#and then you can factor in race and start asking questions like 'why is a black maid making less than a white one'

[la-perfide-albion]

kinda tired of the "wage gap is a myth" crowd because, everytime, without fail, they'll say that the ONLY reason why men make more is because they go into harder job that pay more, but that argument 1. doesn't answer WHY typically masculine line of work are better paid than comparable typically feminine line of work (i.e. why is an accountant better paid than a teacher) 2. doesn't even try to ask the aforementioned question and 3. completely disregards all studies and investigation that revealed that, for the same job, women are often paid less, instead focusing on broad studies that only talk about average salaries across all field of work, which are easier to attack.

[ashwhowrites]

Hi, Can you do a Steve harrington x freak!reader where the reader has always liked him since he was king Steve but then he embarrassed them so they avoided him ever since until either season 3 or 4, where Steve is trying to win them back with the help of Eddie, their best friend. Happy ending please!!! Thank you!!

I hope this is what you wanted and you enjoy it. Thank you for requesting 🫶🏻

Soft spot

Y/N knew liking Steve was a horrible idea, but she fell anyway. She liked him before he became King Steve, and unfortunately liked him during that phase.

He did not feel the same. Instead, he publicly embarrassed her. Even though it happened years ago, she could still feel the burn of embarrassment. And the fact she never got an apology from him might have been a factor as to why she can't get over it.

Then he graduated and she didn't have to relive it. She kept clear of him around town, not wanting him to find something else he disliked about her. She was doing a damn great job at it, until Eddie.

Eddie and Y/N were best friends and ran hellfire together. One thing that started their friendship was their dislike for Steve. And now? Eddie and Steve somehow became friends, and it pissed Y/N off.

She was hurt and betrayed that Eddie would be friends with him, but Eddie kept preaching that Steve was different. But how was Eddie so sure? What if he changed back within a second. She still had a soft for Steve and knew that part of her would win. That meant she was going to fight as much as she could.

As for Steve, he never forgot about her once he graduated. She was out of sight and in his mind, her name always rang a bell.

She was talking with Eddie, her smile so wide and beautiful. Steve couldn't help but stare in awe as she looked memorizing doing something so simple. Then her eyes moved to his, and he froze. He gulped as her eyes went into slits before she looked back at Eddie. Steve almost felt jealous of her soft eyes when she looked at Eddie. He wanted her to look at him like that too.

After Eddie bid her goodbye, he walked over to Steve.

"Ready to go?" Eddie asked, clueless to Steve's personal battle.

"Uh yeah, but quick question," Steve said, Eddie turned his head to listen. "How do I get Y/N to like me?"

~~~

Eddie warned Steve it would be a long ride to get Y/N to forgive him, and he was okay with that.

Y/N worked at the arcade, and Steve happily drove Dustin and the gang to play. As they went wild, he made his way over to the counter. She was leaning over the counter, looking bored as he walked up. But once she saw him, she stood tall.

"Hi, Y/N right?" Steve asked, already throwing on his charming smile

"That's what the name tag says," She said, sass on her tongue. Steve looked down at her chest, her name tag clear as day.

"Right," Steve said, rubbing his jaw as he tried to figure out what to say next. "Look, I'll just cut to the chase-"

"No need to, I'm not interested in anything you have to say," she said cutting him off. She smirked, loving that she got to embarrass him instead.

"That's fair, but please?" He tried. She tried to look away from his desperate brown eyes.

"Please? King Steve begs now?" Y/N asked, her smirk growing more and more.

"I'm not King Steve anymore. I grew up and left that stupid ego behind." Steve said, his voice serious. "I want to apologize and maybe start over?"

Y/N felt her heart race, but she couldn't get sucked in by his charm and puppy eyes. "Why all of a sudden? Because you and Eddie are friends? Just because you two are friends, does not mean we need to be friends."

"I've never seen you around, but you are now and I want to fix this." He said as he pointed between them.

"You mean never noticed me around," Y/N snapped, "and nothing to fix because I'm not interested in ever talking to you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She walked out from behind the counter and took off.

Steve sighed, not happy with how that interaction went.

~~~

Eddie and Y/N talked about the next campaign as they walked to his van. The night was chilly as it was nearly eight pm. Y/N sighed as Steve's car was parked next to them, Dustin in the front seat.

"Hi, again," Steve said with a smile, leaning slightly out of his window.

Y/N rolled her eyes and got into the van, slamming the door shut before he could speak again.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders with a slight smile. He secretly enjoyed the treatment she gave Steve.

~~~

Y/N sighed as Eddie dragged her through the party. Sometimes she hated how much she loved Eddie and agreed to do anything for him.

"Deal will be like an hour tops, then we'll leave," Eddie promised. Y/N sighed louder but kept walking. Eddie found a table outside and took her a seat, Y/N left to grab them a drink.

She walked into the crowded kitchen and filled up two cups with some type of liquor she didn't even know.

"Need a hand?" Steve's voice came from behind her. His mouth was right in her ear, his breath made her shiver.

She turned around, sighing as she prepared to deal with him again.

"Nope, I'm all good," she said, preparing to leave but he softly grabbed her arm to stop her. He yanked her so her body was against his. She was so close that she smelled his cologne and the beer on his breath. His skin glowed under the dim lights, and she tried not to memorize the freckles and moles on his face.

"You aren't leaving until we talk," he demanded. Y/N tried to stand her ground, tried to act like his touch, his voice, and his body had no control over her.

"I told you I don't want to talk," she snapped, but her body didn't move.

"Fine, then listen." He said, moving his grip down to her hand as he walked her into the nearest room with a door.

He closed the door behind him, now both in a random bedroom.

"I'm meant to be here with Eddie," Y/N said, one last attempt to leave but he didn't move away from the door.

"Eddie will be fine for two seconds," Steve mumbled. Y/N placed the drinks on the nightstand and crossed her arms.

"What do you want from me, Steve? Why can't you leave me alone?" She asked

"I'm sorry for what I did in high school. I'm sorry I said those things about you in front of a crowd. You never deserved that. I was a dick and too prideful to admit I was wrong, but I'm not anymore." He began to walk towards her, "I'm not him anymore. I've changed, but the one thing that never changed was my feelings for you."

Y/N froze as the last words fell from his lips. He was now right in front of her, soft doe eyes staring into hers.

She broke the eye contact, licking her lips as she cleared her throat. She looked around the room before she looked at him again.

"Munson told me all about your suspicion and that you don't believe that I've changed. But I can prove it to you if you give me the chance." He spoke softly and quietly.

"What feelings?" she whispered, her voice cracked as her throat dried up. She felt nervous under his strong gaze.

"I've had feelings for you for years. I know I fucked up my chance the first time. Being popular was too important and I forced myself to pick Nancy. I tried so hard to make her you," she gulped as his left hand cupped her cheek. His thumb rubbed her cheek, and she hated that she felt herself melting into it. "No one could be you."

Y/N collected herself and pushed him off.

"That doesn't make sense!" She argued, her skin was growing hot. "You have these huge feelings for me? I put myself out there for you! I asked you to the dance and you rejected me way crueler than I could have imagined. Now that you lost your title and realized you peaked in high school, now you want me? Now I'm safe to go after? You haven't changed. You are still shallow and selfish." Her words didn't deflect Steve. Her angry body was toe to toe with him, she breathed heavily but all he could focus on was how close her lips were to his.

"I can't change the past, Y/N. If I could, I would in a second. But please at least give us a chance. What if we could be really good together? I know you still have feelings for me. Here's another chance for both of us to see where these feelings can take us."

"How the fuck do you know what I feel? You don't know me."

"You wouldn't have spent years hating me if you didn't still want me." He said a smug look on his face that she wanted to smack off. "You wouldn't still be standing here, trying to deny me if you didn't like me. It would have been easy to leave me here, but it's hard isn't it? A part of you wants me to suffer, which I understand and deserve. But what does the other part of you say?"

She bit her tongue as she thought. She knew everything he said was right. Her pride wants to leave him in this bedroom alone. But he followed his pride and it left him hurt. If she followed her pride, wouldn't she have the same outcome?

"The other part," she started, holding herself in her arms, "doesn't want to let you go for a second time." She admitted she looked down at their shoes. She could feel water in her eyes but she tried to keep it back. "I already know what life is like hating you," she looked up. He was hanging on to every word, his lips parted as he waited. "And my stupid heart wants to know what it's like to love you." A tear slipped and she wiped it away before it fell. "I hate that I want you."

She sniffled, and Steve quickly held her face in his hands. He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he felt her breath hitting his lips.

"Let me heal you. I can fix this for us." He promised. She closed her eyes as more tears fell. "I'm sorry, so sorry."

Before she could say anything, she felt lips against hers. She sighed at how soft his lips felt, but how strong the kiss was. It made her breathless. She tangled her hands in his hair as she let herself go. She'd wanted this since she was sixteen, she needed to go for it.

Kissing Steve was better than she ever dreamed. His hands moved down to her waist, pushing her further against him. The kiss grew hot and heavy as they desperately clung to each other.

Y/N would always have that soft spot for Steve.

[transmutationisms]

how do i know what’s right?

i feel like i have zero critical thinking skills ;-;

a lot of the time when someone poses an idea or a theory they think they’re right, and so they use language that enforces that. but then someone refutes it, and uses language affirming what they believe and i see the point in their argument. and then it gets refuted again and again and again and im just confused.

hi great question. i would love it if there were a single easy litmus test to figure out who's 'right' and whose info i should trust! unfortunately things are rarely this easy, and it's actually completely normal to be overwhelmed by the amount of information being produced and shared, especially when it comes to topics you haven't researched/lived/etc. for most of us, this will be most topics!

i'd preface this by saying that i think your overall attitude here is actually a good one. you're framing it in a pretty self-deprecating way—but actually, imo this type of openness to discussion and disagreement is a really good place to start, esp when dealing with topics that are new to you. nobody enters a contentious debate with a fully fledged, defensible viewpoint. you might feel like you're just treading water here, making no progress toward being able to evaluate arguments for yourself, but i highly doubt that's true.

all of that said: while i again cannot give you a single litmus test for figuring out what's 'right', there are four pretty basic sets of questions that i automatically run through when encountering a new idea, source, topic, or argument: we can call these origin, purpose, value, and limitations.

origin: who's the author? do they have any institutional affiliations? who pays their salary? is this argument or paper funded in any way? is the argument dependent upon the author's social position or status (race, class, etc) and if so, are those factors being discussed clearly? does the author have ties to a particular nation-state or stakes in defending such a nation-state? what's the class character of the author and the argument? what's the social, economic, and intellectual context that gave rise to this argument or source?

purpose: why is this source or person disseminating this information or making this argument? are they trying to sell you anything? are their funders? are they trying to persuade you of a particular political viewpoint? keeping in mind the answers to the 'origin' questions, are there particular ideological positions you would expect to find in this source or argument, and are they present? what are the stakes for the author or source? what about for those who cite the source or further disseminate or publish it?

value: what does this source or argument accomplish well? what aspects of the argument are new to you and strike you as insightful? are there linkages being made that you haven't encountered elsewhere, and that you think are effectively and sufficiently defended? are there statistics or empirical data that might be useful to you in forming your own argument, even if you disagree with how this source or author is interpreting them? what does this argument or source tell you about the types of debates being had, and the rules of those debates?

limitations: where does this argument or source fail you or fall apart? are there obvious rhetorical fallacies you can identify? is the author forgetting or overlooking some piece of information that you know of from elsewhere? which viewpoints may be omitted? keeping in mind the answers to the 'purpose' questions, if this source is defending a particular ideology or political position, is that one you agree with? is it only defensible so long as the author omits or distorts certain pieces of information? are there points where the argument jumps from evidence to a conclusion that the evidence can't fully support? are there alternative explanations for the evidence?

over time you will often find that it becomes more and more automatic to ask yourself these questions. you will also find that the more you read/hear about a particular topic, the faster you can determine whether someone is presenting all of the evidence, presenting it fairly, and using it to fully defend the argument they ultimately want to make. and you will probably also find that at some point, you're able to synthesise your own argument by pulling the strong parts from multiple other people's viewpoints, combining them with your own thinking, and fitting them together in a way that adequately explains and materially analyses the issue at hand.

[novlr]

how to write a character dealing with addiction (like drugs, cigarettes etc..)

Writing a character with an addiction is to write about someone who is controlled by that substance. They are chasing that first experience of euphoria, pain relief, excess energy, or relaxation. They are avoiding the emotional and physical crashes of withdrawal. Their behavior to outsiders often appears erratic and illogical. It is a powerful motivator for a character and can drive a plot, be an obstacle, and/or an antagonist. 

How does addiction work?

Addictive substances typically mimic naturally occurring chemicals in the body. They amplify the effects of these chemicals and flood the body. Stimulants will give a person extra, even excessive, amounts of energy, relaxants will relieve tension, and pain relievers will bring about euphoria. Whatever the substance of choice, it counters stress in some form. 

Many people self-medicate for underlying physical or mental conditions. Others take them to fit in with a social group. As a writer, you need to ask yourself a very important question: Why did your character first start taking this substance? That will inform you about why they continue. Are they escaping pain? Quieting anxiety or racing thoughts? Do they need to take it to fit into their social group? What happens when they stop taking it?  

Addiction is an illness. It is a medical condition. Treating it as a matter of willpower is to doom a person to suffer. There are effective medical and psychological therapies that, especially when combined, can provide a way back to health, sobriety, and thriving.

Cravings

The important thing to understand about these substances is that the high always goes away. The emotional payoff of that first use is never achieved again. Each subsequent use has diminished payoffs and the after-effects are worsened. This is because the body is a fantastic accountant and will produce less of the mimicked substance because, hey, there’s an excess here. So your character will crave the substance in order to just feel baseline normal. 

Withdrawal

Don’t underestimate the fear of withdrawal. It is an uncomfortable and sometimes life-threatening set of physical symptoms. 

The degree and nature of the symptoms will vary depending on the substance, the amount usually consumed, and the length of time it’s been used. Caffeine, for example, will trigger headaches. Alcohol withdrawal can include shakes, nausea, seizures, and damage to the brain’s memory and balance systems. Opiate withdrawal can cause anxiety, nausea, muscle aches, and insomnia. Read up on the specifics of the substance your character is using. Be sure to use reputable medical websites. I’ve listed a couple in the resources section. 

People want to avoid withdrawal and will use substances to ease those symptoms, thus feeding the addiction. Again, there are medical interventions that can soften the withdrawal and support the patient through this medical crisis. 

Recovery

People with addictions can sometimes respond well to treatment and have a low risk of relapse. Others are not so fortunate and will bounce in and out of recovery. 

Fear of withdrawal is one reason. Another factor is developmental. The younger a person is when they start taking a substance, the harder it is to stop. This may be due to learned coping mechanisms, changes to the developing brain and body, or a combination of the two. 

How old was your character when they started taking the substance? Who introduced them to it? Was it a parent handing them a beer at age five or a pain pill at age twelve? Was it friends at a high school party? Or did they start in adulthood? This will inform their likelihood of recovery and how hard that path will be for them. 

Struggles to quit, or why does this person keep relapsing?

Withdrawal and cravings are part of the reason it is so hard to stop an addiction. There are medical and psychological therapies that can help. Rehab is a major industry in many countries. There are also several obstacles to overcome. Cost is a factor in places without universal healthcare. Then there is denial. Many people with addictions don’t believe they have a problem. And when they do, they may feel shame if they live in a culture where addiction is seen as a matter of willpower rather than a medical condition. 

How do friends and family, employers, and others in the community treat your character? Does admitting to addiction mean they are admitting to weakness?

Another social factor is that it is hard to stop an addiction if the person doesn’t change their environment. Friends that also use that substance will enable and even encourage them to start using again. Places can be strong behavioral cues. Can an alcoholic walk into a familiar bar and resist ordering a drink? 

It’s also important to remember that substance use is often a coping mechanism for stress. What happens the next time your character encounters a stressful situation? How do they resist reaching for their addictive substance if they haven’t learned other ways of coping? Do they trust or remember in the heat of the moment that they have other options? 

Do your research

Here are a couple of my go-to sites for reading up on addictions and treatments. 

Spirit Lake Wellness is a non-profit dedicated to educating the general public about health and wellness. They have a podcast, booklets, and a YouTube channel that covers a range of topics, including addiction. All information is available for free. I am fortunate to be on their board of directors and reached out to one of the doctors we work with for this article. 

The American Society of Addiction Medicine is another excellent resource for learning more about addiction and treatment. 

written by Kimberley Long-Ewing

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

no please bc just once I wanna make hobie nervous flustered.. like why can’t he can’t be intimated by me why I always gotta be intimidated by him 🙄🙄

TRULLLYY The opportunities are endless!! Let's talk about it!!!!!!!!!!!

Hobie Brown Loves Feminists and Defying the Patriarchy aka Hobie Brown and Writing write Non-Conventional Romantic Relationships in 'x-readers'

[this is an analysis where I analyze Hobie Brown, non-conventional relationships, and how feminism factors in to it all. Basically a critique/dive/rant into the narrow 'x-reader culture' in the Hobie Fandom

I touch on issues in Smut, labels, and how we can write 'Y/N's that challenge that status quo and fit Hobie better. I also break down how I personally use feminist themes to write a non-conventional relationship for Hobie.] [Also there's now a PART 2 HERE]

Despite the man from the 1970's - the era of bra-burning second-wave feminism - I don't ever think I've seen anyone talk about it, him, and how it influences him.

We all know Hobie isn't down with labels, but it seems like in X-Fem!Reader, the only two options out there are play-boy guitarist and traditional out-of-the-box boyfriend.

Hobie. The man he follows no social quo. Don't expect flowers from him.

Hobie diverges from the norm in nearly every way, and he does it purposefully and intentionally. And I think that'd extend to his romantic relationships too.

So why do we only see him in heteronormative, traditional gender-role based relationships?

Would Hobie be into this? And does the way we write him and his relationships in x-writers serve Hobie emotionally, allowing him to be a full character? (No, they don't.)

How can begin to acknowledge that, just like Hobie cares about race, and class, and housing and queer rights - he'd care about feminism too.

And how would that influence him in romance? How can we start writing healthier x-reader's?

We have enough insecure, blushing 'Y/N's being woo'd by [insert tumblr sexy man]'. Hobie can have so much more - in the words of Beyonce "Where the ladies up in here who like to talk back?!"

Hobie Brown, Romance, and Gender Roles

Why can I be the one calling him 'love', and 'darling', and 'sweetheart'?

Where's the fic where I'm the one comforting and taking care of him when he's sick/down?

Why can't Hobie be the one asked to be held?

There's something lacking here!!!!!!!

I honestly think Hobie would be into it, and find it very attractive - having a feminine partner who defies gender roles in their relationship purposefully and proudly.

Hobie loves subverting expectations and challenging society. So, and seeing many people unthinkingly assume he'd have a completely normal, routine heterosexual relationship without question -- uhhh I don't like that!!!

Like, Hobie is very clearly attractive. He's like 6'5", a guitarist, and punk. Let's be real, people of any gender are gonna be flirting with him, whether he's into it or not. He without a doubt gets flirted at all the time.

I think he'd love someone who cuts the bullshit and is like "You're really cute. I've got the biggest crush on you."

Not in a pushy way, but a relaxed way.

But I hardly ever see the x-reader advances being initiated by the reader. Why? It can be really nice to take the confidence to ask someone out and they say yes.

In fact, a lot of x-readers are written demure, passive, and down-right unhealthy in their ability to defend themselves and stand alone. So many are based off the x reader needing Hobie for some reason, whether it be confidence, or protection, or for him to teach them something.

Never Hobie needing the reader for something. Never Hobie being the one to express emotion and need comfort.

Which is funny, because Hobie can show emotions like anger, which he does in the comics. That's NEVER brought up in fics. In no fic do we have the reader witness Hobie hitting someone with a guitar or kicking them in the face. Which Hobie does do.

No, that's too violent for the romanticized fandom of Hobie. He has to be the good boyfriend to the shy girlfriend.

And I feel like there's a reason many of these x-readers are written this way - is heteronormativity and a dash of misogyny-flavored sexism involved??? maybe.

Especially with x fem readers, feminine people are always expected to be passive and submissive. Women in the real world are expected to mute their advances and 'be coy' for the sake of sexist 'respectability'.

We're taught that 'giving them the eyes' is (somehow??) an 'advance'. Or that you have to wait to be asked out or else you're 'too forward'.

[Insert Barbie Movie Monologue here]

Personally, I think Hobie would be SO refreshed by a girl who comes up to him and is like "Hey, are you busy on Friday? Do you wanna meet me then? I wanna go on a date with you."

Because, realistically 95% of the people in the Hobie fandom - including me - would probably be too nervous to even speak a sentence to Hobie.

So for someone to approach him directly, state their intentions, and be so open to potential rejection, that's impressive - I think he'd LOVE that shit!!!

I think it's a nice juxtaposition to have him with someone who diverges from the 'demure ideal of a girlfriend'.

A girl who walks around like Jessica Drew. Walks in the room like "My man is SEXY AF and he about to walk in so LOOK. BE JEALOUS."

I imagine so many people around him try to act like they DON'T like Hobie when they clearly do - and he can tell. So to have someone who isn't hiding it is a kind of candidness that differs from it all.

So often are women forced into the passive role of waiting to be 'chosen'. Fuck that, you want him, go get him.

Hobie, Romance, and Labels

I also think Hobie would REALLY like a partner who knows what they want.

I always see people be like 'Hobie doesn't like labels!! He wants to keep it casual!' or 'Nooo he was kidding about the labels thing - he'd love a committe-'

WHO SAYS HE'D BE THE ONE DEFINING THE SITUATION????????? WHO SAID HE GETS THE LAST SAY???!!!!!

I feel like Hobie would go fucking NUTS for a girl who is straight up like "yeah I'm just trying to fuck. Are you okay with that?" or "I like what we've got going on. I'm not looking for anything serious, but let's keep going."

Or a partner that is very clear about their labels. A person who's like "I like you but if you're not trying to be exclusive I'm gonna get a move on." Because he's not gonna have you out here looking DUMB, people better know you're in the mfing picture.

That's some grown ass shit! It shows she knows what she wants and that she's not wavering on it, even for him. He's with it. I don't think Hobie would be down to be like "I'm ur boyfriend now" OR "I'm ONLY down for fucking lol srry'.

She gets a say too. And she should be clear on what she wants.

If she's the one to take the initiative and name the game - that's great for him. He's down for whatever, what is it that YOU wanna do??

Hobie, Romance, and Intimacy (like for the grown folks 18+) __________________________________

🔞

In a LOT of fic and especially SMUT, it's always Hobie making the advances, or at least initiating them. In society, women are taught that's how is, that being sexually 'aggressive' and proactive - not just SUGGESTIVE - is inappropriate.

Wait till Hobie slaps your ass, then the smut could start. Wait till Hobie kisses you, then there's romance.

Nah, I'm the one smacking his ass. I'm the one pulling his belt loop saying Come 'ere. What if I'm the one who wants to pull him down for a first kiss, huh??? I gotta wait??

Even in dialogue-

In a lot of fics Hobie can talk as raunchy as ever, but the woman can't say 'pussy'? Hobie can say three sentences straight about how my coochie feel but the reader only gets to moan submissive requests back??

Can the dirty talk be two-sided? Because women should be allowed to be vocal in their pleasure.

Hobie can tell you he wants you to suck his dick, but when's the reader gonna say "Come eat this pussy like you mean it." HM??????

In fics the reader can only be suggestive - in order to bait him into initiating, like sending him a suggestive picture or throwing a bra on stage. But it's hardly ever the other way around. With the reader being the one to say 'Enough of the teasing, we fucking NEOW.'

Because in our society, a guy slipping a girl's shirt off to get the scene going is hot. But a woman going for a guys belt before he begins to undress her - nooo, that's too forward.

Maybe Hobie wants to feel like the sexy, desired, sought after one.

_______________________________________________

Hobie, Romance and Feminism

Let it be known: Hobie loves people who are socially educated!!!!

If you can look at him and explain what anarchism actually is - like in a politcal theory sense - I think he'd be impressed, because you're seeing through the 'pseudo-rockstar' persona he puts on.

Most if not all of his actions are choice are driven by political action, so having a partner educated in things like anarchy or communism just makes sense with him. Hobie cares about stuff like that, and actually goes out of his way to study and live in line with those ideals.

That includes feminism!!!

I think Hobie would love a girlfriend who is invested in feminism, cares about it, and thinks about it in her decision making.

A woman that is educated about her oppression and how to combat it, and purposefully goes against the strict stereotype labeled on women - especially feminine women - as an act of protest.

A girl who can and will defend herself, go off on, or put a sexist pig in their place. You can't tell me he wouldn't be into that.

Social movements of the oppressed are super important to Hobie, and I think feminism is the same, but I never see it mentioned.

I definitely think that Hobie would have a clear understanding of his privilege as a man and how that effects relationships.

I can see him being like "I'd never propose." Not because he hates labels, but because he acknowledges that for centuries marriage was used as a financial and social transaction to oppress and control women and their bodies, and he doesn't want to be involved in that.

Hit him with that "Same - the gold and diamond rings are trash anyway. Both materials being mined and pillaged in African nations for centuries at the expense of the indigenous populations really puts me off it."

He'd wanna somehow find a way to marry you without marrying you you know what i mean

Hobie loves feminism and feminists. Give him a 70's bra-burning feminism so help me god. He was alive for Roe v. Wade passing (1973), he KNOWS about feminism and probably knows many outspoken feminists.

Hobie, Romance and Individuality

You know what I don't like?

Headcanons or fics that be like "You and Hobie NEVER disagree or argue. Never ever, you always talk it out."

Like...Bullshit. I'm sorry but I don't think it's very realistic.

Hobie is a very opinionated too. He's very outspoken and when it comes to topics, and he usually knows exactly where he stands. I think, without a doubt he'd care what his partner thinks too.

Asking them about a record that's playing, or what they think of a movie they saw in the past, or a new political issue going on. He'd absolutely ask, because he cares. He's interested.

If if ya'll are never disagreeing that means:

Either you agree with his opinion all the time without fail or exception OR

You're biting your tongue around him

I don't think one is very realistic in terms of things. You can't like every song your boyfriend likes. You can't like every movie he shows you, or agree on EVERY political issue. That's not how people are.

And for two - if you're biting your tongue around him, he'll notice.

Yes, Hobie is a very emotionally intelligent person and extremely compassionate. But he's also very strong in his morals, thoughts, and beliefs. He doesn't budge.

If you're biting your tongue, I'd imagine he'd be like "You wanna say something." or "Whatever you're thinking just say it." cause he can see it in your face.

He's not trying to put you on the spot, he just wants to know what you're thinking.

When you explain what you're thinking, he's probably gonna wanna hear why, and respond, etc etc.

Hobie is a very individualistic person, and I think he'd be drawn to someone who is as well. Someone who is solid in their opinions and personhood enough to express them.

It leads to interesting conversation and knowing each other deeper -It's a form of intimacy.

If you watch a film with him and don't like it, he's gonna ask why. Did you not like the theme? Was the dialogue bad? What part did you think sucked the most, he thought x, y, z. What do you think about the part he disliked, did you notice a,b,c?

I feel like Hobie would want to know his partner deeply, and he'd care and love the things that make them different from each other.

Including differing opinions.

Discussions and debates aren't bad. Discussing something and getting heated defending your point can be really fun and stimulating, if it's with someone you care about and the two parties are mature and not assholes.

Tell him why you think he's wrong about something - he wants an excuse to talk more about his opinion. INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGE HIM DONT JUST AGREE.

Along with being very individualistic, Hobie is very independent. He refused to rely on the Society for their watches - he made his own. So I think the next important thing to him is:

Hobie, Romance and Independence

I like the idea of Hobie having a partner that has their own place and is committed to that, and their space.

Or a partner that emotionally supports him!!

95% of the time, he's the one asking what's wrong, or holding reader, or comforting them.

Can we get hectic bf and organized girlfriend energy?? A gf where he says plans during missions and she's like "What are you thinking? You're gonna get us killed."

A gf that soothes HIM when he gets angry - cause comic Hobie GETS angry, especially after a fight.

Give me ONE, ONE fic where he's drunk coming from a pub and READER has to deal with drunk Hobie and put him to bed.

Hobie is ALWAYS expected to take care of himself, and the people around him. He takes pride in this and he's good at it. But why should he have to do it all the time?

_____________________________________________

In general,

Hobie is a confident person. He knows what he wants, and how to handle himself, and how to approach people and get respect just by being himself. He's assured, and outspoken, and VERY independent. He does what he wants, when he wants and lets you know when it happens

I think pairing him with a confident, assured, outspoked, independent person is only natural. I think him having a relationship with a personality like his would be a ROCK SOLID one.

There's be no fics like 'Groupies were bullying you' because his she would be like "Sis, if I swing on you he isn't gonna hold me back so be careful."

I want a reader that when they do that trope of 'A girl was flirting in front of him making you insecure and uncomfortable' - The reader squashes it right there. Like "Girl, I know you see me standing here. You know we're together. Cut the cute shit!!"

I'm tired of fics taking me for an insecure, submissive, demure, sexually innocent, wimp of a babydoll girlfriend that needs to be babied at every turn. There's nothing wrong with being shy and demure, but when it's all you're offering it's not gonna cut it.

Especially not for Hobie Brown.

Let the tall, dark, actively oppressed black man be the one to vent, or be held, or romanced, and spoken sweetly too. There's so many comfort fics, but not many of them consider Hobie's own trauma - and how a relationship could include that.

Hobie Brown deserves more.

_______________________________________________

If you wanna know how I use this to write a non-conventional relationship for Hobie, that's below this break.

Okay so I'mma leave it here but if you read this far, thank you!!!! I be SO pissed when fics be talking me (Y/N) as a punk (in the wimpy sense not the Hobie sense). Like...nah I wouldve said something in a lot of situations. Irk my last nerve. Like the one where the girl PINCHES you??? Like?? Nah I we would've been fighting, I'm sorry this is unrealistic

Alsooo the section below is about my Spidersona Disco-Spider and how I encorporated all of this into her creation- because I wanted to write a sona who subtly defied gender roles while still being feminine. So if you wanna read there thank you so much, and if not, thanks for reading this far! He's a pic of Hobie in thanks!

[If you wanna check out Part 2 for direct examples, how to write NCRs, and a more in depth look into Disco and Hobie - check it out here]

_______________________________________________

DiscoSpider Diane and The Great Groupie Act [How I use all of this to a write a feminist Spidersona and a non-conventional relationship]

Diane is a HUGE Hobie Groupie - and that's kinda of her main thing.

She runs the Hobie Brown Fanclub on campus, attends all his shows, and wears his guitar pick. She's into him and she's not afraid to show it.

I wanted to write Diane as a purposeful groupie, one who is fine with the title, and even leans into it. Because a lot of the time - and in a lot of fics including guitarists - 'groupie' is seen as a negative thing.

Like K-pop stans, being a 'groupie' - and openly expressing your romantic interest in a hot guy is seen as desperation.

But I wanted to write her as one in spite of this. To swap 'desperation' for unwavering boldness. A girl with the motto 'Closed mouths don't get fed'.

And much like Hobie uses the 'typical punk' label to disarm others, I wanted Diane to mirror that - in the opposite direction.

Diane is a self-proclaimed groupie. And because of that, many (mainly misogynists) assume that she can't think for herself - or at all. And Diane can use that to her advantage.

If Miguel and Jess really believe she only cares about conversations involving Hobie, then they'll talk like she isn't there. And she can listen. If it looks like she's hanging all over him, no one realizes if she's slipping him information.

And it also helps in their relationship.

They both enjoy their privacy.

HQ prohibits relationships between Spidey-people. It's an anomaly waiting to happen - and they make sure to keep a close eye out for it. Plus with Jess breathing down her neck, it's much easier for Diane and Hobie to just keep it underwraps.

In comes the Groupie persona.

No one actually expects the groupie to get the guy. She's desperate, and he's the player guitarist. Plus, if they were dating she couldn't be a 'groupie' right? They wouldn't make sense, would it?

They let people make their own assumptions. By calling herself a groupie, suddenly people think there's no possible way there's something going on, and they don't look closer.

This also allows them the freedom of no labels. Are they boyfriend and girlfriend? Nah she's his groupie. Quit asking questions.

All of this allows me to write Disco in a way that connects back to everything in this post.

By calling herself a 'Groupie' suddenly Diane can subvert expectations of affection, avoid the pressures of labels, and control her image and the amount of information she lets on to people

That in turn helps me write their relationship in a nonconventional way - a way that challenges misogyny around affection and reclaims a sexist fan trope for something more empowering.

Sure, the concept seems silly at first. The ditsy, bubbly, party girl on campus, but I wanted there to be a reason and drive behind it.

Disco-Spider Diane is exactly who she wants to be, an unapologetic, outspoken disco-girl. One that's highly educated and knows her shit.

And also a huge groupie.

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

If you've read this far, thank you so much. It genuinely means a lot to me! This is reaaaaaallly long.

[Part 2 here]

Now how about you take this photo of Hobie and we both pretend like me writing this is normal well-adjusted behavior okay? okay

Bye.

[somegirlontheinternet135]

Ok but, how cool would it be if there was a click & point adventure game and dating sim based around The Beasts

Like, imagine you, the player, woke up in a dark, unknown forest. You don't know how, or why, you got there, but one thing's for sure, you don't want to stay for long, who knows what kind of horrors could be lurking in the darkness. . ? Quickly you make use of the environment, gathering wood & making a fire (via a minigame) in hopes it'll alert some cookies to your location, and while it doesn't work at first, it does give a certain someone, or something, a beacon to your location. . .

As you sit before the fire you just built, you begin to notice something was off. . . the forest you were in, it was quiet, eerily quiet, normally at night, many forest would be bustling with some sort of life: the sounds of night beasts, owls in the night, maybe the occasional cricket, but there was nothing. What only adds to this uncanny wood were its lack of creatures, not once did you encounter any sort of beasts on your journey. . . both these factors alone made you question what was really happening, is this all a dream? were you going crazy? questions were racing through your head, till finally, something snaps you out of it. . .

"Ooooooh!~ What do we have here?~"

"Has a little cookie come by to give me a visit?~"

A voice from the darkness pulls you out of your thoughts, jolting you onto your feet. Hearing that so suddenly within such a vacant space, you could've sworn you were alone. . ! You frantically look around, desperately trying to find the source of the voice, but the thing only laughs at you. . .

"W-Who's there?! show yourself!!"

"*Ehehe he he he HE HE HE HE!*"

"Try looking up here, darling~"

Your attention was slowly drawn to a tree behind you. On one of the branches, two heterochrome eyes staired at your from below, taking you off-guard, was that. . . a cookie? The creature made zero attempts to hide themselves as he jumps off the tree branch, over your fire. Light from the flames revealed their figure, they appeared to be some sort of jester, its figure & face making them resemble that of a cat. They do a bow before finally introducing themselves

"Shadow Milk Cookie, the world's favorite trickster~"

"Pleasure to meet you!"

In this scenario, the player is given two options, each of course having a different outcome:

Run Away

Sprinting away in fear will, of course, cause Shadow Milk to chase, eventually getting caught, though this does increase his interest in you

"*heh he he HE HE HE!* where are you going you silly little thing?!~"

"That was so much fun!~ I think I'm starting to like you already!~"

Standing Your Ground & Ask Questions

Respectably, you don't anything regarding the fallen heroes, but asking more questions does leave Shadow Milk upset

"H-How could you not know who I am?!"

"Shadow Milk Cookie, actor, playwright, dictator, does that not right a bell?!"

This's basically how the story starts. The player is isekaied into this strange world and are quickly met with the Fallen Heroes, who all woo the player with their charm & status in an attempt to find out how they got in, so they can do the same to get out. . . whatever that means. But one thing leads to another, and they all fall in love with the player, fighting over them. As for the player, they transverse through the strange world, learning of it and its secrets via minigames, hidden secrets, and puzzles, all while learning about the fallen heroes and their backstories. . .

I picture the game itself being a mix between one of those disturbing click & point adventure games (i.e. Sally Face, Fran Bow, and Little Misfortune) and a dating sim (i.e. Obey Me) which by itself, would cause major emotional whiplash, cause imagine going from seeing the most messed up sh*t to smooching your jester bf. For reference, think of the game as "Little Goody Two Shoes" something you should play btw!

[chibrary]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8Kdaokx/

do you know if this is true? I know Charles and Max drove for the same team, but I thought there wasn’t any documentation saying max/jos recommended Charles for the seat.

First, Max never drove for GP3. He drove in the European Formula 3 Championship, which was combined with GP3 in 2019 to create Formula 3. Charles raced in both series, spending 2015 in European Formula 3 and 2016 in GP3. While they've been merged since, they were two different series back when Charles and Max were driving.

And... it's complicated. When I was trying to verify this for the Chrimer, someone sent me an old Dutch forum post that did imply that Jos suggested Charles to the Van Amersfoort seat but I've found no sources from anyone directly involved confirming this.

Van Amersfoort was asked directly about why he signed Charles in a 2015 interview and said the following:

CLF: When did you discover him and why did you hire him? FvA: "You know, we closely follow several championships including the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS in which he participated last year. He was very good even though he was only in his first season. I have him so invited to come and do some tests with us and we fell in love with each other (laughs). That's when we started talking with Nicolas Todt."

He did speak extensively about Max and Charles in that same interview:

CLF: What are its strengths and weaknesses?FvA: "It's a very good question, especially when we see this weekend's performances! At the start of the season we often compared Charles to Max, but it seems difficult to me because they have different characters and personalities. completely different. That said, they both have a lot of talent and I think Charles, as much as Max, deserves a seat in F1. Coming back to your question, I think Charles is very good at feeling his car . He knows where he gains time and where he loses. It seems simple like that, but in reality it's very complicated, especially when we're talking about tenths of a second. He's also very good at braking and in games. fast but it is less so on the starts." CLF: Do they have any similarities in their work or their driving?FvA: "Not really. For us, working one-on-one with Charles is fantastic. When Max Verstappen was with us, we also had to work with his father, and it was very difficult because Jos put a lot of pressure on us. To summarize we can also say that Max is an extremely talented driver but we must not forget that he was very well prepared by his father, since he was very young. This is the difference with Charles who is very good but whose preparation is perhaps not at the level of Max's."

I think it would have been natural to bring up any referral for Charles from the Verstappens at either point in the interview. The fact that it wasn't mentioned makes me doubt it was a serious factor.

I did include the line in the 2015 Chrimer (identifying it as a rumor) because its 1. so prolific within fandom and 2. not easily disproven.

My theory is its probably true, but not to the extent that fans-- especially creators on Tiktok who just regurgitate other fan content-- would like it to be. I bet Van Amersfoort was looking at Charles, asked the Verstappens and got a positive answer re: his performance... at that time, Max was entering F1 and a former karting rival three or four series below was not a threat. It's not like putting in a good word was any threat to Max's future.

However, to act like any goodwill from the Verstappens aided Charles' career notably discounts Charles' personal success. This is a review of Charles' first year in single-seaters from before the move to Van Amsersfort happened:

After several starring years on the world karting scene, Leclerc’s car debut season was a long awaited one and it lived up to expectations. A non-score at the Imola opener aside, Leclerc delivered a superb rookie season, maturing and improving round after round, which culminated in a spectacular double victory at Monza and saw a further five podium appearances throughout the campaign. A protege of Nicolas Todt’s All Road Management firm, he has also been superb in his guest Eurocup outings and the chief 2.0 series appears to be a logical next step – one he’s more than ready for. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take a higher jump up the ladder than that. 

Charles had tested with three European F3 teams in the lead up to the 2015 season. There was serious interest. Any referral-- whether or not it existed-- was not the reason why he made it into European F3.

[shepherds-of-haven]

I'm a new player here and I've been trying to find some info on this through the tags but I wanted to ask: are hunter birth rates low in general or is more that people arent having 100% hunter kids? Idk why but in my mind I've been comparing them to pandas 😂

Hi there, that's a good question! The problem is multi-faceted, but simply put, Hunter birth rates aren't that high compared to other races, but not necessarily due to fertility reasons, if that makes any sense.

Here's a visual representation of pure-blooded Hunters who are capable of having pure-blooded Hunter kids:

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤  But consider that many of these will enter service as initiated exorcists, and of these, some won't survive the rite of passage (which takes place around 15) and others will be killed in the line of duty before they settle down, marry, and have kids:

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤

Now consider that, of the ones who do marry, some won't marry other full-blooded Hunters, meaning the kids they do have won't manifest Hunter powers (which is actually the main concern here, not necessarily that the Hunter people will necessarily go extinct, numbers-wise, but that their powers will dwindle out of existence over time):

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤

And then consider that Hunters have a shorter lifespan than most other races, with old age, illness, and death beginning to occur in the 50s and 60s, meaning the period of time they even have to settle down, raise healthy kids, and protect them until adulthood is drastically shortened, especially if they also want to pursue their own careers and livelihoods, requiring they either start having kids pretty young (which not many Hunters naturally want to do unless pressured to do so) or meaning many Hunter kids are left orphaned young, which also affects their own survival slightly:

⬤⬤⬤⬤

So all of those factors kind of come together to make it difficult to maintain a burgeoning population of pure-blooded, full-powered Hunters who inherit grace (again, not necessarily that people with Hunter blood are in decline). It should be noted that when two Hunters do start trying for kids, their fertility and reproductive rates are normal! It's just that the circumstances and odds leading to such a coupling (and the fact that more and more Hunters to fall in love with don't have full blood or grace with each passing year) are kind of stacked the opposite way, unless you make it your life's goal to have pure-blooded Hunter kids. That's why Halek faces such enormous pressure to marry Moonsilk and have kids: her clan is one of the last that have the high-born, pure Hunter blood that would suit Halek's line and would guarantee full-powered Hunter children, but it comes, of course, at the cost of Halek feeling like he doesn't have the luxury of falling in love with whomever he wants, since this urgent need has been impressed on him from an early age.

Hope that all makes sense! It would be hilarious if their problems were more panda-orientated ("we'll just show them videos and demonstrations of how to have sex! someone put on white wigs so they can learn, they're just clueless on how to do it") though lol!

[batsplat]

seen people talk about how marcs 2012 season was the reason the penalty point system was introduced (that made vale start from the back in 2015 which is admittedly absolutely absurdly funny) so here i am to ask my favorite motogp historian for thoughts (and prayers?) mostly about what exactly marc DID to make that happen (kinda funny also that he was branded a track terrorist from day 1 😭) and why they struck it in the mid 2010s?

okay so I'm gonna be lazy here and start out by just including what I put in the marc race recs post:

phillip island 2011 was the worst incident, and marc was criticised by motogp riders too, including valentino and casey. that one was like... it was just straight up dangerous and also incredibly stupid, I mean you're trying to get an extra lap in at the end of fp1 and are putting yourself and other riders in serious danger (definitely a case where you can argue that the penalty didn't go far enough and a race ban would have been warranted). marc can sometimes be pretty bullish in response to criticism while still going away and kinda realising what he'd done was a bad idea, quietly adjusting his behaviour... examples include this, where he had his team appeal the penalty, as well as of course 2018 argentina, where he talked down the 'mistakes' he'd made and said he'd done more wrong in the aleix than the valentino incident (which may be true, but it's the rhetorical equivalent of saying it's better to go up to someone's home and throw bricks through the windows than it is to set it on fire) - he is fairly good at learning from his mistakes, even when he doesn't always fully admit to them

that being said, of course he did continue getting himself involved in a fair bit of controversy during 2012. but it's worth pointing out that the penalty points system wasn't just a case of 'oh this kid is so bad, we've got to do something' - it was also a case of 'yeah this is being handled in a super inconsistent manner, actually'. like, there were times people felt marc should be penalised more, yes, but other times where they felt it was too much... it was just a bit all over the place. luckily, inconsistent stewarding is a problem they've managed to fix in the intervening twelve years, so we never hear about that stuff any more. let's just give a quick summary of the four biggest 2012 flashpoints:

qatar: marc runs luthi off-track in a deliberate and pretty dangerous way and gets a slap on the cooldown lap for his troubles, plus a reprimand from race direction

catalunya: towards the end of a race in which marc made several questionable moves, pol espargaro attempted to overtake marc who had just saved a fall - marc cuts across the track to rejoin the racing line and ends up colliding with pol. he was initially given a controversial penalty in the form of a minute added to his final time, before that was rescinded (which was unsuccessfully appealed by pol's team). see here for valentino and casey's reactions

motegi: marc 'torpedoed' kallio in saturday morning practise, riding into his side while kallio was on the racing line headed into a turn and causing kallio to highside... which he was not penalised for. some responses to the incident below

valencia: marc attempted to overtake corsi in friday practise, causing him to crash. this time, race direction handed out a back-of-the-grid penalty

it's a subtle distinction but an important one so I'll just stress it again: the stated aim of the penalty points wasn't to hold back aggressive riders like marc but to attempt to reduce inconsistency, which had been exposed in part due to how differently these marc incidents were handled. what marc did was create several high profile controversies, in each case prompting some level of frustration with how race direction handled the whole thing. obviously, there were other non-marc-related stewarding controversies, but it is inarguable that he was a significant factor in causing a revamp of the system

by the way, here's valentino's criticism of marc after the valencia incident:

here's a quick explanation of how the penalty points worked:

and, you know, for what it's worth marc did calm down in motogp... he certainly became better at operating in the grey area of the rules, approaching his racing in a manner his competitors didn't always appreciate but was certainly a lot harder to penalise. though there were also incidents that of course people felt marc should be penalised for - say after jerez 2013, jorge did kinda go 'okay but surely you can at least give a few penalty points for this, isn't this what they're for'. but it's not like there was unanimous agreement on that, see the immediate responses of some of the riders:

(bradley smith saying that jorge's last serious race was motegi 2005 - the one he got the race ban for - is a bit of an insane stance to take and doesn't really match up to reality, but it did make me laugh so that's something. of course the general point that during the alien era most of them were avoiding doing much actual racing isn't exactly wrong but. still)

not to make this a riding standards post, but this is the underlying tension when you're trying to decide how to regulate the sport... jerez was the first serious test that system faced - and it's one where race direction ended up calling it a pure racing incident. which is a tough call! I talked about it a bit in the sete post and what his stance was on the jerez 2005 incident, where he feels like this isn't a contact sport and shouldn't be adjudicated as such. it's a fundamental philosophical difference that became very relevant again when marc showed up fresh from his controversial moto2 campaign and woke up the entire class with his own particular brand of racing. from a write-up of the jerez 2013 race:

(motegi 2008 not motegi 2010, which is something I remember because casey's pass also allowed valentino to immediately swoop on through. should be noted that casey may have apologised but he did not give the position back to dani lol. also motegi 2010 is pretty memorable if we're talking about hard racing. fair to say that valentino demonstrated he did not share the approach of his fellow aliens when battling jorge)

and more on the shift marc brought about:

this is the thing, right - a big part of understanding that time period is concerning yourself with what came just before. the general feeling (unsurprisingly not shared by casey, jorge or dani) was that the series desperately needed some new life breathed into it, that the racing had become stale and sterile and far too predictable... there were several factors that contributed to this, from the beloathed 800cc bikes that were only replaced in 2012, to the approach of those three aliens and how adept they'd become at racking up wins by dominating out front, to how valentino (generally considered the most 'exciting' racer of the lot) had taken himself out of the competitive picture... I mean, in all honesty the racing is still not great in 2013 compared to the rossi heyday (it had gotten better by the very end of the 2010s), but of course there's a lot more energy to it than the years before. which meant the sport as a whole was in a tricky place where they both had to be seen to be constraining marc, stopping him from being an active danger to himself and others, while also kind of... letting him loose. a little bit of controversy is hardly a bad thing, after all - love him or hate him, everyone had a take, and that's the kind of thing that's obviously healthy for a sport

marc did get two penalty points that year for ignoring yellow flags in silverstone and crashing in the same place as cal crutchlow had just gone down:

(for obvious reasons, 'ignoring yellow flags' is extremely dangerous, but there's no reason to believe he wasn't being honest here)

he was also given another penalty point for the contact that caused dani's crash in aragon, taking him perilously close to that back-of-the-grid penalty:

and that was basically their position - it's a warning. broadly they wanted him to not completely revamp his approach, but just apply a little more discretion, exercise his judgement. a little more caution, a little more restraint. it's still fundamentally a different philosophy of racing than the one that had been espoused for several years by the other aliens save for valentino - but marc could get to a place where he was engaging in hard racing that generally toed the line without crossing it. a little more detail on the aragon incident and marc's approach to racing in the context of the time period from this write-up:

this is the issue, right, marc was riding on just the right line of acceptable that race direction would not have in any way been justified in slapping out race bans - though you can certainly argue that in some cases, you could have handed out more penalty points, which would then have meant he would have faced more 'real' consequences. in any case, they couldn't actually 'teach him a lesson', because he'd already more or less learned it... if the lesson is 'hard racing and contact is fine, just don't overdo it'. which of course, not everyone would agree with. the odd memorable exception aside, throughout marc's premier class career he's been very aware of that line, and has taken care to avoid bringing the wrath of race direction upon himself too severely

the penalty points thing and sepang 2015... well, first of all let's quickly bring in what the actual ruling was:

honestly, I imagine that if they didn't have a penalty points system, they would've figured out a different way to penalise him, and might have slapped him with a back-of-the-grid penalty anyway. not in a 'oh the fim had it out for valentino rossi!!!!' way, more that they did need to be seen doing something. the penalty points felt like a fairly elegant way of giving a penalty that wasn't that harsh and wasn't making any judgement calls over whether valentino deliberately kicked marc, while also in an indirect way ensuring that valentino would suffer consequences. and yes, it is a nice bit of dramatic irony - but the piece says it, the penalty "had to be severe enough for rossi to feel truly punished". the penalty points happened to be the tool they had available and perhaps with a different set of rules, valentino would have been handed a slightly different flavour of punishment. but really, this is more 'fun historical coincidence' than something that massively changed the events that played out

of course, it was a controversial decision that few people felt 100% comfortable with. on the one hand, if you believe that valentino kicked marc, then you probably would have wanted him to be disqualified - three measly penalty points does not feel enough in that situation. on the other, if you believe that valentino engaged aggressively with marc but without deliberately trying to make him crash, then a back-of-the-grid penalty that essentially decided the outcome of the championship before the final race even started is a tough pill to swallow. (of course there's also a position somewhere in between where valentino didn't literally kick marc but did attempt to run him off track, which would make the penalty 'about right'.) of course, the championship standings should ideally not determine what sort of penalties are being handed out - but equally, it's something that did limit the intrigue going into the race, and over something that felt quite arbitrary. the other penalty point he'd gotten to rack up the four total was about a qualifying incident in misano - which either feels like a silly thing to determine the ultimate outcome of the championship, or instead is a demonstration of how the cumulative nature of the points system is supposed to work. but yes, it did get a lot of criticism in the aftermath, with concerns over whether future title fights could end up being defanged as an indirect consequence of relatively minor incidents earlier in the season

and of course, the penalty points were eventually scrapped in early 2017. here's a bit more on that decision:

basically, sepang 2015 was a contributing factor to broader changes in how motogp was regulated, which down the line had the knock-on effect of getting rid of that penalty system entirely. rightly or wrongly, race direction felt like they had better tools available to penalise riders and this system was now redundant. anyway [insert another lazy gag about how the switch to a stewards panel has completely failed in eliminating controversy from stewarding] [insert pithy closing line] [press post]

[crowleysgirl67]

Unexpected

Author: @crowleysgirl67

Word Count: 3250

Parings/Characters: BAU Team, Reader x Hotch, Alexandra (OFC), Jack Hotchner,  

Warnings: Show warnings, nondescript case, idk 

A/N: Song is Older by isabel larosa the sped up version. 

A woman jogging alone on a forest jogging path in the early morning mist. She trips on what she assumes is a tree root. After hitting the ground she rolls onto her side to see what she has tripped over. A scream echoes through the forest as the woman sees she has tripped over a body barely off the jogging path. The feet of the dead woman sticking out on the path just enough to trip the jogger. 

***

“Locals have asked for our help with this case.” JJ said handing Spencer his paper file as the rest of you use the tablets to look at information. “Three young women ranging from eighteen to twenty-four have been murdered in the last six months. All have had their vocal cords cut from their bodies.”

“The latest victim Kendra Montgomery was found early yesterday morning by a jogger.” Garcia adds.

“Two of the three girls were white while the other was of Asian descent. So that kinda rules out a preferential reason. Or at least race isn’t a determining factor of how the victims are picked.” you state looking through the pictures.��

“We can deliberate on the plane. Wheels up in twenty.” Hotch stands up.

Everyone disperses to grab their bags, leaving you and Hotch as the last ones to leave the room. Your heels click on the floor as you go around putting chairs back into place. You could feel him watching you as you did. Hotch and you had met about a year and a half earlier and had a one-night stand. Which was highly unusual for him but enough alcohol and loneliness can influence anyone. You hadn’t spoken to him since, until you transferred into his unit. He was shocked, but you both agreed to be professional. 

“See you on the plane.” you said softly. He nodded in response and left to presumably go call his son. 

“The time between his kills is getting shorter. Kills victim one, Andrea Kemp, six months ago. Then victim two, Mei Vuong, last month. Less than a full month between Mei and Kendra.” Emily points out. 

“Doesn’t seem like he’s concerned with forensics. Plenty of fibers and things found with the bodies.” you say, looking over the forensic reports.

“No hits in any database so he’s not offended before or hasn’t been caught offending.” Reid muses.

“Let’s interview the families. Reid go over the girls records to see if you find anything. Dave, Morgan start with the crime scene and then go see Andreas' family. Prentiss, JJ take Meis' family. (Y/N) with me we’ll see the most recent victim, Kendras family.” Hotch divvies out what needs to be done.  

***

“How sure are we that Nathan Benson is going to strike again so soon?” you ask

“He’s devolving. He needs to.” Reid replies

“So why are we waiting for him to take an innocent person? Why not give him what he wants?” you question.

“He already knows Prentiss and I are FBI.” JJ says.

“He doesn’t know me. I was never in the bar or did any interviews with him. I can go in, get his attention.” 

“Have you done undercover before?” Morgan asks.

“Guys I get I’m new and you're skeptical but I got this.” you pulled out a bag and touched up your makeup, putting on some bright red lipstick. You took your hair out of the ponytail and messed it up to give it a stressed sex look. Tugging  your skirt up to mid thigh, you set your badge and gun down. “There’s an alley about a block away. I can walk by that, it’s the perfect place for him to want to kill. One of you can hide out there.” you said as you un tucked your blouse and tied it up exposing your midriff. You popped a button at the top exposing more cleavage. “Who hasn’t had interactions with him beside me?”

“I haven’t and neither has Hotch.” Morgan answers. 

“Ok. Give it five and one of you can follow me in. And for heaven's sake if it’s you Hotch lose the ‘I’m an agent look’ yeah? Just a regular guy in a bar.” you hopped out the back of the surveillance van. 

Morgan stifled a snicker, “We’ll see you in five.” 

You gave a thumbs up and sauntered on in. You walked up to the bar and leaned over whispering in the bartender's ear to give you coke on the rocks, before surveying the establishment. You spotted Nathan back by the door to the kitchen. You made yourself comfy on the stool closest to him before striking up a conversation. 

“I hear you have a nice karaoke thing going on here.” you smiled as you accepted the drink from the bartender. “Is that like a local thing? Or can out of towners join.” you purr, sipping your drink and batting your lashes at him.

“Anyone can join.” he smiled charmingly. “You like to sing?”

“Been doing it since I was little. How’s the selection?”

“Why don’t I show you?” he pushed away from the wall and showed you the music available. 

You debated music as you flirted with him before finally choosing a song. 

You went up to the mic as the music began, “Think I need someone older. Just a little bit colder. Takes the weight off your shoulders. Think I need someone older.”

You made eye contact with Hotch as he walked in. “Baby, am I your little secret? 18, I'm old enough to keep it.”   

You finished the song, avoiding looking at Hotch again. He’d shed his suit coat and tie and had his sleeve rolled up to his elbows. Looking at him again would just prove to be a distraction. 

‘Focus (Y/N). Now is not the time to be thinking about your baby daddy boss.’ you thought as you shifted your thoughts back to the task at hand.  

You pretended to be more and more intoxicated as the night wore on before ‘stumbling’ out of the bar and headed in the direction of the alley. You teetered about as you walked, to keep up the appearance of being intoxicated. When you got to the alley you stopped and bent down putting your hands on your thighs, appearing as if you were about to vomit. 

Nathan grabbed you then and dragged you into the alley. He brandished a knife and got a swipe in before you kicked him back and Morgan jumped from the shadows gun drawn.

“Drop it Nathan. It’s over.” he ordered as Hotch rounded the corner with the others.

“(Y/N) are you alright?” Hotch glanced at you holding your bloodied arm.

“Tis’ but a flesh wound. I’ll be fine.” you waved him off as you walked out of the alley. Your arm was the least of your concerns. You leaked through your padding and you didn’t need the embarrassment nor questions about your now wet shirt. It’d been a few hours since you’d been able to slip away to pump and you really should have done it sooner, but with everything going on it’d slipped your mind. 

You made it back to the cars and grabbed your bag. Hopefully you could manage to cover up at least until you could get a moment to fix the issue. 

“(Y/N).” JJs soft voice and hand on your shoulder startled you. You hadn’t heard her approach as you grabbed a sweater from your bag. 

“Geez JJ.” you pulled the sweater to your chest.

“How old is your baby?” she asks, getting straight to the point.

Well so much for getting away unseen. “She’s six months old.” you replied softly to avoid being overheard. 

“Do what ya gotta. I’ll cover for you.” she smiled softly but you knew she’d be asking you about it more later.

“Thank you, I just need ten minutes.” you climbed in the back of the SVU. JJ shut the door and stood outside it waiting. 

“Where’s (Y/N)? The medics are here. I want her to get checked out.” Hotch asked, approaching the car. 

“She’ll be out in a minute. She’s changing her shirt.” JJ answered. 

Luckily you were just finished pumping. You put everything away quickly and tossed on the clean sweater leaving your hurt arm exposed for easy access, and climbed out of the car. You gave JJs shoulder a gentle squeeze in thanks.

Hotch escorted you over to the medics. “You’re lucky it wasn't worse.”

“I know. But it’s not like I did this alone. You guys were backing me up.” you winced at the alcohol put on the wound to clean it as the medic patched you up. A couple of steri strips and a bandage was all it took. “See? I didn’t even need stitches.”

“Still.” he narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like it.” he said so softly you almost missed it.

“Aaron..” you trailed off as Rossi came over.

“Good job kid. How ya feeling?” he asked 

“Stings a little but I’m alright.” you tuck your newly bandaged arm into the sleeve of your sweater.

Everyone went back to the hotel to gather things and meet on the plane. JJ met you by your room with her bag. 

“Why didn’t you tell us you had a kid?” she asked, following you in as you started packing.

“It’s in my file.” you shrug. 

“Only Hotch and Rossi can read those.” 

“Oh well that’s good to know.” you finish packing. 

“What's her name?”

“Alexandra.” you smiled softly and showed JJ some pictures on your phone.

“She’s adorable.” JJ smiles.

“Thanks. She’s getting so big.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking; where’s her dad?”

“He doesn’t know about her. She was a result of a drunken night.” you followed her out of the room. 

“Oh. Well if you have a name we could always help you find him.” She offered.

“That’s sweet of you to offer but I’ll tell him.” 

“You know who he is?” she asked, surprised.

“I’ve seen him again recently.”

“Seen who?” Reid asks as you meet most of the others in the lobby.

‘Well, might as well drop this bombshell’ you thought as you didn’t see Hotch. “My daughters father.”

“You have a kid?” Morgan asked.

“Why is that surprising to everyone?” you chuckle “Do I not look old enough for a kid or somethin?”

“Just you don’t talk about having a kid.” Emily pipes in.

“Hotch doesn’t talk about his kid much either.” you point out.

“That’s different, at least we know about Jack. You’ve never mentioned your kid before.”

“Touche.” you concede to her point. 

“So tell us about her.” Morgan encouraged.

“Alexandra is six months old. Full head of black curls.” you smiled and pulled her pictures up to show the rest of them. You let them pass your phone around to look at her pictures.

“Wow you weren’t kidding about that head of hair.” Morgan chuckled. 

“Look at those big beautiful brown eyes.” Emily gushed. 

You smiled, it was cute watching them fawn over her pictures.

“What’s going on over here?” Rossi asked as he approached, with Hotch.

“(Y/N) is showing off pictures of her daughter, Alexandra.” Emily passed him the phone.

You avoided looking back, you could feel Aarons stare burning a hole in the back of your head.

“Cute kid.” Rossi chuckled while showing Hotch. “How old?”

“She's six months old.” you replied, finally turning to face them. You watched Hotch take the phone for a better look. He was keeping a neutral face but you could tell he was calculating her age and factoring in your encounter. The phone shrilled in his hand and he gave it back. 

“Pardon me.” you took it and answered walking a few paces off.    

The others chatted amongst themselves, but Dave looked between the two of you. “You wanna tell me what that’s about?” he asked softly, careful to not be heard by the others.

“I’ll tell you later.” Hotch replied.

**

Hotch cornered you by your car after arriving back in DC. “We need to talk.”

“Great, get in the car. You can talk while I drive.” you tossed your bag in the back seat of your car. “Alex has a fever and I need to get home.”

His brow furrowed, “Fine. But I’m driving. Give me your keys.”

At this point you were too tired and stressed to argue so you tossed him your keys. He helped you into the passenger side before climbing in himself. “Directions?” 

You gave him the way to your house and sat back waiting for his barrage of questions.

“Is she mine?” he asked after several minutes in silence. 

“Yes. You were the first person I’ve slept with in awhile. I didn’t sleep with anyone after either so she’s definitely yours. We can get a DNA test if you want.”

He glanced over, “I believe you.”

Nothing else was said as he pulled into your drive. Danika, your nanny, was waiting on the porch with a screaming Alex. You hopped out of the car before he had it in park and jogged up the steps. 

“Danika, how long has she been screaming like this?” you took Alex from her.

“About ten minutes Miss. Her fever is down to 99.3 from the 100.5 it was earlier. I gave her a dose of tylenol about 4 hours ago. I was gonna give her another but I wanted to wait for you.” she replied.

“Ok. Thank you. I've got it from here. I’ll see you in the morning.” you rocked Alex. “It’s ok baby. Mamas here.” you soothed her and took her inside Hotch on your heels.

“May I?” he asked. 

“Of course She’s your daughter too.” You passed her to him and went to get her some medicine. When you got back she wasn’t screaming. She had stopped and gone down to a small fuss. “I’ve got her meds.” you held them up.

He looked up, “See? Mamas got the feel good stuff. You’re ok.” 

You tried to ignore the feeling running through you at him calling you mama, and walked over. “Do you want to give it to her?”

“Sure.” he smiled and took the meds from you. He gave her the meds as you watched him with her. He was so soft and gentle, it was a sweet surprise. Complete contrast to his usual behavior. 

“What’s her full name?” he asks as he rocks her.

“Alexandra Haley Hotchner. I did remember your name.” you said softly. 

He swallowed and looked back down at Alex. “Why did you choose Haley as her middle name?”

“A feeling I guess. I can’t really describe it. The name just kept floating around in my head for weeks.”

“Hailey was my wifes name. Jack's mother.” he said softly. 

“I’m sorry Aaron. She’s young enough, we can always change it if it hurts too much.” 

“No. No, it's perfect.” he smiled as she held his finger.  

“I guess it was meant to be then.” you smiled softly.

He stayed up with you talking about Alex. How you were going to coparent. How to explain this to everyone and how to introduce Jack to Alex. It was really late by the time you finished. 

“Do you want to spend the night? It’s late and we took my car here.”

“That’d be great. Thank you. I’ll let Jess know I’ll be home later.”

You showed him to the guest room before taking Alex and putting her in her nursery. You checked her temperature, which thankfully had gone down again. After making sure the baby monitor was on you left the room. You checked on Aaron one more time before going to bed. 

**

It took a few weeks but you eventually introduced Jack to Alex. You’d be meeting Aaron at his house so it would be comfortable for Jack. 

“Does this mean you’re gonna get married?” Jack asked Hotch as he waited by the window.

“Uh.. no bud. (Y/N) and I aren’t going to get married.” he answered. He wasn’t about to explain the complicatedness of this whole situation to a child. Jack was too young to understand. 

“They’re here!” Jack shouts excitedly. 

“Alright. Remember your sister is still a baby and so you need to be gentle and not so loud ok?”

“I know dad.” Jack hops down from the couch by the window.

He chuckled as he opened the door to greet you. “Hey (Y/N) come on in.”

“Hey.” you smiled and stepped inside. 

“(Y/N) this is Jack. Jack this is (Y/N).”

You passed Alex to Hotch and knelt down to greet Jack. “Hi Jack.” you held out your hand. 

Jack glanced up at his dad, who gave him a slight nod. He shook your hand, “Hi.”

“You’ve got a good handshake there bud. Did your dad teach you?”

Jack nods enthusiastically and you smile. “Are you ready to meet Alex?”

“Yes!” 

“Well go on then.” you nod to Aaron who's gone and sat on the couch with her. 

He ran over and stood in front of them. You smiled watching Aaron introduce them. Alex cooed and squirmed in his arms as Jack giggled. 

Over the next few weeks you spent a lot of time with Aaron and Jack letting them get to spend time with Alex. 

“(Y/N)?” Jack looked up at you from the floor where he was playing by Alex.

“Yeah bud?” you looked up from your book. 

“If Alex is my sister, does that make you my new mommy?” 

“Come here bud.” you put your book down and picked him up and set him on the couch. “Your mommy will always be your mommy. Just like I will always be Alex’s mommy. I am not here to replace her. I’m not your new mommy but I would like to be your friend.”

“Do you want to be my mommy? You can marry daddy.” he looked up at you.

“Oh sweetheart.” your heart ached for him. “Your daddy and I aren’t getting married. We aren’t even dating.”

“Do you want to date my daddy?” 

“I like your dad very much. Sometimes adult stuff is complicated. You don’t need to worry about those things, ok?”

“Ok.” he nodded and hopped back off the couch to continue playing. 

You racked a hand through your hair, and turned when you heard a sound. Aaron was leaning in the doorway, coffee mug in hand. You got up and went over to him. 

“Are you alright?” 

He ignored the question, “So you really like me huh?” 

“You heard that? Yes I like you.” you answered. “We wouldn't have a baby if I didn't like you.”  

He’d been in the middle of a sip when you said that and choked a little on his drink. You covered your mouth to stifle your giggle. He had a little coffee dribble so you took the baby rag from your shoulder and dabbed the corner of his mouth to clean it up.

“I need to put this down.” he rasped and went to the kitchen, you followed, still snickering. He set the cup down and gripped the edge of the counter to compose himself. 

“What do we do now?” you asked.

He took a breath and turned to face you, “I’d like to give us a try. Jack likes you, I like you. You like me. So (Y/N) would you go on a date with me?”

You smiled, “I’d love too. We skipped that the last time.”

[captainnameless]

thank you so much for replying!!! i’m the anon who was asking about is Lewis more strict or a bit of a pushover! honestly i have to say i adore Lewis with little danny (i just love how cute little danny is) or little george, i just think it’s so cute 😭😭😭 but tbh any of the littles are perfect- lewis just fits so well with all of them. i dunno lewis being more strict, maybe one of the littles has been pushing his buttons all day or something but idk, completly up to you!! hope your days going good 🫶🫶🫶

Lewis wonders briefly if it’s barbaric to put Daniel in a time out, a child so full of energy forced to sit out a punishment quietly should mean it’s effective but it doesn’t make him feel any better watching Daniel squirm in place.

He likes being the fun uncle, and Daniel’s generally such a good kid. A handful, sure. Mischievous but just the right amount for it to still be cute. The disciplinary aspect doesn’t come into play all too often, both parties usually keen to avoid it. But he doesn’t want to hand all of it off to Sebastian either. Feels it a bit too housewife-y to pull a “Just wait until your father gets home” or, Mama gets home, he supposes. Even if Sebastian handles it better, makes it look easier. Isn’t swayed by puppy dog eyes nor afraid to swat some bums.

His eyes land on the discarded toy cars, aids to the naughtiness that landed his boy in a time out in the first place. Daniel suddenly deciding that throwing the cars made them even faster than racing with them, not really calculating that plastic cars do not bounce off of TVs. They break them.

It’s not so much the material value, more the several warnings and redirection Lewis had offered that Daniel had ignored that were the deciding factor.

The timer going off pulls him from his thoughts and immediately Daniel’s spun around rubbing at his wet eyes. “All done?”

Lewis moves closer, gently pulls Daniel into his space. “Do you know why you were in a time out?”

The question pulls a whine from the younger, scrunching his face up. “Yes.”

“Can you tell me?”

More whining. “No.”

“Daniel,” Lewis sighs gently, finding Daniel’s wrist and pressing his thumb into the soft skin trying to ground him. “Can you tell me please? Or do you need to think some more?”

“No think,” Daniel rushes, pulling at his wrist. “I’m not allowed to throw, you told me a lot.”

“Right, cause you can hurt yourself, or Lew, or our things. If I tell you something I expect you to listen, okay?”

“Okay.” Daniel whines, successfully tugging his wrist out. “All done?” He questions again.

“You’ll be all done once you clean up the cars, alright? We can play something else.” Lewis says, the wrong thing apparently.

“No!” Daniel whines, one of his feet stomping down. “I wanted to play cars.”

“I know you did, but I’m saying no. We can try the cars again tomorrow. Do you want me to help you clean them up? We can do a puzzle after.”

They’re dangerously close to a tantrum, if the “Ungh!” that leaves Daniel’s body is anything to go of. Still, Daniel goes to collect the cars that are on the floor, scoops them up and then unceremoniously throws them into their container.

“Daniel Joseph!” Lewis scolds, a little exasperated. “We do not throw.”

Daniel just pouts, defiance clear on his face that wipes right off when Lewis finds his arm and starts marching them towards the stairs.

“No!” Daniel protests, unsuccessfully trying to stop them from going up them. “I don’t want to go to bed.”

Lewis ignores it, debates wrestling Daniel into a shower but decides against it, going straight for the bedroom instead.

Daniel’s defiance has melted away into just tears, a sob leaving him as Lewis sits him down onto the bed, flopping himself backwards as his socks are taken off. “Noooo.”

“I know, bub.” Lewis soothes, making quick work of changing Daniel into something more suitable for bed. The tears definitely don’t lessen, and Daniel’s face is red and blotchy when he’s finished.

Lewis isn’t a total prick, he’s not going to put Daniel to bed like this, gently pulls the boy up and tugs the wobbly Australian into his chest and into the rocking chair Sebastian likes to ridicule him for.

“You’re ok.” Lewis says softly, bringing his hand to the back of Daniel’s neck and scratching the hair there, allowing Daniel to hide into his chest.

They rock like that for a while, until Daniel’s breathing evens out a bit and his shoulders stop shaking.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel whispers, fingers curling into Lewis’ jumper. “I’m sorry. Don’t tell Mama.”

“Mama’s not gonna love you any less if you’ve had a bit of a hard day.” Lewis soothes, brushing at the tear streaks. “Just like I don’t love you any less.”

“Okay,” Daniel breathes, sniffling. “I don’t want to go to bed.”

There’s a soft smile that Lewis can’t suppress. “I know, poppet. I’m afraid that’s not up for debate though. I know a very tired boy when I see one, we’ll have plenty of time to play tomorrow.”

It earns him a pout, Lewis pokes it and presses a kiss to Daniel’s nose. “How about you go and pick out a book for us to read? If you’re quick, we might be able to read two.”

It’s enough of an incentive to have Daniel slide out of his lap and scurry over to the bookshelf, pulling out two books. “I was quick!”

[starwarsmum]

Day 19 is Asking Advice! First follow up to day 4

@maribat-calendar-events

When Damian returned from the hospital and met with Jon, he was almost bowled over with questions and curiosity. He gave him a very sanitised version of events, leaving out his time as a superhero as he knew he wouldn't live it down. But he did tell him all about the girl with the concussion, who's friends didn't seem to care enough about her even after she fell into a river.

“I intend to do my due diligence and check on her within the next day or so,” he added as an afterthought. But he should have kept it as an inside thought, because Jon immediately latched onto it.

“I thought you said she was being looked after by her parents?” The super asked, eyebrows raised. At Damian's noncommittal shrug, his eyes narrowed. “Dames, that's not going to fly with me right now. Why, exactly, are you planning to invade this girl's home?”

“Tt, if you must know, her parents invited me to their bakery,” Damian huffed, averting his gaze as a light blush traveled up his neck. Jon stared at him in silence but Damian refused to elaborate further. “We are due to visit the Louvre this afternoon, are we not?”

No matter how much Jon badgered him after that, Damian refused to discuss Marinette. And it wasn't until three days after his initial meeting with her that he was able to get away from his class for long enough that he could visit the bakery.

Stepping into the busy space, he glanced around until his eyes locked onto Marinette. She was laughing at something her mother was saying, eyes bright as she sat behind the counter, and Damian felt a buzz start up in his ears. 

He had thought she was beautiful when she was soaking wet and concussed, but confronted with her looking happy and healthy? His heart hammered in his chest as he watched her. His thoughts raced as he debated whether he should actually approach her. (Un)Fortunately, the decision was taken out of his hands.

“Ah, our young hero is here!” Marinette's father's loud voice boomed across the bakery, and Damian flushed as everyone in the bakery turned to look at him. He turned even redder when Marinette turned her head in his direction even as a smile broke out across her face. “Come in, please, make yourself comfortable!”

“Papa, I think he would probably like to get out of the way,” Marinette said, her smile turning nervous. “Would you like to come upstairs? It's busy during the lunch rush and we can talk a little more freely up there.”

“She's right, Tom, let the kids head upstairs out of the way. She's been bored since her friends haven't visited yet, so she might as well go and relax. Take whatever you want for lunch though,” her mother said, smiling kindly at the pair.

“Thank you, Maman!”

After selecting pastries and promising to let them know if she needed anything Marinette led Damian upstairs. They stopped in the kitchen to get drinks - a tea for Damian and a coffee for Marinette - before heading up into the attic of the apartment. 

His first thought as they stepped into the room was she really likes pink. His second was less of a thought and more of an exclamation as over a dozen tiny gods rushed out to say hello to them both. Marinette called for order and the Kwamis subsided, all darting in different directions.

“Sorry about them. And about my parents, they can get a little…excited, when a boy comes over,” Marinette said, grimacing even as she blushed. “So, um, I assume you're here to talk about the whole Ladybug thing?”

“It was certainly a contributing factor to my accepting the invitation your parents extended, yes,” he said. “I did wish to make sure your head injury was improving as well.”

“Oh, yes, I'm feeling much better, thank you! Tikki told me you jumped into the river after me, so thank you for that as well. Um, and thank you for getting Alya to call my parents, or talk to the nurses or whatever it is you got her to do. And for stepping in when-”

“Yes, you are welcome,” he interrupted, sure that he was a matching shade of red to her own face. “You are truly better? Concussions can last longer than you would think and I would hate for you to come to harm when you have such an important role in protecting Paris.”

“Having the Ladybug Miraculous speeds up my recovery time from injuries,” she admitted, smiling at Tikki as she cuddled up to her. “And the doctors said you did exactly the right thing in getting me seen, so it's really because of you I'm recovering so well.”

An embarrassed silence stretched in front of them until Damian cleared his throat and gestured for them both to sit. Once they were comfortable, he decided it was time to get to the bottom of this whole Hawkmoth mess.

“How long have you been fighting against Hawkmoth? And do you have a mentor?”

“I mean, I had Master Fu for a while but…I'm kind of running things by myself now? Since he erased his memories and made me the guardian, I mean. Not that he was super involved before that point,” Marinette explained thoughtfully. “There's also maybe a whole order out there? But they don't really approve of how I'm doing things, so there's that.”

“So you have been fighting an emotional terrorist with only the support of your partner? I presume he at least knows and assists in your duties as guardian.”

“I mean. He shows up for battles? But it's kind of hard to support each other without revealing our identities which would not end well.”

“But you have someone to talk to about all of this, correct?” Damian felt like he was stuck in a nightmare. Not only was Marinette saying that her crime fighting partner had no idea who she was, but she was tackling the burden of being in charge of the duo as well.

“Well, given I'm talking to you right now, I guess technically yes? But you're the only person who knows that I'm Ladybug other than Tikki,” Marinette admitted. Damian rubbed his temples in frustration, actively working not to say something offensive.

“Marinette, this is not sustainable, you must know that,” he said at last, looking her in the eye and almost pleading with her. She flushed and fiddled with her phone charm, looking away from him. “Alright, given you have no-one else to rely on, you will have to make do with me. And I am going to tell you now that I am only in Paris for another week, so we will either need to end the threat before I leave or I will have to return.”

“How are you so calm about all of this?” Marinette asked, awe written across her features. 

“Tt, I live in Gotham and we have the world's greatest detective as our resident vigilante,” he sniffed in return, picking and choosing what he could say to assure her he could help without giving away secrets he wasn't supposed to. “Attacks are fairly common in our city and we have all become accustomed to certain things in regards to dealing with a villain.”

“I wish we had help, but I can't risk the Justice League coming in and getting akumatised,” Marinette said mournfully. “Otherwise I would have called for help ages ago. But I just can't see myself taking on a full grown trained adult and coming away unscathed.”

“Well, you have my assistance now. It is too late to, as they say, unring that particular bell and I have no intention of leaving you to fend for yourself. I am still going to be spending time with my class as part of our trip, but we have been given a fair amount of latitude in regards to our free time. Give me your phone and I shall input my number for you to contact me on.”

She handed her phone over, eyes wide as he did exactly as he said. She accepted it back after he was finished, staring at the contact information. She mouthed his name and he felt a flush starting to spread up his neck again. She jumped when he cleared his throat and blushed as well.

“Sorry, I didn't catch your name last time so my parents and I have just been calling you ‘hero’. But I like your name a lot better,” she offered, smiling prettily. She looked away from him to send him a message so that he had her number as well.

They chatted for a while longer, Marinette pulling out her conspiracy boards and explaining who they had already ruled out as being Hawkmoth as well as an explanation as to why. He frowned and made a mental note to double check each name on the list because, even though she had sound reasoning, it was not airtight.

When he left the bakery several hours later he was laden down with boxes of pastries and a sense of purpose. He also had a flutter in his stomach when Marinette kissed his cheek in farewell but he was trying to put that out of his mind. 

“So how was she doing?” Jon asked when Damian reached him. “Oh my god, are those pastries? Please tell me you're going to share with me.”

“She is doing well,” Damian replied, offering the box of pastries to his friend. He was still thinking about how he had reacted to Marinette and the way his pulse still spiked when he thought about her complimenting his name. 

“Oh yeah? Guess that means you won't be seeing her again, huh,” Jon said, pulling a croissant out of the box. “Ooooh, nice! Was this baked today?”

“Well, we have exchanged contact information,” Damian admitted, refusing to look at Jon even as the super almost dropped his pastry in surprise. “I find her company to be…enjoyable.”

“Huh, she must be something special to make you give her such a big compliment,” Jon said innocently, taking a big bite of the croissant. “So, what, you just decided her friends suck and you're gonna be a better one?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I would appreciate your advice, however,” he added in a strained voice. The magnitude of what he was feeling was starting to set in, and he was worried that if he approached this with his usual attitude he was going to scare the girl away. “If I were interested in a less platonic relationship with someone, how should I go about making it clear?”

“Well, you're gonna need to give me a minute, because that is not what I was expecting you to say. Holy moly, I have to meet this girl.”

_ _ _

Damian stood nervously outside the bakery again. Jon had told him to be himself but to be forthright with Marinette. So rather than wait to see if she was available the next time he had free time, he shoved the box of pastries into Jon's hands and turned right back around.

But luck was not on his side, because when he did finally build up the courage to step inside, Marinette's mother - Sabine, she insisted he call her - informed him that Marinette's friends had taken her out for ice cream. Thanking Sabine, he took her directions to this André and walked quickly in the direction of the Pont des Arts bridge.

He spotted the same large group as previously and bit back a growl when he saw the same brunette who had knocked Marinette into the river last time hovering closely to her. It seemed as though they had yet to order their ice cream and they were all pairing up; an issue was arising in who a blond boy should be paired with as there was an uneven number.

“Marinette, may I speak with you?” She turned at the sound of her name and the look on her face brightened from the annoyed scowl she was directing at the brunette. 

“Damian! Um, we were just going to get some ice cream, did you want to get some with me? Then we could sit down and talk if you want,” she said, blushing slightly.

“Of course,” he replied, offering his elbow to her. He tried not to grin too widely when she took hold of it, but permitted himself to smirk at the blond who was staring at him. “I have not heard much about this André, but your parents assured me that I would enjoy it.”

By the time they had reached the ice cream cart, Damian had gathered that they all believed it to have special properties. As in, eat ice cream with your loved one and be together forever properties. When he raised an eyebrow at Marinette, she was quick to assure him that he also did friend ice cream, and that he shouldn't feel pressured to get the sweetheart ice cream if he didn't want to.

“I mean, Alya's convinced that he's a meta because he can supposedly tell who your soulmate is by reading your heart,” she said in a light tone, though her cheeks reddened again.

“Am I to understand that you have already seen your sweetheart colours?” He asked, leaning down to murmur it in her ear. They were at the end of the queue of teenagers and it felt less like a group outing given they were only talking to each other. She nodded but didn't elaborate and he felt the curiosity burning in his chest. “Should I make a guess as to what my own will be?”

Before she could form a coherent reply they found themselves in front of André. He squinted at them both and Damian ordered a sweetheart cone before Marinette could stop him. At that point the ice cream man glanced at the blond who was gazing lovingly at a cone made with blue and red.

“Hmmmm, for you two, a scoop of cherry and a scoop of chocolate, for the tart sweetness in her and the darkness hidden in him,” he said at last, handing it over with a flourish. “A classic pair that stands strong together. Enjoy!”

The class was staring at them but Damian was secretly elated - their ice cream flavours worked well together, a classic the man had said. Holding onto the cone and her hand, he led her to a space separate to her friends and sat close to her.

“I cannot say I disagree with his observation,” he said at last, offering the first spoon of ice cream to Marinette. He had taken the spoon out of her side and held it out to her at mouth level. She blushed but leaned forward to take the bite.

“I do like both cherry and chocolate,” she said shyly, keeping her position leaning towards him. His mouth was dry and he couldn't taste his own spoonful of ice cream but he refused to move away from her. 

“I am glad to be getting ice cream with you,” he said gently, stomach erupting in butterflies when she smiled at him from only inches away. He swallowed and decided to take the plunge. “I know you do not know me very well yet, but I would like to change that. Would you be against going out with me during my stay in Paris?”

“I'd love to,” she said, dropping her head onto his shoulder. Damian grinned as she ate another spoon of ice cream and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

[beardedmrbean]

As the 2024 presidential race enters its final stretch, former President Donald Trump appears to be gaining traction with at least some undecided voters. Two of those explained their reasoning on the latest episode of the Morning Meeting podcast.

Co-hosted by veteran political journalist Mark Halperin, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and political commentator Dan Turrentine, Monday's YouTube show explored why some voters who remain on the fence are now leaning toward Trump over Kamala Harris. Many of these voters cite concerns over economic instability and national security as key factors in their decision.

"Some of those undecided voters... have started to move toward Trump a little. That's why the number of undecideds is beginning to shrink," said Halperin, referencing recent poll numbers showing an improvement for Trump and explaining the shift among undecided voters.

The podcast featured insights from real voters, including Steve, a man from New Jersey, and Terry, a woman from Connecticut, with both finding themselves leaning back toward the former president as Election Day approaches. While neither expressed full support for Trump, they said they saw him as a more reliable option in uncertain times.

Steve, who voted for Trump in 2016 but did not support him in 2020, explained that his shift is driven by concerns over immigration and national security.

"It's a tough decision, but I'm leaning toward Trump," Steve said during the discussion. Although he still harbors reservations about Trump's behavior, Steve emphasized that issues like border security now take priority in his decision-making process.

Spicer, who served as Trump's first press secretary, emphasized the importance of personal persuasion in swaying undecided voters, downplaying the influence of high-profile celebrity endorsements that Harris has received over the past two months.

"The most impactful endorsement you can get is when a neighbor, a friend, a family member, or a coworker asks you to vote for someone," Spicer said.

Terry, another undecided voter from Connecticut, voiced dissatisfaction with the economy under the Biden administration. After casting a protest vote for Biden in 2020, she now feels "immediate remorse" for that decision. Her concerns focus on the financial struggles of lower-income Americans, particularly those who don't benefit from rising stock markets or retirement portfolios.

"Half of America—75 million people—do not have access to a 401(k) or a stock portfolio. We've got to help this segment... If we don't help the people without access to wealth, we're in trouble," she said.

The hosts also questioned Kamala Harris' campaign strategy as early voting continues. Halperin asked why Harris isn't doing more to engage voters in battleground states. "Why isn't she working harder? If you assume she's behind, why isn't she in three battleground states a day?" he wondered, suggesting that Harris' relatively limited schedule could be contributing to her struggles with undecided voters.

Dan Turrentine suggested that Harris' approach has been overly defensive, which may be hindering her momentum with key voter groups. "After the convention and the debate, she shifted into a defensive posture. She's been trying not to make mistakes and saying very little," the analyst said.

He also noted that Harris has focused on appealing to "soft" Republicans and specific voting blocs like Black men, rather than aggressively courting undecided voters regardless of their party affiliation or demographic.

Trump has seen encouraging signs over the last week following strong showings in several major national polls. Nate Silver, the polling guru who is closely modeling the race on his Substack, noted that, with 21 days remaining, the former president has reason to feel more optimistic about the race.

Silver's analysis indicated that Trump is gaining slight ground against Harris. His Silver Bulletin presidential model, which tracks polling data and electoral trends, showed a 0.3 percentage point shift in Trump's favor over the past week, signaling a more competitive race as the campaigns head into the final stretch.

The updated forecast reflects small but significant gains for Trump in key swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania—states pivotal to both Trump's 2016 victory and his 2020 defeat. Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, are barnstorming those states this week, with multiple stops scheduled in all three over the coming days.

[abby118]

Loki Ask: do you have any headcanons about jotunheim?

Ooh many! Most of them are directly associated with my fic (which would be the case with a lot of the questions from this list) but I suppose there are some that don't need that context, especially when it comes to the war. "Once, mankind accepted a simple truth; that they were not alone in this universe. Some worlds, man believed to be home to their gods, others, they knew to fear."

I think, both the Jotuns and the Aesir are roughly the same age race-wise with maybe the Jotuns being slightly older. I think each of these races had the ultimate goal of becoming the one ruling over Yggdrasil. The key factor in that was, that they had a different approach of achieving that.

While Asgard wanted to paint this picture of being the protector and the saviour to which the realms would look up to as their trusted and respected superiors (which ultimately worked), Jotunheim aimed to rule with an iron fist, with their tactics being rushed and more violent as a result of that. They wanted to base their rule on fear-induced respect and weren't as patient (or subtle) which contributed to their fall. It stems from their nature and helped the Aesir by giving them the opportunity to prove themselves as the protectors where they saved, in this case, Midgard from Jotunheim's attack when that wasn't the sole reason why they arrived. (But of course, Midgard lacked the broader context. They were thankful that somebody came to their defence in the first place.)

I think, both Asgard and Jotunheim's rulers were very aware of one another and that carried itself over through the generation until it escalated into the Asgard-Jotunheim war that took place during Odin's rule. This is why I think it was a little bit more personal than the other wars. Asgard takes pride in victory and in battle which manifests into their warrior society and so, just like Thor and Loki, Odin must have grown up with similar stories. This war finally solidified the already somewhat well-established position Asgard had created for itself by earning them Midgard's trust and worship and by bringing one of their last enemies, Jotunheim, to its knees.

I believe Jotunheim used to prosper before these wars and before they initiated their attempts of conquest but fell apart completely after the Casket was taken from them. I believe, this downfall started even before Laufey ascended and that's part of the reason why he seemed as power-driven as he did. His tactic was not thought out at all and he took way too many risks out of desperation to not only save his realm and kingdom but to win his people more than they already had. I think this resulted in riots in the realm and therefore deaths of many of its inhabitants. Despite the treaty, they were cut off from the rest of the alliance and probably saw their king as a coward apart from a selected group surrouding the palace, or better said, its ruins.

I think you can see this in the way in which Odin handled finding Loki. His decision was based on political action that would come to fruition in the distant future. If the roles had been reversed, Laufey would have killed Odin's son without mercy or judgement of the consequences that it would bring. Another example would be when he immediately ordered Loki to be killed upon his arrival. Initially, he was not interested in finding out what was the reason behind his visit and he was too quick to agree with Loki's offer and travel to Asgard (as the realm's king, meaning putting its future at a major risk).

----the ask game----

3,5, 23, 24, 4

[bahnloopi]

What advice would you offer anyone trying to make an AU that is wholly additive like your Sento Saiyans (as opposed to ones that focus on altering events like so many do)? Anything to try and avoid or lean into (e.g your Sento Saiyans lacking a SSJ form and the culture that builds because they all have access to emotion-driven forms in Oozaru)?

**LONG THREAD

First, kinda have half a brain to say "fuck all" to canon. The AU will be a sandbox you craft of your own while "using" canon material as your "non-canon" if that makes sense. I included canon character (Goku, Vegeta, Whis, etc) as chess pieces for the world I craft around them. I myself know this is not canon, not true to any part of Super or the establish status quo. I just have to be mindful of characterizations. I fight the "canon police" on the daily who try and lecture me on "this wouldn't happen" or "why make this because blah blah blah and this happens instead" because I'm practically disrupting all established norms. I just don't give a fuck and decide to do it anyway because it's fun.

Second, I'd have to know more on what direction you're trying to go. Are you trying to make a fan race or anything OC x Canon related? I could better answer with a bit more info.

If it's a fan race, my best suggestion is doing your homework on at least most of the established DBverse so that way you have substance on what you're trying to do and it'd make sense for where it may be inserted in (og DB, Z, GT, or Super). This applies with my earlier statement because you will have people that will want to ask you questions and you'll have to have some consistency or you'll create (too many) plot holes.

Lastly, the reason for me NOT having Sentos inherit super forms naturally is because:

A: I'm kinda tired of the recolors. I love super forms, don't get me wrong, but every Saiyan type does Super Saiyan. I want Sento Saiyans to work like Ikari/Wrathful Broly where he still looked like his base but still has that power buff. The only exception is the Legendary, Orran, where he gets both Oozaru AND the Legendary form.

B: For them it'll be a "deception tactic" where you'll think they look weak visually but they still have that power boost of the super form under the surface. The hair won't change colors but the eyes will. Sentos will learn the super form (properties) and not change into the form itself if that makes sense.

I'm playing a mind-game. "What? Saiyans that can't go SSJ? How does that work? That's what Saiyans do." Nah. That's called creativity. I call it the "Rock Lee" effect. They don't have to rely on being flashy or ki-driven to box. They're different. It's how you create skills and unique abilities that could stand in the same lane as SSJ but on a different branch. It's not to replace the forms, but how to bend them in different directions. Add different ways to utilize forms or transformations.

Sorry this is so long but my goal is to technically break the status quo and start looking at other ways to mold an established factor so that way new things can keep the air fresh and creativity flows freely. Research and think on it. DB is a giant sandbox that a lot of the fanbase tends to box themselves into corners and won't venture out because they believe it's cringe or taboo. There's a lot you can do if you have the mind for it. Toriyama himself can't remember SSJ2 even existed, you'll be fine.

[your-compadre-infinity]

Happy Birthday, @star-critter

Words: 1,274 Time Taken: 4 Hours and 2 Minutes

Part 1 because Tumblr couldn't handle how long this fic is. Dr. Starline was suspicious of his team. Well — colleagues. He wouldn’t call them a team just yet; there were still many things the ragtag group of villains must work on before they could be considered a fully functional team. 

Back to the issue at hand, the platypus was growing wary. For the past month or so, not one person dared to speak a word to him. They were always a mile away from him, at best, and not even the loud and obnoxious Rough and Tumble came to annoy him. Starline found it odd that everyone has decided to keep their distance — it was good for the work, yes, but why now of all times? The doctor couldn’t figure out the reason and it was driving him mad. Perhaps a stakeout would wield results? Starline was good at being stealthy, yes, but not as good as Mimic. That octopus could sneak up on anyone, and if he were to find Starline stalking the team, things may get a little out of hand. But then again, Mimic was also avoiding him, so there really wasn’t any risk, was there? Oh, who was he kidding; Starline still had to calculate all of the other factors and variables before starting this observation.

…  Honestly, though? Starline just wanted answers.  And that’s how the platypus doctor found himself squished between the pipes and the roof, his maroon eyes glued to the hallway below. He swore he would get to the bottom of this — but he sure had hoped he changed into something less pristine.  “Hello, Doctor. Fancy seeing you here.” 

Starline whipped his head around to spot Mimic, disguised as a child mobian, sitting on the pipe beside him and wrapping what seemed to be red ribbon around the mental tube. Just as he was about to question the octopus, Mimic did a double take, his black eyes wide with shock. He leapt off the pipe, changing into the streamlined form of Sonic the Hedgehog and racing down the hall, calling out to the rest of the Deadly 4 to lock the warehouse.  Starline grumbled, climbing out from behind the pipes. Activating the flight powers in his Tricore, he landed on the floor with ease and grace before chasing Mimic down with the speed powers.  Mimic flew into the warehouse and the door slammed behind him.  Starline stood at the door, brushing his perm away from his face and knocking on the door.

“I know you’re in there,” he announced, “open up.” Zavok’s broad shoulders just barely squeezed out from the slim opening in the door. He groaned, mumbling something under his breath before addressing the doctor.  “Starline, why so hasty?” He asked. The Zeti crossed his arms. “This behaviour is unlike you.”

“Would you like to explain to me why you and the rest of the group have been avoiding me for weeks?” Starline glared through his orange-tinted glasses, pushing himself onto his tip-toes in an attempt to match Zavok’s height. “And what are you doing in there? There’s delicate projects in the warehouse.” “We’ve been, um–” Zavok stuttered. He never stuttered. “We’ve been…reorganising the warehouse. Between you and me, I believe the team has been on one too many raids, as of late, and there’s been too much loot. We’ve taken the liberties of rearranging the warehouse, so you can focus on your work. Leave the rest to us.” Starline raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. Zavok gulped quietly as a single bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. He cleared his throat.  “Well then, if you could please leave us to our work?”  Starline sneered as he turned and walked away, glancing back at the warehouse every few steps to check for any other clues. Zavok simply stood in front of the door, obstructing Starline’s view to the inside. The doctor eventually gave in and left the warehouse, returning to his laboratory.  Not enough clues, not enough details, but only more suspicion. What was the group hiding from him?