#elias ;; mindset

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

Why do you think the tides have slightly turned from "Elia deserves better than Rhaegar" to shipping her and Rhaegar together? Like what is the psychology behind these people because I've seen some of them like/reblog anti Rhaegar posts while also shipping Rhaegar x Elia at the same time.

hey anon! my thoughts are a bit messy, but i’ve done my best to explain them coherently :)

so, rhaegar was the best man anyone could have when elia was alive, and most people want the best for their favs. he was considered the most handsome, didn’t have a bad personality, and he was crown prince—meaning elia was almost queen, which is often seen as the greatest role a woman can have. the narrative also treats rhaegar as a beautiful, tragic, haunting figure, and elia actually had this very aesthetically pleasing man all to herself at one point! she was married to him, had children with him, and her life was so close to perfect! but rhaegar just had to go and ruin it. 😠

for many elia stans, if rhaegar hadn’t fallen in love with another woman (they want him to have been a completely different character), then everything would’ve been perfect, and elia would’ve had the best, most desirable life. however, that’s not what happened—elia met a very tragic end, and as a result, these stans feel double the bitterness. because of this bitterness, they blame rhaegar for everything (even though it’s not logical to do so), but he’s just too ‘perfect’ to let go of. so, for years these stans have made rhaegar revolve around elia, filling his tag with posts about her out of bitterness. so, i do believe that this obsession with rhaegar x elia has always been there, but i think it’s become a more favorable stance on the elia stan side of the fandom because of a mix of reasons.

plus, rhaegar is one of the few canon relationships we know elia had, since she’s not much of a character. because of this, and the fact that most people don’t like to stray too far from canon, most elia stans are forced to focus on rhaegar, which has created an echo chamber. basically, if a sentiment about elia and rhaegar’s relationship becomes popular, then the whole elia stan side of the fandom will likely regurgitate the sentiment. (also, this desire to stick close to canon is likely why the elia x arthur ship was so popular. while it’s a total crack ship, it had good aesthetics, and since elia and arthur at least knew each other, it allowed the stans to create their perfect fanfiction whilst sticking it to rhaegar. but remember, elia was actually married to rhaegar and had children with him, so while arthur is cool, rhaegar was always ‘top dog,’ meaning arthur would never be able to match up to rhaegar to most elia stans. also, the arthur x elia crack ship is likely her second most popular ship, which just shows how little elia stans have to work with, so they’re always forced to eventually return back to rhaegar for a lot of things.)

however, even if the elia x rhaegar ship gains more popularity, these stans will never stop hating rhaegar because he wasn’t ‘perfect’—and he wasn’t perfect because he didn’t love elia. plus, rhaegar loving another woman and supposedly kidnapping her is what began the war that led to elia’s tragic death. that’s bitterness times 1000. and while i don’t actually blame rhaegar for the war, i do think that this is how an elia stan sees it. i also don’t view rhaegar’s complex relationship with elia as a bad thing—it’s actually a very realistic take on an arranged marriage between two decent people. but most elia stans will never be able to get over the fact that they almost had everything, which is why many have it out for lyanna, as they consider her a thief who ruined their ‘perfection.’

tbh, that might be why so many elia stans are so obsessed with the idea that rhaegar only got with lyanna because of the prophecy—they don’t want to believe that rhaegar actually loved a different woman and not their perfect self insert elia. that’s a bit mean of me… but i don’t know what else one would call the ‘elia’ elia stans have created.

now that i’ve laid all those thoughts out, i’ll try to explain why the tides seem to be turning… i think it may have something to do with the ‘targaryens are all evil and bad’ sentiment losing popularity. i think this shift has occurred due to a mix of factors, such as years of fandom fights and fandom cycles leading to the targs being more liked now than before. it helps that canon doesn’t actually condemn the targs/favors them quite a bit, and the influx of new targ fans from HOTD has also contributed. this combination of reasons seems to have shifted the way the mainstream fandom discusses all the targaryen characters, including rhaegar. so, with this shift, it’s only natural that some elia stans/elia x rhaegar shippers—who’ve always been there—are using this opportunity to push their agenda. while these stans still hate rhaegar and see him as the bad guy, they just can’t let go of him. and as the mainstream fandom moves away from the anti targaryen sentiment, these smaller corners of the fandom, which tend to be echo chambers, are also affected, which has therefore led to a rise in rhaegar x elia shippers and the ‘shifting tide’ that you’ve also noticed.

[staysaneathome]

Five Ways Gertrude Robinson Didn’t Die (And One Way She Did)

(TW for Murder)

1) Martin

Martin doesn’t know why the Archivist has called him down here.

He’s just a library assistant, not even one of the good ones. Sure, Diana has a soft spot for him, his willing ear and eagerness to please, but he knows that she’s still quietly correcting his misfilings, his mistakes, making excuses whenever someone else asks why he’s so useless.

Martin has taken great pains to ensure he’s never ever anything more interesting than a kind smile and a cheery word.

There is no reason for the Archivist to call him down to the Archives.

“He-hello?” The Archives seem to swallow the word, stacks upon stacks of files and loose paper and— “Mrs, Mrs. Robinson? Is. Is anyone here?”

“Ah, Mr. Blackwood.”

Martin can’t help it. He yelps at the sound of the voice behind him, spinning on his heel and almost knocking over an entire stack of folders.

Mrs. Robinson smiles genially, her age wearing her like the particularly fluffy cardigan she’s got on.

“Apologies, Mr. Blackwood, didn’t mean to startle you. If you’d just come with me to my office, it’s just through here. Please, watch your step, we’re a bit of a mess down here.”

“A bit of a mess” is a bit of an understatement, if Martin’s putting it kindly. Still, he does his best to navigate his way after Mrs. Robinson to the Head Archivist’s office.

“Sit down, Mr. Blackwood.” Mrs. Robinson says.

Martin sits.

There’s a tape recorder on the desk. Martin doesn’t think he’s seen one of those since…gosh, maybe his teens? And even then that’d been on the shelf of a pawn shop as he tried to see if their nice plates could fetch anything to contribute to the bills.

“So, Mr. Blackwood,” Mrs. Robinson says, interrupting his gawking. “Is this your first time down in the Archives? What do you think?”

“Oh! Oh, it’s,” He laughs nervously, hating himself for the habit. “It’s very, ah? Impressive? Size wise? I don’t think we have half as many books in the library as you do down here—not that you have. Books. I meant. Files, by comparison. Yep.”

Mrs. Robinson nods sagely. “The Institute’s Archives contain material that dates back to 1816. As you can imagine, it’s quite a lot for me to try to manage now my previous assistants have…retired. I’m afraid I could use some help down here, Mr. Blackwood.”

She peers up at him from behind her glasses, reminding him of his Nan before Dad left and Mum cut off contact with his side of the family, all frail and sweet. “And Diane speaks very highly of you and your work ethic. Would you be interested in transferring to the Archives?”

There’s a large part of Martin that urges him to help this poor old lady. She clearly, desperately needs it. He’s almost surprised she hasn’t had a box or ten fall on her already.

But there’s another part of him that stops his immediate agreement. One that’s kept his head above water before.

“U,um.” Martin fidgets, knowing what he wants to ask but blushing at needing to do so. “Could, could, I? Hm, sorry, but, can I ask how much a, an archival assistant, uh, makes? As, as a wage?”

Does Mrs. Robinson’s smile twitch a bit, or was that his imagination?

“It is only £17,500 per year.” She demurs, “But I’m sure I could have a word with Director Bouchard, add another thousand or so onto that.”

Martin, who currently earns £23,490 per year as a library assistant and pours most of it into his Mum’s care home in Devon, has regrettably already made his mind up with that.

“Tha-thank you for the offer, Mrs. Robinson.” Martin says, timidly. “But, but I’m afraid I don’t think I’ve got the, the skills to be an archival assistant. An, and I, I’m not sure I could afford to move down to a lower salary, not with, with my Mum, and, um, yeah. I, I’m sorry?”

Mrs. Robinson nods, frowning understandingly.

Then she leans forward and presses the “record” button on the machine between them. “Statement of Martin Blackwood, regarding his education and work experience. Statement begins.”

And Martin speaks.

He speaks about things he’d never tell anyone about. Has never told anyone about. He speaks about his Dad leaving, there one day and gone the next. He speaks about his Mum, and her illness, how it took and took and took from her until her smiles turned brittle, and her words turned sharp, and her company turned sour as Martin grew. He speaks about not having enough to eat, to waking up one day to the water being shut off, to trying to calculate the budget and bills again and again and always, always ending up in the red. He speaks about realizing that homework and school and friends were not luxuries he could afford anymore, about searching for someone, anyone who would employ a boy of thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years for something more substantial than a few pounds.

And he speaks about lying. About lying about his age first. He’s a big lad, everyone’s always said so, so what if he can pass for seventeen, eighteen, twenty? At least he can earn minimum wage, keep their heads above water. About lying about his qualifications. Small ones at first, pretending he has a high school diploma. But you can’t get far on that anymore, not like you could in his mum’s day, so small lies become bigger. A technical degree. A bachelor’s. A master’s in parapsychology. Whatever will make him the ideal candidate, the best person for the job, the one who can keep paying for that expensive care home in Devon that Mum wanted.

He speaks even when tears begin pooling in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. He speaks even as he tries to bite through his own tongue to halt the damning truths, to get rid of the burning gaze fixing him in place, to make it stop.

By the time Mrs. Robinson leans forward to press “stop” on the tape recorder, Martin’s gasping for air, face hot and sticky.

She somehow doesn’t look quite so soft and fluffy anymore.

“Thank you, Mr. Blackwood.” She says, brusquely. “Now, here is what is going to happen. I am going to send Diana and Director Bouchard an email, stating that you have agreed to a department transfer. You will be called up to Director Bouchard’s office to sign the requisite paperwork, and begin work in the Archives next Monday. If you don’t, or attempt to breathe any word of what happened here today to anyone, I’m afraid I will have to release the contents of this tape to HR, and then where will your mother be, Mr. Blackwood? Why with this evidence, would you be able to even get a minimum wage position after this? Think of your mother, Mr. Blackwood.”

Martin is, Martin is, Martin can hardly think of anything else at the moment, his head pounding as his eyes burn and tears continue to pour down his cheeks with every sob.

“Do you understand, Mr. Blackwood? Mr. Black—?”

Martin doesn’t quite know what happens next.

One moment, he’s listening to an old woman attempting to blackmail him into accepting a department transfer.

The next, he’s standing with a tape recorder covered in blood and hair clutched in one fist, breathing hard, staring down at—at—!

Oh god.

Oh, god.

What’s he done?

What has he done?

Martin’s a practical lad. He’s had to be, ever since he realized doing what he was supposed to wouldn’t make Mum better or sort their money problems.

So the first thing he does is fish the tape out of the recorder, shoving it in his pocket.

He desperately wants to throw the damn thing to the floor and stamp on it, but what if the police have some way to read it? No, no, something in the back of his head says, best to take it with him and find a more permanent way to destroy it later.

Then he gathers up the recorder and the corpse of Gertrude Robinson, trying his best not to gag, and takes it with him to the Archives’ breakroom.

There’s not much in the office fridge. Just an egg and cress sandwich, which very easily joins the bottle of milk in the fridge door. Thankfully the shelving slides out easily enough, and can be propped up against the back wall.

It’s hard to corral all of Gertrude Robinson’s limbs into behaving, but eventually she’s part jammed, part squashed into the empty cavity and all Martin has to do is turn the fridge down to as low as it will go.

He spares a final look at the old woman. “I’m. I’m sorry, I, I didn’t want—I, I, never, I didn’t mean—!”

Her corpse grants him no forgiveness. So Martin closes the fridge with a heavy heart.

Making the tea relaxes him a bit, even as he knows the second cup will never be drunk. Still, he at least tries to enjoy half of the first before splattering his jumper as best he can with the second.

It doesn’t cover the bloodstains quite as he’d hoped. Still, the pungent smell of over-brewed Assam and flecks of tea on his shirt collar should waylay some suspicion as he pulls his jumper off, turns it inside out, and carefully ties it around his waist, making sure no incriminating marks are easily visible.

He washes up the cups and his face, leaves the crockery on the drying board behind him as he hunts for the final things he needs.

Luck seems to be on his side, as something in him directs him to grab a box of files which has a second tape and recorder containing just what he needs at the end. He shoves the mangled murder weapon to the bottom.

Lying to the cameras is just like lying to people, Martin tries to tell himself. Just show them what they expect to see—useless, bumbling Martin Blackwood being shooed away from a mess he’s made again—and no one will be any the wiser. It’ll be fine. Mum will be fine.

“Sorry again about the documents, Mrs. Robinson!” He blusters at the entrance to the Archives, turning to look down the empty stairwell as if he’s speaking to someone standing there. “Are, are you sure, is there anything else I could help with before I go?”

“Mm.” Goes Gertrude Robinson on the tape recorder, condescending and dismissive. “No, no, not at the moment, thank you.”

Martin presses the stop button as quietly as he can before the hapless “Michael” can reply on the tape, hopes the camera didn’t catch the movement of his hand. “Right! Right, I’ll just…right. See you later!”

He turns away from the door and walks down the hallway at his normal pace, listening to it bang shut behind him as if closed by an irate archivist.

It’s borderline torture, making himself go back up to the library and go about work as usual, pausing only to stuff the incriminating jumper, tape, and recorder into his backpack. He keeps thinking, with every glance that Diana and Hannah and Rosie, and all the people on the street and on tube on the way home shoot him, they know, they know, they’re just waiting for the right time to accuse him, they know, they Know.

Still, Martin’s spent most of his life operating with this mantra on repeat in his ears. So he thinks he does an alright job of pretending everything’s normal as he journeys home at the end of the day.

He’s just got to get to his flat. He can get in, destroy the last of the evidence, and even if the police call him in for questioning, hopefully enough time will have gone by that with his improvised alibi on the CCTV, he won’t remain under suspicion for long.

He finds Director Elias Bouchard waiting outside his door.

“Ah, Martin.” The Head of the Magnus Institute says, with gleaming, piercing, all-knowing eyes and a smile that’s all teeth. “Just the man I was hoping to see. Why don’t you and I have a little chat?”

Martin can’t keep back a whimper.

[eliasdrid]

fought tooth and nail with altium designer bc it decided to make the Design->Rules menu disappear for whatever insane reason and won so ig you could say my day is going ok

[paradife-loft]

"I guess maybe some people just have a weird relationship with fear," says Gerard Keay.

......*delicate cough* :')

[sniflig]

Oh hey I missed this feature. Hiiii!!! Helloooo!! I've been wondering, what is Theos current mindset about his brother? I know obviously he doesn't LIKE him, but is he still holding out a little hope, even if subconsciously, that one day Elias will accept Theo for who he is, and stop being such a jackass, or has theo fully accepted the mindset of "No this dude is evil, die."

Hi!!!! Ohhh this is such a good question. I think a lot of what you said is pretty spot on, Theo is very conflicted but still has some sort of hope that Elias is good.

A lot of what he's feeling is fear. He's afraid that Elias will never see him for who he really is (which, at this point of the story, even Theo isn't too sure of what that is yet), but he's also afraid of Elias. Theo's fear of Elias will be explored more in the comic in the future, but for now I'm pretty comfortable saying outright that Theo is afraid of him without it being a spoiler. He doesn't think he's outright evil, which scares him even more. He doesn't know how bad it really is. It's hard to really accept that a family member you've known all your life is something else entirely, and I don't think Theo is mature enough yet in the story to have accepted it. (And, he hasn't even seen the extent of Elias's issues. Nor has the audience.)

[pokemonruby]

my therapist is wonderful actually because she’s this intimidating six foot something woman and she just threatened to beat the shit out of my horrible fucking mom if things ever escalated between us. love you kaitlyn 

[thermodynamic-comedian]

i wanna talk about tma characters and the concept of a facade. because i have a lot of thoughts.

so most people understand how ironic it is to characterize martin blackwood as a soft boy that can do no wrong, because one of the most interesting parts of his character is how much of a subversion of that trope he is. he's manipulating people by acting like that. this is addressed in the canon. he wants everyone to like him, and he knows he'll almost always get what he wants if he puts up this facade.

something people talk about a bit less, but is still equally canon, is that gertrude robinson was doing basically the same thing. pretending to be just a boring old woman, when she's actually extremely clever and ruthless. she plays into everyone's pre-existing biases and assumptions masterfully to hide just how competent she really is. she knows exactly what she's doing, and she's willing to sacrifice anything and anyone for the sake of her self-appointed mission. characterizing her as a grandmother figure is the funniest form of irony to me.

but do you know who isn't putting up a facade? do you know who isn't changing their behavior to affect your idea of them?

the older avatars.

peter lukas isn't pretending to be passive-aggressive and overly cheery, he just kind of...is. why would he ever bother putting up a facade? he doesn't want people to like him. his authentic self is this talkative yet asocial man, who specifically aims to be awkward and unlikeable.

people say that simon fairchild's polite and carefree demeanor is an act, but i really don't think that's true either. i guess i might see it differently because i personally resonate the most with the vast out of all the fears, but i really think that a lot of that behavior makes perfect sense for his character. he doesn't think that anything in life matters. his personality reflects the lightness and carefree nature of that mindset. he just doesn't care. he does everything for fun. he's not pretending to be anything he isn't.

this could be me reaching, but honestly, i don't think even jonah magnus is putting up that much of a facade. he's lying, sure. he's manipulating people, obviously. but he's not changing his behavior in order to do that. even in mag 160, there's no big, henry mildmay-esque "dropping of the act" when he has his monologue. if you look at his behavior as elias bouchard, it's exactly the same as the little bits of him that we get to see in s5. the elias whose last words are "good luck" is the exact same elias as the one who always greeted basira with "hello, detective".

humans put up an act. monsters don't bother to.

[swanpyart]

Slay the Archivist (TMA and STP Crossover AU)

I haven't seen a fully fleshed out Magnus Archives and Slay the Princess Crossover, so as someone whose binged both, its my duty to create it.

Backstory

After the end of MAG200, Jon, Martin, Annabelle/the Web and some remnants of Jonah Magnus/Elias are shunted into the multiverse, and into a new world where they can spread their fear. Being exposed to the Fear Entities in such an upfront way that no other mortals have ever managed to achieve, Jon, as the Avatar of the Eye, is prioritized by the Fear Entities and proceeds to absorb them into his Avatarhood, basically becoming a God of Fear itself. While his old self and humanity isn’t completely gone, it’s certainly much more diluted amongst the new influx of power.

Annabelle of course, as the Avatar of the Web, which was once the Brain of the Fear Entities but has essentially been usurped by Jon, decides to trap him and Martin in a sort of pocket dimension. Both of them forget their names, and have their memories wiped, now convinced they are still working in the Institute and having no memory of their relationship. Using Jonah Magnus as a sort of puppet, Annabelle uses his voice to guide Martin into destroying Jon once and for all.

Speaking of, what is Martin in this case? Martin’s personal connection to the Lonely, Annabelle empowering him with the Web, and Jon subconsciously empowering him through the Eye means that Martin, like Jon, is empowered by multiple Fears, which gives him more of a chance to kill Jon then she does. Yet, Martin still retains his humanity for the most part and therefore Jon's power relates specifically to Martin's own fear, making him a sort of antithesis to Jon: If Jon is the God of The Things That Are Fear, then Martin is the God of The Things That Are Not Fear.

The Construct

Within the construct Annabelle created is essentially a dollhouse-like recreation of the Magnus Institute. Jon and Martin both are in the mindset of their season 1 selves, with Jon being distant and bitchy and Martin being insecure and a bit of a pushover. Both are actually Gods, but have no clue to their true natures.

Annabelle, using Elias’ voice, calls Martin to his office and demands he kills Jon in order to protect the world, taking the role of the Narrator to guide Martin into doing the job right. In the hallway is a knife on a desk, which Martin has the option to take or not.

Jon, being an Avatar of all of the Fears, now has an interesting caveat in that, depending on how Martin chooses to interact with him, his appearance and personality changes in tandem with what they are BOTH afraid of. Jon embodies a different Fear in every route, changing the more he and Martin butt heads.

Because of their godhood and the nature of the Construct, Martin and Jon can’t ever actually die, even if they kill each other; they’ll simply be shunted into a new chapter picking up from the previous one.

Blade VS No Blade

Much like STP, the "Player's" choices alter how Jon appears. If Martin takes the knife, Jon’s demeanor is more like his Season 2 self; paranoid, angry, distrustful and secretive. Without the knife, he acts more like his Season 1 self; incredulous and snobby.

That's it for now, but I'll be expanding on this in the future with the different Fear Vessels.

[gunnrblze]

Don’t mind me I’m just thinking about the dynamic between Rorke and Logan after he defied death and dragged the kid off the beach.

Do you think Logan starts to feel like a son to Rorke after a while? He tortures him, yes. Treats him the same way he was treated. Primes him to hunt down his new enemy, the ghosts. But after all that.

After the torture, the brainwashing, etc etc, I wonder about their bond. They’re probably very close, bound by this misshapen narrative that was forced onto them. Interlinked as a unit now, Rorke had to start hunting the ghosts himself but now he’s got a lil guy to help. A guy he can mold and perfect the exact way he’d like Logan to be. He builds him from the bottom up, flips his understanding of everything, just like the Feds did to him.

Turns him against his brother, the remaining ghosts, and the memory of his dead father. I imagine, similarly to Rorke, Logan of course doesn’t break right away. He’s strong enough to withstand the torture for a bit, but as Rorke himself told Elias, “everybody breaks” . Eventually Logan snaps, the indoctrination and conditioning sets in, and he’s left with the shell of Logan Walker. Or perhaps not a shell, but a twisted, transformed version of the young man.

Before he breaks though, I wonder how he tried to make sense of it all. I wonder how he fought against Rorke. He’s young, full of energy, and probably bitched right back at him. Similar to how Hesh yapped during several missions about how he was gonna kill Rorke, that son of a bitch, for everything he’s done, Logan no doubt had the same mindset.

Maybe he thought he could outsmart him, figure out some way to resist him. How long do you think it took Logan to realize that Rorke would always be one step ahead of him? He’s far more experienced than Logan, knows the ins and outs of the ghosts methods just like Elias told the boys. He was the ghost, so what are the chances of Logan alone outsmarting the man? Getting a chance to take him down himself? Slim, probably.

But after he breaks, after Rorke forcibly shed his skin and turned him into a new man, mind body and soul, Logan would be his right hand man. Rorke said in the end scene, that they’re gonna destroy the Ghosts together. By the time Logan turns, it’d be too late for Hesh and the remaining ghosts. They’d not only continue to face Rorke, but then they’d have Rorke 2.0 breathing down their necks.

Can you imagineeee how inseparable they’d be? This is why I think it’d become a sort of father son bond, and I know that would irk the absolute fuck out of Hesh even more. Rorke killed their dad, took his brother, and transformed him into his surrogate son? Yea, put Hesh and Rorke in a room alone for 5 minutes and I’m afraid jr would actually be the one to walk out. That’s a different kind of betrayal.

And the worst part? Logan probably wouldn’t know the damn difference anymore. Despite Elias being dead, Rorke would still taint the memory of his father. Turn his corpse into an enemy, bury the good memories and replace them with the false belief of betrayal. That even posthumously, Elias is Logan’s enemy too. Rorke would absolutely spin that web because he already believes it himself, that Elias betrayed him. Rorke would turn Elias into some sort of shell for Logan I think. Yeah, that was your dad, but he’s gone, and you remain. Forget him, forget them, all you need is this.

Logan would eat sleep and breathe revenge just like Rorke had been doing. He’d be raising hell right alongside him, they’d become one.

Their own team.

[bellewintersroe]

Max Verstappen x HornerDaughter!

part 10 here’s the LINK to part 9. Thank you for reading! Sorry for a bit of a boring filler chapter, I’m gonna really start building on Leni and Max’s relationship from now on, maybe throw in some more drama and complication cos I love it muahaha

Social media start to see something between Max and his team principles daughter, Leni. Max (especially after a few drinks) can no longer hide how he feels towards her.

Taglist: @ironmaiden1313 @callsignwidow @fangirl125reader @norassimpingzone @roseseraj @eugene-emt-roe @copper-boom @its-elias-world @cassiopeiia24@larastark3107 @maxxiemoo @crashingwavesofeuphoria @18754389

Austin, Texas October 22nd:

Max somehow felt even more out of bounds than he ever had before. I didn’t know how to act, I mean the first few days were kinda awkward. Whenever we spoke it felt like there was something else behind the eye contact we’d make, like there was that familiar tension lingering. ‘Just don’t ignore me’ his words played in my mind over and over. Whenever he was around I could feel the squeeze in my chest, the urge to just smile at him or say hello. “Hi Max.” I did a double take, breaking off from the conversation with Daniel and Heidi. “Hello, Leni.” His smile grew, I broke the eye contact, smiling to myself. When I glanced back at him, he was doing the same, a smile that made my stomach feel all fuzzy. “You excited for the race?”

“Yeah, actually-” he held is breath, bringing his hands together. I awaited his response patiently. “I need you- we need you to help with something.” My face flushed at his correction, tongue pressed to the inner side of my cheek.

“Mhm, what’s up?” I desperately hoped I wasn’t burning such a red colour right now, not as red as Max, because it was painfully obvious. Both of us knew exactly why it was happening, but it was unspoken. “There’s a piece of tare-off that’s gone inside the car, I thought you might have small enough arms to reach it.” I laughed at his response. “Oh great, I can try my best.”

The whole time I was reaching in, it was lucky my dad wasn’t there because I wasn’t bent to an angle that was rather… promiscuous? “Max- my skirt.” I breathlessly laughed, arm still inside the car trying to reach wherever the hell this tare off had gone. I could tell Max was getting a little stressed, he had to be out there soon and nobody could reach this stupid film out.

“Oh, got it.” He reached for the end of my dress, holding it firmly back down to preserve my modestly. My finger tips touched the film, leaning deeper in before retrieving it. “Ah, got it.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Everybody was treating me like the woman of the hour, I kinda loved it.

“There you go.” I handed it back to the gloved driver. Max pulled me in for a sudden hug, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “I love you, Leni.” He proudly announced. Despite the playfulness. “Yeah, don’t let Christian hear that!” One engineer called out as I rolled my eyes, watching them kick start into preparation again. “Thank you.” He rubbed my arm, before breaking apart a little awkwardly. “It’s okay, now you just have to win.” I teased, feeling his eyes lingering over my face. His plump lips were pulled into a smile, one that slightly reached his eyes as his eyelids dropped heavy. He looked beautiful, I couldn’t resist looking back up to him, despite how intimate the moment oddly felt.

“I’ll try.” He shrugged, “good luck.” I gently smiled, nodding before leaving him to get in the mindset before a race. Whatever was between us was lingering there thick. It was distracting enough for me, so I couldn’t imagine how he felt.

I’d spent the race in a mixture of the Red Bull garage, the paddock and the Mercedes garage. A traitor moment of me, I know, but my long time friend Mick, and his girlfriend Laila were here so I enjoyed some time with them, taking lots of pictures with the endless amount of cow boy hats there seemed to be lingering around this place. It felt too stereotypical to say that, but why did the grid have so many laying around?! Half of them were probably Daniels.

After another successful race from Max, the celebrations obviously began in full force. “Leni, Leni, look at this.” Lando smirked, pulling me by my sleeve to one side where I glanced down to a tik tok. “You have tik tok?” I laughed, bringing the cigarette up to my lips.

“You smoke?!” “Only when I’ve had a drink.” I muttered. “I’m telling Christian.” He tutted. “That’s right, bum your way up to a Redbull 2024 seat.” “No way- anyway. Look at this video.” He held the tik tok out to me again, I took his phone in my hand, eyes widening to see the pictures. Lando was snickering like crazy, especially when the audio began playing. “It seems Max Verstappen has been in close contact with Red Bull’s team principles daughter. Leno Horner who is 22 and stunning may I add seems to be taking over the paddock this season and it seems Max in particular has his… well.” The girl backed off to show the picture of Max’s eyes on my eyes whilst I bent over to retrieve the plastic from inside the RB earlier in the day. “-Eyes on her. Max is recently single after his split from Kelly Piquet, and Leni has been single (I believe don’t quote me on this) for some time now. Could we be seeing a new WAG entering the paddock anytime soon?!”

“Will we?” Lando glanced to me with a smirk. My jaw opened to speak. “What’re you guys looking at?” Max questioned and u physically jumped, closing Lando’s phone and shoving it back into his hand. Simultaneously I tossed the cigarette onto the floor before.

“Nothing.” I seriously answered causing Lando to crack up further. I didn’t even have time to react to the video, Max most definitely heard what was blasting and I was emotionally traumatised, embarrassed from the whole exchange.

“Sounded like nothing!” Max nodded, standing beside me and nudging his hand towards Lando’s phone. “Mate, you don’t wanna see the video.” Lando childishly laughed as I pursed my lips, preventing a nervous giggle from escaping. “Mate, I already heard it!” Max spluttered out as I cracked out a laugh. “You don’t wanna see it though.” Lando nudged me. “Why not?!” The Dutch man glanced between the pair.

“Trust me. I’m saving you from a lifetime of embarrassment.” Lando dramatically spoke. Max rolled his eyes and took the one. Lando snickered as he unlocked it for the other driver. “I’m going now-” I began.

“Wha- no Leni, what is it?” Max was dumbfounded, pulling the audio up to his ear. I cringed. “Don’t listen to it.” I swatted his hand back down. Max took my hand in his free one, holding it bay. He looked amused at the video, but I could see vividly the horror contort on his face when he glanced down to see what he’d already been looking at prior. My ass. Lando was laughing like a teenager, taking the phone back from a red faced Max. He looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or hide from embarrassment. “Well hey, she has a good ass- if you don’t mind me saying.” “Yeah, I’m not denying that.”

“Max! Deny it!” I laughed, my hand slipping from his grasp. The two boys shared a look and I felt my face warming. “Oh, I’m not even- I’m going. You’re both gross.” I teased playfully nudging Max. Just as I backed off to playfully go find somebody else, Max hurried forwards. “Are you actually going?” He breathlessly spoke. “It is late, I’m kinda tired.”

“But- I didn’t upset you did I? You know with that video?” He innocently spoke. My heart melted and I found myself laughing at his worried tone.

“No, not at all. You know I don’t listen to that kinda stuff.” “Me either.” He awkwardly laughed, walking beside me. “But… stil.” He shrugged. “No it’s fine, Max. I stare at peoples bums all the time.” I shrugged, pushing my way through the double doors where I could make my way to the back entrance.

“I’ll come back with you.” Max commented, scurrying up beside me. “Are you sure? I thought you said you were getting Lando shots?”

“Yeah.” Max waved it off as I paused, standing to face him. Max’s eyes were slightly glassy from being intoxicated and he was a little wobbly.

“He’ll be fine. I’d rather leave, make sure you get back alright, you know? You are more fun than half those people, anyway…”

[edwinspaynes]

I think sometimes about people saying that Cordelia is the only neurotypical member of the TLH cast and haven't been able to figure out why I rebel so hard against that sentiment. I figured it out yesterday.

It's because Cordelia exhibits massive golden child syndrome, and I realized that that's in and of itself a type of (c)PTSD.

She's anxious about her connections with those around her, especially Alastair and Lucie. With James and Matthew, she's avoidant to the point that she will not communicate any feelings until later in ChoT because to do so would be confronting those emotions. She's always saying that Elias viewed her as similar to him (while Alastair was like Sona), and she seemed to have created some sort of proxy-idea in her mind where she is the one who's like her father even if their differences could not be more stark.

Combine that with the fact that she's sheltered to the point of not noticing Elias's alcohol despite a) bottles laying around the house, and b) his concerning violent public behaviours like those we see at her wedding. She's clearly in the mindset of "everything's fine; this is fine," and it's not. She's not, because she's shoved her head in the sand since her father showers her with the attention that she's not getting from Sona and Alastair, who are in different, massively bad predicaments of their own.

And Cordelia copes by being perfect. By being Elias's special daughter, the one who's like him, who's the bearer of Cortana walking in the Carstairs family legacy, who's bright and sunshiney and happy and perfect.

I also want to note that I think Cordelia has some very valid abandonment trauma. While I do inarguably think she should have defended Alastair more, she literally felt abandoned by him (and Sona) for seven years because he emotionally pulled away. There were wildly good reasons, and Alastair's sacrifice deserves recognition (he is the best person), that doesn't negate the fact that she did not know those good reasons and felt abandoned.

I think this seems pervasive in her internal narration, too, as she tries to get closer to people without expressing deep-seated feelings (such as pent-up frustration with Lucie or her profound love for James).

@faithfromanewperspective @thevagabondexpress

[loganwalkerz]

Headcannons along with tiny relationship headcannons for The Ghosts sexualities :)

Logan Walker: Closeted Bisexual who doesn't really care to come out. He'll bring home a girl one time and then a boy another. He doesn't come out he just let's people figure it out. Doesn't feel the need to tell anyone who he's crushing on or if he's dating either, he'll just casually bring someone home and if anyone asks he'll casually respond "my partner" and continue on. It's not that he doesn't care but he just doesn't feel the need to tell anyone anything.

Is the type of partner to randomly give you gifts because something reminded him of you. Enjoys watching the way his partner smiles as a lil plush of their favourite animal is on the bed or if they have their favourite dinner in the fridge.

Is a crystal guy, will buy you shiny rocks and tell you the meanings behind them. If you are into zodiac signs he'll let you ramble bout them.

Hesh Walker: Questioning. He doesn't know as he's not really had the time to look into himself, he had a responsibility as a older brother who lost his mother and has a military father. He then had another responsibility when he became a soldier. His first crush was probably Jessica Rabbit then he saw Keegan sparring with Ajax and decided he wanted to be pinned by Sergeant Russ too.

Is a very sweet partner, he enjoys sharing tasks. Cooking dinner is a duo job. Shopping is a duo job. bathing Riley is a duo job. So is taking Riley on walks. Being an older brother hes desperate for approval that he was often declined by Elias. He'll need some validation and comfort, he doesn't spend a lot of money on gifts but he LOVES taking his partner on dates to paint pottery or deer watching. He doesn't hunt them but he loves watching them.

Elias Walker: Bisexual but a lot like Logan just doesn't tell anyone unless they ask him. He has a wife. He had exes of both genders. He was a hardworking man and after his wife died swore to never date again as he was utterly heartbroken.

He'll need someone with a stable mindset, needs them to understand that he's a captain so he's busy a lot. That doesn't mean he won't send you love letters and roses.

Thomas Merrick: closeted gay. I think due to being raised in a very American military family, some homophobia went on in his household, so when he began having thoughts about guys, he immediately began to freak out. He didn't want to be gay as he wanted to be his father's "perfect" son. He's got internalised homophobia. When he meets Rorke he definitely had a few thoughts that he was ashamed of and it was actually his old drill Sergeant from his marine days that helped him understand that his thoughts weren't bad. That he's not wrong for how he feels and that he's accepted.

It was very hard to get Merrick to open up about his feelings but it would've definitely been after a long chat he finally admits how he feels for you and in general. He's slow to start dating wanting to ease into that life that he's been depreived off. He's scared even if he doesn't admit it because he's meant to be a tough captain.

He tries to be gentle with his partner and unlearn his father's ways. Showing he will still be a good partner and a good captain.

Ajax Johnson: Pansexual who is very open, has grabbed Keegans ass in front of everyone calling him his "honey boo bear" watching Keegan die of cringe with a proud smirk. He was the guy in high-school who denied being any queer thoughts but would constantly be sitting on his friends laps and flirting, squeezing each other's muscles whilst their girlfriends sit so confused.

Dating Ajax means dating Keegan. The two are joined at the hip so when third person comes along expect to be sandwiched between the two as they secretly cause chaos. Will make sure to embaress you with cringe nicknames that you secretly adore. Keegan who's love is reassurance and words whilst Ajax love language is touch. Getting praised by Keegan and smothered by Ajax. What a way to go huh?

Kick: He doesn't care for the labels, he finds the labels overwhelming. Kick hates being perceived in general so when someone asks him a personal question he stares blankly until Neptune will cough breaking the awkward silence as the person walks away. Kick has dated one person in his life and hasn't felt attraction much towards others than this person.

He's got a very strict routine that he's had since he first joined the military and HATES when it's changed. Often Neptune and Merrick prepare Kick early for changes in plans so he can mentally prepare.

Loves gift giving, will get matching everything. Bracelets. Boxers. Shirts. Pajamas. Piercings. Knifes.

Neptune: omnisexual, he's attracted to all genders but he's mostly attracted to Kick's ass. And personality of course. He's not dated around much but definitely had his fair share of crushes. had a crush on captain America as a kid but saw bucky and fainted.

Love language is quality time, he loves to do his paperwork with his partner. Cooking with them. Watching movies. Even scrolling through social media in the same room.

Torch: Straight but ally. He had a girlfriend once but broke up with her as he felt bad with how much time he was putting into his work over her. Felt like she deserved better. He's had a few hook ups but doesn't do long lasting. He's the token straight guy the Ghosts love.

And of course, Rorke: I'd like to say demisexual. He's definitely not a major sex addict although after some trauma maybe had some issues with hypersexuality, but that's not something he could control and he's aware of that as much as he hates it. Rorke tries to not get his feelings involved with his align of work, he learned after Elias that not even the closest ones to you can be trusted.

As a partner it takes A LOT of time for him to truly open up to you, and even then he probably wouldn't tell you everything he's been through. He doesn't really care for gender, as long as you respect his boundaries.

Doesn't do PDA. Struggles with affection in general due to trauma and doesn't take praise well. Praise makes him feel oddly disgusted especially after the pit.

He needs his space but he likes to be in the same room as you. He won't join in on activities but will observe you doing.things like cooking or cleaning. He'll help out every so often but tries to keep himself busy also.

Will spend time with you whilst cleaning guns, he'll show you how to protect yourself. Teach you a lot of self defense and what to do in kidnapping and hostage scenarios.

He's a gentle but distant lover. You won't be able to convince him against the federation, he's brainwashed and has been tortured. He makes it clear you stand by him or no where near him at all.

[atopvisenyashill]

i think tyrion often acts incredibly stupidly when it comes to cersei, i think because he is a man, he doesn’t really understand just how damaging robert was to her; not dissimilar to kevan holding the lancel issue against cersei, tyrion can recognize the sexual abuse that HE experiences as being awful & over the line, but can’t see that thread tying what he experiences at his father’s hands to what cersei experiences at Robert’s hands. tyrion, like kevan, imo certainly feels some empathy for cersei but stop short of recognizing that a lot of her anger is tied to the way her family just kinda throws her to the wolves & expects her to get over it.

obviously tyrion’s issue is a bit more complicated given that cersei also sexually abused him as a child at an age that she should have understood what she was doing was wrong, & is more than happy to play into tywin’s scapegoating of tyrion. but at the same time, tyrion is more than willing to play into this “just shut up and get raped your husband” mindset that tywin forces onto cersei as well! cersei is at many points the aggressor in this dynamic but tyrion loves to shoot himself in the foot when it comes to cersei specifically, and you can say the same for cersei - she’s too bogged down in the mindset of blaming him to ever connect her suffering to the suffering tyrion experiences! they both eat up their roles in that abusive family dynamic hook line and sinker when it comes to each other, both vying for that mastermind spot next to tywin.

when it comes to jaime though it’s like. i think tyrion tries so hard. he ignores the times jaime will use cruel words to refer to him. he tries so hard to always see in the good in jaime, i think because tyrion is very aware that their dynamic of golden child & scapegoat is not something jaime asked for, not something jaime wants, and to a degree something jaime is innocent of. it’s not jaime’s fault he’s able bodied and handsome and born first, it’s not jaime’s fault tywin is a hateful stubborn man, and tyrion sees that tywin’s treatment of jaime DOES negatively impact jaime. he loves jaime, even as he struggles with always being compared to jaime & coming up quite literally short, through no fault of tyrion’s.

and the tysha thing is like. you can almost understand why jaime thought it was better not to say anything. this is the same man who trusted his father wouldn’t sack the city! jaime wants to believe in the best of his father! but as he gets older, i think tyrion is right to be angry that jaime continuously kept it from him. for tyrion it was like - it was them against the world, it was them against tywin’s stubbornness. tyrion will ignore jaime’s faults so long as jaime remains united with tyrion against their problems. but all along, jaime was helping tywin cover up his sins! it’s not something jaime is doing actively, he’s still stuck there as that child believing his father would never be capable of hurting elia & the babies, but he’s too damn old to be acting this naive, and suddenly all those faults that tyrion ignores become so much more severe. suddenly it’s like - well if you were never on my side what the hell have i been suffering for all these years??

[rynnthefangirl]

Ranking Aegon Targaryens by how much I like them:

1. Aegon III- My boy. My beloved. My poor little meow meow. It’s not even a contest y’all. I love angsty characters and Aegon Dragonbane takes the cake. Also his relationships with his family are so sweet🥺 and he has such a pure heart🥺 So many characters respond to their suffering by turning to hate or revenge or violence or selfishness. But Aegon III? His spirit was broken, and in the wake of all that he clung not to any of those things, but to family and compassion and his duty to his people. He's so tragically beautiful and I want to know every last detail of his reign George please.

2. Aegon V- who doesn't adore Egg?? He's so pure, but also low key unhinged, and what a wonderful combo! He is the One True Pro-Smallfolk King of Westeros, and I love seeing him have to confront the elitist feudal mindset he was raised with in the Dunk and Egg novellas. Also the tragedy of his character is utterly heartbreaking-- doomed by the narrative, all of Egg's lofty and noble goals lead inevitably to Fire and Blood at Summerhall. I would sell my soul for the Dunk and Egg novellas to be completed and to read a POV of Summerhall.

3. Aegon IV- controversial placement I know, but hear me out— he’s really really funny. Like seriously his character is so wildly entertaining. The biggest menace in the history of Westeros, King of Spite, the Ultimate Hater. His dynamic with his family is fascinating too. I want so badly to read about the interactions between him and Daeron, Viserys, Aemon, Daemon… I also want a POV story for this guy, I feel like his thought process would just be the most out of pocket thing ever.

4. Aegon son of Elia- Okay I haven’t got to Young Griff yet in the books and so it's kind of hard to rank a character I only have secondhand fandom knowledge of. Based on what I know of him though he seems cool? Of course he probably isn't the real Aegon, but even so baby Aegon is a sad and heartbreaking figure (justice for Elia!!! justice for Rhaenys!!! justice for baby Aegon!!!).

5. Aegon the Uncrowned - this poor boy is so so tragic. Say it with me folks- fuck Maegor!!!

6. Aegon I - I mean he is fine I guess? I don't have much of a strong opinion on him. Mostly I just think he's boring.

7. Aegon son of Aerys II and Rhaella - he's a baby.

8. Aegon son of Alyssa and Baelon- he's a baby.

9. Aegon son of Alysanne and Jaehaerys- he's a baby.

10. Aegon Lord of Dragonstone- I literally know nothing about him.

11. An empty spot just to emphasize how much I hate the last character on this list.

12. Aegon II- Fuck this asshole so much. I probably would like Aegon II fine as a character if his fans weren’t so insufferable (not all of them, just a subset). Nothing will turn me off a morally grey or evil character faster then hordes of people crying that he's actually just a poor victim who never had any choice or agency. Guess what— he did. He was a grown ass man and the most powerful person in the realm, he chose to be a rapist, he chose to accept and keep a crown that wasn’t his, he chose to start a war that killed thousands. I have literally zero empathy for this selfish prick, every thing that happens to him he asked for and I wish he had gotten worse.

[tokillamockingbird427]

Au where Keegan, though a series of unfortunate events, ends up amnesiac with no identification and somehow in the custody of the 141

Cue the custody fight between Rorke/Elias and Price

Plot twist, he's Ghost. /J

Could be hilarious. Assassin skills guy running around with no memory, gets scooped up by the 141 and dragged around.

But also... think of the plot. They find this guy tied up in a closet (or some shit) and he has no clue who he is but they find evidence he's the military type, which is likely related to his abduction. Unfortunately, given the amnesia thing, they don't know where he belongs and can't send him home. But it just so happens he might know something related to their goals! But again, amnesia, so... keep him with them and hope his memory jogs..?? At least he knows enough to put them on the right track. They just need to keep it moving. And hope that whatever is after Keegan, because ofc there's some shadowy menace on his ass, doesn't catch up at a bad time.

Ideally he'd eventually regain his memory. Prolly had some traumatic mental block that just so conveniently wears off once the plot is satisfied. And of course that's just about when the Ghosts catch up, who are pretty furious he ever went missing but very happy he was safe when they finally got to him. Because of course they were searching for him! They were the menacing force in fact. Sorry about that.

I think if Keegan were to be keen on any of the 141, then Price and Simon would sit at the top two. Simon, because... the skull thing. And Price because he might subconsciously remind Keegan of Hesh. Surprise! No Elias this time. No, I think Price has some batshit mindset going on that is very similar to the favorite menace that is David "Merrick, hit this fucking train rn, idc if we die." Walker.

[worldwright]

Incomplete list of things I love about Martin Blackwood:

COMMITS. His line in season 1 about being unable to move on from the archive wasn't only because of Jonah's fae-ass job security net. Once he chooses something, he WILL see it through, no matter how much it hurts. (see also: his distraction of Elias, his plan to best Peter Lukas, dating Jon) (yes haha but also seriously. How many times did he say out loud that Jon was just a miserable sack of problems. He knows. He committed anyway)

ANGRY. He's sweet and lovable and has big puppy eyes, but don't let that fool you. This man is wrathful. He will take revenge and he will enjoy it. It is SO cathartic to see a character that apparently fits the too-pure-cinnamon-roll archetype be able to WRECK SHOP.

Works on himself, FOR himself. From a strategic standpoint, the archive would have been better off if he had continued to serve the Lonely. It tempted him so much. It would have been easier. But he wrenched himself away from that path. Not for Jon, or the archive, or the rest of the world, but for HIMSELF. 186 finally made it clear that he was committed to continually fighting the instinct to pretend he didn't need people.

Expects failure. Now obviously this is sad because his self-esteem is shit, but he rarely starts something with the expectation that it'll go to plan. This pairs well with the first point, as well. He's self-destructive -- commits to a course of action that he's sure will bring him pain. It's the whole "don't use an umbrella, sadness feels right in the rain" mindset. He's sad, he's lonely, so he chooses to do things that justify that sadness. (why do I love this about him? No idea. It just makes him feel complete as a character, somehow)

No conclusion, no big thoughts, just I Love Martin Blackwood Hours