#a lot of people seem to be going out of their way to get upset on ncuti's behalf

[justladders]

First off, I want to second the thing about tiktok. Unless it is literally your job to market for a company or something, that platform is so extremely blood-sucking. Beyond everything else about it, creators are forced to constantly post, constantly shift to do what's popular for attention in the algorithm, etc. An incredibly easy way to burn out and be down on yourself if you aren't keeping it up. Just don't do it.

But what I find to be very important to realize and applicable to a lot of artists is that, because of what they have seen or been told, they have started to prioritize numbers over what they originally went online for: sharing.

It is incredibly easy on social media to compare yourself to other people -and their numbers- which is what everyone always says you should never do. One of my own friends mentioned to me that they were disheartened when something of mine got attention because their stuff "doesn't do as well." It's not that I don't understand why they want engagement, it's that the comparison is damaging and pointless because there will always be someone with a more popular post, with art that more people seem to like, with stuff that more people will engage with. What you have to realize is that doesn't make them "better." Even if you're considered a popular artist, there may be times where you make something that doesn't get as much attention as before, in which case the person you're comparing yourself to is yourself, which is still the same principle:

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

Share your ideas and your art that you enjoy, and the people that like it will find it, and people will echo appreciation and ideas, and a group or community of like-minded individuals may start to form, and you can make new friends, and you can find ideas/inspiration/new media through those people and what they share, and the list goes on. If one amount of engagement is higher than another, that doesn't stop any of this from happening anywhere else. And this could just be like 5 people. It doesn't have to be 5000.

A quick aside about Tumblr. I've been on a number of social medias to share art, but over time I always end up finding it incredibly easy to just drift off of those platforms. They always go the same way: "post, get some likes/shares, post again." Tumblr has been the only one where I've found actual engagement easier, especially in the form of asks, which is much more fun. It's like the difference between "passing a friend and waving hello" and "passing a friend, but stopping to ask about that new game they just got, make an in-joke, suggest a movie to watch later, then do a silly handshake."

Now, I want you to consider this - you, the creative reading this that is constantly comparing themselves:

Imagine that there was no way to check the "numbers" on the engagement you get. You can still see interactions and respond and whatnot, but there's no way to quantify it. And now imagine that there's no way for you to check other people's numbers. You can never know if anyone else's stuff has gotten more attention than you.

Would you be content with the people that are there that want to engage with you? If there was no metric for comparison, would you be upset about the amount of attention you aren't getting? Would you be happier responding to the engagement you do get if you weren't wishing there was as much as someone else?

If you find that this applies, I have a trick for you. Just pretend like the numbers don't matter so you can be happier. Then, through the experience of it, you can come to realize that they really don't matter. And then you won't have to pretend. And then you can be happy.

also we fucked up as a society the moment we started telling teens and aspiring artists to conflate being an artist with building a brand as if the two things are inextricable. the name of the game if you want to share your art is to work a job and sell yourself as aesthetizied content. back in my day we could just POST SHIT. to deviantart! what the fuck!

[thetepes]

so gen question i hope doenst come across as offensive, but in your bio you say you dont like how the topic of lily is discussed and thats why you made ur blog. but it seems like you're agreeing with the other blogs in the lily-sphere uncritically. so which ones were you initially frustrated with, and what was the behavior you found so wrong in the first place?

I also think the lily hating has long since crossed over into lolcowing, to the extent that its very difficult to imagine real accountability is possible anymore. I agree with the stance you take in a lot of your posts, and then i see you reblogging and agreeing with the worst offenders in the lily sphere so like. have you changed your mind?

Look, I'm upset right now so excuse me if I'm terse, but I've REPEATEDLY and VERY LOUDLY admonished people for not giving a shit about her racism and homophobic bullshit.

I am extremely critical of who I reblog because there are plenty of people in this space who are just in it for the attention and bants, I've not been shy about that. I refuse to even follow people who post worthless shit.

I know you mean Sai, just say Sai. Sai has talked repeatedly about Lily's abuse of Courtney, Britt, in general, her trying to take away both her and Ant's channels, her racism, and her pedo inclinations. She might not cover it in totality on stream or in one big long video, but she doesn't shy from it. She's talked about it on stream.

She's also the only one of 3 people who checked on me behind the scenes after I was racially abused and purposefully triggered. She's also been one of Britt's loudest supporters.

I don't agree with her on a lot, I've openly not agreed with her on a lot. I've told her personally what I don't agree with her on. I've told her she can be out of pocket. She's one of those fun people you can go "Ayo, I disagree." and have a conversation with. There are some things she's just not going to budge on, donkey of a woman, and that's just fine with me.

And let's be fucking real, she's one of few in this space that takes the racism seriously. I've seen what people say. I know they only care until someone cries "You're not focusing on the important topics enough" then they call it "Lily being mean" because maybe six people in this space at most can handle confrontation and their ally ship only extends to the tip of their nose.

The media takes matter because that's where she shows her racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and pedophile inclinations the most. She couldn't even review hamtaro without making it weird with adding incest and sexualizing a literal baby hamster. Going over the media takes shouldn't be the main focus, but it serves a very good purpose.

My aim on here was to talk about her racism. It matters. Even if it's just me screaming about it in this godforsaken space, it matters. I'm tired of racism being given a free pass because it's progressive to hate asians and fetishize anyone darker than tea stain on teeth. I'm tired, as a CSA survivor, of the shit she's made like The MLP pedophile rape game getting a free pass.

I'm tired of people like you pretending none of this matters anymore because there was no big Lily left the internet blow up. That's not how things work most of the time, sorry. People like her and Birdie and Patricia and any of the other people I've mentioned on here don't take accountability and the police don't give a shit about online crimes most of the time. I'd know, I was blamed by them for being groomed as a kid and told I wanted it because I went in those spaces.

All we can do is keep pointing it out, supporting victims, and raising awareness of not just Lily, but other people like her that just will not face the justice their victims deserve while trying to mitigate harm. If you don't want to be a part of that, fine. Harm reduction is work and it's work you will not be acknowledged for. My advice is curate your experience like an adult. That's the healthiest and happiest way to live your life online and off.

So no, I've not changed my mind.

[dtupdating]

DREAM replied to another Reddit post!

Transcript under the cut!

Ludwig slightly misremembered, and didn't explain in a super fair way imo it makes me sound way worse than what actually happened

tldr;

I dmd ludwig suggesting he make a video, and offering myself for questions

ludwig replied and eventually said that I jokingly called one of his friends a whore

Due to the fact that a friend of Nicolas Cantu's had recently falsely said that "I got slapped at a party for calling a girl a whore", I asked him if that's what it was about.

He said no, and that he can't tell me more information because he doesn't think it's worth resurfacing it for her sake

I replied with a message about that, and then said I'd also provide context to the other situation just in case he was just telling me it's not about that situation (to "protect" the person's identity) even though it was, because I had no idea about any other situation.

Here's the important parts of that message that I sent him:

oh well unfortunately I guess I can't talk about this because I don't know what you're talking about at all, but I will say this as a general statement; A lot of people spread false stuff about me, or exaggerate, and have done it a lot ESPECIALLY during all of this stuff going on, as it's easy to sensationalize things because of how "hated" I seem. Intentionally, OR unintentionally. I have had to clear up so many different false stories of me being weird, or just a total shit bag, because the rumor mill runs super fucking strong when you're getting shit on 24/7. And every time it's just "oh okay that makes sense". It's not always someone lying, but it's almost always someone not realizing that exaggerating and mischaracterizing what they're saying can be a big deal, and isn't something they should do. I have never randomly called someone a whore, I have never called someone a whore derogatorily, and I would never do that.

I will completely and fully say that I have called friends of mine jokingly whore's / sluts / whatever, GUYS ANDS GIRLS, but only with people that joke along with it, or have expressly said they don't care, and again, only with friends of mine. This situation has been a lesson to just never say it at all though, because it's being used to make me out as a bad person. I would never use it that way, never ever meant anything negative when I've ever said it, and never have used it to insult or demean anyone, in any way.

I don't know the situation you're talking about, and obviously it's seemingly a bad look to have "multiple instances" where I called a girl a whore lmao, but I just cannot fathom that I called a stranger a whore, even jokingly, regardless of whether I was drunk or not. If I actually did, I would absolutely want to apologize and clear up anything that I possibly can with them, because it's upsetting to know that I made anyone upset or made them feel badly. I would like to say though, that it's not unreasonable to think that it is a misrepresentation of what actually happened, or is being looked at through a negative tint given recent events, when if this wasn't all going on, it would've been viewed as "oh that's obviously a joke". Given the fact that I have been a bit of a punching bag for a bit online, and you never know what motivations people have to spread things. Idk when this would've been as well, because like I said, the Nicolas stuff was pretty eye opening in a lot of ways, including specifically how people feel about those words in general. Which I never really thought about, and again, I've always been extremely careful and delicate with how I interact with anyone I've just met.

I NEVER would demean or speak down on someone like that. If that did actually happen, it was naivety on my part and not malice, and it's a word I'm removing from my vocabulary, and I hope I get a chance to apologize to them. But again, I have no idea what you're specifically talking about, so I probably won't get a chance, or even confirmation that it happened.

Either way, I understand why he didn't reply (I sent walls of text) and don't fault him for it. Although, the way this was said is annoying!

[honey-minded-hivemind]

🔦Rewind AU Post: What Really Happened To Genet, a.k.a. Reader:

(Warning! Implied suicide ideation and implied identity death! If these topics are upsetting for you, or scare you, please do not read!!!)

Genet (Reader) had been with the X-Men from a very young age. Theu saw them grow, and change, and lose members while gaining new ones. Sometimes the times were good, and everyone was getting along. Other times, it was... bad. The team, though they loved each other in their own ways, fought a lot. Enough that Genet was uses to it. It happened. It was their normal.

They finally reach an age and capability where they can be put on the team. It's good for a while. Sure, nothing is perfect, bad things still happen, but at least it always seems to get solved by the end. Everything gets better, eventually. Then Morph is gone, and Jubilee is there, and Scott and Logan are spitting mad at each other, and everything just seems to get worse.

Then after months, h*ck, a year or two, everything seems fixed. Morph is back, Beast is out of jail, the team seems to be healing... And then someone frames Reader for betraying the team. And everyone buys it.

It hurts, worse than the endless screaming matches of the past or being left alone when the adults were out saving the world or caught up in their own issues. This... theu said they weren't one of them. They said they should have known they'd be trouble. They said they should have never taken Reader in.

And that breaks them.

In the end, they discover the truth, they stop the villain, Genet's name is cleared, and all seems forgiven... Except it isn't.

Genet isn't... they just... they can't let this go...

Their team, H*ll, their family, the only people they've ever known, who raised them, said they didn't want them. That they didn't trust them. That they basically hated them, if only in that moment. And Genet can't forget it.

Late at night it haunts them. It taunts them in their dreams, turns bad ones into nightmares, makes them weep, and keeps tearing them down. It's too much. It doesn't matter if everyone acts like it never happened, or that all is forgiven, because it's not to Genet. It's not over, it's not forgotten, it's not forgiven.

They can't live like this. They can't live with this.

They leave a note. It doesn't have much written on it, just a thank you for taking them in, a note for Kevin, and saying goodbye.

Genet wants to be gone. They don't want to be, anymore. They want to forget the X-Men, forget the Brotherhood, forget mutants, forget everything. They want to not exist anymore. But their powers... they'd bring them back. So they go to the only person they can think of who can take them away...

Sinister is not someone they trust. It's a simple fact, and has tried and true evidence behind it. But at this point, they're beyond caring. They're willing to take the risk, to possibly be hurt or scr*wed over or worse, if it means maybe they won't exist anymore.

They lay it out as simply as they can, as best they can, while feeling hollow: They want Genet to cease to exist, their memory, their life, their connections, gone and null and void. Sinister wants to get a win over the X-Men, or maybe show his power, or maybe he'd want a future threat out of the way. Genet wants him to take away their mutations, destroy the memories Genet had, and whatever is left behind... he can do what he wants with it. As long as they don't exist anymore, then it doesn't matter to them.

Sinister is a lot more gentle with them than they expected. Maybe it's because his first willing subject in over a century; maybe he's being cautious; or maybe he does have a small drop of humanity left in him. But either way, Genet ends up strapped to a table, they're given a sedative, and then everything starts to blur out, fuzziness around the edges and dissolving into static in their mind...

(Sinister felt bad for this young mutant. But they wouldn't need to worry anymore. Dr. Essex had everything covered, and nothing that bothered Genet will bother Reader anymore... And he has the perfect, small pocket universe to put them in, to keep them out of trouble and away from prying eyes... But he will need to make sure that nothing of their past comes back to haunt them... Nothing a few pills of his can't fix...)

@sugar-soda @thewickedweiner

[beholdthemem]

Chrissy insists on buying him a pastry while they talk shop. Eddie doesn't particularly want a pastry, but Chrissy seems to have an easier time talking if she has something else to focus on while she does.

"I haven't been back in a while," she confesses as they wait in line. "So I don't know if everything I tell you is still up to date. It's just, y'know-"

"Something to work from," Eddie supplies. Chrissy nods, and the line moves up.

"My parents' names are Phillip and Laura. Dad's a copyright lawyer, and Mom used to teach Sunday school- I don't know if she still does. Technically she was just there until they could find somebody else, but all the families really like her."

There's a touch of ruefulness to her voice. The line moves up again.

"They're kind of, um. Traditional? Old fashioned, maybe. Basically it shouldn't take much to shock them. They won't say anything about it to your face, but they're really going to be upset about your hair."

"Them and everybody else over the age of forty. How do they feel about tattoos?"

"Deeply judgmental."

"Perfect."

In front of them, a small elderly man examines the menu board with grave seriousness. The teenager manning the register drums her fingers on the counter with increasing impatience.

"They've got, ah... opinions... on how people are supposed to present themselves. What it means to be a responsible, worthwhile member of society, how you're supposed to do that as a guy, how you're supposed to do that as a girl..."

"Traditional," Eddie recalls.

"Right. Kind of, um. 1950s ideals of womanly and manly. They wouldn't put it that way, but that's sort of what it amounts to? They liked when things were... simpler."

There's a lot of subtext in that 'simpler'. Eddie pulls a face. "So, for dinner conversation I can just talk about how the country's gone to shit, and as soon as they get excited I follow it up with 'And anybody stupid enough to have voted for that maggot infested sack of clown cum demanding to buy Greenland over twitter-"

"They didn't- they didn't actually vote for him," Chrissy looks like she wants to laugh, but is restraining herself from doing so. "They felt like he was too extreme, but they couldn't stand the idea of voting for a Democrat, either, so they just. Didn't vote."

"Ohhh, I gotcha- cowards."

That actually does startle a laugh out of her. She looks both surprised and delighted, like the sound is unfamiliar.

The old man ahead of them trundles off without buying anything, putting them at the front of the line. The teenage employee, who Eddie knows had to have overheard the phrase 'maggot infested clown cum' by virtue of proximity, looks at both of them with an expression that suggests people who value their lives will not make her wait by deciding what to order.

"Oh-" Chrissy turns to Eddie a little sheepishly, either missing or somehow managing to ignore the counter girl's growing bloodlust. "Sorry, I should've asked earlier- which do you want?"

"Uh..." Eddie scans the board, and then selects the cheapest thing possible. She's already bought him coffee, after all. Chrissy may be generous, but he feels like there's gotta be a limit to how much you ask for.

The counter girl rings them up, and looks like she's trying to melt somebody's head with her mind the entire time she does.

"My ex still comes to visit them a lot," Chrissy continues conversationally as they return to their table. "And he's definitely gonna be there, so um. Just sort of warning you now."

"I- your what?" Eddie comes to a halt, squinting at her and trying to replay what he's pretty sure he just heard her casually toss out like it was nothing worth remarking on. That CAN'T be right. "Ex WHAT?"

"Boyfriend?" Chrissy gives him an uncomfortable smile. Eddie resists the urge to shake his head like a wet dog until his brain rattles into whatever position it's apparently been knocked out of to make him the only person here who finds that statement completely fucking bizarre. Boyfriend? Her ex boyfriend is coming to Thanksgiving dinner?

"...'kay?" he says slowly, purely for something to fill the sudden conversational void while he tries to work out how the fuck he's meant to respond to that.

"His name's Jason," Chrissy makes a show of brushing off her seat before she sits back down- possibly for something to do that'll let her avoid eye contact. Her words have sped up, like she's embarrassed and trying to power through it as swiftly as possible. "We, um. We dated for a while back in high school, but broke up before leaving for college. He is, ah..." She sighs. "Look, full disclosure- he's a big part of why I wanted to hire you."

"Sure, I get it," he's not entirely sure he does, but he's got a few ideas, and doesn't like any of them. He remembers the fear on her face earlier, when she thought she was going back home solo, and likes them even less.

"Are you..." He hazards, trying to feel this out as Chrissy takes a delicate sip of coffee. "Are you worried he's gonna try something?"

'Are you asking for a bodyguard,' is what he wants to know, because that is an entirely different set of duties than Fake Boyfriend. It's not a role he's ever played before. He can fight, if it comes down to it- but most of his experiences with that have come from dealing with drunks at work and irritating people until they respond with violence. He's learned how to take and throw a punch because if he's going to go through life being obnoxious (And he is, that's non-negotiable) being able to handle the consequences is a necessity. But it's only ever been HIS neck on the line. If he loses, he loses- he gets the shit kicked out of him, bitches about it to the guys until he heals up, and then moves on. He's never had anybody relying on him to win before.

But the girl across the table is small enough to make even Eddie seem tall, nice enough to leave behind a tip in the nearly empty jar on the counter when the cranky high schooler hadn't been looking, desperate enough for help to arrange a meeting with some weirdo online and not run away screaming when the weirdo in question turned out to be HIM.

She needs back up.

And if the only person available is him, well, then, he'll fucking figure it out.

"Try some...?" Chrissy repeats, frowning a little to herself before the penny drops. Her eyes go huge.

"No!" She squeaks, looking horrified. "Oh, God no, it's not like- he isn't- no. No, no, he wouldn't- he'd never- no, I didn't mean- no. No, that's not what- um- I'm so sorry. No, I wasn't, I wasn't asking- I don't need you to... to... no-"

Well, that's definitely a relief. It does however seem to indicate some motivations that Eddie dislikes for entirely different reasons.

"Okay," he raises a finger to stop Chrissy mid-torrent. "If this is a plot to win your ex back-"

"NO!" Chrissy yelps again, somehow managing to look even more horrified. "Oh, God, no, I want him to give up!"

"And your plan for that is showing up with the world's worst new boyfriend?" Eddie questions, going from exasperated to incredulous. Being used as a tool of jealousy is a hard no- one hospital visit was more than enough. Doing this is...

Well.

Once again- Chrissy's nice.

And loathe as he is to admit it, he'll do a lot of things for nice.

But that does not change the fact that what she's asking him to do makes no fucking sense at all.

"Like- not to criticize or anything, but I feel like showing the guy his replacement sucks shit is just gonna encourage him to try and win you back." It would certainly encourage HIM. Rekindled relationship aside, if Eddie were in this guy's shoes and had to watch an ex he held in even faint goodwill be openly mistreated, he'd go apeshit.

"I don't- I don't need you to be horrible," Chrissy twists the cardboard sleeve on her coffee cup around and around and around. "I just need you to be... different."

"Different like...?"

"Jason thinks he wants us to get back together. What he actually wants is the version of us that first started dating to get back together, and those people don't exist anymore. Sure, when we were 16, we had the same wants, and needs, and things we expected out of a relationship, but people don't always- just because 2 people start out really similar doesn't always mean they're going to stay that way, you know?"

"Sure," Eddie shrugs. In his experience, most people don't. Whether or not that ends up being a deal breaker is a whole other ball of wax.

"I'm not who I was in 10th grade. I can't give him the answers 10th grade Chrissy would've given 10th grade Jason, and... honestly, looking back, even if she HAD answered the way he's hoping for, it would've only been because she thought she didn't have other choices. Who I used to be was a stop on the way to moving on, and I'm okay with that, but he didn't... WANT to change."

And THERE'S where it ends up being a deal breaker.

"There is someone out there who can live a very happy life with Jace as he is, and with who he wants to be, but she's not me." Despite the nickname, there's a firmness to how Chrissy says this that indicates no amount of past affection will make it up for debate. "And he's not gonna believe that until he finally understands I've changed."

"That you're different," Eddie repeats. Now the picture's starting to come into focus. "Different mindset, different lifestyle... different taste in guys."

She colors. "I'm sorry-"

"No, I don't mind," Eddie assures quickly. He really doesn't. She looks almost ashamed of herself on his behalf, though, like using him as a visual aid instead of a demonstration of how far in life she's fallen is somehow just as bad. He finds himself simultaneously amused and endeared. "Seriously, this is the first time in my life I've ever been used as a good example."

It occurs to him, as the tension melts and she breaks into giggles again, that he's really starting to like her laugh.

"So how'd we meet?" He presses, trying to get as much mileage out of her returned calm as possible. "Drag show? Satanic ritual? Torching Jim Banks' lawn?"

"Maybe I went to see your band?"

"How'd you-" Eddie's aware he's staring a little, and probably messing up the flow of the conversation he'd just gotten back on track, but also what the hell?

"That's what you said in the ad, right?" Chrissy's turned a little self-conscious again, maybe worried she's made things weird. "You play guitar?"

"That I do. That I do," it helps, Eddie considers reflectively, that he has only the loosest possible connection between his mouth and his brain. That means that in times like these, when he has been thoroughly knocked off balance, he doesn't need to provide any real input to keep the words coming out and can instead focus on the fact that she'd bothered to remember the barely related line about his band he'd tossed in for flavor.

Baffling.

Absolutely baffling.

Nice is rare. Eddie's already willing to do a lot of things for nice. Chrissy's version of nice has unknowingly just lengthened the list of shit Eddie's willing to tolerate on her behalf quite a lot.

All the same: "Would they believe that?" It's bad to judge on appearances, but she really doesn't look the type.

"My parents might. Jason wouldn't want to believe it, but he would. My brother, though," For the first time since they started talking about her family, Chrissy looks fond. "He'd have some questions."

"Oh, you've got a brother? Do I need to worry about getting my ass kicked?" He's mostly kidding, but he is a bit curious. He's an only child, thank Christ, but he's pretty sure that protective siblingly ass kickings are a requirement.

"I doubt it." Chrissy shakes her head. "He's more of a..." She scrunches her nose, thinking to herself, then makes a vague gesture in the air. "He's not really the fight-y type. Never liked confrontation much, his policy is more 'Ignore it till you can't'."

"Yeah?" Eddie raises an eyebrow as he breaks off a piece of... scone? Oatmeal bar? Whatever it was that she bought for him, all he'd paid attention to was that it was under 3 dollars. "What happens when you can't?"

A corner of Chrissy's mouth twitches. "Well, um. Once when I was 12 and he was... maybe 8? There was this girl I used to do Girl Scouts with who kept making fun of me because we were in 6th grade, but I was still riding the Disney princess bike I got when I turned 10. It was honestly kind of small for me at that point, but my mom didn't want to waste money getting a new one when there was a perfectly good bike right there- anyway, we used to host a lot of scout meetings at our house, because Mom really likes to be active in community things. And I guess Jenny must've said something to me where PJ could hear…"

She puts her face in her hands. Yet again, Eddie gets the impression that she's amused, but feels like she really, really shouldn't be.

"And for 2 weeks, every time he saw her bike somewhere in town, he'd wait until she locked it up to go inside, and then he'd pop one of her tires."

Whatever the pastry is actually called, one of the main components seems to be sawdust, because swallowing it unexpectedly has leeched all the moisture out of Eddie's mouth. It makes it halfway down his throat before disintegrating, and is only marginally improved by the immediate chaser of what he can tell by taste is 2 day old coffee.

"2 weeks?" He manages at last. "In public? How in the shit did he do that, I wrecked someone's bike ONCE as a kid, and I had to wait until midnight to make sure no one saw me. And figure out where he lived! What is he, a ninja?"

"I don't know!" Her voice is muffled, but he can hear her trying not to laugh in spite of herself. "I didn't even find out it was him until years later, he never said anything. We all just thought Jenny was really unlucky because she kept rolling over screws and thorns and glass and stuff- her dad finally lost patience and took the bike away because he thought she was being too careless with her things, so she just had to walk everywhere. She was a junior counselor at some of PJ's after school things, so he must've had a lot of opportunities-"

"Oh my God."

"But it's like- he does stuff like THAT. It's not important for you to know he's the one doing it, or to understand why it's happening to you- it's enough that you're miserable."

"That's the scariest fuckin' thing I've ever heard. That's scarier than a straight up ass kicking, he just jumps straight to covert warfare-"

"That's not what that is!"

"That's exactly what that is! Forget the shovel talk, if we show up and this kid thinks I'm not good enough for you, I'm probably getting my tires slashed!"

"No, you're not," Chrissy insists, taking her face out of her hands to try and give him a stern look. The effect is spoiled somewhat by the way she's clearly stifling a smile, which only encourages Eddie more.

"Well, I guess if you're offering to protect me," he spreads his hands with theatrical magnanimity and pretends not to notice that he's accidentally sent crumbs flying everywhere. "Maybe PJ The Stealthy will be moved to spare my life and my non-existent car insurance. But I'm counting on you for this, I want it in writing that you'll shield me from his wrath."

"I won't NEED to shield you from his wrath, because I can't imagine you causing it," Chrissy says with remarkable confidence. "He doesn't do anything unless you provoke him, and that's hard to do. Even if you annoyed him, he'd probably just ignore you."

"I've been told I make that very hard." Eddie tells her solemnly. "Your brother's specialty may be covert warfare, but you can ask any teacher I've ever had- being in my presence is psychological warfare all its own!"

Right after he says it, he can see Chrissy's walls go back up. There's a split second where her body's at the table, but her eyes are a million miles away, and whatever it is she's seeing there isn't good. And then, as if nothing's happened, she snaps right back to the same polite, pleasant fake smile she had on when they first met.

Shit.

"I'm kidding," he says instantly. "Promise. Really. I'll be on my best behavior."

"I think that kinda defeats the point of this, doesn't it?" Chrissy asks with a chuckle, and fuck, Eddie hates that well mannered, trotted-out-for-polite-company noise now that he knows what her real laugh sounds like.

Clearly, that was a step too far. He just doesn't get why that was a step too far, and that's a problem. If he doesn't know exactly what the issue is, he doesn't know how to avoid doing it- and there's no way she's actually going to admit he's upset her, much less explain how. Telling someone they've screwed up is bad manners.

God, life would be so much simpler if everybody just gave up on the concept of manners.

"You can wage as much psychological war as you want," Chrissy says, and even though she's using his same joke, he doesn't feel like he can banter with her anymore. The version of Chrissy that's been treating his nonsense like it has enough logic to argue against or build upon has been swapped out with this charming, hollow girl again. "We've had years of practice with it."

"Right." Is THAT a joke? He genuinely can't tell.

"I, um..." The performance is fraying a little at the edges, like dropping it earlier has made it tricky to sink back in. "I'll just- I'll find a minute to get PJ alone and then explain. He wouldn't blow our cover on purpose, but I'd rather not risk him asking the wrong questions at a bad time."

"Sure." Eddie agrees simply. If he can't tell what skeeved her out, best to just be straightforward. No improvisation, no messing around, no trying to be funny- nothing that might make things worse. Predictability. It sucks that they're back to this after they'd been doing so well.

"Do you wanna exchange numbers?" Chrissy asks, returning to smooth professionalism. "I can give you mine in case anything comes up before Thanksgiving."

"Sure," Eddie says again, doing his best to stick to the script. He hopes that by the next time he sees her, he'll have figured out enough to know how to fix this- or even what he broke.

He digs out his phone, silently cursing yet more crumbs that insist on falling into his pockets, and comes back up just in time to see a flash of yellow dangling from Chrissy's hand.

"...do you have a cellphone charm?" He asks in disbelief, squinting at the small yellow flower swinging from her phone case. Chrissy blinks, thrown by the unexpected change of topic, then registers what he asked and gives a small huff of embarrassed amusement, like he's caught her doing something silly.

"How the fuck do you have a cellphone charm? I thought they quit adding holes for them in like- 2010," Eddie's reaching out to grab it before he can stop himself. To his surprise, Chrissy doesn't object, handing her phone over so he can get a better look.

The charm is flat, made of slightly sturdier plastic than he'd assumed at first glance. There's a few nicks at the edges- evidence of someone who moves around a lot, and takes her phone with her when she does- but apart from that, it's remarkably well cared for. The design of the flower is detailed enough that he can tell it's based off a real specimen, but he couldn't name the variety for any money.

"Well, they... the phones don't," Chrissy rubs her knuckles against the edge of the table, not quite looking at him as she does. "But the phonecases do? Sometimes? Or they can, anyway, if you're feeling, um... motivated."

It takes more than 1 afternoon to figure a person out. Eddie might be pretty good at it, but he's not arrogant enough to think he's got any real idea of what's going on in Chrissy's head after a single extended conversation. If he were to theorize, though- to take what little things he's noticed since this meeting began, to fill in the blanks with possibilities until he can turn them into might-be-answers tied together with metaphorical red string- he would say that Chrissy is like a turtle.

She has a pretty, painted shell that people talk to, thinking it's a real person, and rather than correct them she pulls herself inside to let them do it. Not out of shyness. Not really. More like... caution. Like she knows what people expect from the face outside, but she can't say for sure how they'd react to the creature that lives beneath it.

She came out of that shell today because she felt like she didn't have any other choice. Now that she's back inside, Eddie thinks that maybe, just maybe, if he can show her that it's safe, let her see that herself instead of trying to convince her...

...maybe this time she'll come out on her own.

"Swear to God, I haven't seen one of these since middle school," he continues, tucking that thought away for later, and he doesn't have to fake the grin on his face as he says it. The unexpected nostalgia and surprise at its source has him feeling genuinely charmed, and he's never unironically used that word in his life. "Serious blast from the past today- have you had this since then?"

"No," Eddie can see a face peeking out from within that turtle shell as Chrissy realizes that she's being invited to reminiscence rather than mocked. "It's... honestly, I think it was supposed to be for a keychain, but I kinda. Missed these? I know people joke about how tacky cell phone charms were, but, well."

"Tacky- now there's a fancy way of saying 'I'm allergic to fun'."

The smile Chrissy gives at this assessment crinkles her nose just a bit, like she can't quite help it.

"Did you have one too?"

"Me? Nah. I didn't get my first phone till almost 9th grade. What I DID have was a side business with my friend where we'd buy a shitload of keychains out of a catalog for really cheap, and then resell em at school as phone charms for way more."

"An entrepreneur," Chrissy says, followed by the same scrunch-nosed smile, and hot damn, he thinks he might've just heard her make her first honest-to-God joke today.

"That is NOT what the administration called us when we finally got caught."

"Wow, mean."

"Right? No respect for local businessmen. Children. Businesschildren-"

"Businesschildren?"

"Y'know what, we're sticking with entrepreneurs. Honestly, I think we could've kept it going for at least another semester if we hadn't gotten cocky and tried to expand into Disney characters. That's really what fucked us over; before then everything we were selling was juuuust crappy enough that we could believably say we made em as gifts for people. But when we suddenly started showing up with a grab bag of American Dragon and Kim Possible shit-"

"I had one of those!" Chrissy exclaims. "The- God, what was it- the Disney Channel Originals promotion-"

"That's the one! We flew too close to the sun there, but for one, glorious hour, we were making SO much money."

"I 100% would have fallen for that," Chrissy takes another drink of coffee, expression far off and fond. "My friend Heather bought me one for my 12th birthday. I guess it was sort of like an inside joke- my mother wouldn't let me watch Kim Possible at home, so I used to watch it at Heather's while she read magazines. I was way more into it than she was."

"That's cute," the word slips out before Eddie has time to figure out if he's taking too far a liberty with someone he's just met. It IS cute, and it's something he wouldn't hesitate to tease a friend for or mock an enemy with, but Chrissy's neither of those things yet- and if he's not careful, maybe ever. In a world of People-Whose-Boundaries-I-Understand and People-Whose-Boundaries-I-Don't-Give-A-Shit-About, Eddie has today met a candidate for that strange, seldom occupied third category: People-Whose-Boundaries-I-WANT-To-Understand.

It's not one he has much practice with, and that's making him… well, he wouldn't call it NERVOUS, per say, but… something somewhere on the edge of that.

Yeah.

Maybe.

He's not great at distinguishing intuition from impulse at the best of times, but today, just this once, it looks like it might not matter. Chrissy has a split second of bewilderment before her expression morphs into disbelief and delight, like no one's ever dared to tease her before. "It was NOT."

"It sounds pretty cute."

"It really wasn't! From the very beginning I liked it a lot more than she did, and by the time we were 10, half of our Saturdays started with her going 'Okay, are we actually going to do anything today, or are you just here for cartoons?"

"What ELSE are you gonna do at age 10? You can't drive, you can't drink, nobody'll sell you anything flammable no matter how much allowance you scrape together- the whole purpose of showing cartoons on a Saturday is to keep kids occupied because they have nothing else going on!"

"At 10, girls are supposed to switch to magazine quizzes, and it was very hard for Heather to do that for 2 people at the same time,” Chrissy glances down at her americano like she'd forgotten it was there, and takes a sip again. “Which she made sure to remind me of every time I visited. But even though she thought it was stupid… you know, I can’t remember her looking at the screen even once past 4th grade. She would rather have been doing literally anything else. And yet somehow, even though she couldn’t’ve cared less, she still paid enough attention to know who my favorite character was and get me a little Shego charm.”

“Shego…” Eddie internally scans through the two decades’ worth of passively accumulated cartoon lore clumped haphazardly in the section of his brain he thinks other people probably reserve for algebra. “She was… the…”

“Green one,” Chrissy fills in. "She was Dr. Drak- um- the main bad guy's sidekick. They had this running thing about how she was really a lot better at it than he was, she just didn't feel like putting in the effort to take his job. She was really snarky, and sarcastic, and-"

"The bisexual awakening of every kid born before 2001," The face is coming to him now, the chick with the black lipstick and fireballs. He hadn’t watched the show as a kid, but that particular character had been… memorable. "Right, the- JESUS!"

He skids backwards with an unpleasant screech of chair on linoleum as Chrissy coughs like she's trying to spit out a lung, the mouthful of terrible black coffee she'd been drinking now coating the table in front of her. Eddie spares a brief glare for the nosy fucks at the table nearest who have paused their discussion to gawk, then scoots forward again, gingerly attempting to mop up the mess with his remaining napkins.

"Shit," he half jokes, doing his best to make this less embarrassing for her. "You're spoiling me here, Chrissy- I know I'm funny, but you're the first audience I've ever had to properly appreciate it."

She doesn't respond.

"Seriously, a whole Thanksgiving of this and you're gonna ruin me for anybody else. I'll be texting you my lame ass jokes 24/7, not even gonna bother running em by my friends anymore. Who needs those fuckers when I've got a comedy connoisseur?"

Nothing.

"I've got a ton more where that came from," he's just running his mouth now, not even thinking about what he's saying as he tries to fill the silence and hopes he's not making it worse. She's giving him nothing to work with here, he's got no clue what direction to take this in, and he's wiping at the same spot on the table with a wad of napkins that have definitely absorbed all the coffee they can take so she can have a moment to collect herself before they make eye contact again.

There's no indication of whether that moment has begun, much less passed. Eddie finally bites the bullet and looks up, anyway.

Whatever remark he was planning to make dies on his tongue.

Chrissy has frozen into sharp, rigid lines, shoulders halfway to her ears and her face a horrible, chalky white that makes him think of cracked ice. She's got one hand clamped over her mouth, fingers clenched hard enough to bruise, and she's staring at him in a way that makes the back of his neck prickle- full of this awful, nameless thing behind her eyes that feels too primal to call fear. Something that echoes from her through him, just through that eye contact, and rattles sleeping instincts buried deep within his DNA. Some kind of ancestral memory from when fear was contagious, because the most important information to be passed through the troop was not what are we running from, just run.

She's looking at him like a cornered animal.

It's like everything she was afraid might happen if she left the shell has happened all at once.

"Chrissy?" His mouth has gone dry, and despite every effort to stop himself, he already knows the next words out of his dumb fucking mouth are gonna be- "You okay?"

The answer to that is a very obvious no, and he doesn't blame her for not dignifying it with a response. He's not even sure if she heard him, honestly, she hasn't blinked in way too long and if this turns out to be a medical thing- some sort of fugue state brought on by terror that he can't parse out- Eddie is so not qualified to help her.

"Chrissy?" He tries again, straining to keep himself sounding calm and trying to decide if he should touch her or if that's going to make whatever this is worse. She makes a small muffled noise through her hand, and he's torn between relief that she's responding and worry that this is the only response she's giving. She lowers her hand ever so slightly, movements mechanical, hunching down in her seat.

"I never…" it comes out in a thin little voice, just this side of a whisper. "I never- said it. To anyone."

Said what, Eddie wants to know, because he is well and truly at sea and still just on this side of panic, but he doesn't trust himself enough to ask what the fuck is going on with the delicacy he thinks would be needed to keep things… steady.

"I never told anybody," Chrissy continues, still barely audible, now bordering on despair. "Not even Heather."

The name sets something into motion in the back of Eddie's brain, like his subconscious already understands why that's significant but has to send internal machinery whirring into motion before it can translate it into something he can actually interpret. Things Chrissy mentioned earlier come tumbling back with no apparent rhyme or reason, flashing by at breakneck speed like images in a flip book.

Childhood friend. Childhood secret. Something she can't know. Something nobody can know. Already hiding stuff from parents, from a world of traditional, of old fashioned, of Sunday school1950swomanlymanlyRepublicanSIMPLER-

"Oh," Eddie says, clarity hitting him like a bolt of lightning. "Oh."

It feels so, so strange to be looking at the results of experiences he somehow lucked out enough to have only heard of rather than lived through. In all the ways that his life has been difficult, that particular one hasn't been a factor. Marianne might've had her problems- many, many, problems- but never once had Eddie felt like he'd needed to be afraid of her.

It hadn't necessarily been easy- while Eddie doesn't go out of his way to hide, he's not an idiot. The list of people he's actually trusted with the word 'bisexual' rather than left to draw their own conclusions is slim, and it's stayed that way for a reason. But one of the advantages to growing up as a gallery kid was that he'd known, from a very young age, that he'd had options.

He'd had examples. He'd had names. He'd had PROOF, living, breathing, talking, painting proof that people could be like him, could be different, and still live to grow old without changing jack shit about who they were.

What did it do to you, he wonders, as a still pale Chrissy shrinks into herself and looks like she's trying to decide whether or not to bolt, to grow up in a world with no evidence that that could ever happen?

"Well," Eddie finds his voice at last, a little more softly than he'd intended. "I guess I get to be the first to welcome you to the club."

He can see her eyes widen before she slowly looks up at him.

"Like I said in the ad, I can do a little acting, no problem," he smiles at her, trying to keep himself as open a book as possible, as transparent as he's ever been, to tell her in every way beyond words that she's okay here, and give her reason to believe it. "But most of what I'm offering comes from experience."

"Y-" her voice comes out cracked and a little bit raspy, staring at him like he's speaking in a language she's not quite sure she understands. "You…"

"Openly hit on other guests while you pretend you don't notice," Eddie quotes with the kind of word perfect recall that somehow never featured in his schoolwork. "I'll do any and all genders you choose, but I need advance warning if someone's likely to swing at me'-"

"Yes," Chrissy cuts him off sharply, leaning across the table towards him in her urgency. "Or- I don't know. I'm not sure what would happen if you- just- don't try. Please."

"Okay," he promises. Chrissy slowly eases back into her chair, visibly relieved.

She's less tense now. Still not totally relaxed- a little worn out, maybe, like the amount and variety of emotion she's just gone through in such a short span of time has left her tired physically, too- but she's not afraid anymore. She's looking down at her hands again, but every couple of seconds he catches her watching him wonderingly, whenever she thinks he's not paying attention. Eddie finishes off the last of his drink to provide her an opportunity.

"Was she yours?"

"Huh?" He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "...was who what?"

"You said…" Shyness is at war with curiosity. "We were talking about Shego, and you said she was everybody's… was she yours, too?"

Eddie can feel his ears heating up ever so slightly, and clears his throat, trying to pull off something appropriately dismissive and uninteresting. "Me? Nah. Wasn't really a Disney channel kid. You had good taste though, I'll give ya that-"

"Was it, um," he feels like he can see the years' worth of questions all jumbled together and fighting for the chance to get asked first pulsing away beneath Chrissy's temples, but she restricts herself to a single line of questioning. He kind of wishes she'd get a little more eclectic, because it would be so much easier to nudge her into a different, less embarrassing topic without her noticing if she did. "Was it a person, or another cartoon character?"

The deer-in-the-headlights thing he can feel himself doing must really be something, because Chrissy's lip is twitching while she tries to politely hide her amusement. HOW in the SHIT-

"Teen Titans?"

"I'm not a weeb," Eddie denies, drawing his dignity up and around him like an overpriced fur coat as he hydroplanes through this.

"That wouldn't make you a weeb, that's not anime."

"It was like anime training wheels. Everybody who grew up with a thing for a Teen Titans character went on to have a multi-year anime phase. There have been papers written on the subject, and I've only written most of them-"

"Batman?"

"It's such a tragically underfunded subject- you mean the PERSON, or the tv show? And which one? There are like, 5 different shows that've been called Batman, and they've all been the same thing with a little paint slapped on-"

"Avatar?" Eddie is not an easy person to read, so why does that determined glint in Chrissy's eye make him feel like it's only a matter of time before she figures out this and all his other secrets?

"I had a thing for Zuko like anyone else with eyes, sure."

"But he wasn't the first," Chrissy says that with a certainty that she definitely shouldn't have, despite- bafflingly- being right on the money. "So, then-"

"Y'know, we really don't have to do this-"

"Yes, we do," and she's got that same little not-so-secretly-amused lip twitch like she's teasing HIM now, which makes him feel as if he's been clotheslined.

"We do NOT,"

"We do."

"I don't even remember, it was years ago, and-"

"Danny Phantom?" Chrissy interrupts, one eyebrow raised.

"Goddammit," Eddie lets his head fall to the table in defeat.

Chrissy laughs, full and bright and the loudest he's heard her since they've met, and he decides he doesn't mind.

“I think I might be a terrible person,” Chrissy confesses to the lazily spinning ceiling fan.

“I think you might have heat exhaustion,” the stranger beside her says, not unkindly. 

“Mm,” Chrissy closes her eyes, still leaning back against the wall for support, and prays for the room to stop spinning. She’s going to regret sitting on the carpet of the student store later, when her head quits pounding and she can concentrate on responsibilities like laundry again, but right this second she doesn’t have enough focus to care. 

“Hey,” the stranger nudges her gently. “You drinking that water, man?“ 

"Uh…” Chrissy forces herself to process what he just said, and glances down at the half empty water bottle she’s holding in both hands. She’d forgotten about that, which is amazing considering how frantically she’d been chugging it a few minutes earlier.

(Was it only minutes?)

(She can’t tell how much time has passed.)

(God, her head hurts.)

Keep reading

[deus-and-the-machina]

ffxiv garlemald discourse is so funny because people will go "ugh people just cant stand it when things aren't black and white" and then you look at how the empire are portrayed in stormblood and shadowbringers and its like hm. that seems like a pretty intense and accurate display of violent imperialism to me! Wow I wonder why people in this day and age may find it hard to feel sympathy for them or even hate them on principal. god its such a mystery.

the games like 50/50 to me on how it tackles these themes because I actually like the garlemald arc in EW, I think it has a lot of horrific and powerful scenes depicting how self destructive fascist propaganda and beliefs are, but I also think it doesn't go far enough on some fronts. the garleans' xenophobia is most notably and obstacle to getting them to accept the contingent's help, which is what they're there to do,

but there's never an admission of harm from any garleans on the uuuuuuuuh massive amount of war crimes the nations around them are still suffering from they're just kind of like "we misjudged you...but you actually wanted to help us all along" like yeah thats great now can we get you all some deprogramming because you keep talking about returning to your prime and glory days and I think we need to unpack some stuff you really SHOULDNT return to. im not even really talking about EW proper but the patches where things are a bit more chilled out and people are recovering.

It feels like they wanted to have their critique of imperialism and also have things end with the beauty of human connection and reaching out and these things just don't mesh well because hey a lot of your modern day audience is not gonna like having to treat people yelling xenophobic things at the cast and your character with kid gloves after you showed them hours and hours of the awful things these people's beliefs have done. especially in the present day hoo boy.

[alchemiclee]

been looking in tags for a few days now to see if anyone else found the whole high cloud quintet and related story to be a bit.....poorly written, nonsensical, contradictory, full of plot holes and loose ends, etc. apparently i'm not the only one. (and i'm not even talking about shipping stuff, because any time I saw someone mad about bad writing, someone always replies to be homophobic and laugh about failed ships. weirdos.) it could have been so good but was thrown into the garbage for the most part (IF you noticed all the plot holes and contradiction. if not, then it's a fine enough story tbh. I expect most people to see it on surface level and not read all the little hidden lore bits and try to piece it together like my autistic brain did. which is ok! enjoy it if you liked it and ignore me 😆)

[kavehayati]

Man I just give up.

[medicinemane]

Honestly a lot of the time, it's not even about people having to agree with me, it's about needing to know that they actually heard and listened to what I had to say even if it didn't persuade them

Just... some basic indication that there's enough respect to give a shit about what I said, and also to make sure that they disagree because they actually disagree and not cause they just didn't bother listening

It's all I really ask

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Even if Ncuti had been more available last year, he still never would've directly regenerated from Whittaker or starred in the 60th because that was all planned long before his casting to be a Tennant and Tate reunion. That's how it was pitched to the BBC, to essentially be a gap filler between the Chibnall era and whatever came next, it was just that the BBC had no one lined up to take over and offered the job to RTD in desperation. If he'd said no we probably would've still got the 60th as it is because that was something him, Tennant and Tate wanted to do and was already planned.

[g0dr0t]

So it turns out i think maybe my friend group is bad for me actually

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[5sospenguinqueen]

Taste | Max Verstappen x Singer! Reader

Summary: She’ll just have to taste you when he’s kissing her. When Max and Kelly break up, the pair of you start something sweet. But, it only lasts a short while when your conflicting schedules drive him back into her arms. 

Warnings: Kelly Piquet slander. 

Requested: No, I’m just obsessed with making up fantasies whilst I drive home from work with my music on

Faceclaim: Sabrina Carpenter (yes, I know she’s used a lot but I stole her song and her occupation so why not steal her face) 

F1 Masterlist

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f1wags just posted

liked by user1, redbullracing and others

f1wags max verstappen and kelly piquet both confirmed they have seperated, posting a short statement on their instagram stories. the news comes after months of speculation after explosive arguments were caught on camera

3,306 comments

user1 omg did anyone see that red bull admin liked this and then unliked it

user2 thank god! i’ve been waiting for this day for ever

user3 can we see him date someone his own age now that didn’t go after him when he was a teen? 

user4 finally! turns out manifesting works 

user5 he always looked so upset after they argued. hopefully he finds someone good for him

user6 hear me out, but how hot would he look with yn ln

→ user7 like they’d ever cross paths. he’s an athlete and she’s a pop star 

→ user6 yes but my point is that they would look hot together 

→ user8 he did have one of her songs playing in the background of a stream once?

user9 i love how she’s really laying it on thick in hers and he’s just like “yeah, it’s over” 

→ user10 we love an unbothered king

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mclaren just posted

liked by maxverstappen1, landonorris and others

mclaren we have a special guest in the garage this weekend. thank you @/yn_ln for joining us

6,098 comments

yn_ln thank you so much for having me! i had an amazing weekend but i don’t think i’ll be in a rush to do hot laps again

→ landonorris don’t be like that. i know you had fun! 

→ yn_ln idk who trusted you with a licence but they should be fired

→ landonorris idk why they call you short and sweet :( 

user1 she looks soooo good wtf  liked by maxverstappen1

oscarpiastri it was really fun having you in the garage. thank you for making lando seem tall. now he’ll be in a good mood for the rest of the weekend

→ yn_ln f1 girlies, can you tell me if he’s dating the curly haired one?

→ oscarpiastri well played. i apologise for bringing your height into this

→ user2 yes, yes they are, yn

user3 chat, is this real? my fave singer in my fave team’s garage! two worlds colliding 

charles_leclerc omg please stop by ferrari. my girlfriend, alex, absolutely loves you

→ yn_ln come pick me up! (‘cause i don’t know my way around the paddock) and i’d love to meet her

user4 omg somebody tell max. i hope she gets lost and stumbles into red bull

→ user5 my delusions might come true if that happens

→ user6 he saw her when charles was walking her over to ferrari

→ user4 and?! 

→ user6 nothing. he turned around and went back into the garage

→ user7 yeah after he went bright red! 

f1wags just posted

liked by user8, shortnsweet and others

f1wags only two months since his split from model, kelly piquet, max verstappen has been linked to singer, yn ln. the pair have been spotted numerous times on dates and caught in moments of affection

2,999 comments

user8 yn’s clothing brand liked this! 

→ user9 that doesn’t mean anything?

→ user8 well, considering that is her own brand, and they’re a part of her image, i’d say it means something 

user10 anyone else notice that they’re wearing different outfits in every photo, which means they’re all from different days/dates

user11 i’m going feral

user12 okay but you can’t even deny that this is them because it very clearly is 

user13 people said i was crazy when i talked about these two being together! 

user14 they’re so hot together. i might actually combust 

user15 i’m (s)creaming

user16 the hand holding 🥹 they’re not just fucking

user17 my new otp 

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kellypiquet just posted

liked by maxverstappen1, piquetjr and others

kellypiquet my 🩷

2,987 comments 

maxverstappen1 ❤️

→ user1 aha this is such a dry response lmao 

user2 wtf? i thought he was with yn

→ user3 that was just a rumour 

user4 he looks much better with yn 

→ user5 yeah but she can’t give him the stable relationship he needs so no wonder he went back to kelly. she’s always there lmao 

→ user6 yeah because she never lets that man go. she’s possessive and it’s not healthy

user7 max is so cute with p 

user8 my favourite thing about this post is that all of these pics are old because max is currently in a press conference with his long hair, not these short strands

user9 how could he leave yn like this? they were so cute together 

(comments on this post have been disabled)

yn_ln just posted

liked by landonorris, kellypiquet and others

yn_ln in honour of my tour starting, please enjoy my new single taste! 💋

14,033 comments

user1 omg a new album, a new tour and an additional song?

alexandrasaintmleux got this on repeat 

→ charles_leclerc this is true. it’s all we’ve had in the car

→ alexandrasaintmleux don’t act like you don’t know all the words 

user2 this was 100% written because of the max situation

jennaortega but how hot do we look 

user3 not kelly liking this! 

→ user4 i like to think the middle picture is aimed at her for stealing yn’s man

redbullracing blue is definitely your colour

→ mclaren she looks better in orange 

→ scuderiaferrari we think she should try red next 

→ yn_ln i’ll wear whatever colour invites me to watch rich men drive around in circles next

→ alpinef1team pink it is! 

landonorris i liked the parts where you died

oscarpiastri oh so you’re allowed to make height comments but i wasn’t?

→ yn_ln please refer to the end picture

user5 chat, i can’t stop thinking about “he pins you down on the carpet, makes paintings with his tongue” 

→ user6 max verstappen, i was not familiar 

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yn_ln just posted

liked by redbullracing, oscarpiastri and others

yn_ln i heard there’s some sort of race on so i thought i would show some support. let’s play spot the team

10,001 comments 

user7 omg did you see that charles and alex were there! 

→ user8 and pierre and kika

→ user9 well, we know who got charles in the divorce 

user10 we all know who red bull wants in max’s garage 👀

→ user11 the fact that they liked a gossip post of him dumping kelly and are now all over yn’s insta 

user12 okay but the placement of the bulls has me weak in the knees

user13 who’s your favourite driver? 

→ yn_ln daniel ricciardo

→ danielricciardo showing this to everyone i know

→ user14 does that include max? liked by danielricciardo 

user15 we love a petty queen because you can’t tell me the writing isn’t aimed at kelly and max 

→ user16 and the bull instead of the kiss

mclaren we’re hurt. truly hurt that you didn’t post a pic with our logo 

→ yn_ln you have a whole insta post dedicated to you! 

alexandrasaintmleux the hottest concert i’ve ever been to

→ charles_leclerc still can’t believe she arrested you when i was right there

landonorris does this mean you can come to the race? like you’re practically already there??

→ oscarpiastri i second this

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

requests open. i'm just slow haha

coming soon; lewis hamilton baby angst

this wasn’t due out until next week but MAX WON!!! And so I’m posting this in honour of that. I’m just sorry this was planned as angst 😬😂

tag list

@peachiicherries @rosecentury @c-losur3 @heavy-vettel @evie-119 @raizelchrysanderoctavius @lilorose25

[perpetuallyfive]

God, I'm so happy with what they did with Maddie Nolen.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people mad because obviously there was a weird backlash over a character who has sex with one half a ship, so I'm sure some people worry this will lead those people to feel justified in their initial response.

But ignoring people who can't emotionally regulate for a second, because those childish impulses aren't worth dictating the fun things a narrative can do: Maddie is SO INTERESTING as a character and she fills in a lot of the questions people seemed to have about the rest of the season.

Consider for a moment that it wasn't Caitlyn who convinced Vi to be an Enforcer. It was Maddie.

I know that some people took this line to be about Zaunites, a sort of obvious connection to the very racist idea of "one of the good ones," but since Maddie is talking about Marcus and his betrayal of the Enforcers just before this, I'm pretty sure her framing here is something else. The point she's making is specifically targeted at Vi's own beliefs and weaknesses, her desire to protect. That seems clear to me now with all we know about Maddie's capacity for manipulation.

She's not saying, "You're good, for a poor."

She's saying, "Wow, I agree with you, the Enforcers are really bad; it's so upsetting. I think you might be the only one who can change it, but only if you join us." This is what convinces Vi to do something she never thought she would.

Well, this and the fact that Caitlyn believes in her so much which, again, is information she gets fed to her directly from Maddie. It even seems like Maddie seeks her out just to say this, which on first viewing felt oddly convenient. Wow, Vi just happens to meet this naive girl who just happens to say exactly what she needs to hear to do something so out of character.

Except obviously none of it was coincidence. Everyone already knew how much Vi meant to Caitlyn and getting Caitlyn under control would require either controlling Vi or removing her from the equation. This was a push in that direction.

Then there's her more obvious role as the spy in Caitlyn's bed, there to reassure her that the Noxians are only trying to keep all of them safe. Then when Caitlyn expresses larger doubts, she's immediately ready to lay out an alternative. You could just give up, Maddie seems to whisper gently in her ear. Just reestablish things as they were before.

But she knows Caitlyn isn't going to go for that. She's not going to go back to the council as it was, because it's only going to remind her of the empty place her mother left behind. Maddie knows that Caitlyn isn't going to take this offer, which is precisely why she suggests it. She frames quitting as the only clear alternative to going along with everything Ambessa wants because she knows that Caitlyn will refuse, which leads her right back into alignment with Ambessa. She makes continued obedience into an active choice that Caitlyn affirms she's making.

Even Maddie's comments that suggest direct opposition to Ambessa — "you're our leader... I follow you" — are designed to frame herself and her true leader in direct opposition, just as Ambessa's own warning about entanglements is there to further that point. They both make a point of reminding Caitlyn that they are her true ally, isolating her further from anyone who isn't the devil and (other) devil on her shoulders.

This way Maddie and Ambessa can both tug at Caitlyn, pulling in what feels to her like opposite directions, all so that she lands precisely where they wanted her all along but with the illusion of active agency.

And look, I'm not saying my read on her is gospel, because I think they intentionally gave us enough room to really speculate and wonder about her, someone who could have been just a background nothing character but ends up being such a huge part of the second season. That's so interesting!

I especially love that she comes across as really naive and innocent, just some poor little thing swept up in the fervor, when in reality she's a true believer who has been manipulating things to go her way from the start.

[imagineastrology]

moon sign observations

Aries Moon: 

Argumentative 

Becomes recalcitrant under stress (beware)

Has no problem asserting themselves

Resourceful af and knows how to use adverse situations to their advantage

Supportive and hearty 

Taurus Moon:

Becomes hedonistic under stress (no rules)

Desires and hopes to embody loyalty

Seems cool, but keeps grudges

Unyielding and independent 

Cautious of new situations/experiences

Gemini Moon:

Struggles to stay in a ‘deep’ state of mind for too long (needs change, don’t worry they’ll get back to it later)

Approaches everything with intellectualism 

Feelings are confusing if they can’t be rationally understood

Grows when in a learning environment

Reacts to most things in a jokey way to cope and can be forgetful 

Cancer Moon: 

Can turn cold when you don’t react the way they want 

Enterprising 

Will humiliate you if upset or angry

Insightful and internally aware

When put to productive use, has an intense inner focus 

Leo Moon: 

Actually suffers from many episodes of burn out

Guarded and self-protective

One of the most sensitive moon signs imo

They let nothing (I mean NOTHING) stop them from shining their light

Bossy and feels like they need to be in control all the time

Virgo Moon: 

CEO of worriers inc.

Rumination leads them to depression and anxiety

Helpful and enjoys communicating their worries (moreso in a notepad than speaking)

Conscientious and wants to do meaningful things with their life

Never takes things at face value; will 100% analyse everything said and shown to them

Libra Moon: 

Manifests love because it’s a major topic in their lives that they focus on

They are your go-to when it comes to aesthetics 

Approaches most things with grace and fairness

Intelligent, can handle debates and many sides to a conversation

Heavily influenced and motivated by femininity and women

Scorpio Moon: 

Major psychologist/counsellor vibes from this placement, can handle any topic thrown at them

Can guess how you’re feeling without you having to say anything

More sensitive than they let on

Very caring and affectionate 

Seeks out truth and intimacy in their relationships

Sagittarius Moon: 

Can be oblivious to people’s emotions

Restless emotionally, runner up to gemini moon (not quite 1st place)

Adventurous 

Can easily manifest in the physical due to Jupiter’s influence

Actually very intuitive 

Capricorn Moon: 

Either in control of their emotions or let their emotions run wild 

Artistic 

Seems to be a sadness to them 

Responsible

Uses humour as a defense mechanism

Aquarius Moon: 

Will rationalize their emotions to the point of no return

Friendly!!

Sharp and intelligent 

Loners at heart

They learn and grow a lot from their friends

Pisces Moon:

Can actually be cold and turn nasty if they feel like it

Lets their emotions rule their behaviour 

Sensitive 

Boundaries are blurred when they need something

Philosophical

[darnell-la]

𝗜'𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧

pairing: old man!logan howlett x young female!reader

warnings: staring, rude people in public, Logan with no emotion, begging, oral (male receiving), riding, doggy, neck kisses, slightly forced cream pie, multiple orgasm, moans from both sides, very rough sex, angry animalistic Logan, etc.

request: Hi! I love your work, Could I request Oldman!Logan x young fem!reader (22 years) that has a baby fever and really wants to have Logan's baby (also to shut the mouths of those who make fun of her dating an older man), she decides to prepare a surprise for him so that he can get her pregnant soon. Reader is needy and Logan is rude.

note: Logan as always is mean and an over-thinker, but he can’t seem to not give what his perfect girl wants. A breeding session.

teaser - Logan gets kinda subby in here. can’t stop cumming…

———

How do you guys feel about an X-Men story with the reader? Logan is rude Logan at first, then slowly shows small affection towards the reader. Jealousy and things of that sort. They soon hit it off, and after Logan starts acting rude again because he’s scared of the love he grew for her. It’ll be a long story, but something to read at night. ALL ON WATTPAD! Comment below, please!

———

“Stop gettin’ in your feelings, Bub. They ain’t gon stop,” Logan said, talking about the people looking their way in the expensive restaurant Logan decided to take y/n out at.

“But, isn’t it rude? Why do they care so much about who I’m with? Or who you’re with!?” Y/n tried whispering and keeping her facial expressions normal. She didn’t want them to know she was bothered, but it wasn’t hard to see.

“Just relax, Bub — Ain’t nun gon happen with a few eyes lookin’ attcha,” Logan had picked up the menu to continue searching through what he wanted to order for himself and his girl.

“Are you two ready, or shall you get more time?” The man asked in an accent that made Logan roll his eyes. “Just appetizers for now. Gonna get the cheese bites with a side of marinara sauce, and two Caesar salads,”

“And drinks?” The waiter asked as he looked at y/n, wanting to hear the young lady talk as he was done listening to the older grumpy man.

“I’ll have a whiskey, no ice, and she’ll have water for now,” Logan ordered for her, eyes still on the menu as y/n faked a bright smile on her face so at least one of them looked like they wanted to be here.

“Are you sure that’s all you want? We have a lot of cocktails. Even mocktails if you’re not feeling alcohol going lady,” Logan laughed at the small sign the water gave. They always go.

“She’s fine, trust me,” Logan said, leaning his girl from head to toe. He knew her like a book. He knew her life at the back of his hands. He loved showing it too.

“I’m fine, thank you,” y/n smiled at the man as he looked at Logan. He wanted to speak, say something, but he couldn’t. Logan wasn’t actually doing anything to make the man complain.

“Get a load of that guy,” y/n rolled her eyes as he walked off. “Yep,” Logan said, not really caring. “Why are you always so calm? He was disrespecting us. Disrespecting you,” y/n said, confused about why the man never cared.

“I’m still alive, aren’t I? You’re making it seem like that fetus of a man shot at me,” y/n rolled her eyes and sat back as she crossed her arms, upset at the lack of care Logan had. She felt like she was the only one who cared about things.

Throughout the night, Logan made small talk with y/n to ease her mood. She tried to stay upset at the man, but the hand grabs, foot nudges, and complements made her melt

“Said you had a surprise for me, Bub?” Logan asked as the two made it into the hotel that Logan bought for the night. The top floor had a good view, a view he knew y/n would love.

“Yeah, but I thought we were going back to the house,” y/n pouted, a bit tipsy as Logan carried her through the door. “I know, and I apologize, princess. If you left it at the house, you can give it to me tomorrow. Or I can go get it now?” Logan suggested.

“No, no, you don’t have to do all that. I-I got it. I got it,” Y/n said as she kicked her heels off and walked towards the bed with Logan.

He had a few drinks, but that never affected him. She prayed it would tonight so she wouldn’t have to work hard, but she’ll deal with it.

Y/n knows Logan’s a hard one to crack, but the man loved her. He’s so anything for her, so a long session of begging or anything of that sort, would make him crack. Only for her.

“Get comfortable — I’ll be back,” Y/n said as she stumbled to the bathroom. Logan chuckled as he got undressed, already knowing y/n wanted to have sex. She always does, and he never says no.

Y/n didn’t take long to get stripped and walk out of the bathroom slowly. The lights were dim, and Logan sat up against the headboard of the bed, legs spread and waiting for his perfect girl.

“I-I know you’re against it, and I know you always shut me down, but tonight is special. I-I really, really want you tonight,” Y/n said, slowly crawling on the bed as Logan’s chest rose.

“You always get me, Bub, so what’s there to beg about?” Logan said as he rubbed his thighs. “I want you to cum in me,” y/n looked at him with those eyes he could barely say no to.

“Y/n, don’t start tonight. Ian tryna ruin the night,” Logan has rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Baby, please,” y/n begged, trailing her hands up his legs until they were mid-thigh.

“Keep beggin’ for that shit, and ima turn around and go to sleep,” Logan warned the girl, but she ignored him and put his cock in her hand. “C’mon, daddy, please,” y/n said, bringing out the word she used in once in a blue moon.

“Nah uh, get off, y/n. I told you what was gonna happen-“ Before he could finish, y/n wrapped her wet mouth around his tip, sucking down hard as her tongue moved up and down his slit.

“F-Fuck,” Logan’s legs shook as he gripped the sheets. “Y/n, remove your fucking mouth,” Logan demanded, but she ignored him, looking into his angry dark eyes as she slipped down onto his cock, taking all the inches in that she could.

“Y-Y/n!” The man groaned loudly, hips bucking as his hand went to her hair, pulling her up to get her off, but not strong enough. He was physically stronger than her, so she knew if he wanted her off, he’d get her off.

“Fuckin- Fuck, you’re so fuckin’ bad,” Logan said as his other hand cupped her cheek. “But you take my cock so well,” Logan admitted with a chuckle as he slowly began moving her head at a pace he wanted her to suck in.

“Always so fuckin’ needy — Needy little slut can’t just enjoy my cock. Always needs my cum to satisfy her,” Logan said, now moving his hips, allowing his cock to thrust up into her throat.

“That’s it, kid — Fuckin’ suck me up since you want it so bad. You ain’t gettin’ it in that cunt. You ain’t earn it yet,” Logan said, watching spit spill from her mouth.

Y/n did her best to look up and into his eyes. Her was glossy, streaming tears as he grew dark. He couldn’t hold back his deep groan at the sight of her taking his cock like this.

“Don’t fuckin’ look at me like that,” Logan said, getting angry at her. He hated how bad she was, but loved that she’d do anything to get what she wanted from him.

“Fuckin’ brat,” Logan growled, snapping his hips faster to make her gag and cough on his cock. Maybe if she was too busy trying to focus on taking him, she’d stop silently begging for him to breed her.

It’s not like the man didn’t want to. He was just insecure. Yeah, he and y/n had been dating for a while, but the people roaming about are right. At least that’s what he thought at the time.

What if he is too old for her? He’d basically be baby-trapping her if he gave her what she wanted. He swore she’d regret it.

He forced himself to think that way, but every time y/n took his cock, rather that was with her mouth, cunt, ass, or anything, she’s beg him to breed her. Something in him knew she wanted it, but the other part held him back.

“Fuck, y/n, stop it! Stop fucking looking at me like that!” Logan shouted at the girl, an animalistic tone slipping out as he fucked her throat.

Y/n didn’t stop. She continued, whether her eyes could barely stay on him or not, she kept looking up at him, begging him to breed her.

“Y/n, I can’t — I fucking can’t,” the man had thrown his head back, whining as he felt himself near. He’s me we did that before, but him trying to yell her no but also seeing her beg, was too much for him. He was overstimulated by his thoughts.

Y/n slapped Logan’s hands off of him and quickly crawled onto him. She grabbed his cock and aligned herself with him before sitting down.

The moan that escaped her mouth made his eyes widen. “F-Fuck, kid, stop it!” Logan said, but his hands came to her waist and kept her in place. She tried to bounce, but he didn’t even allow her to do that.

Logan’s feel curled as his fingernails dug into her sides, causing her to feel in pain, but also pleasure. “Do it, daddy, please,” was all had to say on his cock before he jumped over the edge.

Logan’s mouth parted as his whole body stuttered. No noises came from his mouth for a second as y/n felt his warm seed coat her walls.

“Yes! Yes, daddy, yes!” Y/n cried out with happiness before she buried her face into the crook of his neck, sucking into his skin hard. That pulled all of his groans and moans out.

Logan’s hands wrapped around the girl's back and waist, pulling her into his body as she grinned against his pelvis, letting her swollen bud feel all the affection it needed.

“Please, more, Logan. Please. Please,” y/n continued rubbing against him as her whole body felt numb. She was going to cum, and Logan knew it. Damn her.

“Fuck, kid — F-Fuck,” Logan’s legs kicked as he tried keeping himself in, but he couldn’t. She squeezed him so hard for him not to do what she’d been begging for, for the longest.

“Y/n,” Logan’s voice cracked as his nails broke the skin on the young girl's back and waist. “Yes, yes!” Y/n almost cried as her body kicked up and she came, sucking the man too hard. To damn hard.

Logan’s mouth parted once again as his eyes crossed, feeling too much pleasure as he spilled into y/n for the second time and took the love bites y/n gave him on his neck.

Logan was pissed. He was so damn pissed at y/n for not listening to him. He wanted to punish her, but how? How could he after he bred her? He wouldn’t be able to pull out. And fuck a condom. He was fucked. He broke the promise he kept to himself. He really fucking loves her to let her do this to him.

“You’re so fuckin’ bad, y/n,” Logan breathed out into y/n’s ear, alarming her. He wasn’t relaxed. He was angry. “You like gettin’ what you want?” The man asked as he slowly lifted y/n off of him. She was being held in the air.

“Then ima give you what you fucking want,” before y/n knew what he meant, the man flipped the two, allowing him to hover over her.

“S-Sorry, I just- I really needed you. I-I love you so much, and I-I — I want you to give me a baby. I-If you don’t want it, I-I’ll just take the plan b tomorrow. I promise,” y/n couldn’t stop stuttering.

She felt a slight fear. She knew how Logan got, and now that he’d already come in her, he’d be worse.

“Fuck that plan b. You wanna baby? Then deal with the fucking consequences,” Logan turned y/n around and forced her onto her hands and knees. Before she could process anything, he plunged into her.

“Fuuck!” Y/n screamed at the new angle and the hard thrust. “Shut the fuck up, and take it,” the man groaned as a hand came down on her ass. “Take my fuckin’ kid, since you wasn’t em so damn bad,” he added.

Y/n cried into the sheets, thinking he couldn’t fuck her hard until his claws came out. He’d never done this before, but she knew what he was up to.

The man’s claws punched into the wall right in front of the two. He gripped tightly, making sure he wasn’t going anywhere before he pounded her into the mattress.

The young girl's neck and back belt pain. He was breaking her and didn’t care. She wanted this.

“Lot,” y/n whined, not being able to say what she had to say. She was beyond fucked. “Don’t worry, Bub — You’re gonna make a damn good mom,” Logan said, making sure she knew he was up for this.

Y/n slightly smiled as her cunt quivered, finally letting out another orgasm as her eyes closed. “S-So good,” she said as she slipped away. “I know, baby — I know,” the man growled.

Logan never stopped his thrust, making sure she’d feel the soreness when she woke up. And the loads he was going to leave in her.