#i did find a FRENCH translation when looking though. But I'm not sure if I could find it again because I never saved the link.

[ask-artsy-oncie]

I can't really claim +Anima as a particularly well-written manga - I think it does much better as a series of vignettes or one-shots than it does when it tries to have an overarching narrative - but since it was particularly hard to find scans of this series that weren't in broken English (with no shade, translation is a tricky job, but since the story is already kind of weak, the broken translation made things harder to follow) I thought I ought to at least link the scans that use the Tokyopop translation (The first two volumes are different but extremely close to the Tokyopop translation, and everything onwards is just taken directly from Tokyopop).

I do think I could say I recommend this series, with some stipulations of course. This is a fantasy series that takes inspiration from North America rather than Western Europe, so... It does a very messy job at portraying indigenous people (definitely more in an ignorant way than in a malicious way), but does at least try to couple that with a "colonization and bigotry bad" message. This series is mostly about childhood trauma, being othered from society, finding your place and learning to accept yourself. And I think, in that sense, it does a very good job at connecting you to the main four characters, especially if you're marginalized in some way.

[iamred-iamyellow]

⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ Dancing in the Courthouse

♥ masterlist | request rules | part of my 1k event

♥ pairing: oscar piastri x fem!reader

♥ synopsis: In 2021 you and oscar decided to elope due to your unpredictable schedules. now that you have more stability in your life, you were able to throw a dream wedding with the man you loved most in the world.

♥ smau + written - as always none of the pictures are mine <3

♥ warnings: swearing !!!

♥ a/n: first fic apart of the 1k event!

-Paris, 2021-

The streets of Paris were bustling as you took a seat in your Uber. You could hear a Taylor Swift song playing faintly on the car's radio as you pulled out your phone.

You

hey osc I'm on my way back

Oscar checked the notification and panicked a little internally. He slipped the device back into his dress pants and shook his hands.

"Relax, tout ira bien," Estie assured Oscar. (translation: everything will be fine)

He sighed and turned towards the two French men, "Are you sure?"

All Pierre did was laugh.

"Call me when it's over," Pierre said with a smirk and guided Esteban out the door, into an elevator.

You were in France on a girls night out with your best friend Kika, whom you met through Formula 1. Little did the two of you know that Pierre and Esteban snuck over to your hotel room in order to help Oscar set up a surprise.

You tapped your keycard on your hotel door and called out your boyfriend's name. You set your purse down on a small marble table and kicked off your heels, making your way through the main room.

A small trail of pink rose petals guided you to the terrace causing your heartbeat to pick up.

Was this really happening?

You opened the glass doors to find more rose petals surrounding the floor and a very handsome Oscar. You strode over to him in complete shock until he grabbed your hands in his.

"Y/n you have been my best friend for as long as I can remember," he said as his thumb drew circles on one of your fingers. "You have stood by me since the beginning of my career and I could never imagine a life without you. I know we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like to, but that is why I wanted to do this today."

He slowly got down on one knee in front of you and pulled out a black velvet box to reveal a silver ring.

"Will you marry me?"

You squatted down to his height and mumbled, "Is that even a question?"

You cupped his face in your hands and kissed him gently, "Yes of course I will."

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

-July 4, 2024-

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, lilymhe, and 300,572 more

ynln london girl

📸 creds: @/oscarpiastri

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user1 lmao the oscar picture creds

oscarpiastri I risked my life for that first pic

ynln @/oscarpiastri you were on another balcony?

user3 if anyone risked their life for that picture it's Alex

user2 speaking of alex she looks SO pretty there

carlossainz55 red nails for ferrari

ynln anything for you carlitos 😽

iamrebeccad so so true and real

user4 pretties

user9 lets all manifest an oscar win for this weekend

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

liked by oscarpiastri, nicolepiastri, hattiepiastri, and 1,481,583 more

ynpiastri oops I guess the cat is out of the bag huh! the rumors are in fact true, oscar and I are married. we have been trying to keep it a secret since our elope in 2021, but it seems as though I slipped up with a photo on my insta. at least it was the perfect timing for the reception we're throwing this summer 🥰

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nicolepiastri see you at the sequel wedding!!

ynpiastri <3

user1 ...sorry?

user8 PARDON

user12 THEY'RE ACTUALLY MARRIED

user2 POOKIE YOU CANT JUST POST A SHIRTLESS OSCAR LIKE THAT

user7 her username change I am so endeared

mclaren how many of you knew...

logansargeant I did

alexandrasaintmleux I did

charles_leclerc I did

landonorris I DIDNT?!?!

landonorris @/oscarpiastri how come charles knew before me

charles_leclerc @/landonorris he's my son???

iamrebeccad I'm so happy for you!

ynpiastri tysm becks 🥹🫶

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

liked by pierregasly, oscarpiastri, charles_leclerc, and 123,740 more

wagupdates the girlies pulling up to the belgian paddock

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user1 the color scheme 🛐

user2 PLS did they plan this for y/n’s wedding?

wagupdates @/user2 we think so!!

oscarpiastri I guess I need to step up my fashion game

charles_leclerc @/oscarpiastri I can help 😁

ynpiastri @/charles_leclerc no you cannot

user7 I love them

user4 they're GORGEOUS

francolapinto 😘

user8 ITS MR STEAL YOUR GIRL

user3 HAHAHA

user9 FRANCO Y/N IS MARRIED

charles_leclerc @/francocolapinto Te sugiero que elijas sabiamente tus próximas palabras (I suggest you choose your next words wisely)

francolapinto sorry sorry! its a joke its a joke 😅

user10 the threatening spanish 😭

carlossainz55 @/user10 I taught him that

fernandoalo_oficial @/carlossainz55 and I taught YOU that

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

liked by pierregasly, ynpiastri, carmenmundt, and 563,885 more

francisca.cgomes rich bitch energy

tagged; @/ynpiastri @/alexandrasaintmleux

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user1 are you shopping for dresses

francisca.cgomes mayybbe

ynpiastri GORGEOUS

francisca.cgomes NO YOU 😚

aussiegrit @/nicolepiastri do i get to walk oscar down the aisle

nicolepiastri no 😐

charles_leclerc that’s right because i am

user2 the family seating is gonna go crazy lol

user5 so what’s the dog situation?

landonorris bark

ynpiastri @/landonorris NO 😭

user5 I MEANT LEO AND ROSCOE 💀

ynpiastri @/user5 leo we know is definitely going to be there! 🥰

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

-Wedding Day-

liked by alex_albon, maxverstappen1, carlossainz55, and 1,749,053 more

ynpiastri 💍

tagged; @/francisca.cgomes

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danielricciardo 🥹

pierregasly vous êtes tous les deux magnifiques (you both look gorgeous)

user6 the fact that kika is her maid of honor

user7 IM NOT CRYING

user4 the venue is STUNNING

✧˖ °. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁‧₊˚ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁˖°✧

There was a salty ocean breeze on a cliff-side of Monaco, the place you and Oscar picked for the wedding.

There were dozens of familiar faces along with beautiful greenery and pastel flowers decorating the space.

You were sat at your table with your husband Oscar as the toast’s began to start.

“Hi,” someone said into the mic with a smile. “I’m Kika.”

There were a few soft laughs from the crowd. She pulled a piece of paper out of her gold-colored dress.

“When I found out you eloped without me that day in Paris my first thought was ‘fuck you’.” she said causing some more chuckles to come from the guests.

“It was only because I wouldn’t get the chance to give you the speech I had planned—but here we are today and I’m so glad I finally get to say it. Over these past couple years you have been my best friend, in and outside the paddock. I have so much love for you and I couldn’t be happier for your relationship with Oscar.”

You got up from your seat and hugged her, eliciting a few ‘aws’ from the room.

Lando stood up next with the mic, “Oscar was the guy on the grid no one could shut the up about,” Lando spoke into the mic and everyone laughed. “I didn’t get it at first, but then I met him, and I got it. And I felt the same when I met Y/n. You two are lucky to have each other. Congrats, mate.”

He raised his glass of champagne causing everyone to clink their glasses and cheer.

liked by lewishamilton, aussiegrit, nicolepiastri, and 1,937,954 more

ynpiastri wifey

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user1 this is so cunty

wagupdates we heard that y/n’s heel broke and oscar had to carry her to the car (hence the last picture) 😭

user7 she is SO pretty

patriciooward great to see you again osc!

user6 I. LOVE. THEM.

user2 omg they’re so hot

user3 y/n’s outfits today >>>

lilymhe the reception was beautiful

ynpiastri <3

[victorbutnotreally]

YOU WHAT??? - OT8 x Male Reader

Four times Mn surprised the members with his ~mysterious past~

A/N: Inspired by me constantly getting told that I "randomly drop lore". My friends didn't know that I played the piano until one day I saw a piano at my friend's place (her dad is a piano teacher) and I decided to play a nocturne. Hope you enjoy!

warnings: swearing, slightly suggestive, sometimes it may not make sense (but we're here to have fun), chan's room (rip), google translated french

One

"What is one thing you always carry around with you?"

That question was directed towards Mn. He snapped out of his trance of staring at Minho who was looking a little too pretty.

"Me? I always carry..." he pulls out a compass from his jean pocket. It was black and gold. "...this compass."

The members have seen a compass in Mn's pocket or in his bag while rummaging through it for snacks, but they didn't know he always had it.

"Why though?" was the question of a confused Jeongin.

"My neurophysiology professor gave it to me when I graduated. It means a lot to me since I didn't really receive a lot of gifts when I was younger. And he was such a good teacher."

The answer was met with gasps and widened eyes from the members. They didn't know their goofball of a member learned neuroscience. Hell, they didn't even know he went to university.

"WHAT?"

"PROFESSOR???"

"NEUROPHYSIOLOGY? THE FUCK??"

Two

Mn appeared as a special guest in Han's live. He was ranting about Achilles Come Down which was the song he recommended to be played on Chan's room last week. That's when he noticed a comment.

"Je vous aime tellement les gars ! Tu es honnêtement le meilleur et je ne peux pas te le dire assez"

He reads it out without a struggle and replies back in French.

"Merci beaucoup! Cela signifie beaucoup et j'espère que vous apprécierez également notre prochain album"

Han's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hold up, what?"

The comments started flooding in as well, completely thrown off by the sudden language change. No one knew he spoke French. They should've gotten used to the random lore dropping from Mn, though.

"OH MAH GAWDDDD"

"LORD HAVE MERCY THIS MAN CAN SPEAK FRENCH"

"i didn't know you spoke baguette!"

"just when i thought Mn couldn't get any hotter"

"get ready for the edits, y'all"

Jisung could only shake his head in disbelief.

Three

"Come on, hyung. I'm taking you back to the dorms and you're going to bed. Now."

"Just this one-"

"I slept more in university than you do now. And that's saying something, cuz I was busy!" He really was busy, with the neurology major, but that little smirk, the slight flush of his cheeks, and the bit of regret in saying that last statement was what made Chan raise a brow. There were a lot of times were Mn held his tongue when asked about ahem...experience.

"Yeah? What were you so busy with?"

"..My major, obviously. Now, get up."

Chan chuckled, getting up from his chair. "Nothing to smirk about in neurology, I'm sure."

"No one finds out about this, or I'll use my shooting skills on you."

"Your what now??"

Double lore drop. That's new.

Four

Mn was sitting with the rest of his members to react to his first solo song's MV. He wasn't exactly overjoyed by the idea, feeling awkward about seeing himself on screen. If it was a group MV, he could at least roast the others to get rid of the embarrassment of seeing whatever the directors told him to do on screen.

The screen fades in to a beautiful stage, an empty concert hall, occupied only by Mn who was painted with beautiful makeup and doing ballet. Gracefully, but the pain and insanity in his eyes is evident. Black Swan was the song.

"I...didn't know you did ballet."

Mn shrugged. His dance trainer knew, and honestly, he was glad the members found out this way. It was funny seeing their reactions.

[cuubism]

Bookstore cryptid Dream part THREE:

--

Hob squints at his phone, wondering how he possibly managed to set his phone language to-- is that Thai? What? Granted, he'd once set it to Japanese in an extremely ill-fated attempt to learn a new language, only to realize his error the first time he tried to drive somewhere and lost all sense of the nav. And then took three hours trying to figure out how to reset the language. Never again.

So how the fuck did he get it set on another language he can't even transcribe into Google translate to get to Settings?

He sighs, shoving the thing back in his pocket and resigning himself to a phone-less day. Sad, to be thinking of it like that. Once upon a time he could live without a constant internet connection, but no longer, apparently.

Then he gets down to the cafe, and the handwritten menu has been pencilled so badly it's illegible. What are they teaching kids these days if not decent penmanship? He'd have sworn the uni kids he'd hired to man the cafe when he's not there could read.

But he's supposed to open in about five minutes, so he leaves it for now.

The rest of the morning goes reasonably smoothly. Hob makes coffee and sandwiches while one of the hopefully-literate uni kids handles the orders--he finds the repetitive process of espresso-making soothing.

Then Dream comes in, and Hob takes over. It's his cafe, and he'll take the orders from his pretty goth "librarian", thanks.

"Dream," he greets, before Dream can say 'Hob Gadling' in his posh, solemn voice. "You going to let me make you something? Or just delivering another book? Because I'll be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready for another revelatory story from my past yet."

"I will accept coffee, thank you," says Dream, inclining his head. Hob punches it into the machine--he's already decided he's not charging Dream for anything, Dream keeps giving him free books after all--but he's got to keep inventory.

Or he tries to punch it in. The screen is all glitchy and scrambled, the words unintelligible, and he sighs in frustration. Damn thing.

Hob gives up, makes Dream coffee, and when he returns Dream does, of course, have a book for him.

"Simply a recommendation," he says, when Hob looks at it with some trepidation. "I think you might enjoy it."

Hob exchanges the coffee for the book. Looks at the cover. And squints in confusion. "Dream, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I can't read Arabic." Or whatever language. He's pretty sure it's Arabic, but he's not an expert.

Dream, for once, looks flummoxed. "This is an English copy," he says.

Hob opens the cover, wondering if maybe it's a translation inside--but nope, still Arabic. "I'm pretty sure I know English, Dream."

Dream takes the book back. Turns it over. Flips through the pages. Holds it by the spine and shakes it out. Looks at the cover again, then at Hob. "This is English," he says.

What this is is the dumbest conversation Hob's ever had. "Dream. Come on."

"Does it not look like that to you?" Dream asks. When Hob shakes his head, Dream sets his coffee and the book down on the counter and takes Hob's hand, dragging him out into the cafe proper. Hob, stunned, just follows him.

Dream pushes him down into a seat. "Read this," he says, and somehow procures another book, smaller this time, from absolutely nowhere.

Hob looks at it. "This is in French." He does know some French, but not whatever niche topic this is about.

Dream makes a frustrated sound. "Spell it out."

And Hob... tries. But every time he latches on a word, the letters.... change. Somehow.

"What," he says, though it's more of a squeak. "I swear to god I can read."

Dream takes the book back. "It's as I feared." Then, instead of explaining whatever the fuck he means, he asks, "Where do you live?"

"Um." Hob tries not to imagine Dream in his living space. "Upstairs?"

"Come, then." And Dream stands and drags Hob after him to the stairs in the back hall, as if he's the one who lives here and not Hob. He's very determined, and still hasn't explained a bloody thing.

Once Hob's let them in the flat above the cafe, Dream goes straight for the bookcase. It's still a bit of a mess--Hob hasn't entirely moved in--but Dream starts scanning the heaps of books anyway, running his fingers along the spines, flipping them over, restacking them in complicated piles. Hob just watches nervously.

Finally, Dream whirls around, a thin black paperback volume clasped in his hands. "I thought so," he hisses at the book. And then to Hob: "Did you get this recently?"

"Um." Hob thinks back. It's not one from Dream's shop, he still only has the two. "Yeah? Think so. Someone left it downstairs." The cafe has a shelf of borrowable books that people can take as long as they leave one in return.

Dream actually growls at the book. Hob's not sure why. It's just a book of poetry.

"Will you tell me what's going on now?"

"The book I gave you is not in Arabic, Hob Gadling," Dream says. "Nor French. You have been cursed."

Hob has... a lot of scrambly thoughts about that sentence. But the first that comes out is, "By a book?"

Dream nods. "It was planted in your possession by whoever left it downstairs."

"Why? Wait, what does it even do? Make things look like different languages?" Hob really hadn't thought opening a cafe was going to get him put on a magical hit list. Jesus Christ.

"It makes the written word unintelligible to you," says Dream. "Whether via a language you don't speak, or via simple recombination." Hob remembers-- of course. The phone. The menu board. "More a nuisance than a true threat to your person. It was meant to send a message."

Hob sits down heavily on the sofa. Cursed? Seriously? "What the hell kind of message, Dream? If you hadn't noticed, I'm running a cafe, not courting the occult."

Although. Maybe he'd like to be courting the occult. If that occult is Dream.

"A message to me," says Dream grimly. "I have enemies."

Hob can't help himself, he bursts out laughing. "You own a bookstore, how do you have enemies?"

"It's a dangerous occupation," Dream says darkly. He sits next to Hob. "I... am sorry. That you were drawn into it. A penalty of being associated with me."

He sounds sad now, not so much about the "enemies", but at the thought that his company might have brought Hob to harm. Hob lays his hand over Dream's where it rests on his knee. "Hey, it's not your fault. And you know, there's still audiobooks."

Dream chuckles. "I can undo the curse," he says. Which is relieving. "And I will destroy this." He sets the poetry book on the coffee table with a look of menace.

"You know, I haven't even read it?" Hob says. "Just the first few pages."

"It is very good," Dream says, to his surprise. "Hence its danger." Then he turns Hob's face towards him with a hand on his chin. Hob goes totally still in surprise. With his other hand, Dream taps his forehead, and a static shock jumps through Hob's body. "There."

A cloud Hob hadn't realized was covering his mind dissipates. "That easy?"

"For me." Dream stands again, swiping up the poetry book. He looks like he's about to leave, and Hob is almost reeling too much to stop him, but he manages to snag Dream's sleeve. "Wait, won't you stay and finish your coffee? And I want to hear about the book that's not actually in Arabic."

Dream gives him a tiny smile. "Very well. For a little while." He tucks the poetry book into the depths of his coat, and Hob doesn't see it again.

Hob shepherds him back downstairs, makes him more coffee as the other's gone cold, and hears all about The Golden Tree, a novel about a modern-day quest inspired by the Holy Grail. And nothing more about curses, though he is rather interested in that, too.

And in Dream. And his strange magic. And his serendipities.

But he figures he'll have time to learn more about that.

Especially if he's intent on courting the occult.

[amberjazmyn]

oh my god we're having a baby! 🫶

pairing : charles leclerc x fem!reader

summary : all the moments leading up to the birth of baby leclerc 

warnings : mentions of herve leclerc and jules bianchi, pregnancy, happy tears, some dodgy french translations in tiny italicised text, reader has a name (lilia)

a/n : this is for sure a one-shot i'm also going to do for carlos just because i love the idea of c2 as dad's lol - anyways, enjoy my lovers and don't feel shy about putting in a request or a comment

finding out about the pregnancy

lilia leclerc felt like shit. for the last two weeks she had been waking up at the break of dawn, sprinting down the hallway and straight to the bathroom. puking her guts up for an hour only to lose the nausea and disgusting scent and taste of vomit for the rest of the day. thankfully, this had been happening during the summer break so charles wasn't away racing since he was a well-known formula one driver for the scuderia ferrari. 

"...mon ange my angel, are you okay?" charles' morning voice his wife found so attractive came up from behind her

"sorry, did i wake you, bebe baby?" lilia whined, lifting her head up out of the toilet as charles breathed a sigh of relief 

"no, i've been awake for a couple of minutes. are you sure you're okay?" charles lowered himself down to reach his wife, a comforting hand on her back 

"i still feel bad that you're awake, charlie! it's summer break, you should be relaxing! and, honestly, i've been feeling like shit the last two weeks..." lilia trailed off as her eyes widened and it seems as though charles' did as well 

"...two weeks this has been going on? bebe, when was the last time you got your period?" charles asked, remembering that it had now been an entire year since she had her birth control implant removed 

her eyes widened even more, "umm, the last time i got my period?" charles nodded his head, "i...i don't know? i can't remember the last time i had my period..." lilia was now slightly worried that she was now pregnant 

not because she didn't want to be pregnant. of course she did. it was her biggest dream to be a mum. in the same way it was charles' biggest dream to become a dad. however, with him now as the number one driver for ferrari, she was worried that maybe right now wasn't the right time. they hadn't even been married for a full year yet and the topic of babies hadn't been mentioned since lilia had went to get her birth control implant removed because her and charles were wanting to start the journey of trying for kids. however, during that period, every time lilia missed a period or thought she had morning sickness like right now, all the tests she and charles excitedly took always came back negative. so, they gave up and just decided to stop trying so hard with the hope that maybe, the one time that they weren't trying so hard, that they'd get a positive. 

"...bebe, do you still have any pregnancy tests left from months ago?" charles then questioned after silence as lilia nodded her head, the nausea suddenly disappearing in the same way and at the same time like it had been the last two weeks 

"umm, yeah, i think so. they should be in the top shelf next to the basin," lilia sat up more, leaning against the wall, charles taking a proper look at his wife 

and it was clear that like every other day the past two weeks, the nausea was gone and she was no longer pale and sweaty. at this point, there was no other explanation other than lilia being pregnant. in charles mind, this was the worst bout of morning sickness he had ever seen her go through. even during all the negatives when they were actually trying to get pregnant, all the signs and symptoms they thought were because of pregnancy were never at this extreme. 

so, charles grabbed the pregnancy tests and gave them to his wife. only hoping and praying that a miracle would happen. at this point, with charles job being so hectic, it was clear that now he was married, he was beyond ready to start the motions of slowing down and building a life outside of formula one. and, he had already completed the first step by making lilia his wife. now, his next step was making them maman and papa. 

after lilia had taken three of the pregnancy tests, now it was the waiting game for mr and mrs leclerc. and it was agonizing. the waiting was the worst part of it all. charles and lilia were usually patient people however, when it came to waiting for the results of something as life-changing as a pregnancy test, it was brutal and excruciating. they just wanted to know if they were going to be parents or not. it didn't make sense to them that they had to wait an entire three minutes to see if the pregnancy tests had come out as positive or negative. 

and three minutes later, their life was forever changed. with her phone recording every moment of this, the best moment of the video was when it had been captured that all three pregnancy tests had come back positive as well as the reactions of lilia and charles. lilia had unknowingly been pregnant for an entire trimester when she and charles went to visit her ob/gyn just to make sure the positives weren't false later on in the week. 

"...oh my gosh...charles...i'm pregnant!" lilia whispered, her hands shaking as she handed him the three tests that all read positive - the iphone camera still recording

charles' eyes immediately welled with tears as his hand covered his mouth, "je suis tellement heureux! nous allons être parents, chérie!" his voice cracked, tears streaming down his cheeks as he pulled his wife in for a hug i'm so happy! we're going to be parents, darling

not caring that this video of him crying over finding out his wife was pregnant would eventually be made into a youtube video and put on the internet, charles was overjoyed with emotions that he didn't care that he was crying his eyes out. at this point, he was now just waiting for the moment that he could shout this secret out to the world. 

announcing the pregnancy

and thankfully, charles and lilia leclerc wouldn't have to wait too long before they could announce the exciting news for the whole world to see. after doing a cheeky photoshoot with the help of charles' brothers, arthur and lorenzo, the married couple posted the photos to their instagrams in a joint post. using that as their announcement to those that they couldn't tell in person. having only told charles' family as well as lilia's in person. sadly, the rest of the f1 grid, because it was summer break, found out over text in their cheeky little f1 group chat that they have together. but, to fully announce it publically, they decided an instagram post by the both of them would be their best bet. 

liked by arthurleclerc, leclerc_pascale, maxverstappen1, scuderiaferrari, carlossainz55, pierregasly and 12,000k others

charlesleclerc and lilialeclerc well, how has your summer break been everyone? this has been ours, the leclerc's continue to grow 

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arthurleclerc do you know how hard it's been to keep this secret for? 

charlesleclerc arthurleclerc how do you think i feel? 

leclerc_pascale my babies are having babies! 

lilialeclerc leclerc_pascale we love you maman, we can't wait for baby leclerc to meet her grand-mère

maxverstappen1 congratulations you two! you'll be amazing parents! 

lilialeclerc maxverstappen1 thank you maxie! we cannot wait!

scuderiaferrari cannot wait to meet the little leclerc! making all the baby ferrari merch as we speak

lilialeclerc scuderiaferrari and we'll be the first to purchase the merch!

carlossainz55 congratulations, baby leclerc will be the most spoilt baby in the world! 

lilialeclerc carlossainz55 thank you carlitos! and yes she will and we cannot wait to shower her with all of it

pierregasly congratulations to you guys! i call being godfather! 

lilialeclerc pierregasly thank you pierre and don't be announcing things too early!

finding out the gender of the baby

the next exciting milestone for baby leclerc after announcing the news was finding out the gender. even though charles and lilia wanted to wait until birth so it could be a surprise, which is what they had told the technician at their last appointment and she respected that. but, it was at their most recent appointment that when it was offered to tell them the gender, that they couldn't wait any longer. they just had to be told now that the ob/gyn had mentioned it that she could absolutely tell them the gender of their baby if they had changed their minds about waiting until the birth. 

"...lilia and charles, from the looks of these scans, baby looks amazing which is always what we want to hear. and now because it's gotten to the point where we are absolutely confident about the gender, if you guys have changed your mind and no longer want to wait until birth, would you like me to tell you guys the gender of your baby?" the ob/gyn asked, her smile bright and her voice soft and calm 

with her head trying to look over at the ultrasound screen so she could see the baby, it was clear that the husband and wife were done with waiting and were wanting to know the gender of their baby. 

"i know we said we wanted to wait but, is it okay if we get told the gender? i don't think we can wait any longer!" lilia giggled in embarrassment, her face flushing a sweet pink colour as the technician nods her head and smiles back 

"*giggles* i can absolutely do that for you, lilia and charles! so many mums, first time ones especially, think they have the patience when it comes to knowing their baby's gender but they never do. so, this happens majority of the time however, i think by the time you get to your second or third, you become more comfortable with having the patience to wait until the birth to find out the gender," the techncian giggles which causes lilia and charles to giggle as well 

their 'guilt' of not being patient enough dwindles away quickly for the leclercs as the technician quickly prints out two pieces of paper. one that shows the gender of the baby on a printed out ultrasound photo and another one that has the colour to indicate if the baby is a boy or a girl.

but, before giving them the documentation and the little coloured square, she tells them, "so, if you just look here, at the screen, lilia and charles, i am happy to announce that you guys are having a baby girl..." the technican announces, a soft smile covering her face as she notices the tears that had welled up in the eyes of charles had made their way down his cheeks, lilia's face not too far away from being identical to her husbands 

"...oh wow..." charles' voice breaks, his lips trembling and his shaky hand that wasn't squeezing his wife's shoulder was over his mouth to cover his shaking smile that took over his entire face

lilia could only smile at how emotional her husband was getting at the news of them having a baby girl. however, if she had looked at the image on the ultrasound screen of their baby girl, she too would have cried the same exact way as charles currently was. 

"...oh, bébé, ne pleure pas. c'est bon!" lilia giggled, her voice lightly emotional as she brushed her hand against charles' chin as his tears weren't stopping, the ob/gyn now out of the room oh, baby, don't cry! it's okay

"j'essaye mais je ne peux pas m'arrêter de pleurer!" the husband and wife giggled, charles' tears really weren't stopping, even with the amount of tissues lilia had given to him in an effort to stop them i'm trying but i can't stop crying

finally, five minutes later, charles's tears did eventually stop and after notifying their ob/gyn, lilia got cleaned up from the gel that was used for the ultrasound and after getting some additional information about when their next appointment was, their current appointment was finished. and then they were allowed to leave their appointment with an extra exciting piece of news that their baby leclerc was a girl. now all they had to do was announce in some sort of other interesting way that they were having a little girl. and, the way they did that was with a gender reveal cake that they had done together. since lilia's mum and sister were bakers, she asked them to make the cake, telling them it was a girl which was a very sweet moment. 

then, announcing it to everyone else, with that cake, charles and lilia with their two plastic wine glasses, dug them into the cake and out to reveal the pink buttercream icing that was in the middle of the all white loveheart cake. 

liked by francisca.cgomes, maxverstappen1, leclerc_pascale, kellypiquet, pierregasly, carlossainz55 and 21k

charlesleclerc and lilialeclerc baby leclerc is a girl 🩷

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francisca.cgomes i'm still crying! baby girl is going to be so loved and spoilt by her aunty kika! 

lilialeclerc francisca.cgomes don't cry you'll make me cry! baby girl loves her aunty kika already!

maxverstappen1 baby leclerc's now going to be even more spoilt 🩷

lilialeclerc maxverstappen1 of course she is! wouldn't expect anything less from her uncle maxie!

leclerc_pascale cannot wait to meet my first granddaughter 🩷

lilialeclerc leclerc_pascale she can't wait to meet you either, maman 🩷

kellypiquet having a baby girl is wonderful! you guys will be amazing girl parents 🩷

lilialeclerc kellypiquet we truly cannot wait, kelly! 

pierregasly this little girl is blessed with the best parents and aunties and uncles! 

charlesleclerc pierregasly you just made lilia cry! 

carlossainz55 charles as a girl dad is for sure what i expected 🩷

charlesleclerc carlossainz55 another comment that has made my beautiful pregnant wife cry

the birth of baby leclerc

since finding out the gender and before lilia went into labour, it was coming to the end of the summer break before the season started back up again. and because lilia was pregnant, it had felt like summer break had just come and gone by the click of a finger when really, to the other wags and drivers, it felt like the summer break had started to drag on towards the end. but, because lilia wasn't too far away from giving birth, fred vassuer, ferrari's team principal, had actually very sweetly, given charles early paternal leave so he could at least be in monaco when lilia gives birth. which meant that ollie bearman, the reserve driver for ferrari who was still driving for f2 was once again brought in after he had his debut whilst carlos had his appendix taken out at the beginning of the season. however, all the drivers had kept the leclerc's in the loop about what was going on and how midseason training had been progressing since charles had been exempt from that as well since lilia was so far along that it was now a matter of when not if to the date of her falling into labour during the first week back of the season. 

and it seemed as though no one was more ready for the day that lilia fell into labour then charles. it had been a quite slow, lazy day for the family of two until it had become obvious that they were now hours from becoming a family of three. 

lilia had been feeling as though the little baby had dropped even lower in her womb as though the little girl was ready to be welcomed into the world. however, it wasn't until she tried to move herself off of the exercise ball and her waters broke that she realised it was finally time for the baby to be born! 

"...charles...i think my waters just broke..." lilia's voice came out as shaky and it was the first time she had sounded so scared, her eyes huge and frightened at her husband who shot up from his spot on the kitchen counter 

"...okay...it's okay bebe, just breathe alright? we'll be fine, we know what we're doing, i'm here, you're here! everything that we need is in the car so all we now need to do is get ourselves into the car and down to the hospital! just keep on breathing baby, you are doing perfectly well!" charles' voice came out as strong, confident and completely sure of himself and what he was doing 

it broke his heart to see the tough exterior that his wife had put up throughout her entire pregnancy finally falter at the exact moment of her waters breaking. whilst it wasn't obvious to everyone, not even fully obvious to charles since she wasn't one to let anyone know, but it was clear to charles just from this interaction as they got into their car to drive to the hospital, that lilia was utterly terrified to actually get to this stage of the pregnancy and give birth. everyone that knew lilia knew she hated showing fear but, if she was to show fear about any place or anything, it was the hospital. to her, the hospital meant bad things. to her, the hospital meant death and despair. because for lilia, every time she had been in a hospital, it ended with her on the sterile floor in hysterics because someone she loved had died. 

with charles' strength and confidence on the way to the hospital that everything was going to be okay, it was clear that that strength wasn't going to stay for the entire duration of the labour and delivery of their little girl. because, like every other to be father before him, charles was always confused why so many new fathers would be crying whilst watching their wife/significant other give birth. it made sense if their partner was crying since it was them doing all the hard work of growing the baby for nine months and then giving birth to the baby. however, what charles was yet to realise was the reason why the new fathers would be so emotional. it wasn't a lie that it made charles upset to see his wife in so much pain. it was agonizing for charles whenever he had to bear witness to his wife being in pain or in tears. however, he didn't realise just how upset he would be to see his wife in the excruciating pain that she went through whilst giving birth to their baby girl. 

from the very beginning of the leclerc's arriving at the hospital in monte-carlo, it was obvious that this labour wasn't going to be an easy simple one. it was going to take hours and it was going to be painful and excrucitating. at first, they had hoped that lilia would be able to have a natural birth however, it had been discovered quite quickly that a natural birth was not going to be happening. so, they had to unfortunately induce lilia and have the baby delivered via c-section and the entire time, charles had to watch helplessly whilst his wife was put under, having no clue what was going on and that their little girl had been born. 

the entire time that his and lilia's little girl had been delivered via induced c-section, charles was inconsolable. he was crying more than he was the last time they had an appointment about baby leclerc. the midwifes and other doctors and nurses that were in charge of taking care of his wife could tell just how much agony and grief this entire situation had put charles through but they couldn't do anything more than offer him comforting words and comforting hugs whilst they assured him that both his baby and his wife were fine and that as soon as baby was out, that lilia would be taken out of the induction and would be woken up again. 

however, those words of comfort and sweet hugs only did so much. it wasn't until the cries of his little baby girl and of his wife were heard, announcing to the world that both baby and mum were okay that charles would finally breathe. now the tears pouring down his cheeks weren't tears of agony, fear and grief but of relief and utmost joy that he was finally a dad to the most gorgeous looking baby he had ever locked eyes with. 

with his head resting against the hospital bed, his hand tangled in lilia's hair and the other one hovering over the back of their little girl, charles was in heaven. he finally understood why new fathers got so emotional when their partners gave birth to their children. it all made sense to him now that it had happened to him. not only were the tears there because it was excruciating watching his wife in so much pain but also because it now settled in that he was now a father himself. the tears no longer tears of grief and agony but of pure happiness and joy. he was now the parent of this little miracle that was laying atop her mother's body, their breathing intertwining into one whilst charles kept his focus on his two girls. tears still streaming down his cheeks, quietly this time, the sobs no longer present as he was now as calm as the little girl that was fast asleep on the body of her mother. 

finally, lilia spoke up in their native french, whispering, "...même si j'aime le calme, nous devons choisir un nom pour notre petite fille, char..." the look on his wife's face as she said that was never going to leave charles' mind as he smiled at her as much as i love the quiet, we need to choose a name for our little girl, char

"...et juliette marie antoinette harriett leclerc? jules pour faire court?" charles whispered back, his voice sounding light like a feather as lilia smiled at the name choice what about juliette marie antoinette harriett leclerc? jules for short

"juliette marie antoinette harriet leclerc...c'est un personnage parfait." lilia smiled sweetly, her lips kissing his cheek, not able to reach his forehead due to the way she was inclined in the hospital bed juliette marie antoinette harriet leclerc...it's perfect char

wiping away one of many tears from her husband's cheeks, she then picked up little jules and wordlessly gestured if he wanted to hold their little girl. since he still hadn't done that yet since there was so many things going on that he hadn't yet had the chance to even get his first skin to skin with his daughter yet. 

"tu veux tenir jules, char?" lilia questioned, her voice getting tired as charles didn't hesitate in nodding his head you want to hold jules, char

and magically, as if lilia's midwife had powers of some sort, just as the husband and wife were getting ready to do the safe handover of baby jules from mum to dad, the midwife entered the hospital room. 

"mum, dad? sorry to bother you but, there are some guests that are itching to meet the little one...but, first, does dad want to hold her and does the little one have a name?" the midwife, emilia, smiled, slowly walking into the room and closing the door behind her as the new parents smiled up at the health professional 

"hey, you aren't bothering us at all, emilia, and we'd love to have the guests come in but, yeah, charles is wanting to hold her since he wasn't able to earlier because of everything that had happened. and, yeah, we have actually just finished up the name conversation, little leclerc finally has a name," lilia giggled as emilia smiled, walking over to the computer so she could input the name into the birth certificate that was to be printed out 

"amazing! i'll let the guests in soon after we give daddy and baby some skin to skin which i'll help with so, no worries there. but, now that you've mentioned that you've got a name for the little one, i'll be happy to hear it!" emilia smiled excitedly with a cheeky giggle as they quickly decided that inputting the name first would be the better option and then have emilia show and help charles in holding their little girl

 "thank you, emilia! and baby's name is juliette marie antoinette harriett leclerc," lilia announces as emilia's face scrunches up, a hand on her heart as she types it out on the birth certificate 

"any meaning behind the adorable name?" emilia asks as she finishes typing before sending it off to the receptionist printer 

"juliette for charles' godfather jules bianchi, marie because it was my mum's name, antoinette for one of charles friends who we lost during an f2 race, anthoine hubert and harriett is what we're saying the female version of charles' dad, herve who sadly has also passed away," lilia explained as charles nodded his head, the joy in his eyes not going way even at the mention of the fact that every single name of his daughter was in tribute of someone he's lost in his life, with the exemption of lilia's mother, marie

emilia smiled softly, "that's a perfect name and i'm sure jules, marie, anthoine and herve are bursting at the seams with joy from wherever it is they are watching from. baby jules is going to be so protected. well, the birth certificate has now been sent for printing at the receptionist printer but whilst we wait for that, lilia if you could give me juliette, i'll now be able to assist charles in his first skin to skin with her," emilia moves away from the computer and to lilia's bed and without hesitation, lilia happily hands baby juliette over to her 

emilia then holds baby juliette easily as she waits for charles to take off his shirt and figure out whether or not he's comfortable to stand for his first hold of his baby or if he'd feel more comfortable sitting down. deciding to sit down first, just to be safe, emilia easily hands baby juliette over to her daddy and instantly, baby juliette just curls into her dad's body with ease. as though she was her dad's missing piece. holding his baby girl felt like heaven and earth had finally joined together like a jigsaw piece. because he never imagined he'd have this moment. to charles, having a baby was a heavenly thought, a dream, that he thought he'd never get in his life because he was so focused on his job with formula one. however, for charles, formula one no longer felt like his only purpose in life. his new purpose in life was now this little baby girl, little juliette, that was sleeping soundly in his arms as tears rolled down his cheeks. it seemed as though charles' tears would overflow the hospital because it seemed as though ever since arriving at the hospital, he hadn't stopped crying. and of course, with the help of emilia, charles and lilia were able to have photographical and video evidence of just how emotional charles had been the entire time. but, it wasn't something that charles was ashamed of. how could he when all this emotion was all due to this beautiful little girl that rested on his bare chest, his wife who had just given him this heavenly gift of their little girl, meters in front of him.

then, it was time for the rest of the family to meet little leclerc. the grandparents had already met little juliette and when lilia and charles told them, especially pascale, juliette's name, it was obvious just how meaningful her name was to them. however, those weren't the guests that emilia was referring to earlier. the guests that she was referring to was charles' f1 teammates. they had all been buzzing with every emotion under the sun as they waited for the moment them to finally get permission to meet their niece. 

f1 grid meeting baby juliette

charles was still having skin to skin time when emilia had allowed in the first influx of f1 drivers in the room to meet the little baby. with the permission of lilia and charles of course, the first group to meet baby juliette was pierre, carlos and max. their girlfriends francisca, rebecca and kelly had also joined in but were at the hospital bed next to lilia whilst the guys had gone straight over to charles before coming back to congratulate lilia as well. 

"...hey guys, come in!" charles whispered, lilia's face lighting up as she saw who it was that had walked in as he stood up, juliette still asleep in his arms 

max, pierre, carlos and the girls' faces all softened when they made eye contact with the newest arrival to the f1 family. all the emotions suddenly coming up, moreso from the girlfriends then the drivers. 

max being the most comfortable and composed one to speak up, "oh my gosh, charles, lilia, she's gorgeous and so tiny! what's her name?" he questioned, his eyes showing an emotion that was very rare to be seen by anyone as charles smiled at his childhood friend 

"thank you max, thanks guys! her name is juliette marie antoinette harriett leclerc," charles smiled, his voice still shaky from the tears he had finally stopped crying

at hearing the name of the little girl, the room fell into a silence, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. the looks on the faces of each of the drivers and their girlfriends were immediately the same as the faces made by the leclerc's when they had been told the name of little juliette. it was obvious to lilia, from one look at the drivers, pierre specifically, that those middle names, especially antoinette for him, was more meaningful than anything else. 

"that's a gorgeous name you two. and she suits the name as well." max whispers as his head tilts as he looks at the sleeping newborn, his finger lightly brushing her forehead as she smiles at the touch 

the drivers and girlfriends all look at one another after that touch. it seemed as though from that touch and smile response that juliette and uncle max were going to have a special bond. however, whilst that would be true, it wasn't until carlos came over, lightly brushing his lips against her forhead that she woke up. her eyes locking with carlos' and smiling at him. 

that very moment, charles and lilia knew that they had to have carlos as juliette's godfather. which was another thing that because of the whirlwind of emotions, the husband and wife had forgotten to discuss. however, it seemed as though it didn't need a discussion because it seemed like baby juliette knew for herself that uncle carlos was also going to be her godfather. with maybe uncle max as godfather number two or the godfather to her future sibling. 

whilst you'd think there would be a lot of talking between the group of nine, there really wasn't. it was a calm and serene quiet as each of the drivers and their girlfriends got to quickly hold little juliette with charles taking photos of each of them with their little niece. however, the one that they wanted to be printed out was carlos'. they wanted to announce to him, once they had gotten everyone else out of the room, that he was juliette's godfather. 

godfather carlos

saying their final goodbyes, the group of six drivers and girlfriends were now leaving charles, lilia and juliette, thinking that another group of drivers was going to be allowed in to meet little juliette. however, just before carlos could leave with rebecca, lilia and charles stopped him before he was fully out the door. 

"...carlos...wait, can you stay, for a minute? we want to ask you something..." lilia calls out, just before carlos could leave 

nodding to them, he then lets the other five know that he'll catch up with them later. giving a quick hand squeeze and kiss to rebecca, he then walks back into the room and closes the door behind him. 

"...yeah, i can stay, is everything okay? what do you want to ask me?" he questions as he notices charles and lilia, it was as though they were communicating with each other without speaking 

they then look back over at carlos and they ask him to sit down, which he does. now that he was seated, charles and lilia felt more comfortable telling him just in case he fainted or his legs turned into jelly. charles then asked if carlos wanted to once again, hold juliette, he accepted of course and holding her ever so carefully, waited patiently for what lilia and charles were going to ask him. 

"everything's perfectly fine, carlos, we just wanted to ask if you wanted to be juliette's godfather..." lilia asked softly as carlos' eyes widened as his grip on juliette tightened slightly but not too much to cause concern 

"...are you serious?" carlos' voice shook, his emotions now coming out now that it was just the three of them plus juliette - carlos not really one to cry in front of a lot of people 

"we're dead serious, carlos. you saw the way juliette seemed to latch onto you seconds after she did similar to max. we did think of making max maybe godfather number two *giggles* however, i think we'll make him godfather to baby two when we decide to have baby number two. but, right now, we seriously think that you're the right choice for juliette's godfather and we know we can trust you fully with her if anything god forbid was to happen to us before she's old enough..." lilia assured as carlos' eyes became watery and his lips started to quiver 

charles and lilia became a little worried when he didn't respond for a little bit. carlos' head had dipped down to rest on juliette's (which, in all honesty, nearly made charles and lilia cry at how sweet it was and before either forgot, they made sure to capture a quick photo) as his body started shaking. it had now become clear to the husband and wife that the simple question of them wanting carlos as juliette's godfather had hit an emotional chord for the spaniard and it also struck an emotional chord with them. 

sniffling, carlos finally lifted his head up and nodded his head, "...i'd be honoured to be juliette's godfather you two! i promise i won't let anything bad happen to juliette for as long as i am able to," carlos sniffled, his tears hitting his shoulder as his head was resting there in a bid to not get any of his tears on his goddaughter 

and seeing that image was priceless for charles and lilia. they both adored carlos and they really treasured their friendship with the spaniard. i think the reason why carlos was so emotional was because of everything with him leaving ferrari at the end of this season was now starting to hit him. and now that halfway through his final season with his teammate and with ferrari, the kid decides to have a baby himself, it made him even more emotional because he thought he'd never get a proper relationship with little leclerc because of his departure from ferrari. however, no matter where carlos would be in f1, whether that was alpine, mercedes, audi, charles and lilia would always look for him first when it comes to juliette. the baby now born before the end of their last season together. now it made sense why carlos had been so quiet when he had first come in to meet the baby with pierre, max, kika, kelly and rebecca. carlos was holding back all of this pent up emotions that were now coming out when asking him to be godfather. 

"we trust you carlitos. that's why we asked you. and it doesn't matter that you're leaving ferrari at the end of the season. no matter where you end up on the grid, whether it's mercedes, alpine, audi, we will always and we mean always look for you first when it comes to juliette. we love you carlos and you leaving ferrari doesn't change that. we really want you in our lives after this and that means you being a vital part of juliette's life!" lilia was adamant in getting carlos to believe that they really wanted him as their baby's godfather 

and, it finally seemed to be working. nodding his head and wiping away his tears, carlos held juliette ever so securely as he allowed the two parents to take more photos of them together. 

because, after that, it would be the announcement that everyone that was all caught up in the bubble of the birth of baby leclerc was hanging for. the announcement that baby leclerc has been born and introduced into the world. so, that's what they did. 

announcing baby juliette

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charlesleclerc and lilialeclerc introducing juliette marie antoinette harriett leclerc 🩷

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leclerc_pascale parfaite petite juliette 🩷 perfect little juliette

arthurleclerc juliette is perfect you two 🩷

maxverstappen1 uncle maxie loves you juliette. she's beautiful you guys🩷

kellypiquet the sweetest baby girl ever! you'll be beautiful parents 

carlossainz55 godfather carlos loves you, juliette, forever and ever🩷

pierregasly i've only just finished crying, mon dieu my god

scuderiaferrari isn't she just a precious little thing? can't wait to meet little juliette 

landonorris she's gorgeous, i'm actually going to cry when i meet her! 

francisca.cgomes i still can't get over her name! it's so beautiful 🩷

forzacarlos oh my gosh, juliette's name is all in tribute to those the leclerc's have lost! jules, herve, marie (lilia's mum) and anthoine, i can't i'm actually sobbing! 

fewarrifwends forzacarlos oh my gosh, you're right! that's actually so sweet and now i'm crying too! 

fin

this was a completely different format than i normally do but honestly, i love it more than i thought i would! i know i said in the authors note at the beginning that i'd do this for carlos as well but, now i'm actually really considering it because i loved this charles version so much! and, yes, i came up with baby juliette's name all on my own and i'm actually kind of proud of it! i truly do think that whenever charles and (possibly) alex or whoever he's with when that happens, decide to settle down in that regard of having kids, i do think no matter if it's a boy or girl, he'd pay tribute to jules and his dad herve in some type of way. and this was my version of it with the edition of anthoine hurbert and the fictional mother of lilia because i also feel like people forget that charles was also friends with anthoine, not just pierre so, i just wanted to honour that as well in the best way i could. 

©⠀amberjazmyn's original work. do not translate or steal any of my fics. 2024

[crystalverse-project]

hello, welcome to my mcyt blog, except it's only about one youtuber and it's not about the youtuber but only the character

this post is about the graphic novel trayaurus and the enchanted crystal. or to be more specific the fact i've found and bought two foreign language versions just to compare them both because i think translations are cool and interesting and i have autism and nobody's documented this and i have autism and the next thousand reasons consist of i have autism

trayaurus y el diamante encantado (spanish)

trayaurus et le cristal enchanté (french)

so i didn't even know this book got translated at all until a few months ago. and i managed to find both of these on amazon for reasonable prices, except the french one came with a broken spine and the only remaining spanish one is now demanding several hundred pounds for the only one left last time i checked.

i don't have a way of getting scans of this for preservation, so my phone camera's going to have to do. i also don't have an english copy anymore but i do have pictures of the pages to cross reference. this is what happens when you have a special interest guys you start cross referencing three versions of the same book at the same when you only know one language. (i haven't translated it all yet so i was looking at visual differences right now)

NOTE: all uses of "english" version refer to the original uk release. i've seen us releases that are so different they could be a different blogpost

back covers

for some reason the spanish copy is a lot less thick as the french and english ones? they all have the same pages so idk why that is. i can't remember which is the original way this spine faced, but everything is the same except the publisher logos.

according to copyright info the spanish version released in 2018, french 2017. i don't want to go past the picture limit so i'll just say there was an error on the spanish version where it said original title, it was written 'trayaurus and the enchanted cristal'. in the book the crystal is specifcally a diamond in spanish

in the introduction all the character names are white outlined with black in french, this wasn't a thing in english

the sound effects were translated in spanish and left english in french

various other text translations, in spanish one part was just blank

the two most interesting changes/errors:

the sign for trayaurus' office is translated in french but in spanish it's in english but in a different squished font? i'm not sure why they'd change that, i had to go get the pictures i took of the english one just to check i wasn't going insane

and here's a silly error i noticed on one page...in the french version the speech bubbles just went randomly off course

soon i'm going to try translate all the text to see if it's accurate/different, what i can make out now is pretty much the same.

we've found two other translations of this book, but for...political reasons i don't feel comfortable talking about them. if things were different in the world i would absolutely, because one of them is possibly bootleg and the other one has a flipped reading style so the whole book is the other way around. we HAVE found a full version of one but i don't want to offend or alienate anyone, so i won't talk about them.

i could, however, make more blog posts about the book, because it's inspired me so much. just not in a completely positive way. the story and characters i of course LOVED in the book, it's dantdm, favourite series in the whole world, my comfort series. the illustrations in the book though...um

i also found it being sold on a japanese site, but it wasn't translated. but i did see some of the tube heroes figures being sold on yahoo auctions in japan. i would try get a closer look but it's blocked in the uk and i don't have a vpn... ;-;

BONUS, ON THE TOPIC OF TRANSLATIONS:

before you ask, no, this is not ai generated, or a fandub.

there was this canadian kids show called "gaming show in my parents' garage" which was just stuff about kids playing video games and getting guest appearances, dan was in a few episodes!! but also it was dubbed and broadcast in central europe on a channel called megamax, this is a clip of the romanian dub. the guy doing dan's voice i found out is called alexandru rusu, and he does a lot of romanian dubbing for other shows. for just a few examples, he did the narration on this same show, cyborg on teen titans, geoff in total drama, the bus dude in fireman sam and the narrator in thomas the tank engine in the seasons where it wasn't cgi

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP EXCHANGE — @lapsthings

Your match is...

— Seishiro Nagi

✦ (Yes, A Clockwork Orange is my favorite movie. I read the book too and, in French, they did a wonderful translation. Burgess invented a language inspired by Russian, and it's very impactful. There's some words that I still remember even though it's been almost 7 years since I read the book.) (I could speak of this masterpiece for hours! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your reading.) (Did you know that it's also Shidou's favorite movie?)

✦ (ANYWAY.)

✦ I had this sleepy genius boy in mind all along while reading your bio, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to match him with you.

✦ At the same time, how could I not? He appears way too many times in your words for me not to think of him.

✦ But I kept asking myself: "If I pair her with Nagi, she'll never go out again."

✦ "Is this really what we want, Suo?"

✦ Heh, I don't make the rules.

✦ Or, maybe I do.

✦ Well, welcome to your best sleeping partner, I guess.

✦ I think as long as he's with someone who's not boring or too loud, he's cool.

✦ Nagi... is always cool.

✦ "I don’t have any siblings." You're like his twin sister, lost somewhere before the start of the show, you know? Nagi's the brother you wish you had, somehow.

✦ "Whenever I go to a convention or an anime store, I spend a good 30 minutes deciding which figure to buy, but since I’m indecisive, I end up getting both of them. I also buy or help pay for my friends more often than not, so I’m always broke. They even came up with a motto: 'Buy now, regret later.'" You know the best thing I find in this description is the fact that you're actually going out. Even Nagi struggles with that.

✦ Good point: you convince him to put his shoes on since he might be interested in the merchandise you buy.

✦ I can see some lazy dates outside, mainly for playing at the arcades or buying trinkets and anime goodies. From the outside, you two look like brother and sister.

✦ That's the core of your relationship, a bit.

✦ I can't see Nagi in any relationship, but I can totally picture him always calling the same person to do non-boring activities. It's normally Reo's role, but Reo isn't always around.

✦ And Reo hasn't always been in Nagi's life.

✦ "I struggle to continue conversations, so I’d say I’m not that good at talking either. I may come across as indifferent or uninterested, which is why I also kind of struggle to make friends." Nagi looks uninterested, and most of the time, he is.

✦ "When giving opinions, I try to be honest, though I do sugarcoat it sometimes." Here, Nagi doesn't.

✦ In fact, the two of you remind me of two baby pandas, a bit lost, always in their beds.

✦ But you are very similar and at the same time, very different. Like black and white merging.

✦ The possibility that you met each other in an online game is huge, I won't lie.

✦ "Dislike: lack/bad communication." This is the biggest pet peeve with Nagi—the lack of communication. This is what led him and Reo to separate, with Reo thinking Nagi had abandoned their dream while Nagi was actually doing his best to reach their common goal.

✦ You can't expect anything from Nagi, but he may expect some things from you.

✦ Yes, that's unfair.

✦ Yes, that's Nagi.

✦ Yes, I chose this match.

✦ (Hahahahaha)

✦ (I regret nothing.)

✦ He never forces you to do anything, though. You're still free to go, doing your own thing while he does his.

✦ In my opinion, the best balance someone can have with Nagi is to play with him occasionally and then say, "Bye bye, see you next time."

✦ Nagi's like his cactus, Choki, after all. Never feed him too much, or he'll die.

✦ You know what I mean since you have YOU'VE HAD your own Choki too.

✦ He finds it cool that you can play instruments.

✦ He also "gently" asks you to play in another room because you make too much noise.

✦ The moments when Nagi is the sweetest are when he wants to try a new game but doesn't want to play alone. Reo isn't interested, so Nagi calls you instead.

✦ I can totally hear him calling you "buddy" or "man."

✦ He reads mangas on his phone too. I think he's the best at knowing the top websites to read tons of scans, so when your favorite site is taken down, Nagi sends you a copy-paste list on Discord.

✦ You two are totally the type to live under the same roof but communicate with each other via texts or weird, unfinished voice messages. It's too boring to speak out loud to someone who's in the room next door.

✦ "Giving: Acts of Service, Gift giving." Let's be honest, he's totally in sync with your love languages.

✦ Always asking you to carry him from one room to another.

✦ He's surprisingly not that heavy.

✦ But 190 cm doesn't lie.

✦ Long silences may occur between you. From the outside, people might even think the house is empty.

✦ The best part about that? You love these moments where no one is talking. You feel comfortable because this is how you like being around others.

✦ So he treasures the fact that you don't talk too much.

✦ Sometimes you forget that you're not alone in the house.

✦ It may give you a fright when you hear a door open.

✦ Or when it's 3am, you're in your pajamas, nose buried in your phone, and you go downstairs only to bump into each other.

✦ "Oh my god. You were there all along???"

✦ "Yeah. You too?"

✦ Actually, it's like you're sharing a flat.

A word about your match: When I read a Nagi-like bio, I usually think of pairing with an opposite character to create a balanced relationship. But your words and facts convinced me to go all the way and choose the laziest soccer player the world has ever seen.

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | INTERESTED IN A MATCHUP EXCHANGE? CHECK THIS.

[silicon-tmblr]

About Rain Code's Streaming Regulations

I have some bad news. And it's not that I'm not streaming Rain Code, because I am, even in light of the warning on startup; you'll find out why in a minute, as I've done my due diligence researching.

Above, the startup warning in question.

Although this seems to be a strict streaming ban, this confusingly goes against the implications of the earlier issued spoiler management guidelines. So, I thought to take a look at the original Japanese version of this warning.

I am so glad I did.

「ゲームソフトを権利者の許諾なく、インターネットを通じて配信、 配布する行為、また違法なインターネット配信と知りながら ダウンロードする行為は法律で固く禁じられております。みなさまのご理解とご協力をお願いいたします。」

I'll give you all the translation in a moment, but I'd like to first draw your attention to this:

This is a startup warning displayed in Danganronpa V3's original Japanese release. Even without speaking Japanese, just by looking at the shape of the characters I'm sure you can see that... they're the exact same.

And here is the translation of this screen in V3's official English release:

...It's a piracy warning.

It's telling you not to pirate the game.

AND SOMEHOW, SOMEONE SCREWED THIS UP IN RAIN CODE'S TRANSLATION SO BADLY THAT IT BECAME A STREAMING BAN?!

Now, I thought at first that this could be reflective of some pre-release plans for a streaming ban that were ultimately removed. Maybe they updated the Japanese screen but not the English (or French, for that matter) warning screen? Because surely such a serious blunder couldn't be possible, right?

Then I realized, the word for distribution being used in these warnings is "配信". This word also means "streaming", and is used to refer to livestreaming, as well as distribution of news or, in this case, files (though livestreaming is usually "ライブ配信"). So... this case of mistranslation is actually possible. The content that isn't to be distributed isn't actually specified by the original Japanese, and considering the nature of the game and the need for players to avoid spoilers, it's definitely possible to believe this was meant to be a streaming ban.

EXCEPT WHY WOULD YOU WORD YOUR STREAMING BAN TO SAY "NO DOWNLOADING ILLEGAL MATERIAL"?????

I know that technically you're downloading the video live when you're watching a stream, but come on.

[muskmelon-enjoyer-199x]

found my old douk-douk from many years ago! that carbon steel is looking a little rough. gonna give him a little TLC.

when I bought him, these were like 25 bucks. Now they're 36 bucks.

ramble under the cut

Douk-Douks have an interesting history. A French dude named Gaspard Cognet wanted to capture the pocket knife market in the French Pacific colonies (specifically in Melanesia). He needed a marketing draw that would boost brand recognition and catch local eyes, though. This was in 1929, so he went to the library and found this in an illustrated dictionary:

...and he was like "wow, this is a thing from an island in Melanesia so obviously all of Melanesia will love my knife if I put it on there. It must be important if it's one of the only Melanesian things in the dictionary, right? Even though my target market is mainly in New Caledonia, im sure they will will all recognize this niche figure from one culture from one peninsula on one island on the opposite end of Melanesia and that this isn't going to come off weird or cause misunderstandings--"

except he totally didn't say that. The dictionary probably just said "fierce melanesian spirit thing" and had a cool drawing, and that was good enough for Gaspard. He was, after all, a white guy trying to market products to black people he had never met who lived as his country's colonial subjects on the other side of the planet. I doubt he considered the differences in their respective experiences and cultures at all. If he did, he probably would've made some different choices.

Anyways, the product flopped. It did, however, succeed in French possessions in Africa. People seemed to like them as work knives, and apparently they were sharpened into razors as well.

One promotional photo shows hunters from an unspecified "pygmy" culture kneeling around a bongo carcass with knives and a sign reading "The Douk-Douk Among the Pygmies." Most of the men look a bit disinterested. They are all wearing the same shorts and t-shirts, and the knives are shiny and new. It's honestly a very strange and contrived picture. There's a lot going on here.

During the Algerian War of Independence, the FLN supposedly would hammer the lips of the handles together to convert them into fixed-blade knives. Some French guys online say that they would cut informers' noses off and stabbed soldiers in the Casbah with them. I'm sure the war was brutal, but I don't know if this story about the douk-douks is actually true. It gets repeated a lot online (especially by sellers), but the only actual source I can find is an untranslated memoir by a French guy.

(The title of this memoir is "Il était une fois mon Algérie à moi: Biographie," which translates to "Once Upon a Time There Was My Own Algeria: A Biography." It seems to be self-published. We are clearly dealing with some reliable stuff here!)

This is a consumer product that was made to sell to lower-income people in overseas colonies. How do you even tell where the history ends and the marketing and weird colonial mythology begin? I don't know what is really true except that people bought it and used it. I wonder if there are things written about it in languages I can't read or even struggle through. That would be the really interesting stuff!

It's a neat little knife, regardless.

[fayes-fics]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I was tagged by @suspendingtime. Thanks my dear. 🫶🫶 Apologies I'm a little tipsy right now haha. 🤪

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

155. Ahem, hush you. I started writing 18 months ago. When I get a new hobby, I REALLY lean into it.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

481,485. Yup, almost half a million. Again, shhhh.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Bridgerton. Look, I have my hyperfixations, ok?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

On AO3:

In His Lap (Short Fic) 181 

Temptation 177 

The Lesson 155 

Insatiable 149 

Are We Friends? 148

Tumblr notes:

Second Son 3,436

Sonnet #29 2,199

Rescue & Ruin 1,841

Awakening 1,827

Temptation 1,788

Wattpad readers:

Innocence, 30,600

Benedict Bridgerton Regency One Shots 23,000

Kinktober 2022 collection 16,300

Anthony Bridgerton Regency One Shots 10,400

Moments 5,800

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. Always. It's just wonderful to get feedback. I read and respond to every single comment. They mean the world to me, truly.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably No Good Advice. I ended up writing Moments multi-chapter as I (and a friend) couldn't bear the idea they didn't end up together lolol.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them, tbh. I can't write an unhappy ending. Maybe the mushiest is Second Son, Moments, or It Had To Be You.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Luckily not much yet. I did get one hate anon early on. It wasn't about a specific fic, though. It said they didn't know why I had a 'please don't steal my work' disclaimer (the standard one that most writers here use) cos I was delusional that my work was worth stealing. 🤷‍♀️

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, it's my trademark. It's rare when I don't write smut. 😬 I'm not sure what is meant by kind of smut. I've written it all, from vanilla romantic sex to kink threesomes with harnesses and double penetration lol. I haven't had a request yet that I've turned down due to sexual content.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet. The closest I've gotten is It Had To Be You, which is based on When Harry Met Sally.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, sadly, it has happened quite a few times now. I was so fed up with filing copyright takedown notices that I set up a Wattpad account to try to counter it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I've been offered but have turned it down. I have no way to check that any translation would get across the nuance I aim for. So I know that may be anglo-centric, but its how I feel for now.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet, but I am always threatening to lolol.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Hmm, tough one. I do love Kanthony tbh.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Benedict as a virgin. I just urghhh.... it's been a WIP for 17 months now. I just dunno why I won't finish it; I just get the feeling I won't.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have no bloody idea. I'd prefer readers answer that tbh lol. My inclination is to say I don't have one, except perhaps a willingness to describe sex in ridiculous levels of detail? Is that a strength?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

World building. I will do anything to shortcut it. I'll find an economical way to describe a situation e.g. she's a widow; they're old friends. Got it? Good! Let's get down to business.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've done a smidgeon of French as I studied it for ten years. But I doubt I'd do another language tbh.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Only Bridgerton so far.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Bloody hell, I have no fucking idea. It literally changes depending on my mood. But I don't really care for my own writing that much, all I see is flaws lol. I guess the universe I would most like to write more for one day is Mrs Bridgerton and its sequel. Does that count?

No Pressure Tagging: A couple of my talented writing moots were tagged along with me on this (the lovelies @colettebronte and @eleanor-bradstreet). So lets go: @thebabblingbrookenook @fiction-is-life @ferns-fics @silverhallow @mothdruid @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @urchintoast 😁🧡🧡

[minjifab]

When your father finds out you get bullied. - PT. 1 of One Piece Headcanons.

one piece headcanons: (ft. luffy, zoro, sanji.) also this is inspired by someone, but i forgot the creator- (the idea, not the headcanons!!) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- luffy ➔ ↻ he definitely wouldn't stand by for it, but wouldn't know what's going on at the same time. once he DOES know what is happening, he would gum gum pistol your bullies into outer space. (joking, but am i really?) ↻ after the whole.. thing, he would feel hungry and be like: "you wanna go get some meat?" "hell yeah!" and then go to get meat like nothing ever happened and your dad didn't just injure a kid. zoro ➔ ↻ outside he would look calm, but inside he'd be totally pissed that his own daughter/son/child was getting bullied.. he would totally pull the onigiri move but you refused since his attacks are way too brutal for a kid that's in school. "he/she/they can handle it if they/she/he can handle bullying you." "...dad, he's/she's/they're 14-" ↻ after he talked to the bullies parents' (even though he didn't want to because he wanted to handle it himself), he would at least try to make you feel better but wouldn't really. he would just be like: "meh.. do you want to go get some sake?.." (sake is the Japanese word for alcohol/beer.) "..dad, i'm (minor age).." "oh. let's go eat something then, i'm hungry." "okay.. gosh." sanji ➔ ↻ he would be so angry inside and out, that he would be on fire. (literally on fire, i mean, have you seen his legs? they're on fire..) he would be so furious because.. who dares to put a single FINGERNAIL on his child? "they're gonna regret that, those bâtards.." (meaning bastards in english since he speaks french. I GOT THIS FROM GOOGLE TRANSLATE SHUT UP-) "it's okay, dad, you don't have to kick them.." ↻ although in the end, he didn't kick them because he listens to his angel child (you guys are NOT angels), but did talk to the bullies' parents and made sure for this to definitely NEVER happen again. after that, they would walk home and talk. "now.. chéri, why don't we go home? i'll make you your favorite dish. how about it?" "that.. would be nice, i guess."

[linonyang]

END OF THE DAY.

pairings: non-idol!minho and gender-neutral!reader

genre: fluff, established relationship, rock band au

warnings: none

word count: 1.6k words

synopsis: nothing else feels better than going home with your beloved rockstar by your side after a few weeks of distance.

tag list: @awooghan​ @hwangsify​ @cosmic-railwayxo​​ @xiaoderrrr​​

note: hey who's back with another short fluff fic? <33 as much as i'm obsessed with 031123 minho, i can't help but make a fluffy fic bc that's all i can do rn LMAO seeing him irl was unreal until the point i wrote this after i saw more photos of him on that day :'>

© linonyang - all rights reserved. please do not copy, translate, modify, repost, or claim as yours.

“You’re supposed to be in your tour van. Your bandmates would kill us when they find us here,” you chuckled, sipping the milkshake.

He shakes his head, disagreeing. Smiling, he corrects you, “They will not be mad at you, love. It’s only me who they’ll scold.”

With his leather jacket on your shoulders, you sit back and wrap yourself tighter in the thick cloth around you. A fond smile grows on your face, finding the man — with tousled hair and tight polo with folded sleeves on the elbows — very endearing, despite the contrast to his appearance. “Right, I’ll be an exception to the guys.” you rolled your eyes.

“I always tell them it’s all on me.” He picks up and eats a piece from the basket of french fries. “I won’t let them blame you as well if I’m the one who’s constantly pulling you to restaurants and diners after every show.”

“Like what we’re doing right now? Yeah, I think they know already. They don’t even have to think for a second.” You lean forward and take a sip once again. Minho snickers at the sight of you sipping nothing — you haven’t realized you finished your milkshake already, and you’re taking air only.

Confused by your beloved’s expression, you raise your eyebrow in question. Minho answers you, “There’s nothing in that glass anymore.” 

You look down at the glass and see there’s still that tiny drop left that you’ve been trying to get. You shake your head. “I just want to finish this milkshake until the last drop. There’s a tiny bit there that I still want to get!”

Minho shakes his head and laughs. “You’ve drunk most of it already. It’s time to let that go. I think I should bring you home already,” he said before he reached for your hand. He hears you puff, and he laughs once again.

You softly hold his hand back and roll your eyes — an action that Minho thinks you got from him rolling his eyes with the members frequently whenever he pretends to dislike his bandmates’ affection. “Sure, dad.”

The two of you walk back home under the moonlight with the biggest smiles. It has been a while since Minho took you out since he had to return to the tour for a few weeks. He finally did what he wanted now that the constant singing and guitar playing was over.

With Minho’s arm wrapped around you, you touch his hand on your shoulder and look at him. “Should we just go back to your bus and grab your things? Go back there after dropping me off at home.”

Both of you stop walking after your question. Minho hums and answers without hesitation, “The boys told me they’ll go home tomorrow since they’re exhausted. I think I can go back there tomorrow. My bags will stay there untouched.”

You pinch his cheek and ask, “And where do you think you’re going without your things?” You know the answer already, but you want Minho to say it word by word.

“I’ll be staying with you for the night, obviously.” He tightens his arm around you and pecks your head. “I finally get to spend some time with you. I should cherish that time before we have to work on a new album.”

Understanding his circumstances, you hum in contentment. Though, an idea makes your head turn to him. You suggest something to him, “You can stay in my apartment for a bit. It doesn’t have to be one night.” Do you think he’d be ecstatic?

Yes.

He happily nods. Minho does enjoy prancing around the four walls of your apartment. Aside from bringing his cats over to hear your squeals and see your grins, he just loves some good bonding time with you where you are most comfortable. If he has his guitar with him, he’d spend your afternoons serenading you with the cheesiest love songs and his soft voice to tease you and your warm cheeks. He’s always been aware of the effect of his soft voice whenever you’re with him. It’s a total contrast to his powerful voice when he has lines to sing with Jisung, Changbin, and Chan onstage.

“Absolutely! I’m glad you told me that. I wanted to spend my whole break with you, of course,” Minho scratches his head with his free hand. “I don’t want to barge in or overstay without your approval.”

Gasping, you pull him with all of your might, also wrapping your arm around Minho’s back. “It’s fine, Minho. You can stay whenever you want. No need to ask for permission because you’re living with me at this point.” You giggled as you feel yourself get warmer with your arms around each other’s backs.

When the two of you reached your home, prepared yourselves for bed. It was an hour of doing your own things with peaceful silence.

The talking began when you finally settled in your bed, blankets wrapping you both.

Minho breaks the silence. “By the way, how was the final show?” He awaits your answer by reaching for your hand as usual and pulling it under the blankets to kiss it.

You can’t help but laugh at the sight. “Sorry, I just can’t believe you’re like this outside of the stage.” And your thought’s not wrong. He does show a different side of himself whenever he’s onstage. The sharp eyes, the fierce energy, and the teasing personality — it all disappears whenever he’s with you.

Not to mention, he’s looking at you with the brightest eyes and the softest look on his face right now. You can’t seem to comprehend that Minho as a guitarist differs from Minho as your significant other. 

“About the show though, I loved it, as usual. Your shows really hit differently here in our hometown. Your guitar solo almost made me ascend.” Your last comment made you giggle together. “You’re the coolest person out there. I cannot believe I’m with one of the best guitarists and vocalists out there, you know? I love how you always enjoy being on stage with the boys.” You shared your thoughts while playing with Minho’s fingers.

Minho melts, unable to respond right away. He loves hearing your thoughts about the band’s shows. Even if you say the same things, your words never fail to touch his heart and make him love you even more.

“Thank you so much, _____. I’m joyful that you got to see our last show. It’s one of the most memorable shows we ever had. You got to be a part of it and see everything that happened,” he hushed, sleepiness finally kicking him in.

You pull him into your embrace and feel his lips on yours. “Thank you for letting me in your best moments. I’ll always be there, hopefully, to make everything better.” You combed his hair away from his face and also leave a kiss on his forehead.

“You’re also a part of every single memorable moment I ever had. And I am very sure that you will always be the reason I even get to experience such things.”

You two fell into a deep slumber in each other’s arms and comfort. Inarguably, it was Minho’s best snooze ever since he had to continue the tour. You, on the other hand, lost that feeling of loneliness. The two of you really proved that sleeping with each other’s the best method for great rest. 

That is why Minho’s not surprised that he woke up with you holding onto his shirt and your head on his chest. He held you in his arms for another hour until he got out of bed carefully, make some breakfast, and go back to the tour bus to take his things.

Supposedly, he’s going to message his bandmates. But his phone’s lock screen greeted him with several notifications.

chan: minho, i know you’re with _____

chan: i already returned to our apartment, no need to get your stuff back in the tour bus because i also brought your bags back here

chan: though, if you want to help jisung and changbin get out of bed, feel free to do so since they’re still staying in the bus

jisung: HEY! i’m up already! i’m gonna leave changbin here :p see you in two weeks guys!

chan: you’re not going back after two weeks

chan: you visited minho and i after he stayed in with _____ for a solid week, you cannot survive without us

jisung: ugh stop exposing me!

jisung: bye :DD love u all

chan: lol love u jisung

chan: your coffee beans will always wait for you here! 

Minho chuckles. He mumbles to himself, “I guess I can stay in bed a little longer.”

He walks back to your bed, lying down to leave a text to his bandmates.

minho: take care of my guitar! i’ll get it later when i go get groceries for dinner!

chan: sigh… we just finished tour! don’t tell me you’re back to writing songs again </3

minho: nope :p i have something to do with it that has nothing to do with that!

All he plans is to serenade you again, anyway. He thought it’d be great to give you another show just for you to see.

He lists down some songs in his notes as his “alternative set list” — which he wrote as the title of the note — as he waits for you to wake up to the smell of your aromatic breakfast. 

Though, you wake up to Minho trying hard not to squeal over the songs he listed. He knows you’d either cringe or obsess over his performances later, but he is sure that you’ll enjoy them, regardless.

Minho drops his phone to the side table and greets you with a beautiful smile on his face. He brings himself to your body. “Good morning, my love!”

[tr1ck5]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @aleheartilly for this meme thing (thank you!!) and I'm gonna try to do it even though I have a grand total of technically two (2) fics lmao!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Technically 2 but since Lion's Oath is a series/chronicle... 8

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

72,992

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Final Fantasy VIII

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1- Lion's Oath 1: Space (32) (Ugh lmao it's so old)

2- Lion's Oath 6: Lost (21)

3- Lion's Oath 3: Wings (19)

4- Lion's Oath 2: Knight (15)

5- Lion's Oath 7: Fate (12)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always! Someone took the time to read and express how my writing has made them feel; I'll definitely take the time to express gratitude to them and self-indulge a bit by geeking out about my work! <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think Lion's Oath 1: Space wins angstiest ending? Lion's Oath 6: Lost is angsty but ends on a hopeful note, and Lion's Oath 5: Messenger is more of a cliffhanger so... I like angst but not in my endings normally haha

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Definitely Knight! I still really like how the ending of that chapter turned out!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Never did so far. I think I'd find it a bit funny though... and maybe flattering? Like wow my writing has instilled enough rage in someone that they had to tell me! I dunno, it'd be amusing.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I did in the past, and plan to when Lion's Oath progresses a bit more! I'm not sure what 'kinds' there are but for Squinoa specifically it's going to start very slow and simple, with a focus on enthusiastic consent and (of course) emotions! I do have ideas that are a bit kinkier but there's quite a ways to go before those.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't, though I've thought about writing some KH Strifehart stuff (does that even count as a crossover? lmao)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, that'd be so weird and funny though, I mean it's not like I'm making money off of this so what's the point of stealing it lmao

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, I guess I could translate my own fics in French? Haha

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't! How does that even work I wonder?

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Love me some Squall/Rinoa (surprising I know), close second is Zelda/Link! <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Probably Lion's Oath LOL in the sense that I don't think I'll ever look at it and go ''this is it, this is over and done!'' I guess that's the cool thing about it being a series

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm good with characterizations?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I think my vocabulary could definitely be more extensive. I often find myself struggling to convey the exact meanings I want for dialogues/descriptions/atmosphere etc and using the same words a lot oops

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If it fits with the context it's good, I'd stick to French though 'cause it's what I know along with English. Wouldn't risk potentially butchering a language I don't personally know haha

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time! Back in like... 2004/05? Oof haha it was BAD.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I think it's Lion's Oath 3: Wings. It's got a lot of fluff and a little bit of spiciness and I remember having a lot of fun writing it! Plus writing Badass Sorceress Rinoa is always a treat.

[pentacle-artist]

hello! i saw your post about the katrielle layton manga and I am having a hard time finding any info online about it. Could I ask if you have anything to share in regards to it? thanks for reading this btw

Absolutely!

First off, an official French translation is available used on Amazon. That's what I got.

The artist and writer is Kahori Orito, who has done a few other series, including a pokemon manga.

The chapters are adaptations on cases 1-11, except case 9, and there's one manga original involving a missing dog. They aren't in the same order as the game. Instead, it's: (vol. 1) 1, 2, 8, 7, manga original, (vol. 2) 4, 6, 5, 3, 10, 11. The cases are very stripped down compared to the game and anime, but the pacing is pretty good, so it doesn't feel rushed, at least to me.

Kat is in a different outfit every chapter, not just game outfits either. Orito really likes putting Kat in different outfits, which is valid! Relating to that, within each chapter, there are a couple of bonus images of mostly Kat, 1 of Emiliana, and 4 of Ernest in different outfits that all look fantastic.

There are a couple of anime aspects, like Kat comparing cases to sweets, the specific Wight House hauntings (but the haunted mirror was included here ^v^), Kat getting a gift after finding Rex (but in the manga it's a plate), and a dog Sherl talks to for information looks more like Geowly than Yapper. Although Vic and Tim look completely different from the anime designs.

In the first volume, there are a couple of puzzle sections in between chapters, I might upload pictures of those later, actually. There's also a couple of short extra stories at the end, the first has to do with perfume, and the second involves the trio splitting a cute cake and Kat getting half of it because of course she does.

Okay, a couple of changes I found notable

In case 5, Ernest and Sherl just didn't go to the haunted house, and it was only Emiliana and Kat, and it was refreshing after rewatching the anime adaptation that doesn't have her in the case at all. The end of Case 5 was a Halloween costume party, and Hastings and the Lipskis were there. It was great.

In case 3, Seymour shoves Kat to the ground when she almost touches one of his projectors!

As far as I could tell, Case 8 didn't have the scavenger hunt. It was just a short tour as a distraction. I'm not 100% sure on that, though, because one of the little angle statues did show up.

Cesar's head actually looks kinda normal

I do plan to upload scans of the pages in a month or two when I'll have access to a scanner (I also have plans to figure out translating, but that's obviously more time-consuming).

Let me know if you have any other questions! ^v^

[amberjazmyn]

home sweet home 🫶💔

pairing : pierre gasly x gasly!fem reader & f1 grid x platonic!fem reader

summary : delilah gasly had been stationed in america for the last seven years as a training paramedic. she is also pierre's younger sister and hasn't seen him during those seven years. the last time she had seen her brother was just after pierre had made his f1 debut. since then, it had been seven years since pierre had been in f1 and so many things that delilah had missed had happened. so, with the help of the rest of the f1 grid, she surprised her older brother. 

warnings : dodgy french to english translations, sweet reunions between siblings, swearing, happy crying

a/n : a couple of flashbacks will be in this and written in italics like always, even though it's happy, it'll be written in lowercase and i'm gonna apologise once again for the influx of depressing one-shots so i hope this makes you forgive me! 

present time | pierre's pov

chilling in the alpine garage before media day was always the thing that i did during each grand prix week when i first started in f1 and it was something i even did now, in my seventh year on the grid. except for the occasional run-in from one of the engineers, it was quite quiet which led me to find an old message between me and my younger sister. i tilted my head in confusion but, i sat in my chair properly, my feet off of the desk, and read the message from delilah.

delilah

hey, pierre. i know we haven't spoken in ages, since i left being the "ages" but, i just wanted to text you to let you know i love you, i miss and i am so proud of you.

it makes me so excited that you have finally made it into formula one and i only wish that i could be there to see you continue to smash it! i know you and the rest of the team will smash it out of the park! love you!

hey delilah, i miss you too and i love you too. and thank you, i'm also excited to have finally made it into formula one, only charles needs to enter next! see you soon, whenever that is! 

i really am sorry that i can't be there to see any of the races. and i'm sure charles will make his debut soon, pierre. and congrats again and biggest hugs to you! okay, i need to go but, we can talk later. i love you pierre and stay safe. bisous. 

read

i felt my eyes water as i reread these messages. especially when i noticed that these dates dated back to around, 2017ish when i had first made my debut into formula one and i remembered i'm no longer the rookie like i was back then. my heart broke as i realised i didn't even respond to delilah's last message she sent me back in 2017, i only read it and never responded. even though it was a very short conversation, it was still a nice conversation to have with my sister as i hadn't talked to her at that point in a couple of years. and that reason is that delilah, basically the day after i had signed the contract and got given the call i was making my debut into formula one, she was over in america as a training paramedic, travelling through all the states to teach families and young kids about the importance of first aid. and the day i got the call about my f1 debut was the last time me, the family and our friends had seen her before she jet-setted off. 

"you alright, pierre?" i suddenly look up to notice charles, had snuck his way into the alpine garage and joined me, resting himself against the table as i smiled at him, nodding my head

"yeah, i'm alright char, just...thinking..." i trailed off as i placed my phone down, forgetting to turn it off as charles catches a glimpse of what i was looking at

"...delilah te manque, n'est-ce pas?" charles softly responded, switching to french as we both caught eye contact as i nodded my head you miss delilah don't you?

"ouais, je le fais. i don't even know how i came past that conversation, i must have been absentmindedly scrolling through the messages...wow, seven years ago we had that conversation..." i trail off, looking back down at the date we had that small conversation, realising ultimately that it was almost eight years ago, not seven yeah, i do

"...eh bien, as-tu essayé de l'appeler?" charles sincerely questions as i sit up properly again as i tilt my head - have i? well, have you tried calling her?

"je... je ne pense pas avoir..." i space out for a second until i bring myself back into reality as charles places a soft touch on my shoulder i...i don't think i have

"...bien well, when was the last time you tried calling her?" charles asked, pulling himself back to his original position as i relax my shoulders down as i think properly

"i think the last time i tried calling her was a week after the f1 debut was announced when she had been gone for maybe a little close to a week at that point..." i was shocked at myself as those words came out my mouth, charles giving me a comforting smile

"...well, do you maybe want to try calling her then? i'm sure it won't hurt to try," charles whispered in english, giving me a small smile as he then climbed off the table leaving me to call her. however, it kind of scared me to call delilah

"i guess so..." i mumbled as charles gave me one last smile before it was just me left in my dressing room again

well, here i go. i decided that i'd try to call delilah for the first time in seven-ish years. it gave me anxiety hearing the phone call ring as for all i knew, maybe she forgot about me due to how much of a workaholic she was when it came to her job as a paramedic. maybe that's why she never came home when she had the chance to... because she was too focused on her job she forgot about me. i mean, it sounds plausible i guess.

"hé, c'est delilah..." hey, it's delilah

"...delilah me manque--" delilah i miss--

"--désolé that i couldn't be there to pick up the phone and talk to you. i'm most likely either in the office studying, out watching pierre race or i am purposefully ignoring you. please leave a message and i'll get to you as soon as i possibly can. love you so much to whoever has rung me and i'm sorry once again for not picking up. okay, au revoir!" sorry & bye-bye

my heart broke as i heard her voicemail. she still hadn't updated it from the day she first made it, at the airport before she was about to leave for america after my f1 debut call back in 2017. i remember holding in my giggles as she made it. as soon as the recording stopped, i burst out into laughter and caused the entire airport to stare at us. delilah also finding the funny in the situation. i was then interrupted by the sudden beep meant for my message.

*beep*

i jolted as i then spoke up, giving my message to delilah. my voice shaky and a little bit teary as i sniffled.

"...salut...delilah, it's been a while since we last spoke. around seven years to be exact but um, i...i just wanted to ring in to check on you considering it's been seven years or so since you've been in america and since we've talked. and...i was just wondering how you're going. i hope you're staying safe and, please come home soon, i love you and i miss  you loads. okay, umm, please call me back when you're able to listen to this, okay, au revoir." 

i gulped as i ended the call, placing my phone back down on the table that charles was sitting on earlier. i then moved out of my seat and rested against the wall, sliding down it as i felt as though i was going to start crying. thankful my door was closed and locked so no one, even the engineers, could come in.

five minutes later | charles' pov

since leaving pierre to attempt in ringing delilah, his younger sister who has been a training paramedic in america for the last seven or so years, i was slightly worried about leaving him alone. especially considering it's been those seven years since they last communicated and we were hours, if not minutes away from the media interviews in prep for the grand prix.

i was walking back down the way a little back to the ferrari garage when i heard what sounded like soft cries. it piqued my interest as the alpine garage and pierre's room was always on a diagonal from mine. i softly walked back in the direction of the apline garage and softly knocked on the door. before hearing a click, letting me know the door was just unlocked as i walked in, closing the door behind me straight away. 

he was resting against the wall, no longer sitting near his desk and my heart broke, "...pierre, qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?" i softly questioned, sliding down the wall next to mark as he slowly looked over towards me pierre, what's wrong?

"elle...elle n'a pas répondu, c'était juste sa messagerie vocale," pierre whispered as my heart shattered for him she...she didn't answer, it was just her voicemail

"oh, pierre, i am so sorry. did you try again?" i asked in english as i brought his fragile but taller frame into my smaller one as i felt his head shake against my shoulders

"no," he mumbled against my shoulder as i bit my lip, not knowing what else to do

"pourquoi pas?" i simply respond as pierre sniffles why not?

"hearing her voicemail from seven years ago makes me miss her even more...since that's the last time i heard her speak so i don't even know if she still sounds like that..." he trails off as i nod my head - yeah, i get the same feeling when i miss my own mum and i try to ring her and it goes to voicemail, making me not want to try again even though i know her voice wouldn't have changed that much

"that's fair. have you gotten in contact with her superintendent to make sure she's okay?" i questioned as i remembered that as a grid, we had talked about it, all wanting to stay in the loop about delilah

"yeah but, they...they haven't really been giving me any updates recently so i don't even know what's going on at their end right now," he mumbles as i nod my head

"that's not fun but i'm sure delilah isn't ignoring you on purpose. just, be as positive as you can and just know that one day, delilah will have to come home since she wasn't even meant to be in america and with this job for this long anyway," i smirk as pierre gives me a little smirk back which makes me happy, we all hated to see pierre upset

i then decided to give him a hug before leaving him on his own, knowing he needed it this time and now, i knew he'd be okay.

seven years ago | pierre's pov

i had never hated anything more than what was happening right now, and last night, i had just gotten the amazing news that i was making my formula 1 debut. right now, my younger sister delilah was getting ready for her new job as a training paramedic somewhere in america. i say "somewhere" because i completely zoned out as soon as it was mentioned that delilah was being sent away in the first place. i just had the impression that she'd be sent to england or somewhere else in europe. i didn't want to hear about the fact that she'd be across a whole damn ocean, six or so hours away. and i'd rather not be told that she's that far away from me if anything was to go wrong, i can't just be there in an hour or two. 

"...allez pierre, dis au revoir à ta sœur car elle sera partie pendant quelques années avant que tu puisses lui parler à nouveau. ne sois pas de mauvaise humeur, s'il te plaît," dad kindly spoke in french as i rolled my eyes, i sluggishly moved off the airport seat, uncrossed my arms and slowly walked over to delilah who was waiting with her arms open for a hug - to which she knew i could never say no to come on pierre, say goodbye to your sister as she'll be gone for a couple of years before you can speak to her again. don't be moody, please

"bien, mais ne me blâme pas quand je te crie dessus tous les deux jours de ne pas me permettre d'être à une heure de delilah juste au cas où elle se blesserait parce que ce ne serait pas de ma faute!" i growl out in french, half of it mumbled by delilah's tight squeeze as i rested in her hug, mum and dad shaking their heads at me in unapproving ways fine, but don't blame me when i yell at you every other day for not allowing me to be an hour away from delilah just in case she gets injured because it won't be my fault!

"oh please, pierre, that's never going to happen, buddy! i won't let it happen!" delilah whispers in english as dad, mum, our brothers and the f1 grid that had shown up had left the two of us alone

"and how in god's name are you so sure of that delilah celine-josephine gasly, huh?" i respond in english, with a full-on passive-aggressive attitude as she rolls her eyes, squeezing me tighter as she tries to prove her point

"i'm so sure of that pierre jean-jacques gasly because i was trained exceptionally well and there is no way in hell or god's name that i'm leaving you on your own! nah-uh, not until i surprise you at one of your f1 media days, whether that's when you change teams or what then i'm leaving you, even then, i'll always be here for you, okay?" delilah roughhoused me, in the airport yes, as she tried to convince me, leaving me to roll my eyes this time

"nah-uh, i'm still not letting you leave, nope! nope, nope, nope, NOPE!" i growl as i squeeze delilah even tighter than before as she softly chuckles, scuffing my hair up, to which i had no care about really

"i hate to burst your imaginative bubble pierre but, i'm still leaving. i have to otherwise i could be fined a lot of money for not going..." delilah trails off as she tries to remove herself from my grip, to which i refuse and hug her tighter

"...i.don't.care! i'd rather have to help pay for your fines for not leaving to work in america as a stupid paramedic than be told that you got injured or died in a fucking school shooting over the phone whilst i'm potentially in a different country at a grand prix or racing and then having to cry and grieve over you two months later when they finally bring your body home!"  i growl, still mad that mum and dad even allowed delilah to consider her choosing this weird training paramedic job in america, delilah sighs loudly as she brings her arms back around my torso, hugging me even tighter

"i'm sorry pierre but, i do care. and, whilst i also don't want you guys to get a call saying i died or got injured in america and wait two months for my fancy-schmancy funeral, i'm willing to do this job in america if it means i'm teaching life-saving skills. i don't want to argue with you, i know you don't either so, be reasonable and let me leave," delilah says in a matter-of-fact way as i roll my eyes again, a small whine leaving my mouth as if i was about to have a full-on tantrum, to which, i most likely was, in a public airport with my future f1 teammates behind me and the rest of my family

"why are you so proud of this job? i'd rather you be with me travelling for formula 1!" i whine, smacking my head on delilah's shoulder as she chuckles

"i'm proud because i've always been proud of everything i do and that includes my job as a training paramedic in america. and you know i'd love to go to all of the grand prixs with you but, i can't so, it looks as though you're just going to have to survive with me being away in a different country to you," delilah said with a smile as we both simultaneously squeezed each other, causing us to both squeal and giggle

"well, if i have to let you leave then, when will i talk to you next?" i question, pulling back out of the hug as delilah grabs ahold of my hand

"umm, i think i have a couple of days where i have off that i can ring and communicate with those i didn't get to farewell but, yeah, i think that's the next time i can talk to you," delilah smiles which makes me smile, making me feel slightly better

"okay, nice. when will i be able to see you again? like, when will you be able to come home?" i then ask as i entertain myself by fiddling around with delilah's fingers which were intertwined with mine

"it...it'll be soon i'm sure pierre," delilah smiles, pulling me into another quick hug before grabbing my hand again as i nod my head sadly

"how soon is soon?" i ask with a shake in my voice, looking up at the clock knowing her flight was about to be called to board soon

"pierre soon will be as soon as i am able to leave. i promise, now, i really need to leave, my plane's about to board!" delilah said as i pouted and my eyes grew sad as i huffed loudly

"ok, but promise me you'll come home safely, please?" i whimper my voice breaking as delilah smiles softly

"i promise pierre, but, i gotta go," she whispers as she gives me one last hug before giving her last hugs to everyone else

okay, maybe what i said before was mean, i am awfully proud of delilah that she chose this as her job. it was wrong of me to say that i'm mad at mum and dad for allowing her to consider and then choose it eventually. i then saw my soon to be f1 grid mates, daniel, lewis, sebastian, carlos as well as charles, who was not yet making his f1 debut, give their final hugs and farewells to delilah. watching that whilst it broke my heart, also made it feel warm that even though i'd be competing against these guys every grand prix, i could still trust them with my personal life since this was how they were treating me saying goodbye to my younger sister and i'd do the same for them. even though i was farewelling one major thing in my life and starting a new one, my younger sister and formula 1, i knew that i would eventually be okay again. 

we then watched on as delilah and her fellow training paramedics boarded the plane. we waved, cheered, and hollered, making the biggest scene of all time as she then vanished into the plane where it became silent again.

"...et bien, maintenant elle est partie pierre," dad came up from behind me, wrapping his arm around my back, i huffed and rolled my eyes well, now she's gone pierre

"merci de me l'avoir rappelé papa, ce n'est pas comme si je ne regardais pas cela se produire," i huff as dad pulls me down to sit on the airport floor with him - knowing something was wrong thanks for reminding me dad, it isn't like i wasn't watching it happen

"d'accord pierre, qu'est-ce qui ne va pas ? tu as été comme ça toute la journée, pourquoi ne peux-tu pas être fier de ta petite sœur comme elle est fière de toi pour avoir atteint la formule 1 ?" dad muttered kindly as my lips started to tremble okay pierre, what's wrong? you've been like this all day, why can't you be proud of your younger sister like she's proud of you for reaching formula one?

"je suis fier de son père, c'est juste--" i am proud of her dad it's just--

"--c'est difficile de la voir partir après avoir réalisé votre rêve de formule 1?" he interrupts as i nod my head, a small whimper coming out of my mouth, dad's face softens, noticing the tears welling in my eyes and pulls me into his lap, his knees bracing my head it's hard to see her go after you've just been given your formula one dream?

"mhm," i mumble as i feel the tears pool in my eyes as dad softly ruffles his fingers through my hair

"oh, pierre, ça va fils," dad whispers as i feel a tear stream down my cheek onto dad's knee as i attempt to wipe it away whilst laying awkwardly on the airport floor halfway on my dad's lap oh, pierre, it's okay son

"non ce n'est pas," i whimper, covering my mouth with my arm that rested across dad's lap so my whimpering would be quieter no, it's not

"bien, je vais reformuler ma réponse *pierre softly chuckles* it will be okay pierre, delilah will be okay. she's going to come home and she'll message and call us when she's able to, okay? you've got nothing else to worry about other than what you're going to do now that you are debuting with formula one, okay? i know you and delilah always envisioned on being with each other when you joined f1 but, now that's not possible, but use that grief of your sister being so far away as your fuel to have you push, okay? you'll be perfect pierre!" dad smiled as he continued combing his fingers through my hair which was starting to really calm me down fine, i'll rephrase my answer

"thanks, dad," i mumble with a small smile on my lips as i look up to see him also smiling

"no worries pierre, i get how you're feeling. trust me, i wasn't too rapt about delilah being a training paramedic in america either but, i made her promise me she would come home and, she promised. i'm holding on to that promise so if she breaks it, i'll never forget it and i would've wished i made her come home when i had the power to, but, right now, i've made peace with her decision and, i'm proud of her," dad was always so wise and inspirational and it made me giggle

"that's a fair deal. anyway, how are charles and arthur taking this? charles especially since he adores delilah," i ponder as i just realise, i've only really interacted with my immediate family, not with my soon-to-be teammates and the leclercs 

"that's a good question, pierre, last i saw of charles and arthur, arthur was trying to calm charles down as he wasn't taking the thought of delilah leaving well either," dad said, shrugging his shoulders as i awkwardly nodded my head that still rested on his lap

"aw, i hope they're both okay," i mumble softly, feeling the exact same way as charles and arthur

"i'm sure they are. but maybe they just need their best friend to comfort them and make them feel a little better," dad coaxes me to get up as i giggle softly

"okay, fine, i'll go find them!" i giggle as i lift my head up off dad's lap, giving him a hug as i then walk over to charles and arthur, noticing just how upset charles and arthur were 

present time | pierre's pov

after maybe about five minutes of just thinking and allowing myself to go back to that day seven odd years ago, i could smile again. after being so upset that i wasn't just losing one thing in my life, delilah, but gaining something new at the same time, it didn't make me so upset anymore because i was still with formula one but with a new team, alpine. even though delilah hadn't come home yet and i still miss her all the time, i remembered that she's just working hard all the time to give out life-saving first aid skills and at some stage, she'll come home.

"...pierre, we're next for the press conference," charles calls out, popping his head into my room in the alpine garage as i giggle

"thanks char, be there shortly," i giggle as charles also giggles, hesitating to move out of the way

giggling, i ask him to move, "oh mon dieu, bouge, charles ! je ne peux pas quitter mon garage avec toi là!" i chuckle as charles smiles, apologies and leaves quickly leaving me slightly confused oh my god, move, charles! i can't leave my garage with you standing right there!

twenty-ish minutes ago | delilah's pov

trying to hold in my laughter was the hardest thing ever, especially watching charles forget to leave after telling pierre that it was five minutes to stage for their press conference for media day. little did pierre know, after seven and a bit years, i was finally retiring from my job as a training paramedic and decided to relocate back home to france. with my transfer back to the french ambulance service, and some good-looking time off, i'd be able to go on the road with pierre during the rest of the season and be there right through to the world championship at the end of the season. 

i had snuck into the conference room in monaco pretty quickly, out of my uniform completely and just waiting for the right moment to surprise pierre. whether that's just before he goes on for the press conference or whilst he's in the middle of the press conference. 

charles, max, lando, daniel and esteban hugged me tightly. as the other drivers joining pierre for the press conference as we waited for the right time but had a quiet conversation as we all waited for pierre to leave the alpine garage to make it to the press conference.

after asking and catching up with the guys who me and pierre grew up with and watched form into the amazing formula one racers they were now and how they'd all been, inlcuding pierre, we then mentioned how we think he was going to react to me finally being home. 

"...honestly, i genuinely think pierre's going to freak when he sees you, delilah..." charles smiles, his arms crossed over as max rolls his eyes before jumping in

"...he's not just going to freak, charles, he's going to cry when he sees you, delilah!" max says dramatically as we all giggle, especially when charles' annoyed face makes an appearance

"and as i was going to say before max interrupted me, he is absolutely going to lose his head when he sees you, he is absolutely going to cry. i mean, seven years, like, no sir, i couldn't even do that, especially without contact, nah-uh, nope*giggles*," charles huffed as we all giggled as we all agreed

"yeah, i couldn't do this job again, especially in a different country for seven years without breaks," i mutter with a shake of my head as we all have another group hug

present day | charles' pov

max, lando, daniel, esteban, pierre and myself were now on the couch at the monaco grand prix for the press conference and getting ready to surprise the absolute crap out of pierre. delilah, his younger sister as we all know, just came back from a seven-year paramedic job in america. the first time she's been home and seen pierre since she left back in 2017 and, he has got no clue whatsoever and is absolutely clueless about it. 

we were laughing, answering questions and quite honestly, having a really fun press conference for once since they were usually so boring when i watched carefully for the moment that delilah would make her apperance for the surprise. i suddenly received the all-clear from the moderator of the press conference so i then gave the signal to delilah and, she ever-so sneakily just slid right on the couch next to pierre. 

pierre had just finished answering a question when he lowered his microphone to then mindlessly begin zoning out again until another person had a question for him. that was until he turned his head as though it was slow motion and his eyes widened as delilah giggled, her smile wide. 

watching the way pierre slowly realised what was going on was priceless as the grip on his microphone was gone. the microphone sent to the floor, "delilah? what the fuck are you doing here?" pierre was in so much shock that it was as though he was in a different universe completely 

"did you forget the promise we made to each other seven years ago?" delilah giggled as the crowd along with me and the others erupted into cheers as we watch the siblings pull each other in for a hug

"oh my god, you...you're home!" pierre whispers shakily, his body leaning into his sister as they didn't move from the couch as tears fill his eyes 

"home sweet home, pierre!" she whispered back as me, max, lando, esteban and daniel watched on as the siblings reunited after seven long years

"that promise was from seven fucking years ago!" pierre cried out as he smacked her which made everyone tearfully laugh now that almost everyone was in tears at this point

"still didn't break it, pierre! i'm here, am i not? now, get back to work, you and the guys have a press conference to finish!" delilah giggled as pierre rolled his eyes, reluctantly moving from the hug to let daniel, lando, max, esteban and me give her hugs again awkwardly on the couch even though we were the planners of the surprise

"so, for those who are not aware, this is delilah, pierre's younger sister and she has been away in america for the last seven years as a training paramedic. where in which she has been basically going around from state to state teaching and training underfunded and young kids very important and life-saving first aid skills. she left the day after pierre got the call that he would be making his formula one debut all the way back in 2017. she has now returned so, the guys on this couch decided that after some words on the grapevine that she was coming home that this surprise would be planned for pierre," i explained to the press conference, pierre smiling 

the crowd of interviwers and photographers cooed as pierre went to speak again, "awe, thanks for the surprise guys! very sweet of you, thank you!" pierre smiles, leaning into me to thank me as he then hugs his sister again

"no problem, if we could, we'd do it all over again," delilah called out making all of us laugh

delilah had then left the press conference so we could finish it even though pierre was very against it at first, we managed to convince him. then, at the end of the press conference, i watched as the brother and sister spent more time together, it was the sweetest thing and that wasn't me just saying that. i would genuinely do this surprise all over again just to see that shocked look on pierre's face when he realised it was delilah that had surprised him.

but, the best part of overhearing that conversation was pierre's reaction when delilah told him she'd be joining us for the rest of the season.

fin

this was loads of fun to rewrite and it's my first pierre gasly one-shot too! so, hopefully it was good enough lol. but, anyway, i've never been the biggest fan of this ending but it's fine, i won't like every ending to every one-shot i publish and that's okay. also, i'm back from my surgery and i'm finally starting to feel better and glad to live without pain again! turns out i had a cyst near my left ovary but not in which is not normal as it's usually in the ovary as well as the smallest bit of endometriosis on the right side so in three weeks i'll be getting the full results of the surgery so hopefully the medical mystery will finally be solved! 

©⠀amberjazmyn's original work. do not translate or steal any of my fics. 2024

[mentallyshattered]

This is part 21 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"Goodnight, Yuu," whispers Grim.

"Goodnight, Grim," I whisper back. Korrak and Mandible are already asleep, and we dare not wake them.

A moment passes. "Grim, do you want to try and find another big stick tomorrow?"

"Hehe. Yes."

And then our eyes close.

It only feels like a moment later that we're up and walking again, back in the Backstage Room for our usual morning routine. The walk there is muscle memory at this point, so we arrive a minute earlier than Epel. Interestingly, Korrak isn't there, even though he and Mandible were out of bed when Grim and I woke.

Meh. I'm too tired to think about that and add it to my mental list of clues in the quest to unravel the mystery that is our human roommate and his 'possum familiar.

More people file in as I brush Grim's fur to the smooth and silky shine that is expected and achieved daily by every furry familiar in Pomefiore. I'm still half-alseep when I squeeze a dash of kitty toothpaste onto Grim's kitty toothbrush, but that doesn't last.

With my own hair brushed and Epel on my left, I think it's going to be a normal day. Still, something feels off. Very off. I'm unsettled, and I don't know why.

Then it hits me. Slowly, like something oozing onto my head, it hits me. If Korrak has pilot parents, then why did he do so well against Floyd?

This is going to keep eating at me until I solve it. Sigh. And I have classes today.

" 'Ats th'matter, Yuu? Yer lookin' pretty worn-out, an' th' day ain't even really started."

"Myeeh. Classes."

Epel looks at us, confused- before laughing. "We ain't got no class t'day, 's a weekend!"

Grim and I both thank whatever forces gave us a day off. Epel, Grim and I hurry through our routine and go to breakfast- eggs on toast.

I still haven't seen Korrak or Mandible today.

Before I can properly register it- or wake up- Grim and I are adventuring through the woods outside our dorm, continuing our quest for a stick.

We carefully dig through the leaves before I step anywhere, exercising all the caution we feel we'll need to ensure the perfect stick does not escape our notice nor break before we may properly obtain it.

The woods are peaceful. Grim has dismounted from my shoulder in favor of trotting along the forest floor, through the yellow-brown that carpets the grass and tree roots.

His ears perk up. He looks suspiciously at nothing, head turned, and then calms, ears lowering. Still, he's clearly on edge.

I've got a feeling about this. It's a little dread, settling in my stomach like tar, but there's also some determination, sitting atop the dread like snow.

The question about Korrak is still eating at me. It's harder to ignore now that the sleep has left my eyes and mind, but I'm setting it aside nonetheless to search for the stick. Still: why would he lie? Did he even? Maybe it's just redacted information he's not comfortable sharing, as opposed to an outright lie. Maybe his parents taught him self-defense.

But... that didn't look like professional self-defense. It looked like something learned on the streets- but how would I know? I'm new to this world, maybe that's just what their jujustu looks like.

What's that? It sounds like... chittering. I look at Grim. He's facing roughly north, at the source, ears pointed forward. He makes eye contact with me. The message is clear: I'm not just dreaming. There's something- or someone- out there.

Hold on. More chittering? It sounds... different, somehow. A different voice? Wait. That sounds a lot like Mandible. And the other voice is talking now, could that be...Korrak?

What language could that be? Not French, that's for sure... maybe something else?

Wait. I've heard people talking about an "Animal Linguistics" class. If animals have their own language... and Mandible is an opossum...

Grim and I make eye contact again. He's connected the dots, too. Another question: why is Korrak speaking opossum? I've heard other people talking to their familiars during meals and in the Backstage Room, but they don't speak the animal language- they speak their human language, and the familiar chirps, barks, chitters, or otherwise make animal sounds back. I often can't understand either side; a lot of Pomefiore people speak Dutch or Spanish or something.

This mystery just keeps expanding. My mental pinboard has even more yarn on it now, and no extra answers.

The chittering has stopped. Maybe that wasn't Mandible and Korrak? Meh. We have a stick to find!

The woods are pretty and peaceful. Leaves crunch underfoot and underpaw, respectively, and rocks must be carefully avoided- lest I fall over. Grim is a quadruped, so he doesn't have that risk.

Ow! Tree roots. I also have to watch out for tree roots. Wish I remembered that before I fell flat on my face, but it's a little late for that.

"Are you okay?" I know that voice. That's Mandible.

"I'm fine," I start, lifting myself from the leafy forest floor. But, before I ask about what was overheard, I catch myself. They probably wouldn't react well if I asked.

Wait... this is a new area of the forest. I'm standing on the edge of a clearing, set in an indent in the ground, like a reverse hill. The inside of the bowl-like shape is all leaves, with some decent-sized boulders around the edges. One, two... Thirteen boulders, arranged in a circle. Some have sharp edges, others appear entirely smooth. All are grey, but various shades- some are far darker than others. A few even look to have stripes, like the igneous rock I learned about in middle school science class. It's very pretty.

There's an indent in the leaves- a path where someone walked. This must be where Korrak was earlier.

"What are you two doing out in the woods?"

Before I can respond to Mandible's question, Grim jumps in for me. "We're gonna get a big stick to make into a toy!

"Oh, that sounds fun! I think I saw one over here!" Mandible hops down from Korrak's shoulder and trots down the steep slope, into the clearing. I follow, take one step down, trip again, and fall- a hand wraps around my right wrist, and I realize I'm pulling Korrak down with me. He's strong, but gravity and momentum are stronger.

I hit the ground first. My arm breaks my falk for most of my body, but my hips don't get that, and throb with dull pain. I don't feel blood. Then, Korrak hits the leaf litter- and exclaims something when he does. It's not English, but the chittering we heard before. He sounds indistinguishable from an actual opossum.

Oops. I'm staring. And he's noticed, too. Time to try and pass it off as an "I was worried" thing.

"Myeeh! Are you two okay? Yuu? Yuu!"

Well, Grim's beat me to it. And, oddly enough, Mandible is chittering at Korrak. I think he's asking if we're alright.

I stand, stretch, and offer Korrak my hand. He takes it, and I lift him. "You good?"

"S-sure am. Thanks." He pauses. "Are you?"

I nod. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Yuu! Do you need ice?! I can summon some!"

"Don't, Grim."

Korrak is looking at me now. "You're pretty fluent in Cat."

I look at him, right into his smokey grey eyes. "What?"

"You're p-pretty fluent in Cat. I'm impressed."

"What do you mean by that? How can I be fluent in a species?" Only after the words leave my mouth do I remember Animal Linguistics is a class.

Korrak bursts out laughing. "Animals have languages. You seem p-pretty fluent in Cat, especially considering it's not y-your native language. That's what you and Grim are speaking. What's h-h-he saying, anyway?"

"He's asking if I need ice and offering to summon some."

Korrak laughs. "G-good ol' Grim."

"By the way, what did you mean by 'not my native language'?"

He pauses, nervous. "W-well, I'm assuming your native language isn't Cat. You seem f-fluent in it, th-though."

"I'm assuming the chittering is you and Mandible speaking Opossum, then."

Korrak nods. "Y-yeah. It's my, um.. Nevermind."

He whispers the last part, just a faint draft of breath, but my ears catch it anyway. Grim's do, too. This time, I take notice of how his words sound- he's speaking Cat.

"Your what?"

"Your what?" I echo his words, in English this time.

"N-nothing." That's a sound he doesn't usually stutter. He's nervous.

I give him a look. He doesn't cave, not yet.

"Found it!"

"Myeeh, that's too thin... maybe. Hey, Yuu, over here!"

I walk over to Grim and Mandible to look at the stick. It's wildly thin, and is shaped like a paperclip someone tried and failed to straighten out. It's not going to work.

"Yeah, too thin. Thanks for trying, Mandible." I spare a glance at Korrak. He's still standing there, nervous. I'm a little scared to leave him alone. Not completely alone, obviously- he'll still have his familiar- but an opossum can only do so much, and... sigh.

"Come on, hench-human. I wanna see Sam's. I heard there's a tuna discount!"

Of course, he's thinking of tuna. His favorite food. He's never told me, but, in the other world, my Grim loved tuna beyond any other food. He loves it here, too.

Maybe we'll run into Rook there; we can ask him for help if we do. Hey, that's right- Rook is probably here somewhere, supervising. Korrak will be okay.

I laugh. "Alright, Grim, let's go and look."

Taking one last glance at the nervous, purple-haired boy and the furry marsupial, we leave the little bowl clearing behind us, questions put aside in our heads.