 2021

(suggestive) Jaehyun can’t control himself this early in the morning after a simple kiss

[6:31 pm]

BestFriend!Jaehyun finally gives you your first bouquet of flowers ever

☆ [6:19 pm] posted December 17, 2022

Dad!Jaehyun talks to pregnant!reader’s belly 

☆ [7:41 am] posted January 29, 2023

Saturdays are supposed to be sleeping in but Dad!Jaehyun has other plans

☆[8:34pm] posted July 2, 2023

Brother’s Best Friend!Jaehyun comes to pick you up after a bad date and can’t help flirting and flustering you

[9:13 pm] posted September 2, 2023

Jaehyun can get a little jealous when a bartender is talking to you for too long

[10:13 pm] posted October 28, 2023

supposed situationship!Jaehyun hates that you’re watching tiktok edits of Pookie

[8:57 pm] posted November 5, 2023

You told Jaehyun you were going out for Halloween, but you didn’t tell him how sexy your costume was

[9:12 am] posted January 6, 2024 

Jaehyun makes the mistake of hanging out with a girl he knew from school, the only mistake being he didn’t tell you who… and he never came home

[8:59 pm] posted January 20, 2024

Jaehyun is just a little shocked to see what his contact name is in your phone

[11:04 pm] posted February 17, 2024

idol!reader and idol!Jaehyun get their relationship exposed at a Bruno Mars concert

[8:46 pm] posted February 24, 2024

you’ve never really dated anyone before so it really only makes sense that since he gets you flowers, you get him some in return right?

your biggest fan posted February 25, 2024

{western popstar!reader x idol!reader} in which the world discovers your relationship with Jaehyun and surprisingly… they love it

[3:21 pm] posted March 3, 2024

in relationships you have to make sacrifices, and for Jaehyun that means eating food he doesn’t really like since you love it

☆[12:11 pm] posted April 21, 2024

dad!Jaehyun isn’t going to say he’s jealous of his daughter and Uncle Johnny- but you can say it

[9:22 pm] posted May 25, 2024

AcademicRival!Jaehyun is the last person you’d expect to help you out after you get in a fight {enemies2lovers, college!au}

[10:14 am] posted May 26, 2024

if you weren’t 2 weeks overdue, Jaehyun being doting would be really sweet- but you are 2 weeks overdue and it’s not sweet

[12:07 pm] posted June 8, 2024

dad!Jaehyun doesn't have your talent of getting his baby girl to eat, or your common sense of keeping the food out of her grasp

[4:59 pm] posted June 22, 2024

Jaehyun watched the Bridgerton carriage scene with you and gets hooked on the show

☆[3:22 pm] posted July 6, 2024

Jaehyun is completely enamored by your pregnancy glow

[4:51 pm] posted July 13, 2024

you and dad!Jaehyun take your kids to the water park and the lazy river works some magic

showering Jaehyun's dimples with love posted August 15, 2024

[12:41 pm] posted August 16, 2024

pregnancy is hard enough as is, but now you're on bed rest? Thank God for Jaehyun (cw: pregnancy complications)

[3:11 pm] posted August 17, 2024

you and Jaehyun were supposed to be baby shopping but Smiskis and Sonny Angels caught your eye instead

just makes sense posted August 22, 2024

your and Jaehyun’s fans just really can’t believe that they two of you are just best friends

self-on kode with Jaehyun posted September 27, 2024

You and Jaehyun usually have a pretty private relationship, thanks to Self-On Kode your fans can learn more (f!reader, idol!reader)

[1:17 pm] posted September 29, 2024

dad!Jaehyun helps you when you're overwhelmed with a colicky baby

Jaehyun doing acts of service! posted October 3, 2024

dad!Jaehyun and shopping with the kids! posted October 11, 2024

[3:17 pm] posted October 12, 2024

dad!Jaehyun gets ambushed by you and his daughters for a makeover

Jungwoo

☆ [8:04 pm] posted August 21, 2021

Jungwoo compares bellies with pregnant!reader

[3:54 am] posted January 29, 2022

You’re trying to fall asleep and feel weird… yeah because Jungwoo is staring at you

[3:48 pm] posted October 16, 2022

If there was any person to get mad over having food made for them it would be Jungwoo

☆ [6:33 am] posted September 9, 2023

Dad!Jungwoo loves his daughter don’t get him wrong, but he questions it the slightest bit when he gets woken up for food

[5:57 pm] posted April 20, 2024

Jungwoo is taking his childhood celebrity crush on a date only to find out you’re really sweet and down to earth

[1:18 pm] posted July 21, 2024

dad!Jungwoo gets sick but luckily he has you and your daughter to nurse him back to health

[8:25 pm] posted August 10, 2024

dad!Jungwoo is getting over being sick and wants your attention, too bad your daughter has gotten used to having it all to herself

Mark

☆ [10:58 am] posted April 11, 2021

Waking up the morning after and Mark is just a suggestive dork

[1:16 pm] posted June 11, 2021

Skater!Mark wants to teach you to skate but first he has to loosen your shoelaces

[9:29 pm] October 9, 2021

BasketballPlayer!Mark doesn’t know when to stop practicing

[11:54 am] posted June 25, 2022

Everything that could go wrong on your first date with Mark goes wrong

[2:25 am] posted December 10, 2022

Mark thinks you’re losing on purpose, but you’re just really not that good at Smash

☆ [2:13 pm] posted March 19, 2023

PART 1- Breakup!au, Mark is stressed with the pressure of college, lucky for him (and unluckily for you) he has some new frat brothers to tell him what to do

[5:48 pm] posted April 9, 2023

PART 2- Mark comes to apologize and tells you he wants you back but he’s made some changes which gives you hope

[12:23 pm] posted April 30, 2023

Mark hates when you kiss him with lipgloss, funny that he wants more after you stop

☆ [4:26 pm] posted July 28, 2023

Most couples use pet names for each other, some people would expect you and Mark to do the same, especially since you’re getting married

[6:14 pm] posted December 24, 2023

BestFriend!Mark comes to the holiday party only to get stuck with you outside and under mistletoe 

[2:17 pm] posted March 16, 2024

a quick trip to Ikea becomes an opportunity to play house

[2:57 pm] posted May 11, 2024

BestFriend!Mark accidentally comes across a picture of you in some sexy lingerie

[5:21 pm] posted June 2, 2024

your son starts calling you what Mark calls you and it would be cute if Mark had real term of endearment for you

The Return of Superman- Mark posted August 25, 2024

Mark and his son go on The Return of Superman

[9:22 pm] posted October 17, 2024

you should be happy that situationship!Mark is showing you affection in public, right?

Haechan

my mom loves you posted December 23, 2020

Haechan’s family loves you almost (maybe more) than he does and he loves it (maybe first I love yous too? can be read as that I guess)

a family with the hyungs posted February 4, 2021

dating Hyuck apparently also kinda means dating Mark

[5:58 am] posted August 28, 2021

a soft, cozy morning with Haechan

[11:48 am] posted April 2, 2022

The group finds out College!Haechan tags you in some weird stuff on instagram

☆ [10:39 pm] posted October 29, 2022

Bestfriend!Frat!Haechan thinks you look so hot, when did that happen?

[6:07 pm] posted November 22, 2022

Haechan always says that his grandma is the best cook, so she must have been the one to cook this meal right? No, you did.

[6:17 pm] posted April 22, 2023

Meeting Haechan’s family for the first time should be stressful, so why aren’t you stressful? (kind of prequel to my mom loves you)

☆ [7:33 pm] posted July 15, 2023

being pregnant can be bad, it can get worse when Haechan makes it the slightest bit more uncomfortable for you

☆ [7:21 am] posted December 3, 2023

Haechan and your son are very alike, too alike especially when it comes to their love for you +BONUS fake instagram post

[4:28 pm] posted December 23, 2023

Haechan has to keep up the usual Christmas traditions despite being away from his family, too bad he can’t bake

[9:02 pm] posted March 10, 2024

Romeo!Haechan falls in love with Juliet!Reader at first sight {Romeo and Juliet au}

[2:14 pm] posted June 15, 2024

Haechan is so distracted by his videogames that he'll just agree to anything, and he does

[3:32 pm] posted October 19, 2024

Haechan has not shut up once all day!

[holllandtrash]

death of me | carlos sainz

pairing: carlos sainz jr. x reader

in short, the three times you didn't tell carlos you loved him and the one time it was almost too late.

i actually had 2 requests with these prompts so this is those requests 1: “You’re leaving because it’s easier to walk away than to fight for what you really want” 11: “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I love you when I knew I did.” 94: “Look me in the eyes and tell me that.”

Word count: 9.8k

warnings/tags: 18+ angst, fluff, plot with some smut, very light dom/sub blink and you miss it, this is a goddamn rollercoaster im sorry

17 August 2023

You got the call and honestly, you thought it was a joke. Some horrible, practical joke that someone in your life had set up because they knew it would get to you.

Which is why you laughed when you heard the person on the other line say, “There’s been an accident.”

“Yeah, okay,” you snorted, rolling your eyes as you dried the bowl in your hand, finally getting to the stack of dishes you had been neglecting since this morning. “Who put you up to this?”

“No, this isn’t a joke, Miss,” the woman on the line said. “I’m calling from the Jiminez Diaz Hospital. There’s been an accident. Carlos Sainz Jr. was involved in a car accident. He’s-

You didn't hear the rest of whatever the nurse had to say. The ringing in your eyes drowned her out, along with the bowl slipping from your grasp and crashing onto the floor, pieces of blue ceramic shattered around your feet.

Frozen, you tried to listen to the calming voice on the other end of the line, the voice telling you that he was undergoing surgery. She couldn’t provide any more additional information, but she encouraged you, as his emergency contact, to come to the hospital as soon as you possibly could.

As you hurried to find your keys, your relationship with Carlos flashed before your eyes. Every moment, every laugh, every kiss, every fight, every word said and unsaid.

And god there were way too many words you hadn’t got the chance to say.

31 December 2022

Carlos grabbed hold of your waist and you giggled before slipping out of his hold, reaching for the bottle of champagne on top of the fridge. He tried to take it from you, knowing that you probably weren’t going to be able to successfully open it but you just aimed the cork in his direction and he backed off.

“That’s the third bottle,” Carlos told you, he wasn’t scolding, just casually pointing out that you were going to have a massive headache tomorrow morning.

“And it’s about to be the twenty-third year,” you said. Which was technically incorrect, but Carlos admired your excitement too much to correct you. You pointed the bottle in the direction of the hallway and he braced himself for the cork to go flying. 

When you managed to pop it off without his help, the bubbly liquid came pouring out the side and you laughed as you held it up above Carlos’ face, instructing him to open his mouth. He listened, but your aim was horrible and the champagne spilled down the side of his chin.

“Here,” Carlos said, taking the bottle from you. You looked up at him and smiled, needing to take a second to focus on him and not on how the walls behind him were spinning. Carlos’ touch was soft as he brushed his thumb over your lower lip, opening your mouth enough for him to pour some of the champagne down your throat as well.

You were drunk, but you were still standing so you considered that a win. You just needed to last twelve more minutes till midnight and then you could collapse on the couch with him if you wanted. 

The two of you were supposed to go out to a house party that his friend was throwing. But then you walked out of the bedroom wearing a silk red dress that stopped at your thighs and your hair in perfect waves that looked ideal for Carlos to tangle his fingers through and he quickly decided that he didn’t want to share you going into the New Year. The only person he wanted to celebrate with was you.

So he grabbed one of the champagne bottles and picked you up, hoisting you over his shoulder as you squealed. He carried you back into the room you just walked out of and as much as he admired the dress on you, it looked so much better stained with champagne and crumpled on the floor.

You had only been together a few weeks, you were still in the honeymoon stage, which is part of the reason why you were more than happy to just stay at home with him tonight. You couldn’t get enough of him, and Carlos felt the same.

Carlos worshipped you. He had ever since the night you first met, which just so happened to be the first time you slept together.

He wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a hookup after catching his eye at the club. You were supposed to go home the next morning, but how could you go home when he woke you up by leaving a trail of kisses down your naval and then across your thighs before he dove into your centre. He worked his tongue through your folds, not slowing until you were seeing stars. 

When you did finally cum, legs convulsing around him, Carlos licked up every drop of your juices and then his lips found their way back to yours. He told you he wanted you to taste yourself on his tongue and that was when you knew you were absolutely fucked. 

Carlos knew your body, he knew how to pleasure you in ways you didn’t even know were possible. It was the sexual drive and the lust between you that drove you to him in the first place, but you stayed for so much more.

You stayed because he memorised your coffee order after the first morning you spent together. You stayed because he listened to you talk about your family for, you timed it, three and a half hours because he wanted to hear all about the ties and the drama and the people that raised you. You stayed because Carlos treated every date like the first one, always looking for ways to impress you, to make you blush or smile.

So there were, four weeks later and ignoring his friends and the promise you made to celebrate New Years Eve with them, because let’s face it, Carlos much preferred having you on your knees in front of him than having to make small talk until the clock struck midnight. 

His fingers twisted through your hair as he released into your mouth and pulled out of you, but before you could swallow he kept your mouth open with a tight grip on your chin. Carlos grabbed the champagne bottle next to him and poured the bubbly liquid down your throat. The subtle twitch of his eyebrow was the instruction you were waiting for and you swallowed, tasting the sweet and salty mixture of champagne and him. 

You spent your evening tangled up in the sheets, you on top of him, him on top of you. When you left for a moment to go grab a second bottle of champagne, Carlos followed and hoisted you up on the counter, picking up right where you left off.

Now you were drunk. It was the champagne, yes, but it was also Carlos. He was intoxicating, he made you feel bubbly more than the drink itself did. He’s the one you couldn’t get enough of. With his shaggy, dark hair and even darker gaze, you pulled his face to yours and wiped the excess liquid from his chin. You sucked on the pad of your thumb, your lips pulling back into a devious smirk as Carlos groaned, dropping his face to the crook of your neck.

“Tú serás la muerte de mí,” You’ll be the death of me. 

“Good,” you whispered, inhaling a sharp breath when he attached his lips to your throat, nibbling and sucking on your already marked up skin. You could still feel the ghost of his fingertips from when he choked you earlier, something you both loved, but his mouth was also enough to leave you gasping for air. 

He knew you, he knew your body. He anticipated your reaction every time he touched you. And while you both thought you were taking a break to be able to catch the countdown, even having put on one of his shirts to keep his eyes from wandering, you were almost ready to drag him back to the bedroom because Carlos Sainz Jr. was also going to be the death of you.

But it was New Years Eve.

“Carlos,” you whimpered, pulling your fingers through his hair and giving him a sharp tug so he would lift his head. You hovered your lips over his, “We’ll miss the countdown.”

“I don’t care,” he chuckled, he nudged his nose against yours before connecting your lips. You both still tasted like champagne and god you couldn’t get enough of it. Carlos smiled against your lips and pulled back when he felt you pout. “What, hermosa?”

“I like the countdown,” you admitted, the volume you spoke at dropping about ten levels as you stared up at him through your lashes. “It’s like we get to start a new chapter in our lives at midnight.”

His smile didn’t fade because he loved the way you looked at the world with such a pure lens. He cupped your cheeks, thumbs brushing over your flushed skin. You expected him to kiss you again but he just pressed his lips to the top of your head.

“The only chapters I care about are the ones with you in it.”

You were drunk, but god did that line sober you up. 

You couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol flowing through your system or if it was because your heart was beating too fast for your own good, but your lips parted with the intent of saying those three little words.

Because you knew then, at that moment, you loved him.

But Carlos kissed you and swallowed the words that were dancing on the tip of your tongue. You thought that maybe that was for the better. It had only been four weeks. A month. It was too soon to tell him you loved him, you’d scare him off. You didn’t need to start a new year with a traumatised boyfriend.

So you kept it to yourself and told yourself that there would come a better time to tell him how you felt because even though you were certain you loved the man standing before you, now was not the time to say it.

But when was the time?

16 Feb 2023

You opened up the top drawer of the dresser that sat across from Carlos’ bed, but he grabbed hold of your wrist before you could pull your clothes out from it.

“Don’t,” he said, demanded basically. “Don’t pack up your things.”

Ripping your arm from his grasp, you ignored his plea and grabbed the pile of clothes that had accumulated here over the last couple months. It started as a joke, leaving your clothes here, at his place, telling him that you needed an excuse to come over. 

And then one t-shirt turned into half of your closet being crammed in with his. Carlos didn’t complain once.

But you couldn’t live in this fantasy world you had created for yourselves any longer. Carlos was about to travel to Bahrain for the start of the season and then he’d head to Italy in between races and then Jeddah and then Australia and you’d be here. In Madrid.

“I’m not staying in your house while you’re travelling around the world racing,” you scoffed, hoping he could see how preposterous the idea was. He opened his mouth, giving you that same look he gave you every time he was about to bring up the idea of you travelling with him. You pointed a finger in his face, “And I’m not going with you.”

You couldn’t. You had a life here, a job here. You had no idea how other girlfriends and partners of these drivers were able to get up and leave their homes for a half of a week to support them, but you couldn’t do that.

Carlo yanked the clothes out of your hands and shoved them back into the drawer. You scowled at him, not like you were very intimidating but you tried to be. 

“Carlos,” you huffed out his name. “Let me pack, let me move out. This has been fun but-”

“But nothing,” Carlos cut you off and reached for your arm once more, pulling you towards him. You had been avoiding his eyes for the last hour and he knew something was up, something that went further than just taking your clothes home. “Talk to me, hermosa.”

Carlos didn’t just know your body, he knew you. Your mannerisms, your anxious fidgeting, your facial expressions. He knew your thoughts travelling through your head before you did, the two of you were so in sync it was terrifying.

So he physically felt the heavy exhale you finally let out, forcing all of the weight you had been carrying on your shoulders into the space between you.

“Why does this feel like a break up?” He asked, trailing his hand up your arm. His touch was soft and comforting and you wished it was enough to make everything better. It should have been enough.

And your next few words didn’t just hurt you, they sliced right through Carlos.

“Because I think it is a break up.”

Carlos let go of you to rub his hands over his face before tugging them through his hair. He backed up, putting a little bit more space between your bodies because as much as he wanted to hold you and tell you that you were making a mistake, he heard the certainty in your voice. The ‘I think’ was only added for his benefit. Your mind was made up. He knew it.

And you had seemingly known it for a while, too. You knew this moment was coming.

He walked out of the room when you turned your face, no longer trying to stop you from packing up your bags. He shut the door after him, refraining from slamming it because that’s not who Carlos was. He didn’t do things out of haste and anger, he wasn’t a reactive person.

No, Carlos sat in his thoughts and his feelings and he let them simmer. He thought about the last few months and wondered if it meant anything at all to you, because he thought it did. 

And now you were throwing it all away and because what? Because you didn’t want a partner who travelled for a living? You weren’t even trying to put the effort in, you were giving up before it got difficult. And who’s to say it would get difficult? Carlos’ home was still in Madrid, he would always come back to you and now you weren’t giving him the option to.

He could hear you packing from down the hall, a few drawers shutting, his closet opening and closing. This was wrong. And if it felt wrong to him he knew it must have felt wrong for you too, even if you didn’t want to admit it. 

When you walked out a while later, a duffle bag over your shoulder, a small suitcase behind you, you still avoided his eyes as much as you could because you didn’t want him to know you had been crying. You didn’t want him to know that this break up was destroying you, but was ultimately the right thing to do.

Carlos stood up and approached you, still keeping his emotions in check even though it broke him to see you so hurt, so hurt over your own choices. 

This could be avoided, he thought. This didn’t need to end.

You dropped the bag to the ground and inhaled a deep breath. You glanced at Carlos, but only momentarily as he stood in front of you. It was a lot easier to look at the buttons of his shirt or the rings on his hand or literally anything else because meeting his gaze was too hard. 

But this is why you had to leave.

You hated goodbyes and if you had to say goodbye to him every week, if you were going to be in different countries for most of the year, if you weren’t even going to be with him, then what was the point of this relationship?

You wanted to grow with your partner and you couldn’t do that if they were a Formula 1 driver. You couldn’t grow with Carlos.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered with a shake of your head. He could hear the way you choked to get those words out, fighting back even more tears. 

Carlos, knowing he didn’t have much a chance to convince you into staying, still lifted his hand to your face, cupping your cheek and choosing to look past the way you winced as you leaned into his touch, as if already thinking about how this would be the last time you’d feel this sense of comfort.

“Don’t do this,” Carlos said, voice timid and lanced with desperation. “Please.”

“Carlos, please don’t make this harder than it has to be-”

“I love you.”

You froze. 

Even as Carlos rested his other palm against the side of your face and forced your attention on him, dipping his head as he repeated those words, you remained frozen. 

“I love you,” he spoke with so much confidence it scared you. “I love you and I don’t want this to be over. It can’t be over.”

It wasn’t that you couldn’t say those words back because you didn't reciprocate them, you couldn’t say it back because it would only make things harder. Up until now, neither of you had said you loved the other. And up until now, you were perfectly happy pushing what you felt for him down because the timing never felt right and now you knew why.

Deep down you always knew that you’d find yourself needing to walk away. 

He’d have an easier time letting you go if you told him you didn’t love him and while it would have been a lie, it was what he needed to hear. 

You stepped back and grabbed the duffle bag off the floor, his arms fell back to his sides.

“I’m sorry, Carlos, I don’t-” you turned to the door, letting your hair fall in front of your face, “I don’t love you.”

“I don’t believe that.”

He wasn’t arrogant, but he was persistent. 

“Well it’s true,” you pulled the strap of the bag over your shoulder and reached for the handle of the door. If you just avoided his big brown eyes and the stare that had you hooked before either of you ever said a word, you could leave. You pulled open the door, only for him to press his palm against it and slam it shut again.

You felt his chest against your back as he stepped forward. Each breath he took was in sync with yours, because you two were always in sync, even at the worst of times.

“I don’t love you,” you repeated, raising your voice.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that, then.”

You couldn’t. 

You couldn’t because the moment you turned around you would fall back into his arms. You’d let yourself get swept away by his promises and his affection and then he’d leave for a race and then another and another. You loved this bubble you created during the office season and you fell so hard so fast for Carlos, but it wasn’t meant to last.

“I’m leaving,” was all you could get, gripping the handle again and yanking the door open with such force that Carlos had no choice but to take a step back. He tried to reach for you, his fingers ghosted over yours, but there was nothing he could do to stop you.

You were gone.

June 4 2023

You kept up with the races throughout the beginning of the season. You still followed his account and all of the motorsport ones he was associated with. You didn’t dare like or comment on any of them, but you weren’t ready to let him go.

Telling Carlos you didn’t love him was the hardest thing you’d ever done.

And you didn’t let yourself look at him as you said it either, you didn’t take on any of the pain that he felt. You said the words, you broke his heart and then you left. 

Carlos didn’t try to reach out once, not like you expected him to. Even when he was home between races, which wasn’t often, you’d only hear about it from social media. 

But this was what you wanted, right? You wanted this life, you wanted to stay home. You didn’t want to keep chasing after a Formula 1 driver and be forced to follow him from country to country if you wanted to spend time with him. That wasn't healthy nor was it something you wanted to put yourself through.

Getting over him, however, was impossible. 

And you tried, really. You went out with your friends, you distracted yourself, you picked up hobby after hobby but good god your thoughts always travelled back to him. 

You fought with yourself. You kept asking yourself if you made a mistake by ending things. You kept wondering why you didn’t at least try. But then you’d see a photo of him getting into yet another plane and you knew you made the right choice. 

Your lifestyles were extremely different. Your personalities were compatible, yes, but the way you went about your day to day lives would never line up. At least not while he was racing.

You wouldn’t lie to yourself, though. You liked watching him race.

When you watched from home, your eyes were always on the number 55 Ferrari. You rooted for him, you winced at every near miss, you celebrated his finishes and without fail, you always looked at your phone and thought about congratulating him via text or even a call, only to instantly decide against it.

You weren’t even that big of a Formula 1 fan before you met him, but now this seemed to be as close to him as you’d ever get again.

It didn’t help that he looked good. 

Carlos pulled off those red racing overalls. And when they hung low around his hips and the fireproofs clung to his skin, god you wanted to scream at yourself for letting him go. You could have been there, at the races, if you just put a little more effort in. You could have been the one to rip the fireproofs off his body after he got out of the car, because let's face it, after some of the runs he’s had this season, you knew he was probably needing an outlet to release some of that pent up energy and frustration. 

You missed running your fingers through his hair. You missed the feeling of his lips tracing every inch of your skin. You missed waking up next to him and seeing your legs tangled together with the sheets. You missed that he was always looking for a reason to touch you, whether it be your wrist or your pinky finger or your back, his hand was always on you.

You missed Carlos.

You loved Carlos.

Which was why your judgement was a little clouded when your friend invited you to Barcelona the weekend of the grand prix, not to watch the race because god knew neither of you could afford tickets, but to visit the clubs she hoped the drivers would be at. 

She knew people who knew people and you didn’t ask questions, you just gripped her hand tightly as she led you towards the VIP section of the third club that night. The first one was a bust. The second one you spotted a few people associated with Formula 1, but the third nightclub was the jackpot.

It didn’t take long to spot Charles, celebrating getting a podium after a difficult qualifying session on Saturday. You never actually met Charles but you had heard lots about him, and from the look he gave you across the lounge, you had a feeling he had heard a lot about you too.

With a drink in his hand, he made his way towards you, nodding to himself when he realised that, yes, the girl in front of him was in fact his teammate's ex. 

“Does Carlos know you’re here?” Charles asked, dipping his face towards your ear to be heard over the obnoxious music. You shook your head, eyes darting all around him but the Spanish driver was nowhere in sight.

“Is he-” god why were you even asking? You didn’t have a right to. You broke up with him. “Is he here?”

Charles nodded again, standing up straight to look around the crowded room full of bodies dancing and mingling. A chuckle passed his lips as his eyes widened momentarily, “Looks like he’s a little busy though.”

You turned on your heels. It took a second for you to understand what Charles was talking about.

But then you saw it.

A girl, who very much resembled you, height wise and hair wise, had her arms wrapped around Carlos’ neck as she held their bodies together, letting the music flow through them as they danced together. 

You hated the way he was staring at her, like he was thinking about all of the ways he was going to devour her. 

And unlike Carlos, you did not let your feelings sit. You reacted to everything. Out of anger, spite, jealousy, you never took a second to think about your actions or the potential consequences before doing anything. 

So before you even processed how horrible of an idea this was, you walked across the club, the music fading into the background as you only heard a high pitched ringing in your ears. Carlos paid no attention to you, he had no idea you were even there until you wrapped your fingers around his wrist and pulled his hand off the waist of your lookalike. 

She scoffed at you and shot a quick glance towards Carlos, “Cuál es su problema?” What’s your problem?

“You,” You shot back, not giving her any chance of a rebuttal before you pulled Carlos away from her and the dance floor. He called your name, trying to get your attention as you navigated your way to the bathrooms. He was much stronger than you, so he could have pulled your hand off of him if he really wanted to, but he let you drag him into the single user washroom without much of a fight.

It wasn’t until you locked the door behind him and stood only inches apart did it sink in what you just did.

Your heart was racing as you stared up at Carlos. You took in his stern features, the way his eyebrows pinched together as he waited for an explanation, the way he crossed his arms over his chest. 

This was very reminiscent of the night you met, only when you met in the club you pulled him into the backseat of a car and he couldn’t take his hands off of you. Now, he was purposely keeping the distance and he seemingly wanted nothing to do with you.

He must have known you didn’t have any words because he cleared his throat and eyed you once over, “What the fuck was that?”

What the hell could you say? That was me pulling you off some stupid look alike because even though I broke up with you, I don’t want to see you with anyone else?

That would be the truth. The reasonable thing to respond with because after pulling him away from his date, you probably at least owed him some honesty.

But again, you were someone who reacted. 

“What?” You scoffed, arm flailing to the side. “You think you can come back to Spain for the first time in months and not say a single fucking thing to me? Weren’t you the one who said your home was in Madrid? People talk, Carlos, you haven’t been home since the day-”

“Since the day you left,” he interrupted, knowing damn well you were trying to say he hadn’t been back home since he left for the season even though you both knew there was a deeper reasoning as to why. 

Carlos shook his head. His usually loving stare was cold and intimidating, he wasn’t going to let you put the blame on him for anything that had occurred.

“I haven’t been back to Madrid since that day you walked out on me,” Carlos repeated himself, putting heavy emphasis on the reminder that you were the one that left him. “I hope you understand, but I haven’t really been in any sort of rush to go back.”

Why would he want to go back home knowing you wouldn’t be there when he returned? Why would he go back to the one place he knew you’d be, but would still inevitably be just out of his reach? So close yet so fucking far. 

He wasn’t going to put himself through that, through knowing you’d be in the same city but not being able to touch you. It was easier to find other places to stay between races.

And you did understand that. It may not have sunk in right away, but it made sense now. You couldn’t see it through the tv screen, you couldn’t get a read on him when you were watching him race from miles and miles away. But you saw it now.

Carlos hadn’t moved on either.

He took a breath as he leaned back against the door. You didn’t like the defensive stance he was relying on. With his arms over his chest all you wanted was to step forward and take his hands in yours. You hated the space between your bodies.

But you were broken up. You both had to accept that, as hard as it was, and that was your doing. 

Except you still didn’t want to see him with someone else.

“So who was she?” You asked, drifting the topic of conversation back to the girl from the dance floor.

“You don’t really have a right to ask.”

“It’s not a crime to be curious.”

Carlos clenched his jaw as he averted his gaze for a second. He rubbed his palm over his chin and shrugged, giving in to your question because he always did struggle to say no to you, “I don’t know, honestly. I met her ten minutes ago at the bar.”

“Sounds familiar,” you muttered under your breath, thinking back to when you first met.

“We met on the dance floor,” Carlos pointed out.

“I was on the dance floor. You were at the bar.”

“We were both on the dance floor,” he repeated, sounding more sure of himself the second time. 

His eyes dropped, taking in your outfit of choice for the first time since you’ve been in the enclosed space and when the corner of his lips curved upwards, just for a second, you felt your heart skip a beat just like it did the first night you met.

“You were wearing that same skirt too,” he said and you automatically looked down at the black leather skirt you currently had on. 

“Was not,” you scoffed, but to be fair, you had absolutely no idea what you had on that night.

Carlos chuckled, ignoring your childish rebuttal. “That skirt and a white top and I know it was white because I remember watching you spill your drink all over the front of it and you said-”

“I need an excuse to take it off anyway,” you finished for him, flashes of that night appeared in your mind. For so long, you only remembered how Carlos made you feel when you first met that none of the other details mattered.

But he remembered everything.

“You ordered gin and tonics all night,” Carlos continued, studying your face as your features softened with each additional memory. “Your friends tried to pull you away from me when we were on the dance floor and you didn’t let them. When I introduced myself, you had no idea who I was and when we finally stepped outside to leave the club, you looked at me with those big eyes of yours and you-” 

He stopped midway and inhaled a faint breath, you both did actually. His was due to reliving the night you first met and yours was due to the fact that Carlos stepped forward finally, raising his fingers to your chin to tilt your face upwards. 

You leaned into his touch, stepping forward yourself to trace your hand over the shirt he wore as he finished his final thought.

“You looked up at me and you told me I looked like someone you could fall in love with.”

Alarms went off. You wanted to run again. You didn’t want to have this conversation again. Once was enough. 

“I don’t- I don’t remember that,” you stammered out. 

“Because you were drinking gin and tonics all night,” Carlos said again, this time with a hint of a smile. “I also don’t even think you meant to say it, you changed the topic immediately afterwards.”

“You could just be making this shit up,” you pointed out, not wanting to accept the fact that you knew Carlos would be someone you would love since that first night. 

“I could be,” he nodded in agreement, fingers still holding onto your jaw. He stared at you the way he used to. With such adoration and desire. What used to be lust melted into something so much stronger and it hadn’t faded even if months passed. “But unlike you, I don’t lie.”

Your eyebrows pinched together, “When have I ever lied to you?” 

“The day you left,” there was another hit to the chest as you anticipated the rest of his sentence. “When you told me you didn’t love me.”

“That wasn’t a lie,” your words tasted like acid on your tongue. 

His hand fell from your face and he laughed. The sort of laugh that had your stomach turning in knots because there was nothing humorous about this situation you had now found yourselves in for the second time in four months.

“I know you,” Carlos said. “And I know there’s no possible way that I am the only one that feels so strongly it hurts. I know you love me because I feel it. I always have. In the way you touch me, in the way you run your hands through my hair, in the way you used to wake me up in the morning by kissing me until I finally opened my eyes. I know you love me because I see it in everything you do. In the way you look at me, the way your eyes always found mine if we were in a crowded room and I could see the breath of relief you’d take because as long as we saw each other, the world was calm. I saw it when you started leaving your clothes at my place, when you started going grocery shopping for us instead of just you and I saw how it broke you to walk out on me that day. It wouldn’t have hurt if you didn’t love me.”

With your hand still gripping onto his shirt, your lower lip trembled as you tried to find something to say in response. Every single word that came out of his mouth was true. He knew you better than you knew yourself and he probably knew long before you did that you loved him.

You dropped your gaze, focusing on the wrinkles on his shirt and the white button you played with under your thumb, “You know that phrase, if you love something, set it free?”

“And if it comes back, it's yours,” Carlos added on, stepping closer as he raised his hand to the side of your face, his fingers twisting through your hair. “I’m here, hermosa. I’m yours, I’ve always been yours.”

Now it was your turn to laugh. You forced yourself to, thinking that the humorous breath of air protruding from your lips might make the rest of this conversation easier. 

It didn’t.

“Carlos I can’t keep setting you free every time there’s a race,” you said, your voice timid. “I can’t. If I’m going to love you I’m going to do it with every bone in my body, with every fibre of my being and I can’t do that if you’re gone for eight months of the year. I need you in my life, with me, by my side, not on a tv screen, not all around the world.”

What you were asking for was selfish, you knew this. You knew that, essentially, you were putting Carlos in a position where he had to choose. He had to choose between you and racing and that wasn’t a fair spot for him to be in. You knew this.

Which is why you chose for him. 

Four months ago you chose for him, and you were doing it again now.

You briefly glanced up to meet his eyes, trying to move past the way you were melting at the feeling of his hands in your hair. 

“I shouldn’t have come to Barcelona, I’m sorry,” you breathed out, hands falling to your side. Without so much as a second look, you stepped past the driver and reached for the door handle. 

Carlos didn’t let you walk out on him this time.

He grabbed your wrist and spun you back around so fast that you didn’t have a second to breathe before his lips were on yours. Furiously and passionately like he was making up for all of these months without you. His tongue dove into your mouth as you slid your hand around the back of his neck, holding his face to yours because even though you knew this was a terrible idea, that you were broken up, there was no better feeling in the world than kissing Carlos Sainz Jr.

Neither of you were sure who started undressing first. It didn’t matter. Buttons went flying, your skirt got hiked up around your waist and when Carlos hoisted you up to place you on top of the sink, you had a momentary lapse of judgement and asked yourself why you broke up with him in the first place.

“I miss you,” Carlos muttered against your lips as you inhaled a sharp breath when he pushed your panties aside, the pads of his fingers traced over your folds. “I missed this.” 

“Carlos-”

“Missed how wet you got for me,” Carlos ignored whatever plea was about to fall from your lips as he pressed his mouth to the crook of your neck. 

You were putty in his hands, quite literally. There was nothing but quiet whimpers and strangled moans from you as he slid two fingers past your folds, both of you forgetting that your conversation ended with you trying to walk out on him.

His thumb traced over your clit, applying the slightest bit of pressure, just enough to have you arching your back as you sat perched on the edge of the counter. You felt him smirk against your skin right when he picked up the pace of his digits, curling them against your walls, so deep inside you.

You dragged your fingers through his hair, encouraging him to keep his lips on that spot just below your ear as your head fell backward. Carlos kept you upright, he supported you, he knew how helpless you were during times like these and he lived for it. 

Four months ago you would have never thought that walking out on Carlos Sainz Jr. would lead you to being finger fucked by him in the bathroom of a Barcelona club. 

He lifted his head, replacing his lips on your throat with his free hand and forcing you to look at him. You recognised the lustful stare, only growing darker as he alternated between lightly tracing your most sensitive nub and pinching it between his forefinger and thumb until your legs quivered beneath you.

Carlos attached his mouth to yours, biting down and tugging on your lower lip, the sharp pain only added to the pleasure coursing through your body. He thrusted his fingers into you with such force it had you yanking on his dark hair so hard Carlos hissed through his teeth. 

“Cum for me,” Carlos’ groan was masked with a demand. One you had no possibility of ignoring as your body reacted to him and his words. With his fingers so deep inside you, Carlos worked you through your release, slowing but not stopping as you dropped your head to his shoulder, holding him as close to you as you possibly could.

When he finally pulled his fingers out of you, you weren’t surprised when he brought them up to his lips. There was a perfectly fine sink right in front of him but Carlos would never waste an opportunity to taste you. 

He then cupped your chin, his gaze softened but you could still make out the mischievous glint. This night wasn’t over.

“Let’s get out of here.”

That’s all it took. Those five little words. The one request and you had forgotten every logical decision that had led you up to this moment. He helped you off the counter, kissing you once more before you had to leave the privacy of the bathroom and before long you found yourself walking the same route as the first night you met.

Past the dance floor, sending your friend an assuring smile, silently telling her everything was fine. Carlos led the way at first, you kept a safe distance behind him and when you walked outside there was already a car waiting out front. You climbed into the backseat alongside him, ignoring the flashes from paparazzi and the call from them asking if Carlos was back together with his ex.

You couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. From the ride to the elevator to the hallway until finally he dragged you into his hotel room, or maybe you dragged him once the door opened, you were both desperate for the other at this point.

It was hard to think rationally. In the back of your head you knew you’d have to leave in the morning before you found yourself clinging to him the way you used to, but you just wanted to enjoy the time you had now. You wanted to hold onto every beautiful sound that came from the back of his throat, each kiss he pressed to your skin, the sound of your name escaping his lips because no one would ever say your name that way he did. 

You loved him.

You loved the way he knew your body better than you did. How he had you desperate for a release in a matter of minutes, and only giving in when you begged for it. You loved the way he stretched you out, needing a second to inhale a quick breath as he slid his cock into you with little warning, deciding you were wet enough already after making you cum once in the bathroom and again on the edge of his bed with just his tongue.

You were used to his size, you had spent enough time in bed with him to know what to expect tonight but after four months your mouth still fell open and he swallowed all of your moans by pressing his lips to yours and taking all of your air out of your lungs.

Carlos wasn’t patient. Why would he be? After months without you he didn’t feel the need to wait. He found a steady pace but within minutes he had picked up his speed and hiked one of your legs up around his waist. 

That position turned into another which turned into a third and at one point during the night Carlos had you sit on top of him, staring at your own reflection in the mirror as you bounced on his cock, listening to his encouraging words and his praise while his fingers made for a beautiful necklace on your throat.

He cherished you, treating you like royalty on his sheets as you both carried the same thought, both of you knowing that you wouldn’t stay past the morning. As much as you wanted to forget that you broke up with him and as much as he wanted to pretend that you were still his, there was no denying your relationship was over. 

You loved each other, but that wasn’t enough to make up for the distance and the lost time during races and the anxiety of not being able to come home to each other at the end of the day. You loved each other, truly, but it was never enough.

Which was why when morning came, you climbed out of bed, careful not to disturb him after getting very minimal hours of sleep. You slid on the clothes you had discarded all over his room and decided that leaving without a second look would be easiest.

You had just cracked the door open when Carlos stirred in the blankets behind you. You had no choice but to turn around, to look at what you were walking away from for the second time.

He sat up in bed, the sheets draped over his lower half and his hair unruly and sexy and almost enough to make you crawl right back in next to him. 

He saw that you had redressed yourself, made yourself as presentable as you could wearing the clothes from last night. He didn’t have to ask where you were going, he just nodded to himself and let out a breath of acceptance.

You were never going to stay.

“I’m sorry,” you said, but those two little words were not the words he was hoping to hear during his short time with you. 

“No you’re not,” Carlos shook his head. He looked away from you for a second, his tongue poking out to moisten his lips. He was asking himself if last night was a mistake. It probably was.

“I don’t want to have this conversation again.”

“You’re leaving because it’s easier to walk away than to fight for what you really want.”

“I’m leaving because it’s what’s best for both of us, Carlos.” You sighed, leaning against the frame of the bedroom door. “I can’t live the life you want me to live and I’m not going to ask you to give anything up for me. We’re at a crossroad here.”

Carlos dragged his line of sight back towards you, “Even though I love you? That doesn’t make any difference?”

It makes things harder. 

You shook your head, repeating that you were sorry one more time and letting the last image of Carlos be of him dropping his head back down to the pillow before you turned around and walked out of his life once again.

August 17 2023

You practically ran to the receptionist, slamming your hands against the desk, “Carlos Sainz Jr., is he- is he here? What room is he in? Is he okay? God please tell me he’s okay-”

“Ma’am, I need you to take a breath,” the nurse was calm, she had been through this hundreds of times. Dealing with the frantic loved ones of a patient. She stood up, hand outstretched to rest over yours as she pushed the box of tissues closer to you. You grabbed one and dabbed the corner of your eyes, having been imagining the worst the entire drive over and unable to stop crying.

You didn’t even have time to question why you were still his emergency contact. You had no idea how your name and number came up in the conversation and it pained you to think that when the paramedics brought him to the hospital, the only phone number he could think to mutter was yours.

“Is he okay?” You repeated after a deep inhale. “I need to know he’s okay. The lady on the phone earlier wouldn’t tell me anything, she just said there was an accident.”

“Carlos Sainz?” The nurse asked, looking at her screen as she sat back on down. She typed on the keyboard, muttering a few things to herself until his file popped up. “He’s undergoing surgery right now, should be done soon though.”

“Surgery for what?” You asked, desperate to get information. “Is he going to be okay? He’s a racecar driver, can he still drive? Is it life threatening-”

The nurse seemed to crack a smile, “I’m familiar with his occupation, Miss. Unfortunately I am not able to give you any more information on his condition.”

You couldn’t tell if the whole confidentiality act was because of his fame or because she really had no idea how he was doing. Regardless, the not knowing stressed you out beyond relief and you tried for a few more minutes, pestering for answers, until finally she told you that the only option for you was to sit and wait.

So you did. Foot tapping against the tiled floor. You thought about calling his parents or his sister but last you saw from social media, his sister was somewhere in Greece and you had absolutely no way of contacting his parents as you weren’t with Carlos long enough to get their contact information. 

It was just you in the hospital waiting room, nervously watching the minute hand on the clock go around way too damn slow. Every time a doctor or another nurse entered the room, your heart dropped in anticipation, but none of them were there to keep you informed.

Twenty minutes went by with no news, and in hindsight, that really wasn’t that long of a waiting period. But it felt like an eternity, not knowing. Left drawing your own conclusions, your own terrible scenarios. 

When a doctor did finally emerge from the swinging doors, he stared down at his clipboard before approaching the nurse behind the reception desk. You watched them interact, of course you did, you needed to know if he was Carlos’ doctor.

When he walked over to you, a tight smile on his lips, you stood up instantly.

“You must be here for Carlos,” he said, holding out his hand for you to shake with not nearly enough strength you wished you had. “I’m Dr. Alejo.”

“Hi,” You tried to glance at the clipboard tucked under his arm but you wouldn’t understand anything anyway. “Is he-”

Dr. Alejo nodded and you felt as though you could breathe when his smile grew even just the slightest bit. 

“He’s fine,” He assured you. “A few broken ribs that will heal on their own, a fracture of his left wrist that required surgery and some severe bruising along his abdomen, but no internal bleeding to be concerned about. He’s okay.” Dr. Alejo scratched his jaw, “Might not be able to finish the season, but I think he’s just happy to be able to walk away from this accident.”

He nodded his head towards the doors that separated the patients from the waiting room, leading you through them and down the hall as he flipped through the papers on the clipboard. 

“It was a car accident?” You asked. “How? What even happened?” It was hard to believe that a professional racing driver would get into something so mundane as a car accident. During the break of the Formula 1 season.

“I believe the other driver was distracted,” Dr. Alejo answered. “I don’t have much more information than that as he wasn’t my patient, but he’s also okay. I think still in surgery, but both drivers are extremely fortunate in this scenario.”

He stopped in front of a room where the door was slightly ajar. Carlos’ name was written on the board outside of it and you asked for permission before going inside. The doctor nodded and allowed you in by yourself, instructing you to be gentle as he had just come from surgery.

You walked in, not prepared for the sight of Carlos on the bed with IV tubes sticking out of his wrist. His entire rib cage and abdomen was bandaged up and you could see hints of bruising on his legs and arms, aside from where the cast on his left wrist was covering them. There were minor marks on his face as well, cuts from the broken windshield, more bruising, everything that made you ache for him.

His eyes were closed so he didn’t see you slowly make your way to his bedside, sitting on the side that seemed to have less injury. You scanned over him, taking in the damages to his body and you didn’t think twice before raising your hand to brush a few strands of hair off his forehead. 

You hadn’t seen him in a few months, not since you left his hotel room. 

Part of you expected that you’d run into each again, you’d always been drawn to Carlos, but you never would have imagined this. 

You didn’t even know he was home.

Hesitantly, you took his hand in yours, thumb tracing over the few inches of skin that weren’t littered with dark bruises. You felt his fingers twitch in your grasp and you glanced up in time to see his eyelids flutter open.

“Hi,” you whispered, expecting to have to explain yourself. Carlos most definitely did not expect to get into any sort of accident today, let alone see his ex-girlfriend who walked out on him twice. Obviously there was some explaining to do.

But he only turned his palm upwards to interlock your fingers together, careful of the IV tubing. He tried to shift on the bed, only to grimace in pain and you inhaled a breath, worried for him.

“Just-” you swallowed, fighting the urge to put your hand to his chest like you would normally do if you just wanted him to sit. “Just take it easy, okay?”

Carlos nodded, glancing down at your hands and then at the cast on his wrist and then sighing with deep despair as he took in the bandages wrapped around his body. 

“Not like I had a shot at the championship anyway,” he joked, already thinking about the last half of the season. 

You didn’t want to laugh. Nothing about him sitting in a hospital bed was funny, but it was no surprise he was thinking about Formula 1. He was a driver, racing was in his blood. 

So you just cracked a hint of a smile and tried to change the topic to something else, something more pressing.

“I didn’t know you were back in Madrid.”

Carlos paused, “I just got in today.”

Your brows pinched together, “What do you mean? Didn’t your break start two weeks ago?”

“I was in Italy, for a bit,” he told you, his thumb brushing over yours. “But I didn’t want to be there. All I wanted was to come home. All I wanted was to see you.”

Your heart sank deep into your chest, “Don’t tell me you got into a car accident when you were on the way to my place.”

“Then I won’t tell you.”

“Carlos,” You wanted to scold him, really. You had broken up, he didn’t need to come see you. If he had just stayed in Italy, if he hadn’t decided he needed to see you, he’d be fine and not laying with limited motion in a hospital bed. You were the reason he ended up here.

He always said you’d be the death of him.

“I love you,” Carlos said, sounding more sure of his own words than he ever had before. “I love you, and I don’t care if you walk out on me every time I say it because I’m just going to follow you. I made a mistake the first time, letting you leave. I made it again in Barcelona and I’m not doing that anymore, I’m not going anywhere, hermosa and if I do, I’ll always come home to you.” 

You had thought you were all cried out, having tears stream down your face the entire drive to the hospital as you thought about your relationship with Carlos. The good, the bad, everything in between. You cried thinking you’d never get a chance to create another memory with him. You were distraught, wanting to scream into the abyss because even if you weren’t with Carlos, you couldn’t imagine a life without him.

You loved him.

You always had. You always will.

And you weren’t going to go another second with him thinking his feelings weren’t reciprocated. 

A single tear fell down your cheek as you locked eyes with him, the only person in your life you would ever give your heart to and know, without doubt, that he would give his back in return.

“I love you,” you finally told him, the biggest weight lifted off your chest, one that had been dragging you down for months. “I love you, Carlos, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I love you when I knew I did. I'm sorry it took this for me to tell you. I'm so sorry, I love you, I love you-”

You moved closer to him, dropping your head to rest against his after you kissed his temple, quietly repeating that you loved him over and over again. You placed your hand against his cheek, holding Carlos against you and he covered your hand with his, not wanting to let go.

He’d let you go one two many times and he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

And you wouldn’t give him a reason to. 

[girlactionfigure]

The @UN created an exhibit dedicated to all terror victims worldwide, without including a single Israeli victim of terrorist violence.

To highlight the blatant absurdity of the UN, here’s an incomplete list of terror attacks against Israelis, by decade:🧵 

2020s

1. April 7, 2022 Tel Aviv Shooting - Casualties: 3 people killed, 6 injured - Group Responsible: Palestinian Islamic Jihad

2. November 23, 2022 Jerusalem Bus Bombing - Casualties:2 people killed, 18 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas 

3. October 7, 2023 Massacre - Casualties: Over 1,200 people killed, thousands injured, and many taken hostage - Group Responsible: Hamas, along with several other Palestinian terror groups. 

2010s

5. March 11, 2011 Itamar Attack - Casualties: 5 members of the Fogel family killed (parents and 3 children) - Group Responsible: Two Palestinian attackers, later linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

6. March 23, 2011 Jerusalem Bus 74 Bombing: - Casualties: 1 person was killed, 30 injured. - Group Responsible: Hamas.

7. November 18, 2014 Har Nof Synagogue Massacre - Casualties: 6 Israeli and 1 Druze killed - Group Responsible: Two Palestinian attackers, praised by Hamas

8. June 8, 2016 Tel Aviv Sarona Market Shooting: - Casualties: 4 people were killed. - Group Responsible: ISIS. 

2000s (Second Intifada)

9. June 1, 2001 Dolphinarium Discotheque Bombing - Casualties: 21 people killed, over 100 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas

10. August 9, 2001 Sbarro Restaurant Bombing - Casualties: 15 people killed, over 130 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas

11. January 17, 2002 Bat Mitzvah Massacre: - Casualties: 6 people killed, 33 injured.  - Group Responsible: al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

12. March 2, 2002 Yeshivat Beit Yisrael Massacre: - Casualties: 11 people, including 7 children, killed. - Group Responsible: Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

13. March 9, 2002 Café Moment Bombing: - Casualties: 11 people killed. - Group Responsible: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas).

14. March 27, 2002 Park Hotel Massacre - Casualties: 30 people killed, 140 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas

15. November 15, 2002 Hebron Shooting Attack - Casualties: 12 Israeli soldiers and security personnel killed - Group Responsible: Islamic Jihad

16. November 21, 2002 Kiryat Menachem Massacre: - Casualties: 11 people killed. - Group Responsible: Hamas.

17. January 5, 2003 Tel-Aviv Central Bus Station Massacre: - Casualties: 23 people killed, over 100 injured.  - Group Responsible: Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

18. March 5, 2003 Haifa Bus 37 Suicide Bombing: - Casualties: 17 people killed, with most victims being students from Haifa University. - Group Responsible: Hamas.

19. May 18, 2003 French Hill Suicide Bombings: - Casualties: 5 people killed - Group Responsible: Hamas - Event: A suicide bomber disguised as a religious Jew detonated on a bus. A second bomber prematurely detonated, only killing himself.

20. August 19, 2003 Shmuel HaNavi Bus Bombing: - Casualties: 24 people killed including 7 children, 130 people injured.  - Group Responsible: Hamas.

21. September 9, 2003 Tzrifin Bus Stop Attack and Café Hillel Bombing: - Casualties: 14 people killed - Responsible Group: Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs - Event: Two Palestinian suicide bombings occurred within hours of each other; one at a crowded bus stop near Tel Aviv, the other at a popular Jerusalem nightspot.

22. October 4, 2003 Maxim Restaurant Bombing: - Casualties: 21 people killed, over 60 injured.  - Group Responsible: Islamic Jihad.

23. December 25, 2003 Geha Interchange Bus Stop Bombing: - Casualties: 3 people killed - Responsible Group: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

24. March 14, 2004 Ashdod Port Attack: - Casualties: 10 people killed, over 23 injured. - Responsible Group: Hamas and Farah.

25. August 31, 2004 Beersheba Bus Bombing: - Casualties: 16 people killed, over 100 injured - Responsible Group: Hamas.

26. February 24, 2005 Stage Club Bombing: - Casualties: 5 people killed, over 50 injured. - Responsible Group: Hamas. 

1980s - 1990s

27. 1987-1993 First Intifada - Casualties: Hundreds of Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, killed over 1,400 injured - Group Responsible: Various Palestinian groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad

28. October 19, 1994 Dizengoff Street Bus Bombing - Casualties: 22 people killed, 50 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas

29. January 22, 1995 Beit Lid Suicide Bombings - Casualties: 21 Israeli soldiers and 1 civilian killed, over 60 injured - Group Responsible: Islamic Jihad

30. July 30, 1997 Mahane Yehuda Market Bombings - Casualties: 16 people killed, 178 injured - Group Responsible: Hamas 

1970s

31. May 22, 1970 Avivim School Bus Massacre: - Casualties: 12 people, with 9 victims being children. - Responsible Group: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.

32. May 30, 1972 Lod Airport Massacre - Casualties: 26 people killed, 80 injured - Group Responsible: Japanese Red Army, in collaboration with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

33. September 5-6 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre - Casualties: 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed - Group Responsible: Black September (Palestinian terrorist group)

34. April 11, 1974 Kiryat Shmona Massacre: - Casualties: 18 people killed with 8 victims being children, over 16 wounded. - Responsible Group: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.

35. May 15, 1974 Ma'alot Massacre - Casualties: 31 people, including 22 schoolchildren, killed. - Group Responsible: Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)

36. July 4, 1975 Zion Square Massacre: - Casualties: 15 people killed, 77 wounded. - Responsible Group: Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

37. March 11, 1978 Coastal Road Massacre - Casualties: 38 Israeli civilians killed, 71 injured - Group Responsible: Fatah (a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization) 

1950s and 1960s

38. Fedayeen Raids (1950s): - Description: A series of cross-border attacks by Arab militants (Fedayeen) from neighboring countries, targeting Israeli civilians and military personnel. These raids included shootings, bombings, and infiltrations, leading to significant Israeli casualties.

38. March 17, 1954 Ma'ale Akrabim Massacre: - Casualties: 11 Israeli civilians killed - Description: A bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv was ambushed by Palestinian militants who shot and killed most of the passengers.

39. November 23, 1964 Latrun Convoy Attack: - Casualties: 11 Israeli civilians killed - Description: A civilian convoy was ambushed by Palestinian militants near Latrun, resulting in multiple deaths.

End 🧵 

The Persian Jewess

@persianjewess

[zedecksiew]

THE BLOGGIES 2023: FINALISTS

(If you just want to skip to the list of BLOGGIE finalists, scroll to the "Who Are The BLOGGIES?" section below.)

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WHAT ARE THE BLOGGIES?

Awards for some of the best tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) blog posts to come out in 2022. There will be five awards: Best Theory Blogpost, Best Gameable Blogpost, Best Advice Blogpost, Best Review Blogpost, and, the biggest one, Best Blogpost.

I won Best Blogpost, last year. So I am hosting the BLOGGIES, this year.

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WHY ARE THE BLOGGIES?

Blogs are worth celebrating. Barring the actual playing of actual games, they are our most fertile field, our most volatile laboratory. Longform, text-based, and informal---they are a place to jot down our most outre design ideas. Free and publicly available---they are a vector for open debate and serendipitous discourse. Perhaps most importantly: relatively free of algorithmic social-media pressures---they are the best chance we have at a cultural memory.

I got into TTRPGs because of blogs.

The BLOGGIES are, at best, an affirmation of the above. At least, they are a way to celebrate 64 excellent blog posts from the last year, and maybe get them in front of people who did not read them the first time.

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HOW ARE THE BLOGGIES?

Nominations: I put an open call for blog-post nominations on Christmas 2023; I also canvassed the TTRPG communities I am part of. Nominated posts had to be from between 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2023.

I closed the nomination period on 1 Jan 2024 with 149 blog posts for consideration. I read / re-read them all.

I chose a slate of 64 finalists, according to the following metrics, in order:

Enthusiasm---a post got multiple nominations;

Diversity---no one blog was allowed to be a finalist more than once in a category (except the Reviews category, where this rule was tied to individual writers, due to shared review blogs);

Notability---a post was extraordinary in presenting a novel idea, addressing an important subject, or reflecting a community current.

Obviously, that last metric is highly subjective, and limited to my knowledge and perspective in the scene. I did my best.

I will not have final final say. Finalists will go head to head, vying for to be anointed best of the best by ballot. The bracket was seeded in order of number of nominations received. The BLOGGIES await your vote, o TTRPG folx.

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WHEN ARE THE BLOGGIES?

Throughout January 2024! Voting is >>>NOW OPEN<<< on Google Forms according to the following schedule (I will link to the forms and result threads as I post them):

First Week January - THEORY

3 January: Round of 16

4 January: Round of 8

5 January: Round of 4

6 January: Quarterfinals (winners in category) - Results

Second Week January - GAMEABLE

10 January: Round of 16

11 January: Round of 8

12 January: Round of 4

13 January: Quarterfinals (winners in category) - Results

Third Week January - ADVICE

17 January: Round of 16

18 January: Round of 8

19 January: Round of 4

20 January: Quarterfinals (winners in category) - Results

Fourth Week January - REVIEW

24 January: Round of 16

25 January: Round of 8

26 January: Round of 4

27 January: Quarterfinals (winners in category) - Results

31 January - FINALS

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WHO ARE THE BLOGGIES?

Your BLOGGIES 2023 FINALISTS are (presented in bracket order):

(High-res version here)

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THEORY

🥉 (1) being a problem - playable orcs at the limits of humanity, from Majestic Fly Whisk Some deep thinking about the racialisation of the orc in elfgames, why mainstream fixes fall short, and ways to move beyond.

vs

(16) #132: Axes of Game Design, from The Indie RPG Newsletter An exploration of the design axes / spectrums on which every TTRPG may fall.

(8) The Genres the OSR Can't Do, from A Knight At The Opera Sketching the limits of the OSR playstyle by looking at genres which are too differently-bound for it to emulate.

vs

(9) RPG Transcript Analysis: Critical Role, from Trilemma Adventures Examining a style of play through transcript analysis (looking at what is actually being said during a session), with Critical Role as case study.

🥈 (5) Critical GLOG: Base Resolution Mechanics, from Goblin Punch A deep dive into dice and resolution mechanics, and what they do in practice.

vs

(12) My favorite problems, from Failure Tolerated A list of design problems in TTRPGs, and a case for game design and theory to be driven by problem-solving.

(4) Roleplay Is Folk Art, from Wizard Thief Fighter An impassioned call to consider TTRPGs as folk art as opposed to corpocratic walled-garden IPs.

vs

(13) ART, PRODUCT, BOARD GAMES AND MAUSRITTER, from Fail Forward Critique of reviews that accuse TTRPGs for being too slick; interrogating the assumptions behind the label “commercial”.

(6) Toolbox Design, from The Dododecahedron Considering the principles of designing TTRPGs like toolboxes, through the lens of Cairn RPG and similar.

vs

(11) Mario vs ActRaiser vs Final Fantasy vs Zelda - Types of Advancement in RPGs, from Rise Up Comus Identifying some general types of advancement in TTRPGs, using videogames as a comparative lens.

(3) Posters, Posers and POSR(s), from Prismatic Wasteland Relitigating whether the OSR is dead, and defining its successor, the Post-OSR.

vs

(14) psychosis is badly written in tabletop games, from paper cult “Attempting to mechanize something so intensely personal, different, and mutable as mental illness is complicated. I think that makes these depictions bad!”

(7) “Rules Elide” and Its Consequences, from Jared Considering the implications of the maxim that "a game is about X when you have rules for everything but X".

vs

(10) Models of High-Level Play, from Benign Brown Beast Loose but useful classifications for types of high-level play: domains; god-like play; etc.

🥇 (2) OSR Rules Families, from Traverse Fantasy Sketching the landscape of the OSR, how various systems function, and how their attributes cluster and trend together.

vs

(15) Moralising and manipulation in tabletop roleplaying games, from Playful Void The importance of having design preferences without tying these preferences to moral judgments.

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GAMEABLE

🥉 (1) Flux Space, from Papers & Pencils A point-crawl procedure specifically designed for labyrinths / dungeons that are architecturally confusing / samey.

vs

(16) Generating Elevation in a Hexcrawl, from Traveler's Rest Procedures and advice on how to generate a mountain-crawl: hiking-focused adventure geography.

(8) The Autumn of Summers, from False Machine God-monsters born of summer, the hunting culture around such beasts, and random tables to generate their attributes.

vs

(9) MIMICS, from Vaults Of Vaarn A spread of novel pretender-creatures, with ecological and social implications.

(5) Another take on demihumans as social constructs, from Cavegirl's Game Stuff What if we consider fantasy races not as separate species, but as differing social roles?

vs

(12) The Apocalypse Archive, from Bearded Devil An unfinished by exemplary #dungeon23 attempt that includes wonderful maps and soundtrack notes.

🥈 (4) Pointcrawling Character Creation, from Rise Up Comus A framework for tying character generation to a geography, generating history and familiarity with campaign locales.

vs

(13) how to be erased, from Straits Of Anian Procedures for getting lost and getting led astray, and the kith and spirits one meets in those places.

(6) Dungeon Skirmishing, from All Dead Generations Feature-complete skirmish combat mechanics for OD&D, and the design rationales thereof.

vs

(11) Zelda-Style NPC Personalities, from To Distant Lands A system of generating quick and punchy NPCs, inspired by the way Zelda videogames present NPCs.

(3) GULCH, from Mindstorm A starter town specifically designed for contemporary (horror, urban fantasy, non-fantasy) campaigns.

vs

(14) Down the Road: Local Situation Design, from Deeper In The Game A procedure for quickly generating a powderkeg situation in a local geography of play.

🥇 (7) Laws of the Land: meaningful terrain via in-fiction limits and conditions, from Was It Likely? A method to generate meaningful diegetic terrain and tone in an adventuring region.

vs

(10) False Equivalent Exchange, from The Graverobber's Guide A novel magic system, done in natural language, with discussion on how it could be used in play.

(2) Deeper Catacombs, from Benign Brown Beast Iteration notes and a presentation of a comprehensive dungeon tracking procedure.

vs

(15) Inadvisable Decisions (GLΔG), from The Nothic's Eye An evocative alienist character class, based on drawing the attention of alter-describable things from beyond.

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ADVICE

🥈 (1) How to Handle Parley as an OSR DM, from Goblin Punch Comprehensive notes on how to run non-combat encounters without resorting to boring rolls.

vs

(16) GM Pointers: Live-Text Games, from Shadow & Fae Good reminders on how to run live-text games better, so they are better coordinated and don't take forever.

(8) ONLY Roll Initiative, from Bastionland Considerations on how to adjudicate combats, if initiative were the only dice roll in a combat system.

vs

(9) Action Mysteries, from A Knight At The Opera Asserting that good TTRPGs mysteries involve action---not just figuring out the truth but opposing the antagonist's goals.

(5) Modular Ecology, from The Graverobber's Guide A practical approach to including gameable ecology in TTRPGs, by tying materials to specific locations and conditions of the world.

vs

(12) ULTIMATE ANIMIST MECHANIC: EVERYTHING IS A REACTION, from Alone In The Labyrinth How to run a game where all actions are resolved by reaction roll: everything in the world responds by how much they like you.

(4) Game Mastering Like A Park Ranger, from SILVERARM Advice about GM-ing, based on the real-world work experience of being a park ranger.

vs

(13) An OSR approach to Spotlight, from Permanent Cranial Damage The suggestion that intentionally spotlighting characters solves the real-life problem of spotlighting players nicely.

(6) #Dungeon23, from Win Conditions The idea that spawned a thousand notebook dungeons, plus salient advice on how to start / keep going.

vs

(11) The Storyteller Technique, from Possum Creek Games When writing TTRPGs, imagine your game text as a diegetic artefact in the world of the game.

🥉 (3) RANSACKING THE ROOM, from Mindstorm A simple and powerful three-step method to handle room-searching in games: inspect, search, and ransack.

vs

(14) Cairn Crash Course, from Widdershins Wanderings A masterclass example on how to write player guides to a game, for Cairn RPG.

(7) AN EXAMPLE OF FKR (NEAR-)DICELESS COMBAT (WITH COSMIC ORRERY!), from Underground Adventures Describing combat in a Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying (FKR) game, useful in understanding that playstyle.

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🥇 (10) Re-inventing the Wilderness: Part 1 - Introduction, from sachagoat Figuring out problems with wilderness exploration, and applying a mental-map framework from urban-theory academia.

(2) Dungeon Design, Process and Keys, from All Dead Generations A detailed process to designing and keying a traditional dungeon adventure.

vs

(15) THE D&D IN MY HEAD: In Only 6 Load-Bearing Numbers, from I Cast Light! Identifying the essential and minimum rules you need to remember, to run D&D.

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REVIEW

🥇 (1) An Empty Africa - PF2E's The Mwangi Expanse and the strange career of Black Atlanticism, from Majestic Fly Whisk A review of Pathfinder’s "The Mwangi Expanse", and a discussion of Black Atlanticism's fraught relationship with its sourcelands.

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(16) What Hull Breach Teaches Us, from Mazirian's Garden An assessment of the Mothership RPG third-party "Hull Breach" anthology as a "new standard for anthology companions".

(8) Grave Trespass - Jim Henson's Labyrinth: The Adventure Game, from Bones Of Contention A review of the Labyrinth RPG. It’s got all these things which are "bad" in RPGs, so why does it work?

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(9) The First Rumor Tables, Part 2: Caverns of Thracia or Caverns of Quasqueton?, from Tom Van Winkle's Return To Gaming An investigation into the origins of rumour tables in TTRPGs. Did TSR plagiarise Jaquays?

(5) Standing up for D&D's Gen X: 2e (Part 1), from Mythlands Of Erce A full-throated defense of D&D2E, viewing it in the context of its time and as a refinement over 1E.

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(12) Systemcrawl: Break!! RPG, from Widdershins Wanderings A review and system analysis of Break!! RPG, which marries JRPG and OSR inspirations.

(4) Dungeon Crawls in Cinema, from Directsun Games Evaluating several films on the basis of how well they function as dungeon crawls.

vs

(13) Reasonable Reviews, from Rise Up Comus A general overview of TTRPG reviews, and what may or may not make them useful.

(6) Deep Dive: A|STATE, from The Indie Game Reading Club A review of a|state, and how it builds on and departs from the Blades In The Dark formula.

vs

(11) I Read Cloud Empress, from Playful Void A review of Cloud Empress, the first descendant of the Mothership RPG ruleset.

🥈 (3) Plagiarism in Unconquered (2022), from Traverse Fantasy A forensic analysis of how Unconquered plagiarised Ultraviolet Grasslands and Vaults Of Vaarn.

vs

(14) Rod, Reel, & Fist (Review), from Benign Brown Beast A substantial review of Rod, Reel, & Fist, a "system-forward fishing simulation RPG".

(7) Pedantic Wasteland - Vampire Cruise, from Bones Of Contention A review of Vampire Cruise, a largely system-neutral horror-comedy adventure set at sea.

vs

(10) Dragon Magazine: Player Advice Collection Overview, from Attronarch Athenaeum A comprehensive read-through and rating of 143 Dragon Magazine advice articles.

(2) Spire: The Monstrosity of Empire, the Necessity of Violence, from A A Voigt A comparative-literature analysis of Spire RPG through R F Kuang’s spec-fic novel "Babel, or the Necessity of Violence".

vs

🥉 (15) MICROBLOG: CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND TABLETOP GAMES, from Fail Forward Considering the influence of children’s books on TTRPG designers and works like "Barkeep on the Borderlands".

+++

It is difficult to describe how hard it was for me to whittle down the list of nominees to these finalists. I consider each of these 64 a landmark in 2023's TTRPG thinkings, and the folks from which they issue essential reading, going forward. They already deserve a prize.

So here it is, dear bloggers: a hand-carved linocut "finalist's pin" graphic you are free to use on your sites / posts, should you wish:

(High-res downloadable version HERE)

Thank you for writing! And good luck in the coming rounds of voting!

+++

CORRECTION: A blog post from 2021 (Not All Crunch Is the Same, from A Knight At The Opera), was included in the soft-launch posting of this list. An error on the part of its nominator, compounded by a data-entry error on my part. It has since been replaced by a post from the same blog with the actual most nominations (The Genres the OSR Can't Do). I have also double-checked my lists and all finalists. Apologies for my error!

[sadhornydemons]

Helluva Boss episode, music video and shorts air dates & hiatus:

Reference for future episodes. Episode hiatus 3 months or longer will be noted.

Pilot: November 25, 2019 (Monday)

(Music Video) Oh Millie: February 14, 2020 (Friday)

(11 months)

Murder Family: October 31, 2020 (Saturday)

Loo Loo Land: December 9, 2020 (Wednesday)

Spring Broken: January 31, 2021 (Sunday)

C.H.E.R.U.B. : March 14, 2021 (Sunday)

The Harvest Moon Festival: April 30, 2021 (Friday)

(4 months)

Truth Seekers: August 21, 2021 (Saturday)

Ozzie's: October 31, 2021 (Sunday)

(9 months)

The Circus: July 30, 2022 (Saturday)

(3 months)

Seeing Stars: October 19, 2022 (Wednesday)

(5 months)

Exes and Oohs: March 11, 2023 (Saturday)

Western Energy: May 20, 2023 (Saturday)

Queen Bee: (delayed season 1 episode) June 24, 2023 (Saturday)

Unhappy Campers: July 8, 2023 (Saturday)

Oops: September 9, 2023 (Saturday)

Mammon's Magnificent Musical Mid-Season Special (ft Fizzarolli): October 29, 2023 (Sunday)

(Music Video) Just Look My Way: December 3, 2023 (Sunday)

(Short) Hell's Belles: April 26, 2024 (Friday)

(7 months)

The Full Moon: May 31, 2024 (Friday)

Apology Tour: June 22, 2024 (Saturday)

(Short) Mission: Antarctica: July 31, 2024 (Wednesday)

(Short) Mission: Weeaboo-Boo: August 31, 2024 (Saturday)

(Short) Mission: Chupacabras: September 29, 2024 (Sunday)

(4 months)

Ghostf*ckers (October 31, 2024) (Thursday)

[pridequest64]

Anarky Reading Order

This is, based of my research the complete reading list in release order for all Anarly Comics as of October 1st 2024. Release dates were used when available but compromises were made with cover date when necessary. If you see anything that is wrong or needs new additions feel free to let me know!

(Comic Vine was a massive help in this Project!)

1. Detective Comics #608 November 1989

2. Detective Comics #609 December 1989

3. Detective Comics #620 August 1990

4. Batman #456 September 18th 1990

5. Detective Comics #627 March 1991

6. Batman Annual #15 April 18th 1991

7. Robin Annual #1 July 23rd 1992

8. Superman & Batman Magazine #1 Q3 1993

9. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16

10. September 1993

11. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #17 September 1993

12. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #18 October 1993

13. Green Arrow #89 August 1994

14. Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #2 September 1994

15. The Batman Adventures #31 April 1995

16. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40 May 16th 1995

17. The Batman Chronicles #1 May 30th 1995

18. The Batman Adventures #36 October 1st 1995

19. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #41 June 20th 1996

20. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #50 May 1st 1996

21. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #66 September 1st 1997

22. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #67 October 1st 1997

23. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #73 April 1998

24. DCU Heroes Secret Files February 1999

25. Anarky #1 May 1999

26. Anarky #2 June 1999

27. Anarky #3 July 1999

28. Anarky #4 August 1999

29. Anarky #5 September 1999

30. Anarky #6 October 1999

31. Anarky #7 November 1999

32. Anarky #8 December 1999

33. Sins of Youth: JLA, Jr. May 2000

34. Young Justice: Sins of Youth #1 May 2000

35. Young Justice: Sins of Youth #2 May 2000

36. Green Arrow #51 August 2005

37. Robin #181 December 17th 2008

38. Robin #182 January 21st 2009

39. Robin #183 April 1st 2009

40. Red Robin #3 August 12th 2009

41. Red Robin #13 June 3rd 2010

42. Red Robin #15 August 4th 2010

43. Red Robin #16 September 9th 2010

44. Red Robin #17 November 10th 2010

45. Red Robin #18 December 8th 2010

46. Red Robin #19 January 12th 2011

47. Red Robin #20 February 9th 2011

48. Red Robin #21 March 16th 2011

49. Red Robin #22 April 13th 2011

50. Red Robin #23 May 11th 2011

51. Red Robin #24 June 8th 2011

52. Beware the Batman #1 October 23rd 2013

53. Green Lantern Corps #25 November 13th 2013

54. Detective Comics #38 Janurary 7th 2015

55. Detective Comics #39 February 4th 2015

56. Detective Comics #40 March 4th 2015

57. Detective Comics: Endgame March 11th 2015

58. Detective Comics #957 May 24th 2017

59. Detective Comics #963 August 23rd 2017

60. Detective Comics #964 September 13th 2017

61. Detective Comics #966 October 11th 2017

62. Detective Comics #968 November 22nd 2017

63. Detective Comics #970 December 13th 2017

64. Detective Comics #971 December 27th 2017

65. Detective Comics #972 January 10th 2018

66. Detective Comics #973 January 24th 2018

67. Batman: Prelude to the Wedding: Red Hood vs. Anarky June 20th 2018

68. Harley Quinn #61 May 1st 2019

69. Harley Quinn #62 June 5th 2019

70. The Imfected: The Commissioner December 18th 2019

71. DC Nation Presents DC Future State November 24th 2020

72. Future State: The Next Batman #1 Janurary 5th 2021

73. I Am Batman #1 September 14th 2021

74. I Am Batman #2 October 12th 2021

75. Robins #4 February 15th 2022

76. Detective Comics #1054 February 22nd 2022

77. Batman: Urban Legends #22 December 20th 2022

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: Year Four Masterpost

Hurrah!! I've made it FOUR YEARS OF UNINTERRUPTED FIC RECS every SINGLE Friday!! It's something I'm super proud of for this blog, and I couldn't do it without you guys!!

For anyone who is new to my blog, every SINGLE Friday I post up 5 fics recently added to either my Marked for Later list or my Bookmarks, or as a way to promote new fics suggested to me by authors as a Signal Boosted fic! I haven't missed a single Friday since its inception in 2019, and it's still going strong!! It's the ONLY guaranteed weekly list on this blog, since YOU GUYS provide me the content!! :D I love doing it, and it makes authors feel loved :)

So, as we begin YEAR FIVE for 5FF on September 29, 2023, let's look back on ALL the fics that got us here! Everyone please go give every fic on these lists some love, and I hope that you will stick with me for another year of Fic Recs!

There are over ONE THOUSAND (1,000) fics on the lists below, and that DOESN'T count the bonus extended lists I do once in awhile!!!

So do enjoy! Should keep y'all busy for the long haul!

PREVIOUS YEARS (2019 to 2022):

YEAR ONE MASTERPOST (Sept 29/19 to Sept 25/20)

YEAR TWO MASTERPOST (Sept 25/20 to Sept 24/21)

YEAR THREE MASTERPOST (Oct 1/21 to Sept 23/22)

YEAR 4 OF FIVE FICS FRIDAY:

September 30/22

October 7/22

October 14/22

October 21/22

October 28/22

November 4/22

November 11/22

November 18/22

November 25/22

December 2/22

December 9/22

December 16/22

December 23/22

December 30/22

January 6/23

January 13/23

January 20/23

January 27/23

February 3/23

February 10/23

February 17/23

February 24/23

March 3/23

March 10/23

March 17/23

March 24/23

March 31/23

April 7/23

April 14/23

April 21/23

April 28/23

May 5/23

May 12/23

May 19/23

May 26/23

June 2/23

June 9/23

June 16/23

June 23/23

June 30/23

July 7/23

July 14/23

July 21/23

July 28/23

August 4/23

August 11/23

August 18/23

August 25/23

September 1/23

September 8/23

September 15/23

September 22/23

[agentchimendez]

Sorry for the delay! It's because y'all didn't just write down a single character's name for the written sections like I so desperately asked!

Introducing the results of the 2023 Bittersweet Candy Poll! This was polled back in November-December of 2023, and here are the results of people's favorites, least favorites, most controversial/mixed opinions, and the one with the least opinions!

Click here for 2022's results and here for 2021's. Click the read more to see the total results for this year's poll beyond the top 10s.

Now color coded so you know if they've ranked higher (green) lower (blue) or were a new addition (orange)! Characters who stayed in the same place are listed as normal.

BELOVED

Lucy - 560

Paulo - 559

Augustus - 486

Rachel - 452

Amaya - 442

Daisy - 435

David - 382

Sue - 355

Mike & James - 345

Matt - 342

Molly - 336

Janet - 330

Paulo's Dad - 306

Abbey - 298

Tess - 282

Lucy's Mom - 269

Jessica - 251

Jasmine - 239

Daisy's Dad - 237

Kevin - 224

Zachary - 218

Charlotte - 214

Chris & Catherine - 206

Jordan - 190

Haley - 189

Lily - 185

Daisy's Mom - 181

McCain - 180

Madison - 168

Stacy & Mr. Noodles - 160

Justin - 156

Mike's Mom - 154

Lucy's Dad - 153

Principal - 152

Felix - 150

Amaya's Dad - 147

Chirpy & Lucas - 141

Sam & Finn - 139

Flower Girl - 132

Yashy & Lani - 121

Mina - 119

Darwin - 114

Sandy - 113

Gym Teacher - 102

Blur - 97

Max - 93

Courtney & Melanie - 92

Katie - 88

Sex-Ed Teacher (SET) & Aaron (Rachel's brother) - 85

Cassidy - 60

Tiff - 47

Dylan - 30

Alejandro - 26

Toby & Sandy's Mom - 12

Craig & Abraham - 11

BELOATHED

Alejandro - 721

Abraham - 599

Sandy's Mom - 307

Sandy - 301

Toby - 256

Craig - 216

Yashy - 181

Mike - 175

Katie - 149

Tiff - 145

Paulo - 101

David - 99

Lily - 97

Melanie - 92

Lucy - 91

Dylan - 74

Sex-Ed Teacher (SET) - 66

Abbey - 64

Madison - 57

Sam - 47

Chirpy - 46

Stacy - 44

Gym Teacher - 43

McCain - 42

Daisy - 40

Blur - 38

James - 34

Zachary - 30

Jasmine - 24

Augustus - 22

Tess & Jessica - 21

Darwin & Justin - 19

Mina - 16

Mr. Noodles & Finn - 14

Jordan - 13

Matt, Chris, Principal & Lucy's Dad - 12

Haley, Cassidy & Daisy's Dad - 11

Lucy's Mom, Courtney & Charlotte - 9

Flower Girl - 8

Lani - 7

Rachel & Paulo's Dad - 6

Sue, Mike's Mom & Lucas - 5

Molly, Aaron (Rachel's brother), Max & Catherine - 4

Amaya, Janet, Felix & Daisy's Mom - 2

Amaya's Dad - 2

Kevin - 1

CONTROVERSIAL

Melanie - 18400 (the numbers canceled each other out at first so this is why her number is significantly larger)

Sex-Ed Teacher (SET) - 695

Yashy - 403

Katie - 289

Lily - 220

Mike - 206

Gym Teacher - 146

Dylan - 136

Blur - 129

Sandy - 120

Madison - 103

Sam - 102

Chirpy - 97

Tiff - 96

Stacy - 76

David - 70

McCain - 61

Abbey - 55

Cassidy - 45

Paulo - 44

Darwin - 40 (most of these numbers are rounded, but this was a true 40.00)

Lucy - 39

Zachary - 32

Mina - 31

Justin - 28

Finn - 22.4

Jasmine - 22.3

James - 21.8

Courtney - 21.6

Daisy - 20

Mr. Noodles - 19

Jessica - 18

Principal - 17.1

Lucy's Dad - 17.02

Tess - 16

Jordan - 15

Flower Girl - 13

Chris - 12.37

Haley - 12.35 (everyone after this point is ranked lower than before im lazy)

Lani - 12.28

Aaron (Rachel's brother) - 9.87

Toby - 9.83

Daisy's Dad - 9.73

Augustus - 9.48

Max - 8.9

Charlotte - 8.7

Sandy's Mom - 8.1

Alejandro - 7.4

Lucas - 7.3

Matt - 7.2

Lucy's Mom - 6.9

Mike's Mom - 6.7

Felix - 4.08

Paulo's Dad - Pure 4

Catherine - 3.9

Abraham - 3.7

Daisy's Mom - 3.3

Sue - 2.8

Amaya's Dad - 2.7

Rachel - 2.6

Molly - 2.4

Janet - 1.8

Amaya - 1.3

Kevin - 0.8

THE PEOPLE DON'T CARE.... (i dont feel like marking these either sorry)

Cassidy - 142

Aaron (Rachel's brother) - 135

Courtney Dylan & Max - 132 (i realize now the ranking i listed was wrong. sowwy)

Darwin - 118

Blur & Lani - 114

Flower Girl - 112

Mina - 109

Gym Teacher - 107

Amaya's Dad - 106

Finn - 103

Sex-Ed Teacher (SET) - 102

Felix - 99

Lucas - 98

Lucy's Dad - 94

Principal - 90

Mike's Mom - 89

Chirpy - 87

Mr. Noodles - 86

McCain - 85

Melanie - 82

Sam & Daisy's Mom - 80

Toby, Craig & Tiff - 79

Justin - 78

Chris - 75

Charlotte - 74

Catherine - 71

Kevin - 68

Stacy - 64

Daisy's Dad - 59

Katie - 58

Yashy & Zachary - 57

Lucy's Mom - 56

Haley - 55

Madison & Jordan - 50

Sandy's Mom - 44

Sandy, Tess, Jessica & Paulo's Dad - 39

Jasmine & Janet - 35

Sue - 34

David - 30

Amaya - 27

Mike - 23

James - 21

Matt, Alejandro & Abraham - 20

Abbey & Molly - 19

Rachel - 18

Augustus - 15

Daisy - 11

Lucy & Paulo - 9

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Early 20th-Century Western Fashion

am i hip with the kids yet

General information Dotschkal, Janna. "1920's." FOUND. October 21, 2016. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 3 – 1930s." YouTube. April 16, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Standardized Sizes in Womens Fashion and Why They FAILED." YouTube. May 16, 2021. Vintagebursche. "100 Years of Classic Menswear - and what we can learn from each decade." YouTube. February 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "1920s Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. May 20, 2018.

Accessories Cox, Abby. "Flappers, Y2K, & Capitalism are Why Women "Don't" Have Pockets." YouTube. January 12, 2023. Cox, Abby. "The Disappointing Truth On Why We Don't Wear Hats Anymore..." YouTube. December 18, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of the Iconic Cloche Hat: Making 1920s Fashion." YouTube. September 18, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "When Hats were Illegal: Sewing a Goth Edwardian Hat." YouTube. February 21, 2021. Sheehan, Sarah. "Neo-Egyptomania." PatternVault. December 31, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Why Did We Stop Wearing Hats?" YouTube. April 28, 2020.

Cosmetics Banner, Bernadette. "Making and Testing a Victorian Skincare Routine." YouTube. April 8, 2023. English Heritage. "1930s Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. December 18, 2018. Holland, Evangeline. "On How to Be Lovely." Edwardian Promenade. April 15, 2010. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Wearing Overalls to Boycott Fashion Greedflation? Weird History of 1920." YouTube. March 16, 2024.

Gowns and formal wear Banner, Bernadette. "I Redesigned Mary Poppins' Jolly Holiday Dress Based on REAL Edwardian Lingerie Gowns." YouTube. February 20, 2021. Banner, Bernadette. "I Remade Mary Poppins’ Dress to be Actually Edwardian." YouTube. July 9, 2022. Cox, Abby. "Alexander McQueen & the Patriarchy Problem in Modern Fashion." YouTube. October 20, 2023. Cox, Abby. "What Makes a Gown Haute Couture (like House of Worth) in Victorian and Edwardian Eras?" YouTube. September 19, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "An Edwardian Woman's Fashion Evolution." YouTube. June 4, 2022. Oakes, Leimomi. "Terminology: what is a lingerie dress or lingerie frock? (and blouse, and skirt)." The Dreamstress. July 21, 2018. Rudolph, Nicole. "Stop Idolizing Coco Chanel: a shocking history of theft." YouTube. January 13, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth about the Fringed Flapper: Making 1920s Evening Dresses." YouTube. November 6, 2022. Vintagebursche. "1920s Theme Party - How to dress." YouTube. December 9, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "1920s Fashion Encyclopedia, Pt 1: Daywear." YouTube. November 27, 2019.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "I Tried Following a Real Edwardian Hair Care Routine." YouTube. May 12, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the Edwardian Era / Gibson Girl Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. June 12, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Titanic-era Hair Tutorial // Getting Dressed in the 1910's." YouTube.September 4, 2020. SnappyDragon. "Historical hair myths debunked : How often should you wash your hair—daily shampoo or no shampoo?" YouTube. August 12, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Weird Edwardian Beauty Tips." YouTube. February 11, 2017.

Laundry and starching Banner, Bernadette. "Ok but how did the Edwardians WASH these dresses?" YouTube. August 3, 2022.

Outerwear Cox, Abby. "Athleisure: Destroying Fashion & the Environment." YouTube. January 18, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "150 years of Masc Women causing a Moral Panic." YouTube. June 17, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "SPRING/SUMMER FASHION TRENDS REVIEW but it's 1936 (ft. original fabric samples!)." YouTube. April 22, 2022.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "I Made Witchy Edwardian Shoes by Hand!" YouTube. March 14, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Making 100 year old Comfy Slippers: Free Pattern!" YouTube. December 30, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The True History of Stiletto Heels : the battle between Ferragamo and Dior." YouTube. August 26, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Why Is No One Talking About 1930s Shoes?" YouTube. September 15, 2020.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "1903 Patented Bustle Pad Reconstruction." YouTube. June 8, 2019. Banner, Bernadette. "Achieving That Classic Edwardian Shape: Reconstructing a 1902 Bust Bodice." YouTube. April 16, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "So What are Guimpes Anyway? // Examining Antique Edwardian Guimpes." YouTube. August 21, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "They Wore Corsets in the 1920's?!" YouTube. January 29, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Brassieres End the Corset?" YouTube. February 28, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dressing in Edwardian Clothing: Undergarments and Layers of 1907." YouTube. November 1, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "How Flappers got their Figure: the 1920s Silhouette." YouTube. July 10, 2022. SnappyDragon. "How pin-up photos fooled dress history : the making and marketing of lingerie pictures." YouTube. April 1, 2023.

[brian-in-finance]

Template from Amazon

Gimme ✋🏻! A big five.

Punch Card #1 27 August 2022, #1-10

Punch Card #2 21 December 2022, #11-20

Punch Card #3 4 March 2023, #21-37

Punch Card #4 3 June 2023, #38-41

Looks like there are fewer people left to miss the memos. It took nine months to make it into 41 block alerts, but a full eight months to make it into only nine more. 🤷🏻‍♂️

#42 Original Post 31 July 2023

#43 Original Post 22 June 2023

#44 Original Post 27 June 2023

#45 & 46 Original Post 21 July 2023

Psst… BIF is brian-in-finance. 👌🏻

#47 Original Post 24 July 2023

#48 Original Post 26 August 2023

#49 Original Post 8 January 2024

#50 Original Post 25 February 2024

Utterly childish, right, both the block alerts and this post? 🤦🏻‍♂️ What I don’t get is how some of these bloggers who recommend blocking BIF and other blogs, often know — and report on — what we post. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Blocking me is anyone’s right, but for the love of all that is true and accurate, if you’re going to tattle on me, or if you’re going to report or discuss what I write, read the relevant post for yourself, then tattle, report, and discuss what I actually wrote. Unless, of course, it’s just an elaborate game of Telephone you’re playing. ☎️

Remember… falsified versions of the original content can spread and distort by the second… This distortion cycle occurs so quickly, the truth doesn’t have time to catch up. — Medium

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

all nct dream imagines can be found here- Mark and Haechan found on the 127 masterlist personal favorites are marked with ☆

last updated October 28, 2024

⭒˚｡⋆the newlywed miniseries⋆⭒˚｡⋆

Renjun

[6:47 pm] posted March 27, 2021

A surprise party for the birthday boy with kisses as a gift

you suck at crushes posted August 22, 2021

Renjun wants to help you get with Yangyang who wants to help you couple up with Renjun but they’re both annoying, maybe one less than the other

[5:11 pm] posted January 22, 2022

On your first date with Renjun you get distracted by his pretty eyes

[10:26 am] posted October 8, 2022

You thought Tsundere!Renjun didn’t like you so why is he cuddling you and making it impossible to get out of bed?

☆ [11:56 pm] posted March 12, 2023

You love your best friend, even when she’s throwing up outside a frat house, but you love her brother even more when he picks you both up

[10:14 am] posted October 7, 2023

Renjun would prefer to be awake with you but he can’t bring himself to wake you up himself so he does everything he can to get other factors to do it instead

[5:36 pm] posted January 27, 2024

Your friends find all the lingering touches and glances between you and Renjun to be annoying why won’t you confess?! Wait- did you guys just kiss?!

[4:02 pm] posted February 18, 2024

Renjun is unusually cute and clingy

Jeno

[3:28 pm] posted March 21, 2021

Prompt generator- Jeno can’t get enough kisses with you rose flavored lip balm

☆ [12:24 pm] posted November 16, 2021

Jeno calls you too often and is too comfortable

[8:51 am] posted April 18, 2022

Jeno is unusually cuddly, why?

☆ [3:43 pm] posted November 5, 2022

Making the bed is something that you and Jeno are supposed to do together, do you even want to be together?

[6:19 pm] posted April 2, 2023

You and Jeno have to work through some relationship issues due to him forgetting your anniversary

☆ [9:19 pm] posted July 8, 2023

When you don’t agree about this being you best time having sex, Jeno decides to imitate your moans to try and change your mind (MDNI)

[12:14 am] posted July 22, 2023

Jeno sleeps can only really sleep well when you scratch his back

☆ [9:33 pm] posted October 31, 2023

Jeno is much too tired to argue with his toddler who should be in bed after a long night of trick-or-treating

[8:41 pm] posted December 19, 2023

Jeno is a nervous dad who happens to get more nervous when your daughter is playing out in the snow 

[3:16 pm] posted February 10, 2024

Jeno would never admit that he likes your trashy reality show-did you watch the season premier without him?!

☆[9:16 am] posted July 14, 2024

Jeno tries to be cute and send you flowers, it's just a shame it wasn't a successful try

[8:53 pm] posted September 28, 2024

who knew a smoke alarm would lead to you meeting a cute fireman? (fireman!Jeno au)

[2:41 pm] posted October 13, 2024

dad!Jeno finds out his daughter has a crush on a boy... he doesn't react well

Jaemin

☆ mr. worst cup {College and Barista!au} posted April 4, 2021

Jaemin messes up your order and in turn messes up any chance at any sort of relationship with you (or so he thinks)

[2:38 pm] posted June 24, 2021

Some people just don’t like seeing you and Jaemin in love- lovesick they might argue

[4:16 pm] posted January 17, 2022

Jaemin is throwing a fit and you don’t care

[7:14 pm] posted July 15, 2022

You thought Jaemin hated strawberries more than he liked you

[2:37 pm] posted January 22, 2023

Jaemin would do anything for you and that includes running across town and buying you multiple bouquets when he hears you’ve had a bad day

[11:22 pm] posted February 19, 2023

A night out at the club was supposed to help you get over Fuckboy!Jaemin, not get in his bed

[3:41 pm] posted June 17, 2023

You and Barista!Jaemin kiss each other hello and goodbye much to your friends’ disgust- 00′s line cafe 7dream au

[8:02 pm] posted September 17, 2023

Jaemin has been clingy for days, good thing you can have your shower time for yourself, right? wrong.

[2:41 pm] posted October 14, 2023

pregnant!reader experiences a pregnancy scare and Jaemin comforts her

[9:18 pm] posted December 25, 2023

Your son can’t resist the Christmas tree, even less so when he finds out there’s a toy hidden somewhere beneath the tree

[7:09 pm] posted January 13, 2024

Your usually hyper daughter is playing with your cats so gently, why? She’s practicing for a baby you didn’t know about

[8:08 am] posted April 28, 2024

CEO!Jaemin walks his daughter to school

[8:04 am] posted June 1, 2024

you wake up to hear Jaemin and your daughter talking over the baby monitor

[1:11 am] posted October 18, 2024

husband!Jaemin likes it when you get upset with him?

Chenle

[2:51 pm] posted December 11, 2021

Did he just bite you? He just bit you

[3:13 am] posted September 26, 2022

College!Chenle decides to come over, joy… it’s not like you were sleeping or anything

☆[5:18 pm] posted May 13, 2023

Situationship!Chenle likes to steal your phone and make horrible pictures of you your new lockscreen, but your new lockscreen has him change his mind 

Jisung

[6:22 pm] posted November 27, 2021

You’re supposed to be there for a surprise! Why aren’t you there for the surprise?! Oh…

☆[3:56 pm] posted September 4, 2022

Did College!Jisung mean to kiss you while he was leaving?

[4:12 pm] posted August 12, 2023

Jisung comforts you after a stressful exam

☆[5:51 pm] posted June 29, 2024

You just took a pregnancy test and saw it said pregnant, what does Jisung mean "how did this happen?"