#even if it was difficult i was glad to get the chance to explore her character a little here

[blackidyll]

Which part of "The Sun, In Your Eyes" was the hardest to write?

Hi anon! For The Sun, In Your Eyes, the hardest part to write definitely was Shinobu and Giyuu's conversation.

I have a lot of thoughts about the layers and layers behind Shinobu's persona and the way she interacts with Giyuu, but it's a lot of exposition to throw at readers without anchoring it in a scene somehow. I actually wanted to write a Shinobu-and-Giyuu centric fic specifically addressing Shinobu's plan to kill Douma and how Giyuu might react to that plan, because wow did those manga chapters give a lot of insight into Shinobu's motives, but it never quite worked out and I decided to fold those thoughts into this story instead.

So I had all these ideas I wanted to convey but trying to make them come out naturally as part of Giyuu's thought process (and not just obviously "hey the author had these thoughts and she's gonna ramble about them now!") was pretty difficult. Actually writing Shinobu's dialogue with Giyuu was hard too, because she always has multiple layers of motives and her words are always extra sharp with Giyuu, and yet in this story I think she would be a little softer around the edges since it's New Year's Eve, she knows she'll die soon, and she has Kanao with her. It was quite a hard balance to strike...

I honestly thought I'd struggle more with Tanjirou's Dance of the Fire God and how to end this fic because fic endings are always hard for me, but haha I remember panicking because it was Dec 31 and as a New Year fic I wanted to post it on NY's eve and I was rushing through the last thousand or so words of this fic right before dinner. But once Tanjirou went back to Giyuu after the dance, the words just flowed. My Giyuu-muse knew exactly what he wanted to say and how to react, it seems.

This question is from Behind the Scenes of Fic Writing: 30 questions for authors! Please feel free to ask me more questions from the list.

[stariiesz]

୨⎯𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚄𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝙰𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ⎯୧

Chapter 3

Authors note: Satoru is actually becoming likeable! Also this isn’t proof read again hehe

Tw: Alcohol consumption

August 20th 2017

After a long summer of rest, fun, and heartbreak, it was finally time for the back-to-school season. And for you, it was time to start your first semester at Kyoto College. You were excited of course, it was a fresh start and a chance to meet new people. But somewhere in the back of your mind, you were still a little hurt about what happened at the festival but you were trying to get over it. That wouldn’t stop the thoughts about how Satoru was supposed to also be going to Kyoto College but had changed his mind a few months beforehand.

Now you think it’s better he doesn’t come. Running into him would most likely go a lot like it did at the festival. There was no universe in which he’d want to see you and potentially be friends. Those were all hopes of the past and you’ve learned to accept it. You would be lying if you didn’t say you weren’t a little mad at Satoru. I mean, after all, he hated you for no reason. He was rude and he made it clear he wanted nothing to do to you. You wish you had gotten the hint earlier in high school so you didn’t look like such a hopeless romantic. Now that you think about it, maybe Alina wasn’t the only one with an obvious crush on Satoru.

More importantly, you were moving out of the only home you’ve ever known for the year. You were dorming on campus with what you hoped would be a good roommate. You packed everything you needed for the time being. You took one last look at your room before heading out. You lived an hour and thirty minutes away from Kyoto University, so you wouldn’t be going home daily. More like once a week or two. It wasn’t too bad a schedule, but for you who aren’t used to being away from home for so long, it would be a little difficult.

Your parents helped you load up the car and you drove to the campus. After finally arriving on campus you had your parents help you load stuff in your dorm. The dorm was average-sized. Your roommate wasn’t coming until tomorrow so it gave you some time to adjust and have things the way you wanted them. You said goodbyes to your family and there you were. Sitting in your empty dorm room with boxes of stuff packed around you. You sighed and laid down on your bed staring straight up at the ceiling. Classes started tomorrow and you were taking the writing class you wanted to take. That was something to look forward to, right?

You explored the campus and got a feel of where you would be dedicating the next four years of your education. You got some ramen at a local ramen shop on campus and went back to your dorm where you would eat in silence. Your roommate decided to come a little earlier and came later that evening. So far you liked her.

Her name was Ayaka. She was 18 and was really interested in majoring in arts. She seemed like someone you could make friends with so that was good. She was super optimistic and she wore bright clothes and had bright room decor. She was the solar opposite of you but it was nice to have the company. You two talked for a while and you realized you weirdly had a lot in common. You botched like reading books, especially manga, you both strive to do good in school, and you both didn’t have any friends. You were just glad to have a good roommate and a nice person to talk to. So far college life was good, even though you hadn’t actually started classes.

So there you were the next day standing in front of your mirror wearing an outfit that wasn’t you at all. You just wanted to make a good impression on your first day, but you figured it would be better if you dressed like yourself. Wearing a mini skirt and a crop top was unlike you, so you changed to the usual hoodie and some sweats. Much better and much more comfortable.

“I like your outfit, Y/N,” Ayaka said from her top bunk as she dangled her legs and played with one of many charm bracelets. You gave her a smile and adjusted your ponytail. “Thanks.” You said putting the last notebook into your bag. Even though you hadn’t even known each other for 24 hours, you were becoming friends. You had a fresh start indeed.

You two went your separate ways as you had classes on opposite sides of the campus. You walked to your first class which was mathematics, a subject you didn’t like but you did decent in it. The class wasn’t too bad. You got to know your professor and some other nearby seatmates. After that, you had social science. You actually made good friends with a friend group consisting of three people. They were all super nice and again you had a bunch of shared interests. This college thing wasn’t so bad after all.

After three classes, you had a break for lunch where you sat with your new-found friends, including Ayaka. You talked about the professors you liked the ones you didn’t and the classes you wanted to take and the ones you didn’t. It was going great until Ayaka mentioned something that piqued your interest immediately.

“Yeah so, in my art class this morning there was this really pretty boy. He seemed popular already too! He had white hair and the prettiest shade of blue eyes you’ve ever seen. He was soo cool. He had these piercings and-” Ayakas voice faded into the background. White hair blue eyes, white hair blue eyes. Surly it couldn’t be him. You heard yourself that he was going to the University of Tokyo with Alina so why would he be here? What could have changed? Then again, maybe it’s not him. His hair could have been a super light blonde instead of white right? But those eyes, you couldn’t mistake those eyes.

Your mind was running wild with thoughts about the mystery man who was possibly Satoru. It was only confirmed when:

“Yeah he was so pretty, I think his name started with an S or something. Sawyer? No that’s stupid. Sa...Ugh, I can’t remember.” She was cut off by you mid-sentence.

“Satoru. His name was Satoru, right?” You asked. You had to be sure it was him. And even if it was, why was he here, why did he change schools last second? You had so many questions, but on top of all of that was the slight bit of hope that maybe things could be different this time.

“Yeah, yeah! That was his name, Satoru. Do you know him or something?” Ayaka said as she took another bite of her Mac and Cheese. Your stomach felt like it was making knots. So it really was him. Satoru Gojo was at your school after all, but why, and did that mean Alina was there?

“Yeah actually, we used to go to the same high school, long story.” You said snapping out of your daydreaming. Ayaka looked surprised at your comment.

“Really? I figured he was a model or something. You must have been lucky to have him at your school.” She said. The rest of your friend's conversation faded into the back as you pondered. Ok so it was confirmed to be him, but now what? There was a likely chance of running into him, but what would you do if you did? Ignore him, smile at him, hell maybe even try to talk to him? But would he even be interested in striking up a conversation with you? Probably not. It’s probably best for you to ignore him like he's done to you right?

After the lunch break ended you headed to class. This one you were pretty excited about because it was the writing class. You got there a bit early so you could get to know the professor. You may have seemed like a teacher's pet to others but you were excited for this professor's class. You took a seat in the middle row of seats and pulled out your supplies. As class officially started students started to flood in, you were looking to see if a certain white head of hair had entered but you hadn’t seen anything yet. Thank god. You weren’t sure if it would be a good or bad thing if he were to come into this class. But if he were to come, you’d try your best to avoid him.

The class filled up rather quickly and there was one seat left which was right by you. As you were waiting for the class to start, you had your head down lost in the fantasy of the book you were reading, you only looked up when you felt the presence of someone sitting next to you. You only looked up when they had dropped their pen and you grabbed it for them. That's when you locked eyes with those eyes. Those beautiful ocean eyes. His eyes. No other than Satoru Gojo sat beside you. You were shocked it really was him. He mumbled a quiet thanks before taking his pen back and looking up at the board. You closed your book and paid attention to the board, not that you were really paying attention though. You kept getting the occasional glance at Satoru and he did the same even going as far as to smile at you. It was like the first day of high school all over again.

Things felt different like he was being maybe even nice to you. Did you change that much over the summer that he couldn’t recognize you or something? The only thing you really changed about your appearance was getting bangs over the summer but unless Satoru’s blind, he would still know it’s you. Unless he was just being genuinely nice for some odd reason. You were so lost in your thoughts that you basically missed half the first lecture, but it didn’t really matter to you now.

After class, you were both packing up when your professor called you up.

“Since you two are the last ones here, can you do me a favor and clean the board and sweep the floors? There’s a board meeting in here next and I haven’t had the time to do it, I have to grab the snacks for everyone.” Your professor asked in a hurry. Normally it would have been an immediate yes, but again it wasn’t just you, it was Satoru too. But you couldn’t turn down your clearly stressed professor just because of a boy so you agreed and so did Satoru.

“Thank you both, I owe ya!” He said walking out of the class and closing the door behind him. An awkward silence fell over the room as you and Satoru stood there for a second before you took the broom and began to sweep. You didn’t care at this point. You just wanted this awkward interaction to be over with. Satoru took an eraser and ran it over the chalk writing on the board. There had been an awkward silence for a few minutes before Satoru finally broke it.

Satoru cleared his throat “So, how did you like his class?” He asked, eyes still preen on removing the chalk writing on the board.

You were silent for a second, still not completely sure he was talking to you. “Uh, I liked it, it was interesting.” You replied focusing on sweeping like it was the most important thing ever.

“Yeah.” He said. He stopped erasing and turned to look at you. You looked up at him and you two made eye contact for what felt like forever. His eyes focused on yours and the same with yours. You cleared your throat before looking back down and sweeping, but Satoru was still looking at you, you could feel it.

“Y/N, I want you to know I’m sorry for being such a douchebag in high school, you didn’t deserve that.” He said rebreaking the silence. Your mouth almost dropped to the floor. Satoru was apologizing to you? Now? Why was he doing it now? Was he dying and he wanted to make right before he passed or something? You stopped your brain from jumping to crazy and stupid conclusions like that and thought of a way to respond to all this.

“It’s.. ok, I guess.” That was all you said as you continued to sweep up the floor. You couldn't stop yourself from asking the next question though. “Why now are you apologizing?” You asked finally looking up from the floor again. He was looking down at you.

“Because we're in college now, there's no need to hold stupid grudges from high school, so let’s have a fresh start, yeah?” He said with a smile. The first ever genuine smile he’s given you since that day in freshman year. You were very surprised, but what he said made sense. Even though it had only been a month since you last saw him, he seemed to grow over such a short period of time. But there was another question eating at you. Where was Alina, and why did he not go to the University of Tokyo with her?

Since Satoru was being honest with you, you did the same.

“So, what happened to your girlfriend?” You asked as you set the broom down, finally being done with your small side quest. A flash of confusion crossed Satoru’s face for a moment as if he was totally unaware of having this so-called ‘girlfriend’.

“Who?” He asked as he finished wiping up the last bit of chalk on the board. Now it was your turn to be the confused one. Just a month ago, Alina had made it very clear that she was with Satoru now. It was confirmed by your own eyes when you saw them kiss in the parking lot too. So why is he now acting like he isn’t dating her? The thought that they may have broken up popped up in your mind as well.

“You know, Alina. She told me you two were together back at the festival, and I saw you guys kissing in the parking lot.” You told him as you sat and spun in the professor's chair right in front of him. Satoru giggled a bit.

“Me and Alina? No, I bet she was just pranking you, we’re not dating. And that kiss was just her trying to make some boy jealous, so I went along.” Satoru said clearing up the misunderstanding.

Maybe the kiss made sense now but you remember very vividly Alina telling you that the two of them were together. It made you a little happy to know that she tried to make you jealous but lied the whole time. And it was clear by Satoru’s tone that he saw her more as a close friend than a girlfriend. But another part of you felt a little bad for Alina. Crazy, right? But the poor girl was so desperate to keep other girls away from him that she would lie and ruin other girl’s reputations one of those being yours. Wait, maybe you don’t feel so bad after all. So they weren’t together, that was kind of a relief. You seemed to note that Satoru probably didn’t want to talk about your little confession, so you didn’t bring it up.

You two were interrupted by the professor coming back in with a tray of snacks and napkins in his hand.

“Thank you, you two. I will pay you back somehow. You can go now, I gotta set up.” He said ushering you out of his classroom. This was the last class of the day so you had nothing but time. You and Satoru awkwardly stood outside the door of the class before he spoke.

“Uh wanna head to the dorms now?” He asked rubbing his undercut. You nodded and you both headed in that direction. The dorms weren’t on the same floor due to the gender-separated dorm system, but they were in the same building. The walk there was silent, it wasn’t as awkward as it would have been before but it was quiet. You finally decide to ask him another question as you enter the building.

“So why’d you not go to the University of Tokyo with Alina?” You said as you both stood at the beginning of the stairwell which would lead to different floors. He took a long pause before speaking.

“It’s gonna seem stupid but, it’s cause my father used to go here and… I don’t know I guess I wanted to carry on his legacy and make him proud.”

Right. You had heard that Satoru’s dad had sadly passed when he was still young and it affected him greatly. He didn’t like talking about it either. So it had to mean something for him to tell you about it.

“Yeah, I thought I wanted to go to the University of Tokyo because a bunch of my friends were going there like Alina and the rest, but, I thought about it and I wanted to come here again. Alina thinks she might transfer here next year, but I don’t think she will.

That made sense now. Satoru always wanted to come here for his dad but was temporarily persuaded by his friends to join them at the University of Tokyo. You were kind of glad that he came to this school. This felt like it could be the beginning of a friendship between the two of you, or something like that.

“Oh, that’s nice I guess.” You said holding on to the straps of your bags. “Well, I’m that way.” You said pointing to your dorm level.

“And I’m that way.” He said pointing to the level of his dorm. “I guess we'll see each other another time, bye Y/N.” He said heading up to his dorm. Maybe Satoru wasn’t so bad after all. He was just misunderstood by you, and Alina didn’t help with that image. He was pretty chill, you see why people wanted to be friends with him so bad.

August 21st 2017

You were woken up bright and early by a text message on your phone. It was six am and you were staring into the bright light of your phone. What stared back at you was a notification saying that Satoru had started following you on Instagram. Your eyes widened for a brief moment as you clicked on his profile skimming through the photos. He had a very active social life, there was no doubt about that.

He had a lot of photos of himself with friends, and family, and traveling to different places. He also had a lot of photos with Alina, who was tagged in each one. You clicked on her user and checked out her page. Half of her pictures were ones with Satoru. You blocked her before hitting the ‘follow’ button on Satoru’s profile. You put your phone down and went right back to sleep.

Later that morning you woke up and started getting ready when your phone dinged again. This time it was a DM from Satoru on Instagram. You opened it and read what he had said. “I was just looking through your profile and I didn’t know you liked manga. I have a big collection myself.” He said. You smiled at that because, under his popular boy image, he was just as much as much as a nerd as you.

“Yeah, I like reading One Piece, what about you?” You texted back as you resumed getting ready.

“Same!” He said. This brought another smile to your face.

After finally getting ready, you started walking onto campus with your friends but their conversations faded to the back as you thought about things with Satoru. Things were going great so far, and it indeed seemed like the beginning of a friendship.

“Yeah, there’s a party there tonight, wanna go? Y/N?” Ayaka tapped your shoulder and you snapped out of it. “What are you pondering about?” Ayaka asked.

“Nothing, what were you asking me?” You said brushing a strand of hair out of your face.

“I was asking if you want to go to a party with me tonight! It’s for the freshman and like everyone is going. Ayaka said nudging your shoulder. You had other academic things to focus on that night so you declined.

“Nah that's ok, you guys have fun though.” You said as you pulled out your phone and checked for any DM’s. Nothing new from Satoru. You wonder if he’s going to the party, but then remember it’s Satoru, of course, he would be there with girls swarming all around him.

After classes that day, you went to a coffee shop on campus and did a little reading there. You were at the climax of the book when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You took out your headphones and turned around to see Satoru with some books in his hands.

“Can I sit here?” Here said with a few strands of his snow colored hair in his face. You nodded and he sat down. You took out your headphones and closed your book.

“So are you going to that freshman party thing tonight?” Satoru asked taking a sip of his expresso.

“No, it doesn’t really interest me.” You said playing with the rim of your novel. “Are you going?” You asked as you stared at him. You were tempted to move those strands of hair out of his face as you paid attention to him.

“Yeah, I figured it would be a chance to get, hang out with my friends, and meet new people,” Satoru said. “You should come though, you never came to one of the high school ones so the least you can do is come to college ones.”

You sighed. He was right about that, but did you actually want to go to a party tonight? No, that was the last thing you wanted to do. But he and your new friend group were all going too. Sure you didn’t really like parties but, it was college, it was time to step out of your comfort zone for a bit.

You hesitated. ‘I’ll… think about it.” Satoru smiled at your words.

“Great, so I’ll take that as a yes!” Satoru said taking another sip of his drink. He gave you a lemon muffin which he had bought for you at the front of the coffee shop. Lemon was your favorite flavor, so it was cute how he got you a lemon muffin most likely not even knowing.

After you and Satoru left the cafe you went your separate ways and you dashed up your dorms staircase. You went to your dorm and asked Ayaka for help on what to wear, how to do your makeup, hair all of that. She laughed a bit

“Y/N, It’s not a dinner date, it’s a college party, you don’t have to dress up so much. Just wear a tight short dress, leave your hair down, and a little makeup.” She said laughing at your frantic state of panic.

“Why did you change your mind? I thought you didn’t want to come.” Ayaka said as she put her hair in a bun and ate her instant ramen from the cup. You sighed.

“Well I didn’t but now someone I like is going and he wanted me to come so, I’m coming.” You said looking through your wardrobe for anything somewhat cute. Unfortunately, you didn’t own any tight dresses, so the best outfit you could put together was a short top and a skirt. Ayaka did a light amount of makeup for you and did your hair as well. You looked good, and it didn’t feel like you were being a fake either.

You and Ayaka walked to the party which wasn’t too long a walk. You met up with a few other friends too. Now you were standing in front of the door, the sound of loud music playing in the room.

“Are you guys ready for our first college party?” Ayaka said excitedly as she opened the door and you all entered.

It was loud and smelled of booze, there were a lot of people and you kept bumping into people. It was pretty overwhelming. The whole time you were looking for Satoru as your friends went off to grab some drinks. You had never been drunk before and you didn’t want to start doing stuff like that now. Instead, you took a seat in the kitchen where it was more quiet and people would occasionally come in and out for the alcohol.

You sat at the kitchen table suddenly regretting coming to this god-awful place. You’d much rather be cozy at your dorm reading a book or watching a movie, but here you were trying to step out of your comfort zone and do something new for a change. You decided you should probably just head back to the dorms and let your friends have fun. Right before you were about to leave the kitchen a guy with long black hair, ear piercings, and sweats on entered. He dug around the fridge which indicated he probably lived there with some other roommates. You got up about to leave before he stopped you.

“Hey, why are you leaving so soon?” He asked not batting an eye and pouring beer into a cup. It caught you off guard. Why did he care if you left, he looked like the type of guy to have a bunch of girls waiting for him.

“Uh, it’s not really my scene.” You said with an awkward chuckle. He closed the fridge and turned around to face you. That's when you got a good look at his face and he was hot.

“Want some?” He said holding out the red cup of beer. You politely declined before he took a seat across from you. “So if it’s not your scene, why’d you come in the first place?” He said staring at you as he started sipping some of his beer. You didn’t want to tell him that it was because of a boy, so you told him the partial truth.

“Because my friends are here and I wanted to check out the party.” You said as you sat back down. “What about you? Why are you here?” You said returning his question.

“Just came for the drinks and a few friends as well.” He said gulping down the rest of his beer. A moment of science passed before you got up.

“Well, I’m gonna head out now.” You said before you felt a strong grip on your shoulder. It was his.

“Wait, I just wanted to know your name.” He said putting his red cup on the table. You told him your name and he told you his name was Suguru.

“Have a good night.” He said walking back to the pile of drinks for his next one. You left the kitchen and navigated through the noisy party. Right before you left you heard a familiar voice call your name behind you. It was Satoru’s. You turned around and there he was with a red solo cup in his hand.

“I didn’t know if you’d come.” He said a little out of breath likely from chasing after you. “Here follow me, it’s too loud in here.” He muttered taking your hand and leading you somewhere. It was to the backyard where a few other people were, mostly the stoners. You two Sat down on the sofa and he smiled. “I’m glad you came, it was starting to get boring around here.” He said as he offered you his drink. You declined.

“Oh, I keep forgetting to ask you, can I have your number Y/N? It’s easier to text than DM on Instagram, you know?” He asked you. You were a little surprised but you gave it to him nonetheless.

“Great, now we can keep in contact.” He said as he smiled at you for the thousandth time that day. But that smile made you feel like you had butterflies in your stomach every time. “Uh so I stopped by a manga store after school and I got this one for you. I saw it was one of your favorite series and the latest volume just dropped. I hope you don’t already have it.” He said in a somewhat shy tone of voice as he rubbed the back of his head. You found it sweet that he had found one of your interests and bought it for you.

“No, actually I haven’t gotten the new volume, thanks!” You said giving him a small hug as you took the book. He smelled good was the main thing you noticed when you hugged him. Hugging him felt nice, and comforting. It was awkward when you stopped hugging and sat on opposite sides of the sofa. You tucked your hair behind your ear. It was clear Satoru was a little drunk but nothing too bad.

“Y/N, your confession didn’t mean nothing to me,” Satoru said suddenly breaking the silence. Confession? Right, you had almost forgotten that you had poured your feelings out to him before graduation because you thought he wasn’t coming to Kyoto, but now he’s here and it’s awkward.

Your eyes widened. “Oh.” That was all you managed to say as you locked eyes with him. You quickly looked down feeling the heat rush to your face. “Yeah about that-” He cut you off.

“And I think I like you too.”

Authors note: each chapter keeps getting longer and longer:p

5.0k words

<-previous Next chapter coming soon!

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[skyloftian-nutcase]

I am a little late so I probably won’t get the date I want (my birthday is in August) but for the prompt could I get pre botw Link being comforted? If not totally fine, just feel free to reply to this and tell me no XD

Link knew this new task would be difficult. He’d steadily been gaining more attention, feeling the increasing pressure of the world’s expectations on his shoulders. But when the king himself had appointed Link to be the princess’ personal knight…

He’d been honored to take the task. The other Champions had congratulated him (well… almost all of them. He didn’t particularly care for Revali’s approval, though). But the princess herself…

To a degree, Link felt like he sort of understood. She felt pressure too, honestly. He just wished she wouldn’t take it out on him. He just wanted to be able to do his job.

Sighing heavily, he rubbed his face tiredly. Princess Zelda was thankfully in safe hands now, as they were visiting Van Ruta and Zora’s Domain was one of the safest places in Hyrule Kingdom. It also gave him a chance to just relax somewhere familiar - Link loved exploring all of Hyrule—it was one of the benefits of this position—but he was always on edge when they were somewhere foreign. But the Domain was a second home to him.

There was so much comfort in this place. The smell of water was heavy in the air, a cool, comforting, crisp sensation. Link could taste the moisture, could see how the water played with light reflecting off its surface, patterns dancing on pillars and luminous crystals. The area glowed beautifully in the night, like a gentle light from magical creatures, protecting them from the dangers of the world.

He also knew all the best places to hide.

Zora’s Domain was deceptive in its layout. It looked like a fairly small place, but there were many nooks and crannies for children to find and disappear, and Link had found nearly all of them when he was little. It allowed him some privacy now, for which he was grateful, as he tried to find somewhere that he wasn’t perceived.

He’d had enough of that lately. He was tired. Tired of being stared at, tired of being judged, tired of constantly being on guard, tired of being yelled at for just doing his duty.

”Link?”

His eyes opened abruptly, and he felt his chest tighten a little. The voice was familiar, soft and warm, and he glanced over to see Mipha watching him.

Oh, well. At least it was just Mipha who found him, he supposed. He didn’t mind her company.

Link and Mipha had been good friends when they were little all those years ago. They’d had adventures, taught each other to fight, and had joined the Big Bad Bazz Brigade. At the time, it had been innocent fun. As Link learned more of the political climate between the Zora and Hyrule over the years, he’d realized how much he’d missed. His friendship with Mipha was still dear to him, but when they’d first seen each other years later, he’d been far more distant, far quieter. It was how he’d grown and matured anyway, but with the added knowledge…

They were trying, he thought. Mipha could talk to him, and he even occasionally replied. In solitude, the pair could rekindle that friendship from long ago. He felt comfortable around her.

“I suppose I wasn’t the only one who wanted to find somewhere quiet,” Mipha remarked with a small laugh, trying to be light about the matter. As Link looked her over, he noticed she looked a little tired too. “It can… I understand that everything can be a bit much. That you might need to go somewhere to be alone. I can leave—”

Face softening, he pat the space beside him. Mipha hesitated a moment, unsure, before she settled there.

“It… can be a lot,” she said softly, glancing at him.

Link sighed. Yeah. It could.

“I’m glad we have each other, at least,” Mipha smiled cheerily, hands clasped in her lap. “But I’ll be quiet now. I know this is a place for solace, after all.”

Link wanted to tell her she didn’t have to be quiet. But she didn’t seem particularly upset with the matter, either, and she leaned back, closing her eyes and looking at peace. And somehow… that made it better. Neither of them had to talk. Neither of them expected anything of the other. But they were there for each other, and Link… found more solace in that than he expected to.

He leaned towards her a little. Just a little. She did the same. Their shoulders never touched, but they could feel each other well enough, eyes closed, basking in the moment, taking in the peace of it.

It was nice to be in the Domain.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #13

A New Dev-elopment

Aw, this is cute:

He's got LITTLE boots... That's genuinely hilarious. Even the littlest Dimmadome is up to dress code.

Ooh, map! I'll be seeing you later. No labels, sadly, but there's a river in the west that curls around the south. Wait, that river's ugly. why is it square.

"Dev is so mean! I wish I knew why he acted like that." -> Uh-oh...

Oh, please tell me we're finally getting blatant child trauma. Also, that's super funny Hazel wasn't going to be teamed with Dev until she was paired because of her wish. I love that way more than her teacher actually pairing them randomly.

Founder's Day?? /war flashbacks to Alden Bitterroot

... Wait, is Dale Dimm an ancestor of the Dimmadomes? Huh.

Nerd.

Oh, NERD??

He's cute, I'm enjoying him more after the last few episodes. Look at the teeth in his chunky little boots.

Hm. A tall place, I wonder if that's the Dimmadome tower building? (Dev's house, I think).

-> It was not, but Dev knew the place and it did have a connection to his dad. I like the implication Dev used to play there. And he's getting more engaged! Good boy. I'm glad this is a slow transition towards Hazel learning things about him and it wasn't a literal flashback episode. This is fun.

skldfj, all the locations are themed around Dev's family because they run everything around here.

SLDKJFSDF, he looks SO MUCH like his dad without his shades. That's great.

I'm once again enjoying that we got a Dimmadome bully instead of a Buxaplenty bully. It's nice to explore another of the big families in the longstanding lore. Of our main families, this was probably the one we went into least.

... If the Buxaplentys run the trains in Dimmsdale (and have since jobs were assigned in the early days), they probably also have a connection here. I wonder if Remy and Dale ever became friends.

Aw, he's keeping the shades off for now. That's sweet. He's having fun!

... Why do I get the feeling we're gonna get hit with him doing a 180 because he trusts no one and decides he'd rather blow up every chance of friendship?

Oh, THAT'S not the microexpression you want a kid to make when he sees his dad. Finally, some good, sweet child trauma in this show... I missed this so much. We're finally getting The Vibes...

His full name's Devin! Or Devon; I'm not sure. I'm glad to know. Also, I'm glad he has a Prime Meridian poster in his room just like Hazel. Ooh, and Crimson Chin! And Dancing Tarantula. That one surprises me. Is it a series or movie in some way?

"Whether new or old, when you have this, you have gold." - The answer to this clue is gonna be friendship, isn't it? I'm not opposed.

Hazel is showing absolutely 0 qualms about breaking into the school and honestly... Chloe would be proud. They would totally be friends.

-> I'm cracking up at Dev quietly opening all the doors while Hazel's trying to tell a dramatic story. She's all about emotions and fun and his default setting is "straightforward response."

Actually, they really do give me Timmy and Chloe vibes. Timmy's schoolmates used to tease him for talking to inanimate objects and I wonder if they also saw him as a grump like Dev, both dealing with difficult home lives.

Aww, Dev is playing along! He's pretending there are lasers so Hazel enjoys sneaking into the school despite him just pushing open all the unlocked doors. That's really cute.

Aw, criminalizing evidence of you being goofballs! That's adorable.

... and the printed versions are in 2D, of course!

I like this one:

It speaks to me.

Y'know, I wasn't expecting to like them as a ship, but I can absolutely see it now. Even if Dev goes back to being grumpy in future episodes, Hazel's seen a side of him that's going to change her way of thinking about him forever. I like that.

Like, at any point from this episode out, if Hazel is portrayed as being fond towards him, I'll be okay with it because they were clearly having a lot of fun playing together, and Dev's brought down his walls enough that he explained why he was having a hard time and he apologized for hurting her feelings.

He very clearly regrets snapping at her and saying he doesn't want to be friends, or at least he regrets it when he sees her storm off:

And he apologizes!! Good boy! ... Yes, he showed up and snapped at her again, but... He got there! ...... He is strugglin'! Big yikes.

I like this a lot more than the ship vibes I'd been worried for, which I'd assumed would be Hazel insisting there's good in him and "she can change him," or "He just needs a friend and then he'll be nice." I like this slower development.

Hazel gives me many Chloe vibes (in a good way), but she has her own unique twist on them. Chloe's whole thing was that she denied things that upset her, including the abuse she faced at home from her "perfect and amazing parents" because thinking about herself or her parents as less than perfect kept sending her into a dissociative spiral that would last for an hour before Timmy got her out of it.

Chloe would try to befriend everyone because she thought there was good in them... although her feelings for Kevin were hilarious ("He's a touch off-putting... in a really off-putting way").

When Kevin turned on Chloe, she yelled at him about how she thought she'd seen good in him, but that "he was really just a miserable piece of Crocker," and she was totally down to fight him with a sword.

Like... Yeah, of course Kevin jumps out her window without responding. She's scary! :(

The face of a girl who will later steal Kevin's hall monitor uniform while he's unconscious and won't feel even slightly bad because "he doesn't deserve it." She's a mess. I love her so much.

Chloe's always funny to me because she denies and excuses a lot of things, but there are a few people who can boil her blood and she loses it every time. Later in the season, she accidentally gives three children fairy godparents after screaming at them and dropping them to miserable. Chloe... Breathe.

But Hazel is not so hot-button. Which is fun, and I really like this- I'm glad Hazel isn't following the same pattern of personality (Always a concern of mine for a franchise that already has few girls, many of whom are love interests).

Hazel's got a different angle, in that she's been annoyed at Dev and glaring at him this entire series up until now, including this episode, and she (seemingly) didn't even intend to make her "I wish I knew why he acted that way" wish, because... she was just griping. lol. She hated him so much this entire show, only bending briefly when she found out they love the same book series (and when she suggested they order lactose-free pizza for him since he can't have any), and I respect that.

-> She paid so little attention to him that she forgot Dale Dimmadome was his dad. That's hilarious- It's the one thing the audience had on him and she saw him on TV and went "... I don't know who that is. Why is he wearing ridiculous boots?" That's so funny. Big "Lex Luther waking up in Flash's body and checking his secret identity in the mirror" vibes, except it's Hazel squinting at the TV trying to figure out why some guy with weird boots is on the news.

She's willing to pal around with Dev when they're out, after he shows he's good at puzzles, even before she gets that hint about his daddy issues. I like that too. Hazel's struggling with missing her brother who was her best friend - her entire world, down to wearing his hand-me-downs - and probably has a much better understanding of separation and loneliness than she would have if Antony hadn't gone to college yet.

Also, Dale calls her a mean name in this scene, so... she gets it. She can tell that guy's bad news and making his son sad.

She enjoys Dev's company. They were goofing around and having a great time as friends even before Dev's daddy issues reveal was in the picture for her. I enjoy that. I take no issue with them growing up to be either platonic friends or romantic, under the assumption that they maintain patience with each other and don't put their walls back up.

I suspect Dev might regress because he's the big rival, so I Do Not Trust that he won't become snappy again, and Hazel is completely justified in being annoyed if that happens, but I could also see her being more patient with him going forward, and that wouldn't bother me. He's fun, chill, and energetic when he's not wrapped in his self-defense mechanism of pretending not to care, so I can see her enjoying his company a lot. I like this.

I guess what I think of it is... I was worried about where this was going, and it went way better than I'd guessed. My thought process was "I cannot blame a kids' show for wanting to show that everyone's going through hard times and you should try to be nice to bullies so they're maybe nice to you, but you also have to be careful not to tip so far in that direction that you're subtly telling kids to ignore if they're being abused."

And it didn't go that way! As far as I can tell, which makes me happy. Even when he ran after her to apologize a few minutes later, she was terse with him until he really did apologize (because he showed up and was still being mean at first). She also communicated, expressing that he hurt her feelings.

I'm glad she's good at communicating her feelings and makes an effort to do so. It makes a lot of sense since she has a therapist for a mother, and we saw her parents calm her down in Episode 1 when she was getting heated. It's nice to see someone having a good home life and some healthy skills.

I really like how:

- Hazel didn't try to change him or deny any of the rudeness he'd expressed towards her. She starts this episode still annoyed at him. - Hazel didn't make Dev feel bad when he started expressing himself more. When he struggled with the idea of a high-five and pulled back his hand, she didn't pressure him. She let him go at his own pace and he high-fives her later on. - After his dad told him it was dumb to care about a treasure hunt to win water park tickets when Dimmadomes can just buy the park, she followed him to his room and gently changed the conversation back to what they were doing, not forcing him to talk about it (and not snooping or wishing). - The instant he's snappy with her, she walks out. She GONE. When he shows up, she keeps on guard and explains that he hurt her feelings. He apologizes and only then does she forgive him- she wasn't trying to excuse him, even though she'd literally just witnessed the reason for his mood change. -> I kind of like that. Hazel's out here like "Dev, listen. Your life is hard and I get that. But that doesn't mean I have to be your friend if you're going to treat me badly." This girl knows what's up. - Even though she desperately wanted to crawl through the air vents and rappel into the principal's office, she listens to Dev's suggestions when he opens all the doors. lol.

They're sweet. I enjoy this status quo shift. I didn't really care for Dev because he was definitely putting off prickly vibes, but I like him a lot more now.

This child's dad was kidnapped and forced to make lemonade underground for 7 years- I totally get why he's hesitant to trust, and the fact that his dad makes him feel like his interests are stupid is rough. I get it, buddy.

Oh, them:

I have to assume that's his Mediocre waist pack from "Weird Science" wrapped around him and that's great. That's a nice detail since in most episodes, he's not wearing it because he's already arrived at school and put it away for class, but in this one, he just walked through the door so he's still wearing it like Hazel has her backpack.

-> He really said " :( "

Dev "Totally down to commit B&E" Dimmadome: why do authority figures not like me?

I really like how Dev is so comfortable with Hazel and/or the idea that he's capable of making friends that he's totally ready to take his shades off the first day back at school. You get this sense that he WANTS to have friends... he's just having a hard time finding someone he trusts, presumably because he keeps his walls up so it's hard for others to get close to him. Hazel's meeting that need, so he's willing to relax.

He doesn't care if anyone else in class will react in surprise to seeing him without shades. He doesn't care if this changes his reputation with the entire school. Like, that doesn't seem to bother him even slightly.

-> Dev, I have good news for you! You can make MORE friends if you continue being friendly!!

-> Man went "I've only had Hazel for 1 weekend and if anything happened to her, I would terrorize everyone in this room and then myself."

I feel like since she's his only known support right now, this can easily swing into a clingy extreme (and I feel like he might have a hard time taking critique from Hazel), but... Step in the right direction.

-> And she's good at communicating. I think he can learn social skills and healthy relationships from her. I want him to meet her parents so he can see their relationship too.

/whispers loudly - I want to see his mom and grandpa. Are they around? Does he have siblings or other relatives? I have to assume he's an only child, but... hm. I'd like to know more about his relationships with other family members, because if Hazel is legitimately his sole support right now... uh-oh.

Also, I enjoy how often Dev keeps casually walking around with his hands in his hoodie pockets. Why even give a character a hoodie if you're not going to pocket their hands? That's cute.

I think it's funny that when he's wearing his shades, he has this "cool/grumpy" aesthetic when his hands are in his pockets, but when they're off, he still keeps his hands in his pockets and he's just... chillin'.

Dev would call you at 2 AM from a Denny's 2 hang. idk why, but that's the energy he gives me. Man doesn't know social norms, but he's always ready to drop everything and hang out.

Dev is the rich guy who way overpays and is confused when told that's too much, except that's him with how he'll be treating Hazel in the future, I think. What do you mean regular people don't fly around the city on a helicopter. What are you talking about.

The waterpark was shut down? ... Why do I suspect Dale was behind this, and Dev's gonna be TICKED.

That was a great episode! I like where this is going; we're getting into the old FOP swing with the underlying abuse themes and that makes me happy. Someone please give that kid a fairy. I wish I knew if the misery rules were still in play in this show.

Cookie's Court

This opening scene is cute. Neat that the punch card came back, as weird as it is, and it's nice to see Hazel relaxing and making goofy wishes.

Cookie's back! She's interesting; I'd like to learn more about her. Does her ferret scarf thing have a name?

Okay, so... Hazel does know she'd lose her fairies if they revealed their magic. We never had the rules explained in this show, which feels weird, but okay.

-> I'm so confused about what is and isn't still a rule. I guess I should assume they're all still in play? But... /gestures with confusion at miserable godkids lore. Did they have to cut that part to keep Dale's backstory, because that seems like a weird choice. Why didn't he get a fairy? It's not like rich kids don't get fairies; Remy had one.

-> I'm not opposed to it taking a while (F in the chat for Timmy having to go through Vicky's torments solo for a year before Cosmo and Wanda came into his life), and Jorgen already snapped at Cosmo and Wanda for jumping on Hazel when another fairy was already working through the hoops to get her, but... my inability to figure out if the misery rule still exists is really throwing off my sense of lore.

I like Whispers Fred's little microphone on his shirt, next to his big microphone and his headset microphone. He has 3... Help him.

Fairy Court!! ... Whoa whoa whoa whoa, Jorgen? You shouldn't be on the stand. AAHHHHH Fairy World's flag is the Rainbow Bridge stripes! I love that. That's way better than the blue one with the star they had in "Oddlympics." I wish I would've thought of that.

AAHHHHH! The court symbol survived! It was in court in the OG series too. Only in "A Wish Too Far" though, I think, since the Fairy Council had a different symbol in "Secret Wish." I remember drawing at least one of these. Lemme see.

Yeah!! This is exciting. I used to draw it on stuff, like the wax seal I use on my Class Overview post for Fairies! I love this.

^ Season 2 vs Season 8. Also, WOW... you cannot get a good picture of it in "A Wish Too Far," so kudos to the art team for taking the time to include it anyway.

In the OG show, the Anti-Fairies have something similar hanging in Anti-Cosmo's castle (although I'm not 100% sure it's got a moon).

I think in one of the live actions, Jorgen takes over as the Green Robe on the Fairy Council (I think in "Fairly Odd Summer"). I wonder if that's why he's acting judge here. I guess it doesn't matter; I'm not that concerned about it since I don't consider that canon anyway.

WHAT! You rip 10-year-old Denzel Crocker's fairies away when Timmy accidentally reveals he has fairies, but you let this slide? Jorgen...

Oh, never mind........ He's not.

Furry!! He's testifying! What a cool ferret.... omg, Cookie's in jail for 10k years. SLKDFJSLDFJ, she has a jail skeleton just like when Cosmo and Wanda went to jail in the musical.

Also, I can't be that shocked at her punishment. Revealing magic on accident is one of the biggest offenses in Fairy World because it endangers their society, so trying to do it on purpose looks really bad.

-> I wonder if Crocker still has his memories since Jorgen stopped erasing them after Season 7. I feel like we'll probably get a Crocker cameo, but that feels like a piece of lore that wouldn't carry over. Hmm...

Fairy World Prison... I gotta look this up.

Okay, it's not "Gland Plan" like I thought, and it's definitely not Abracatraz. Is it "When Nerds Collide" (Jimmy-Timmy Power Hour 2?)

IT IS! What a glow-up! That's fantastic. I love that... They even have all the clouds the same colors. This is gorgeous. Those chains overlap the same way. Wow... That's seriously impressive how we keep seeing these subtle callbacks. I love it <3

Wrapping it up here for today! Thanks for joining me on another liveblog.

[comphetkoncass]

one-plus-one, easy math cass&kon, fake dating (no, really, she's a lesbian, this is a fake date) word count: 2557 also on ao3

“You… want me to be your plus-one?” 

Cass nods. She’s started talking lately, according to Tim, but she’s still pretty quiet. Kon thinks even when she gets more comfortable with speaking, she might still be a woman of few words – she seems the type to choose them carefully, the same way she’s precise with her movements. 

“Well…” Kon rubs the back of his neck, thinking it over. “I thought we weren’t dating anymore. I thought you were happy about not dating anymore.” 

Cass tilts her head to the side, and Kon knows she’s probably reading his entire soul. He squirms a little under her intense gaze. Then, “I am.” 

“Then…” He frowns. “Why are you asking me to be your plus one, if we’re not dating?” 

It’s a longer phrase, and Kon thinks she might struggle. But to his pleasant surprise, though she takes some time to consider her words, they don’t seem overly difficult. “...I need someone outside the family.” 

“And I’m the best choice?” he asks. “...Really?” 

“I was surprised too.” 

Kon barks out a surprised laugh. She’s learned enough for jokes, then, that’s great. She smiles, and he’s glad she’s comfortable enough to joke around with him still – he missed making her happy. As whirlwind and short-lived as their romance was, making her smile was a definite perk. He always got the feeling that joy was a rare experience for her. He just hopes she’s happy in Gotham. To him, it’s always been stifling – not least because Batman is an asshole. 

“So?” Cass asks, looking at him with intense brown eyes. 

“Ah, what the hell,” he finally says. “Sure. But I need to go shopping, I don’t have anything fancy enough for this kind of thing.” 

Cass smiles then – and holds up three separate cards in Bruce Wayne’s name. Stolen, he thinks, given the mischief on her face. Kon quickly discovers that, actually, there is a superpower better than his TTK, and it’s called money. He whoops in delight, and it doesn’t take long for them to explore Gotham’s downtown, going from shop to shop until they find the perfect outfits to blend in with high society. 

(Or, rather, how they think they could blend in with high society. Cass’s dress is probably too loose and flapper-style for the current era, and Kon’s probably has too much satin, but they match, and they make for a fun duo.) 

////////

In the end, Kon probably wasn’t the best choice for the Gala. But Dick and Tim are both gone on a mission outside Gotham, leaving Cass the only Wayne child to represent the family alongside Bruce. Kon probably wasn’t the first choice, either – and privately, Kon wonders if Cass is testing boundaries with Bruce, given he’d been all but banned from Gotham. If she is testing boundaries, he hopes she gets whatever she’s angling for, even if it’s just a little more freedom to hang out with friends. 

It’s not until halfway through the Gala that Kon starts to wonder if maybe Cass had ulterior motives after all. 

They’ve been talking and tasting the overpriced snack table for most of the night, almost-goofing-off but not blatantly enough to catch Bruce’s ire (or so Kon hopes). Kon’s been monopolizing Cass’s attention, something he’s pretty good at, if he does say so himself – he’s always been a charmer. 

But eventually, it wears off; that, or everyone waiting for a chance with Cass finally get bold enough to interrupt them. And while Cass is trying to throw a wad of caviar into Kon’s open mouth, at that. 

“Ahem,” a young man about Cass’s age says. “So terribly sorry to interrupt. May I?” 

“May you what?” Kon asks, straightening up. He wipes the tiniest trace of caviar from the corner of his lip – Cass is an excellent shot, and Kon’s pretty good at catching, so it’s not like she ever missed. 

Cass, meanwhile, stands up a little straighter. 

“Interrupt,” the young man says. “Miss Wayne, I don’t mean to take you away from… present company. But I was hoping for a dance. Perhaps a bit of light conversation.” 

Kon stares at the guy, raising a brow. 

Kon’s no body language reader. Not like Cass. But he knows her heart’s a little faster, in the bad way. The blood pressure raising way. He glances between her and the new guy, and ultimately decides, nah, he’s not going to let this happen. 

“Sorry,” he says. “Her dance card is pretty full. I could try to rearrange, but she and I, we’re pretty busy.” 

Cass looks up in surprise – an expression he’s not used to seeing on her face. 

The new guy, too, looks surprised. Kon thinks he can see his eye twitching. Kon bets his name is something silly, like Macadamian Rosegarden Cavendish the Third, and that he’s not used to being told no. 

All the more reason to say no, then. 

Kon sends him a friendly smile, then looks back over at Cass and extends her a hand. Time to go somewhere a little less approachable. “Speaking of dancing though – Cass and I should probably practice a little. I’ve got two left feet, see, and she's the best dancer I know. Cass?” 

Cass looks at Kon’s hand, then his face. Wordlessly, she takes his hand. 

Kon sends the guy a two-fingered salute, then is quick to walk with her to a less occupied part of the Gala. There’s a balcony nearby, one just big enough for the two of them. Kon makes a little more room by hopping up on the ledge, swinging his legs around so he can face Cass and the party inside the windows. 

Cass is quiet for a while, but she looks less tense out in the night air. He almost didn’t notice it beyond her heartbeat, but she’d gotten a little more tense when Macadamian Rosegarden Cavendish the Third had approached – a tension that hadn’t been there when it was just the two of them enjoying themselves. 

It takes a moment, but finally she finds her words again. “...Thank you.” 

“No problem,” Kon says. “Is it like that a lot, at these things?” 

Cass shrugs one shoulder. “Second gala,” she says. When Kon doesn’t quite understand, she pauses and elaborates, just a little. “...I don’t come to many. Not sure.”

Kon nods. That makes sense. “I hope you don’t have to go much more often then, because it must suck having to reject people so much.” 

Cass looks at the ground. 

Kon frowns a little. The wind disturbs her carefully ironed bob, and when she doesn’t try to remove it from her face, Kon reaches out with just a hint of TTK and does it for her. She looks up, equal parts confused and startled. 

“Sorry,” he says, putting both hands up and stopping his powers. “Just- Sorry. Got distracted. Wanted to help.” 

Cass crosses her arms in front of her chest. 

Kon finds his train of thought, then, and asks, “Do you usually get to reject them? Or do you end up dancing with them anyways?” 

Cass’s silence speaks volumes. 

Kon lets out a slow breath. It fogs in front of him in the chilly night air. “I’m sorry,” he says, sincerely. “That sucks.”

“Not your fault.” 

“Well… I’m glad I could come with this time,” he says. “So you don’t have to dance with anyone you don’t want to.” 

Cass nods. There is the tiniest hint of a smile again, and she tucks a lock of hair behind her ears. Then, quietly, “Even you?” 

It takes him aback for a second. Then, he understands what she means, and nods. “Well yeah, I only said your dance card was full to lose that jerk. You don’t have to actually dance with me – even though I will say, my dance moves are great, I’m an absolute party animal. I can do the Mashed Potato like nobody’s business.” 

Cass blinks, serious instead of laughing. “Mashed potato?”

Kon grins, standing on top of the balcony ledge. “I’m so glad you asked, I’d be happy to demonstrate-”

He’s pretty sure he’s not doing it exactly right, but Cass looks almost hypnotized by the way his heels click and his knees move in sync with an imaginary rhythm. He’s definitely doing the hands wrong, but he’s having more fun with it this way. 

“Dancing with yourself?” Cass asks, grinning up at him. "Not a waltz?"

“Way more fun,” Kon says with a grin. “I could show you how to do it yourself?” 

Cass just laughs at him. She’s already imitating his movement – in a way that flows better than he’s doing. Right – almost forgot, movement was her first language. Of course she’s better than him already. 

Instead of feeling put out, Kon just grins at her. 

She looks like she’s having fun again – and really, that’s all he wants. 

When she looks back up at him, her smile is everything. Kon knows she isn’t interested in a relationship – or at least, not one with him. Kon checks in with himself, gives himself a stern reminder not to read into anything. He’s here to make sure she has fun, and that’s all. 

Eventually, after teaching Cass the Twist, the Shopping Cart, and an attempt at the Moonwalk – all of which she masters immediately – Kon hops down from the ledge and moves to sit again. 

He looks up at the sky, and mourns the fact that Gotham doesn’t really have stars. “Thanks for inviting me,” he says sincerely. “It’s been really fun tonight. I haven’t gotten to go to something like this in a while, and the ones I went to before – they weren’t that fun, either, even if they were a lot less fancy than this.” 

Cass looks a little surprised. “But you’re so… exciting?” 

Kon chuckles a little. “Yeah,” he says. “But it’s still more fun here with you.” 

It takes her a moment to chew on that. Eventually, she moves to sit on top of the ledge next to him. They both look inwards at the party, watching ladies in fancy dresses dance with well-dressed men in suits. The fake laughter, the champagne glasses. Kon’s never been that familiar with the super-rich, but he’s had his fair share of parties. Especially back when he was Just Superboy. 

Ever since getting his name, and especially after moving in with Ma and Pa Kent, life’s been a lot slower. More balanced. He has room to breathe. 

Kon doesn’t know much about Cass’s life before being adopted by Bruce Wayne. But he hopes it’s been a relief for her, too. That whatever her life was like before, that she can breathe in this fresh start, too. He hopes it’s not constant vigilante work all the time. She deserves a chance to have fun and be a real person, too. 

When Kon looks back, he finds Cass staring at a young woman with a particularly daring backless dress in crushed velvet Prussian blue. 

Her cheeks are pink, he notices.

And he thinks, maybe he’s reading into this too much. But if he’s not, he thinks he understands her a little bit better. And maybe why she seemed to have a lot of fun on their date, and liked the idea of a romance, and a TTK castle in the sky, and a spark of real love with someone – but why something was missing. 

“She’s pretty,” Kon says, looking at the young woman, too. “Do you like her dress?” 

Cass turns to him, brows furrowed. She glances between his body language and his lips, seemingly puzzled. “I wouldn’t want to wear it.” 

“Sorry,” Kon says, realizing he might be confusing her by being subtle. “I wouldn’t expect you to, yeah, it’s not very practical.” 

Cass looks at him again, still confused. 

“...But,” he says, “It’s okay to like how it looks on her. It’s okay if you think she’s pretty.” 

Cass doesn’t say anything for a little while. Her face is still a little pink. 

“Pretty doesn’t matter,” Cass says, but her eyes don’t leave the blue dress. “It’s not supposed to.” 

“Sure,” Kon says. “But dancing doesn’t matter either. And it can still be fun. Pretty – sometimes pretty can be fun. Sometimes people like to look pretty just to enjoy it. Like art, or whatever.”

It takes a moment, but finally, Cass nods. “And she?” she asks. “She wants to look pretty so that someone sees her as pretty?”

“Something like that.” 

“Her date,” Cass says. Her eyes are laser-focused on the man locking arms with her. “She wants her date to see her as pretty.” She pauses for a moment. A long one. Then, in a smaller voice, “Not me.” 

Kon is quiet for a moment, not sure what to say to that. 

Cass’s shoulders slump. “I shouldn’t look. I wouldn’t want her to feel-” She frowns, looks over at the boy who had asked her to dance earlier, who Kon had helped her reject. And Kon recognizes her dilemma. The fear of looking, of asking to dance, when it’s unwanted. When there is a fundamental incompatibility. 

Cass shivers, and Kon sheds his jacket to drape over her shoulders. It’s satin, so it doesn’t do all that much to protect her from the cold, but Kon likes to think it at least helps. She pulls it closer, and looks more at ease immediately. 

“You don’t have to look if it makes you worried to think about this kind of thing,” he says, carefully. “But it’s not wrong to think she’s pretty, regardless of who she’s trying to be pretty for.” 

She looks up at him, still unsure. 

“Trust me on this,” Kon says, adding a wink for flair. “It’s okay if you don’t like boys. It’s okay if you like girls – hell, it’s okay if you only like girls. You’re not doing anything wrong.”

Cass looks in through the window, of the sea of wealthy Gothamites. Kon follows her eyes to the small, formal dance floor – where the only ones dancing are men-and-woman pairs. How they lean in close to each other; how the man leads the woman, how they’re pushed close together, how it’s impossible to miss the intimacy in the way they hold each other, even in formal dances. The way men’s suits cut neatly to their waists and flatter masculine figures; the way the women’s dresses accentuate whatever she believes her best features to be. The way they all follow the same type of dance, with no room for new steps. No room for fun. 

He thinks it cuts quite a picture against two vigilantes, teaching each other how to dance with themselves in the cold night air. 

“Someday you might get to dance with a girl,” he says. “Sorry if it might not be tonight. But someday.” 

Cass laughs a little, pink to her ears. “And you?” 

“What, who am I going to dance with?” 

She nods. 

Kon lets out a long breath, leaning backwards, elbows brushing the railing. He’s not sure himself. “I like dancing, just not the boring, stuffy kind,” he finally says. “As long as my partner’s having fun, I don’t really care how I do it, or who I’m dancing with.” 

Cass follows his eyes – the way he watches everyone inside the window, his eyes not particularly caught by any one person. 

“Okay,” she says, and accepts that as an answer. Kon thinks she reads something different in his body language – but if she does, she doesn’t tell him any different. 

"Let's stay outside a little longer, yeah?" Kon finally says. "I think I remember the Electric Slide. I've got the song on my phone and everything."

Cass grins, and Kon pulls up his phone. The Electric Slide clashes horribly against the orchestra inside, but he doesn't care. They've got their own dancing to do, and they'll be doing it to their own rhythm.

[contentloadingandstuff]

I love the anal headcanons for Inazuma girls😊😊😊 I was hoping you could make one for the Liyue girls

Anal Headcanons - Liyue Girls Edition!

A/N: Hi anon! I'm glad you like them, and I hope you like these as well. Enjoy!

CW: Male!Reader, anal, bondage, femdom, spanking, mentioned pegging.

Picture not mine. I don't remember where I found it.

Cut... nsfw below.

Anal with Yelan? How bold of you to ask. Pussy or ass, it's not your choice to make - not with those tied hands of yours. You're not fucking Yelan - she is fucking you. She goes for whatever floats her boat at the moment, and anal is often on the menu. She's very keen on this type of play, bouncing on you and moaning beautifully like there's no tomorrow. Make sure to keep up, as if you can't please her ass, she'll have to use a dildo instead. But she's very indecisive…So how about she tries that cock on you first? 

Shenhe is quite sexually curious, so it didn't take her long to ask you for anal. It's… different from vaginal, she found. A good kind of different. It hurts a little, sure, but it gives her a whole new range of pleasures to explore. Shenhe likes to have plenty of prep before the thing, so anal with her is going to be announced days before the act. When the date arrives, you'll find her with a plug inside her and plenty of lube at hand, already spreading for you. She hopes you'll like it - because she certainly will! 

Ningguang likes variety in bed. It helps against her main enemy - boredom. She finds anal adds that delicious edge that vaginal just doesn't have. Fucking that hole adds an exciting hint of pain to your play, but her favorite part is the stretching. The feeling of her tight little sphincter being forced apart to fit your massive cock oh so slowly, as well as clenching and feeling just how wonderfully full she is, has no parallels in her books. 

Beidou honestly prefers her cunt. Life on the ship is not easy, and getting the necessary prep before anal is hard and time consuming. She often forgets to buy condoms or lube, so you won't get anal often. But you'll still have a chance to enjoy her this way when you're at Liyue Harbor. When she does it, it's certainly loud and intense - just the way she likes it. One thing though - give her a hand when she's drunk, would you? Her aim is poor when she's had too much to drink… 

Yanfei signed a contract to live her life to the fullest, so of course she’s going to use every hole she has. Well, in theory at least. In practise, it turned out to be more difficult to enjoy anal for her. Even with a lot of prep and lube, the feeling of her sphincter being forced open is not very enjoyable. She’s a little bitter about that, but it’s not the end of the world, right?

Poor baby can barely take two fingers and just sliding your dick inside can make her cum, and you ask for something so intense of Ganyu? She'll agree, of course, but it will end up a misfire. She'll find that your cock is far too big for her little donut, and it hurts quite badly. Don't worry, though! Ganyu is very into the idea of training her butt to please you. Diligent as ever, she'll buy lots of toys and arrange weekly sessions for you to slowly ease her into anal. Give her a month or two and she'll discover just what immense pleasure you can bring her through her tight backside. 

Being a die-hard masochist, Keqing loves having her ass used more than her pussy. It hurts so amazingly! Especially when she's tied up, with nowhere to run from the intense fucking she's subjected to. She likes anal with a side dish of hard spanking and little to no prep beforehand. Actually, she can't tell what she likes more - having her asshole destroyed, or the soreness that comes afterwards, legs trembling and unable to sit down. She's very vocal during anal - a constant barrage of 'It hurts! Please stop!' and 'Don't stop!' flows out of her mouth. Don't worry about her, and pay no attention to everything she's screaming out. This girl knows her limits, and will say the safe word when things get too intense. 

Anal isn't very fun for Yun Jin. She has a hard time making space for you, and the pain in her butthole lingers for a few days, making dancing unpleasant. And even if those weren't problems, she still would prefer her pussy - or even better - her mouth to be used by you. She can't help but think that hole is especially nasty and full of germs. It still feels weird to let you use it despite her deep cleaning it and using a condom. Don't worry, though. She'll make it up to you with her pretty little mouth. 

Hu Tao has one rule for sex - whatever one of you does to the other, they must be okay with it happening to themselves. So if you wanna do anal, you have to be okay with getting her strap inside you at some point. But don't worry - it's her that will suggest it at some point. Hu Tao just enjoys sex, with a special emphasis on anal. Why would she deny herself then? For a girl of her posture, she handles your cock like a good girl. She even gags herself when she can't help but scream from how intense the intrusion inside her is. Fucking her ass is also a good method of taming her raging libido, thanks to how intense it feels. Use it wisely!

Thanks for reading!

[laurfilijames]

What’s your favorite chapter of breathe and why?🙂‍↔️ I’ll be very sad if you shy away from hyping yourself up in your response 🥹💗

Aww Ray I really love this ask! I know I've had it sitting in my inbox for a while but it's because I've been thinking really hard about my answer and trying to come up with one while in the midst of still writing chapters that I've been very excited for!

Picking just one chapter from Breathe is honestly so difficult! I love them all for various reasons as they all include so many different things, so bear with me as I ramble on podcast style all my thoughts as to why 🥂

I love parts 1-3 because of the newness of them. The sexual tension and blatant want between them always gets me. It's exciting and exhilarating and writing the beginnings of a relationship is one of my absolute favourite things to do.

Then in chapters 3-5 where it's just sex everywhere all the time and them falling hard and fast for each other while navigating through Will's issues was such a thrilling part in their timeline to explore. Seeing Will finally let his guard down and give in to trying to resist something he knew was there was 🫠🫠 and then the result of that with the hot, raunchy sex? Yeah. Big fan. Glad I did that 🤣

I'll give Part 5 a special shoutout as it was the chapter that brought me back to this world after having put it on the back burner for almost a year 🙈 and is the plot point that breathed (😉) new life and excitement into it for me.

Then comes Parts 6-8 😬. These were heavy hitting chapters. I've never written angst like that before and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me as a writer. It hurt to write some of those scenes, but oddly enough some of those were written the fastest and the words were just furiously typed out which surprised me! I felt so emotionally drained writing chapters 6 and 7 and remember feeling like I had just gone through a breakup 😅😭

Now although parts 9-11 never seem like they're very exciting or thick with plot to me, they are equally as meaningful and all hold their weight with building this relationship and fleshing out their life together. The smut scenes, especially in part 9 were a favourite of mine as I added in the layer of possessiveness after Cam made a reappearance and I loved showing that side of Will 🫠🥵

This portion of the story gives me all the warm and fuzzies and makes me kick my feet just thinking about how happy and in love they are and relieved that they made it through all the hurt and turmoil from earlier chapters. Will deserves all the love and calm and understanding life and a partner can offer and I think (and hope 😅) I've been able to portray and give him that here. The scenes with him getting the ring and then proposing live rent-free in my head and I'm just so in love with seeing them, and especially him, experience such happy moments.

Any chapter that included scenes between Will and Benny were also favourites of mine. Miller brother moments hold a special place in my heart and were always so easy and enjoyable to write (even when they were fighting) and it was like I could hear them in my head and their tone and see their expressions clearly.

Now that I've spewed out all of this and had a chance to go back and really reflect on everything, I think I've narrowed down one chapter that I feel as a whole really sums up everything this story is about and that is Part 7. So much happened in it!! They were still in the thick of their "breakup"

and trying to figure everything out.

She found out about his nightmare and finally began to understand what the hell had happened to cause all of this which then resulted in her showing up for him at base when he came home. I always do my best to show enough from both of their points of view and I think this chapter was full of what both of them were going through. We also had the introduction of Cam (heyyyy boyyyyy 😉🥵) just to add a little more drama to the already dramatic situation, but then everything wrapped up how it should by the end with their intimate and emotional reunion and as I just skimmed through it, I wanted to scream with how happy it makes me!

I've realized how many scenes of pure lovemaking are in this series and clearly I'm all about the intense intimate moments and Will Miller being a man head over heels in love 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️ sue me.

So do I have a favourite chapter? Kinda. They're all my favourite and I'm very happy to say that I've written a whole series that I actually enjoy reading for myself and there isn't one part that I am not proud of!

I'm sorry this got so out of hand haha but it's given me something to do on the 3 hour drive home from the cottage (I should be writing and working on the final chapter 🙈😅 but I'm stallllinggg because I don't want it to end 😭) I appreciate you asking this so so much and am forever grateful and in complete shock that you are so invested in this story and continue to give it so much love, attention, time and thought 🫂😘💗💗💗

[pluckysidekick]

I’m finally ready to talk about The Maiden’s Rage - if you’re interested in an in depth analysis, I’m planning a series of posts as there’s just too many amazing scenes and too much to cover. I’ll be going into detail on the subtext of scenes, callbacks to earlier seasons, behind the scenes clues, and discussion of the more ‘uncomfy’ bits as well (I’ll preface with a trigger warning) as there is so much to unpack.

Starting with George - she and Leah had an absolutely stellar episode. Seeing George come into her own, her confidence in her abilities, her maturity in her relationship with Nick, her realization that her mentor had failed her, and then her determination to understand the mystery of the case and ultimately the town water supply, from beginning to end was breathtaking. Also, she looked amazing in every fit. Kudos to Leah and to the costume dept!

Speaking of kudos, the visuals in this whole episode are outstanding. Nancy and Ace, as George so astutely puts it, start out together but not too together, mirroring the tension between them as they navigate this next stage of their relationship. We left off Episode 1 where Ace ran to Icarus Hall (swoon), leading to Nancy finally confessing they’re cursed. We’ve jumped to the next day (presumably) and Nancy doesn’t want to risk telling Ace anything else, believing that it won’t make a difference, while Ace still wants to know everything (not the last time he says it).

Ace’s admitting he went to Bess for moral support is something we’ll see more of in the episode - it’s a good thing he has his Platanchor because he’s in for a rough ride. Nancy’s teary “You will die” reminds me of the S3 finale opening scene, “I won’t let him die.” In both cases she believes she’s doing the right thing - she’s already lost so many people she loves. The difference now is Ace is finally clued into what’s going on and doesn’t accept her keeping things from him.

Ace’s journey from the 213 Claw deck scene where Nancy successfully pushes him away, “Not my place to say,” and here, where he relentlessly pushes her for the truth, “What aren’t you telling me?” shows how far he’s come.

But Nancy continues to “make the call” and shut him out, not unlike S3’s Piper Beach episode when she overrides Bess’s opinion. Nancy’s tendency to dismiss the feelings and opinions of those closest to her when she’s under pressure is already in full force, well before the poisoned water begins to affect her behavior.

Ace’s expression reminds me of the Amanda breakup scene in 306 - the mixture of anger, frustration, and sadness about someone he loves is written all over his face.

As a break from the turmoil, I loved the introduction of Jade, and can’t wait to see how their and Nick’s relationship progresses. Nick and Bess have a rare but hilarious scene together, with a chance to gently poke fun at Nick’s (and Tunji’s) lack of social media savvy. I have to agree with George that he could lose the hat.

Back in the locker room, the fight continues with Ace getting increasingly angry that Nancy’s holding out on him, pleading for her to let him in because “I’m in this curse too,” while Nancy is “trying to be strong.” Oh, Nancy. Visually it evokes Nancy and Ace’s S1 fight in 107, this time with Ace coming down the stairs to confront Nancy instead of the other way around.

This feels like it could become a theme for them, with a struggle between Nancy’s desire to keep Ace safe at the cost of his autonomy. I’m glad they’re exploring this, even though it’s difficult to see them fight when all we want to do is bang them together like Barbies and make them kiss already.

With the entrance of Tristan, things get even more awkward, Ace furious but begrudgingly admiring Tristan’s ‘solid’ boat name, Jolene, the famous ‘other’ woman. Tristan (that hussy) flirts with Nancy shamelessly, but doesn’t know what to make of Ace’s instant classic line:

“I made it this morning.” 💀 I love him so much. Visually Tristan starts out in the middle (just like Ace between Nancy and her love interests in past seasons), but later the perspective changes with Ace in the middle and with his back to us. This foreshadowing of the inevitable love triangle is making me sad 😔 .

Back to the mystery, Nancy and Ace respond to George’s call for help to investigate Judge Abbott’s strange behavior before his heart attack. Nancy assures George “we’ll figure it out, that’s what we do.” Ace’s silent response is absolutely devastating. His expression and body language scream, “You’re willing to figure things out for George, why not for us?”

The supernatural poison is about to turn Nancy into Bro-Nancy, but I’m out of room and I have a lot more screencaps. This was literally just the first seven minutes (and I skipped Bess and Addy, but promise to come back to them).

I will probably not shut up about it every time I talk about this episode, but Alex is killing it in every scene, every shot. Kennedy’s incredible turn in this episode is epic, and I can’t wait to dig in next time. But this in many ways Ace’s episode - the range of emotion is so effectively portrayed, often purely with body language and facial expressions. Ace may not be the Maiden, but he has some serious but controlled rage (justified IMO) as he finally advocates for himself and the life he wants with Nancy.

‘Til next time, Drewds!

UPDATE: Part 2 and Part 3

[xolliwritez]

helloooooo !! could you write lee giyuu where shinobu finds out he’s ticklish and has fun exploring it hehe please and thank you !!

Butterflies Bounty || KNY Tk Fic

A/N: aaaaaa dani!! this was such a cute yet fun idea, these two are my heart and soul!! i hope you enioy reading this!! \\(*´▽`*)//

P.S: Sorry if it took too long, you're the first person to request so yea (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

"Tomioka-san, oi oi, Tomioka-san!" Shinobu attempted to catch the water hashira's attention.

All day, Kocho had been trying to catch Tomioka's attention, but with every large attempt she did, the more it failed, it was starting to out her on edge quite the bit. Giyuu was one hundred percent aware of this, but just acted as if nothing had been happening at all, shooing her away like an insect.

As Giyuu had went out for a mission, she had went to her fellow accomplices, seeking for any chance of an answer. As expected, Sanemi and Iguro didn't give two craps about him, whilst Rengoku and Mitsuri were out training most of the day, Uzui was caught up in a mission himself and Gyomei and Muichiro had been helping Genya train. What possibly could be keeping him so on edge? Either way, she was going to get her answer today, whether he liked it or not. Meanwhile, she had patient's to help, especially a certain Bluenette, Blonde and Red head, hoo boy.

After the long day, Tomioka had came into her mansion to get some small injuries treated, they weren't much, but still, the fact that he'd been hurt by a small demon made her think even more that something was on his mind.

"My my, Tomioka-san, how did you get these injuries over a simple mission, hm?"

No answer.

"This is why you've got no friend's, Tomioka-san."

Again, not a answer, nor a single glance.

Shinobu's smile quickly faded, spinning the water breathing user to look her in the eye, "Tomioka-san, I'm worried for you, this isn't like you." Hopefully that got to him, and it eventually did. His bland expression lightened up a bit as he gazed into her eye's, his gorgeous, ocean blue.. what was she thinking? Snap out of it Shinobu!

With a small shake of her head, Shinobu waited for Giyuu to invite her to sit beside her. He quickly caught on and patted beside him, her smile quickly coming back into place as she sat beside him.

"You can talk to me, Tomioka-san, I'll always be here to listen." She assured, humming happily when he nodded slightly. Eventually, he opened up, explaining how he didn't deserve to be with such strong, kind people such as herself.

Oh my, how couldn't she have noticed sooner? His endless amount of survivors guilt had pent him up so much, that it eventually got the best of him, now she understood why he'd never associate himself with any if the other's.

"Tomioka-san.. it's difficult, I understand that, but.. if they were here right now, I can assure you that they'd be so proud of you. I mean, look at you, most people can't be as- are you okay?" She asked. Whilst she was talking, she had placed her left hand against his left side and rubbed him, offering him reassurance, she didn't expect this type of reaction.

"Tomio-"

"Shinobu, no."

"Oh Tomioka-"

"Don't." His once slumped over torso now stood straight, his hands grabbing her wrist, yet not even tugged them even the slightest away.

"My my, I think I know how to cheer you up, Tomioka-san~" Teased the insect Hashira, her smile only widdening when she saw the usually pale white face of his brightening a cute shade of red. Her once rubbing her now latched onto his side and with each twitch of her fingertips, so did Giyuu's body, quiver.

"K-Kocho-"

"Glad we're getting closer, Tomioka-san! Maybe we could become friend's!" She played, surprised to hear her usually stoic companion whine from such a innocent tease. Ohohoh, now this was fun.

"What's wrong, Tomioka-san? Can't handle a few tickles? That's unfortunate, I thought you'd have some resilience in you." She playfully tsked and shook her head, making him arch away when her over hand came into play. "K-Kohoch- Kocho, nohoho! Pl-Please dohon't!" He melted even more as she awed at him, her hands lowering as she squeezed at his hip's, making him immediately turn to his side, laying on the bed as his right arm covered his face.

"No no, we can't have you do that, Giyuu, this is only getting started!" She exclaimed with excitement, now squeezing his hips with vigor, making the once silent hashira go into a giggle fit. As her thumbs accidentally found the divets of his hips, it only made him buck and arch, luckily for Shinobu, she wasn't ontop of him, kudos to her for sitting beside him whilst he was laughinh his head off. "Ahahah, S-Shihinobu! Plehease! S-Sto-NAHAH!" Howled Tomioka, throwing his head back as her left hand squeezed at his thigh, "Oh? Is this a bad spot, Tomioka-san?~" He didn't even have to say, the both of them already knew the answer to this answer.

"N-No-"

"It was a rhetorical question, Giyuu, I don't expect you to understand tha- what is that?" She asked, making Tomioka immediately look, "What do you- NOHO!" He kicked and squirmed, "Oh no, it's a tickle bug! Don't worry, Tomioka-san, I'll save you!" She playfully retorted, treating him like a child. As the tickling pursued, she took a glace to see if she needed to stop.

His once long hair came undone, becoming messier, his once blank expression was filled with childish glee, along with his ears, nose and cheeks dusted a bright red, his fists clamped onto his haori and the sheets of the bed weakly, trying to keep some of hispride intact, oh how she dreamed she had done this sooner.

As she listened to his breathing become more frantic, she had stopped, her hands resting against his own.

"So, how was that, hm?" She teased, not expecting an answer, before hearing him muffle something under his breath. She drummed her right hands fingertips into his armpit to make him curl, "I couldn't hear you, Tomioka-san, speak up please." Smiled the insect Hashira, only for her heart to swell with pure love for him over his word's.

"I said I lohohove y-you." He exclaimed breathlessly, hiding part of his face into the cover of his haori. "I love you too." Shinobu kissed the back of his hand, making his impossibly red face grow even redder, "Okay, now rest up, those injuries should heal in a few days." She patted his stomach, oh how they'd do this again.

[reds-writings]

Hi red! I apologize in advance for my english, it's not my first language :( and I couldn't help but stop by and leave some real praise for the JJ universe.

I'm about to watch the last episode of the first season of True Detective and then read the last two chapters that you posted, I'm literally preparing myself as if it were an event, I swearrr 🥲

You capture the essence of Rust and all his dynamics with the reader so well... Because he's a complex character, it's difficult to find fanfics about him (which aren't many, unfortunately) that capture his entire personality and thoughts well. Your writing is incredible and with each line it's as if I could really insert myself into the episodes and imagine myself there, with precision, every event, sensation, every touch... I dare say that "Crashin' the party" was my favorite so far, precisely because of the mix of emotions and the rollercoaster I felt, it was a delicious immersion, the construction of their relationship, Rust's concern about her... god, it was a lot for me.

I love that the reader is a tough woman, she is direct and determined, she doesn't let herself get down easily, that's captivating.

I can't wait for what lies ahead and for the next chapters, for how everything will develop and end. From now on I will be an avid reader of this universe, I will be eagerly awaiting! Have a lovely day ❤️ xoxo

Oh my goodness this is such a lovely message I could just about fall over. Thank you so much for reading along with this series and taking the time to message me! Crashin' the Party was one of the tougher chapters/parts for me to write so far (and the one I was most nervous to post oddly enough) but I'm glad it's been well-received! Any chance to explore Rust's softer side or what makes him go against/question his hard-set constitution is always interesting to me!

I'm also glad you enjoy the reader's personality/structure too! I like being able to write someone who has her own set of complications/flaws but still manages to be emotionally intelligent or more open compared to Rust or Marty. Her not taking anyone's crap (even Rust's despite him being a growing weakness of hers) and being able to undoubtedly hold her own in their line of work is something that's been important for me to portray/balance as well. I love seeing what details and choices stand out or impact readers in my writing! It makes me so excited and giddy you have no idea, I love the chance to break it all down for discussion!

I'm brainstorming what to lead with next in the coming chapters but they'll make their way around! My writing process has yet to find a real schedule so my postings can be quite random as of right now lol. Again, thank you so much! Wishing you a lovely day as well ♥️

[nectaric]

@miramilocamimira asked: Hi! How are you? So this is really just cause I need thoughts on the subject, you don't have to answer it if you don't want- but What would it take for Zeus to leave? As in he abdicated or whatever and just disappeared. How would the others react? And then this is not just to question but actually just curious: Each of the big six’s favorite nice/nephew?

rubs my greedy little hands together, i'm glad you asked! i actually have a lot of thoughts about this, and was actually exploring this a little on this blog because of a series of roleplay threads i did with a friend, in which zeus "dies" and spends a while in tartarus.

i think zeus is quite a bit closer to that precipice than some people might believe. he clings to his throne pretty tightly, and would verbally tell anyone that he has no intentions of letting it go. the throne is a safety net for zeus, a thing that, despite all the trouble it has caused him, is also the one thing keeping him and his family safe. he doesn't want to release it because he fears what will happen to them, and himself, if he does.

but zeus is tired. he's ruled for a long time, and worked hard. he's suffered relentlessly as the king, and the years and experiences have bogged him down. stepping down would be the best thing for him, and a small part of him knows that. in order to step down, though, he would have to admit this to himself and he would have to accept that he can be safe without it. that he deserves a break, that whoever fills his shoes will do just as good of a job. in my roleplay world, zeus dying and another war breaking out were the catalyst for his desire to abdicate upon his return from tartarus - the experience too haunting and exhausting for him to continue.

so i think zeus is almost ready to do it. with a few reassurances that his family and kingdom will be safe after he leaves, i think zeus would be far more inclined to do so. while i don't think him leaving would necessarily mean he'd be uninvolved with olympus, it would be in a much smaller, more honorary role than anything else. tbh, i feel like the olympians would embrace the council system a little more, favouring a real democracy than a faux one. i could see hera choosing to continue to rule for a little while, but ultimately, her and zeus were such a team as rulers that if he left, she would follow shortly thereafter. there is a potential for another king or queen - apollo or athena, perhaps, but ultimately i think, if this occurred in modern day, the system would shift significantly.

as for reactions... i think there would be mixed opinions. some might be shocked, others relieved, others annoyed that it took this long, others happy for him. i think some like hestia or hades would be pleased for zeus, because they are among the ones who understand the burden best / have seen what being king has done to him. athena would be surprised, a little nervous of what this means for her, but ultimately pleased. i think, generally speaking, its the kind of decision that would shock olympus at first, until everyone actually had a chance to speak to zeus directly - and they would see that the signs have always been there and that this was always the path zeus was going to walk eventually. it would be a chance for them to truly know and bond with zeus, too, without the burden of leadership. it would be a great thing for everyone, even if it was a bit of a difficult transition.

as for your final question!!

generally speaking this is kind of how i imagine it.

hestia: she doesn't pick favourites... but if she did, i think she's quite fond of athena, ares, and persephone, and has grown close to makaria and melinoe as well.

hades: hermes, easily. he works closely with him, and has grown quite fond of the guy.

hera: zagreus or rhode. they're both far too sweet for their own good, and she tends to get motherly.

poseidon: he and apollo have some shared trauma so maybe him, orrr dionysus.

demeter: any of hades' children, which feels a little like cheating since those are also her grandbabies, but she can't be stopped.

zeus: i think, of all his nieces and nephews, zeus likely sees triton the most, so maybe him by default lol. i think he and makaria would get along very well, if they interacted more.

[shazzeaslightnovels]

86: Eighty-Six

Author: Asato Asato

Illustrator: Shirabi

Mecha Designer: I-IV

Label: Dengeki Bunko

Release Date: 10 February 2017

My Score: 5/5

English Release: Yen-Press is currently publishing this series in English.

I struggled to create a summary for this premise so I'll just use Yen-Press's for volume one: "The Republic of San Magnolia has long been under attack from the neighboring Giadian Empire's army of unmanned drones known as the Legion. After years of painstaking research, the Republic finally developed autonomous drones of their own, turning the one-sided struggle into a war without casualties-or at least, that's what the government claims. In truth, there is no such thing as a bloodless war. Beyond the fortified walls protecting the eighty-five Republic territories lies the "nonexistent" Eighty-Sixth Sector. The young men and women of this forsaken land are branded the Eighty-Six and, stripped of their humanity, pilot the "unmanned" weapons into battle..."

To build up from that summary: the volume focuses on Lena, an officer in San Magnolia, as she becomes in charge of the Spearhead squadron, a squadron of the Eighty-Six. In this squadron is a soldier known as the Undertaker and it's rumored that every handler for this squadron goes insane. Lena is more emphatic to the Eighty-Six than most people of the republic and the volume focuses on her confronting her own biases against the Eighty-Six, and her blossoming relationship with the members of the Spearhead squadron, particularly the undertaker himself, Shin.

I've been wanting to read this series for a long time, but I got scared because I'm not great at reading military fantasy in Japanese, and I heard this one is very difficult to read. The volume was heavily discounted on Bookwalker recently so I decided it was finally time to read it. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad. Yeah, I had a bit of a struggle following some of the battle scenes, but there aren't that many of them and the volume tends to focus more of the human drama then on the battles.

And that human drama element is very well written. I was so invested in the story and the characters, even as I knew how the story would turn out from watching the anime. I'm obviously not an expert, but I feel like this series is one of the better portrayals of fantasy racism in fiction. It shows how racism is systemic and that it is created by people in power wanting to keep their power. The volume does a great job at exploring that.

The prose was also really good, especially during the emotional moments. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in the Shin/Lena romance in the anime, but I understood the appeal here. It is pretty cute to see two people form a connection without ever seeing one another.

I did want to rewatch the anime for this review, but it adapts the volume across 11 episodes and I didn't have time to watch more than the first two. But I do think that it is a really good adaptation that builds on the strengths of the source material. The music is amazing (The Answer has been stuck in my head for the last week), and I appreciate that they added some anime original content, like episodes 10 and 11 (unless these end up being in volume 2 which I doubt). It expanded on the source material in meaningful ways and it's definitely worth the watch.

I'm glad I finally read this volume, because I loved it more than I thought I would. I'm definitely going to be reading more when I get the chance.

[that-cheer-up-anon]

Last night I got to talk w my little sister about parent relationship stuff. It was difficult. I got triggered and very upset.

I have a lot of thoughts and they are plaguing me, and I don't want to have another chat w my boss about it.

I am happy keeping my parents away. It's the safest I have ever felt. Even if they change, that does not mean I have to reconcile.

Like what if you had a friend who bullied you in school and you heard they changed for the better? Doesn't mean you have to rekindle that friendship. You accept and live w the hurt they did to you, be glad they learnt from it and changed, and live on. Even if one day your bully apologized to you doesn't mean you have to accept it or bring them back into your life.

My sister using church gospel teachings was upsetting too. I don't need to explain myself using teachings I don't believe or agree with anymore. Mercy > justice. It's a mercy I even told them my requirements for an apology. They haven't fulfilled them so I'm not willing to contact them again. And even if they do fulfil it, it won't guarantee me coming back.

Also her constantly saying "give them a chance", "they've changed", "it'll be different", "keep it open", and "for now" was annoying and upsetting. I don't have to do anything I don't want to, including giving my parents another chance. WHY WOULD I WANT MY ABUSERS BACK IN MY LIFE?!?!?!

She somehow found a way to see them more as parents and people she wants in her life than as her abusers, and can continue a relationship w them even after all that happened - good for her. I can't, and my body can't either. It's not for me.

I cannot do that and I am not willing to explore the option of meeting up or talking w parents. Some options are better off unexplored. Possibly one day I may be open to it but for now and for the foreseeable future it's closed and I'm happy to keep it closed.

I'm the victim and I'll choose when/if I want to reopen that relationship and that may never happen. My healing happens on my time. Not hers, not my parents' time: mine.

I can care and hope the best for them from a distance. Get comfortable w the fact I may never reconcile w parents. I have.

I also know that I have support in my choice to remain NC by others I respect and know care for me. If I don't get full support for my choice by her that's fine. I have others who love me that do.

At least I told her I don't want her talking to parents about my life, and I hope she'll stick to that.

It's also not hers or any of my other siblings' responsibility to save parents from the consequences of their actions. Me leaving and not contacting them again was due to their abuse. If that upset them they can deal w those feelings on their own. Nobody needs to save them from feeling hurt. I can only hope they'll learn from it.

I know they probably don't remember all my requirements for an apology, and it would be helpful for them to have it in text so they can refer to it, but honestly I may take back what I said about the only contact I want from them is an apology. I'm not even sure if I want a written apology from them. Kinda regretting telling my sister that she can tell parents they can send me messages I can read.

Lots of difficult feelings on that one.

[detroit-grand-prix]

Wildest Dreams Chapter 27 - Wildest Dreams (Phoebe's Version)

Chapter summary: Everything has been leading up to this. It's not the last race of the season, but for Phoebe Stallard, it feels like the last, and best chance to make her goal. After all, what could be sweeter than taking her first podium at home? But in racing, just like in life, it's never quite that straightforward.

Content warning: N/A

Chapter word count: 7,100

Author's Notes: This is the end of the main story. When I finished this, though, this story couldn't let me go, and still really hasn't. I've been working on a bunch of side stories that I will get around to posting, and I'm planning on writing an epilogue that has snatches of the 2022-2024 seasons.

I'm really proud of this story, and I'm glad it's gotten a few dedicated fans along the way. I know OC-centered stories aren't popular in RPF fandoms, and that's fine, but I never feel like I am able to do the actual athletes justice, but the psyche of someone who competes in F1my original plan! Thonestly didn't even get through everything I'd wanted to. It was a challenge, too - writing race play-by-plays is really difficult, honestly! But, as far as the stuff I didn't want to get to, we'll see what I can come up with. Plejuest sprang to mind for me but allowed me to take the story in directions that I hadn't expected. Anyway, thank you again for sticking around until this point. I know this chapter was an absolute monster is still fascinating to explore. And I've really enjoyed being able to examine what it would mean to be the first woman in so long to make it that far. I hope someday that it's not just a work of fanfiction, and that it can be reality. The narrative took me by surprise, too. It's really amazing when the story couldn't let me go, and still really hasn't. I've been working on a bunch of side stories that I will get around to posting, and I'm planning on writing an epilogue that has snatches of the 2022-2024 seasons.

*also, I know the spelling is technically "kerbs" but I just cannot bring myself to spell that word that way. SORRY.

Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Travis County, Texas, United States of America

October 24th, 2021

Bee woke up well before her alarm on race day. Her entire body was thrumming with nervous energy, but at least for the time being, it wasn’t a bad kind of nervousness, at least not yet.

She took her time getting ready before she had to meet Emilia and her parents for breakfast, but time had a way of speeding up for her before something she was dreading. She did manage to eat a good breakfast, though, and Toto and Susie ended up meeting them all there - they were just in one of the hotel’s restaurants, but It was the first time she’d seen Toto since qualifying.

“You had an amazing qualifying yesterday, bienchen. I was very impressed. Your performance has definitely improved this year, and I think as long as you just go out there and have fun, you’ll be satisfied with your performance, no matter what.”

It was different advice than everyone else had given her, but it probably did the most to help relieve the pressure.

Eventually, it was time to head to the track for the pre-race festivities, and festivities they were. There was a drivers’ parade first - Bee and all of her gridmades were herded onto the back of a flatbed truck and were driven slowly around the track, while being interviewed for F1TV. She was amused by the sight of a lot of the other drivers wearing cowboy hats - it just didn’t suit most of them, being rich boys from Europe.

The exception, however, was Daniel Ricciardo - not only was he wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, but he had shaved his beard into a handlebar mustache and mutton chops, and was wearing a University of Texas basketball jersey. He joked that he was an honorary American, and he certainly wasn’t wrong.

“You look more American than I have ever felt,” Bee told him as they climbed onto the trailer. “They should probably just give you a US passport right now.” He laughed at her. “I would love that, honestly.”

Bee was dreading the interviewer, Rosanna, coming around to her, but it seemed that she was first. At least she’d get it over with. The interviews were also projected over the loudspeakers in the grandstands.

“We’ll start with you, Phoebe. It’s your first race in the United States, you’re the first American on the grid in many years, there’s a lot of people in Williams blue with American flags - how are you feeling ahead of the race today?”

“I, uh… well, maybe a bit nervous, but it’s so nice to see so much home support -” Bee had to stop talking because of the cheer that rose up from the grandstand they were passing. “And I’m really hoping that I can run a good race today for everyone. I’m sure it will be fine once the helmet is on, though. This is an amazing track and I had a really great qualifying yesterday, and there’s so many people here today, it’s really incredible to see. When I started, all of the races were under lockdown and there was no audience, and it definitely makes a big difference.”

She spent the rest of the parade waving to the crowd and talking to George for a bit. The truck they were on was going slow enough that she could finally get a good look at a lot of the crowd - not only were there a ton of American flags, but it looked like someone had produced a “Super Bee” banner that had been widely adopted - she saw tons of them dotting the grandstands.

It was the first time she’d seen it, and it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling. She’d spent so much of her racing career being somewhat of an outcast, an outsider, an oddity. She remembered showing up to testing for GP3 and getting stared at the entire time, like nobody there had ever seen a girl in their lives. They probably hadn’t ever seen one in a racing suit. She didn’t ever think motorsport fans would embrace her like this, especially when she’d reached Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport.

But then, she thought about Adelle and Olivia, and how Olivia had said that there wasn’t anyone she wanted to root for before she signed with Williams. Maybe she wasn’t the only one. Maybe it wasn’t the racing fandom embracing her, but her presence changing who the motorsport fandom was. No doubt that Netflix had helped with this, bringing Formula 1 to a broader audience, but how had she changed who racing appealed to by just being a woman on the grid? It was everything she’d been working for, it was everything Susie had been working for, before her.

All the more reason to try her best today, and hopefully climb the podium at last.

Once she was freed from the drivers’ parade, she headed to the Williams hospitality tent to get changed and get warmed up. Emilia was already waiting for her in her drivers’ room. She left briefly so Bee could slip out of the jeans and team shirt she was wearing and into her Nomex baselayers and racing suit.They did their warm up sequence as usual, and Bee hopped up on the massage table, ready for the rest of it. She froze for a moment, wondering if she should take her shirt off for the massage, remembering how warm, soft, and soothing Emilia’s hands were on her back yesterday.

Emilia didn’t even have to ask before Bee made her decision, tossing the undershirt onto the small futon in the room.

“Oh, okay! I wasn’t sure if you wanted to do that again. Did it feel better yesterday with -”

“Yes. It did. Thank you.” Bee said, quickly laying face-down on the table so Emilia wouldn’t notice the blush spreading down Bee’s face. Bee could feel the heat spreading down from her cheeks to her chest, and knew it didn’t have anything to do with the Texas sunshine.

“We’ll just do it this way from now on.” Emilia said quietly. “If you want.” Bee heard the click of the cap for the lotion bottle and felt her heart start to beat a little faster.

“...Yes. I… I’d like that.” It really was much more effective. Bee was almost so relaxed by the time she sat up for her breathing exercises that she felt like she could have fallen asleep. Emilia grasped her hands again and led her through a deep breathing progression, because Bee had told her that it helped ground her yesterday.

“Okay. Are you ready?” Emilia said, handing Bee her shirt and her drink bottle after they had finished. “Drink some more. It’s hot out there and I know you’ll need it.”

Before long, it was time to head out to the car to take her place on the grid. Before Bee went to head over to the garage, Emilia stopped her. She bent down to Bee’s height, wrapped her arms around her, and said, “Good luck today. Just go out and have fun. Don’t get your head so wrapped up in the result that you stand in your own way. I know this is an important race for you, but it’s not the last one this season. I’ll be here for you no matter what happens.”

Bee returned her embrace, closing her eyes, breathing in Emilia’s presence around her. “I know. But it feels like it’s a big one. And… Thank you. For everything you do. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” She meant it, too. She never dreamed she’d develop such a close relationship with her performance coach, but she was glad she had.

They walked over to the garage together.

Bee said hello to her parents. Josephine, once again, insisted on taking pictures. One of Emilia and Bee together, one of Susie with Bee, one with Bee and her dad, and one with Bee and Claire. She asked Susie to get a picture of the two of them together, after which Bee said “Mom, I have to go! I have to get on the grid!”. She sounded perhaps a little more whiny than was necessary.

“I know, honeybee, but how many times do you get to watch your daughter race in Formula 1 for the first time in your home country? I don’t think it’s a usual occurrence! I think I’m actually the first!”

Bee laughed. She wasn’t the first, technically, but she was the first in the US.

She hugged both of her parents, Susie, and Claire, and they all wished her luck.

She walked over to her car in its place on the grid, holding her helmet and gloves. Emilia had an umbrella to protect them from the hot, direct sunshine, but she was so much taller than Bee it almost wasn’t working. “Drink some more.” Emilia said. “I know you don’t like to use the drink system in your car, so you need to make sure to finish whatever’s in that bottle before we start.”

Bee rolled her eyes a little and took more sips on the long straw, but secretly, she was touched by Emilia’s concern. She was right, though - it was going to get incredibly hot in the cockpit, and she would be more dehydrated today than usual by the end of the race.

She clambered into the cockpit while the engineers and mechanics made their final adjustments. Emilia had set her umbrella down over her so Bee wouldn’t start baking while she was sitting there. Once all of the final checks were complete, Bee had to climb back out for the opening ceremonies.

The opening presentation was very American in every way - there was a marching band (the University of Texas marching band), a flyover by military helicopters, a giant American flag on the track held by various American military personnel, a giant flag carried across the sky by people with parachutes, the cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys NFL team, and a country singer Bee hadn’t ever heard of singing the national anthem.

Normally, she wasn’t particularly moved by “The Star Spangled Banner”. It was okay, but she’d heard so many national anthems by now that she’d grown to have opinions on them. She liked Germany’s “Deutschlandlied”, of course, and she had liked Austria’s “Land der Berge, Land am Strome” before she’d heard it so much this season because of Max’s victories. She disliked the Dutch anthem, but liked the bouncy, cheerful “Il Canto degli Italiani” because of her love for Monza. The UK’s anthem, “God Save the Queen”, always threw her off, because she’d learned the melody as a child as “My Country ‘Tis Of Thee”, an American patriotic tune.

But as the singer on the track hit the last note, a chill shot down Bee’s spine. It was moving this time, and she didn’t know why.

Finally, it was time to start. She was glad Emilia had left the umbrella over the opening of the cockpit, otherwise, her HANS device may have been too hot to pick up with her bare hands from sitting on her seat.

She climbed into her car, put on her radio headset, balaclava, helmet, and her gloves, and her focus narrowed to her steering wheel and the view out of her cockpit. She took a minute to focus on her breath, and focus on the racing line, as she always did. She snapped her visor closed, the mechanics all backed away from the cars for the start, and she was ready for the formation lap. She took off with the pack, weaving the car to get temperature into the tires and warm up the brakes, not that it would be difficult today.

“Radio check.” She heard Gaetan say.

“Loud and clear.”

“Okay, Phoebe. Let’s have a good race today. Keep an eye on your tires, the track is hot. Let me know right away if anything seems off. Remember it’s not very long into the first turn and it’s an uphill climb, so don’t be a hero. Good luck.”

“Copy. Thank you.”

It was strange to see the cars she was behind and next to at the start - she certainly wasn’t used to seeing a Mercedes in front of her or a Ferrari next to her, but she relished it. It felt like a challenge.

Her eyes locked on the starting lights, and she held her breath as all five disappeared.

Right away, she got an amazing start - she saw a gap between Leclerc and Bottas, and swept straight through it, immediately going up into 5th place. Miraculously, there wasn’t any silliness heading into turn 1, a climb steeper than Raidillon at Spa. She pressed in her throttle, and was right on Bottas’ back as they straddled the entry curb on the right.

The nice thing about the hill was that you could brake later and harder than normal without issue, but the apex was hard to spot over the blind crest. You also had to avoid the temptation to turn into the first apex early - the wider line was superior for the best exit.

She slammed into first gear to rotate the car quickly before a quick shift into second gear, making sure to avoid the sausage curb that would wreck her exit.

Turn 2 was flat, and really just a means of getting to turn 3 as soon as possible - that was where the real fun started. A mistake here could affect your drive all the way through turn 6, even as far as turn 11, so keeping a good rhythm and flow here was of the utmost importance. It was the same as Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone.

It didn’t take long to settle into her rhythm, thankfully - by the time they were on lap 4, she was still right on Bottas’s back end as they went into turns 9 and 10. She managed to tell herself to take 9 flat, but it looked like Valtteri had lifted a bit, and she was able to gain on him. If she could stay on him until turn 11, she’d be able to use her car’s Drag Reduction System on him. Formula 1 cars had a rear wing that had a panel that opened to reduce drag - it was like getting another 20 horsepower on your engine, but it could only be used in certain sections of the track, and only while you were a second or less behind the car in front of you.

“You have DRS on Bottas.” Gaetan confirmed as they flew around the hairpin.

“Copy, I’m after him.”

She pressed the DRS button on her steering wheel, and her rear wing snapped open, granting her an additional burst of speed. She slid out of his slipstream and flew around him. She thought he’d be putting up more of a fight, but it was a long race.

She also wondered what Toto was thinking, as he watched from his spot in the Mercedes garage. Would he have been proud of her for battling with, and overtaking, one of his works team drivers, or would he be disappointed that Valtteri didn’t fight more for his place? She hoped it would be the former more than the latter.

“Good job, Phoebe. Perez is next, but he’s about six seconds ahead, and he’s gaining on Hamilton. Just hang out here for now and watch your tires.”

“Copy, thank you.”

Her and Valtteri played leapfrog for a while, trading positions, almost like it was some sort of game. This went on for about ten laps, until she was on the long back straight again, with Valtteri in her crosshairs ahead of her.

She heard Gaetan say, “Box, box, Phoebe.”

“What?! Why? It’s so early!”

“Slow puncture, losing pressure on your front left.” She hadn’t even noticed yet, but the car had so much sensitive instrumentation that the pressures likely hadn’t gotten low enough to affect her driving. She must have developed it from the curbs she ran over while chasing Valtteri.

Images of Sakhir last year flashed through her mind, when George led most of the race while he was driving for Mercedes temporarily, until a tire mixup made him have to pit twice. He fought his way back through the pack, but a slow puncture made it so that he went from almost winning the race to almost not even finishing in the points. She remembered seeing the graphic of his nameplate sinking from the top of the rankings to almost the bottom, and was now envisioning it happening now, live, on television, with her blue “STA” nameplate instead.

She wanted to throw up - who knows how many positions she’d lose pitting this early? But, she had no choice. At least she’d have a tire advantage, but she’d have to pit again later on, surely.

As a mercy, she hadn’t gone all the way past the pitlane yet, so she didn’t have to do a full lap on a tire that was losing air. Since it was a slow puncture, she could still manage around the 12-19 complex if she was careful to avoid the curbs. Those would cause a blowout that would probably force a retirement. She made it - she pulled into the pitlane and felt the anxiety rising. The pit crew changed her tires, but just as she was pulling away -

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stay here! Red flag!” Gaetan practically shouted through her headset. His voice was abrupt, urgent.

“What?! What happened?”

“Red flag! Latifi spun into the wall at turn 11 and took Alonso and Gasly with him. There’s debris to clear and they’ll need to repair a barrier.”

“Oh, shit! Is everyone alright?” She was trying not to sound too excited, just in case anyone was hurt.

“Yes, they’re all fine, they’re out, but the track is a mess. Red flag procedure, Phoebe.”

Her relief was almost palpable. It must have happened just before she pulled into the pitlane, and she was on the opposite end of the track from the Turn 11 hairpin, which explains why she had no idea.

“Okay, how many places did we lose? What’s our position?”

“Checking.” It was hard to say, as she was the only one pulling into the pit. Unfortunately, it meant that everyone would get a free tire change, and she wouldn’t have the advantage when she exited, but now everyone else would have to either use a harder tire or stop later on.

A moment later, he said, “We are P6, you will line up behind Leclerc.”

Okay, it wasn’t as bad as she thought, she’d only lost three places. That might not be so hard to make up. The other cars came into the pit lane, and she was able to stop the car and get out. There would be another standing start, and they had an hour.

She stripped off her headwear and walked back into the garage. Emilia was standing at the entrance again, as she had been at the Bahrain red flag. But this time, instead of immediately sweeping her back into the privacy of her drivers’ room, she said, “Are you okay? Do you need to take a minute to yourself? I know that was probably pretty stressful.”

Bee shook her head. “I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

She found it oddly touching that Emilia was just always right there, waiting for her in case she needed her. Sure, as her performance coach, she was more or less Bee’s assistant, but they’d never discussed things like that - their relationship, their routine just naturally developed that way.

Different drivers had different ways of staying alert and “in the zone” during red flag periods. She knew Daniel Ricciardo would put on his headphones and listen to music. Some just sat in their garages, or stood in the pitlane and watched. This past year, during the rain-induced red flag in Spa, she remembered actually deciding to take a quick nap, and she hadn’t been the only one to do so. She remembered watching Kimi Raikkonen on TV infamously eating ice cream during a race in Malaysia in 2009.

This time, though, she and Emilia sat in the garage, though still sitting apart from everyone, Emilia talking to Bee about everything and nothing, as a way of trying to keep her from overthinking and getting anxious again. They would go back to do warmups again before the restart, but for now, they just chatted in German together - at least it gave them some privacy. At first, Emilia strayed away from talking about anything to do with the race, but Bee eventually started talking about the race again.

“I felt like I was going to throw up when Gaetan told me I had a puncture. I didn’t even feel it yet.” Bee said. “All I could think about was George in Sakhir last year, but the red flag came in just in time.”

“You were doing so well, though. I think you’ll have no problem making up those places again. There’s still a lot of race left. And no offense, but I’d never thought I’d see you battling for position with Valtteri. At least you did it without crashing.”

Bee laughed. “Could you imagine? I’d probably just flee the country before I had to talk with Toto about it.”

Eventually, it was time to get warmed back up, but Emilia could tell Bee was starting to get nervous again. While Bee didn’t normally get very emotionally demonstrative around other people, Emilia had noticed that Bee’s body language would change considerably depending on how she felt. When she got nervous, her movements would get stiffer, she’d start to fidget and pace, and she’d start biting her lip, or her balaclava if she was wearing it.

“Well, let’s… go finish this, I guess.”

As Bee turned around to leave her drivers’ room, Emilia seized her by the shoulders, and pulled her in close, bending down until their foreheads were almost touching, looking right into her eyes.

“Phoebe, listen. Earlier was just a warm-up. You showed them what you can do. I know it feels like today is your last chance, but it’s not. We still have so many races together. And regardless of how today ends, regardless of your place, you’re going to be successful. You’ve put in the time, you’ve put in the effort, you’ve worked so hard - it’s all paying off. Those other guys might be in faster cars, but they haven’t had to climb half of the obstacles you’ve had to to get here, and you were fighting right up there at the front with them. You can do it again. I’ll be out there on the pit wall watching when you come across the line and cheering you on, no matter what.”

Emilia pulled her into a hug. Bee was a little surprised at first, but eventually, she returned Emilia’s embrace. She had to bury her face in Emilia’s shirt though, to hide the tears that had started to come into her eyes. Even in German, she felt what Emilia had said right down to her very core.

“Okay. I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

She put her balaclava and helmet back on before she left the room, wanting to stay focused and engaged, but she made sure to wave across the garage to where her parents and Susie were sitting. She saw They all called out to wish her luck as she went back out to her car and climbed back in. She and Georged walked out of the garage together, and he wished her luck as well. At least, that’s what she thought - he already had his helmet on as well, but he gave his head a clear nod and grasped Bee’s shoulder. They gave each other a quick hug.

Once again, the mechanics made their final adjustments, and Bee’s focus once again started to narrow. Gaetan did their regular radio check, and Bee’s car was moved back out onto the grid for the restart.

Once again, her focus narrowed into the view out of her cockpit, the sounds of her own breath, the racing line, and the five red lights in front of her.

As the lights went out, she got another decent getaway. Her eyes were wide open and focused, looking for gaps. She didn’t see any, but she was breathing down Charles’ neck from the start, at least. There were 42 laps left, so, as Crofty, the F1 commentator for Sky Sports in the UK, would always say, there was “all to play for”.

She stayed calm, and patient, and eventually, Charles faltered when she was able to use DRS on him, and was back up into 5th. A few laps later, she was hunting down Daniel. He locked up on turn 14 - it was crucial to be gentle on the pedal there, but he may have gotten unnerved by Bee’s presence in his mirrors. It opened the door for her to get around him, and she did.

“Good job, Phoebe. Perez is ahead by three seconds, but we have to start thinking about tires.” she heard.

“Copy. Just let me know. Going to try to build a gap with Daniel.”

As it turns out, she didn’t have to worry about tires - Ocon had a retirement that caused a safety car, which means that everyone got a free tire change. Sure, she was once again robbed of a tire advantage, but so was everyone else.

Verstappen was in first, so he controlled the pace of the pack behind him once the Safety Car period ended. Bee hated these rolling starts, because of how much control the pacesetter had - you had to have constant awareness of when the front of the pack would start to break away once overtakes were allowed again, lest you be overtaken from behind.

If you went too early, it would mean a penalty. Sometimes, the cars in the back could be caught out. In Mugello in 2020, there was an accident at the rear of the pack when they didn’t realize the cars ahead were not at full speed.

Verstapped broke away, and Bee managed to be quick enough on the throttle to end up wheel-to-wheel with Perez for a moment. She had to back off going into a corner to leave enough space, otherwise she would have ended up getting punted into the gravel trap.

She stayed on Perez for the next few laps, but she was focusing so hard she was losing the lap count.

Luckily, Gaetan was nothing if not reliable.

“Five laps, Phoebe. Push, push. Checo is 2.5 ahead, and has been talking about tire wear. Keep the pressure up and you’ll be in DRS range soon.”

It was getting down to the wire. Phoebe pushed through all of the turns, making sure to stay right on Perez’s shoulder, just to be able to take any opportunity he might have presented. She was so close.

“Three laps left, you’re 1.2 away. Almost in DRS.”

Her pace must have been mind-blowingly quick if she’d cut that much off of their gap in two laps. Maybe he was slowing down. Either way, she couldn’t let up now. One lap later, she heard Toto’s voice in her mind as they rounded the turn 9 chicane together.

“You have to squeeze your arse cheeks and commit.”

They were almost wheel-to-wheel again, and Bee wasn’t going to back off this time.

She was through.

But then… Perez had DRS on her. Bee cursed - she should have waited to overtake him until after the DRS zone. It was a stupid mistake, but she remembered what Natalie told her when she was so angry about her late pit exit during her last outing at Monza.

“Some drivers have even made mistakes that have destroyed their entire car. A few seconds on a pit exit seems like nothing in comparison, right?”

Right. It was a small error on an otherwise stellar performance so far. Nothing to lose her head over. She did her best to keep Perez in the dirty air of her car, to defend. The DRS zone would end soon anyway. She wasn’t going to let him take his position back that easily.

“Last lap, Phoebe. Good job keeping Perez behind you.”

It was now or never. She had to be absolutely dead-on for this last lap, Perez was still on her, and the endless defense she had to put up was starting to get exhausting. She could feel herself start to falter going into Turn 12, and she and Perez were wheel-to-wheel again in the 90-degree corner, but she didn’t let up. She couldn’t. Not now.

In her mind’s eye, she saw the faces of everyone who had supported her over the years - her parents, the Wolffs, Claire, Natalie, Emilia, George, Adelle and her daughter, the dozens of fans that she’d met just this weekend. She didn’t want this podium for herself, but she wanted it for them - a tangible marker to show how far she’d come because of them, a means of thanking them, and showing her how strong she’d become with their support. It urged her forward.

And then - she saw a flash of Helmut Marko’s face. She could see him so clearly - the round, balding head, the thin gray hair, and his small, beady blue eyes. His left eye was a prosthetic and his gaze was always a bit off-center. She saw the disdainful, sour look that he had whenever he talked to her towards the end of her time at Red Bull. She thought about how he’d look from his spot in Red Bull’s garage if she snatched this podium away from his own driver. She wanted, more than anything, to deny him a double podium today.

She also imagined the inevitably pissed-off look on Christian Horner’s pointy, freckled, ferret-like face - she didn’t know Christian that well, she’d avoided ever talking to him. But, it would be a bonus.

She kept her foot down through the turn 16/17/18 series, making sure to cling to the curbs to maintain the most speed. She could practically feel Perez right on her, but she stayed firm, steadfast - it was literally the meaning of her surname, after all.

Perez was practically next to her going through the home straight, but she held her breath and stomped the throttle coming out of turn 20.

Time froze, and then dilated as she crossed the line. It was a split-second that felt entirely too long. She felt like she could feel her pulse between the thin margins of seconds it had doubtlessly been.

She saw a spray of fireworks that shot off as soon as the race leader - Max, probably, crossed the line, and she followed a few seconds later. Did she make it? She couldn’t tell. She’d seen Perez inching up to her on her right side at the last minute, but she didn’t think he’d made it through.

“PHOEBE STALLARD! P3!” Gaetan shouted through the radio. She could hear the cheering from the Williams garage in the background. “THAT’S A PODIUM!”

A scream came from somewhere deep inside of her. She didn’t even feel it coming. She’d just run the race of her life. Even through her helmet and headphones, she could hear the roar of the crowd - it sounded like a prolonged, rolling thunderclap. She practically felt it in her chest, even over the hum of the engine behind her.

She looked up and ahead of her, onto the pit wall, and saw something incredible. The crew of practically every team was clinging to the pit wall fence over the home straight, cheering for her. So it seemed, at least. She saw the British racing green of Aston Martin, Ferrari red, Mercedes white and teal (she spotted Toto easily, as tall as he was), McLaren papaya, Alpine and Williams blues - at the last second, she caught a glimpse of a tall woman, in a blue shirt, with blonde hair, grasping the upper corners of an enormous American flag - Emilia.

She was on her cooldown lap, and was speechless. Normally, a driver would thank the team, depending on their mood, but Bee had felt herself start crying. She was grasping onto the bottom of her visor, trying to wipe her eyes through the gap.

She heard Claire through her radio.

“Phoebe, that was an absolutely incredible race. I’m so proud of you, and I’m so proud of how far you’ve come with this team. I know Dad is at home watching now, and I know he’s so excited and happy right now. It’s been a pleasure to be your team principal, and I’m going to miss you so much next year.”

Bee took a breath, and swallowed around the lump in her throat.

“Thank you, Claire, for believing in me. It’s been awesome working with you, and it’s not going to be the same without you. I wanted to get a podium before the end of this season to send you out on a high note and to thank you for bringing me onto this fantastic team - you’ve all been the best part of racing in Formula 1. The spirit and heart of everyone here and in Grove keeps me motivated, and this podium is for all of you - I couldn’t have done it without you.”

It sounded corny, but she’d meant every word of it. Williams had come so far in the last two years, even with the sale and the transition of leadership, but she loved it. She was proud to have been part of the small resurgence they were experiencing.

She waved out to the grandstands as she passed by them on the cooldown lap, and it was clear that people were absolutely losing it. She could have never imagined this. She almost didn’t want to pull into parc ferme - she was enjoying this particular moment - just her, her car, and the distant shouts of her fans - too much.

But, even so, she arrived and pulled up to the 3rd place bollard (another thing she’d never imagined doing) and saw that her team had gathered around the fence to wait for her.

She was 5’2”, not even 160cm, but she felt twice that height when she climbed out of the FW43B and stood on its nose. She tossed her head back and let out the same scream she’d felt tear itself from her chest earlier - of triumph. All of the tension and pressure of the weekend was gone. She jumped down and sprinted over to the crowd of Williams team members at the gate. She wasn’t quite tall enough to jump up and on top of the barriers like some drivers did, but they did their best to reach her, and she was caught in a hailstorm of hugs, cheering, and hearty slaps on her back and helmet.

It was so loud in that crowd of people. The atmosphere was electric.

Someone - probably Emilia - placed the corner of the American flag in her hands, and she gripped it fiercely.

She turned around to see Lewis waiting for her. He grabbed her into a tight hug that lifted her off her feet, which was not difficult. He set her down, and she stripped off her helmet and balaclava. He did the same, and took a moment to re-tie his braided hair back into a ponytail

“I can’t believe it, Phoebe - you’re the first woman ever on a Formula 1 podium!” Lewis shouted over the commotion around them.

Oh. She’d forgotten about that part. It wasn’t what she’d set out to do, necessarily.

He hugged her again, patting her back. “You must have run an incredible race. I can’t wait to watch it later. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Lewis, for everything. You’ve always been so kind to me, and it means a lot.”

At the other end of the parc ferme area, there were small stands for them to place their equipment, and a scale to be weighed right near the pit lane. There used to be cool-down rooms where they did this, but they got rid of them during the abridged COVID season to maintain team bubbles. She stepped on the scale after Lewis. Claire was in the garage outside of parc ferme, standing with Emilia. She went over to them, and they both pulled her into large hugs, telling her how proud they were of her, again.

She wasn’t sure where to go next, though. The podium was on the balcony above the FIA garage area they were in, which was where the medical car was parked. Emilia shoved Bee’s drink bottle into her hands while Bee was looking around, trying to take everything in.

“Here. Drink. It wouldn’t be a good look to pass out on the podium in front of your entire country, would it?” Bee shook her head, and drank greedily. She was only just now aware of how thirsty she was. The race she ran was intensely physical, and the fatigue was only now starting to set in.

She wasn’t sure what she should be doing next, though. She wasn’t sure where Lewis had disappeared to, but she heard some cheers outside that indicated he must have been outside.

She peeked around the door of the garage to see that he was doing an interview with Jenson Button, and just as she did, the F1 employee next to her said, “You’re next, Phoebe.”

She typically didn’t hang around after races to watch the podium ceremony these days, so she was happy for the direction - this was all new to her.

She walked over to take her place in front of the microphone, and Jenson asked her a few questions. The cheer she got when she stepped out of the garage was deafening, and a flurry of American flags unfurled in the crowd. She barely paid attention to whatever Jenson was asking her, but she got through it.

She walked back into the garage area, and stood next to Lewis for a few minutes, chatting companionably with him.

“Uh…” she said. “Where do we go now? Upstairs, or -”

Lewis laughed, and grabbed her by the elbow. “I forgot, this is new for you - come on, this way.”

He led her upstairs into a small waiting area that had an FIA official. It was the “backstage” behind the outdoor podium platform, which was set up on the balcony of one of the permanent buildings at the track. She was still gripping onto the flag she’d been handed. She draped it over her shoulders.

They were also joined by someone from Red Bull to accept the constructor’s trophy for the team. She was just glad it wasn’t Christian or Helmut, but that was apparently rare. The trophy presentation party came in - they were all various local officials that she didn’t know, and…

Shaquielle O’Neal? Bee never watched basketball, but knew the enormous man when she saw him.

“We’re just about ready to start, gentleme - I mean… sorry, ladies and gentlemen.” The FIA official said, looking directly at Bee. Bee waved it off. “It’s fine. I know, this is new for all of us.”

The presentation party all filed out. Bee laughed because Shaq had to duck out underneath the door frame. Certainly not a problem she’d ever have.

“Hey, good job.” Max Verstappen told her. “I heard you gave Checo a bit of a headache. That’s not easy to do.”

It was the first thing Max had ever said to her, that she could remember.

“Ah… thank you. I tried. Congratulations to you, as well.”

He nodded a quick nod at her. “Thank you.”

“And in third place…” she heard from around the temporary wall. “The first woman to ever stand on a Formula 1 podium as a driver… Phoebe Stallard, of the United States of America!”

She walked out from behind the barrier. If she thought the cheers were deafeningearlier, this was nothing. It was incredible. She could barely hear anything else, and it was coming from everywhere - from the audience below, from the people crowded onto the paddock club balconies on the left side of the stage area. She glanced at the LED screen behind her, which was playing a pre-filmed video loop of herself making various celebratory poses - she remembered when they filmed it during pre-season testing, and it felt silly then, because she didn’t think it would even be necessary. Well, she was wrong.

They introduced Lewis and Max next, and the Dutch and Austrian national anthems played. Shaquille O’Neal handed Max the first place trophy. She congratulated the Red Bull employee standing next to her on the constructor’s trophy. Lewis received his trophy, and finally, a man came over with the small statuette for her.

She raised it aloft, and it felt like she was lifting the weight of this season, the weight of her entire career - it was everything it represented. Her own expectations of herself, her desire to perform, her desire to show the people that supported her how much she appreciated it. It was all there now, in the form of a solid metallic statuette.

“And now… the champagne!”

She barely had time to react and put the trophy down and pick her victory bottle up. It didn’t matter anyway, Lewis and Max had done this dozens of times before and were far too quick on the draw. They had both set out to drench her, too. She thought she felt Lewis actually pouring the bottle down the back of her race suit. It was sticky and smelly, but it felt kind of good in the heat.

She did her best to return the spray, but it was too late. She showered the crowd below instead. From this vantage point, she could see the faces of everyone that was there for her. She could see her parents, she could see Emilia, she could see the Wolffs, she could see Claire. She smiled and waved to all of them as they smiled back up at her.

It was just like what she’d envisioned the night before, but it was even better, because it was real. It was her goal for the season, the line she’d been striving for, and she’d made it through it all - all of the terror, all of the beauty, both in equal measure.

Schönheit und Schrecken.

It was true that Rilke had said that no feeling was final, and this feeling wouldn’t be, either. She had a few races left for this season, and had already signed for another season. There would be terror. There would be triumph, so she hoped. There would be defeat. There would be anxiety and sadness.

But none of that was here, right now. All that was here, now, was a memory that she wanted to hold onto forever.

[thcrnedthrones]

{theo james, 37, cismale, he/him} we are so glad to see you safe, [HIGH KING] [ALEXANDER] of [SCOTLAND]! it’s dangerous out in the world these days, but i hear that you are [CHARMING] and [FEARLESS] enough to handle it. just don’t let your [RECKLESSNESS] bring you down! stay on your guard, because with your secret being at risk for exposure, you wouldn’t want everyone to find out [HE WOULD HAVE MUCH RATHER NOT HAVE BEEN BORN ROYAL].

/ BASICS /

name: alexander nicholas stuart nicknames: n/a, possibly Alec when he was younger by his siblings. age: thirty-seven birth: june 28th status: high king of scotland (second born son) sexuality: heterosexual pronouns: he/him marital status: unwed, unbethrothed

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 —

eye color: brown/hazel hair color: brown height: 6 ft 1' weight: one hundred and seventy two pounds

𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 —

father: the former king of Scotland, mother: the former queen of Scotland, siblings: one older brother (high king faolan), two younger sisters (Queen Claire and Queen Elidh)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 —

spoken tongues: english, gaelic positives: charming, kind, courageous negatives: impulsive, stubborn, rebellious, reckless moral compass: chaotic good

/ ABOUT ALEXANDER /

The rebellious second son to the Scottish royal family had always been a sort of black sheep among his siblings. He did not have the pressure that was on his elder brother and was left to his own devices, everyone believing that the line of succession meant that he was the spare, and he was content to be just that.

He was able to travel, spending more of his time away from home than the time he actually spent on Scottish shore, but he loved it and he's been able to travel all over the world meeting people from all walks of life and building connections that he never would have been able to do if he'd been trapped in Scotland like a caged bird.

It was on one of these trips long before the reckoning that he visited France under the guise of being a peasant, and not the son of France's political enemy, that he met Aurora Orleans, spending a whole week with her, getting to know her and watching her fall in love with the country she'd been in her whole life but never really seen. Not realizing that in watching her discover France, he was falling in love with her.

The guards took her away when they were found, and the guilt and regret that he's felt in not fighting them off and staying with her has been with him ever since. Returning to Scotland, he went about his duties, living out his life and thinking of the girl he'd spent that time in France with, any chance he got. Saying nothing to his siblings and friends about how close he'd gotten to the French princess.

Then the Reckoning happened, and the death of their father turned the four Stuarts' lives upside down, for a moment they all become the other's greatest enemy, and the argument of who should succeed the throne hung in the air, making things tense for them all before they agreed to the shared regency of their country. All of them forming a single leader and even then Alexander felt like he was forced into a royal life that he had never asked for nor wanted.

Now that the courts are coming together, his thoughts go to Aurora, and seeing her again. Their complicated connections to their families and countries making it difficult for them to love each other the way they've wanted since their time exploring the streets of Paris together. He'd never been one to think about marriage, fancying himself a lothario who's had his share of dalliances, but Aurora is different and the more he thinks about it, the more he wants to make her his wife and never have to be without her again.

With all of these changes happening in Alexander's life, the next question is how are his actions going to affect his family and the Scottish throne.

[akapanuka]

for the char questions!! 28 and 29 for Grey.. 22 and 35 for Juno >:3c!! and A for the creator section (any oc) <3

FUN!! Grey 28) Grey always prefers the unpleasant truth...could be seen with his situation with Edward. If Edward told him the truth earlier things may have smoothed out better, but being lied to had a stronger impact on him! As horrible as the truth is he'll never try to avoid it. Grey 29) Tricky...I'd say no. I think Grey early on tried really hard to not use his magic but he found that he was just going to fall behind if he didn't. He's not going to risk other cats lives over that ideal and thus he was forced to shed it in a lot of circumstances. Definitely caused a lot of inner turmoil since he wasn't living up to the standard he was trying to set. Juno 22) JEALOUSY IS A WEIRD ONE, I don't know if he's a particularly jealous person. If it's surface-level enough he might just be obnoxious--- he has talents, so he should be recognized for them, look at me!! If it's deeper and not socially acceptable to call it out he's more withdrawn and aloof about it. It would touch on old wounds and be incredibly difficult. He hates being seen as 'lesser' in comparison to someone else. Juno 35) This is a guilty pleasure of his, he loves that shit, it reminds him of his own hyper-fixations with music. He tends to be measured and cool about it since he doesn't want to come off as too much of a nerd but will ask thoughtful questions and even go out of his way to help set you up for success. He cares a lot about people's passions, they are SO important. A) I think I'll talk about Hibiki. I think in the past I've struggled with connecting to female characters and she's the second one that's come along that has kept me hooked (the first was Annie who I used to hype-fixate on to an insane degree omg). I thought I had an archetype I had to stick to ( I still sorta do) but she's very different from Annie and I love her so I'm glad I have the capacity to vibe with diverse girlies. Hibiki's also the newest of my favs and I haven't had the chance to explore her as much as the others! I'm really hoping I get to sometime soon.