#2021 year ahead reading | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

maximoffcarter · 7 months ago

Text

It'll be okay.

Pairings: Emily Prentiss x reader.

Warnings: Mentions of COVID.

Summary: Emily Prentiss was known to always taking care of her team, taking full responsibility of everything, taking the blame, making sure they were okay, etc. But, it was true that she never let anyone know the hard time she was having, that was until y/n entered her life.

A/n: This was requested by anon, and gotta say I dunno if this is even good but I wrote what I felt was right. It’s angst with comfort and fluff😌 I added some backstory cause why nooooot? I mostly based this on the first episode, and maybe after the season ends, I'll do a better one, but I believe this was good enough for now haha. Our baby really does need some comfort and a goddamn break🥹 I also did not proof read this, I never do until it's too late haha, so my apologies. Hope you guys enjoy this, leave comments, hearts, whatever you like and reblog so this gets some love🫶🏻

*not my gif*

COVID had definitely taken a toll on the BAU, not only had the world stopped but a lot of things had happened then. People died, people left, the world entirely changed, and there was no stopping, no one could actually stop it. Emily Prentiss had tried to make it work, to make things a little easier as she tried to focus on her job every single day, drowning in paperwork, zoom meetings, not being able to freely do what they were so used on doing, it had been a hard year. Not only that, but the fact that her breakup had been so messy, but that was the least of all the other things she was going through. Emily thought it couldn’t have gone worse, but then y/n was very present in her life. It was funny the day where it all had gone down.

It was the end of the most painful and difficult year, 2021 was about to arrive, just a week for the so awaited new year. And it so happened that on Christmas day, Emily had gotten COVID. She was in complete denial of being sick, more so because she needed to work, and she also had nothing to help her with the undeniable symptoms; the unbearable headache and body ache, the obvious fever, the terrible cold that her body felt, the stupid and annoying coughing and the stupid stuffed nose. Yes, there was no denial she was sick, but of course she wouldn’t admit how bad it was. But that didn’t stop y/n from going into action and deciding to go to Emily. Emily had been on the phone with her a few hours earlier, and when y/n noticed how bad this had gotten, she couldn’t stop herself from getting everything she needed and off to Emily’s house she was.

“What…on earth are you doing h-here.” Emily was interrupted with a cough, her hand soon landing on her chest as she felt the horrible pain as she coughed.

“I’m here to take care of you. Go to the living room, need to keep our distance.” Y/n said softly as she adjusted her face mask, getting a bottle of spray out.

Emily furrowed her brows but went ahead to the living room, soon enough grabbing a face mask and turning back to look at y/n. “I’m fine, you don’t have to stay here.”

“Oh, but I do. We’re close to get the vaccine, I cannot have you stopping at the hospital just because you were too stubborn to accept that you’re really sick.” Y/n sprayed the whole area where Emily had just been, and then turned to look at her with a raised brow. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. You stay in your room, I’ll sleep on the couch, you can only use your room and bathroom. I’ll be bringing you food and medication, already talked to a doctor. If we don’t see any progress, we’ll have to go to the hospital, which I hope, you’ll cooperate, Prentiss.”

Emily just stared at her, a bit surprised on how y/n had become so bossy, but she also couldn’t blame her, knowing perfectly well that she’d probably die on her own. “Got it. I will.”

Y/n nodded. “Good, now I’ll go disinfect your room first. You stay here while I do that, no touching anything anymore. Though, I will clean here too.”

Emily couldn’t help the small smile that spread through her face as she nodded, thankful that the face mask was covering it. “Got it boss.”

Y/n grinned softly as she nodded. “Good, I’ll be right back. Bed stuff?”

“Closet, second drawer, and the blankets are on top.”

Emily would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy to have y/n here. Ever since y/n joined the team, somehow, they had become inseparable, even if she tried to get her to work with the whole team, before she even thought about it, she was already saying that y/n would go with her, and of course, that didn’t go unnoticed by Tara, JJ and Penelope, but they never mentioned anything, even more when Emily ended up with a boyfriend. That of course till this day, Emily thought so much about how she had forced herself to actually like someone just so she wouldn’t feel so alone. But the one person she had actually wanted…had been y/n. And now having her here, willing to take care of her even if she knew there was a risk that she could get sick, it was everything for Emily.

Emily slowly opened her eyes as she heard her door opening. She looked up and smiled softly as she noticed y/n walking in with a tray of food. “Hey. Did I sleep a lot?”

Y/n looked at Emily and smiled, carefully putting the tray of food on the nightstand. “For like an hour and a half. It’s good that you’re sleeping.” She grabbed the thermometer and placed it on Emily’s forehead. She sighed relieved and offered a small smile. “It’s coming down, finally.”

Emily smiled. “And the headache is not as bad.”

“No, Prentiss. I will not leave, it’s good you’re getting better but no way I’m leaving in the next few days.” Y/n raised her brow as she placed back the thermometer in its place.

“I was not going to say anything about that.” Emily chuckled softly. “Just…thank you.” She smiled softly as she sat on her bed.

Y/n nodded softly. “You welcome.” She smiled as she looked at Emily. “So…I ordered some groceries for tomorrow, we’ll have our own Christmas celebration.”

Emily’s heart stopped for a moment, her eyes widening. “Oh my…tomorrow is Christmas! Y/n, you shouldn’t be here. I’m sure you have-“

“Ah, stop.” Y/n grinned softly. “I have nothing to do, and I wouldn’t want to spend my Christmas any differently. What better way to celebrate it than with a sick Emily Prentiss? Such a great gift.” She chuckled softly as she grabbed the tray and placed it on Emily’s legs.

Emily’s heart swelled as she stared at y/n, a small smile on her face. “If you say so.”

“I do say so.” Y/n smiled softly. “Eat that, I’ll bring your medication.”

Emily watched her leave and her smile widened even more. All these years, she had been taking care of herself, not letting anyone in because she knew how that’d end up. She had never liked to be taken care of, but she loved to make sure that her loved ones were always good taken care of. So now, y/n doing all of this…it made her realize that maybe, just maybe…she did feel the same way.

********************

Emily groaned softly as she stretched, slowly opening her eyes to the sound of a groan and then a small whisper. As she looked up, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, she furrowed her brows as she noticed y/n moving a small table and placing it in the middle of the door. She tilted her head in curiosity as a small, silly smile spread across her face. “What are you doing?”

Y/n looked up at Emily and smiled, her cheeks turning slightly red. “Oh uh…moving a table?”

“And…leaving it right in the middle of the door?” Emily raised her brow.

“Okay don’t laugh but…I thought this could be a way for us to have Christmas lunch together.”

Emily’s face softened as she stared at her, her cheeks turning red and not for the fever. She grinned softly. “Charming.”

“I tend to be.” Y/n grinned softly. “Grab your chair and I’ll bring the food.”

Emily smiled softly and did just as she was told, grabbing the chair that was just might the closet and sitting down in front of the table. She smiled softly as y/n came back with a chair for herself and started brought Emily her plate already with food and her drink. They ate together and right after they talked about everything but work, laughing as they told old stories about themselves and even some stories with the team. Y/n was fascinated just listening to Emily talk, loving that she had chosen the idea of spending Christmas with her, and that Emily had allowed her to take care of her. As for Emily, even if she was tired, she was enjoying every moment she was spending with y/n. As she watched her talk, she kept wondering in her mind if she was right or she was wrong about her suspicions, smiling softly without even noticing.

Y/n furrowed her brows and tilted her head as she stared at Emily. “What?” She hugged a chuckle.

“What?” Emily snapped out of her trance. “Oh! No, nothing. I’m sorry.”

Y/n chuckled. “You should get back to bed and sleep, I’ll clean up and wake you up for your pills.”

“Wait!” Emily coughed, grabbing her glass of water, and taking a deep breath afterwards. “I uh…have a question.”

“Yes?”

Emily took a deep breath, feeling her body still pretty much aching and getting all warm. “Why are you doing this?”

Y/n furrowed her brows again. “I…because I didn’t want you to be alone, Em.”

“Is that the only reason?” Emily raised her brow, a small smile on her face.

Y/n tilted her head as she smiled shyly, looking down at her glass. “Well…I don’t wanna get fired after what I have to say.”

“Which is?”

“You’re a profiler, Em. Isn’t it obvious?” Y/n blushed slightly as she looked back at her. “I…care a lot about you. Which means…that I like you…a lot.” She whispered softly as she nibbled on her lip.

Emily smiled softly as she nodded, tilting her head. “And you’re also a profiler, y/n. Isn’t it obvious?”

Y/n’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at Emily. “Wait…are you serious?”

“If I wasn’t sick and this table wasn’t in the middle of us, I’d be kissing you right now.” Emily smirked softly.

Y/n’s lips parted slightly as she stared at Emily, a soft smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Is the fever making you talk?”

Emily laughed softly, coughing afterwards, and placing her hand on her chest. “No, no…I’m…I’m serious.” She smiled.

“We’re gonna check back once you’re not sick.” Y/n grinned. “But for now…this could be considered our first date.”

“And I’d like to take you in a second date…next year.” Emily joking as she grinned.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re so funny, Prentiss. But I accept.” She smiled softly.

Emily laughed softly as she nodded, feeling her heart beating faster as y/n kept staring at her with that beautiful smile on her face. After all, there was something good out of this pandemic.

********************

It wasn’t new that y/n saw Emily drowning in work, not after all the changed that the BAU had over the years. Having JJ back had at least eased things, but Rossi losing his wife, not having Penelope around, a whole new case that fell into their lap, Bailey not helping at all, Emily was losing her mind. But once she had most of her team back, including Penelope, things didn’t seem to be so bad…until they were, again. Y/n always had her eyes on Emily, the entire time, they both had promised that their relationship wouldn’t interfere with work, it wouldn’t change the way they worked, and it also wouldn’t stop them, meaning that things would stay just like they were before. Of course, the team was now aware of their relationship, and they were happy that at least, there was something to look forward to -Penelope joking that she was already planning the wedding…they believed she was joking-.

But once the whole ‘Gold Star’ started, y/n noticed how Emily just kept getting home late, trying to drown herself in work and compensate for what had happened. She had tried her best to be there for her and let Emily know that it had not been her fault, and that she had done what she and the team had thought was right. Emily tried to hide everything that she was feeling to not let y/n and the team figure out that she was having a hard time, but y/n knew better, she could now see through Emily, but she also knew not to push her. Even if it killed her to know that Emily was having a hard time.

“Hey, so where’s Emily? Thought she’d be here.” JJ snapped y/n out of her trance, making her look up at her while JJ offered a small smile.

“Oh…she had uh…she had something to do.” Y/n tried her best to smile but they knew better.

“Work, huh? She feels…guilty about Bailey?” Tara asked as she turned to look at y/n.

Y/n sighed softly as she nodded. “I don’t know what to do.”

“We know Emily. There’s not much we can do if she doesn’t want to talk.” Tara said softly as she placed her hand on y/n’s shoulder.

“But I’m her girlfriend. I mean…I should at least…I don’t know. Try harder?” Y/n shrugged. “I just want Emily to know that I’m here…”

JJ sighed softly. “Well, I’m sure she knows, she’s just…trying to deal with her stuff.”

Y/n nodded softly as she looked back at JJ, smiling softly. She felt her phone vibrating and got it out of her pocket, furrowing her brows as she saw Emily’s text. Soon enough she was saying goodbye to everyone and then heading back to the office. It felt a little weird to be here so late, the whole office was silent and almost dark, Emily’s office was the only one that had its light on. Y/n took a deep breath as she noticed Emily walking around her office and then stopping by the window. She wanted to support her in every possible way, but she was also afraid that Emily was overworking herself and that didn’t sit right with her. She slowly walked to Emily’s office and leaned against the doorframe, trying her best to smile as Emily turned to look at her.

“Hey you.” Y/n smiled softly.

Emily offered a smile in return. “I’m sorry I made you leave Penelope’s birthday.”

“I was going to anyway.” Y/n shrugged. “What’s going on?”

Emily sighed softly. “We need to talk.”

Y/n felt her heart drop for a moment as she stared at Emily. She could only nod, not trusting her voice as she felt her body slightly trembling as she waited for Emily to say anything at all, but instead, she walked to y/n, grabbed her hand, and kissed it softly, offering a smile as she pulled y/n with her. Soon enough, they were on the ceiling, Emily had sat down and had pulled out a box of cigarettes, catching y/n off guard for a moment, but also keeping in mind how incredibly hot it was to see her smoke. Seriously, y/n…not the time. She crossed her arms and listened to everything Emily had to say, and again, she felt helpless as she listened to Emily, wanting nothing more than to be able to fix all this with a snap of her finger and be able to take Emily anywhere so she could relax.

“Well, you’ve been doing your homework.” Y/n teased as she walked closer to Emily and grabbed the cigarette putting it in her mouth before she returned it to Emily.

Emily scoffed. “Well…we need to get to the end of this.”

Y/n nodded, sighing softly, and looked away for a moment. “So…you think he’s government trained or something?”

“He’s definitely too proficient to be self-taught.”

“And that’s why they’re keeping it a secret.” Y/n tilted her head as she looked back at Emily. “I know that you’ve been overprotective after what happened…but we need to let the team know about this. You know that working together, we’ll get it done.”

Emily sighed softly as she nodded. “I know.” She nibbled on her lip for a moment as she looked at y/n. “Baby…I need you to promise me that whatever we do here, I need you to be safe. We see what he does…what has happened so far. I cannot…” her voice cracked for a moment, looking down at the floor as she put back the cigarette in her mouth.

Y/n sighed softly as she walked to Emily, positioning herself in between her legs and placing her hands on her cheeks, tilting her head up so their eyes locked. “I will promise you that if you promise me the same.” She smiled softly. “Em, I need you to take a break too. You’ve barely been home, you’ve barely been sleeping. I will make the promise if you promise me you’ll also take care of yourself.”

Emily took a deep breath, moving her free hand to y/n’s hips, offering a small smile. “Alright. I will.”

Y/n smiled softly as she leaned down to kiss Emily’s forehead. “You’re stubborn, Prentiss. If I don’t take care of you, you won’t.”

“That’s why I have you. Couldn’t have it any other way.” Emily chuckled softly, leaning up slightly to kiss her lips while she put out the cigarette.

Y/n smiled against her lips. “I know I should be forbidding you from smoking but…did you know you look extremely hot smoking?”

Emily chuckled softly as she wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “No but thank you.” She grinned.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully and then leaned down to kiss her lips again. “Let’s go call Garcia.”

********************

Y/n could only stare at Emily while everyone else talking, giving their thoughts about the video they had just watched. she couldn’t really concentrate on what they were even talking about, part of her was trying to comprehend everything, work with them, say anything at all, but her mind was entirely focused on Emily. The moment Rossi and Emily had walked into the office, she could tell that there was something wrong with Emily; the way she stared at them, the way she talked, her eyes seemed…lost. She tried to keep up with everything, every now and then feeling JJ’s eyes on her, even Tara’s, but her eyes were only focused on Emily.

“Em?” Y/n asked softly as they all left the room, walking to Emily and taking her hand. “Are you alright?”

Emily looked back at her and furrowed her brows. “Yes. Why are you asking?”

Y/n tilted her head slightly as she raised her brow. “That was not nothing. What you and Rossi saw…and you…you don’t look okay.”

Emily shrugged. “It’s part of the job, isn’t it?”

Y/n sighed softly. “Emily, I-“

“Right now, we need to focus on this case. We might have something important here. I know I promised, but we also promised we wouldn’t change the way we work here. Right now, we’re at work, and we need to focus on that.” Emily said softly but firmly, not wanting to sound rude or harsh, but the way she looked at y/n, with stress and frustration, made y/n’s insides turn.

Y/n nodded softly as she let go of Emily’s hand. “Right.”

Emily only nodded before she left, leaving y/n standing there, not knowing what to do or say. She knew working together wouldn’t be the easiest thing ever, but she couldn’t help it, and Emily couldn’t blame her for worrying. Y/n had stayed behind with JJ at the office, she had tried to brush it off and focus on their main task. But again, once they came back, y/n noticed it again, she noticed the way Emily rubbed her temple and went straight to her office. She didn’t say anything, she stayed with JJ as she let Emily have a minute. She was right, they had made it clear things wouldn’t change, and so far, it had worked out, and she was not about to stress Emily more.

********************

Y/n closed the door behind her and sighed softly as she locked it, standing there staring at it as she took a deep breath before she turned to walk to their room. Emily was already sitting on the bed, taking off her shoes. Y/n said nothing, walking to the bed and also sitting down and doing the same as Emily. Silence surrounded them for a moment for a while, y/n knew it was stupid that Emily’s words had hit her the way they did, but she couldn’t help it, she knew that if it was the other way around, Emily wouldn’t drop it until y/n accepted that Emily was right, but in this case, which was not even an option.

But then she heard a soft groan coming from Emily, and as she turned, she noticed Emily’s head in her hands, and y/n was back to feeling worried. She stood up slowly and walked around the bed, kneeling right in front of Emily, and positioning herself in between her legs, her hands on top of Emily’s as she leaned her head against Emily’s.

“Em…” Y/n whispered softly.

“I’m exhausted.” Emily breathed out, her voice cracking slightly. “I don’t know what’s going on, nothing seems right, everything seems to be against us, to be against me. It’s like they want me to resign so badly, they want…they want the BAU to disappear. I don’t know what they want from me, I cannot just drop this, not after everything we’ve been through.” She said quietly as she felt her eyes getting teary, not being able to look up at y/n. “They’re making us get involved with a fucking serial killer. What has gotten into their minds?! What are they hiding?!”

Y/n wrapped her arms around her, only being able to hold Emily tightly as she started sobbing. Emily knew that she was overworking herself, that she was doing too much, she was obsessing too much, but there was no chance to back down, she couldn’t just let it happen, she couldn’t let them win. But she felt so…heavy. Everything hurt, her head felt like exploding, her chest felt heavy, she had felt the usual anxiety creep in her body, she felt worse than she had years ago. She sobbed quietly as she felt y/n tightening her embrace, Emily suddenly wrapping her arms around y/n’s neck, feeling bad for the weird position they were in, but needing y/n to hold her so badly, she’d worry about the position later.

“I can’t just drop this.” Emily whispered as she buried her face on y/n’s neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I know. And we won’t drop it. I’ll be by your side.” Y/n whispered softly.

“I’m sorry I’m so stubborn…”

Y/n shook her head, smiling softly as she turned to kiss the side of her head. “But you’re mine. You can be as stubborn as you want.”

Emily chuckled softly as she pulled away, looking into y/n’s eyes. “I’m sorry that I’ve been drowning myself in this case.”

Y/n sighed softly. “I don’t blame you, Emily.” She rubbed Emily’s back softly as she leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I just don’t want you falling sick for so much stress. I don’t want you to get stuck in this to the point where you can’t notice that you’re putting everything and you’re putting yourself in danger.” She said softly as she looked into Emily’s eyes. “I’m just worried about you.”

Emily nodded as she let out a shaky breath. “I know. I won’t keep anything else from you, I promise. And…I’ll come to you when it’s too much.”

Y/n nodded as she smiled. “Em…baby, look at me.” She ran her fingers through her hair as Emily locked her eyes on hers. “I’m here for you, no matter what. The good and the bad, you’re not a burden to me, okay? I love you. And you’re not alone.”

Emily’s eyes filled with tears as her face softened, her body slightly trembling as she finally gave up and let tiredness take over her. She took a deep shaky breath, nodding her head as more tears rolled down her cheeks. Y/n rapidly wrapped her into another tight hug, letting Emily bury her face on her neck and sob as much as she needed. They stayed like that for a while, y/n rubbing her back and whispering sweet nothings while Emily cried. It was becoming too much, and Emily knew this wasn’t even the half of it and there was so much more to come, but for now, for now she had y/n, she was present in this moment. Y/n gave her the space to break and make her feel like she deserved to have this sort of moment even if they still made her feel weak, but she knew her lover would never judge her, not like she had been judged before. After a moment, she finally felt like she had gotten everything out, slowly moving back but resting her forehead against y/n’s, not wanting to be away.

“Thank you…” Emily whispered softly.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because you always take care of me even if you don’t have to.” Emily smiled through her tears.

Y/n smiled softly pulling away just enough to wipe her tears and stroke her cheek. “And I’ll be here to do it over and over again. If I risked my life with COVID, why not now?” She grinned a little.

Emily rolled her eyes playfully. “Well, it kept you in my apartment for a whole month. Not my fault you were so eager to kiss me.” She teased back.

Y/n gasped softly. “In my defense, you were supposed to be out of risk, and also, I couldn’t help it when I had you right in front of me. We had become girlfriends, and I hadn’t even kissed you yet.”

“That’s true.” Emily chuckled softly as she leaned in and kissed her forehead. “And I got to take care of you.”

Y/n nodded. “We’ve got each other’s back. You take care of me, and I take care of you.” She smiled softly.

Emily smiled and nodded softly. “Yes.” She rested her forehead against y/n’s once again. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Y/n smiled softly and sighed softly as she closed her eyes for a moment. After a while, she moved to kiss Emily’s nose and offer another smile. “C’mon, let’s take a bath together. I’ll bring some wine and snacks.”

Emily smiled softly and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Y/n nodded before she got up, but as she was about to leave, Emily pulled her back to her, making her turn back to Emily who was now standing. “Yes?”

Emily smiled softly as she shook her head. “Nothing.” She placed her hand on y/n’s neck and brought their lips together into a tender kiss. “I love you.” She whispered softly against her lips.

Y/n giggled. “I love you too.” She whispered back and kissed her lips one more time before she walked out of the room.

Emily knew there was still a very long way, she had no idea what they were getting into, a lot of stress was coming their way, but she knew that as soon as she walked into their house, she’d be able to leave that stress behind at least for a while. This little bubble they had created for themselves was everything to Emily, and what got her to keep going. And that was all she needed.

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x female reader #emily prentiss fanfiction #criminal minds fic #criminal minds #criminal minds evolution

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maxillness · 5 months ago

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From People You Know, To People You Don’t || MW2 x Piastri!Driver!Reader

Warnings: 18+, unprotected sex, Danny being our favourite honey badger, angst, (slight) yearning, age gap, praise kink, self hatred, nipple play, secret relationship

Wordcount: 7.4k

You can read the request here

Some of the timeline don't match the real timeline, but just skip that fact please

Being 21 and in formula one having won both f2 and f3 championships in her first year, her parents were proud of her, as well as her younger brother

She was hyper excited when she got the news that Oscar would be driving for Alpine doing the 2021 season

She loved her brother to death. She always loved karting with him, and always did when they were younger

He always hated it, but only because she always won over him. Always beat him. Besides that, he loved it as much as she did

They always had a close relationship. They told each other everything. From girls and boys, to nasty homework, to what they dreamt of

So how did it change so suddenly for the worse?

A few days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix during the 2020 season, she had been at her apartment in Monaco, lazily watching tv as her phone rang

Osc🫶

She picked up the phone, putting it on speaker as she paused the show she was watching

“Ain’t it past your bedtime?” She asked, teasing him as it was only 8 o’clock

“I have news” He said, excitement running through his voice. She waited for him to speak up “I got a contract with Alpine”

“What?” She leant forward, putting her elbows on her knees “You got a contract with Alpine?” She heard a faint hum on the other side “For when? 2022?”

“No, next year” She could hear the excitement in his voice. It was like when they were younger and they would get candy right before bedtime

“Next year? Isn’t that a little late to make a contract?” She asked, confused as why it was this late

“It has been un-going for a while, but I only got the official call today” He explained, hoping she wasn’t mad he hadn’t told her before

“That’s great, Osc. I’m excited to drive with you next year” She said. It was obvious she was smiling as she spoke

“Yeah, and with Logan racing for Williams next year too…” Logan and Oscar was close, she knew that, but as they now were rivals, she was afraid they would fall apart

“Yeah, that’s great, Osc. I’m proud of you”

Being in Qatar at pre-testing was wonderful. The break was finally over, and she had gotten to see her brother again

She sighed as she sat down in the car. She felt great. She felt at home. She missed this. She needed this

She felt bad when a week later she qualified ahead of Oscar. She wanted him to have a good first f1 quali, but he had accepted at this point that she was the better, and more experienced driver, so he didn’t let anything bad about it cross his mind, but only congratulated his sister

She finished ahead of Oscar as well at the race. She felt bad, but on the track, Oscar was nothing more than a rival. Not her friend, not her brother. A rival

It kept going like this. Her finishing ahead, but in qualifying and in the race, him always congratulating her behind hurt eyes

A few races into the season, and she stood in the garage looking over some data, mindlessly looking over it with her manager and mentor, Sebastian Vettel, not noticing Andrea stepping up behind her

“Piastri, can I have a word with you, please?” He asked, putting a hand on her upper back

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?” She seamed concerned, as well did Sebastian

“Not here” He shook his head lightly

She stood up from the chair and following him into an empty part where they could talk in private, not disturbed by anyone

“What is it?” Her voice was shaking slightly, afraid she would be dumped by the season

“I know I shouldn’t say this two days before a race, but better hear it from me than a leak from twitter” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest

“We’re replacing you as of the 2022 season” She knew it. She knew it would be like this

“Okay… With who?” She expected someone like Lewis, Bottas, anyone than the name he spoke

“Oscar” He sighed, looking down into the ground, avoiding her eyes

“Oscar?” She asked “You’re replacing me with Oscar?” She rose her voice a little, getting frustrated at his words “I’m the better driver of the two of us, and you’re choosing Oscar?”

“Yes. Yes, we are” He still didn’t date to look in her eyes, knowing this was what she lived for

“You’re making a big mistake, Stella” She said before leaving

As she walked back into the garage, a camera was all up in her face which she pushed away without looking into it

“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked as she sat back down beside him

“They’re replacing me with Oscar next year” She sighed, not meeting his eyes as he wanted

“What? Why?” She just shrugged at his words, knowing as much as himself

During the next few races and the days in between, she had gotten all sort of messages asking why she was replaced, how she felt about it, etc.

It wasn’t just from the other drivers, but other team principals, other celebrities, fans, you name it

Her responds was always the same; ‘thank you for your concern, but I know as much as you do’

The Hungarian Grand Prix rolled around, and she was tired. She was tired of all the tweets and online stuff at all

She had a good quali, getting in the second row, again outing her brother. As well as the race

She had gotten p1, which she hadn’t gotten in a while. She felt at home again as she heard her national anthem get played and she looked down to Sebastian who was smiling up at her

She sat at the press conference, feeling her still damp hair soaking through her shirt

She sat at the far left with Lewis beside her, Fernando, Max and Daniel filling the table as well

It was nearing the end. She loved press conferences, but she really just wanted to be back at her hotel room and sleep the night through

“Y/N, how do you feel about McLaren signing Sebastian as Oscar’s Manager for next year as well?�� She was utterly confused

“What do you mean? McLaren’s not signing Sebastian for Oscar” She was even more confused when Lewis pulled out his phone and opened twitter

It was McLaren’s official account, stating that Sebastian would be Oscar’s manager for next year. The four other drivers looked over at her, worry in their eyes

She sighed, looking out to the crowd again “I didn’t know about this change, but if it what they believe are best for the team, the there’s nothing I can do than continue the season out and prove to other teams that I deserve a seat next year” She spoke softly and without emotion, but her eyes were glassy and hurt

She loved Sebastian, she wouldn’t be where she was today if it wasn’t for him. She didn’t wanna part with him, but if the team believed that was for the best, then let them be with it

The conference ended and she was sat back in her drivers room. She leaned back into the couch. She was trying so hard to hold back, but a few tears had slipped down her cheeks silently

She quickly wiped them away as she heard a knock on her door “Come in” She sniffled softly as the door opened

It was Mark Webber. She hadn’t really thought about it up until now, but he was as unemployed as she was next year

“Hey. Are you in a mood to talk?” He stood in the doorway, not wanting to pry her if she didn’t want to be in his presence

“Sure. Sit” She moved more to the side, giving him space to his tall figure

He closed the door behind him before walking over to her, sitting down beside her, turning his body to face her slightly

“I’m sorry about all that have happened to you, you don’t deserve it” He said, meeting her now dried eyes

“You’re as unemployed as I am. You shouldn’t be apologising for something you didn’t do” She scoffed, feeling bad he felt like he had to apologise

There was a silence between them “You seriously didn’t know about it?” He asked, leaning in a little closer to her

“Not until Lewis showed me” She chuckled “I haven’t even seen Sebastian since. Though I would have a talk with him, but I think he’s hiding from me” She looked into her hands placed in her lap

“Sounds like him” He said “Avoiding his problems until they become serious enough” He sighed as he spoke “You gotta catch him before he have a chance to scram” He chuckled, Lightning the mood in the room

“This helped. Thank you, Mark” She sighed, smiling up at him, straining her neck a little as she had to look up at him

“Of course” He should leave now, but he didn’t want to “I thought about something” She hummed low

“I’m jobless next year, and if you get a seat next year, which you probably will, I was just thinking-“

“That’s a good idea, Mark” She said, noticing he was rambling out of nervousness as to what she would say to his thought

She was beyond mad. She was fucking pissed. He took her seat, he took her manager and mentor, and her parents had taken his side?

The season had started again after the summer break. She hadn’t talked with Oscar or Sebastian since the conference in Hungary

She couldn’t dare to look either of them in the eye, and she hated that she still had to work with Sebastian

She still loved having him as her manager and mentor, but fuck did she want to pull his head off his body

She needed to talk to Sebastian, as well as her brother, but one talk at a time

“Talk” It wasn’t a question as she pushed Sebastian into an empty corridor of the hospitality

He didn’t look at her as he leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest

“I trusted you, Sebastian” Her voice was hurt, but she kept on a brave face as well as her eyes dried

He didn’t say anything

“Why didn’t you say anything?” He was still quiet “You’ll never get my trust back” She sighed “You know what? You’re an asshole. I lost my seat, and you chose the person who took it from me. That’s a fucking shit move”

She could feel the tears starting to swell in her eyes as well as her fell and raised quicker than normally

“I fucking trusted you” Silence “You don’t even have the heart to apologise” Silence “Everything Mark said about you is true” She walked away from him, wiping a tear that had shed down her cheek

Daniel gave her a questionable look as she walked out. She only nodded softly, taking the hint, he smiled at her

After quali that weekend, she stood behind a stack of unused tyres, typing away on her phone. She was so dazed in her fingers moving that she didn’t t notice anybody walk up behind her

“I’m sorry” She was slightly startled by the familiar voice. She turned around to see the hurt eyes of her younger brother

She sighed as she turned her phone off and put it in her back pocket “Why is it, that the people I trusted the most turned against me? Care to explain?”

“Y/N, I’m sorry. I thought I was replacing Daniel-“ “Don’t bull crap me, Oscar. You knew, as well that you knew Sebastian is gonna leave me, and you chose not to say shit”

He didn’t say anything, his throat closed “You took my seat, you took my manager and mentor, and our parents are on your side”

“I used to feel bad that you were referred to as my brother and not by your name. Now? I don’t give a shit. I trusted you with my life, Oscar. And I’m gonna say the same thing to you as I did to Sebastian. You’ll never get my trust back”

“I’m sorry” She only scoffed before she walked away, going back to the motorhome

She went through the season barely being able to look eye to eye with Sebastian, and hadn’t even talked with Oscar since she cursed him out

The same week as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, she had gotten a call from a number she didn’t recognise

“Y/N” She picked it up and put it to her ear

“Hi Y/N, it’s Christian Horner” She was surprised as the two of them really hadn’t talked as much as people would think

“Hi, what can I do for you?” You could hear the surprised tone in her voice as she sat down on the couch

“I was just thinking if you wanted to come over and talk about a potential contract” She could hear his smile trough the phone

“Really? I mean sure. Now or…?” She could scream if she wasn’t on the phone

“Whenever you have time”

The next morning, she had gotten thousands of notifications from twitter as she woke up. She only got to check them when she was driving to the paddock

They were all about her being spotted shaking hands with Christian outside of the Red Bulls motorhome

Everybody was saying the same thing in one way or the other ‘Is Y/N getting a seat for next year?’ ‘Is Y/N replacing Checo for the 2022 season?’

She had seen and liked to a lot of them, but no way in hell could she do it to all of them as there were too many to even show in her inbox

“I feel bad I can’t tell them anything” She sighed talking to Daniel who was seated beside her

“You’re going to get that seat, and then you can tell the world” Daniel has always been nice to her. She liked him, he was a good friend

“Thank you, Danny” She smiled, getting one back in return “Thank you for not saying anything”

“Can’t tell them things I don’t know about, can I?” Talking to the fellow Aussie was something she looked forward to lately

In that moment her phone rang

Christian Horner

“Speaking of the devil. Y/N” She put her phone up to her ear, looking out of the window to her right as she did

“Hey, Y/N. Great news. The seat is yours if you sign the contract today” She immediately looked to her side to Daniel with a big smile

“I’ll be there as quick as I can. I’m almost there” She heard a faint ‘good’ on the other side “And about my request?”

“Mark is free to join us as well if he’s ready to come back here” She couldn’t contain her smile

“Thank you so much, Christian. I will make sure he knows. Thank you” She hung up the phone and turned to Daniel

“If I sign today, the seat’s mine” Her smile was as wide as Daniel’s normally was, if not wider

“That’s great” He pulled her into a tight hug, slightly difficult by the seatbelts they were wearing, but it didn’t matter in the moment

“You deserve the seat more than anyone” He hugged her a little tighter before letting her go, his hands still on her upper arms

“Thank you. You really are the greatest” He let go of her arms as she reminded to make a phone call

She scrolled through her call list, finding the one labeled with Mark’s name. She heard the phone ring through a few times before he picked up

“Hey, mate. What can I help you with?” She liked the way he called her ‘mate’. It was like a sweet thing that was between the two of them

“Hey, I got two great news” She said, stepping out of the car as they arrived “First of all; I got the seat for next year, I just need to sign the contract”

“That’s awesome” She heard the smile in his thick accent “The other?”

“Second of all; you’re going with me” She had stopped outside of the Red Bull motorhome, before going to her own

“Seriously? Christian agreed on that?” He scoffed, sounding surprised in some way

“In my opinion, I think he misses you” She felt good that she had made him laugh on the other end. She liked that she could do that

“I’m not so sure, but thank you for telling me before I saw it somewhere else” She sighed as he spoke “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out that way”

“No, it’s fine. Look, I gotta go, but I’ll see you, yeah?” “Of course, see you” She hung up before she headed into the Red Bull motorhome

As she walked into and out of the motorhome, she got glances from all the staff that was there. She did look out of place in her papaya shirt, but it surly wouldn’t be that

She walked into her own motorhome. She had a big smile on her lips as she greeted people in her way

By the look on Andrea’s face, she figured he had already heard about her new contract, as well as Zak that was stood beside him

She ignored than as Daniel walked over to her, hugging her again, as tight as he did in the car before

She was excited for the race, not only because she made first row in quali at p2 beside Verstappen, but because it was Abu Dhabi

If she had to choose a favourite Grand Prix, it would probably be Abu Dhabi. Even if she knew there was no way in hell she would win the championship with the amount of points Max had in his books

It was more likely Lewis was going to win the championship as he was tied with Verstappen on the points

She had finished in p3 that day with Lewis in p2 and Max p1. They all three were soaked in champagne as they got off the podium

“Congrats on the championship” She said as she shook hands with Max

“Thank you. Heard about your seat next year. It’ll be good to be working with you” He said, his slight lisp working on his tongue

They turned towards Lewis as he walked up to them “Congrats to the both of you” He said, putting a hand on both their shoulders

“Thank you” They both said in sync “I’m sorry about it” Max continued, pitty swelling in his eyes

“Hey, man. It’s fine, we’re athletes. It is what it is, congrats though” He said, pulling him into a side hug that would be easy for him to get out of if he wanted to

As she came back from the winter break and into the Red Bull’s motorhome wearing something else than the papaya colours she normally wore, she felt like she had started her life all over

She hadn’t talk with Oscar since he came to apologise, as well as Sebastian since Abu Dhabi

She felt good as she stood in her drivers room, as well as she was drenched in nervous sweat

She turned around at the sound of a knock on the door as well as it creaked open

“You’re going to be okay, Y’know” Mark said as he noticed the way nervousness was splayed on her face

“I’m nervous as shit, Mark. It’s fucking Red Bull. I can’t fuck this up” He walked closer to her, shutting the door before he did

“I know, but you’re going to be just fine. Why would they give you the seat if they didn’t think you deserved it, hm?” He had put his hands on both of her biceps, making her look up at him

“I don’t know…” “Exactly. You deserve this seat. You’re gonna be great, besides, it’s only pre-testing” He smiled as he pulled his hands away

He walked back over to the door “Blue looks good on you, by the way” He said smiling before he walked out

For some reason, she felt heat all over her body as he spoke the words. She tried shrugging it away, but she could pull the smile off her lips

There was no use in being good in pre-testing, but she would tell herself she did good. And the praise from Mark… She was afraid it would be something she would yearn for

She didn’t admit it, but qualifying above Oscar the following week had satisfied her more than anything else

And then when she also finished well above him… She didn’t even feel bad, which she probably should as she hadn’t spoken to him in half a year and skipped Christmas because of him, but she didn’t really care in the moment

She didn’t win the first Grand Prix of the year, but being up on that podium again after the break and seeing Mark standing down there and smiling up at her, she finally felt at home again

She caught the eye of Oscar as she walked through the paddock after the race, but instead of prolonging the eye contact like usual, he just turned away and kind of stepped closer to Sebastian who was walking beside him

That was the moment she felt bad. She stopped in her tracks, looking after her brother

Mark stopped as well, taking a step closer to her “You okay?” He asked, but his words didn’t reach her ears “Hey” He put a hand on her cheek, turning her head towards him “You okay?”

She sighed, feeling herself lean into his touch subconsciously “Yeah. Sorry, I’m fine. Just feels a little bad for Oscar”

His hand still lingered on her cheek. It was there way longer than what should have been appropriate

“Don’t. He took your seat and your mentor, you shouldn’t feel bad” He said, removing his hand, and she almost let out a whine at the loss of contact

“Yeah, but I skipped Christmas, and I know how important it is for Oscar and my parents, whom I haven’t spoken to either in a while” She looked down into the concrete, seeing on how close their feet were

“You’re gonna be alright, mate” He sighed, leaning down to pull her into a tight hug

As he pulled away, her body burned through the clothes she wore where he had touched her

She of course knew that she would be close with Mark as they would work together, but she had gotten closer with him in that little time than she had ever been with Sebastian

She kinda of hated herself for it, knowing damn well she would get too attached if he would ever leave her, even though he swore he wouldn’t

She still had the doubt

It was bound to be, with everything that was taken from her, she was bound to have the doubt that everybody would leave eventually

“You happy about the home race?” She asked as she walked with Mark into the paddock

“So happy. I’m tired of staying in hotels” You could see the shine in his eyes as he spoke, obviously happy about the whereabouts of the race

“Understandable” She said as they walked into the Reb Bull motorhome, her body disobeying and flushing red as Mark’s hand placed on her lower back to lead her in

She missed the warmth of his hand the moment he didn’t touch her anymore. She sighed as she closed the door to her drivers room

She slid down the door, pulling her legs flushed up her chest and banged her head back against the door

This was normal, right? It was normal to develop feelings for someone who you worked very close with

She didn’t feel like this with Seb. Seb is a friend. Sebastian was a friend

This wasn’t normal

She was startled as she heard a knock on her door. She scrambled to get up. She sighed before opening the door

“Are you okay? I heard a small bang” It was Max. He must’ve heard her

“Yeah. No, I’m fine, really. Thank you though” She smiled, nodding slightly as she spoke, her hand still on the door handle

“Okay. Good luck today” He went to walk about, but she called his name and he turned back “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?” She was hesitant in her words, and it was obvious

“Sure. Anything” She took a step to the side so he could walk into the room with her “What’s up?”

“It’s normal to like someone you work closely with a lot, right?” She asked as he hat sat down on the couch

“Yeah, I would think so- hold on. Is this a personal question or hypothetical?” She froze, afraid he had seen right through her

“Does it matter?” She asked, her voice cracking slightly

“Of course it does. If this is a personal question, then I’m gonna find out who you like from the team no matter if you’re tell me or not, and why would it be a hypothetical question?” He explained, yapping a little too fast for her to follow

“It’s for a friend, Max. She works with her manager very closely, and she’s afraid it’s not normal because she didn’t have the same feelings with the last one” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest

“Oh. Well, love is normal, and you can’t decide who you like and don’t, so yeah, I guess it is normal” He shrugged leaning back into the couch

“Okay. Thank you for the help” She said, Max now standing up

“Of course. Glad i could” He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him

“Thank god” She whispered to herself, letting out a deep and long breath

Doing the rest of the week, she kept replaying the conversation she had with Max every time her thoughts said that it was wrong to have the feelings she did

It was finally race day. She had unfortunately had some mechanical issues during qualifying and ended up in Q2 and with Max on pole as usual

The start is good, not perfect, but better than she had expected. She managed to get out of the cramped site with no scratches and a few overtakes

Max is far ahead. Nothing else expected from him. She manages to get into p2, getting the call over the radio that she’s faster than Max, closing in on him

She got up to him, but he kept blocking her as she tried to overtake him “Is he gonna let me through or what?” She asked her engineer

“Give me a second” They said, presumably talking to Lambiase as more than a second went by “You can overtake”

“Thank you” She sighed as Max gave her space so she could overtake him, getting ahead of him in a fraction of a second

She cheers as she crosses the line at the last lap. Seeing her team cheer for her as her first win for Red Bull

She had a big smile on her lips as she looked over the crowd as her national anthem played. She got a quick glance at Max to her side, obviously annoyed at her win

She looked back, seeing Mark in the crowd. She made eye contact with him, making her subconsciously clench her thighs together

She thought it was obvious, but maybe it wasn’t, because he didn’t look like someone who saw, neither did the two drivers standing next to her

The whole team and some other drivers went out to a nearby club to celebrate. She decided not to drink too much as she was a light drinker

“Hey, I’m gonna head back to the hotel” She said, walking over to Mark

“I could take you to mine. Then you don’t have to sleep at the hotel” He offered, knowing it sounded inappropriate

She thought so as well, but the thought of being in Mark’s house, sleeping in his house clouded her mind, and she had agreed before she could think about it

It had all been a blur. From Mark calling a cab, to the drive to his house. He helped her get her coat off, hanging it up on the rack. She kicked her shoes off, placing them neatly on the floor by the wall

“You want anything to drink? Eat maybe?” He asked, as he got his own coat and shoes off

“I don’t wanna trouble you” She said, looking down into the floor

“I’m offering, mate. You want anything?” She nodded slowly, drawing a smile on his lips “Coffee?” He asked, putting his hand on her lower back, guiding her to the kitchen

She put a hand over her cheeks, hiding the blush on her face when his hand left her back. She thanked him as he put the mug in front of her, placing one in front of himself as well

“I feel like you’re the only constant thing in my life that hasn’t left me for my brother” She sighed, looking down into her coffee “I’m grateful for that. I love that” She sighed before she took the mug to her lips “I love you” The words were whispered and hidden by the mug, almost impossible for him to hear

“What?” She froze, afraid he had heard her. She shook her head slightly, putting the mug back down

He sighed, moving to take the seat beside her, turning the chair to face her “I love you too” He spoke low

She turned his head to him, but quickly turned away again “No you don’t. Nobody does”

She didn’t get to register that he had turned her head with his hand on her cheek before his lips were on hers. She kissed back before he pulled away, hand still on her cheek

“It’s impossible not to love you” He stared directly into her eyes, making sure she understood his words

“Kiss me again. Please…” Her eyes drifted to his lips, and back up again “Please, Mark” He chuckled before connecting their lips again

She removed her hands from the mug, placing one of them on his jaw, the other placed softly on his upper thigh

His tongue swept over her bottom lip, resulting in her opening up for him immediately, whimpering at the feeling of his tongue against hers

Both his hands went to her hips, pulling her into his lap, making her yelp at the sudden movement

His hands went under her shirt, settling under her bra covered breasts, her own arms slotted around his neck

She started rolling her hips, getting none of the friction she wanted, resulting her to whine into his mouth at the frustration

“Mark. Please” She whimpered against his lips, hoping he would do something about the ache between her legs

His hands went under her ass as he kissed again. He stood up, pulling her with him, her lags attached around his hips, their lips still intertwined

Before she could think about it, her back was pressed down against the bed of his bedroom

He hurried to get her shirt off, throwing it to the ground, his lips now on her neck, nibbling softly at the skin

His hands went to her back, unhooking her bra, pulling it down her arms, throwing it with her shirt

She whimpered, almost moaning as his thumbs ghosted over both of her nipples, feeling them harden under his touch

“Mm. Sensitive” He smirked slightly, lips going back to her neck as he continued to play with her nipples

“Mark. Please” She rolled her hips, hoping to get some friction her clit, her hands grappling tightly at the sheets beneath her

He pulled back and sat up on his knees in between her legs, his hands pulling down the shorts she was wearing

She shivered at the feeling of his finger tips tracing down on the outside of her thighs as he pulled her panties down

He leaned down, kissing from her lower stomach and up between her breasts. His fingers teased her entrance as his lips went around her nipple, flicking it with his tongue

“Fuck. Mark, please. I’m begging you, please” She rolled her hips, trying to get him to get his fingers inside of her

“Patience, love” He mumbled against her skin, finally pushing his fingers inside of her

She let out small moans and whimpers as he started moving in and out of her, slowly starting to stretch her out

She moaned louder as he started curling his fingers, hitting just the right spot inside of her. The spot that made her back arch up into his mouth and her eyes roll into the back of her head

“Right there. Fuck, feels so good. Please, Mark. Please” She pleaded, not knowing for what, but whatever he could give her

He pulled out of her as she started clenching around him. She whined at the loss, but it didn’t matter when he pulled back and started discarding of his own clothes

Mark was gorgeous, but under the clothes? She might just’ve came right then and there

As he leaned down to kiss her again, her hands were all over him. His back, his chest, his waist, his hips. Everywhere she could reach

His lips went back down to her neck as he put her legs around his hips, pushing himself closer to her

She closed her eyes and whimpered as he slowly entered her, groaning in the progress of it, sending tingles all the way down her spine

“Fuck. You’re so right around me” His breath was hot against her skin as he slowly started to move inside her, drawing out whimpers and small moans from her

“So good for me, baby” He murmured, kissing her jaw, her whole body flushed at his praise, his moans starting to get louder

“Sounds so good for me” He groaned, starting to set a faster and steadier rhythm “Fuck. Feels so good”

“Mark, please” Her back was arched off the bed, hands gripping so tight on his biceps that she was afraid she would have broken through his skin with her nails

“What, baby? Tell me what you want” She whined at his words “Tell me. It won’t hurt” She slowed his hips down, groaning as she clenched around him

She whimpered before she spoke up “My clit. Please” He chuckled and sped his hips up again

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He asked with a smirked, trailing his finger tips down her body, landing on her clit, rubbing it slowly

“Fuck. Please. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop” She trembled under his touch, rapidly clenching around him, drawing out soft and low moans from him

“Mark, please. ‘M so close. Please” She squirmed under him, her orgasm so close she could taste it on her tongue

“Come for me, baby” His words almost cut short with a moan threatening to slip out

She didn’t hesitate a second before she came. Rapidly clenching hard around him, pulling him closer to the edge of his own orgasm

“Mark, please come in my, please” She whined as his thrusts became sloppy and out of rhythm

“You sure?” He had planned to pull out, but if it was what she wanted, how could he deny her?

“Yes, please. I want it” He managed a few more thrusts before he stilled his hips as he came inside her, her name rolling off his tongue in a low moan

He slowly pulled out of her, drawing a whine from her as he laid down beside her. He pulled her limp body into his, kissing the top of her head

“I’ll run the tub” Mark said, starting to get up

“It’s late. Can’t we just wait for tomorrow?” She asked, pulling him back down

“No. We’ll shower and then we can sleep. Okay?” She kissed her temple before she let him go so he could turn on the tub

“Come on, love” She helped her up from the bed, pulling her body flushed against his own, guiding her towards the bathroom

He knelt down to test the warmth of the water before he helped her get in. She leaned slightly forward so that he could get behind her

“Don’t fall asleep yet, my darling” He said snaking his arms around her soaked body, noticing she was dozing off

“I don’t wanna go home tomorrow” She sighed, her hands going up and down his arms

“You could always stay here until you need to go again” He said, kissing her cheekbone

“I could?” She asked, turning her head slightly to look better at him

“Mhm” He nodded softly, eyes drifting all over her face, looking at all the small features of it he had never before

“I just need to get my stuff from the hotel tomorrow then” She leaned her head back against his shoulder, feeling his heartbeat in her back

It was the best 11 days she could ever imagine spending with him. She had never felt better. Never felt more loved in her life

“Hey, Y/N” Daniel caught up to her as she walked down the paddock “Anything interesting happened since the last time?”

“Y-yeah. I guess so” She felt a slight blush creeping down her neck

“Really? Wanna tell me about it?” Daniel asked, slowing their steps down and looked at each other

She thought about it for a moment, before deciding to speak about it “Okay. But you can’t tell anyone. Okay?” He nodded softly

They stepped to the side, making sure nobody could hear them “What’s up?” He was slightly nervous, seeing herself nervous

“I got in a relationship” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, looking down into the concrete

“Really? That’s nice. Who’s the lucky guy?” He was far too happy to what she was about to say

“Mark” She said it so low she was afraid he didn’t hear her

“Mark who?” “Webber” He froze, unintentionally holding his breath

“Daniel?” She looked up at him, noticing go he wasn’t breathing “You need to breath, Danny”

“I’m sorry” He led his breath out “Mark Webber? Like, your manager, Mark Webber?” She nodded “Okay…” He was obviously trying to wrap his head around it

“Could you not tell anyone? We’re trying to keep it a secret for now” He nodded, afraid to speak to say something he shouldn’t “Thank you. You’re a real friend, Dan”

“We look out for our own, right?”

After every race, she liked to watch clips from the garage. It gave her some sort of comfort in watching her team, and seeing Mark on screen, she would be redder than a tomato, knowing she could jump him when ever she wanted

At some point, she had drawn Mark into doing it too. They would be curled up into each others body on the couch at whose ever place they would be staying at

She would blush every time she saw a clip where they would talk to each other. On tv it looked so innocent

It looked like your normal manager giving the driver a tip or telling them something they should improve or look out for, but they knew damn different

They knew what was coming out of the older’s lips. The words were pure filth. Filth that would fuck them both in the news if any body heard

It was also then after Imola that tweets started flowing out about hers, Oscars and Sebastian’s “relationship”

How they went from the best circle to something that looked like multi 21 or brocedes if you put it the right way

“How do you feel about all of it?” Mark asked as he saw her closed out of twitter after reading a tweet about it

“It’s fine” She sighed, snuggling into his side under the duvet on the bed “Not like it’s not true” Mark snakes his arms around her waist, pulling her closer “Although, I do miss Oscar sometimes, only sometimes though”

“Of course, he’s your brother. He’s half of you, and the other way around. You grew up together, never left each other’s sides. It’s okay to miss him, even if he is an asshole” That drew a chuckle out of her

Abu Dhabi rolled around, and at this point, her and Max points were tied. She needed to win the Grand Prix to win the championship

It felt like last year all over again. She had heard about the pressure both drivers was on during the time in between the two races, but she never imagined it to be this though

She needed this. She needed to prove she was worth something, and that McLaren made a wrong move to replace her

She needed to prove to her parents that they chose the wrong side

She needed to prove to Sebastian he chose the wrong sibling

She got pole during qualifying, but the whole race, the two Red Bull drivers were battling wheel to wheel, always no more than a fraction of a second ahead of the other

When they crossed the finish line, none of them was cheering as they didn’t know who had gotten through first

“Congratulations, Piastri. You’re world champion” She heard it over the radio

“Seriously?” She needed to hear it again before she was sure

“You’re allowed to cheer, Y/N” It was now Christian over the radio

“Fuck. Oh my god” She hardly got any words out, her excitement getting the best of her, freezing her thoughts

She slowly drove up in front of the sign labeled with a big number 1. She got out of her car, going over to her team, hugging them all

She got to Mark, hugging him tightly, her helmet kinda getting in the way. She was so caught up in the moment, too focused in being in his arms that she didn’t care that his hand that was on her back slipped down to her lower back, too far to seam appropriate

“I love you so much” She said it low, hoping no body from the team heard her, but still hoping he heard her

She pulled back, going back to say congratulations to Max and Lewis who placed p2 and p3

Since it was the last race of the year, everybody went out celebrating. No matter what team they were from, they all went out to the same club

She sat in a booth with Max, Charles, Daniel, Lewis, and Fernando. They were all sitting and chatting about everything and nothing, each of them taking turns to give drinks and shots

Slowly, all of them went to other people to talk to them too. Once it was just her and Fernando left back, Mark had joined them

Fernando had left a little while later, going over to Lance to talk to him, seeing everybody else had left him sitting alone

“Congratulations, baby” He said, leaning closer to her so she could hear him over the music and people talking

“Thank you” Her eyes were so soft as she looked up at him “Thank you for being with me all the way. I love you so much” She leaned over, kissing his lips softly

“Everybody can see us, love” He said, pulling slightly back, knowing she was the one wanting to keep them secret

“I don’t care. We have all winter to deal with the PR” She smiled, kissing him again, her fingertips softly placed on his jaw, feeling him kiss her back, his hand placed softly on her waist

The next morning, she had woken up late, her arm launched over Mark’s waist while laying on her stomach beside him, her head turned away from him

She turned on her back before she sat up. She took her phone from the nightstand beside her

11:56

She sighed, then saw her notifications

Twitter 99+ notifications

She pressed it, seeing it was all responses to one tweet. Her sigh she let out had woken Mark

“What are you looking at?” He asked, sitting up beside her

“Don’t know yet” She pressed the original tweet “We were caught yesterday. Photo proof”

#smut #formula one #mark webber x reader smut #mark webber x reader #mark webber smut #mark webber #angst

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landhoe-norris · 1 month ago

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I know people aren't gonna read this but I need to get all of this off my chest.

So today is the day that marks the moment when Lando's hopes for the WDC officially end.

It’s sad and heartbreaking, yes—but it’s also so much more than that. To me, this season has been nothing short of extraordinary. Championships are won and lost in numbers, and Max has the experience. He had the start of the season and then the talent and composure to see it through, no doubt about it. But Lando? Lando has something just as important, something that numbers don’t always capture—the fire, the resilience, and the unshakable will to push forward.

He’s shown it time and time again this season. Whether it was clawing his way up through the field, delivering masterful performances in changing conditions, or simply showing up with that signature smile and focus even on the toughest days, Lando has proven that he’s here to stay and will be back fighting next year.

There’s something remarkable about the way he’s carried himself this season. He never gave up, even when things seemed impossible and even when it seemed like his team was actively working against him. He's matured when it comes to the noise outside the track, deleting his social media instead of leaning into the insane amount of hatred that has been focused his way from F1 fans and media alike.

What we know, and what others need to realize, is that he’s not the problem. The problem is the people who have been sending him DMs telling him to kill himself; the problem is the people in the IG comments of McLarens, F1s, and his own social media begging for him to crash and burn; the problem is the media who have sensationalized and misrepresented him time and time again; the problem is the 1164481 fans who make fake screenshots, take his interviews and twist them, and weaponize their own narratives to tear him down.

He's been the team leader we all knew he could and would be, and we can all be proud of him. The fact that he was in contention for a championship in the same year he won his first race is incredible. This is someone who has been driving midfield cars since he came into the sport, praying for scraps when the cars ahead DNF'd, had bad pitstops or fucked up their strategy. He's someone who routinely got the fourth-best car onto podiums, someone who has, since Carlos left, never lost out to their teammate, although people have been praying for his downfall since 2021.

They will have to pray harder because Lando Norris doesn't play like that. What he does do, after every single season, is put his head down and become a better driver. He takes his faults, works on them and then comes back ready for more.

I couldn’t be prouder of him—not just as a driver but as a person who’s shown grace, determination, and heart every step of the way. This season wasn’t the end of a dream; it was the start of something bigger. I know he’ll take everything he’s learned and come back stronger, hungrier, and more determined than ever.

#f1 #lando norris #antis can fuck right off #this post is NOT for you

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acealistair · 6 months ago

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard GameInformer Article Transcribed

I saw some people lamenting that they had no way to read the GameInformer article, and while MVP dalishious posted screenshots of the article here, I figured that might be a little difficult to read, plus people with screen readers can't read it of course. So I've gone ahead and transcribed it! Full thing below the cut!

As a note, I transcribed it without correcting any typos, capitalization errors, etc. that the article itself had (as much as it pained me, omg the author capitalizes so many things that shouldn't be and vice versa). There may be some typos on my part as I did this as quickly as I could, so apologies in advance for any you might encounter.

I have also created a plot-spoiler-free version of the article for those who would like to learn more about the mechanics of the game without learning more plot info than they want!

Throughout my research and preparation for a trip to BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, office for this cover story, I kept returning to the idea that its next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly subtitled Dreadwolf) is releasing at a critical moment for the storied developer. The previous installment, Dragon Age: Inquisition, hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC a decade ago. It was the win BioWare needed, following the 2012 release of Mass Effect 3 with its highly controversial and (for many) disappointing ending. Inquisition launched two years later, in 2014, to rave reviews and, eventually, various Gameo the Year awards, almost as if a reminder of what the studio was capable of.

Now, in 2024, coincidentally, the next Dragon Age finds itself in a similar position. BioWare attempted a soft reboot of Mass Effect with Andromeda in 2017, largely seen as a letdown among the community, and saw its first live-service multiplayer attempt in 2019’s Anthem flounder in the tricky waters of the genre; it aimed for a No Man’s Sky-like turnaround with Anthem Next, but that rework was canceled in 2021. Like its predecessor, BioWare’s next Dragon Age installment is not only a new release in a beloved franchise, but is another launch with the pressure of BioWare’s prior misses; a game fans hope will remind them the old BioWare is still alive today.

“Having been in this industry for 25 years, you see hits and misses, and it’s all about building off of those hits and learning from those misses,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay, who’s been with the studio since January 2020, tells me.

As McKay gives me a tour of the office, I can’t help but notice how much Anthem is scattered around it. More than Mass Effect, more than Dragon Age, there’s a lot of Anthem - posters, real-life replicas of its various Javelins, wallpaper, and more. Recent BioWare news stories tell of leads and longtime studio veterans laid off and others departing voluntarily. Veilguard’s development practically began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When I ask McKay about the tumultuousness of BioWare and how he, as the studio manager, makes the team feel safe in the product it’s developing, he says it’s about centering on the creative vision. “[When] we have that relentless pursuit for quality, and we have passion and people in the right roles, a lot of the other stuff you’re talking about just fades into the background.”

That’s a sentiment echoed throughout the team I speak to: Focus on what makes a BioWare game great and let Veilguard speak for itself. Though I had no expectations going in - it’s been 10 years since the last Drag Age, after all, and BioWare has been cagey about showing this game publicly - my expectations have been surpassed. This return to Thedas, the singular continent of the franchise, feels like both a warm welcome for returning fans and an impressive entry point for first-time players.

New Age, New Name

At the start of each interview, I address a dragon-sized elephant in the room with the game’s leads. What was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Why?

“These games are reflections of the teams that make them, and as part of that, it means we learn a lot about what the heart and soul of the game really is as we’re developing it,” Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me. “We quickly learned and realized that the absolute beating heart of this game is these authentic, diverse companions. And when we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure they still represent the game we’re trying to build.”

Dreadwolf no longer did that, but each member of BioWare I speak to tells me The Veilguard does. And while I was initially abrasive to the change - lore aside, Dreadwolf is simply a cool name - I warmed up to The Veilguard.

Solas, a Loki-esque trickster member of the Elven pantheon of gods known as the Dread Wolf, created the Veil long ago while attempting to free the elves from their slave-like status in Thedas. This Veil is a barrier between the magical Fade and Thedas, banishing Elven gods and removing Elven immortality from the world. But players didn’t know that in Inquisition, where he is introduced as a mage ally and companion. However, at the end of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, which sets the stage for Veilguard, we learn in a shocking twist that Solas wants to destroy the Veil and restore Elves to their former glory. However, doing so would bring chaos to Thedas, and those who call it home, the people who eventually become The Veilguard, want to stop him.

“There’s an analogy I like to use, which is, ‘If you want to carve an elephant out of marble, you just take a piece of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant,’” Veilguard creative director John Epler says. “As we were building this game, it became really clear that it was less that we were trying to make The Veilguard and more like The Veilguard was taking shape as we built the game. Solas is still a central figure in it. He’s still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team.

“[We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team.”

Creating Your Rook

Veilguard’s character creator is staggeringly rich, with a dizzying number of customizable options. Busche tells me that inclusivity is at the heart of it, noting that she believes everyone can create someone who represents them on-screen.

There are four races to choose from when customizing Rook, the new playable lead - Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves - and hundreds of options to customize your character beyond that. You can select pronouns separately from gender and adjust physical characteristics like height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how crooked your nose is, and so much more. There must be hundreds of sliders to customize these body proportions and features like skin hue, tone, melanin, and just about anything else you might adjust on a character. Oh, and there’s nudity in Veilguard, too, which I learn firsthand while customizing my Rook.

“The technology has finally caught up to our ambition,” Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes tells me as we decide on my warrior-class Qunari’s backstory, which affects faction allegiance, in-game dialogue, and reputation standing - we choose the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune.

Notably, instead of a warrior class, we could have chosen mage or rogue. All three classes have unique specializations, bespoke skill trees, and special armors, too. And though our Rook is aligned with the Lords of Fortune faction, there are others to choose from including the Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, The Mourn Watch, and more. There is some flexibility in playstyle thanks to specializations, but your class largely determines the kind of actions you can perform in combat.

“Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin,” BioWare core lead and Mass effect executive producer Michael Gamble tells me in contrast to Inquisition’s destiny-has-chosen-you-characterization.

“Rook is here because they choose to be, and that speaks to the kind of character that we’ve built.” Busche adds, “Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, ‘I guess that’s me.’”

Beyond the on-paper greatness of this character creator, its customizability speaks to something repeated throughout my BioWare visit: Veilguard is a single-player, story-driven RPG. Or in other words, the type of game that made BioWare as storied as it is. McKay tells me the team explored a multiplayer concept early in development before scratching it to get back to BioWare basics. The final game will feature zero multiplayer and no microtransactions.

Happy to hear that, I pick our first and last name, then one of four voices, with a pitch shifter for each, too, and we’re off to Minrathous.

Exploring Tevinter For The First Time

Throughout the Dragon Age series, parts of Thedas are discussed by characters and referenced by lore material but left to the imagination of players as they can’t visit them. Veilguard immediately eschews this, setting its opening prologue mission in Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Empire. Frankly, I’m blown away by how good it looks. It’s my first time seeing Veilguard in action and my first look at a Dragon Age game in nearly a decade. Time has treated this series well, and so has technology.

Epler, who’s coming up on 17 years at BioWare, acknowledges that the franchise has always been at the will of its engine. Dragon Age: Origins and II’s Eclipse Engine worked well for the time, but today, they show their age. Inquisition was BioWare’s first go at Ea’s proprietary Frostbite engine - mind you, an engine designed for first-person shooters and decidedly not multi-character RPGs - and the team struggled there, too. Epler and Busche agree Veilguard is the first RPG where BioWare feels fully in command of Frostbite and, more generally, its vision for this world.

We begin inside a bar. Rook and Varric are looking for Neve Gallus, a detective mage somewhere in Minrathous. The first thing players will do once Veilguard begins is select a dialogue option, something the team says speaks to their vision of a story-forward, choice-driven adventure. After a quick bar brawl cutscene that demonstrates Rook’s capabilities, there’s another dialogue choice, and different symbols here indicate the type of tone you can roll with. There’s a friendly, snarky, and rough-and-tough direct choice, and I later learn of a more romantically inclined “emotional” response. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you’re welcome to ignore this option. However, your companions can romance each other, so giving someone the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm embrace of another. We learn Neve is in Dumat Plaza and head into the heart of Minrathous.

Rhodes explains BioWare’s philosophy for designing this city harkens back to a quick dialogue from Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus. Upon entering Halamshiral’s Winter Palace, the largest venue in Dragon Age history at that point, Dorian notes that it’s cute, adorable even, alluding to his Tevinter heritage. If Dorian thinks the largest venue in Dragon Age history is cute and adorable, what must the place he’s from be like? “It’s like this,” Rhodes says as we enter Minrathous proper in-game.

Minrathous is huge, painted in magical insignia that looks like cyberpunk-inspired neon city signs and brimming with detail. Knowing it’s a city run by mages and built entirely upon magic, Rhodes says the team let its imagination run wild. The result is the most stunning and unique city in the series. Down a wide, winding pathway, there’s a pub with a dozen NPCs - Busche says BioWare used Veilguard’s character creator to make each in-world NPC except for specific characters like recruitable companions - and a smart use of verticality, scaling, and wayfinding to push us toward the main attraction: Solas, attempting to tear down the Veil.

All hell is breaking loose. Pride Demons are rampaging through the city. Considering Pride Demons were bosses in prior games, seeing them roaming freely in the prologue of Veilguard speaks to the stakes of this opener. Something I appreciate throughout our short journey through Minrathous to its center below is the cinematography at play. As a Qunari, my character stands tall, and Rhodes says the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters loom over those below. On the flip side, the camera adjusts for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature compared to those around them.

This, coupled with movie-liked movement through the city as BioWare showcases the chaos happening at the hands of Solas’ Veil-break ritual, creates a cinematic start that excited me, and I’m not even hands-on with the game.

Eventually, we reach Neve, who has angered some murderous blood mages, and rescue her from danger. Or rather, help… barely. Neve is quite capable, and her well-acted dialogue highlights that. Together, Varric, returning character Lace Harding, who is helping us stop Solas and is now a companion, Rook, and Neve defeat some demons. They then take on some Venatori Cultists seizing this chaotic opportunity to take over the city and other enemies before making it to Solas’ hideout. As we traverse deeper and deeper into this hideout, more of Solas’ murals appear on the walls, and things get more Elven. Rhodes says this is because you’re symbolically going back in time, as Minrathous is a city built by mages on the bones of what was originally the home of Elves.

At the heart of his hideout, we discover Solas’ personal Eluvian. This magical mirror-like structure allows the gang to teleport (and mechanically fast-travel) to Arlathan Forest, where Solas is secretly performing the ritual (while its effects pour out into Minrathous).

Here, we encounter a dozen or so demons, which BioWare has fully redesigned on the original premise of these monstrous creatures. Rhodes says they’re creatures of feeling and live and die off the emotions around them. As such, they are just a floating nervous system, push into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find.

I won’t spoil the sequence of events here, but we stop Solas’ ritual and seemingly save the world… for now. Rook passes out moments later and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to the voice of none other than Solas. He explains a few drops of Rook’s blood interacted with the ritual, connecting them to the Fade forever. He also says he was attempting to move the Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, part of the Evanuris or Elven gods of ancient times, to a new prison because the one he had previously constructed was failing. Unfortunately, Solas is trapped in the Fade by our doing, and these gods are now free. It’s up to Rook to stop them; thus, the stage for our adventure is set.

The Veilguard Who’s Who

While we learned a lot about returning character but first-time companion Lace Harding, ice mage private detective Neve Gallus, and veil jumper Bellara Lutara, BioWare shared some additional details about other companions Rook will meet later in the game. Davrin is a charming Grey Warden who is also an excellent monster hunter; Emmrich is a member of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch and a necromancer with a skeleton assistant named Manfred; Lucanis is a pragmatic assassin whose bloodline descends from the criminal House of Crows organization; And Taash is a dragon hunter allied with the piratic Lords of Fortune. All seven of these characters adorn this Game Informer issue, with Bellara up front and center in the spotlight.

The Lighthouse

After their encounter with Solas, Rook wakes up with Harding and Neve in the lair of the Dread Wolf himself, a special magical realm in the Fade called the Lighthouse. It’s a towering structure centered amongst various floating islands. Epler says, much like Skyhold in Inquisition, the Lighthouse is where your team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures throughout the campaign. It also becomes more functional and homier as you do. Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard, although they aren’t quite referring to themselves as that just yet.

Because it was Solas’ home base of operations, it’s gaudy, with his fresco murals adorning various walls, greenery hanging from above, and hues of purple and touches of gold everywhere. Since it’s in the Fade, a realm of dreams that responds to your world state and emotion, the Lighthouse reflects the chaos and disrepair of the Thedas you were in moments ago. I see a clock symbol over a dialogue icon in the distance, which signals an optional dialogue option. We head there, talk to Neve, select a response to try our hand at flirting, and then head to the dining hall.

A plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table. Rhodes says this is both a funny (and sad) look at Solas’ isolated existence and an example of the detail BioWare’s art team has put into Veilguard. “It’s a case of letting you see the story,” he says. “It’s like when you go to a friend's house and see their bedroom for the first time; you get to learn more about them.” From the dining hall, we gather the not-quite-Veilguard in the library, which Busche says in the central area of the Lighthouse and where your party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. The team decides it must reach the ritual site back in Arlathan Forest, and Busche says I’m missing unique dialogue options here because I’m Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue.

With our next move decided, we head to Solas’ Eluvian to return to Arlathan Forest and the ritual site. However, it’s not fully functional without Solas, and while it returns us to Arlathan Forest, it’s not exactly where we want to go. A few moments later, we’re back in the Arlathan Forest, and just before a demon-infested suit of mechanized armor known as a Sentinel can attack, two new NPCs appear to save us: Strife and Irelin. Harding recognizes them, something Dragon Age comic readers might know about. They’re experts in ancient elven magic and part of the new Veil Jumpers faction. The ensuing cutscene, where we learn Strife and Irelin need help finding someone named Bellara Lutara, is long, with multiple dialogue options. That’s something I’m noticing with Veilguard, too - there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes.

Busche says that’s intentional, too. “For Rook, [this story’s about] what does it meant to be a leader,” she says. “You’re defining their leadership style with your choices.” Knowing that Rook is the leader of the Veilguard, I’m excited to see how far this goes. From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out. That’s demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each companion’s character screen.

Redefining Combat Once More

Bellara is deep within Arlathan Forest, and following the prolgoue’s events, something is up here. Three rings of massive rocks fly through the air, protecting what appears to be a central fortress. Demon Sentinels plague the surrounding lands, and after loading up a new save, we’re in control of a human mage.

Following the trend of prior Dragon Age games, Veilguard has completed the series’ shift from tactical strategy to real-time action, but fret not: a tactical pause-and-play mechanic returns to satiate fans who remember the series’ origins (pun intended). Though I got a taste of combat in the prologue, Veilguard’s drastic departure from all that came before it is even more apparent here.

Busche says player complete every swing in real-time, with special care taken to animation swing-through and canceling. There's a dash, a parry, the ability to charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows you to use potions at your discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even “bookmark” combos with a quick dash, which means you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward. It looks even cooler than it sounds.

Like any good action game, there is a handful of abilities to customize your kit. And, if you want to maintain that real-time action feel, you can use them on the fly, so long as you take cooldowns into effect. But Veilguard’s pause-and-play gameplay mechanic, similar to Inquisition’s without the floating camera view, lets you bring things to halt for a healthy but optional dose of strategy.

In this screen, which essentially pauses the camera and pulls up a flashy combat wheel that highlights you and your companions’ skills, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize with synergies and combos, all while targeting specific enemies. Do what you need to here, let go of the combat wheel, and watch your selections play out. Busche says she uses the combat wheel to dole out her companions’ attacks and abilities while sticking to the real-time action for her player-controlled Rook. On the other hand, Epler says he almost exclusively uses the combat wheel to dish out every ability and combo.

Busche says each character will play the same, in that you execute light and heavy attacks with hte same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select. But a sword-and-shield warrior, like we used in the prolgoue, can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas our human mage uses that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks. The warrior can parry incoming attacks, which can stagger enemies. The rogue gets a larger parry window. Our mage, however, can’t parry at all. Instead, they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically so long as you have the mana to sustain it.

“What I see from Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2021 before joining the Veilguard team last year as a consultant, tells me. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in the party.”

“This is really the best Dragon Age game that I’ve ever played,” he adds, noting his bias. “This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat, and aren’t making compromises.”

Watching Busche take down sentinels and legions of darkspawn on-screen, I can already sense Veilguard’s combat will likely end up my favorite in the series, although admittedly, as a fan of action games, I’m an easy sell here. It’s flashy, quick, and thanks to different types of health bars, like a greenish-blue one that represents barrier and is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks, a decent amount of strategy, even if you don’t use the pause-and-play combo wheel. Like the rest of the game, too, it’s gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack our mage unleashes. Though I’m seeing the game run on a powerful PC, which is sure to be the best showcase of Veilguard, Epler tells me the game looks amazing on consoles - he’s been playing it on PlayStation 5 and enjoying it in both its fidelity and performance modes, but I’ll have to take his word for it.

Pressing Start

The start or pause screen is as important to a good RPG as the game outside the menus. Veilguard’s contains your map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can cross-compare equipment and equip new gear here for Rook and your companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. You won’t find minutiae here, “just real numbers,” Busche says. That means a new unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal (if you’re a mage). As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization, of which there are three for each class, complete with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy here is “about changing the way you play, not statistical minutiae.”

Companion Customization

You can advance your bonds by helping companions on their own personal quests and by including them in your party for main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. Busche says the choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members. And with seven companions, there’s plenty to customize, from bespoke gear to abilities and more. Though each companion has access to five abilities, you can only take three into combat, so it’s important to strategize different combos and synergies within your party. Rhodes says beyond this kind of customizable characterization, each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on,” Rhodes says.

In Entropy’s Grasp

As we progress through the forest and the current “In Entropy’s Grasp” mission, we finally find Bellara. She’s a veil jumper, the first companion you meet and recruit in-game (unlike Neve, who automatically joins), and the centerpiece of this issue’s cover image. Because our mage’s background is Veil Jumper, we get some unique dialogue. Bellara explains we’re all trapped in a Veil Bubble, and there’s no way out once you pass through it. Despite the dire situation, Bellara is bubbly, witty, and charming.

“When designing companions, they’re the load-bearing pillars for everything,” Rhodes says. “They’re the face of their faction, and in this case [with Bellara], their entire area of the world. She’s your window into Arlathan Forest.” Rhodes describes her as a sweetheart and nerd for ancient elven artifacts. As such ,she’s dressed more like an academic than a combat expert, although her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies.

Unlike Neve, who uses ice magic like our Rook and can slow down time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you, something Busche says Dragon Age fans have been desperate to have in a game. Busche says if you don’t direct Neve and Bellara, they’re fully independent and will attack on their own. But synergizing your team will add to the fun and strategy of combat. Bellara’s electric magic is effective against Sentinels, which is great because we currently only have access to ice. However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels.

As we progress through Arlathan Forest, we encounter more and more darkspawn. Bellara mentions the darkspawn have never been this far before because the underground Deep Roads, where they usually escape from, aren’t nearby. However, with blighted Elven gods roaming the world, and thanks to Blight’s radiation-like spread, it’s a much bigger threat in Veilguard than in any Dragon Age before it.

I continue to soak in the visuals of Veilguard with Arlathan Forest’s elven ruins, dense greenery, and disgusting Blight tentacles and pustules; it’s perhaps the most impressive aspect of my time seeing the game, although everything else is making a strong impression, too. I am frustrated about having to watch the game rather than play it, to be honest. I’m in love with the art style, which is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable, a welcome reprieve from the recent gritty Game of Thrones trend in fantasy games. Rhodes says that’s the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic.

“The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.”

Busche, Epler, and Rhodes warn me that Arlathan Forest’s whimsy will starkly contrast to other areas. They promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Busche likens it to a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. For now, the spunky and effervescent Bellara is that thread.

As we progress deeper into the forest, Bellara spots a floating fortress and thinks the artifact needed to destroy the Veil Bubble is in there. To reach it, though, wem ust remove the floating rock rings, and Bellara’s unique ability, Tinker, can do just that by interacting with a piece of ancient elven technology nearby. Busche says Rook can acquire abilities like Tinker later to complete such tasks in instances where Bellara, for example, isn’t in the party.

Bellara must activate three of these in Arlathan Forest to reach the floating castle, and each one we activate brings forth a slew of sentinels, demons, and darkspawn to defeat. Busche does so with ease, showcasing high-level gameplay by adding three stacks of arcane build-up to create an Arcane Bomb on an enemy, which does devastating damage after being hit by a heavy attack. Now, she begins charging a heavy attack on her magical staff, then switches to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks, then back to the staff to charge it some more and unleash a heavy attack.

After a few more combat encounters, including one against a sentinel that’s “Frenzied,” which means it hits harder, moves faster, and has more health, we finally reach the center of the temple. Within is a particular artifact known as the Nadas Dirthalen, which Bellara says means “the inevitability of knowledge.” Before we can advance with it, a darkspawn Ogre boss attacks. It hits hard, has plenty of unblockable, red-coded attacks, and a massive shield we must take down first. However, it’s weak to fire, and our new fire staff is perfect for the situation.

After taking down this boss in a climactic arena fight, Bellara uses a special crystal to power the artifact and remove it from a pedestal, destroying the Veil Bubble. Then, the Nadas Dirthalen comes alive as an Archive Spirit, but because the crystal used to power it breaks, we learn little about this spirit before it disappears. Fortunately, Bellara thinks she can fix it - fixing broken stuff is kind of her thing, Epler says - so the group heads back to the Veil Jumper camp and, as interested as I am in learning what happens next, the demo ends. It’s clear that even after a few hours with the game’s opening, I’ve seen a nigh negligible amount of game; frustrating but equally as exciting.

Don’t Call It An Open World

Veilguard is not an open world, even if some of its explorable areas might fee like one. Gamble describes Veilguard’s Thedas as a hub-and-spoke design where “the needs of the story are served by the level design.” A version of Inquisition’s Crossroads, a network of teleporting Eluvians, returns, and it’s how players will traverse across northern Thedas. Instead of a connected open world, players will travel from Eluvian to Eluvian to different stretches of this part of the continent. This allows BioWare to go from places like Minrathous to tropical beaches to Arlathan Forest to grim and gothic areas and elsewhere. Some of these areas are larger and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. Arlathan Forest is an example of this, but there are still optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things. There’s a minimap in each location, though linear levels like “In Entropy’s Grasp” won’t have the fog of war that disappears as you explore like some of Veilguard’s bigger locations. Regardless, BioWare says Veilguard has the largest number of diverse biomes in series history.

Dragon’s Delight

With a 10-hour day at BioWare behind me after hours of demo gameplay and interviews with the leads, I’m acutely aware of my favorite part of video games: the surprises. I dabbled with Origins and II and put nearly 50 hours into Inquisition, but any familiarity with the series the latter gave me had long since subsided over the past decade. I wanted to be excited about the next Dragon Age as I viewed each teaser and trailer, but other than seeing the words “Dragon Age,” I felt little. Without gameplay, without a proper look at the actual game we’ll all be playing this fall, I struggled to remember why Inquisition sucked me in 10 years ago.

This trip reminded me.

Dragon Age, much like the Thedas of Veilguard, lives in the uncertainty: The turbulence of BioWare’s recent release history and the lessons learned from it, the drastic changes to each Dragon Age’s combat, the mystery of its narrative, and the implications of its lore. It’s all a part of the wider Dragon Age story and why this studio keeps returning to this world. It’s been a fertile franchise for experimentation. While Veilguard is attempting to branch out in unique ways, it feels less like new soil and more like the harvest BioWare has been trying to cultivate since 2009, and I’m surprised by that.

I’m additionally surprised, in retrospect, how numb I’ve been to the game before this. I’m surprised by BioWare’s command over EA’s notoriously difficult Frostbite engine to create its prettiest game yet. I’m surprised by this series’ 15-year transition from tactical strategy to action-forward combat. I’m surprised by how much narrative thought the team has poured into these characters, even for BioWare. Perhaps having no expectations will do that to you. But most of all, with proper acknowledgement that I reserve additional judgment until I actually play the game, I’m surprised that Veilguard might just be the RPG I’m looking forward to most this year.

#da4 #dragon age veilguard #datv #da:v #da:tv #dragon age #dragon age 4 #da: veilguard

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meazalykov · 7 months ago

Text

injury on two continents

lena oberdorf x reader (requested)

warnings: injury

If someone were to tell you a few years ago that you’d be happy with your own girlfriend, you’d think that they’re lying.

Throughout your career, you questioned if you’d ever have time for relationships. However, Lena came into your life unexpectedly when you joined Bayern Munich in 2021.

She was your opponent during a game between your club and Wolfsburg. The German woman kept hitting on you and eventually, you fell for her. You guys have been happy together ever since.

Now, it's June 2024, and as the international break begins, Lena is scheduled to play against Poland, while you prepare to face the Korea Republic. This break is particularly crucial for you, who is a key midfielder expected to be on the roster for the upcoming Olympic Games with the United States.

It's also the last game before you get a month-long break from soccer, so you’re eagerly looking forward to some downtime with your girlfriend on an upcoming Ibiza trip.

Due to the time difference between you two, you’re having breakfast with your closest teammates Sophia, Mallory, Trinity, and Tierna at a cozy coffee spot near your hotel– while Lena is playing a late-afternoon game against Poland.

The atmosphere in the cafe you’re in is light and filled with laughter, but you look over to see Tierna's expression as you’re sipping on your iced latte.

Your eyebrows knit together as you look at the Gotham player on her phone. Concerned, you ask what's wrong.

"Tierna, are you okay?" Y/N asks, raising an eyebrow.

Tierna looks up from the video on her phone, her eyes wide with worry as she notices that you asked her the question. "Y/N, you need to check your phone. Like, right now."

Puzzled, you pull out your phone and see numerous missed calls and messages. The other girls check their phones too out of curiosity. They didn’t see much which confuses them, but your heart races as you read a message from Lena’s mom:

Lena's hurt. It's her leg. Call me whenever you have time.

"Oh my god," you whisper, your voice trembling. Injuries happen but the range could go from a simple blow to a full ACL injury. Maybe you’d know what was going on if you watched the game, but you promised your national teammates that you would spend time catching up with them.

You tried calling Lena’s mom after seeing her message from 43 minutes ago, but it goes straight to voicemail.

All of the girls at the cafe look ahead at you with worry. Your fingers go to dial Lea's number next. She is the second closest person to Lena after you, so that was your best option.

After a couple of rings, Lea picks up.

"Lea, hey! What happened? Is Obi okay?" Y/N asks, her voice a mix of fear and urgency.

Lea's voice is calm but serious. "Hey, Y/N. She took a bad hit during the game. The doctors don’t think it's anything serious since she's walking on crutches now. But she told us to tell you not to worry, but I know that's impossible."

"Is she okay?" Y/N's voice cracks.

"She is honey. She really wants to talk to you, but her phone died."

Y/N takes a deep breath, steadying herself knowing that Lena’s injury wasn’t as serious as it could’ve been.

"Okay, thanks– wait is she around? Can you put her on FaceTime for a minute?"

Lea nods and you hear footsteps on the other end of the phone. The scenery changes as Lena's face appears on the screen, looking tired but smiling anyways. "Hey baby!" Lena says softly.

"Lena! Are you okay?" Y/N's eyes are filled with worry.

"I'll be fine, Y/N. It hurts when I run, but the doctors are looking over me. You focus on your game later, alright?" Lena tries to reassure her.

"I can't stop thinking about you," Y/N admits.

"We will see each other in a few days, Meine Liebe. Just promise me you'll play your best and stay safe," Lena says, her voice gentle but firm.

"I promise," Y/N says.

Later that day, during the intense match against South Korea, you dribbled the ball around a midfielder before passing to Alex Morgan. As the ball left your foot and you ran into open space, a Korean defender pushed you hard and you fell to the ground, spraining your ankle in the process.

To the observant people watching on TV, they can see your foot go in an awkward angle as your body hits the grass. The scene mirrors Lena's injury from hours before, except no player fell on top of your body afterwards.

You had to be helped off the field, causing great concern among your teammates and fans. Your team needed you for the olympics, Emma Hayes knew she needed you for the olympics.

Back in the hotel room in Poland, it's late at night. Lena and your fellow Bayern teammates, who are watching the game on TV, are worried and anxious when they see your body hit the ground as you clench onto your ankle afterwards.

"No, no, no," Lena mutters, her eyes glued to the screen. She stands up in concern as the other girls continue to sit on the couch with looks of worry. Some of her teammates, like Laura and Lea, try to comfort Lena as they watch the medics attend to you. Their TV was a few minutes behind so you were already off of the field by that point.

“She will be okay.” Lea rubbed Lena’s shoulders as Laura patted on her back, looking at the medics holding Y/n while she walked off of the pitch.

Laura, trying to lighten the mood, then says, "Looks like she got an injury on the same leg on the same day as you, Lena. Maybe you guys are soulmates?"

Despite everything, Lena chuckles. "Maybe we are," she says softly, her worried eyes still fixed on the TV.

Back in America, the medics cared for you and did some x-rays. You had a grade 2 sprain which isn’t the worst or best sprain– but you could make it on the olympic roster if your recovery process goes smoothly.

An hour after the game, you call Lena back to update her, after seeing that she tried to call you three times within the hour.

Despite the pain, you reassure Lena that it's likely a grade 2 sprain, meaning you should be able to recover in time for the Olympics.

"Lena, I might have a grade 2 sprain. The doctors said I should be good before July," Y/N says, her voice filled with both relief and exhaustion.

"Oh, thank god. I was so worried," Lena sighs, feeling a bit of the weight lift off her shoulders.

"Same here. We really need to stop getting hurt at the same time," Y/N jokes weakly. This was the first time where they’ve gotten injured at one time, but y/n felt the need to say that.

"Right," Lena replies, smiling through the screen. "I can't wait to see you and hug you once we’re back in Germany."

"Me too. We have to move your stuff into my apartment too so take care of yourself, okay? I love you," Y/N says, her voice softening. The couple were excited throughout the last few months, Lena is transferring to Bayern Munich and will live with y/n finally.

"I love you too, Y/N. Rest up," Lena responds.

#lena oberdorf #woso community #woso fanfics #uswnt x reader #laura freigang #gerwnt #uswnt #uswnt players #lea schüller #dfb frauen

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 8 months ago

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I read the post where you answered why you didn’t like Malleus and remembered that you placed Leona really highly on your favs list, and Leona is my favorite so do you mind me asking why do you like Leona?

[My TWST character tier list is here.]

[Anon is also referencing this Malleus post.]

THERE’S A REASON WHY L*ONA IS IN “Unfortunately Enjoy” TIER 😭 I think for like... over a year (2020-2021)? Probably closer to 1.5 years?? I really disliked him and swore up and down that I'd "never in my life simp for the fake cat". This was largely in part due to book 2, which to this day I believe did Leona a HUGE disservice and made him look very unintelligent and uninteresting. Then I was drip fed new Leona content as it steadily came out (vignettes, voice lines, event stories, his return in book 6) and my opinion of him vastly improved. Book 2 was just a really bad introduction to him and it greatly soured my first impressions. sjfyofqebfeiafns B-But now I'm too embarrassed to openly declare, "Yeah, I like a sad muscular l*on man. So what?" Some would say that's tsundere behavior... BUT I SAY I'M COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED FOR ACTING THIS WAY BECAUSE IT ISN'T EASY TO CONFESS WITH YOUR WHOLE CHEST THAT YOU LIKE KINGSCHOLAR OF ALL TWST CHARACTERS

... Anyway! For a much more expanded explanation, I'd recommend this post! It already states a lot of my thoughts, and I don't want to repeat them in yet another lengthy lion-related post. What I'll do instead is summarize the key points for you, plus add some commentary about Leona and Malleus at the end.

Admittedly, he is pretty. VERY pretty. I'm saying this as someone who normally really dislikes hair longer than shoulder length, the "wild"/bad boy aesthetic, and kemonomimi. Leona breaks ALL the rules and still somehow manages to wear everything and anything well because of his sheer confidence and natural grace. His physical features are also very striking... The sharp bright green eyes, the small waist and large chest (there's NO reason why he HAD to be built like that), his stupid smirk, etc.

His pettiness and sarcasm. Leona has, hands down, some of the funniest lines 🤡 I love that he has the balls to speak callously to everyone, including fellow dorm leaders and royalty. His best moments, however, are when he whips out the sarcasm on statements which are so patently untrue--like when he says he is a 'delicate prince' and a 'lost child', both moments from book 6. It's also hilarious whenever Leona speaks in a formal way, showing that he does have the education and the knowledge of how a prince should present himself, but just actively chooses to not make the effort and only does so mockingly or when social grace calls for it.

HIS BIG BRAIN FOLDS, HOLY COW (err, book 2 aside). Leona works smarter, not harder!! He's always one step ahead of everyone else, even if he appears sleepy or disinterested at the time. He figured out the trick behind the "indestructible" golden contracts, he sussed out Jamil WAY before book 4 ever came out (saying that Jamil has "eyes that always glare" and implying that Jamil poses a threat to Kalim's life; this is from Jamil's School Uniform vignette), he takes what he learns in textbooks and so easily translates it to real-world experiences (ie advising the first years on how to more efficiently mine magestones in Vargas Camp), etc. Additionally, Leona knows when to step in and when to be hands off. It's not done out of cowardice or laziness, but rather because he's thinking strategically. For example, he could have resisted capture at the hands of the Ferrymen, but he didn't because it would be smarter to just go with them willingly. It saves everyone a lot of time and energy, and it’s this kind of intelligent thinking that makes Leona really stand out.

He knows how to lead. There are many different types of beastmen, each with own beliefs, values, and traditions that are unique to their own group. As a result, it is very difficult to unify all beastmen within the Sunset Savanna under one rule. Guess who doesn't have this problem? THAT'S RIGHT, IT'S LEONA. There's a variety of beastmen in Savanaclaw, and he effortlessly rules over them and commands their respect.

He actively thinks about how to improve the Sunset Savanna. Leona's ideas are not always the best (like, yeah, you could introduce new technology to the country but expect significant social pushback from the people, who prioritize living in harmony with nature). However, I can really appreciate that he did not entirely turn his back on the people who feared his powers and talked him down. I think he eventually realized the flaws in his way of thinking and actively chose an energy and mining lab internship in hopes of researching ways to slowly implement changes that will benefit the Sunset Savanna while also remaining respectful of the people's beliefs. He is concerned about Falena's lax way of ruling and consistently brings up ideas in various voice lines about how they can improve the Sunset Savanna and its relationships with other countries and tourists. In spite of everything he went through, Leona never wants to hurt those who hurt him with their comments and comparisons to his elder brother. He does not ever want to tear down the system that kicked him down again and again, only wants to challenge it by proving his own merits and the merits of the other downtrodden that he leads.

As much as he wants to deny it, he cares about his underclassmen and goes out of his way to help them. There are sooo many examples of this that it cannot possibly fit in one bullet point. (I would really recommend reading the elongated post linked above, as I go into more detail on this.) Suffice to say, Leona has been shown guiding, instructing, and mentoring many other characters including, but not limited to: Epel, Ruggie, Jack, Jamil, and various Savanaclaw mob students. This really hits me in the heart because I love reliable big brother characters 😭 EVEN THOUGH LEONA IS TECHNICALLY A YOUNGER BROTHER...

He understands his strengths—and he understands others' strengths too. This man is fully aware of his magical might and powerful presence. He uses every last bit of it to full effect and to attain his goals, whatever those may be. One of my favorite uses has to be In Fairy Gala!! He distracted some pixies by simply demanding water and their attention so his partners in crime could escape—and what’s more, this was a plan he came up with on the spot because their mission was being jeopardized by unforeseen events. Leona is also good about pinpointing people’s best attributes and then helping them hone it. This happens a lot during club practice, bur it also occurs in book 6 between him and Jamil. Speaking of…

THAT WHOLE BOOK 6 CONVERSATION WITH JAMIL DESERVES ITS OWN BULLET POINT. This part was peak mentor mode Leona 😭 Sure, maybe he wasn’t the kindest with his wording, but I felt this was the wake up call Jamil needed to hear. What really got me though was the part where Leona tells Jamil there’s still hope for him… “unlike me”. (I believe this part was translated differently in EN to make Leona’s ego sound more inflated (ie “I’m not like you”) which saddens me immensely.) It paints the image that Leona is still struggling to believe his efforts will amount to anything and that he believes more in his juniors than in himself :(( (which informs my headcanon that Leona mentors younger students so that they can have the bright future he doesn’t think he can have for himself).

Emotional complexity. When you get down to it, what started off as a very basic story of jealousy and inferiority complex actually resulted in a deeply flawed, traumatized, and scarred individual who continues to doubt and put himself down but is slowly recovering. Leona is smart and charismatic—he is everything a leader should be, but he doesn’t truly see his own worth. (Ironically, the only people who do are the ones who look up to him and follow him.) And now… Leona’s actually got his eyes set on graduating! He has his internship plans set! I think he’s made such big strides since book 2, and it’s been so rewarding seeing him regain his willingness to try and succeed return to him.

Looking back on it, it’s so ironic how things ended up working out. Initially, I was totally on Lilia’s side when he insulted Leona and said he would never be the kind of leader Malleus is. Now I’m realizing how Leona does many of the things I don’t see Malleus doing (despite Lilia claiming Malleus is more fit to be king than Leona is).

Malleus isn’t harming his people by any means, but it’s more like he’s… stagnant? Complacent? He’s satisfied with the status quo and is comfortable resting on his laurels. And because of that, Malleus doesn’t really seem to consider what he, as a leader, can do for others, be it for his dorm members or doe his country. (Part of this is also how isolated and opposed to change Briar Valley is, of course! That kind of culture definitely shapes Malleus’s thinking.) He tends to avoid situations which involve navigating social complexities rather than dealing with them himself. Think of Ghost Marriage, when Sebek proposes in his place. Think of Fairy Gala, when Silver is the one that ultimately resolves the conflict between the diurnal fae (who have historically not been friendly with nocturnal fae) and NRC. Malleus is so sheltered that has not truly been put in situations where he has to make tough decisions or where he has been challenged. He has never had to claw and scream and beg for people to see his worth.

Leona has been through that emotional wringer, and though he’s been hurt so badly, he still came out the other side. In running from the shadow of his family—of his older brother—Leona found solace in this new kingdom, Savanaclaw. It’s a place to build himself up, to stew over the ideas he has that have yet to be realized, all with a safe mental distance from home. It’s through the many hardships he has experienced that has refined his wit and given it a place to practice, to be used.

When it comes down to it, Leona and Malleus are two sides of the same coin. Both arrogant princes, the second born and crown prince, respectively, wishing for the other’s circumstances. Leona desperately wants that respect and recognition that Malleus has. Malleus longs for the intimacy and camaraderie that Leona is so easily able to cultivate and command. Leona has been forced to adapt, to learn, to grow from his scars. Malleus struggles with the concept of change (understandable, given his background) and actively denies reality if he finds the truth to be unpleasant. He’s not used to facing dilemmas that cannot be solved with magical strength, and has not ever been challenged in such a way. Malleus doesn’t know how to deal with that, which is partly why be panics and loses himself to emotions in book 7. (By the end of it, I’m sure he’ll be given the chance to see the error of his ways though 💦 or at least I hope he does??)

Their characters are very different, and that’s not a bad thing!! If anything, it makes their dynamic so interesting to observe and it offers varying interpretations of the same “prince” trope. I definitely know which of the two I prefer 🤡

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gay-otlc · 21 days ago

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Approximate KOTLC dates! Mild Unraveled spoilers ahead regarding Keefe + human pop culture, nothing plot relevant.

Given Keefe's fashion choices in Unraveled, we know it takes place some time after October 2022. And thanks to Quil's incredible timeline mapping out (roughly) how long the events of each book take, we know Unraveled takes place around 2 years and 4 or 5 months after the start of the series. Without taking any other canon details into account, that puts the earliest possible start of the series in June-ish 2020.

However! I am choosing to take other canon details into account.

Book 1 starts a few weeks after Garwin Chang receives his rejection letter from Yale. Based on Yale's admissions schedule and some character analysis of Garwin (he 100% applied early action), the first book starts sometime in December or early January.

So at the earliest, KOTLC begins in December 2020 or January 2021.

In Neverseen, when Sophie learns about the way elves count age, she's 13 years and 8 months in human years. This happens about a year and 3 months into the series, so probably somewhere around March, maybe early April. Sophie's birthday would likely be some time around late June or July, then.

We don't know when exactly Unraveled is happening- it's definitely after 2022, but it could be 2023, it could be 2024, it could be 2037 for all we know. At the earliest, it's 2023, probably around May or June (I haven't actually read the book so I have no idea if this is contradicted by the weather or anything).

Assuming the December 2020/January 2021 start date, Sophie was born in the summer of 2008. Her elf birthday would be September or October 2007.

That's all (for now I'm definitely going to do more with this later) thanks for reading my nerd shit :)

#kotlc #unraveled spoilers #i had shit to do but no. hyperfocused on a timeline for my cringe gay elf books (affectionate)#kotlc timeline shit

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allthecanadianpolitics · 5 months ago

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Polling firm Leger surveyed 1,607 people last weekend, asking how they're feeling about being Canadian ahead of Canada Day. The firm posed similar questions to a group of 1,003 Americans ahead of the Fourth of July. The results suggest the vast majority of us — 76 per cent — would call ourselves proud Canadians. But 45 per cent of people who did the survey said they were feeling less proud than they did five years ago in 2019. Leger said that's up 16 percentage points from 2021, when they posed the same question. Respondents were asked to choose from a list of things that make them most proud to be Canadian. The country's natural beauty topped the list, followed by universal health care, freedom and equality, a peaceful and safe society and multiculturalism. Just one in five said their fellow Canadians made them feel proud.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

#canada #canadian #cdnpoli #canadian politics #canadian news

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leothil · 7 months ago

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fic recs: archive edition 28

With season seven now behind us and a long summer of hiatus ahead, I peered into my bookmarks from December 2021 and decided that the only logical thing was to assemble a list of Christmas-y fics! Maybe the most wonderful time of the year will make the wait a bit easier.

Previous rec posts can be found here!

i'm here (i’m yours for the taking) by farfromthstars (@doeeyeseddie) Eddie agrees to accompany Buck to his old roommate's wedding (Connor! Making a comeback in this fic a year before he turned up in canon again!), but due to a misunderstanding everyone thinks they're married. Surely playing husbands for a weekend won't awaken anything in them! 19k words, rated T

this christmas (i'm gonna risk it all) by @bievanbuckleys The 118 rent a large cabin together for the holidays. Buck has long ago decided to keep his feelings to himself, but in such close proximity it might be hard to keep it all in. Oh, and one small problem - the room he's sharing with Eddie has only one bed. 27.8k words, rated M

this love we got (is the best of all) by @thatbuddie Buck and Eddie are hosting the 118 for Christmas Eve dinner the first Christmas after they got married, and Buck stresses about wanting it to be perfect. A sweet slice-of-life established relationship piece! 2.7k words, rated G

(as long as you love me so) let it snow by lecornergirl (@clusterbuck) Ok I'm cheating a bit, this isn't technically about Christmas. But they do get stuck in a snowstorm and the vibes are soft and fluffy, even when it starts with a funeral. 2.1k words, rated T

Merry Christmas uh, happy Pride and enjoy the start of summer! And please leave the authors kudos and comments, it's the only way they know someone has read and enjoyed their work!

#fic rec #911 fic rec #buddie fic rec #911 fic #buddie fic #911 fanfiction #buddie fanfiction #frida's archive project

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valyrfia · 2 months ago

Note

your take on lando is so interesting and by far the most nuanced view of him I’ve seen. I think’s it clear that he needs help managing his emotions bc some of things he says and done are baffling and the latest thing of him liking criticism proves it. he doesn’t have that champion mentality (or just seem to be in a good headspace) and a lot of that can be traced backed to McLaren. He messes up his starts every time and that could be linked with a mental barrier but ig no at McLaren cares enough to look into that???Like that’s your driver and your wdc you’re washing down the drain.

but I can’t be too suprised, bc when ppl talk about lando mh McLaren covers their ears and say Lalala can’t hear you (unless yk it benefits them)

I think I retain an enormous amount of empathy for him because prior to this year he was one of my favourites. I think he started acting strange and immature and there was this initial huge backlash but this weekend has kind of made me see things more clearly, between his actions, his words to media, how McLaren handle him, and his driving. And he really is a victim of his environment.

He IS an incredibly good driver. Before you all boo me: sure he's nowhere near Max who's currently in another league, nor is he really near Charles who would be in this championship instead of Lando if not for Ferrari shitting the bed midseason. Lando is however, on par with George, and currently probably better than Carlos and Oscar. I would happily call him the third best driver on the grid at the moment. He however, does have a problem with starts, that's just a fact. As you said anon, it's more than just experience at this point there is obviously some sort of mental block there–he's clearly going into these starts expecting to lose places. But again, like you said, McLaren obviously don't care enough to look into that. Other things this weekend just made me notice: him snapping at a journalist is not and has never been normal behaviour for him, for example, begging McLaren for that switch in the sprint and immediately catastrophising that they won't do it (pressing the radio button immediately to panic and say "I thought we talked about this") is another example of just, slightly abnormal behaviour. That coupled with his internet lurking (he liked an edit of Max a week back, and is now obviously reading his comments) paints a picture I'm not sure I like. I'm never going to assume anything, but considering he's talked about struggling with mental health in the past, I can't help but be a little uneasy on his behalf.

All of the above becomes especially true if we consider McLaren and the case of Daniel Ricciardo. As much as they love to position themselves as the champions in the sport of mental health, the whole Daniel thing remains a worrying incident they've tried their best to sweep under the rug–he never recovered his mentality in that team and instead of working with him the team were perfectly happy to throw him to one side with little regard to prioritise Lando instead. I can't help but feel with a certain sinking that this is what they plan to do with Lando and Oscar, if Lando doesn't win the championship next year. The problem is, Lando is a lot younger than Daniel was, with a lot more career ahead of him and theoretically, a much higher ceiling to reach–yet McLaren seem perfectly happy to not put any development into Lando to help him reach that ceiling. Just like some drivers need developing in the wet, or the dry, or high downforce, or reaction times, some drivers need developing in their mentality. And it is McLaren's job to recognise this if the driver doesn't recognise it in themselves, and tell them what they need to go work on. This should have been something that was flagged as a development area for Lando way before this season, even as far back as 2021 it was apparent and yet McLaren have done nothing to help him and seem happier to just, leave him out to dry.

McLaren is the true evil here and for all their attempts to appeal to a younger demographic and impassioned defences of their morality and mental health being important–I think they've proven that they would rather take the easy road than the right one, even if the right one could yield more results. Oscar struggles with other things that Lando doesn't struggle with ie. tyre management, quali but I think they will repeat their pattern of rather than developing a driver they want to discard an extremely good one in the fruitless search of a generational talent. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think its impossible that instead of taking responsibility for losing the WDC this year (because make no mistake, this is mostly their fault–from a strategy point of view to how they've managed their drivers to refusing to give Lando the support he needs until its too late) they will just try and shift the blame and indirectly pin the failure of this year on Lando in order to try and match public sentiment. Ultimately, Lando has been failed by his team and his environment more than anything and even though I'm happy this championship has (deservedly) gone to Max, I can't help but feel that Lando was not given a fighting chance by his team.

#and it's all too much for little lando norris but it SHOULDN'T have been too much if his team had supported him correctly #is my full take #anti mclaren #again. i am a documented hater on race weekends but it's mostly because the media prop him up while shitting on my drivers #and i get a little...uh....tifosa...on a race weekend. i see rosso corsa and black out #but aside from all the adrenaline. i really am deep down a little worried about lando #and i don't think it's impossible that mclaren will attempt to push him out from next year in favour of oscar piastri and his mythos #asks #anon

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bsd-bibliophile · 8 days ago

Text

Survey Dates: 11/15/2024 - 12/15/2024

Number of Participants: 362

Tumblr will not allow me to post pictures of all the survey results, so only part of them are included in this post. You can download and view the complete results here or view them in the BSD-Bibliophile Online Library.

Thank you to everyone who participated! If you are interested in viewing the results from past surveys, here are the results from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

View the complete survey results here or on the BSD-Bibliophile Online Library.

Comments:

always looking forward to ur survey :)) i love data and it motivates me to read more japanese authors

Another year, another survey! Thank you so much for all the information you provide, it's really some great work you're doing! It's been a while since I had the time to just sit down and read for a while, but I did recently buy The Setting Sun and I read Kokoro this year, which was such a masterpiece I loved it! Again many thanks and love <3

As always, thank you for your lovely work Anne <33

been a fan of this website since i got into bsd (2020) you’re doing god’s work fr!!

BYE BYE BESTIES FROM ME IN THE WESTIES

compiling all these resources is a really awesome endeavor, thanks for all that you do :)

cool asf

Cool survey ^_^

even though i haven't used the library yet, i really appreciate you keeping it up and maintaining it as a resource! thank you!

freaky kunikida 😛😛😛

haiiii

Hey hope everything is going well for you I love seeing your posts and analyses you’ve really done a lot for bsd and Japanese literature fans thanks for everything <33

heyo!! i appreciate all the work you guys do, and while i've had this tab open on my phone for a while, i've not used the website that much. i plan to in the future!!

I cannot choose between Dazai, Ranpo, and Chuuya as favorite characters.

I don't always have time to read or use the library, but I'm very happy it exists and I want to find the time to use it and read more!! You are one of my favorite blogs on tumblr and have done wonderful things for both the BSD and literature community.

i dotn know why i m filling this out

I have not read a lot of Japanese literature but I intend on reading at least 1 work from each author in BSD as a goal

I have not read much, as I would rather read physical copies. Many of the authors' works cannot be found in my country, so I would wait for a bit to read, or just give in and read online translated version. At the moment I can find Ayatsuji, Tsujimura, Natsume Soseki, Dazai Osamu, Yokomizo Seishi...I intend to read more mysteries, so I would focuse on Yokomizo Seishi's at the moment.

I haven't had the time to check out your tumblr, but I have used your website a bunch! I really appreciate the effort you put into all of it, and it made reading Bungou (and other Japanese authors) a lot more accessible and understandable. Without reading some of your descriptions on the authors, I most definitely wouldn't have even picked up their books in the first place. So, thank you very much!

I honestly don’t have one single favorite bsd character, but Atsushi is definitely in my top few, I love his character and his development, and someone very very dear to me is a lot like him <3 ALSO READ STORMBRINGER 💥

I hope you have a great day ahead! This was a lovely survey.

i love dazai

I love entering Tumblr and seeing your posts on my tl, specially if they're from my favorite authors/characters ❤️ I feel like they're always there for me in a way thanks to your posts. I also appreciate the resources, even if I usually read physical books.

I love the BSD-Bibliophile site, it's so helpful when my BSD phase strikes again.

I love the online library even though I haven't used it in awhile. It's a great resource to direct new jp lit readers to

I love the tumble quotes as it inspires my own writing. Thank you and keep it up! x

I love the work that your community/company is putting in. Good luck on everything.

I love this website, thanks for this!

I love your blog! Love from Spain!

I love your online library, and I love how passionate you are about it. If there's any way that we can help add to your collection or just help in general, please let me know!

I loved Bungou Stray Dogs the moment I watched the Anime and started reading the Manga. With this Blog, it was the same: The moment I found it, I loved it! There are so many books written by authors from BSD, that I can't get a hand on in Germany, so that Posts here are my only source. I hope it makes sense... my active english isn't good. Thank you very much for the hard work over all these years!

I originally accessed this website only to search for digital copies of Dazai Osamu's works, but I ended up developing a genuine obsession with classic Japanese literature and reading dozens of books, short stories, and essays from various authors and of different genres. Thank you so much for your hard work!

I prefer reading the Slavic authors at the moment so I haven't read much by the Japanese authors. (I am also learning Russian personally so this is my preference.)

"I really enjoy your blog! It is very fun, informative, and helpful <3

I haven't read much of the authors featured in BSD but I plan to change that next year! Your blog will be very helpful then! Thank you for all your work!"

I really love how you have made all the translated books available online. It has helped me expand my choice of literature actually. Thank you so much for your hard work! This is a place return to every once in a while because it brings me so much joy!

I really love the BSD Bibliophile Online Library. It comes in handy when I want to read books or search for more information on the authors. Bless you for such a wonderful resource!

I started learning Japanese for a light novel series that I was following (not BSD), but BSD is directly responsible for my seeking out more general Japanese literature, rather than just light novels or anime. Would not have read half of that stuff otherwise, so I am quite happy I picked up the series.

I think BSD-bibliophile is an awesome website! Thank you:)

I use the BSD-Bibliophile often! Thank you for making this website.

I want to start reading

I wish I had more time to explore the real works of the authors

I'm glad that such a page exists. I find it important and useful. Just congratulations to the ones (or one) who came up with the idea and followed through with it!

In the future I’d recommend either including modern Japanese authors (Murakami etc) in the survey, or specifying that the focus is classic (largely 20th/early 21st century) authors. But regardless I love what y'all do and the resources you provide!

in truth i haven’t used the site as i’ve wished due to time but i always have this site in mind when i’m looking for japanese authors to read :) i wholeheartedly love this site and have used it to read shorter parts of writings i can read… thank you for all you do! i can’t wait to open up the treasure trove that is this website and dive deep into japanese authors

Is there a list for BSD writers’ literary significance + how they influenced each other in chronological order? I’m relatively new to JP lit and I’d love to learn more

I've already asked for this correction last year, but I will say it again; please change the wording for "Who is your favorite BSD Japanese author" and "What is your favorite literary work by a Japanese BSD author" questions. The authors don't have anything to do with BSD, and now the questions make it sound like you're asking if people like Asagiri or someone else who has worked on BSD, as THEY are the authors of BSD. Not Dazai and others. Please change the wording to "Japanese authors who appear as characters in BSD" or something like that, and don't call them BSD authors. They aren't such. Also, I would like to point out that you've got Hirotsu's name order wrong in all questions. It's Hirotsu Ryuurou (JP order like for others), not Ryuurou Hirotsu (which is the Western name order). Thank you for the survey as always.

I've been meaning to start reading the works on the Online Library, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I've used your list once!! I haven't had time to read many new things with how busy I've been, but there's a few I've been meaning to get around to for a while.

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate the work you do :) it made Japanese lit way more accessible when I started getting into it

Just wanted to say thank you for all you do!

Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you've put into the blog! It's how I ended up reading Nakahara's poems :)

Keep up the great work!

Love the analyses page! please add more and make it easier to find on the page

Love this blog!!!

love ur website

Love your work 💜

Maybe you should also do a survey to figure out what other Japanese authors are popular. I read mainly translated Japanese, and I'm curious to see just how popular authors like Kawabata, Mishima and Shiga are. Loved this survey btw, can't wait to see the results <3

my interest in Japanese literature was cultivated through the comprehensive list and resources available in bsd bibliophile site even though I started watching bsd much before I found the site for which I'll always be grateful because a lot of my favourite works are from Japanese literature. so thank you!!!

N/A - have a lovely day! :)

One of the Agatha Christie quotes was censored (specifically, the Ten Little Indians poem). I don't think that serves any pedagogical purpose, and it erases the harmful aspects of that story that are worth discussing and acknowledging. Similar to censoring mentions of women in Dazai quotes, it only serves to gloss over and obscure relevant details in the authors' legacies and meaningful context from their works.

"One of the best curated pages. Thanks to you i’ve been able to delve further into the magical world of BSD and some of the greatest authors in literature.

Thank you. You’re a blessing to the BSD community.

Love from Vietnam."

"Please help the Brazilian Portuguese speakers to make a way of doing some kind of the same thing (a place with translations)

It would be great lots of languages on the library"

scurrying here to read tanizaki's works because the games i like reference them is the most brainrot thing i did

stay hydrated!

thank you

Thank you

thank you for all your hard work in organising the online library ♥️

Thank you for all your hard work with the website and the gorgeous posts. I have read many works after seeing them featured on your blog first

Thank you for all your work!

"Thank you for doing these every year, it is always interesting to see the results! If it's okay, I'd like to recommend two books from Japanese authors (altough they aren't related to bsd). First: The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi. It's a funny and surprisingly deep book with a great time loop (and there's an anime based on it that's just as great!) Second: The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda, a gripping mystery that I couldn't put out of my hands.

Have a great year reading, everyone!"

Thank you for everything! I've learned and read a lot about Japanese authors, and even Western ones.

"Thank you for making people more familiar with Japanese literature! Good luck.

Thank you for running this blog! I'm currently working on my masters degree and the blog is going to be a valuable resource for me in the coming months.

Thank you for the google site and everything you've done for the community all these years :-) !!!

Thank you for the survey

Thank you for the survey! : ) I really want to read more books by Japanese authors but there aren't many translations of the ones i want in stores.

Thank you for the work you do!

Thank you for your blog and the website! It really helped me, because it can be hard to find even an electronic version of the book

"Thank you for your continued maintenance and work on the website - I'm incredibly grateful for all of the PDFs, lists, and information on such a broad array of authors. In time, I plan to read every work on the list.

A question - outside of the authors included in the bibliography, who else do you enjoy reading? I am fond of Kenzaburo Oe, Haruki Murakami, Keigo Higashino, Karen Horney, Irvin Yalom, Nietzsche, and Carl Jung (amongst a few others here and there)"

Thank you for your contribution to the BSD fandom!

thank you for your hard work in promoting and providing Japanese books

Thank you for your hard work!

thank you for your hard work! your site has helped me both in terms of enjoyment and providing useful resources for writing my papers and understanding literature better.

Thank you for your hard work!!

Thank you for your hard work, BSD-Bibliophile Online Library is a huge source of information for the community

Thank you for your website and hard work. I'm genuinely grateful.

Thank you for your work!

Thank you so much for making your site. It's one of the main ways I get literature, and it's really helpful because I'm a kid without a steady stream of income aside from an $8 a week allowance, which is not enough to get books at the speed I read them and my family does not go to the library often enough nor does my library have enough to suit my interests. Your online library is truly incredible and I could not be more grateful that you're kind enough to put it out for the world.

Thank you so much for running BSD-Bibliophile! It's such a lovely account, I love seeing the quotes, and also introduced me to new works too — for example, a quote from Dazai Osamu's 'The Villon's Wife' made me realize I hadn't read his whole library yet. 'm inspired by the quotes I read, and it always makes me want to read new stories too! So truly, thank you so so much for running this account.^^

thank you so much for your amazing work!!!!

Thank you!

Thanks for all the work you do!

Thanks for all you do! This is a great resource and an incredibly helpful one!!

thanks for everything, you made it easier for me to read and access Japanese literature

Thanks for your work!!!!:)

The Bibliophile has helped so much thank you!!!! :DDDDD

The website had been very useful, I'm enjoying myself with it a lot :)

The work you do (translating and compiling the works) has given me so much joy when I was obsessing about BSD and looking to read works from the original authors!! The quality of the translations seems pretty great (I'm not fluent in Japanese to know for sure but I've certainly read worse translations) and without BSD Bibliophile, I wouldn't have found a *lot* of works I love dearly. Thanks for putting this together! It's made an impact in my life and brought me closer to works I wouldn't have gotten to know otherwise :)

This survey is really including and cool! Props to the creator

This was fun to take

ur blog is such a wonderful insight into japanese literature through the lens of bsd ^^ i’d like to get more into actually reading the original works esp next year and ur blog is such a great lil sneak peak into them? lovely wotk keep it up (also hopefully gonna start w hell screen cus i read a bit 👍 but idk i like how bsd has such a wide range of authors id never heard of before ^^ literature is such a wide spectrum love it)

Ur posts put a smile on my face! I love ur dedication to the fandom and japanese literature 🫡🫡 you must have been posting daily for more than 5 years? Impressive 😊😌😌

w series literally

What about Fyodor Dostoevsy? (Crime and Punishment is a rather nice book)

Your posts made me buy and read the books. Thank you! 🖤

your website is very nice! it's where i found the english translations for some of the light novels. ive only read 3 so far but hope to read more in the future. thank you for your service 🙇‍♂️

your work is so vast and underappreciated! i really need to take more time to look through your library. thank you for all the work you've put into it!

С:

"こんにちは、翻訳の努力を本当に感謝しています。あなたにはとても感謝しています。正直なところ、お気に入りを選ぶのは難しかったですが、中也の詩が好きなので、結局太宰をクリックしました。とにかく、本当にありがとうございます。良い一日をお過ごしください！"

今年、お疲れ様でした！Thank you for your work. Having access to more of the authors I was curious about led to me conducting a successful research project on Japanese literary fiction last year. This year, I've moved abroad to Japan to learn Japanese at university. I hope that I can contribute to the effort to kindle others' inspiration through translation and storytelling. Please have a happy new year!

#bsd-bibliophile #survey #japanese literature #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd

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