#also how sad they only get to be used once like???

[mamayura]

I like how both Adrien's AND Marinette's grandparents' comments on Adrien's looks in "Werepapas" is used as a way to tell the viewer about their relation to him

Gina:

Gina as Marinette's grandmother has no relation to Adrien and she mostly just knows him as a model. So that's all she really sees him as. For his looks and that Marinette likes him.

While it is shallow, Gina is supposed to be the general public with that statement and it serves as a nice contrast to afterwards put the comments from Adrien's grandparents into perspective.

Gabrielle:

Gabrielle's reaction is actually my favourite, but Emil's needs more elaboration, so I'll start with her.

What I ADORE about her comment is that it manages to imply so much dimension to her as Adrien's grandmother in such little words. The Grassettes never got to meet Adrien til now after their son's death. While Gabriel seems to have had a soft spot for his mother (he named himself after her), he seemed to have been uncompromising that he doesn't want them anywhere near him and the family he himself founded.

So Gabrielle saying "You're even more darling in person" very directly implies that, at minimum, she followed Adrien's public model carrier because that's the only way she had to see her grandchild. I wouldn't be surprised if over the years Gabrielle has been collecting a lot of the magazines that have Adrien's model photos in them. She really seemed to have awaited this day with all her heart.

It is such a SWEET comment that captures an excluded grandparent's desire to finally meet their grandchild so unbelievably well and I TRULY wished Gabrielle had gotten to do much more in the episode.

Emil:

And last but not least, the source of Emilie's questionable taste in men.

For as little benefit of a doubt as I wanna give this man, I won't deny that his characterization was phenomenal even if the ending struggled hard in making his turnaround not come across as a convenient cop-out.

This moment of Emil's eyes softening in sympathy and sadness, as he's seeing Adrien for the first time, is one of several strong hints all through the episode that Emil genuinely has a heart underneath his harsh and abusive superiority complex. His turnaround didn't coming out of nowhere, it just wasn't very well executed in the end (not to mention that it is getting annoying how much effort this show puts into fleshing out and redeeming abusive men and fathers).

My reading of his look and words here is that Emil, logically, immediately saw how much Adrien resembles his mother Emilie, Emil's daughter who wanted nothing to do with her family anymore and now is dead.

The way I see it, Emil is the same kind of abuser as Gabriel was. Meaning, he actually DOES feel love and affection for the family member he abuses, he just has gone so far with it and for so long that doubling down is way easier than facing what you've done to those you love. So you keep going and only get worse.

In my opinion, when Emil saw Adrien he also saw his wife Millie and his daughters Emilie and Amilie in him and that automatically projected all of Emil's complex emotions for them and his abusive behavior towards them onto Adrien too. Which was about to continue the vicious circle once more.

[incorrectfatui]

some Fatui headcanons before we resume the quotes (some funny, some sad, some just random idk) these are all over the place but oh well Pierro: Really liked talking to Signora about magic. They both use very different kinds, but they still have similar understandings, and no one else really wants to hear him ramble

Capitano: Oblivious to romantic relationships. Thinks everyone is just really good friends.

Dottore: Got so seasick on the way to inazuma and back, that he genuinely considered never visiting again. Spent like 5 months trying to research medication against motion sickness and ended up poisoning himself. Intentionally makes mathematical mistakes in his budget reports, just to annoy Pantalone.

Columbina: can't swim.

Arlecchino: Says "I don't have a favourite child", but definitely has a favourite child. Tried making Dad jokes once and failed miserably, mostly because she didn't understand the joke herself. Sometimes forgets that most the Harbingers are immortal, so she'll have situations where she mentions researching some long dead person, only for one of the others to go "oh i knew that dude personally". Somewhat salty that she isn't hundreds of years old.

Crucabena: Her birthday is on christmas. She doesn't know what christmas is, so it doesn't matter, but she just gives off the vibe of being born in winter and I think it'd be funny. Wrote letters trying to get Neuvilette to implement the death penalty monthly, but never received a reply. Has, one more than one occasion, used Hydro not to fight, but to drown people, because she liked watching them struggle.

Clervie: her and Peruere once illegally operated an Aquabus while on a mission. Peruere may have used it to commit vehicular manslaughter. Also she made mother's day presents every year, despite them being thrown away. Tried to teach herself elemental magic, but couldn't figure it out without a teacher. Once overheard Crucabena praying to the Cryo Archon. briefly had hope that she changed for the better, only to hear "Thank you your Majesty for giving me the ability to give people hypothermia".

Lyney: Genuinely thought Arlecchino was a guy for like 3 months after being adopted. Also sometimes forgets that Freminet isn't his biological brother.

Lynette: More cat-like than Lyney. Has caught birds and eaten them raw before, but doesn't do it anymore, even though Arlecchino approves.

Freminet: More powerful than Lyney and Lynette, even if it doesn't seem like it. Doesn't have all that much control over his cryo vision yet, so he mostly uses it as a support for his claymore, instead of the other way around.

Pulcinella: Has a lot of fun calling everyone a child, even if he isn't older than them. Dottore? Unruly teenager. Scaramouche or Sandrone? Practically a toddler. Arlecchino and Childe? Babies. Only ones he doesn't do this to is Columbina and Pierro. Columbina because he's scared, Pierro because of respect.

Scaramouche: One of the only people who actually understands how Ei's Realm of Euthmiya works. Has tried to explain it to several people, including Pierro and Dottore, but get's frustrated every time because they don't understand it exactly. So overcharged with electro energy, that touching him may give you a small shockl (yes, even after Sumeru). Is actually not completely sure how his body actually works, and neither is Nahida. Dottore has a pretty level of knowlegde (although he still gets a lot of surprises), but the only one who actually understands his body completely is Ei.

Sandrone: Tried to become active in Fontainian politics at some point. Promptly fell asleep in the courtroom because she spent several all-nighters trying to complete a project of hers. Complicated feelings about Scaramouche, ranging from "I want to dissect him" to "no one understands this guy more than me, ignore the fact that we talk like once every 5 years"

Signora: Even with the cryo delusion, her body temperature runs really, really hot. Is basically a walking heater- Columbina likes using her as a portable source of warmth. Also, her blood being liquid fire is not an exaggeration- got wounded in the palace one time, only to burn down half a library.

Pantalone: Once suggested suing Raiden Ei for child support. It did not work.

Childe: Completely unaware that Arlecchino isn't the first Knave. Thinks she's immortal too. Also only figured out that Dottore has clones after about a year of being a Harbinger.

[ephemeralinstance]

Lavellan in Veilguard

The scenes with the Solas-romancing Lavellan in Veilguard are, for me, one of the writing highlights of the game. Of course there are limitations with her being an NPC, but I think that subject to the constraints of the structure of the game, the writer did a really great job of a very difficult piece of writing - creating a depiction of the character that fits with thousands of different versions of Lavellan.

First of all, Lavellan's dialogue is elegant and lyrical, matching the cadence in which Solas speaks and thus showing how in-tune they are even after all these years. One thing I loved about Inquisition was that the language was often really beautiful, so I enjoyed seeing that kind of poetic language return here, and I think the writer understood and captured the heart of what a lot of people loved about the Solas romance - the poetry and beauty of it.

In addition, we get a range of different emotions. Lavellan expresses sadness ('He meant that much'), passion ('You've felt the power of that mind'), anger ('He left me to clean up his mess'), self-doubt ('Am I the prideful one?'). Whatever reaction you personally envision your character as having, you can find it represented in what she says here. I know some people wished Lavellan could have more of an angry confrontation with Solas, but that probably wouldn't have been possible without just allowing us to directly control Lavellan; I think the writer achieved a good compromise by showing us her anger and hurt in this conversation. 

At the same time, she's shown to be mature, self-aware, and reflective. We see her questioning herself, asking 'Am I the prideful one, imagining his broken heart so I'd never have to face my folly?' Lavellan isn't deluded; she's not romanticizing what happened. If she chooses to go with him, it's clear that she isn't naive or being manipulated. She's making this choice in a fully aware, thoughtful manner. And although Lavellan loves Solas deeply, he isn't her first priority. It's important that when Rook asks her if she'd be willing to leave with Solas, she states, 'No. We have to save the world first.' We're shown very clearly that she has a life outside of Solas, and she prioritizes her duty to the people of Thedas: only once her task is done is she able to put herself first, and finally choose her own desires over her duty for once. It's also impressive how clearly she understands Solas, as evident in her speculation that he's left clues because part of him wants to be stopped. I particularly liked the fact that she's shown to have a deeper understanding of him than Rook, as seen in their exchange about 'lies of the heart.' Rook just sees one superficial version of Solas as 'god of lies,' whereas Lavellan understands that although Solas did lie to her, at a deeper level he isn't good at concealing what he really feels. Lavellan absolutely knows and understand Solas' flaws and the 'bad' side of him that Rook has seen, but she also knows a different side of him that no one else has seen. If Lavellan chooses to go with him, it's because she understands him completely: she sees all the good and all the bad in him, and she chooses him anyway.

Finally, sometimes I see people critiquing Lavellan for being passive or not having much going on apart from her connection with Solas. Now first off, this clearly isn't true, since she spends the whole game mustering the armies of the south and sending detailed missives about her military operations - no one in Thedas has more going on than this woman! 

But also, it's important to keep in mind that Lavellan isn't supposed to be a fully-fleshed out character: she's specifically left vague enough so that you can fill in the details with your own Lavellan. For example, we're not told much about what she's been up to in the last ten years, but of course that's not because she's done nothing but pine for Solas: it's simply left unspecified so it can be compatible with different headcanons. Lavellan is specifically written to allow us to fill in the details, and the measure of success is not whether she comes off as a fully-developed character to people who don't have their own Solas-romancing Lavellan (honestly, those people shouldn't even be commenting, this writing isn't for them); the measure of success is whether she works as a stand-in for all of our individual versions of Lavellan. And although of course it's never going to be possible to please everyone, I think the writer did a great job within the limitations of what was possible in the plot.

[mybworlds]

Kiss the girl

Pairing: Marcus Acacius x f!reader

Warnings: use of you, you’re a mermaid, I won't give any details except for nice long legs and very long hair, nudity, violence (a little?), use of both pov. If I missed smt please let me know.

Summary: your time with Marcus is over, you have to go back to your home. When you are about to leave, Marcus has the courage to declare himself, but..

Masterlist

A/N Thank you so much for the amount of love and support, it means a lot. The title of the chapter takes inspiration from the very famous song from Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid. Likes, comments and reblogs are not mandatory, but very appreciated! ❤️

follow @mybworlds and turn on notifications to get notified when I post new fics

Taglist @harriedandharassed; @orcasoul; @blazeflays; @ijustlovemensm; @duck-duck-goose2; @blacksnape123

Thx for the dividers @saradika-graphics.

The days pass peacefully as do what Acacius calls weeks. Every evening as instructed by your aunt you take a few drops of her potion and then return to your commitments with Marcus.

When the man has no political or military commitments, he dedicates all his time to you, he even gives you clothes and a pearl necklace, although the pearls are certainly not as splendid as those you have at the bottom of the sea.

Being with him for so long, you almost feel like you've always been there with him, that you've always been part of his life and, if your initial intent was to get to know him and discover his world, now you hope to be part of it forever.

You have also learned to love the time with little Faustus, you almost feel like an old sister playing with her little brother. You’ve never experienced this pleasure and it’s beautiful. You chase each other, you giggle, you grab him and lift him into the air, you tickle him, you run to the beach and there, just off the shore, you splash each other, covering yourself in sand and seaweed.

You once noticed Marcus watching you with a tender smile, the light in his eyes is sometimes indecipherable to your eyes. Your relationship is slowly changing and you don't mind at all.

You and him have reached an almost perfect daily life and you have such trust in each other that maybe now you can tell him everything. Including your origin and the truth about you.

That summer evening there's a slightly stronger and warmer wind, you run to your room feeling the effects of the potion almost fading. You reach under the bed to get the vial and that's when you realize there are only a few drops for that evening.

A deep sense of sadness and grief creeps over you as you realize you have to return to your aunt under the sea. The moment of truth has arrived. You must speak to Marcus before you have no choice but to show him who you are.

Marcus...

Oh, he was always so kind to you, sweet. He made you feel loved, yes you think that's the right word. But will he understand who you are? Or will he chase you away?

Maybe he should really be with someone like Augusta Lucilla, as everyone calls her, a good woman, beautiful, elegant, educated and certainly accustomed to what happens in Rome, its intrigues and its dark power. You met her more than once and she seemed genuinely intrigued and fascinated by you, she asked you many questions and you gave the same answers you had already given to everyone before. She and Marcus have also spent a lot of time alone together, and when that happened, you could watch them and see how perfect they are together. You know what Marcus thinks, but you think that maybe he should give her a chance. It hurts to think about it, but you and him—even if he accepted you—couldn't be together anyway.

When you reach him, you find him on the beach intent on watching the sunset. His amber skin is orange-toned, his greyish curls are tousled by the wind, his gaze is rapt and absorbed. You call him softly and he turns to you, smiles slightly and holds out his hand to you, which you offer, sitting next to him. You are shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm and you have never been closer.

“You’re here.” he tells you in a faint whisper.

You look into his soft hazel eyes, he seems troubled by something that you can only assume has to do with Lucilla and his now controversial upcoming wedding. Geta, in fact, does nothing but come here to his house to remind him of the impending event and does not miss any opportunity to talk to you and try to charm you or capture your attention, but so far he has always failed. You don't like his eyes and their expression at all, his voice makes you disgusted and scared at the same time, you always fear that something might happen to you in his presence. You are kind to him, courteous, but always maintain a cordial detachment and above all never spend more time than necessary with him and never alone.

“I'm here,” you say, looking him softly in the eyes.

His expression is sad, he searches for your hand again which he holds gently in his. He strokes the back of your hand with his thumb without saying anything. The silence that usually falls between you is comfortable, full of a strange and pleasant intimacy, but this seems to foretell something extremely serious.

“Your presence is always so dear to me,” he says, leaving the sentence hanging in mid-air for a while as if he didn't know how to continue, “but I fear... that we won't be able to see each other again.” you frown, looking him insistently in the eyes, while his eyes become full of regret and sadness.

You find yourself lowering your eyes, maybe it's better this way. This way it’ll be easier for you to separate from him and maybe try to forget the joy and sweetness you felt with him all this time. You will definitely have fewer regrets and probably won't want to come back to the surface as much. You had a good time with him and maybe, given his upcoming wedding, it's a good thing you're not here. You would only feel a great immense pain. You have learned to love him.

“You were my lifeline. The most precious thing that could ever happen in my life. A sweet and gentle soul who touched my heart and soul in such a unique, strong, delicate, persuasive way.” you look up at each other at the same time “Thank you for saving me.”

“I didn’t do anything… I…” you start to say, but he takes your hand again, bringing it to his lips and kissing it with such sweetness that it makes your skin pucker.

“You did, instead. You saved me on more than one occasion. Months ago... and since you've been here.” he adds still holding your hand gently in his “You gave me so many moments of joy and... with you and your innocence I discovered the purity of a feeling that I had never felt before.” you look at him surprised and almost speechless.

You thought that he, so handsome, so strong, so confident, had dozens of women he had seduced and related experiences. You never thought he could find in you what you thought he had already experienced and felt.

“I… um, I don’t know what to say,” you admit in a small voice, then he looks at you with such intensity that you think everything is probably going to burn under his gaze soon, including you.

His face is now so close to yours, his hand halfway between your face and your hair, his grip is firm, but you are not afraid of this gesture, on the contrary. You don't know what to do but stand still and watch this gesture almost in bewilderment, he must have noticed this almost stiffening of yours because he stops a hand's breadth away, “Sorry,” he whispers and you feel his hot breath against your face for the first time.

“No, I don’t… it’s just…” I’m a mermaid, you want to tell him, maybe this is the right time, the most appropriate time to tell him who you are. You are looking for the right words to be completely honest with him.

“I know,” he tells you in a tone of voice so reassuring, so sure that it silences every other word you say. Did he understand? Or see something you don't? Your words get stuck in your throat, will he accept you or want you anyway?

“Marcus...” you murmur, moving closer to his face, imitating what he had done to you a few moments before. You can notice every single wrinkle of his, his scar next to his right eye, his uneven beard, his brown eyes.

“My lord!” someone calls Marcus, it's one of his servants. You both walk away at the same time realizing that what was about to happen can never happen between you.

“What's going on?” asks Marcus, turning around. You first look at the man's profile, then you turn around too.

“The…” the servant clears his throat as if embarrassed, as if he doesn’t know what to say. You let your gaze wander from the man to Marcus who simply nods without adding anything else. His face has become a tense mask, his eyes are sad and downcast, then he turns towards you and his gaze softens.

When the servant leaves, he takes your hand tenderly, turning you towards him, “If I tell you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?” you nod, concerned by the serious tone of voice and what appears to be concern.

You nod.

“It's a serious thing,” he announces.

A few weeks before...

Acacius, although has achieved a certain stability and serenity with you, is increasingly oppressed by Geta's push to quell any type of revolt that is creeping into the heart of Rome. In fact, the emperor is convinced that among the possible conspirators there is none other than the daughter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius and, according to Geta, the only way to definitively suppress the main revolt would be to marry Augusta Lucilla to the General so loved by the people and very faithful to his kingdom and to that of his brother Caracalla.

Lucilla, during her many meetings with Marcus, convinced him to participate in at least one of the many secret meetings in which she herself assiduously participates. There, Marcus discovered that many figures who are also prominent in the Senate are against the mad and bloody reign of the Emperors and ended up agreeing with their opinion.

Marcus has often totally disapproved of the two young men's methods of reigning and has often felt oppressed by their expansionist aims and from their total inability to think about the good of the people. Tired and fed up with their way of doing things, the General has, albeit secretly, decided to support Lucilla's cause and to bring back to light Marcus Aurelius' dream, or at least try. It's probably all madness, but Marcus hopes with all his heart that with the support of his men and the support of the Senate, or at least part of it, this conspiracy can succeed and the power of the two twin Emperors be overthrown.

Until then he had always kept away from such situations, but this is no longer possible. Now is the time to act.

Today...

The time is near. Many men loyal to Marcus are about to land on the coasts of Lazio. Soon everything should begin in Rome and the two Emperors will be taken by surprise, but not you. You have to go, Marcus has thought of everything. He will have you board a merchant ship to take you back to the coast of Sicily, where he first met you so that you will be safe from all of this. Marcus, in fact, does not know what could happen once the fuse is lit. Everything could explode, or implode.

You are the strangest, yet most delightful and sweet creature he has ever known. So pure and so gentle, so magnetic and magical, so strong and yet fragile at the same time. He knows he will never be the same after he meets you. He will carry the sweet memory of you with him forever. He won't be able to love you in this life, but he hopes that when one day far away you are both in the Elysian Fields, then and only then will he be able to allow himself to be happy with you.

It's not a given that the conspiracy will end badly, but if everything doesn't go as planned, then Marcus must be prepared for the worst and he knows that in this eventuality he must protect those he loves and prepare to suffer and die.

He has already arranged for the young Iulia and the little Faustus to be entrusted to a dear friend of his who will take care of them and respect them both. He will make sure that they come with you since you have grown so fond of the little one and Faustus of you. He's more than certain that their life will be peaceful and dignified.

But now the real question is how to tell you? How to tell you that he loves you, but that he has to let you go?

Marcus has been through so many difficult, dangerous and painful situations, but having to say goodbye to you is the most heartbreaking thing he has ever thought about or will ever have to do. He wanted to place his lips on yours and whisper those words that no one had ever managed to get out of him before you. You have been the sweetest of companions throughout this time, the first to make him smile and fill his heart.

He knows you have your secrets, but he doesn't care. He learned to love you for who you are and how you make him feel, and that's enough for him.

It's probably not right to kiss you and then say goodbye and perhaps the fact that you pulled away is a sign that the gods have sent to Marcus not to involve you in this foretold drama. However, the fact that you are now approaching his face and the arrival of one of his servants makes him understand that perhaps at least with you he must be clear and sincere. If he were to die and the two of you never see each other again, you have every right to know why. He doesn't want to disappear from your life like a bubble, he doesn't have that cruel courage.

You must know.

Your face changes expression continuously as he tells you what happened in the previous weeks without your knowledge, you are surprised, confused, maybe even angry and disappointed by his silence, anguished because you have surely understood that it's something that in one way or another could kill him.

“It’s not fair.” You whisper in a barely audible whisper. “Don’t leave me.” You find yourself begging him, your eyes clouded with great sadness. You look down at the wave-moistened sand.

Marcus whispers your name, moving your hair and tucking it behind your back, but you don’t look at him, “Please, look at me.” he says to you, slowly caressing your shoulder. “Please.” he adds in a pleading tone.

You look up at him and for the first time he thinks he sees something like tears.

“I don't...” you say with a shaking voice, “I can't cry, but I wish I could now.” Marcus moves his hand away from your shoulder “I - I can't. I - I... I mean, tomorrow morning I have to... leave.” you don't stop staring at the sand at your feet “I don't know how long I'll be gone, but...” for a while you stay silent, there is only the lapping of the sea to fill the silence that is growing between you “I am not who you think I am, Marcus.” you finally resume, finally raising your eyes to his face.

“I know who you are, instead.” he says and in your eyes almost fear spreads “You are the person I dreamed and hoped could be by my side. You changed me and made me see the world in a sweet and tender way.” he caresses your cheek with the back of his hand and your eyes lock, making everything and everyone fade into the background.

“It’s not like that. I… um, I’m a liar, but if I lied to you it’s because I just wanted to…” Marcus places a finger on your lips, blocking the words that would likely make him see you in a different light.

“Please don't think badly of yourself, my beautiful girl,” he murmurs, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “You are so sweet, so pure, so…”

“A monster.” This word comes out abruptly from your lips, freezing the situation and causing an abrupt silence to fall between you, “Well, many... define us like this. Monsters. Murderers.”

Marcus frowns in astonishment. No, it can’t be that you were hired to kill him or kill emperors. He doesn’t believe it. Yet, a part of him has always felt you were elusive. If he had to compare you to something, he would define you as similar to a drop of water that, no matter how much you want to stop it, always finds a way to escape your grip.

Marcus interrupts your flow of words that would likely have led you into dangerous uncharted territory by bringing his face close to yours and placing his lips on yours. He feels you holding your breath and tensing, but you don't pull away. Your lips are so soft, he places his hands first on the sides of your face as if he wanted to bring you even closer to his face, lifting it just a little to deepen the contact. He knows he should have asked your permission and when he's about to move away from your face and apologize again, you're the one who stops him by placing a hand in his curly hair. Your kiss is so sweet and innocent that it almost ends up crumbling everything around you, the sounds, the noises, the lights, the words —the whispered ones, the hidden ones— everything fades into the background. You kiss slowly, almost as if it were your first and last kiss, the first and last moment, so sweet and intimate, so yours.

He doesn't know exactly what you feel, he knows that inside you it's as if two people were clashing, the sweet one who was immediately able to conquer both him and all the inhabitants of the house with your gentleness and innocence and the other one is the mysterious, seductive one that attracts everyone to you while keeping everyone away.

One murmurs the other's name in a whisper and still with eyes closed almost as if you fear that one might dissolve if the other opens his eyes, you sink both hands into his hair and whisper his name again. In his ears his name sounds almost like a sweet melody, it's as if for a long moment he had forgotten about the conspiracy, the dangers, his probable death, but he allowed himself the luxury of thinking of a world in which you and he could live in peace, happy, serene.

“Marcus...”

You open your eyes and each rests his gaze on the other, he caresses your cheeks with his fingertips, still savoring these brief moments of peace, of tenderness. He enjoys your rapt gaze, how your eyes close when he caresses your face or when his nose brushes against yours. He smiles thinking that if the gods wanted to call him to them right now, he would die in peace.

“Tomorrow morning at dawn, I have to - I have to leave.” you tell him, caressing that face that you have learned to love more and more every day and that now will be difficult to let go.

Marcus rests his forehead against yours, he doesn't want to let you go, but he has to. He doesn't know how you'll leave or who'll pick you up, he just knows you'll leave him and, although he's always been strong, this will weigh on him. He'll miss you.

Dawn comes early. You and Marcus spent the night on a triclinium, huddled together, each doing nothing but caressing the other's face, each seeking the other's hand.

The more the light prepares to prevail over the night and the more the pain in your chest increases and amplifies, when Marcus falls asleep, you gently loosen your grip and get up.

The pain in your legs makes you understand that the spell is now ending and that you are close to returning to who you are. You don't want to return to the bottom of the sea, but you cannot do otherwise.

You snuggle up and look at his face once more, so peaceful during sleep and almost always tormented during the day, his hair, a disheveled curl falling across his forehead, the scar under his eye, his lips that you kiss gently again, his big and strong hands.

You have to go now.

You turn your back on him and walk down those corridors that you have learned to know, along which you have also run, laughed, talked and marveled at the great beauty that man is capable of; now you're on the beach, the sky is full of clouds and you're ready to return to the waves despite yourself. You undress, leaving behind the beautiful silk dress that Marcus gave you, and you also leave the necklace he gave you there.

The water is cold, but it only lasts a moment, then your beautiful legs are no longer there and in their place your fish tail has reappeared. As you are about to dive in, you realize that a couple of timid tears have flown towards the waves, causing sudden, strong ripples.

You give yourself a boost by immersing yourself completely as if you wanted to push everything away and distance yourself from your life on earth.

You want to come back, but you don't know how long it'll be before you can, or if the man you love will wait for you... what you completely ignore, however, is that Marcus saw everything.

[ingravinoveritas]

GT is really trying to make the Baftas about her on her Ig huh

(Grouping together for ease of responding.)

I've seen several mentions/had folks talking to me in DM about Georgia's Insta stories earlier today. I'll put some screenshots here so we can discuss:

I feel like this all starts with yesterday, so let's quickly recap: Last night, David appeared on the One Show. Georgia came along and watched the show backstage, and posted an Insta story of him on the TV screen, in color. She posted nothing related to David and Valentine's Day, despite having made a post about him every year for the last several years. Today, she posted about BAFTA preparations. Two photos of David, both again in black-and-white, and two photos in color, one of which featured her calling a bag of skincare products "my valentine."

The first thing that comes to mind is the songs that are used on some of these stories. For three out of four, the songs are upbeat and happy, which seems to contrast starkly with the almost somber tone of these pictures. It reminds me of the song "I Am A Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel, where the music is cheerful and up tempo, yet the lyrics are much darker and full of pain/sadness. So if you're only looking at what's on the surface, it causes you to miss what is going on underneath.

It would also be very easy to overlook that these stories are all related to an awards show--that David is hosting for a second time, no less. Because there isn't really anything celebratory about any of these. Just looking at the captions/tags, Georgia seems to be showing more enthusiasm for receiving free skincare products than for anything else. And in both pictures of David, he is doing something else/just trying to exist while she photographs him. In the picture in the car, he seems to be looking at the National Theatre, and despite sitting next to her, it feels like he is about a million miles away--that same feeling of preoccupation/tiredness that we saw last night.

And then there's the last piece of these stories, which is that the photos of David are once again in black-and-white. I've said this previously, but we are now long past the point where the B&W makes sense for legal reasons or anything having to do with the show. Let's also look at what's happened over the last few weeks: The fan taking a picture with David in the airport, the photo of David behind the bar in a pub in Glasgow this week, and then the full-on hair reveal last night, all in color. Contrast that with the video of David dancing to Sabrina Carpenter, the WOS acceptance speech, and now these photos, all in black and white, and all taken/filmed by Georgia.

Looking at everything together, I think David never cared about hiding his hair, while Georgia and Anna knew/know the fans have wanted to see dyed hair, and have viewed their Instagrams as a source for pictures. So holding the promise and possibility of seeing that is a guaranteed way to keep getting clicks and drive engagement, especially given how many fans took screenshots and got excited every time Georgia or Anna added a new story. What became a joke at the fandom's expense has now backfired, and I truly don't think there was ever going to be a "big reveal" or that either of them intended to post a picture of the dyed hair in color.

To be clear, there is no part of me that takes joy in any of this, and I do not wish for either David or Georgia to be unhappy or miserable. But I can't dismiss the almost painful gut reaction I had to these Insta stories--how "off" the vibes are, and how this all seems to be about much more than just hair dye.

What will happen at the BAFTAs tomorrow is still anyone's guess--Michael is not listed as a special guest or as a presenter (though he did present an award last year, as I recall), so who knows if he will even be there--but I am honestly hoping that things will be okay. For everyone's sake...

[boxboxblog]

What To Expect From 2025

Hello my friends, it's been a while. Sorry for the lack of posting, decided to take a break along with the drivers during our off-season, but as the weeks creep closer and anticipation grows, we must start to rev up for the first day of testing. As such, i wanted to do a little deep dive into what changes or special things to look forward to in this upcoming F1 season.

Some New Regulations

Heavier Cars: Starting 2025 the minimum weight for F1 cars will be around 2 kg heavier than they were in the previous season. This regulation change comes with another regulation change, one that has to do with driver wight. The old rule used to be that drivers must be at minimum 80 kgs, and has been switched to 82 out of concern for taller drivers (and probably also due to the fact that the average height for drivers has gone up considerably in the past few years). While this may seem like a small thing, it has impacts because drivers who were previously encouraged to hit that low weight so they could be faster will have a little bit less pressure.

Flex-Wing Restrictions: Does anyone remember the 'mini-DRS' that McLaren had for the 2024 season? Yes, the little flexible wing that allowed them to gain massive amounts of speed in the straights has been officially declared illegal. The new regulation states that the minimum gap in the rear wing will be decreased from 10-15mm to 9.4-13mm. I am very curious to see how this effects the performance of the McLaren car come the first race, it was quite clear that the team lost their dominant momentum once they got rid of it last year.

Driver Cooling Systems: Good news for everyone who felt concern during any of the wildly hot races that had drivers vomiting in the past few years, a new regulation has passed that states that a driver cooling system must be in place temperatures go over 30.5 degrees celsius. It will be interesting to see how well this helps (hopefully a lot).

No More Fastest Lap Point: A sad day for anyone who enjoyed seeing drivers push their cars to the limits. The fastest lap point is officially gone, which means we might see drivers keep it calm toward the end of races now.

Setting the Grid: This one is interesting, and is most likely due to what happened in Brazil 2024. Anyone who watched all of that live remembers the worry you felt watching the drivers qualify that Sunday morning in terrible conditions, and this new regulation could prevent that. It states that if a qualifying to set the grid is impossible, the starting will be determined by championship standings. If it is too early in the season, it will be up to the stewards to decide how it sets (whatever that means).

"Driver Behavior": I am sure everyone has heard of this one, and I will not dive too deeply into all the ins and outs. Just know that drivers are pretty much flat out not allowed to curse, make political statements, yell, express frustration, or getting anywhere close to any sort of 'bad misconduct' without incurring massive fines, or suspensions, or even a docking of championship points. We will see how this one goes when the season starts.

Some New Team Dynamics

One thing to look forward to is the massive shift the entire grid has done. Only two teams retained both of their drivers, McLaren (Piastri and Norris) and Aston Martin (Alonso and Stroll), and we have rookies on top of rookies to go along with that. Really tells you how much of F1 is musical chairs in truth.

Hamilton and Leclerc with Ferrari:

A dynamic that is bound to be interesting. When two number one drivers are on one team it tends to make sparks fly, but perhaps that won't be the case with these two. Both are rather mature people and drivers, and for the past two years Hamilton has played second driver to Russell after all. So I think honestly there may be some moments on track, but they will work well together.

2. Ocon and Bearman with Haas:

This one will also be interesting, in my grand opinion. On Ocon's side, he has switched over to Haas after years with Alpine (not so great years at that), and now he is the senior driver for the first time ever. For Bearman, everyone knows how well he can race an F1 car, so I wonder how Ocon will react to being second fiddle (to a rookie this time), which no doubt be will be.

3. Bortoleto and Hulkenberg with Sauber:

This one I feel like will go really well. Hulkenberg knows how to be a team player, and is generally a nice guy. On top of that he has many years of experience, and will be a great asset to help build his rookie teammate up. For Bortoleto's part, he is an extreme talent who just came off winning the 2024 F2 season. I think in truth Sauber has one of the best line-ups of the midfielders.

4. Lawson and Verstappen with Red Bull:

Lawson will either be chewed up and spit out by Verstappen, or wholeheartedly ignored. Verstappen is very obviously the first driver, completely undisputed, and apparently Lawson has agreed to that. But how many times have we seen a hungry rookie ignore that fact? *cough cough* Charles Leclerc *cough cough*. All I do know if taht both drivers have a rather aggressive style on and off track, which usually doesn't lend itself to being teammates.

5. Hadjar and Tsunoda with RB:

This one I feel like will be kind of meh. Tsunoda will most likely outscore his teammate, and he has done for the past years, and it will be typical RB things. Hadjar is talented, but Tsunoda is too. The question will be who wants it more.

6. Doohan and Gasly with Alpine:

Another meh one, the only real drama stemming from the fact that Doohan might be an F1 car for a blink of an eye. Alpine has their eyes set on bringing Franco Colapinto in if Doohan doesn't do well by I believe five races, and lets be clear EVERY rookie needs more than five races to get used to racing in F1. So looking at this pairing, I can only hope Doohan performs better than he did in Abu Dhabi. As for Gasly, he will do fine.

7. Antonelli and Russell with Mercedes:

I am split on how they will do. For one, I think Russell is being replaced as the golden boy, which might rub him the wrong way. If he is outperformed by Antonelli, that could spell the end for his time as the first driver. On the other hand he could also massively out do his teammate, which really wouldn't be a surprise. I do wonder if the pressure of being on a top team right away will get to Antonelli.

8. Sainz and Albon with Williams:

Ah, another pairing that has drawn lots of attention. it's not often a driver switches from a top team down to a back of the grid team at so young an age, but when they do it often spells trouble for either them or their new teammate. Some say Sainz will straight away out perform Albon, I think different. It may take him some time to get used to having a slower and less reliable car. There is something to be said about pushing a car harder than it allows, and he will have to override the instincts that he honed at Ferrari for years. We will see though, both are solid drivers.

Reserve Drivers

So we have talked about who will be the drivers, but who will fill in for each team if something were to happen? Something always happens, after all. Not all the teams have announced who their reserve drivers will be, but I will list the ones who have below.

Ferrari: Antonio Giovinazzi and Zhou Guanyu

An interesting lineup in truth. Zhou drove for Sauber/Alfa Romeo for the past couple of years, but was booted to make way for a new lineup. Giovinazzi also drove for Alfa Romeo a wile back, but was well known for... having some difficulties. It would be nice to see Zhou in fast car after being in the slowest car period for his entire career.

2. Mercedes: Valtteri Bottas

And Bottas returns to his old stomping grounds once more. Not a massive surprise, he was a Mercedes driver for years, and it would be fantastic if he was able to fill in for a race or two, just to seem him in a fast care once more. Bottas is a talent, after all, one that has been almost forgotten about after his tenure with Alfa Romeo/Sauber.

3. Aston Martin: Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne

In truth, I am kind of meh on this one. Drugovich was the F2 2022 winner, so he of course is a solid driver (and is most likely destined to come into F1). Vandoorne has been in F1 before, back when McLaren was a midfield team. Both are pretty safe choices for reserve drivers.

4. Alpine: Franco Colapinto, Paul Aron, and Ryo Hirakawa

Ah, as always there is Alpine drama. Three reserve drivers is just greedy in my opinion, and it makes you think that Alpine is probably enjoying the influx of new sponsorship money. As for the drivers, Colapinto is solid, Aron is a fresh face who has done well in the lower categories, and Hirakawa has an immense amount of experience. Really I think they are almost hoping one of their drivers (Doohan) will need to be replaced.

Calendar Changes

Australia back as the opener

Bahrain and Jeddah moved a month later for Ramadan

Suzuka and Shanghai switched up a month

Barcelona now after Monaco

Hungary now last race before summer break

Vegas start time pushed back to 8 PM local time

Spa will replaces Austria as the hosts of a sprint

Important Upcoming Dates!

Haas Filming Day - February 16th

F175 Season Launch - February 18th

Ferrari Event - February 19th

Mercedes Reveal - February 24th

Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain: February 26th-28th

Season Begins in Melbourne: March 14th

That is essentially the basics of what to expect! I will do driver profiles for all the rookies (except for Lawson, who already has one) once we get closer and then do an analysis of testing when that comes.

I am excited for the season to get started, and more than ready to see our cars back on track. Hope you all are too!

Cheers,

-B

[jacarandaaaas]

I know it’s probably been said before but as an artist I can’t help but praise the character design of encanto

Like look at this whole cast of characters who are all related to eachother and still so distinct! One of my all time favorite facts about this movie is that the family are color coordinated! I love that so much because not only does it make it easier for the audience to tell which character comes from what side of the family but it’s also visually appealing!

Also the fact everyone’s outfit contains symbolism relating to their gift!? genius. and mirabels skirt being her own personal scrapbook where you can see she has everyone’s symbol a clever way to display her genuine pride for her family! Isabelas dress being closer to almas magenta than the other members of julietas family emphasizing shes closer with alma and is seen as her successor! I especially love how after “what else can I do?” She changes her dress colour to a dark blue representing that she’s finally found herself and doesn’t want to be just almas clone! She feels more comfortable with her own family and shows it by representing their color!

Also let’s talk about how pepas family all wear warm hues as shown to be bright, fun and ultimately happy. Which makes a lot of sense considering how pepas gift requires her to be happy all the time to avoid “bad weather”. Her family also wear warm tones to possibly help her maintain this and also because compared to what we see in the movie pepas children have a little less pressure and are considered more fun to be around! Also the fact green and magenta are opposite colors on the color wheel and Bruno and alma have a strained relationship. genius.

I just want to appreciate the character design because I feel like it’s just so creative and has had so much thought and heart put into it <3

[sysig]

I invite you to imagine (Patreon)

[tagidearte]

There's something special about Moon being the only side of the DCA who has canonically (gameverse) voiced his counterpart's name ("No more Sun", which yes it's not him directly saying Sun's name since it's a figure of speech, but still) whereas Sun - the chatterbox - only refers to Moon via "he" or "other me". Moon, the quiet one who mostly laughs vs Sun who mostly uses words. Sun, who is scared of Moon, never utters his name whereas Moon clearly has no problem with it. Both of them using "we☀️/us🌙" prior to Eclipse. Moon, whose only opinion of Sun we can infer is "the other me trapped me in light so now I trap him in shadow", vs Sun's whole thing which is profoundly more fleshed out.

I don't know man, the "no more Sun" line always did things to me. I remember playing Ruin for the first time and getting this... jarring emotion when I heard Moon saying that. It's such a small line but good god did I latch onto it.

[skunkes]

can we just get one good life sim game please. and Soon instead of 10 yrs from now.

[hermitcraftx]

just got a dm abt one of my posts and y'all please don't try and show the hermits (or any minecraft youtuber or content creator for that matter) my posts, i'm uncomfortable with it and don't want any of my posts shown to a cc. if they stumble upon it naturally that's unfortunate but i can live with it since i do maintag a lot (something i REALLY need to stop doing tbh i already know i need to make a tagging system just for my blog that wont clog results) but going out of ur way to show a cc is entirely different and something i am not comfortable with.

no hate to the person at all but even if i wasn't a little silly and weird with it sometimes i wouldn't be comfortable with it, i want my blog to be a purely fandom only space with none of the creators involved <3 please respect this

[deus-ex-mona]

i miss her…

[seventh-district]

7am, eating cold leftover teriyaki stir-fry for breakfast and crying over blorbos

[swagging-back-to]

call me crazy but i wish we saw even more of katniss grieving prim.

i dont think ive finished the second Mockingjay book, but in the movie esp it feels like 'the sister i sacrificed EVERYTHING to save was blown up and burnt to a crisp in front of me. im kinda sad, ig. im way more excited to get knocked up and have that baby tho!!!!!!!!!!!!'

[upsidedowngrass]

For drawing requests uhhh anything with Bryce? I just super adore the way u draw his limbs idk what it is about it !!! I'm just like 0-0 like a cat at him every time

here he is!!!!! thank u :D!!!!!!!!!!

[discjude]

Yeah this is about right (as always my thoughts are in the tags so there's actually kei content there lmao)