#but since he's been living in spain for a while he already speaks like a spaniard

[fcaruana]

despite living in europe since he was 14, franco has a very strong argentinian rioplatense/porteño accent, typical of buenos aires province. he's been working with a spanish manager since he was a teen but he didn't catch any of her accent at all. he always says "ustedes" instead of "vosotros" and kept the distinctive argentinian voseo (vos instead of tú) and the rioplatense yeísmo

i've seen non-argentinian spanish speakers struggle to understand him because of 1) how fast he speaks 2) the crazy amount of slang he uses, as explained in prev notes. he's also being sarcastic like 80% of the time

something very argentinian of him is that he says boludo every 3 sentences. it's originally an insult but we use it so often that it lost its meaning and now it's just "mate/dude/friend" in most contexts

i noticed he uses lots of diminutives like autitos (little cars) or gomitas (little tyres) and it's so cute

Question for Spanish speaking F1blr-- non Spanish speakers (such as myself) are def missing out on the nuanced differences in accents and dialects between Spanish speaking drivers. What do you pick up from the way Spanish speakers like Fernando, Carlos, Checo, and Franco talk? (Ex. Fernando is from a working class background, while Carlos is upper class and seemingly old money-- does that come through in the way they speak? Do Franco and Checo have regional accents from within their home countries, and have they changed their Spanish to sound more European after living abroad? Do any of them use fun country specific slang?)

Anyway, hoping this turns into the sequel of the British accent post because I love hearing about sociolinguistics. Though this may be more difficult since obviously the Hispanic world is a lot bigger than the UK.

[mydarlingclaudia]

bunnies love bouncing

note : divider is from @/aquazero. my mutuals have been making me think about ogre4 Leon more than I already do so this is what I spat out I know this kinda sucks. sorry I always have to write like eight paragraphs of lore before the smut starts it's who I am. Leon is ooc sorry I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO WRITE HIM dw about it kitten. I don't know how I feel about this one. mdni

wc : 1.7k

tags : @lottiies

desc : you're supposed to make him feel good, why not make him feel even better? smut!! - unprotected p in v, reverse cowgirl, light choking. little bit of fluff, fem!hybrid!reader, post re4og!Leon, not proofread.

The whole reason Leon got you was because you were supposed to be therapeutic, somehow. He didn't really understand how having a roommate he had to take care of was supposed to help him feel better, he didn't even feel like he even needed therapy, but the whole situation had been referred to him by some other agents in the DSO before Spain, but when you were the hybrid that had been picked out for him and you looked at him with your pretty little eyes with your cute rabbit ears twitching atop your head, Leon couldn't really imagine turning you away.

Leon can't help but be a little bit mean to you, you're so easy to tease and he loves the way your nose twitches and your foot thumps against the floor when you get upset. You always forgive him in a matter of minutes, anyway, all he has to do is open his palm and show you a piece of candy he had hidden away and you're already nestled into his side.

His least favorite part of having you might be having to buy you clothes. You take so long to try on everything, and you insist on showing him each new outfit you get to make sure it looks nice or that he likes it. And you always want these cute panties and bras, which of course absolutely had to be modeled for him. But whenever it came to underwear, you’d pull Leon into the fitting room, which made everything way too close for comfort, and you’d spin around and ask him if the underwear looked good on you and he’d have to pretend he wasn’t starting to feel hot. Not to mention how cute your little cottontail looked perched above your panties.

And you’re cute, always waiting by the door for Leon when he comes back from work, snuggling up to him so quickly that he has to pry you off of him to even be able to get his shoes off. He’ll tell you to scram for a few minutes while he unpacks his things and finishes whatever paperwork he had to take home with him, you always sigh and wander into the living room to watch tv, hoping Leon will be done soon so he’ll keep paying attention to you.

You got attached quickly, that made Leon feel kinda good, he supposed. Leon had to get your own flip phone for when he went away on missions, in case of an emergency or to order yourself pizza, but you ended up calling his agency more often than not. And you were allowed to since you were registered as a therapy hybrid under the agency, you weren’t allowed to speak to Leon directly when he was on the job, but Hunnigan would always let him know when you called and asked how he was doing, she always humored you, it was cute to her.

Having you around does make him feel a bit better, getting extra attention is nice and you’re always so sweet to him, Leon figures that taking care of you isn’t too bad sometimes.

He gets to see you naked every so often.

It’s cute, you always strip down to nothing when it gets too hot at night, it doesn’t stop you from sweating through the night, unfortunately. You’d always wander into Leon’s room come morning and ask him for a bath, trying to climb into his bed even when you were still naked.

The first time you had done it, he had groaned and held his hands out in front of his eyes to keep himself from oogling you for too long, but you had flopped down onto his stomach and just laid there for a few minutes while he debated whether or not this was a good idea or not.

It became more normal now, not that he minded, he likes to reach down and give your tail a gentle yank just to hear you yelp. Maybe even “accidentally” grope you just because he can.

You sit too close to him sometimes, too. Sometimes you’re on his lap, either facing away from him or with your head buried in his neck, either way, he’s gripping onto your legs, trying not to focus on how you’re squirming in his lap.

He likes when you curl up into his bed at night, you grip onto him like a bear-trap and don’t let go until morning. Leon’s aware of everything all the time, especially on how your lips are pressed against his neck, he knows you’re not trying to kiss him, but he can delude himself a tiny bit.

You were so sweet tonight, babbling about how you had missed him and how warm he felt. Leon couldn’t help but kiss your cheek, you had giggled as you squeezed him tighter and pressed a few kisses to his cheek in return.

Things escalated kind of quickly. One second you and Leon are kissing each other's faces, the next his tongue is down your throat, then the very next, your back is to him as you ride him.

Leon’s grip on your hips is almost bruising, guiding your body while your hands grip just above his knees to keep yourself upright. He can’t tear his gaze away from your cottontail, smiling to himself as he watches it twitch.

“You’re so cute,” Leon murmurs, pulling you down to meet his upward thrust. You groaned, your nails digging into his skin, Leon’s hands left your hips and trailed up your stomach until he cupped your breasts, yanking you back against his chest. “So sweet for me, too.”

His lips attach to your shoulder, planting kisses on any open space he could find. While his hips were busy rutting against you, driving his dick into you, his hands busied themselves with kneading your tits, rolling your nipples between his fingertips.

“You were such a-a blabber-mouth before, mm fuck, you’re finally quiet now, hm?” Leon teases, his nails digging into the soft flesh of your breasts.

“M-missed you,” You pant, moving faster to match his movements, you smile to yourself when he lets out a groan as you clamp down around him.

“I know, God- mhm- always so good to me. Just wanna make me feel good, yeah?”

“Yeah,”

“You’re doing a pretty good job. Sooo perfect, holy shit-“ He stops fucking up into you for a few seconds, letting you do the work as focused on the feeling of your hot cunt sucking him in. You had been so ready for him when he pulled off your panties, he couldn't help but drool a little at the sight of you all wet for him, couldn't hold back from giving your clit a few kisses and gentle nips, either.

Leon's right hand leaves your breast to move behind you, tugging at the tips of your droopy rabbit ears, tipping your head back a little bit as you hiss. He tuts, bringing the furry flap of cartilage to his mouth to press a kiss against it, finally deciding to start bucking his hips again.

Holy Hell, the wet sounds coming from the two of you were gonna be stuck in his head for the next two weeks, at least. Not to mention the noises falling from your mouth and the way you looked bouncing up and down on his cock, he'd have to have you facing him the next time you do this.

And you felt like you were on fire.

You weren't gonna tell Leon, but you've been wishing for this to happen since forever. And maybe it's dumb to crush on the guy who takes care of you, but you can't help it! Just like how you can't help humping his pillows when he's gone, or wearing his shirts when you have a whole closet full of clothes you asked him to buy you, but this was way better than any of that. You were willing to do this until you were all sore and Leon had to do all the work, you wouldn't even mind passing out.

And he felt better than any dream you could have, mostly because of how he's hardly giving you a break, but also because it's him.

You're pulled from your barely-there thoughts as Leon's bicep wraps around your throat, squeezing gently as your head tips back and his other hand shoots down to play with your clit. Was he trying to drive you crazy? Your hands grip his arm, fingernails digging into his flesh as you try to ground yourself, trying to take in as much air as you can in case he decides to squeeze harder.

"Feel good?" He mutters against the side of your head, smiling as you nod. His fingers poke and pinch at your clit, your own thrusts start slowing down as you begin to feel your orgasm start to coil up in your belly.

Your head droops down, resting against his bicep as his grip loosens, you almost whine when his fingers leave your clit to hold onto your stomach, keeping you against him even more.

"Gonna tell my boss to give you a f-fucking promotion when we're done," Leon pants, the noises coming from his mouth slowly becoming more needy, doing nothing to aid in stopping your arousal. "Cum, please. Gonna lose it. Shit-"

Leon offers up a few more hard thrusts before you feel the coil snap and you cum, biting down on his forearm as you breathe through your nose. Leon isn't far behind, his thrusts become lazy as he reaches his own high, his arm moves from your neck to wrap around your shoulder to hold onto you tightly, you shiver as you feel his cum coat your insides.

"Happy?" You mumble to him, tilting your head to rest against his as you teasingly tease his spent dick, listening to him groan while he weakly thrusts against you.

"Very," Leon presses a kiss to your head and loosens his grip on you, letting you rise off of him. "Let me see your face, next time." You turn to face him, draping your legs over his while you lay down on the bed and catch your breath. Leon should have gotten you sooner.

"You can see my face now,"

"Don't play dumb, you know what I mean."

[rapunzellovesbooks]

The entitlement some people feel over Luke Newton´s career is baffling to me. Like, people out here saying "Oh, he has not milked the success of Bridgerton enough, his time has passed" or "He played his cards wrong" is just... wrong. Like, I get it, compared to Nicola, in the past few months, she has been much more active on social media than him, but can you actually blame him? Yall saw one picture where he was clearly uncomfortable, running away from the paparazzi and destroyed him online. Then he went on a vacation after months of press (and God knows which auditions, jobs or fittings on the side) and made it seem like he was committing a crime. Then he posts about a trip to Spain and some of you go call the hotel to check who he was with. If I were him, I would not post anything online ever again, because there is no winning, is there? He commented on one of Nicola´s post and she had to delete the awful comments people left. All because of what? A picture taken out of context with a girl who is not Nicola. News flash, people are allowed to have other people in their lives, romantically or otherwise. And to the people thinking that he did it to disentangle himself from Nicola, what drugs are you on? Like, he was holding so tight to her the night before, so excited for the premiere of Part 2, always praising her and looking at her with love in his eyes, even when no cameras were on them. I bet if people had not haunted him on social media he would have posted bts, or shared funny edits but the toxic fandom made it impossible for him to do so in real time. Because, apparently, to some people, if he had posted about Nicola while not being officially together with her, that is leading them astray. Umm, what?

And then you have the idea that he is not working. Nicola literally signed off to do Magic Faraway Tree before Part Two and has a small role in it, and the rest of her work has been in fashion. He went to fashion shows as well. Both of them are signed to Season 4 of Bridgerton and from what we have heard, they have quite a big part in it. If it took them 8 months to do their season, I can, at least, see them being there for maybe 4 or 5 months of shooting. That is work. Going to rehearsals and fittings is work. They literally get paid for that. It is astounding to me that Nicola has no future projects lined up yet, same as him, but everyone is on his ass for the same thing he has been doing for years, work in private. Now, I am a shipper, I do believe they will be together eventually, but I genuinely do not understand how that has anything to do with people trashing him for his upcoming projects. He may not have found the project he wants to do or is waiting to share info. Also, I bet you Nic or him would have shared a picture of going back to set already if some fans weren´t analysing pixels on screens.

I do feel like there is a double standard here, because if Nicola had done the same, gone on vacation or been photographed with a random guy, everyone would have been like "Good for her, etc.". She gets on the Top 100 List for, honestly, being more present online with the work she does, but there are so many people who do great work who are not and will never be on that list. If Luke had gotten on it, some people would be so mad at him, I just know it.

I just miss them together and I have to blame the toxic fans for not seeing them together anymore. I do not doubt they have been in contact since, I mean, this whole ordeal happened because we are so obsessed with their connection, they must have talked about that infamous day, but also, I think some fans are creating stories of them not talking or growing apart that are just hurtful. Even before the world tour, they did not see each other every day, they do not have to speak every day for them to have a great bond. They simply cannot share it online anymore or, at least he can´t, because people over dissect every thing, even if it is just a smiley. Taylor Swift was framed with the whole Kanye thing years ago and she disappeared for a year. She was still doing stuff and seeing friends but we just never knew about it. And I get it.

It hurts me so much to see a genuinely nice and kind guy who did an amazing job as Colin get so many negative comments over nothing. Every time Nic does something, people throw it directly in his face. Oh, he was not at the Emmys. Oh, he was not at a fashion show. Maybe he does not want to be?! Maybe he couldn´t? Does Zendaya have to be everywhere with Tom Holland? Like, what?!

#lukola #nicluke #lukenewton #nicolacoughlan

[devilfic]

girl. the honeymoon series. LIVING FOR IT. this is a really like loose request, but could you do like a charity event night? not really sure what to happen but the thought of having to reallllly sell the whole marriage thing to everyone at the event is just quite interesting. thriving rn

❝honeymoon❞

IV. sugar-coating.

parts: previously / next plot: an ex corners you, bringing up bad memories. bruce offers you super illegal catharsis. pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x gn!reader. cw: arranged marriage, friends to enemies to (fake) lovers, implied history between reader and bruce, angst, eventual fluff, reader has a scummy ex, bruce is allowed to be a little bit chaotic as a treat and so are you. words: 2.8k.

"So. Wayne, huh? How's that going for you?"

You laugh behind your glass, feigning innocence with a light and fluttery "What do you mean?"

Coulson is a family friend, as much yours as he is Bruce's, and even though he's the competition, he treats you and Bruce with as much respect as you could hope for in your line of work. Bonds formed in boarding school tended not to break easily, "It's just... gotta wonder what you did to make it up to him. Last I checked, you didn't even exist to him."

You swallow your champagne, just for something better to do than flinching, "Yeah, well, he found it in his heart to hear me out. Love like that doesn't really go away."

Coulson's eyes narrow for a second. He doesn't fully believe you. In an attempt to steer toward calmer waters, he elbows you in the side, "Must've learned some impressive tricks if it got that skirt-chaser to commit." But calmer didn't mean desirable.

You really don't want to discuss what you and Bruce (don't) do in the bedroom right now, so you steer the conversation a different direction, "And how is your new girlfriend, Coulson?"

He has a lot to say about her. A violinist in the Gotham City Orchestra with two degrees and a tour coming up later this year. He tells you he'll send you and Bruce tickets, tells you that one of the tour dates is in Spain and it will line up with your anniversary next year. The mention of your anniversary makes your stomach knot up a bit; the wedding was still weeks away, and you'd only just gotten on decent speaking terms with Bruce.

If anyone here knew how thin your marriage's facade was, it would be more than an embarrassment. Your mother would waterboard you in your own blood and tears.

It helped that most people didn't have a clue. Sure, there was gossip and the occasional rumor, but it was all for "fun". It never went anywhere, and any whisper that got too big for its britches could be easily stamped out with a little effort.

But Coulson? He was a friend. He'd known you a long time. If anyone were to put weight to a rumor about you and Bruce, it would be him. Which is why you couldn't let him figure you out.

"...For a while there, I swore you and Bruce weren't on speaking terms at all." Your ears catch the last bit of Coulson's rambling, right as he settles into a silent, knowing smile. "Care to catch me up on the rekindling?"

Well, you see, there's this little thing called blackmail- "When the board appointed me as acting CEO, I felt it time to reach out and make amends. It'd been years since we'd even talked, and with him so busy with his projects, we never really saw each other either. I was surprised that he even had the time, so we met up and just talked. About everything. About the company, about his work, about... what happened. It was a little while after the flood, so it just sort of lined up at the right time."

Coulson nods, impressed and seemingly unaware you'd just pulled that out of your ass, "Damn. Near-death experiences really do wonders for the heart. And now you have a wedding coming up." He catches it before you do, the micro-expression of discomfort. You swear his smile gets bigger, "What's that? Don't tell me there's trouble in paradise already?"

"No, sorry. Not trouble. Just stress. Lots of wedding planning and company business at once. I was kind of hoping to get away from it all here, focus my efforts on alleviating others' stresses." You tip your glass in the direction of the giant banner at the entrance that reads, "Hope For Homes: Housing Gotham's Youth One Helping Hand at a Time".

Coulson doesn't take his eyes off you for a second, "Had I known you were ready to settle down, I wouldn't have let Bruce beat me to it."

“I’m sorry?”

Your friend's smile doesn't waver. You feel a chill settling in your chest, a warning that he’d taken control again. You try to casually scan the crowd for Bruce but you find him in deep discussion with some business partners and your stomach twists. He’s turned, he can’t see you. You can’t call for help.

“Ah, you know,” Coulson steps forward, a friendly distance to anyone else, “saw you and Brucie together and just got to thinking about us. You remember, don’t you?” You keep a solid expression, much to his amusement, “Or was I just a step on the ladder too?”

It’s supposed to be a joke. You ought to laugh it off. You do, stiffly, pressing your sweating glass to your inner wrist to ground yourself, “We were… 17. Weren’t we?”

“The first time, yeah.”

“How could I forget?”

“You did always like Bruce better.” Coulson comes closer. He’s close enough now that anyone would think you were just two childhood friends gossiping, reminiscing on your youth and laughing all about it. Coulson keeps up a pretty smile even as your heartbeat accelerates, “Always worried about him. Always running after him. He didn’t even give you the time of day.”

You keep smiling, “He was angry. I understood-“

“Bullshit,” and he says this so loud that a few people turn and look, but with such a joyful expression that they don’t look long, “you were obsessed with the guy! Couldn’t stand the idea of him knowing what you really are.”

Your blood curdles. You know you should correct him, but your jaw is locked tight.

"That's okay. Bruce is... fickle. One day he's in love with you, the next you're a bug on a windshield. You're no bug now, are you?"

Now he's pushing it. The hand that captures your chin is lightly scented with cardamom, what should smell pleasing and sexy and disabling. It should sweep you into familiar arms, whisk you off into a whirlwind affair that gets the whole party talking. It should spark controversy. It should make you excited to ruin your mother's plans.

Your heart pangs as you remember the look on Bruce's face. Standing in the hall, one hand on the door to the library, yours and your mother's faces illuminated in flickering candlelight. You must've looked like a monster to him the way he fled-

You grab his wrist and tug, peppering a laugh in as if this is all just one big joke, "Let go."

Coulson's eyes spark alight, "I like you the way you are. You know what you want."

"I am not a gold-digger."

"But you are. Even if mommy's pulling the strings, you like being pulled. Only someone with something to gain would play along."

He'd looked at you once like you'd hung the sun in the sky, and now you were the devourer of light. You had consumed it, put out its burning devotion in one fell swoop. And then nothing. As if you were nothing before and would never be anything after. You were nothing as he told you, in no uncertain terms-

"Coulson, let go."

"I wouldn't mind, you know. Brucie is too soft for you. My girlfriend, you know, love her to death, pretends she's not in it for the money. People like that? They come into our world and think that we don't see how it changes them. How they're driven by it just like the rest of us are. She thinks she has to prove to me that she's different. You don't have to. You're committed, I respect that. But it doesn't have to be Bruce."

Your hands tremble at your sides. Almost more than you've ever wanted anything in your life, you want to give him a shiner that would put you out of high society. Your dominant hand curls into a fist, delighted by the idea.

You go to bat off the hand that touches your hip, but when your skin meets theirs, you recognize it isn't Coulson's. You feel the coolness of their ring against your sweating palm and almost sag into it, "I leave you alone for one second, and vultures descend." Bruce places a cool, gentle kiss to your temple. His lips hover there as he turns ever so slightly towards your ex. Coulson releases your chin. "Coulson. How's Lydia?"

You shouldn't delight in the way Coulson tightens up as much as you do, "Bruce! Good to see you. She's fantastic. Tour starts later this year. You lovebirds should come."

"It's a shame she couldn't make it."

"Oh, you know how it is. I'm still in good company. Right?" Coulson turns to you, winks. His smile is rigid.

When others are around, Bruce would snap back into a Wayne: all propriety and good will. You take a look at his expression and it is unreadable. There's a faint smile there, but nothing else he gives away. He is studying Coulson quite intensely though. You don't think he's blinked in a minute.

His eyes flicker down in fake-bashfulness, "I should thank you for that. You know once the board starts talking numbers, they can't stop. Not even for a good cause." Coulson nods politely along, half-listening, "You did good seeking this one out instead. I'm sure you've heard more than enough about numbers after this past month."

It was a simple statement. Most of the people in this room had been spending their days stuffed into board meetings for the end of the fiscal quarter, talking about finance, watching the stock market, money and more money... but it was the bit at the end that did it.

Coulson's eye twitches just so. He hesitates on asking but just can't help himself, "How do you mean?"

Bruce's smile takes on a patronizing color, "Oh, the boys and I were just discussing... sorry, I thought... I assumed it was public knowledge by now, forgive me." He laughs, just a touch awkward enough that it looks like he didn't mean to say anything at all. Now Coulson's smile is falling.

Even you are curious.

Coulson crosses his arms, hugging himself, "It was... a minor error reallocating funds. Nothing more. It isn't public knowledge because it's been handled. Who told you about it?"

"Has it? Been handled, I mean."

You glance between the two of them. For the first time since he'd come over, Bruce looks back at you.

Coulson clears his throat, "It has. Anyone saying otherwise must not have anything better to talk about."

Bruce hums. His mouth falls from your temple to your cheek, placing another kiss there, then another behind your ear. The hand on your hip moves to close around your neck, holding you close so not a word slips out of the space between you and him, "Let's go."

You keep your eyes on Coulson's, watching the gentle flicker between annoyance and politeness. You throw in a giggle for good measure, "Sure thing."

Bruce peels back from you, acknowledging Coulson with little more than a nod, "Good seeing you, Coulson. I'd stick around longer but I think I'm gonna steal them home, if you don't mind."

"Not at all! I envy how much you two are obsessed with each other, truly." Coulson sips his champagne and in a bitter tone, shifts his focus to you, "Think on what I said, hm?"

The nerve.

Bruce is whisking you toward the front doors without giving you a moment to respond. He kisses you more, leans into you with an arm thrown around your shoulders and a giddy smile as he sets his barely-touched champagne on a waiter's tray.

It isn't until you two are outside by the curb that you break your silence, "Thank you."

Bruce doesn't fully acknowledge you with his body, even as his arm remains slung about you, helping keep the chill of the night off you. He sends off a message for your driver, "What for?"

That was right. You'd never actually gotten to talk to Bruce about Coulson, "He... he was questioning the marriage. Questioning if you were the right fit for me. Saying that maybe I'd be better off with someone who understands me," you grit the next part out, "the real me."

"And?"

You look at him. He's watching cars pass as your eyes prick with tears. "I don't think he understands me at all. He never did."

He appraises you out of the corner of his eye, "Could've told you that years ago."

"You wouldn't even give me the time of day four months ago."

You've got him there. You're shocked to find that he isn't annoyed, or defensive, or even ignoring you. He sucks his teeth and shrugs. Presses the bottom of his shoe into an old cigarette on the sidewalk, snuffing out a flame that had died a long time ago. "You were going to hit him. I saw you." You feel heat crawl up your neck as you remember. "I don't know what he said, but he would've deserved it."

"I... couldn't. You know I couldn't."

Bruce turns up his nose as if he's smelled something foul, "It would've felt good, though."

"Yes."

The two of you wait there, just wobbling in the wind, watching cars go by as music and chatter and people flutter out of the ballroom behind you. You don't know what you're waiting for, but you can indulge yourself once in a while. If Bruce wants to stand on the street with his arm around you doing nothing, then maybe you ought to take the time to do nothing.

A few minutes pass before Bruce releases you, nodding for you to follow him up the street. You do, even confused.

He stops right in front of a bright red convertible, a shiny and expensive thing, parked just far enough out of the way that the music is fainter here. "C'mere," Bruce instructs, walking around the front of the sports car, and you follow him, watching your step lest you fall prey to a puddle, "hold this."

He removes the handkerchief from his front suit pocket and lays it over your open palm, much to your bewilderment. Then, reaching into the inside of his jacket, he drops a batarang into your hand.

"Bruce-!" You instinctively close your hand around the thing to hide it, thankful that his handkerchief kept you from slicing your palm open, "what are you-"

"One tire is a spare. Two is a tow."

"Have you been drinking? Like actually?"

You're startled by the grin he gives you, "If we stand here all night, someone'll catch us."

You go to argue when you recognize something hanging from the car's rear view mirror. A pair of dingy, fuzzy dice. Dice you've seen before in older, just as expensive cars. This is Coulson's car.

You grab Bruce by the arm and turn him to you, "Are you insane?"

"It's better than punching him."

The batarang weighing in your hand feels a little lighter at that.

"Couldn’t stand the idea of him knowing what you really are.”

Who Coulson thought you were wouldn't slash the tires of a backup option. They'd be nice, wait it out, play the game for maximum benefit. Jump ship at the first sign of trouble. They wouldn't risk making enemies. They'd let their mother keep pulling their strings.

You sink the batarang into the first tire's sidewall sharp and quick. If Bruce is curious as to how you know how to slash tires, he doesn't ask. He moves beside you and blocks onlookers from seeing what you're doing. When you move onto the next, the entire left side of the car is beginning to sink toward the ground.

Bruce confiscates the batarang from you and quickly tucks it back into his suit pocket, calmly walking you back down the street to where your ride is waiting.

As he is holding the back door open for you, you turn to look up at him and find your breath catching at the still present grin on his face. You haven't seen him this happy to be alone in your presence in a while. It feels... familiar. He meets your eyes and you're reminded of a younger you. A you that could kiss Bruce with all the bubbling adrenaline in your veins. A Bruce that would let you. A Bruce that thought you hung the sun in the sky.

That grin of his softens but doesn't fully go anywhere. You drink it all in. You don't know when you'll see it again.

Bruce touches the small of your back as a taxi whips by, driving cool air up into your faces and breaking the moment. You indulge in the touch for as long as he lets you.

[angelasscribbles]

A Fervid Fixation Epilogue

Series: A Fervid Fixation

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: Riley x Drake

Rating: Teen

Warnings for this chapter: None

Word Count: 686

My other stuff: Master List.

In the Ariége department of the Occitania region of France, outside a sparsely populated village nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains not far from the borders of both Spain and Andorra, a young boy with chestnut-colored hair flying out behind him ran across the verdant green fields of his family’s ranch screaming, “Papa! Papa!”

“Wait, Gabriel!” His mother laughed as she shifted her ten-month-old daughter from one hip to the other, “Papa is coming! Move out of the way of the horses!”

It was October and Drake, along with the handful of other ranchers in the area were returning with the Mérens horses from their annual migration back down into the valley from the mountainside where they had spent the summer months.

Gabriel’s cousins joined him, all three boys running and jumping with excitement.

Riley looked at Savannah and shook her head as she laughed, “Every year!”

Savannah laughed in agreement as she watched her sons. One with russet brown hair and blue eyes like the father that he would never know, and one with the raven hair and brown eyes of the man that had raised them both.

Anton wasn’t always a present father, his job often keeping him away, but he was a doting one and their relationship was full of love and affection.

Drake often joked that it was the only reason Anton, aka Jason, had helped them escape. Because Savannah, whom he had kept in touch with after helping Drake stage her disappearing act, would have never forgiven him otherwise.

Anton came and went but Drake, Riley, and Savannah had made the small ranch their home. Located in the south of France, it was far out of the way of touristy destinations like Paris, Provence, Bordeaux, or Versailles. Well away from any place that a royal tour or diplomatic detachment might visit.

Drake and Savannah had already spoken fluent French while Riley had barely known two words in the beginning, but she had eventually learned to speak French like a native. As far as any of their neighbors knew, Drake and Savanna, aka Dominic and Sylvanna were from Normandy, and Riley, aka Ranae, was from Canada. All of the children were native speakers.

When the herd was back in their winter pastures, Drake trotted his horse to the yard and dismounted, “Who wants to help me untack Thunder?”

“Me! Me! Me!” all three boys jumped and squealed gleefully.

“Okay,” he laughed, “Come here!” He picked the boys up one by one and swung them up onto the sturdy back of the five-year-old Mérens gelding.

He made a purposeful detour past Riley so he could stop and kiss her. He leaned into her with a smile “Missed you!”

The boys giggled as he pressed his lips to hers.

“Papa!” The baby girl in her arms reached a hand out to pat his face.

“You too, mon bébé!” He kissed her chubby cheeks and hugged Savannah before giving Riley another smile as he led the horse to the stables.

That night after dinner, baths, and bedtime stories, Drake climbed into bed and held his wife close as his kids, sister, and nephews slept safely just down the hall and gave silent thanks for whatever miracle had brought her into his life and allowed them to successfully escape the wrath of a jilted king.

It had been five years since they had fled Cordonia. Five years of living mostly off the grid. Five years of raising Mérens horses, blending with the local farmers, and hiking in the mountains until they knew their way to the remote cabin Drake had built hidden deep in mountains well enough to find it in the dark.

Behind a false wall in the back of the walk-in closet in the master bedroom sat an old, scuffed-up duffle bag filled with cash, weapons, and forged passports giving them citizenship in a myriad of countries. While he hoped they never needed to use it, he was never without an escape plan, just in case.

After all, the statute of limitations on murder never expired.  

Merens Horses

[ultimateropebunny]

closed rp with @heraid 🥀

It had started innocently enough.

She was just a girl. A frail, shy young woman he'd gone to high school with several years ago. She seemed just as meek now as she had the last time he saw her, during class 77s graduation. Even then, he was well aware of her beauty. But now, it made him do a double take.

Mikan Tsumiki hadn't crossed the anthropologists mind much since she left Hope's Peak. Although, that was nothing out of the ordinary for Korekiyo. He didn't get attached. It was rare he spared a thought for his own past classmates these days. Many of them were still close friends. Some had genuinely considered Korekiyo a friend. He appreciated the sentiment, but forming bonds with others wasn't something he particularly enjoyed. People were temporary. People could hurt you. People could die.

Now that he had been done with school for a couple of years, he'd had plenty of time to travel and immerse himself in different cultures with no worries about deadlines. His recent travels included Spain, China (one of his favorites that he had already visited several times), and a small rural village somewhere in Latin America where he had participated in a festival with the locals and taken many photos for the scrapbook he was working on. Yes, this life was far more suited to him than one filled with forming bonds. Never again would he let someone toy with him like she had. He would not even chance it.

These were the very thoughts on Korekiyo's mind as he stepped out of his favorite local bakery, tiny paper bag of Russian tea cakes in hand. A guilty pleasure treat of his, much needed after the day he'd had.

He wasn't sure what came over him then. Normally, he was purely an observer, a watcher of humanity. He did not like to interfere, to entangle himself in the web of other peoples lives. Unless it had to do with anthropology, he rarely went out of his way to speak with others unless they approached him.

But there was something about that girl.

That girl.

That damn deceiving girl with her mask of innocence.

What else was he to do but help when suddenly, the only girl to ever make him turn his head was sprawled on the pavement in front of him after taking quite a tumble? She was like a helpless little lamb..

"Oh, dear.." Korekiyo spoke softly from behind his mask, leaning down and extending a hand toward her to offer his support. "It's been a while. I'm sorry we must meet again under these circumstances."

How was he to know that he had just opened the door to the worst, most beautiful thing that would ever happen to his life?

[lyxthen]

Extremely mildly niche academic-ish rambling ahead. Might wanna skip this one. It is long and boring

One thing that does make me happy is the Latinoamerican Literary Boom was so big it actually went on to be translated in other languages. There are still authors that I feel need to have their works translated (mostly women, I wonder why) but many of the video essayist I watch keep mentioning Borges in their videos, and truly I can't blame them because his work is rad. I don't know about him as a person but he lives 30 layers of post ironic meta fantasy or some shit like that. Cortazar is really cool also. In terms of living authors I really like Juan Villoro, his writing style is very fun. The Wild Book is a children's book about literary theory, like, Theory of Reception, Death of the Author, stuff like that. It was a really fun read as a child but the themes are interesting as well.

I feel like, I don't know, it's so hard to find Latin American fantasy books these days, or at least they are not as available. The YA genre is dominated by books originally writen in English or on books written in Spain (think Laura Gallego, which I just found out has a Netflix series made out of her most famous series of novels, but I am derailing) with the exception of Benito Taibo, who is Mexican, and has one (1) high fantasy trilogy that is kinda mid. The ideas were great, but they could've been expanded, you know? Camino a Sognum had so much potential, and you can *see* that it was inspired by classic epic fantasy like Earthsea, but it needed some more *spark* to actually work. I have not read Normal Person, but I plan to. Maybe it is better made?

And it's funny, because a book like Mexican Gothic, that was written in English, is so darn good! But only if you read it *in English* because the Spanish translation did this thing where they try to "neutralize" the accent and manerismd of the characters to make it appeal to the wider Spanish-speaking world and it doesn't sound or feel Mexican at all.

I am not sure where I am going with this. I have been discovering the local literary scene lately (and I mean *local*, like city-wide local) and it is mostly so boring because no one is writing fantasy! No magic realism! It's all kind of depressing dwellings on how we are being gentrified and indigenous people keep being oppressed by the mestizo majority and corporations and the goverment keep stealing the land to make Coca Cola and we are dying of diabetes and we don't got water and Capitalism sucks. LIKE I AGREE BUT CAN YOU PUT FAIRIES IN THERE OR SOMETHING. And I guess that's why I've never wanted to read Cómo Agua para Chocolate, because it is just *too real*, cuz it's a story I know by memory and I don't wanna live it all over again verbatim. Probably a great book, but I just cannot.

I don't know man idk idk.

The funniest think about this is that my favorite book ever (like actually, for real) is a children's book, written from the perspective of the imaginary friend of a child, and it is so gracefully narrated, and the characters so well constructed, and it touches real problems like Teen Pregnancy and Childhood Depression and Anxiety while also managing to be funny and whimsical? The very premise of the book (memories of an almost true friend, it's called) is already so creative and the execution is masterful. BUT I AM THE ONLY GUY ON PLANET EARTH THAT SEEMS TO KNOW ABOUT ITS EXISTENCE ITS DRIVING ME INSANE.

Where was I going with this. Ah yes. Youtubers talking about Borges. Well. Um. I. I think imma translate some of my own texts to English and put them on Wattpad or something. They are not the kind of thing Wattpad people are into but I gotta archive them somewhere and doing it on AO3 feels wrong since they aren't fan works. And on that note, I also wanna write more fan works.

Ugh I could be writing an essay but you got me writing a Tumblr post. What is wrong with me. I'm too bad at word weaving.

Aaaa (??????

Thoughts?

Help

I did take my meds today BTW. I don't know what is happening to me I just wanna WRITE ok I LOVE WRITING BUT WHY MUST I DO TUMBLR INSTEAD OF MY PASSIONS?

Oi I'll end it there

[practicalmagicintuitions]

Hello, I must say before getting into details that I really enjoy your blog, and your opinions on things, even tho sometimes I don’t agree, but I think you have valid opinions and points. And I very much enjoy your readings :)

I have been following you for a while, and I have witnessed you changing your opinions on NV and that relationship. Although, I don’t agree with you, nor I think these people deserve giving them the benefit of the doubt, I never thought of you as evil or easily manipulated. In matter of fact, I find you one of the few people who are rational on this app. 

But I want to share some of the things that have been observed, that literally proves the concept of privacy is not implemented there. 

Of course, this is your blog, it is up to you to post this or not, but I will ask you to be fair, please. 

Regarding the house they both posted a picture of the dogs from, it was a confirmation that the purchase was correct. They want people to know that he bought a mansion, and obviously to start a  family at. They are engaged for sure, they will announce it very soon. But how exactly this house been shared by her fans, who are supposed to be fan accounts of her because she’s brilliant, know about this purchase? They shared the link months ago, and know this was bought by Henry. The website states it has been sold, but no website states the name of the new owner. If that’s not suspicious, I don’t know what is! 

Henry never used to post pictures of houses he was at, at least not showing distinctive parts. And today she posted the fountain that is obviously shown in that link as well. I am sorry, but being private does not include trying to show to the world that you are happy and together still all the time. He asked people to FO and not speculate about his love life, but the last post, from the captions to the pictures, screams that we are strong and together, and “moving on”. 

How exactly are they private, when a lot of people know about this purchase before he confirmed it, and the exact location of it? How are they private when she’s been messing with her instagram location to show she is with him when he travels? I guarantee you, when he goes filming in Spain in September, she will change it, even tho she bagged him literally, she will still use these techniques. Why I know this? Because that’s what she always does, and that is a woman in her mid 30’s. 

Look, I somehow agree with you regarding of what happened to Meat, to a certain point. Yes, he was already old, and people want to be with their pets all the time, especially at that age. But, even tho he was living "the best life" ever on "private jets", that’s still dangerous, this is a literal medical fact, not my opinion. And the fact that the vet said he was in the hospital the entire duration she was there as well when she followed Henry speaks volumes. Poor guy stepped out of the private jet and straight to an oxygen box. Maybe you would never change your opinion on this matter, but they could have made better arrangements. Since Henry himself does not take Kal everywhere he goes because it is not safe, and Akitas are a stronger breed. 

Yes, he was old, and I find it funny and sneaky that Henry mentioned his age in the post, like he was old already, it was his time. But don’t you think it would have been more peaceful and caring if he spent the last month of his life resting, instead of being in an oxygen box. Btw, there are pictures of him in the box, and the vet again confirmed he was there for a month or more. Some of the sneaky pictures at the vet, the CCTV and another video, not the smiling ones, were sent from someone who worked at the vet to a fan account that supports her. The fan account has her name stated and Henry’s, not only his name. 

Again, why send it to them? The demon squad, they call themselves! 

She posted a picture from the hotel room, and immediately the usual suspects of fans figured out the hotel name and the location of it. From a beige curtain! 

Now how would a “fan account for the girlfriend of a celebrity” know all of these things, and they’re not quiet about it either, they keep hinting and bragging. It’s like their life purpose to support this relationship and prove it’s real. their lives depends on her, that is not normal!

Getting back to her social media, that should be private by the way because she does not use it for her job, instead it is a verified fan account of Henry. She literally stopped accepting tags for months, which was good, yet opened it just before the EH premiere. Yeah, she is not looking for attention at all. 

I am sorry, but this situation is way fucked up than it looks. It is obvious that they are planning to a deepen the commitment because that’s how relationships work. 

But I have to ask, after all of these points, do they still deserve the praise and the acceptance, benefit of the doubt, whatever you want to call it? 

She is not a good person, she’s been seeking clout since the chess post, nor Henry is a good person. 

As I said before, I am not attacking you at all, and I truly respect your opinions, but on this matter, I cannot agree with you at all. And sometimes, I get irritated that you of all people changed your mind about this. And I am not going to lie, his post yesterday and his sneaky hints made me sad and depressed. You might think I am jealous, vile, whatever, you might even think I am silly and pathetic, but those feelings still mater. Honestly, the thought of him marrying that woman makes me sad! Not because the Henry Cavill is getting married and starting a family, nor I want to be in her place, but because he chose THAT woman! God knows I tried to accept her, even like her, it did not work. 

There are many other examples of how they’re not private and how this entire relationship they use for show is a sham. 

I am not jealous, but I expected better from Henry and his chosen partner, that’s it! I keep saying this, because even you started using this language, and that made me even more sad. 

I guess that is one of life’s lessons, everything is a facade, even people. 

This relationship showed who the real Henry is, it is just so sad that he always talked about having a family and about his “dream woman” and he ends this chapter like this! 

Again, it is up to you to post this or not. But I hope you find some valid points here and consider them, because I find them valid. And I hope you don’t find my feelings about this whole thing and Henry silly and pathetic. Her crazy fans are already spamming social media with their vile behaviour. 

I wish you well! 

From now on I won't be sharing asks this long if the topic is not something really serious, socially, economically historically etc. This is the last time, but I wanted to answer this for multiple reasons.

First of all, thanks for the kind words and the time you take to send me this opinion. I feel you are way too invested in this topic and maybe you should step back for a little. You mentioned very old and insignificant moments from their relationship which shouldn't worry you after so many years. You take their relationship too personally. It's no reason to cry, be sad or depressed about that they probably will marry or they are together. This is not affecting our lives in any way. If she is truly as horrible as you think you should stop following both at least for a while because it obviously bothers you too much.

You have so many unpacked negative feelings toward this situation it was draining to read. Maybe you think those were not noticeable but I am literally feeling your sadness and desperation from your words. You are asking me questions that I don't know the answer and tbh I don't care. If she is baiting the fans it is possible because the fans let themself be bothered by her. She can post about that house if she wants, especially if he bought it for themselves. That is her home now. She doesn't need to ask anyone's permission. Why is this important? They are not that public with their lives like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively or some Kardashian. They are sometimes posting together and attending events. If you think all she wants is attention, don't give her.

And let's get to the part about me: Again, I appreciate your kind words, truly. I will continue to keep information private if I feel I am not comfortable sharing those. I don't mind different opinions, I think they are great. I don't mind if you disagree but you should not expect me to express opinions you agree with all the time. If my different opinion or changing mind irritates you, I am sorry, but I cannot help. You have to learn to deal with different opinions. Online and in real life too. I don't really change my mind about her, I just know she is not that important to me ( I mean she is not important at all) to keep alive the negative feelings I had in the beginning. I still don't like her but I won't keep spending my time hating on her when she is totally insignificant for my life and my personal happiness. You said all of the feelings you feel matter and you are right, but they are pointless if you feel towards Harry or NV, because they are not real life for us. That's why you need to step back from them. For your own emotional and mental health.

"I am not jealous, but I expected better from Henry and his chosen partner, that’s it! I keep saying this because even you started using this language, and that made me even more sad."

I don't know what this means because I've literally been saying for years that he is no better. He is not better than NV, they are the same, peas and carrots, they are made for each other. And he was always like this people just liked to turn a blind eye and blame the women.

I am saying this with the biggest love but if you think a celebrity having a questionable relationship is a life lesson, you clearly have many experiences ahead of you.

Please be more careful who you give your devotion, affection to and be sad about. Your emotions and feeling are your most valuable, powerful possessions, don't waste on people who do not deserve them.

I wish you well.

[marlasomething]

The Street Where You Live (Bugborg Week - June 16)

Summary: Nebula is tired of Mantis being an useless student, so she decided that, instead, is going to waster her time with hear with small talk…apparently, none of them are good at speaking in a chill manner.

Relationships: Nebula/Mantis

A/N: Written for day 5 of @bugborgweek2023

Prompt: Based on a song

Word count: 920

CW: parental abuse, childhood trauma, mentions of death

Also on AO3!

Nebula didn’t understand why on Earth she had said yes to this job offer. Yes; she wanted to be able to leave home as soon as possible, and it wasn’t as if she had many talents apart from physical defence and formal etiquette (things that happen when your father is a mafia boss), but she had never been good with nice people of around her age…

Still, there she was, in front of a smiling girl a couple of years younger than herself, sitting in the most uncomfortable position imaginable while wearing green raggedy clothes. Between her posture and the outfit…she got why people called her Mantis. Also, she wished she could be squashed as easy as the insect, since this was already their fourth session and she couldn’t even choose the proper spoon for soup.

Still, she actually felt pity for the girl; all her siblings had died either under mysterious circumstances after having tried to face their father or in the line of duty while trying to make him proud. Mantis’ only reason to still be alive was that the 1920s weren’t exactly a progressive time, and his father wouldn’t allow a girl to either become part of the Army or the Police Forces, nor give her enough free space to get a formed opinion that would make her want to rebel against him.

Nebula hated his father; he was abusive and there was barely anything good to be said about him even outside of how he treated his multiple suspiciously adopted children, but, at least, he valued them having a mind of their own and didn’t care about their gender or interests under the sheets , as he called them.

“Ok, we are getting nowhere and after this I have to go and try to stole a prisoner from my sister so my father actually realised I am the best out of the two of us. Maybe I will kill him, just in case he decides to speak well of Gamora. He won’t be the first idiot falling for her…wonder why” she reflected out loud while sitting down. “…what do you like doing?”

“What do you mean?” the younger lady was clearly perplexed by the question.

“What do you like doing? For example: I like fighting and not having useless conversations”.

“This is a useless conversation, and that is not something you do. That is something you avoid doing…wait, do you only like the stuff your father thought you?”

Nebula scoffed.

“As if you were any different, Miss Perfect Mantis Planet” Mantis lowered her eyes, and Nebula thought she had hurt her with a far too brutal honesty. Then, before she could even form an educated opinion whereas that made her feel good or bad, the other young woman kneeled on the floor and dismantled a couple of wooden panels, to show a complete painting set, showing drawings of faraway lands.

“When I was little, my dad was an ambassador and we travelled a lot . I wish I could travel again…I really don’t care where, though I’ve heard Seville in Spain is really nice and hot; I am tired of London’s clouds. I also draw; feelings, mostly. I just…put the colours where the feelings would go. Of people, or for people. I like to make people feel things ; like I make you be frustrated”.

This shouldn’t have been enough for Nebula to open her absolutely hardened heart but, here was the thing: she was so unused to people being honest without being scared of her, or purposely cruel to her, that the difference was enough for her to do something that would commonly be absolutely out of character for her.

“Yeah, you are pretty good at this…I…I might like when…when I got people that also want my classes, but the self-defence ones, the crap that is actually fun and not only for appearances. Especially when it is when actual kids, not like you, I…think I kind of like kids”.

“I do too, but at a distance. Except for the girl of my bodyguard. She is really kind, and strong. Maybe you would get along. See? They are here” she pointed at a painting of a very muscular man with a woman and child, not small by any measures either. It was painting in warm, peaceful colours.

“Wait, why is it in this colours? Your bodyguard is pretty infamous for his violent temper and this, this brings me…”

“…peace, I know. Because that is who he really is, but don’t get it mistaken: there is also some aggressiveness painted into it. The only reason you don’t get it is because it is already too deep within you, but, don’t worry. I think your palette wouldn’t be as violent as you think either. Maybe…yes, a lot of blue”.

“A lot of blue for the murderous ginger? Yeah, sure”.

“Yes, sure . Now, let’s talk illegal, it’s always fun” she sat somehow in an even more uncomfortable position and, holding her head in between her hands, asked “what was your favourite place to go drink while pretending to be within legal age? I need names”.

Nebula contained a cackle and answered. Perhaps, this class would be a bit longer than usual.

Back on the street, Nebula observed the panel with the name of the street in which the Planet Household was situated “Gunn Street”.

She let a sight scape. She would be walking around said street much more from that moment on.

[sillylittlegay]

Resident Evil – Oneshot [Luis Serra Navarro X Leon Scott Kennedy]

Warnings; Angst, no good ending (sorry)

Summary; Luis has to get a new identity, Leon supports and helps him through all of it, Luis tries to keep the agent close but Leon just gets out of his grasp

Authors Notes; Them <3

Serrennedy Nation rise I need more content of them fr.

Also this is sorta a "Luis didn't die, everyone's happy" typa story, am thinking of making a part 2 for this where they do end up happy but idk yet

As always I apologize for any mistakes! I cannot speak Spanish so if I get anything wrong please tell me so I can work on it!

Luis shook his head profusely. He had just been told that he'd need to get a new identity just to live in America because they officially let him die in that shit hole of a castle.

He hated it.

He had hoped to at least get to keep his first name, maybe change his haircut and he'd be fine, but that weird lady that Leon had introduced as Hunnigan said that he needed to start completely new. He didn't want to. At this point he wished he would've stayed in Spain, but he just couldn't tell Leon that he didn't want to come with him. He did want to come with him, he would've lied to himself if he had said no when Leon told him to come with him and Ashley, he would've lied to himself about his feelings and Luis wasn't someone who did that. Not since Umbrella. He told himself he'd always do and say what he felt like. Nothing more, nothing less. Luis just wanted to be himself, yet he now had to hide forever. With an identity that wouldn't be his own.

»You good?« Luis turned his head towards the one who spoke – the dirty blonde Agent stood in the doorway to the small quarters that had been given to Luis. »I gotta be, don't I Prince Charming?« The Spaniard grinned, honestly just glad for the company of his favourite person. »Nah. You can be unwell. It's fine. I wouldn't like getting a whole new identity either. Plus the whole legally dead thing.« Leon stepped inside, taking a seat at the rather dusted desk. The chair creaked loudly once Leon put his while weight on it. Luis just shrugged at his words, softly laughing at the fact that everything in this room seemed to be really old. They surely gave him the five star suite. »I don't mind being dead, honestly. At least Umbrella's off my ass.« Leon softly chuckled at the taller, earning him a genuine smile from Luis. Luis loved the sound of Leon's laugh and chuckles – he seriously hadn't heard it often yet but he swore it was his favourite sound. »But yeah. The identity thing sucks. Mierda, just when I started to like myself too!« Luis joked, yet the honesty in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the agent sitting across from him. Leon could clearly see just how much Luis hated getting a new identity. He knew Luis had tried to convince Hunnigan to let him keep his first name – he made a mental note to talk to her about that. A first name wouldn't be the end of him. »It'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Once you've got the whole thing through I'll help you get a proper job and somewhere to live.« He promised, looking the Spaniard right in the eye, Leon's very own way of making sure the other knew he was dead serious. In return Luis chuckled, hurriedly looking away from the shorter. Leon blamed the soft red colour on his cheeks on the bad lighting. He noted to also talk to Hunnigan about getting Luis a better room. »Well..« Leon started, getting up from his seat, the chair creaked loudly once again. »I should leave you alone, get a good night's sleep and all that.« He mumbled, already leaving the room again. Luis nodded, softly smiling as he watched the other leave. »Don't get lost without me, Príncipe.« He spoke while Leon already closed the door behind himself. He heard him laugh softly before the door shut, Luis deemed this day as successful enough.

The next morning Luis was immediately called to Hunnigan. He sighed as he put on one of the shirts that had been given to him – stuff he normally wouldn't wear. Plain black shirts, plain black pants. Luis missed his signature clothing already. Not even his beloved jacket he had been allowed to keep. He'd have to buy a new one. Although he didn't even know if he'd be able to yet. There was a high chance he'd never get acces to his previous bank account ever again and a new job meant lots of time where he'd be unhappy with the pay... Luis got pulled out of his thoughts when he arrived Hunnigans Office. He had been told by Leon that she normally didn't have people in her office, mostly because there wasn't anyone she needed to see. »You adjusting alright?« Hunnigan asked, Luis hummed in response. He knew she was just asking because she felt like she needed to. »Well, quite a few changes. We've got most stuff for your new life finished though. Also you're getting a new room here in the quarters. Thank Leon for that one, he's annoying as shit when he wants something.« Hunnigan seemed to talk more to herself than to Luis. She quickly went through multiple different folders while speaking, nodding to herself once she found what seemed to be Luis'. He could see the little picture of him stuck to the front and his name written on it in thick, red letters. »So? New name found for me already?« He huffed, letting Hunnigan know he was still extremely annoyed at all this. The only point that made all this better was that Leon apparently seemed to still care about him. »Just be happy with it, this is the best thing you could get Luis.« Hunnigan pushed up her glasses as she handed Luis his new passport. The first thing he'd have as new person. »Wait... Why's my first name still on here? I thought you said–« Luis started, the confusion on his face and voice made Hunnigan sigh loudly. »You said you wanted to keep it. In the end you've gotta thank Kennedy for that one too. Again, he's annoying if he wants something.« Hunnigan interrupted him. Luis looked at her, watching as she turned back to her computer and the mountain of files. She signed him to go, for her the conversation was over. Luis on the other hand just had more questions.

First off, he'd ask Leon about this.

Finding the agent was harder than Luis had thought, apparently either Leon wasn't here anymore or he tried his best to avoid him. Both would really suck. He even tried asking others but all of them proved to be of exactly zero help. Luis huffed in annoyance as he walked towards the room he'd now get to call his own – the room Leon made possible for him to even have in the first place. Ever since Luis and Leon first met there was some sort of mutual understanding that they'd help each other. Right now, Luis was sick if that understanding. How was he supposed to help Leon? Was there even something Leon S. Kennedy needed help with? Luis chuckled, thinking about telling the younger one how he'd pay for his Therapy after everything that happened in Spain – especially the fact that he nearly died. Again, only thanks to the Agent he was still alive and well. The Spaniard owed Leon so much more than he'd ever be able to return.

»Heard you were searching for me?« The curly haired turned around, his eyes landing upon the agent that was smoothly leaning against the door frame – Luis wasn't even sure where he was right now. A soft curse left his lips. »You really know how to appear in doorways out of nowhere, eh prince charming?« He huffed, playful annoyance in his voice as he took a few steps towards the shorter one. Leon shrugged in response, a soft grin on his lips as he looked at Luis. »What do you want? After all that searching, I mean.. you must want something.« Leon sighed, his eyes looked tired yet the interest and genuine smile on his face seemed to erase that small feature. »Why'd you tell the Lady to get me a better room? To keep my first name?« The brown haired asked, taking another cautious step towards the blonde agent, watching him shuffle a bit. If Luis didn't know better he'd probably think Leon was blushing ever so slightly as his blue eyes darted around the room, looking at anything but him. »Just thought you'd like that. A first name won't get you killed, right?« Leon chuckled. It sounded nervous, like he was scared to admit that he had done something like that for a stranger he kinda just met. »Thank you Leon.« Luis hummed, content with the answer. »Maybe once I'm outta here and back in the normal life I could take you somewhere? To thank you and... Well maybe as a date?« He took the leap, hoping he hadn't just destroyed everything, hoping the shocked look on Leon's face would be replaced by a smile soon – he was wrong. »Luis.. I'm sorry but... This Job's keeping me on my toes and... Well I don't date. It's not that I don't want to–« Luis interrupted the dirty blondes rambling with a sigh. »Don't worry, I get it. It's fine.« The taller smiled, but it was noticeable that it didn't reach his eyes and the way his lips curled because he forced them to, not because he was happy.

»I'll leave you to it then, Leon.«

A nod from the other.

»Goodbye Luis.«

[skaldish]

I'm not the original anon, but the infographic does seem quite unreliable. For instance, if in an explanation of how Dutch conversation works you're using "Dutch" as a descriptor of their debate, you've already lost much credibility in my eyes (since that adds no information and clarifies nothing without relying on stereotypes existing in the mind of the reader). Moreover, there is no clear indication of how the diagrams work, they are not consistent (why do some have string or circle parts while others on have rectangles?) and the shapes can lead to assumptions in the reader that don't seem to have an actual basis (perhaps there is a guide to them that I missed, or it is present in the original book, but if there is I haven't found it and the diagrams are quite unintuitive nonetheless). Also the way not all countries seem to be held to a consistent standard/have the same or similar conversation benchmarks accounted for and compared on their different levels just rubs me the wrong way.

Idk, I obviously don't have any sort of definitive proof that the information on the infographic is wrong or anything, I just think it's vague and misleading.

So here's the piece that's probably throwing you: The diagrams are different from graphs. Graphs need standardization because it's how you maintain the integrity of the quantitative data you're trying to express.

But this is qualitative data, because we're dealing with linguistics and language-interpretation. So instead of looking at the diagrams like you would a graph, look at them like you would look at abstract art.

The diagrams are using shapes to express the somatic experience of a conversation-style the same way a dancer uses movement to express the somatic experience of specific emotions. To put it another way, the diagrams are meant simulate what these conversation-styles feel like when you have them.

The point of doing this was to draw attention to the fact there are differences. This lends credibility to the argument the original article was making: That it's important to know there's a difference in how different cultures engage in business, because not only would this help prevent misunderstanding in an emerging global society, it also helps you avoid misinterpreting someone's attitude towards you or the business you're trying to conduct.

(For further clarity, the titles refer to the people associated with the culture/language/country in question, so "Dutch" refers to the Dutch people living in the Netherlands who speak Dutch, "Spanish" refers to the Spanish people living in Spain who speak Spanish, etc.)

I think what the OP was mad about was the tongue-in-cheek stereotyping used to characterize the conversations. They interpreted it as the author being bigoted and insulting.

But just because something can be interpreted that way doesn't mean it's correct. And they would have recognized that had they looked at the international reaction to the post in the notes.

Like...I go through my notifications, y'all, no matter how insane they get. If people from those countries/cultures were tagging the diagrams as insulting, I would have noticed and would have removed it.

However, I left it because the reactions have been positive. The international response is basically "LOL that's accurate," which had been my own reaction to the diagrams when comparing them to my own family's cultural backgrounds and conversation-styles.

I don't know much about the linguist who made these diagrams, but given the nature of his work, I think he probably knew what kind of humor would land with his global audience, at least at the time it was written.

[umichenginabroad]

Welcome to the Basque Country!

Week 1 (first half)

The trek from Michigan to Spain was definitely an interesting series of planes, buses, and cars. I left DTW for a late night flight to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. I've never been on a super long flight before, so eating dinner and breakfast on the plane was a pretty cool experience. Would rate both meals a solid 8/10 (the chocolate-filled breakfast pastry was fire). AMS was a busy and BIG airport, but they're very efficient and have a lot of amenities for travelers. The bathroom situation is the only thing that I would say I didn't like, just because I spent so long trying to figure out how to flush the toilet and ended up clicking random buttons until it worked...a very classic new traveler moment. Besides that, I secured my stroopwaffles and was on my way to the Bilbao airport. On that flight, I ended up sitting next to a girl around my age who turned out to be from San Sebastian! She was returning to Spain after being in the United States for a study abroad type of program, which I thought was a funny coincidence since I'm just starting mine. From BIO I hopped on a bus to San Sebastian's city center, and along the way I was so amazed at how different the elevation is compared to what I see on a day-to-day basis in Michigan. At some points we would be so high up that my ears started to pop, and at other times I was looking out the window and barely even seeing the tops of the hills/mountains. Another thing I didn't really expect is the amount of forestry literally everywhere in the region. It makes for a really pretty landscape and is very interesting to see the houses and buildings interspersed through the mountainous areas in these thick groves of trees. By this point, I was already falling asleep but needed to make it through one more taxi ride until I could finally collapse!! I successfully called over a taxi, and immediately had to start using my Spanish with the driver. For a second I forgot that I was in a country where the primary language was something different than English, but once I knew he could understand what I was saying I became more comfortable talking with him. He was a super nice guy who pointed out different areas of the city that I should check out while driving me to the hotel (I never got his name but he's my hero for real!). After about 14 hours of travel, I bet you're wondering how it felt to hit the bed. Welllll, I dropped my things off in my room and then took off to take a walk around the city since I got a crazy energy rush and beat the jetlag (for now). On a normal Friday night at home, the streets and roads would be pretty dead and without much activity. That's the complete opposite of how it was in San Sebastian throughout the city. There were families with their kids, couples, groups of friends, performers, and just people everywhere out eating food and socializing. I loved it! In a way it makes you feel connected to everyone else because it's so lively and energetic. Overall, my first night in a new country was 100% a win.

When in San Sebastian, you get used to seeing signs or buildings in either Spanish or Euskara. I learned from the peer mentors at the University how Euskara is commonly used by the locals, that it's taught at home by parents or at school along with Spanish, and even that to work in the Basque country, it's necessary to know how to speak the Basque language. I was wondering if I could learn it but, unfortunately, it's a very ancient language that's influenced others like Spanish or French, but hard to pick up because it's so complex. However! Learning words or phrases isn't out of the question, so a new challenge of mine is to see how much Euskara I can fill my brain with before leaving. When we were doing an activity with the PMs I was listening to them speak what I thought was Spanish, thinking to myself like how do I not understand them at all??? Did my brain just flip out and now all my years of Spanish were for nothing?? To my relief, they explained it was Euskara and I felt soooo much better that I wasn't tripping. Below are some pictures of the streets we've walked through that show a little bit of the Basque language, along with a very famous hotel (the Maria Cristina), and an ancient thermometer/barometer!

It's very common here to relax and enjoy while eating, which hey, I'm not complaining and always down for some good foods. The first day of our program, we were taken out to this super amazing spot on a cable car called Monte Igueldo. The view overlooked the entirety of San Sebastian, which was nothing short of absolutely breathtaking. We had lunch at a restaurant near the top, and I had my first taste of highly anticipated...paella! Between the seafood and meat paella, I would have to say that the flavor was stronger in the meat one. It's definitely worth all that everyone says about it, along with the famous sidra (cider) of the basque region. Cider is so crazy popular here that sometimes locals will drink it in place of water for their meals. At first, I didn't get the hype, but after visiting the Cider House for another one of our events later in the week, I see it now. I'm gonna take a minute to talk about the Cider House because it was a really cool experience and I think there should be more places in the states like it. Basically, it's a big social event where different courses are served throughout the evening, such as cod, steaks, salads, chorizos, fish soups, etc. along with drinking cider that you get from these huge barrels and talking with other people who are there at the same time. It was a nice bonding moment with the peer mentors and also with the other students as well! Another type of social event is the pintxos, similar to tapas. There are a TON of combinations of these finger foods, ranging from something small like a ham croqueta to actual fried octopus. I know that there are so many food posts from a bunch of other bloggers, but I've gotta hop on that bandwagon and at least show a few pictures. SIDE NOTE! The coffee here is super strong and super fire. I don't want to hate too hard on Ann Arbor coffee, but the automatic coffee machines in the duderstadt do not compare to the ones they have here. First off, the prices are cheappp, and secondly the flavors and options are superior. I've featured several different foods here: the pintxos that I've tried so far, the paella, a chicken milanesa, and a café con leche XXL. Spain EATS with the food game.

So far, I've had a great time exploring the city, talking with the locals, trying different things, and seeing how the culture in Spain compares to that of the United States. We've been doing so much everyday, but I can't fit all of it in just one post so I'll be doing a second half of week 1 coming soon! Thanks for sticking through this looong post (I like to ramble sometimes so you're a trooper for making it to the end). The pic below is of me and some of my friends at the top of Monte Igueldo!

Agur! (Goodbye in Euskara)

Emily Dobao

Biomedical Engineering

IPE San Sebastian, Spain

May 26th, 2024

[f1]

Im very excited Norris gives his verdict on recent McLaren technical changes

Lando Norris has expressed excitement over the various changes taking place at McLaren as the famous team look to rebuild their F1 operations and return to winning ways in the future. McLaren remain one of the most successful squads in the sport’s history, having taken 12 drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles over the years, but the last of those came back in 2008, while they have only won one race in the last decade. READ MORE: Stella explains what ‘instrumental’ Rob Marshall will bring to McLaren in 2024 Having fallen from third to fifth in the standings over the last three seasons, McLaren carried out a technical restructure earlier this year, with James Key – who has since signed for Alfa Romeo – leaving his Technical Director role. Arriving for 2024 are David Sanchez from Ferrari and Rob Marshall from Red Bull, with the pair slotting into an F1 Technical Executive team that will report directly into Team Principal Andrea Stella. Red Bull stalwart Rob Marshall is one of the established F1 names on their way to McLaren for 2024 Speaking about the moves on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Norris said: “I think there’s some big names coming in, which is always a great thing, a great addition. People who have been in the sport for many years, who have been a crucial part in success of other teams – a lot of success in other teams. “Knowledge is one of the biggest things in Formula 1, and personnel, so I think getting some big guys in… Not that we had bad people, because that’s absolutely not true, but just making the force bigger is what we needed to go and compete against these other teams – Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and so on. TREMAYNE: Why dejected Norris should take heart from Hamilton’s smile in Spain “It’s a very good thing, still fresh for the time being, but already factually there’s been some good improvements from the development rate and things like that, new ideas, new perspectives. “Already good progress has been made, so therefore I guess I look forward to this year, I look forward to how we can go into a winter and be better prepared for 2024.” This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences McLaren Origins: The story of the Formula 1 team Norris added that he is looking forward to experiencing the combination of new technical staff and the soon-to-be-live wind tunnel and simulator McLaren have been working on in the background. “By then we’ll have the new wind tunnel, we’ll have the new simulator, more people coming in 2024, in the beginning, so then I look even more forward to 2025 – a lot of exciting things,” he commented. IT’S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we’re excited about ahead of the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix “I guess I try, in a way, to not look too much at the future, but when you’re struggling, [and having] difficult weekends, then you also want to look at the future. Different minds on both, but I’m very excited for what McLaren are doing, what they’ve done, and the changes we’ve got ahead.” McLaren hold sixth in the constructors’ championship after the first seven races of the 2023 season, slotting ahead of Haas, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri and Williams. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[limnaia]

I think part of the issue is that most monolingual English speakers can't properly conceive of what it is like to hear nothing but your second language all day long. I've got a degree in German, and as part of my degree, I had to spend six months living and working in Germany. This was a language that I'd been speaking since I was 11 years old, that I'd found notably easy compared to most of my classmates, and that now, over a decade since I've graduated and thus spoken it with any regularity, I will still sometimes dream in German, or cussing in it or half a dozen other little things that demonstrate that this language is one that I'm deeply familiar with.

Tl;Dr: I'm pretty good at German.

I thought I was prepared to hear nothing but German all day every day, before I moved out there. I already habitually spoke a mix of German and English with my coursemates, which occasionally baffled our monolingual friends. I really, truly, didn't think it would be as big a deal as it was.

But it was the most isolated that I have ever felt in my entire life - and it was in large part due to the isolation of being the sole native English speaker for miles around. I remember my dad trying to give me advice while I was out there - to keep my chin up and hang in there. Then a few months after I got home, he had to go to Spain for work for a few months. He came back and apologised to me for "talking out [his] arse, without realising", because he now understood how isolating it was.

So yeah - this is why you, oh hypothetical monolingual English speaker, shouldn't be a dickhead when people speak their own language around you. They're clinging to a piece of comfort and home and the simple ease that comes from not having to translate in their head before they open their mouth. If you don't know how difficult that can be, how it can wear a person down over time, then kindly shut yours. You're the one being ill-mannered and a shitty host.

I don’t really care what anyone says; the white antipathy to hearing people speak other languages around them is so deep that it’s apart of standard job training, right? ‘It’s not *wrong* but *inappropriate* to speak in another language amongst your coworkers’

[onehundredhanded]

THE WONDER YEARS

tabitha's parents are both members of doctors without borders, and met when they were both stationed in guatemala. since both her parents had already had careers, and her mother had already been married once, it was a bit scandalous that they got together.

her parents were older than most when they had tabby, her father was 42 and her mother was 40, and only two years later her mom and dad had her younger brother august (augie). all of their lives their parents were still constantly traveling, even with two toddlers in tow.

her mom and dad call her tabby cat, or cat, or kitten, and that’s cute.

even though tabby isn't exactly an “army brat,” she had a fairly similar experience. tabby never remained in one place for long since her parents were constantly being moved for work or just for the love of travel.

tabby on the other hand hated traveling with a passion; she is very organized and needs everything to be scheduled like a year in advance, but here she was being moved from country to country without as much as a few weeks notice.

she was a bright kid, got good grades, had a hard time making and keeping friends though because she knew they wouldn't stay in touch once her family had moved away.

finally when she was thirteen, her parents moved the family to minnesota where they final were settled in for a whole year.

they were so settled in that her and her brother went to summer camp for the first time in their young lives. tabby didn’t connect to it like other kids, and even did make a lot of friends. on the other hand, her brother was all over it and thought it was the best summer ever.

she was already at the max age the first year she went to summer camp, but her brother kept on going back until he maxed out of the age group. while augie threw himself into the world of socialization, while tabitha turned to academics in high school to keep herself occupied.

HELL IS A TEENAGE GIRL

tabby was an academic superstar, got the “most likely to take over the world” superlative for every year she was in high school. she made honor roll, received awards for being in the ninety-ninth percentile for the SAT, and became the president of the debate club.

finally stayed in minnesota because her parents were finally tired of moving every few months, but they still took vacations every year during the summer while her brother was in camp. she never really understood the privilege she had in getting to spend summers on beaches in bali or walking through the halls of the alhambra in spain.

NO TIME FOR ROMANCE OR FRIENDS ONLY SCHOOL. literally, if anyone tried to get close to her she’d hiss like the cat she is. okay, she wouldn't really hiss, but she never gave anyone the time of day for them to get close enough to her.

in senior year was like “OH SHIT WHAT DO I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE?” she got into all of her dream colleges, and chose to go to barnard college after taking a gap year in france (we love a queen who speaks french). but, like, she wasted her scholarships and such on a… communications degree???

literally has no clue who she is and is going through a quarter life crisis hardcore. doesn’t even know if her name is tabby.

"i used to think i'd be done by twenty, now at twenty-nine, the road ahead appears the same though maybe at thirty, i'll see a way to change"

her parents think she is currently doing an internship with one of the bigwig new york publications. she is not, she is currently living off that sweet, sweet scholarship money reading in her local cafe everyday all day to avoid having to deal with real life.

kinda really wants to drop out of college, but can’t tell her parents that or anything because they think she’s some kind of academically driven goddess. plus, if she drops out, she will no longer have a free ride which pays for her housing and other necessities.

finally taking a cue from her parents and becoming spontaneous just so that she can find her path again. tabby has just bought a plane ticket to a random city so she can live her summer out to its fullest potential.

[oneircsarchive]

[ UPDATE ]:     a letter that updates the recipient on the writer’s life, or certain on-going events that are happening in their life. ( theo + daphne )

                                                        Caisteal Inbhir Nis, Inverness, Scottish Highlands.

                                                                                      Thursday, 20 of July, 1995.

Dear Miss Greengrass Daphne,

I miss you. I hope this letter finds you well. I also hope you are enjoying your stay at your grandparents tremendously – as you always do.

I am to say that, this summer, Inbhir Nis is more unbearable than ever. The Ancestral Seat of House Nott remains unchanged, as does the city where it stands (the ever tiresome Inverness), but its atmosphere of unique boredom and stillness has been disturbed. Even the elfs fear everytime someone uses the fireplace, even if without reason, for the ward spells that guard the Manor are older than, perhaps, even the Hohenzollern (or what is left of them).

The few wizards who do live here, faithful vassals of my family, spend their days nose-buried in either ancient magic books or brewing potions that, while make me deadly curious, I do not dare ask its intent. I am sure you would not refrain yourself from asking, and, by now, would already know the entirety of whatever it is that they plot (they do seem to be preparing for a war and… I am not sure I do want to have such worries confirmed) and probably leading them – or destroying them. I caught myself laughing thinking of you throwing all your perfect polite insults (maybe the Greek ones, as well) at old Mr. Macdowell, a rather uncharming man who, on his better days, reminds me greatly of Filch. Would you come back early and stay here?

My father is rarely home, as it seems he have suddenly taken great interest in abusing his power at the Ministry, something I am sure Mr. Malfoy has put him up to. Speaking of which, Draco has gone to some sort of “Summer Camp” in Scandinavia – when he explained it to me it sounded more like a forced labour camp, so I profoundly and sadly (of course) refused his proposal to accompany him. I am almost regretting it, for now I found myself terribly alone.

Now, you are the one probably laughing. I know you will go and write back “Oh, Theodore Nott feeling lonely? Since when does he care for companionship?” and, believe me, I rather enjoy my own companion and the solitude and quietness that it brings – but I think I can admit that I also enjoy showing that I am much superior to all of you, my dear friends. You, the dearest of them.

Friends. Doesn’t it make me sound like such a popular and well-connected lad? But it's farce it's revealed as, with you in Greece, Draco in some icy country and Blaise away, vacationing at his newest stepfather’s summer house in Spain, I see myself completely and utterly alone and missing you terribly. I almost, see, almost, sended a letter to Parkinson two days ago, when I thought I was gonna lose my voice completely if I didn’t used it once more, asking if she would like to meet and discuss the departure of her dear boyfriend – I figured, a moment later, that I would rather be speechless.

And, of course, it would be rather impolite and cause a whole fuss at Society. Can you imagine if Mrs. Macmillan heard of it? The accusations of being courting Parkinson would not anger Draco (have you ever seen someone less jealous of a girlfriend?) surely, but my reputation would never recover.

I realise, only now, that you asked, in your previous letter, how I was spending my days, not how I was coping with turning into a bitter old man. So, forgive all this gibberish and let me answer you at once.

I wake up and you’re the first thing I think of, weirdly enough very late. I break my fast alone wondering if you’re doing the same, sometimes with my father when he is around. And I then read a lot, in fact, I am sure I could usurp Snape’s place as Master of Potion in two-weeks time, if I keep up with my current reading schedule. I have tea and this reminds me that in a few more months you will be tormenting me to join you for tea at Hogwarts, and practice on, guess what, my newest broom, which is the most beautiful thing in the world after you. And then I go to sleep.

You also asked if I would like a book of your grandfather and, yes, I would like very much so and the Greek will not be a problem, as you know I have been studying it intensely since Christmas’s Break. Thank him profusely for accepting on lending it – and thank you as well!

But, now, how are you doing? How is Greece? Would you care to send me a picture? The sun doesn’t agree with me as it does with you, surely, but I do hope to visit Athens at least once in my life, before I perish on these rainy lands.

I will stop being dramatic.

Answer me quickly as you can, I long to know of you or anything for that matter.

Ever your faithful friend,

Theodore C. Nott Jr.