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jeonstellate · 11 days ago

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the ghost of hubris

kimi steps back as his daughter paves her own path — separate from, yet reminiscent of his own.

ᯓ★ kimi räikkönen x daughter!reader

ᯓ★ depictions of a protective dad, a dad nostalgic about his daughter growing up, & a dad who has a preference for his daughter’s potential other half

ᯓ★ paragraph format — 5.9K words

masterlist | the ghost of you masterlist

[pic’s full credit belongs solely to its owner]

ᯓ★ taglist: @edgyficuselastica (lmk if y’all wanna be added!)

ᯓ★ all spanish, german, & finnish words in this are from google! as is the italian dialogue </3 all bolded dialogues are in finnish!

ᯓ★ i humbly request for some feedback on this because i got carried away, if y’all can’t tell by the word count :’) this got to be the longest one-part of a series/one shot i’ve ever written, i swear. that aside, look what finally has a series masterlist now :D

Kimi has long forgotten what prompts him so, but he finds himself at the paddock once more. His darling daughter [first name] was nowhere close this time — her Williams Racing internship having ended weeks ago — and thus blameless for his current whereabouts.

He supposes the lack of media around is a welcomed bonus. Very much so, frankly. It almost makes up for the fact that he’s currently miles away from his closest child — and that he’s potentially missing out on whatever milestone his youngest is about to achieve.

As it has always been, the paddock is loud. Not deafening, as he’s currently in the general hospitality and there’s no cars running on track at Formula One speed, but rowdy still with the amount of overlapping conversations all around.

Once upon a time (until four years ago, really), this had been his life. Regularly, for the twenty-ish years. He can’t say he prefers it, especially since he willingly traded it for a chaos he finds more precious, but he does miss it in a way. Because of nostalgia, more than anything, considering that his late childhood and the entirety of his teenage years built up to it — and that he spent his twenties and thirties in it.

Now, though, he is just someone passing by. A special guest, as some might call it, but a mere visitor nonetheless.

Yet, as always, Kimi welcomes any reason to get out of the paddock.

And, today, that seems to have come in a form of a random check-in text from his eldest. Faija, it reads, are busy?

He wastes no time to respond. No.

Technically, he is — with being a special guest and all. But they’re on a break right now. And, besides, nothing’s more important than his children.

Can I call real quick?

Call now, he sends.

Not a moment later, his phone rings with his ringtone for [first name]. He gets up from his seat to take it somewhere more private. However, on instinct, he clicks on the accept before he comprehends what he has done.

He almost scrambles to press his phone close to his ear. "—Someone asked me on a date."

And, immediately, he almost drops it. "Someone asked you on a date?" He accidentally echoes loudly before he can completely exit the room. He earns a lot of attention, but he pays them no mind. He only almost cared when he accidentally made eye contact with Oscar Piastri, A-K-A [first name]’s current crush, as he turns to leave. "Piastri?"

"My lab partner for Physics."

It’s not that he’s against [first name] dating. As much as he considers her his baby always and forever, he also knows she’s old enough for such things. It’s not like he has a fear of his daughter ruining her life for a man, as he trusts her to make informed and well-thought-out life decisions. Rather, he’s merely in-denial of her ever-growing maturity and stronger independence — and her eventual ability to navigate the world without his guidance.

In simplest terms, he’s afraid of losing his place as the only constant — and important — man in her life.

That aside, Kimi doesn’t really know what to feel about who her date is. He has somewhat expected her first date to be with someone who genuinely makes her happy, in some form or another. Like Oscar Piastri has, as of late.

He doesn’t help that he hasn’t heard anything about her Physics partner before. Frankly, there had been a fleeting second when he assumed it’s Oscar Piastri. "When’s your date?"

"I turned him down."

That response, he knows how to feel about. Relief. And curiosity, especially after she spent a call a couple weeks before on making sure she was within the age range he permits her to date. (That had been a half-meant joke he made when she was seven, but she had apparently made sure to abide by it all this time.) "Why?"

He can hear the shrug in her voice, albeit he doubts she physically did it, "I don’t like him like that. It’d be cruel to lead him on."

He makes a noise of understanding. Suddenly, he pieces what this call is about. She feels bad about rejecting her lab partner. "You did the right thing."

"You think so?" She sounds unsure.

His reply is somewhat indirect, but he’s confident she’ll get what he means. "Don’t settle for just anyone."

[First name] lets his words marinate in the air. He can only assume she’s thinking it over on the other side of the phone. He doesn’t rush her.

Eventually, like he knows she will, his daughter finds her voice again. "You don’t think I should give it a try so I can forget about my crush?"

There’s merit in that inquiry. However, ignoring all the complicated details and caveats, his answer really just comes down to one thing. "I don’t want you to live with regrets."

Kimi’s relentless pursuit of protecting her right to choose is included in that. He raised her to follow her heart wisely to make sure of it. He intends to uphold it, even if he has to live with the possibility of having an F1 driver for a son-in-law.

(Besides, based on the current selection, he’d say his daughter did her best in choosing.)

Kimi re-enters the room where everyone has gathered twenty minutes later. And, surprisingly enough, the atmosphere he came back to isn’t the same one he left earlier. Rather, the dissonance of overlapping conversations has been replaced by a sharp silence — which seems to be pointed at the McLaren driver closest to the doorway he just entered.

He has a theory but he isn’t sure how likely it is, as he isn’t told how many people know of the fact his theory is heavily dependent on. As far as he knows, only Sebastian and Fernando do — at least in an extent that can rival his. Carlos and Charles, he presumes, know just a little bit less. Maybe as do Alex, Esteban, Lance, Max, Pierre, Yuki—

Oh. That’s basically half of the current grid.

Even if not all of the last six turns out to be in the know, there’s probably a substantial enough portion to sway the atmosphere. Still, it won’t hurt to confirm first. "What happened here?"

"Oscar keeps denying that he has a date with [first name]," Alex tattles. He looks at Sebastian and Fernando’s direction to confirm. They both nod once, affirming and serious.

Kimi has half a mind to leave Oscar Piastri at the mercy of his fellow drivers. But, alas, his conscience ultimately doesn’t allow him to. "You’re barking up the wrong tree."

That loosens the sharpness of the silence. "He’s not the one that asked [first name] on a date?"

He almost scoffs amusedly at Sebastian’s attempt at asking for a confirmation. "It would’ve been the other way around, don’t you think?"

"So [first name] asked Oscar on a date?" Lando speaks up this time, sounding like he has completely lost the plot. He’s clearly not close enough to his daughter, albeit he’s not sure why so. The older McLaren driver seems to be a good one to be around, too.

"No."

"Is she—"

He interrupts the seven-time champion’s predictable question with a borderline threat. "One more question and I’ll personally rescind [first name]’s invite to her karting competition."

"What!" Younger Kimi — or Kiminen, as his daughter refers to him — exclaims. "No! Please!"

"She karts?!"

"[First name] never mentioned—"

"Princesa’s racing again?" Fernando’s calm — and surprised — intrigue is the quietest reaction amidst the audible gasps and varying exclaims.

"She’s doing it for charity," he clarifies. "She’s inviting you guys to watch. Except for Esteban—"

"What did I do?!" The French Haas driver interrupts in disbelief.

"—she wants you to be in her team."

Esteban’s relief gets drowned by protests — with Charles being the loudest of them all. "Why didn’t she ask me? I’m her favorite!"

Kimi is merely starting to realize why [first name] is joyed to hear he’s currently with the grid. It has nothing to do with her excitement about why he’s there — and everything to do with what he can do on her behalf while he’s there.

With him acting as her messenger, she doesn’t have to deal with the chaos that sets off for literally anything. Which means he just unknowingly let her escape something she didn’t want to do. Looking back, it’s a little amusing, considering it’s closely related to what he wanted her to have since childhood, albeit in an entirely different context.

However, a part of him doubts it’s just her unwillingness to surround herself with their familiar chaos, seeing that she invited all of them to her karting competition. A part of him is convinced she likes their company; she just doesn’t want to be forward about it. And, worse, he’s also convinced she’s wordlessly hoping Oscar Piastri comes with her guest ensemble — without burdening him with a personal invite.

Kimi isn’t graced with the specifics, but his daughter’s last story about Oscar Piastri has something with her admitting she had a crush on the latter just before he saw them enter the Aston Martin garage together. The McLaren driver had been shocked into near silence, as far as he is told, and that is all he got. [First name] doesn’t seem to mind the reaction she received, but he doesn’t really trust that completely. Nevertheless, regardless of his confidence, her feelings seem to be unaffected by the outcome.

He eventually dignifies Charles claim with a refute, "You’re not the favorite."

Kimi takes in his surroundings. He is far from being a stranger in the chaos of people preparing for a race, even post his Formula One days. However, still, he marvels at the stark difference the word ‘friendly’ brings into the competition. The latter part of the term is still very much present in the air, though.

He arrives with Sebastian, Lance, Fernando, and Gabriel. They’re all carpooling, just to be mindful of the other guests, albeit he doesn’t exactly know who’s going and with who. Apart from them five, he’s only aware of Alex coming with his girlfriend — as is Carlos — since the three women apparently bonded during her internship.

The directions [first name] sent him eventually lead them to a makeshift garage with a banner reading Cynder by the opening. Unlike a typical Formula One garage, however, there are three karts parked in front — one with a ‘31’ sticked on the front wing, another with a ‘36,’ and the last one with a ‘97.’

He knows two of them are hers and Esteban’s, but they’ve been surprisingly tightlipped on who their other teammate is. But, then again, it isn’t like he has asked.

"That one’s Esteban’s, for sure," Lance comments with a gesture towards the kart 31. "That’s—" he points toward the 97 one next— "[first name]’s. Whose—"

"How do you know that’s [first name]’s?" Fernando interrupts his teammate with the same question he doesn’t want to bother asking.

"She told me," the younger Aston Martin driver replies. "She switched around the numbers of Kimi’s birth year."

Kimi merely nods. In the most humble way possible, he’s aware of how much his daughter looks up to him. He’s uncontestedly her favorite person, from the moment she was born. Her paying homage to him, in some form or another, isn’t at all surprising. Yet, still, it never fails to touch him every time.

By the time [first name] shows up, a lot of the current grid has flooded in. She graces them with her race suit snuggly zipped up to her neck, with her helmet on hand. There are two figures next to her, donning the same designed suits with their respective helmets still on. Esteban wears the same red helmet he does for this season, so he’s able to identify the Haas driver with no problem. The identity of the bright lime green helmet’s owner — and simultaneously also the driver of kart 36 — evades him, even with the Alpine name clearly plastered across the front.

He doesn’t dwell on it for a moment longer. He has better things to use his brain power on, especially with his firstborn around this many F1 drivers.

"Dad!" [First name] jogs straight towards him, ignoring everyone else in her path. She doesn’t go in for a hug, but rather stops just three steps away. She beams happily, with a stance that reminds him of her first time wearing her school uniform.

And like he did then, he snaps photos to immortalize the moment.

"Have you eaten?" He asks after he’s satisfied with the photos he took. He leads her to the table where he left the bag of food he packed mostly for her.

Instead of answering directly, she opts to say, "I can eat." And, frankly, he approves of that response over whatever alternative she might’ve chosen. "Wait, dad, you can take a picture of us three first?"

Kimi’s immediate response comes by holding out his hand to ask for her phone. "Gimme."

It takes thirteen photos before he’s finally graced with the identity of his daughter’s other teammate. It’s Mick Schumacher, [first name]’s big cousin of sort since childhood. He’s also partly responsible for why she started racing comfortably under a pseudonym.

In hindsight, Mick is an obvious choice for [first name]. They’ve raced each other for fun numerous times over the years. Not quite with teamwork, but always with the same goal: To beat the other on track.

He has no doubt today won’t be any different, even if they’re teammates this time. He just feels bad for Esteban now — as there’s no telling the horrors those two will get into once they’re fastened on their karts.

"This has to be some form of cheating," someone from the crowd of drivers behind him comments. Unfortunately, he can’t identify whose voice it belongs to while he’s preoccupied with taking good shots. "Like, a Räikkönen and a Schumacher in one team?"

"Only if we had Verstappen!" [First name] rebuffs with quick wit. She returns her attention to the camera right after, as if nothing happened.

"You might as well!" That disapproval comes from behind him, and he’s willing to assume it’s Max. "You’re literally a kart racing champion!"

She doesn’t dignify it with a response.

"Those two kind of grew up racing each other," he hears Sebastian give the rest of the crowd a vague and brief history. "So them being teammates can either be the best or the worst thing to happen for this race."

"Man," another voice sighs all of a sudden. It’s Gabriel. "If I had known, I would’ve packed some popcorn."

Kimi’s slightly impressed with how spacious this makeshift garage is. Not only does it hold three racing karts, but it also shelters the twenty-something of them comfortably with space for more. It almost feels like a less fancy, one-story hospitality-motorhome of sorts rather than a mere garage where mostly engineers are about.

Yet, despite the ample space, it seems to shrink whenever someone unwanted — by him, as a forerunner — drops by.

It starts with a couple suspicious recruiters who has the audacity to interrupt [first name] while she’s eating. "Excuse me?" One of them approaches their large crowd. "Which one of you attends Polytechnic University of Milan?"

"That would be me," his daughter slightly steps forward. "Can I help you?"

The other stranger does a double take. "By chance, are you [pseudonym]? The one who won the kart racing championship in—"

"I am."

"Oh, wow. This is amazing." The first interrupter sounds a little awestruck. "We’re actually here to scout potential engineers for F1 academy, but you— You—"

"We’ll be delighted if you join us at F1 Academy as one of our drivers," the second one helps out. She hands her a calling card.

[First name] hesitates to accept it. "I’m flattered, but I think I’m only going to take a chance on your engineer spot."

Kimi has the pleasure to catch the recruits’ faces fall before they recovered. He isn’t surprised by her response, unlike the rest of his company who are subjected to hear the entirety of her rejection somewhat against their will. After all, [first name] has been upfront with what she wants to do with her life when she told him about her university application all those years ago.

"Karting is just a hobby for me," she echoes the words she told him then, albeit this time the tense has changed to reflect its current status. It’s not just a ‘want’ anymore, but rather an ‘is.’

"But you’re a champion?" The first interrupter, who he’s now realizing must’ve had less training than the other one, is aghast. He definitely has more audacity, though. "You shouldn’t just — excuse me — throw all that talent away."

Kimi must admit, he’s liking this recruiter less and less the more words leave his mouth. And, by a quick sweep over the crowd with his eyes, so are the rest.

"What my colleague here means is," the other recruiter starts in hopes of saving the face of their company, "it’ll be a shame to have someone of your caliber to be . . . behind-the-scenes."

The Cynder garage isn’t air-conditioned nor closed and, yet, the sudden thermal change is palpable. The breeze might blow cold from the openings, but their relative area is abnormally colder somehow.

"You’re absolutely right." [First name] doesn’t change her expression, but something undetectable within her definitely has. "I mean— What was I thinking? I’m a multi-year champion. I’m a Räikkönen. I do have a higher caliber than most."

"Exactly!" The first interrupter lights up. He can almost imagine him boasting to his workmates about how he helped a kart racing champion see reason. "I knew you’d get it."

"Of course." Her voice remains even. "Non posso credere che una persona del mio calibro abbia persino considerato una squadra che non valuta i propri ingegneri tanto quanto i propri piloti." ["I can’t believe someone of my caliber even considered a team who doesn’t value their engineers as much as they value their drivers."]

Neither of the two move to take the calling card she’s handing back. "We didn’t mean to offend you—"

"Not offended," she interrupts with the same even tone. Although nothing has changed from before, her voice suddenly feels jagged — like a razor-sharp ice stalagmite. "Just enlightened." She subtly nods towards the direction where they presumably came from. "Thank you for dropping by."

Silence starts as temperature warms up to normal. The former continues even after the second recruiter successfully — and not-so-subtly — drags the first out of their sight.

[First name] goes back digging into her portion in the Tupperware like no one interrupted her meal in the first place.

"Are we not going to talk about it?" Kiminen asks on everyone’s behalf.

[First name] halts her forkful mid-air to give her full attention to the younger Mercedes driver. She partially raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We do." It’s Kimi’s turn to speak for everyone.

"I don’t," she counters in a beat. "It’s not interesting enough to talk about."

"Can we at least get where they work?" Lewis tries to get their interrogation somewhere. He feels some of the drivers around him anticipate her answer with partly bated breath.

Unfortunately, even that is futile. "Somewhere irrelevant," she dismisses with a shrug. "Nice try, though, Uncle Lewis."

Yuki tries his luck next. "Will you whisper it to me?"

"If I do, then we’ll just be playing telephone," she turns the younger Red Bull driver’s inquiry down. "You’ll tell Pierre. Then Pierre will tell Charles. Then all of the sudden everyone knows."

"Hey!"

"Telephone will make it more interesting," Oscar Piastri joins in. Having learned nothing, the rest gets their hopes up once more. Kimi can’t really blame them, since they all know by now about her crush on the Australian driver.

Maybe she’ll bend a bit of her will for him. "True."

"Mate, ask her," Alex not-so-subtly whispers while repeatedly gesturing towards [first name] with his eyes. He’ll give him kudos for trying not to move his mouth too much, though.

Alas, before they can witness the extent of Oscar Piastri’s influence on her, her phone rings in tune of a song Kimi doesn’t recognize.

They watch as she half-raises her left arm while her attention is at the parked karts on the other side of the garage. "On your left."

And, of course, as the curious crowd that they are, they all follow her eyes with their own.

Which land on a man around [first name]’s age in a plain white shirt and dark jeans, with styled gelled hair and a loose strand. He moves with an easy confidence, his eyes scanning the crowd with a practiced nonchalance that Kimi instantly finds irritating.

He has seen enough in the whole fifteen seconds the other has his attention. Whoever this person is, he’s obviously wrong for [first name]. He doesn’t hold a candle on Oscar Piastri.

"I’ll be right back," she excuses herself without taking her eyes off of the newcomer. They all watch as she gives the latter a short, almost missable nod, "Cassano."

Likewise, they all witness Cassano — as she called him — light up when he sees her approaching. Although he’s a distance away, they see how fast a smirk spreads across his face very clearly. "Räikkönen," he reciprocates with a playful tone. "Took you long enough."

Kimi focuses on watching the interaction [first name] strategically drags out of earshot. He glares at Cassano’s back, readying to pounce in case the other gets too comfortable about being close with his daughter.

As spacious as the Cynder garage is, there’s simply not enough room for Cassano. (Read: Kimi only prepared for one particular person to be his daughter’s other half — and it’s definitely not him.)

"Prinzessin has a boyfriend?" Sebastian voices the question that’s also floating in everyone’s heads.

Kimi knows the answer but, at that moment, he’s not sure if it still holds true. He definitely wants it to, though.

"At least he’s not an F1 driver, eh, Kimi?" For the life of him, he can’t even find comfort in that.

Kimi doesn’t know how to feel when [first name] returns with a renewed light in her eyes and her hands full of gifts. He’s all for anything that makes her happy, but he doesn’t exactly enjoy seeing it unfold when a boy’s involved — especially if that boy is someone he knows nothing about.

Not even her confusion at his one-word inquiry helps ease the one-sided animosity he feels towards the boy in question. "No?" She answers with her tone slightly raised by the tail. "That was just Cassano, my lab partner in Physics."

He almost malfunctions at that. "The one that asked you on the date?"

[First name] casts everyone a weirded out look when they all seemingly flinch forward. "Yeah." She doesn’t comment on their tuned ears, but he knows she notices them and their silent attention. "The one I turned down."

A wave of relief washes over the tension that unconsciously settled on his shoulders. Good, he almost says out loud. Oscar Piastri still has a chance.

"He’s quite a looker," Sebastian joins the conversation with a sugarcoated why did you turn him down?

"He is?" She’s unfazed. "I don’t notice."

"Seriously?" It’s Mick’s turn to join, disbelieved.

[First name] shrugs, unbothered. "He’s not my type."

"Does he know he’s not your type?"

She hums, still uninterested in the conversation as in the beginning. "I told him I like someone else."

Esteban gestures toward the gifts that she carefully places on the table. "Doesn’t seem like he received the memo."

[First name] doesn’t miss a beat in her rebuttal. "Cassano does whatever he wants."

Kimi doesn’t feel comforted. If anything, it only gave him the validation he needs for his instant dislike of the Italian boy. Never mind that that’s exactly what she does, too, just with more dignity and class.

"Do you know what three red roses mean, [first name]?" Mick’s eyes don’t leave the three roses she stacked like a pyramid on the table.

"Is it not because there are three drivers in our team and our team color’s red?"

No one actually does it, but he feels the collective urge to face palm as soon as she finishes her response. He can’t blame them, as he, too, is struck with the same urge at the same instant.

If only the meaning’s as innocent and as thoughtfully nonsensical as [first name] thinks it is.

"Prinzessin . . ." Mick’s pronunciation of her nickname comes out disappointed. Somehow, he can tell he’s mentally debating how to break the actual meaning to her.

Kimi, in all honesty, is a bit torn on the matter. Is it better to let her think it’s just a friendly, thoughtful gesture? Something that she can just say ‘thank you’ for upon receiving? Or is it better to tell her it’s nothing of that sort? That it carries a weight heavier than what she has already denied before?

Does he want her to carry the guilt of unknowingly accepting something she can’t promise to reciprocate?

Or does he want to give that choice up to her, like always?

To his luck, it’s Oscar Piastri who — unknowingly — takes him out of his short-lived complicated dilemma. "It means ‘I love you’."

[First name] looks at the McLaren driver with apparent surprise. "‘I love you’?" She echoes.

It takes him a second to confirm. And, somehow, he needs to clear his throat before he does so. "I— Yeah."

Kimi isn’t oblivious to the fact that he just missed a whole conversation between his daughter and Oscar Piastri amidst his blinks. After all, his eyes have been set on them two since.

And yet, for the life of him, he collects nothing that can help him fill the void no matter how long he sustains a hard look.

Kimi has seen his daughter race countless times, ever since her childhood. But the inexplainable feeling he gets whenever she zooms on track remains indescribable with a single word even after all these years.

There’s anxiousness, for the possibility of her getting hurt; anticipation, for what her hard work will amount to in front of the crowd; and proudness, for how far she has come from the five-year-old that almost refused to leave the cockpit of his Ferrari F2007.

There’s nostalgia this time around, too, because [first name] hasn’t been on a kart — that he knows of — for at least seven years by this point. It used to be a constant in her life, and now . . . He has missed it being part of her element.

He has almost forgotten how it progresses differently for her, compared to his second oldest’s, with her rituals and whatnots.

"Dad." She seeks him out after she zips her suit back up and secures her helmet back in place. "I’m ready for my lucky pat now."

A smile almost breaks through as he imagines a much younger [first name] standing before him with the same expecting eyes.

He obliges, his hands move like it’s still a muscle memory he hasn’t quite forgotten after all this time. "I’ll see you in the finish line, Princess."

[First name] nods once, satisfied with the completion of her pre-race ritual.

Kimi watches as her demeanor visibly shifts the further away she is from him. She transforms with every step, from just [first name] to [pseudonym]. Still his firstborn, though; still his daughter through and through.

"You’ve done well with her." Sebastian appears next to him. He hasn’t moved his attention from his daughter, so he can only assume his old teammate is also watching her and Mick as they teach Esteban their little pre-race ritual. "She has grown up well."

It takes him a moment to say anything in response, half-satisfied with the silence doing everything on his behalf. "She has, hasn’t she?"

He sees a glimpse of younger [first name] again, with a helmet that almost looks too big for her head.

However, before his thoughts can turn more nostalgic and sentimental, the very subject of his thoughts reappears directly in front of him. "Please keep it safe for me."

He accepts it without looking down to see what she needs him to hold. He freezes momentarily once he does so.

It’s a handmade orange and black bracelet, with beads spelling ‘OP81.’ It’s the very bracelet Fernando has hailed as her most prized possession.

A light, almost soundless chuckle escapes. "So it goes."

Kimi knows this is all for charity. He knows this is all for the children who dream of competing in Formula One, but have no means to start nor continue. He knows the mere objective is for all three cars to finish, for the charity of their choice to receive a donation. He knows the podium has little value, much less the top step, and yet—

He’s agitated. He’s heated. He’s competitive.

Which, funnily enough, is the complete opposite of [first name] who’s actually the one on track.

She, as the two gentlemen on her team, is cruising — relaxed and without a care.

"Have you decided if you want the trophy, [pseudonym]?" Mick’s voice comes through the small speaker [first name] placed on the table before they hopped onto their respective karts and drove off.

It’s from the gifts Cassano handed her, along with the earpieces that allow her, Mick, and Esteban to communicate directly as they go around on track. (They aren’t actually gifts, as it turns out, but rather a group project the Italian made final touches on.) They also have their respective buttons to radio their race engineers, but the speaker and earpieces are born from the creative freedom [first name] and her fellow engineering students have.

[First name]’s voice comes next. "It looks okay."

Which is swiftly followed by Esteban’s, "Copy that. We’ll continue with the pace, then."

On the other side of the speaker, the rest of them are understandably baffled. "Are they seriously basing their speed on the trophy?"

"Sounds like it."

Pierre shakes his head with a chuckle, "They’re something else."

"On a second thought," [first name] returns to the speaker — unknowingly halting their conversation from continuing further, "let’s pick it up a notch. My dad’s getting fussy back in the garage."

There cues the amused laughter and the stunned bewilderment. "How does she know?"

"How do you know?" Esteban unknowingly echoes Lance’s sentiment.

Kimi can hear a shrug in [first name]’s voice amidst the nonchalance, "I’m bored."

An elaboration doesn’t follow, which is typical of [first name] whenever she feels her energy is better used elsewhere. He understands her more than anyone in that regard, for he follows her train of thought with just two words. If I’m bored driving, then faija must be bored watching me drive.

Of course, it’s another matter if they don’t follow. But she doesn’t usually concern herself with such — and neither does he.

Mick isn’t one of them, though, having been around her since childhood. "Let’s give Onkel Kimi a show, then."

And, like a promise, the screens broadcasting the race’s progress are immediately thrown into chaos as kart 36 overtakes three karts as soon as it accelerates.

"You’re on, Junior." They hear [first name] accept the indirect challenge over the speaker. On the screens, kart 97 chases 36 after it zooms past.

Kart 31 has no choice but to speed up as well to keep up with the other two.

"Forget the popcorn," Liam references to Gabriel’s earlier comment. "I want hot dogs and pizza. This is proper stadium entertainment."

"You brought your wallet?" Ollie inquires without missing a beat. In lieu of answering verbally, the Racing Bulls driver merely pats one of his pockets with a nod. "Great! Let’s go, you’re paying."

Isack pulls Liam off of his seat before the latter processes what just happened. "Text in the group chat if you guys want anything!" The former says over his shoulder, one hand on Liam with a presumably tight grip. The rest of the rookies follow, with Ollie even taking a page from Isack’s book and putting an arm around Liam’s shoulders.

By the time the rookies come back, the track has become Cynder’s playground — with the three of them occasionally taking turns chasing each other. [First name], Mick, and Esteban’s playful banters over the speaker color the race’s privately televised broadcast much better than the commentary it comes with.

Kimi stands with the huge crowd at parc fermé, surrounded by Cynder’s burgundy red and the other teams’ navy blue and emerald green. The air crackles, thick with the scent of spent fuel and raw triumph.

It had been a close fight, mostly because Cynder didn’t utilize their strengths effectively to level the playing field with the rest, but they ultimately came on top. Not only did their team manage to claim the top step even with the bursts of unserious driving, but they were also the first team to have all three drivers finish the race.

Esteban gets out of his kart first and celebrates like he just won a Grand Prix with his fists punching the sky.

Mick follows, with a mirroring gesture of happiness whilst standing on his seat.

Then, it’s [first name]’s turn. She stands on her seat — utterly still as she takes in the crowd and their vibrating roar. She doesn’t raise a fist, nor does she leap out of her kart. Instead, she celebrates in the only way [pseudonym] does: She puts one leg behind the other, gently bends her knees, and bows her head in a quick curtsy of humble acknowledgment.

Kimi has certainly missed seeing her do the princess curtsy after every hard-earned win.

Her familial nickname didn’t come from her signature celebratory gesture. Rather, she sought inspiration from her nickname in her quest to find one.

Just like every time he dares to stare too long, he sees a younger [first name] curtsying on her kart — still a little unsteady and a whirlwind of impulsive grace, yet captivating nonetheless.

Kimi returns to the present just as his daughter runs into his arms. He catches her with the practiced ease of a man who has done so a thousand times, ever since she started learning how to walk.

"Dad," she breathes against his ear. And that’s all she needs to say, really. I did it.

He tightens his hold before pressing a kiss on a side of her helmet. Congratulations. It’s part of their tradition, too, albeit unspoken. "I’m proud of you, [first name]."

He smiles when her helmet tilts up to look at him.

Camera shutters explode around them, adding frantic flashes to the already deafening chaos. He pays them no mind. As does [first name].

For this stolen, fragile moment, the world doesn’t exist.

Right now, there’s only him and his firstborn. No crushing weight of expectations, no burgeoning affections that might pull her gaze away, no looming threat of leaving. No gnawing presence of media vultures, either, nor consequences for forgetting. Just him. And his baby.

(Later, when they’re back in the safety of Cynder’s garage, he slips the McLaren bracelet back on her wrist with a meaningful nod.)

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babyangelsky · 7 months ago

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My Favorite QL Couples* of 2024 💖✨

Welcome to Babyangelsky's 2024 Wrap Up! To commemorate my second year of watching QL dramas, and my first year of actually talking on my blog, I've compiled a series of lists to celebrate all the QL things I loved this year!

My only criteria was that the show had to have either aired entirely in 2024 or had the majority of its run in 2024. No other limits at all (except for tumblr's photo limit). Please feel free to take my categories and make lists of your own and tag me in them if you do! I'd love to see what stuck out to everyone this year 💜

💜 All the lists can be found here! 💜

Without further ado, I'm going to kick things off with my favorite couples of the year!

♡ Tongrak and Mahasamut (Love Sea)

My darlings. My absolute loves. I knew Fort and Peat were going to deliver something special when Love Sea was announced and I am so glad that I was right. My love for them is as boundless as the sea that bonds them.

♡ Almond and Latte (Knock Knock Boys)

These two snuck up on me something serious. I never expected them to be this sweet and soft and bring such comfort to each other. They were my unexpected delight this year and I'm so happy I got to watch them fall in love.

♡ Yu and Ai (I Saw You in My Dream)

These two snuck up on me too, honestly. Never ever thought I would love them as much as I do considering how late I came into this show, but I cherish them very deeply. They're the sweetest childhood friends to lovers and they love each other so much. I don't think I've ever been prouder of a confession than when Yu finally confessed to Ai.

♡ Ken, Seiji, and Japan (Deep Night)

*Not a couple, but a THROUPLE! 2024 was a year of many, many BL blessings, one of the best of which was the fact that we got CANON POLY SIDES COURTESY OF CHEEWIN! We all hoped, we all prayed, we all looked at the workshop photos and thought 'surely we cannot be wrong', and when it came right down to it, we all got exactly what we wanted! I only wish that we'd gotten more of them.

KenSeijiPan you will always be famous.

♡ Ozone and Pie (Battle of the Writers)

Speaking of wanting more, I cannot believe it took this long for Mark Sorntast to get to kiss a boy on screen but damn, was it worth the wait. I want an entire spin-off of daddy Pie and his puppy Ozone because they were truly the best part of this show.

♡ X and Namping (Every You, Every Me)

Thanks to its format, Every You, Every Me gave us lots of great couples and fun dynamics but X and Namping were my favorites, even though their story ended tragically. The love was brief but it was beautiful and real.

♡ Meiji and Freya (Deep Night)

As if giving us canon poly wasn't enough, Cheewin also decided to bless us with milf yuri and then stacked one more blessing on top and gave them their own spin-off miniseries so we could have more time watching them fall in love. They're beautiful and I love them. This is how it feels to win.

♡ Yuan and Qian (Unknown)

I can't think of anything to say about these two that doesn't involve making dying animal noises and gesturing helplessly and maybe crying so just imagine me doing that to convey how I feel about this couple BECAUSE THAT'S ALL I GOT FAM THAT'S ALL I'M CAPABLE OF I'M SURE SOME OF YA'LL UNDERSTAND

♡ Tai x Kram (Two Worlds)

These are by far my favorite roles Max and Nat have played to date. The utter soulmates of it all. The every version of me will love every version of you in every universe of it all. Perfection. I only wish the show had been longer so their love really got a chance to breathe.

♡ Anin and Pin (The Loyal Pin)

Now, if a love ever got a chance to breathe, it was this love. They made you feel it. The yearning, the joy, the sweetness, all of it. We followed it all the way from childhood and it was such a satisfying experience. I will always have a soft spot for couples that are deranged about each other, however loudly or quietly they may go about it, and my girls are no exception.

♡ Phee and Non (Dead Friend Forever)

*scream singing* WE COULD'VE HAD IT ALLLLLLLL, ROLLING IN THE DEEEEEEEEP *cries on the floor*

♡ Tan and Fang (We Are)

AouBoom are never not a delight when they're on screen together, and TanFang were a delight in a veritable sea of delights. They got together early on and spent the rest of the show giving nothing but the best most delicious established couple goodness.

♡ Muenfah and Teerak (Your Sky)

At the time of writing we've only had these two for a few weeks but that's more than enough time for their adorable sweetness to land them on this list. They're darling. The relationship may be fake (for now) but the love is real.

♡ Sun and Junior (Caged Again)

The same goes for these two, and isn't that just the surprise of the year? HOW DID THE PANTHER AND PENGUIN TURN INTO PEOPLE SHOW END UP GIVING US SUCH AN ADORABLE COUPLE?

♡ Shao Peng and Zi Xiang (See Your Love)

They're just so soft and so gentle and they make each other feel heard and understood and I love them so much. Their boyfriend era may actually kill me.

♡ Jack and Joke (Jack & Joker)

*gently shakes Yin and War* Would giving us just a little more horny, loving boyfriend era and fewer horrors have been so hard? Do ya'll think you can get away with it because you're so pretty and so beloved?

Because they are. And they can actually. And they did. I adore them.

♡ Yak and Dee (Wandee Goodday)

One of my favorite things in this life is when a fake relationship slowly turns into a real relationship and two people who think they can be casual about each other are actually completely incapable of being so. Yak and Dee gave me exactly that and I love them for it.

♡ Oyei and Cher (Wandee Goodday)

Another side couple for which I would absolutely love a spin-off, but we did get to see them have their wedding (the first GMMTV wedding since the marriage equality bill was passed!) which is just as good. The love they have for each other, the support they give each other is top tier. They have my heart.

♡ God and Diew (Monster Next Door)

If I were to give an award for amazing communication between a couple, I would absolutely be giving it to these two. It was so refreshing to see them not only love and support each other, but talk and listen to each other. They were a delight.

♡ Myung Ha and Yeo Woon (Love for Love's Sake)

They were so sweet and so sad and they saved each other by loving each other so much that it broke reality and I just love them with my entire soul.

♡ San and Vee (Century of Love)

When this was airing I talked a lot about how it didn't actually matter whether Vee was Wad or not and that what mattered was San making a choice but for the record? Vee was totally Wad. He and San were SOULMATES!

♡ Neil and Sea (First Note of Love)

What if a couple was so gentle and soft that it made you wanna cry? What if they saved each other with music? What if they made each other brave?

♡ Moo and Kang (Only Boo!)

My darling boys. My sweetest most adorable boys who make me wanna curl into a ball and cry happy tears because I adore them so much. Moo's singular desire in this life part from becoming an idol is to save up enough money to marry Kang and NOW HE CAN AND I'M IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT IT EVEN MONTHS LATER.

♡ Karan and Achi (Cherry Magic Th)

They're perfect. In every conceivable way. Their love was just so lovely, it was such a joy. Everything about it and about them was so lovely to watch.

♡ Haruki x Jin (Our Youth)

These two have so much potential to hurt me. In fact, I'm almost certain that they will. But they just --*gestures helplessly*--you know? They hit exactly right for me.

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bitterbutblue · 16 days ago

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i like the way you kiss me ☆ tsukishiro yanagi x fem!reader

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

WOAH! TASE DID PROPER LAYOUT AND FORMATTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MONTHS?? yes. because yanagi deserves it. i love my wife. yanagi fluff with coworker!reader <33

tw: suggestive. i am going through it.

song: i like the way you kiss me ~ artemas

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

When Tsukishiro Yanagi first bumped into the Section 3 executive officer, she did not expect to end up falling in love. She did not expect to end up being taken care of by someone she once barely even nodded at. Life likes to take its little twists and turns, and sometimes that means the woman who always has her guard up, always looking after others, finds someone who she can finally just melt into without worrying.

Before meeting you, it was hard to imagine herself even being able to love someone romantically. She found herself drawn to you after you had jumped to her aid during a mission, landing next to her with your kusarigama ready. Poised, graceful, as if stepping up to be her partner in a ballroom dance rather than a brutal fight with ethereals.

"Your other members are safe, Ms. Tsukishiro. My section will finish off the rest now." You said with an assuring smile, eyes gleaming before leaping into battle.

She always praised herself on her ability to focus and to predict the next move in battles, and in a dance with you she found herself enamoured. Because in a fight alongside you, she found herself able to see things clearer, following your lead. She no longer led the fight, rather she was able to bounce off your moves, able to catch even the smallest of signals and back you up. It was synergy so magical, it was the intertwining of souls to a level she never felt before. When you pulled back your sickle from striking down the last ethereal, out of breath, you turned to her and held out your hand.

"Y/n. Section 3. Nice to finally make your acquaintance."

Rarely is she outdone by someone more poised than her, but you were next level.

She didn't think much of you after, and if she were to think of you, it would be of you in the battle rather than of you as a person. The two of you rarely ran into each other, but you always shot her a polite smile each time you did. It wasn't until the one evening she was working overtime that you two actually talked. Her eyes were heavy, practically drooping as she struggled to keep them open. She just needed to sign a few more... just a few more...

"Still here, Ms. Tsukishiro? It's getting late."

The lights at H.A.N.D. were already dimmed, and you were on your way out. She had assumed you were just making small talk, so she just responded in the same, polite-but-not-inviting voice.

"Yes, just some paperwork."

"Need any help?"

She blinked.

She was not used to anyone actively offering to help her, let alone a complete stranger.

'What?"

"I've finished for the day. I'm happy to help if you need it."

Not knowing what to do in the situation, she just shook her head.

"Oh no, please do not trouble yourself. I can finish this soon."

You bit your lip awkwardly, glancing at the large stack of papers.

"You sure?"

Maybe her exhaustion got the best of her, maybe her shoulders were already too heavy from carrying the responsibilities of her team. But she shook her head again.

"No. Are you sure you-"

Before she even finished her sentence, you had already sat yourself down across from her. You took out a pen from your pocket, spinning it quickly before clicking it and taking a large pile from her stack.

"No worries, Ms. Tsukishiro."

The same synergy, the same electrical force between you two returned. It wasn't in a battle field, it wasn't fighting side by side, but just filling out paperwork. You worked faster than ever, once again taking the lead and for once she felt relieved. It was new, having someone to rely on. It was resurfacing to take a breath of air after being submerged for so long, she forgot she needed to breathe.

She never thought of you in that way, she truly thought you two just worked well together. It wasn't until one evening, you asked her if she would like to grab a coffee with you. Face red, avoiding eye contact, sudden interest in the rings on your fingers. The composed executive officer of section 3, blushing like a school girl. She didn't realise it then, but her heart had just leapt.

"Now?"

"Not now, maybe tomorrow? After work? Assuming no over time."

She blinked, confused.

"I don't see why we would need to meet. We do not have any upcoming assignments."

Your face dropped for a second, a similar confusion etched.

"What? Assignment? I'm asking you out on a date!"

Yanagi's steps came to a halt, turning around to stare at you blankly. You were visibly growing less and less confident by the second, shoulders sinking and face flushing even redder as you tried to implode in on yourself.

"Forget it, I'm sorry. I've made a severe misjudgement, I apologise for making you uncomfortable and putting you in such a-"

"No! No, wait." She shook her head, adjusting her bag as she coughed into her fist, looking away from you. "I- I just haven't had anyone ask me out in a while. I would.." Her voice quieted down "I would love that."

It was shy, quiet. A voice she did not recognise as her own coming out of herself, and she found herself looking away.

"Tomorrow, right?"

You blinked.

"Uh, yeah."

Taking a deep breath in, she found the courage to turn around and flash you a small smile. It was different from her usual corporate worker smile. It was soft around the edges, it was laced with worry because she was stepping out of her comfort zone. It was a risk, it was an offer to dance.

"Meet me here at 5, then."

God, how she yearns to feel like that again.

"Baby?"

The sound of your voice echoing down from the hall below has her perking up. She looks up from her stacks upon stacks of paperwork (a whole pile dedicated to rejecting Harumasa's sick leave forms), smiling softly. The usual facade she has to keep up, the strict yet loving mother kind of energy, fades into a more vulnerable side that only tou get to see.

"Hi, love." She says softly, unable to contain her smile when you lean down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. You were already done for the day, tie loosened and shirt unbuttoned with your sleeves rolled up. Unprofessional, but a sight that honestly gets her going, though she'd never admit it.

"Need any help?" You put your shoulder bag down, sitting across from her desk. She shakes her head, clicking her pen as she signs off the last few sheets.

"Almost done. This pile is deceivingly tall, it is mostly gibberish."

"Real."

Both of you were able to unravel parts of each other that you can't show to anyone else. Yanagi enjoyed being cared for, to have someone look after her for once. You were secretly a much bigger loser than she realised, but still was able to step up to things when necessary. She was drawn to you, more and more with each layer of yourself you peeled off.

You rested your head on your folded arms on her desk, looking up at her with a gaze that never fails to get her slightly flustered.

"You are distracting me."

"You're pretty."

She sighs, checking over the last sheet with a hint of a smile on her face. She sets her pen down when she finishes, and you get up from your seat hug her from behind.

"I missed you." You mumble, wrapping your arms around her as you buried your head in her shoulder. She just laughed, lightly pushing your arms off her so she could spin her chair around to face you. Her sakura eyes looking back into yours with a look that can really only be described as 'in love'. Eyes freezing for a second right before softening, lips curled up at only the corners, shyness because of the vulnerability but also happiness because of the vulnerability.

"You're cute." She says softly, reaching up and cupping your face with her calloused hands, stroking your cheek with her thumb. Subconsciously, you drop your head into her hands, leaning into her touch and she just smiles. "Do you want to head home?"

"Wanna kiss you." You look at her with a shy glance. Her eyes widened slightly, letting out a soft chuckle as she tugs on your tie, puling you down to her height to press a quick kiss to your lips. You pout when she pulls away.

"That's only a peck!"

"You're demanding tonight." She raises an eyebrow

"I just missed you." You huff, leaning down to kiss her again. It starts off gentle, soft. All you're telling each other 'I love you', but it always grows into more. Yanagi could feel herself getting drunk off the way you kiss her like she's the last person alive, like the world is ending and this is your final kiss. It takes her breath away every time, and it drives her mad. Your hands move to rest on the armrest of her chair, caging her between your arms as the kiss deepens. Intoxicating, is what she could describe it as. Eventually, you pull away, a drunken look on your face as you stand up straight again, out of breath.

"My, Yanagi, it seems like-"

"Shut up."

Your eyes widen as she stands up, hands moving to grab your waist. Pushing you back gently against the wall, she kisses you again. Now its needy, now its the type of kiss you only usually get in the safety of your bedroom with the doors locked, curtains closed and lights dimmed. You weren't complaining, eyes fluttering shut as your hands found your way to her hips. Her hands moved up slowly, up your chest to the back of your neck, pulling you closer. Each kiss is more fervent than the last, more and more desperate as it becomes messier but the mess is how you know the guard is down. The same synergy, the same flow between you two that's been there from the start. It grows stronger, it draws you closer.

She pulls away, but she doesn't stop. Her mouth quickly finds her way to your jawline, peppering kisses along it until she reaches the spot where your jaw meets your neck. A weak spot that always has your knees buckling and a sound similar to a whimper escaping your lips. A sound that she hears whenever she tugs on your hair during a heated make out session, or whenever she slots her leg between your thighs. A sound that is magical to her, a sound she wants to hear coming from you because it's addictive to hear your lover make such vulnerable sounds.

But she's still in her office. And against her own desires, she pulls away. You let out a frustrated groan, watching her quickly fix her uniform before moving to pack away her stuff.

"Oh come on-"

"We can finish when we're back home."

"Then why'd you kiss me like that and leave me all..."

She raises an eyebrow, turning around.

"All what?"

"Horny." You cross your arms, staring directly at her. Her face flushes even redder at your boldness, and she quickly picks up her bag.

"Gosh, you think I'm unaffected as well?' She huffs out, grabbing your hand and practically pulling you out of the office "I'm ending it here so that we can continue it somewhere more private."

You couldn't help the bright grin that forms on your face as she drags you down the halls of the H.A.N.D. building with desperation you rarely feel from her.

"Lead the way, love."

The drive home is restless, she could barely contain herself. Hand on your thigh, tracing patterns that were driving you insane. Such acts like this were unfathomable to Yanagi even a year ago, but now she has to fight the urge to push up your skirt and do it right there in the car parked on the streets. It's unruly, it's messy. But it is desire, it is you, and it is addicting.

It is a new side of herself she cannot see herself being able to share with anyone other than you, but in a sense that is what makes it beautiful. She wishes to hold onto moments like these forever, where you act like unruly teenagers who have just discovered what a sex drive is, unable to keep your hands to yourselves and keep it in your pants. It's nothing like who she is, but it is a side she can indulge in with you.

She finds herself curled up by your side, your arm draped around her lazily. You both lay in your barest form, your most open form. One that takes time for her to open up again, one that you are forever grateful she trusted you enough to share with you. Your eyes were already drooping from the intensity of the evening.

"Get some sleep, love." She says softly, kissing your cheek as you nuzzled into her, puling her even closer. She can feel the think layer of sweat on your body, she can smell your body wash mixed with a hint of saltiness from the sweat. She can feel every part of you, and she wishes the nights were longer.

"I love you, Yanagi." You say in a raspy voice, a lovesick smile on your face.

It's stupid, it's foolish and unprofessional. And for once, she wouldn't have it any other way.

#zenless zone zero fic #zenless zone zero x reader #zenless zone zero #zzz #zzz x reader #tsukishiro yanagi #tsukishiro yanagi x reader #yanagi x reader

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gyodragon · 4 months ago

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POST GRIFFITH TORTURE RENASSIANCE!!! i keep staring at your art of griffith's broken stare with the bandages wrapped across his face and his emaciated little corpse beside guts...

I read this ao3 fic about his struggle with recovery in an aftermath where he doesn't go apeshit. *offers it to you gently* https://archiveofourown.org/works/609721

it made me think, as a certified griffith expert, what do you think his recovery may have looked like? could anything possibly have still made him happy after all of that... or at least minorly not-miserable? what kinds of things do you think he'd enjoy in such a state?

would he even try to grow out his hair?

The Renaissance that really constricts our hearts!! I remember when first learning Berserk, it was the transformation Griffith has after the torture that got its hooks into me and compelled me to read the series. The rest is history. Thank you so much btw! I've only drawn him a few times but it feels like more in my heart. Thank you for sending that fic my way! (I'm super into gen fic and that is a good one) *Certified Griffith Expert* AHH! That's sweet! I'd like a badge or something after this long LOL. First off, this ask has given me SUCH AN ITCH to pick 'Iron Hawk' back up (my fan project about Griffith being rescued from the Tower early and the aftermath of that. It's my baby) I'm thinking about maybe using a different, more sustainable format by writing multi-chapter fanfiction with accompanying illustrations. But I assume you mean a scenario about his recovery after the canon full year of torture. Interesting. I actually haven't put a ton of thought into that because, morbidly, I have a hard time imagining any outcome after that amount of trauma where he isn't doomed. So assuming this is a world in which he is able to make some progress in his recovery that allows him to regain some mobility and use of his hands, I could see a return of the bandit era. I could see Judeau with his ingenuity and the help of other Hawks working together to fashion him a kind of wheelchair. A Merlin chair wouldn't fit with the time period but you get the idea! Maybe he eventually uses a cane and back brace. He grows his hair out but it never comes back as thick or as long. He shows his face again but rotates a collection of partial porcelain masks to cover the worst of his scars. If his hands heal enough, he learns sign language, writes with the tip of his finger in people's palms and writes with a large pen or quill. (edit: I've recently been totally swayed by your post about him relearning to speak and whispering to his trusted inner circle. I'm SOLD) I think his band would continue to whittle down until only the most loyal remained. The core members who would inevitably transform back into his friends. He used to protect himself from 'friends' with compartmentalization when they were among the thousands of Hawks under his command. I think that Griffith's life during recovery would be hell but he could find happiness in his inner circle reducing to a small group. Like when he was a kid. I think with the deterioration of his body, it could be possible that his mind goes into overdrive. The frail, mute, mysterious general who is even more of a political/military genius. No more White Hawk. He is just 'Griffith' or 'General' or 'The prisoner'. After enough banditry and roaming, the group reclaims a comfortable position in a land away from political enemies. Griffith gives up on his dream and focuses on fulfilling the promise of his vision to just these few people. He is even able to preform Robin Hood-like feats in the countryside. Outlaw goodness, that sort of thing. He doesn't retire himself though. I have a dark outlook. I think he probably satisfies himself with this twilight campaign, sees his remaining friends in positions of security and wealth and when all is said and done he eventually claims his own life. I think Guts is the last one with him when he is finally finished.

#berserk #griffith #ask reply #meta

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markrosewater · 1 year ago

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Hey Mark, I just wanted to say you've always seemed like a really cool guy. I've played magic for over 4/5ths of my life, since the early 2000s when I was only five years old, I even met most of my long time friends through it. But I think I finally feel alienated enough by it to drop it entirely.

I always enjoyed every aspect of this game, from the deckbuilding, to the flavor, to the color pie and the possibilities it presented. I loved the fantasy of it, of planeswalkers and wizards, dragons and castles.

Universes Beyond really was the end of it, all the way back then. When i heard the announcements I was terrified, I knew where it would lead even then. I loved the world of Magic, and it feels silly to say about a card game but I truly felt immersed in the world when I played, even with the different planes, everything cohered to an internal set of rules that seemed unbreakable.

For a while I continued, our local scene created a variant format that banned Universes Beyond cards so I was able to ignore them, but then came Neon Dynasty. It felt strange to me, like it was breaking what I had come to expect out of the game. Most people disagreed, said it was still Magic enough, but I wondered just how far it would be pushed before Magic lost any identity of its own, anything that separated it from Fortnite or any other crossover soup known entirely for the things it borrows rather than the things it is.

When I saw the first spoilers for Duskmourn, I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. When I play at the table with my friends, I enjoy the fact that all the cards feel like part of one larger universe. And when I see cards with televisions and smartphones in them, with modern clothing and internet references, I just can't fit them together in my mind. It seems like a cool world, much like a lot of the crossovers are cool worlds, but I play Magic for well... Magic. If I wanted to play Fallout or Warhammer 40k, or watch Insidious or Walking Dead, then I would. But when I play Magic, I want to see magic.

And it's canon, just as canon as Innistrad or Alara. We can't excise it like we can Universes Beyond, and if we can't, then what's even the point of trying to "protect the tone" with those bans? What tone are we protecting, that's already been shattered from within?

More and more it feels like the game just isn't for me, doesn't want the kind of player that feels strongly about cohesion and immersion. And that's fine, it doesn't have to cater to me, and the current approach seems to bring in more people than it drives away. But it still just makes me sad, on a deep personal level, to give up on what has been such a major part of my life.

In all likelihood, I'm an outlier, and you could easily say that Magic getting even broader in what it covers is only a positive thing. Take my critiques only as the lamentations of a single person. But when you can put anything in a piece of media, when there's no unifying idea of what is and isn't possible, then it just starts to feel meaningless.

I'm sorry, I know you'll probably never read this, I mostly just needed to get it off my chest- and you're the closest thing to a human face Magic the Gathering has. Thank you for all the work you've put into it over the years, and I'm sorry that I can't enjoy it anymore.

Thanks for writing. From a big picture, Magic excels at creating variety and does poorly at consistency. The core idea of a trading card game is we make lots and lots of pieces you can play with and then you, the player, customize your game as you see fit. History has shown us, the wider we spread the potential of what Magic can be, the more people find something they enjoy and are attracted to the game.

Think of it this way. Each player has a different sense of what Magic is to them. There's no cutoff point where we make the majority of players happy. In fact, for many players, it's the ever-expanding quality to the game that they enjoy most.

This does mean though that we might make choices that don't connect with what you personally enjoy, and I respect that. If Magic isn't providing what you want out of it, that's okay. My only recommendation is don't get rid of your cards. Many Magic players rotate in and out of the game, and the number one complaint I hear from players who rotate back in is them having gotten rid of everything when they rotated out.

Magic might not be what you need right now, but maybe a few years from now you've changed in ways which makes it something you will enjoy. Or maybe Magic will evolve in a way that speaks to you. The only constant I know is you and Magic will both change. Just leave yourself the possibility of reconnecting.

Thanks for playing all these years, and I hope to see you again.

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blackheart-6 · 6 months ago

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dess-ember day 31/31

very long thoughts below the read more!

hi yall

woo-hoo, ive finished another month of dess-ember!! it really has been fun, if very time consuming, but ive made many pieces over this month ive loved and had a great time sharing them all with yalls 😄😄😄

but anyways, lets get to the final entry! its a bit of an unusual one :D

its some pixel art!! i have only done 2 other pixel things this month (i originally wanted to do more, but i am very slow at it 😔), so i felt like ending with it wasnt a bad way to go!

i took dess, noelle, berdly, kris, ralsei, and susie and made some different sprites of them, which were taking the way i draw them and making them into sprite version, and also me making omori style versions as well

i had a couple different versions of the art, layed out in different ways, but stinky tumblr only lets me have 10 images. unfortunate 😔.

but anyways, now weve got the main part, each individual character! you can skip past this if you dont want to hear my thoughts i had while doing the individual drawings, its kinda alot :/

i put them all in a format like this, hopefully it isnt confusing!

we can go in order of how i have them in the very first image, so we can start with kris :D

kris was a very fun one to do, they were actually the second one i made, and them turning out so well is what led me to making even more. i feel like im pretty much entirety happy with them, the omori style turned out cute, and the deltarune style isnt half bad either! i did forget to give them bangs though, like i normally give them in my art, but i was too much of a bum to go back and fix it after i finished :|. i feel like they translated very well ❤️

next would be ralsei, but im doing him last actually, because he has the most to talk about 😤😤

now weve got susie! her hair in her canon form was tricky to translate into the omori style, but i think it was worth it, cause it turned out well! and i think her canon dark world omori sprite might be my favorite i made, her outfit turned out great!! im not as fond of my versions of her design, they didnt translate that well into sprites, but it could be worse lol. her face was a bit difficult to do, since the omori head shape is meant for a human, but i think she turned out good regardless 💜

next is berdly, and im so sorry for him, he turned out roughhh. if i thought someone like susie, with her head, was hard to translate into the omori style, it was nothing compared to trying to turn berdly into it. with his beak and his head feathers and wings and his legs... yeah, it was not a fun time 😔. i tried though, and i dont think its entirely bad! the legs are probably the worst part, they are kinda hard to see, but the rest of it came together... kinda. dont get me started on turning my version of him into a sprite though, i dont wanna talk about it 😫. sorry berdly, if i ever sprite you again ill make it up to you 🩵

next is noelle! she was the first i did, and i feel like she turned out so cute 🥰🥰🥰. her dark world, my version, deltarune style sprite might be my second favorite one i made, i think it actually translated well to sprite art. her fur is a bit rough, gradiants are tough in pixel art, but i dont think its that bad overall. but yeah, im pretty happy with her 🤎

penultimatly, weve got dess! gotta have her, its dess-ember after all!! hers was hard to do, trying to take my own design and alter it to make it more canon (mostly, i just simplified some things, but i dont think it looks enough like a canon sprite :( ill keep trying with it), but i think she turned out cute as well! im not entirely happy with it though, as i said, i might go back to fix up the deltarune styled ones at some point 💚

lastly, weve got ralsei. ohhh ralsei, how cute you are, but how difficult you were 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫. to start off with, i had a goal in mind for the deltarune style sprites. normally, when you look at the canon ralsei sprites, you might notice they look a bit different. obviously theres the hat, and the fur color, but its more than that.

theres so many differences, and yet my goal was to make the sprites lose all those differences, and be more consistent with each other. i didnt think it would be too bad, but it was a rough time. i made his hatless version easily, and i was like, oh, ill just add a hat, change his color, itll be easy!! ...it was not easy 😶‍🌫️. i did that and he looked so wrong, it barely even looked like hat ralsei at all 😖.

i mean, that doesnt look right, right?? so i had to keep editing, and changing both versions, trying to make them better. i spent so much longer on him than anyone else, but at the end, i think it was worth it! i feel like he ended up adorable, but boy was it work 😂

the omori sprites of his were pretty easy though, once i had all the deltarune sprites down i just omori-fied them, took barely any time. i did make his outline purple though, like the headspace denizens, since hes a darkner 🩷

but thats it for that! this is where youd wanna skip if you didnt wanna read all that lol. now for me to yap about this month, and dess!

i feel like this was a pretty productive dess-ember!! i definitely ramped up my art from last year, trying to do as few small drawings as possible. was that a mistake? maybe lol. it was certainly difficult, and led to pretty much every drawing being late because most of them took like 8 hours or so, but i suppose a couple hours late doesnt affect much, and i still did all 31 entries!

and id say while it was a struggle, it was a good thing i did it! i enjoyed my time drawing, and sharing all my art with yalls is always a fun time for me ^^ and i really do like drawing dess, i think i made a pretty good design for her all those years ago (like 2) 😊

there is the question though, of 'what about next year? will you do this again??' and to that i say... i dont actually know haha. i would want to, even if im busy i could always do a smaller one, but the real thing that could affect it is that, in 2025 we are getting more deltarune!!! im more excited than i could ever say, but if we see dess in canon, then i dont know if ill do another dess-ember. there would be my design vs canon design, which would be strange to reconcile with, and i imagine someone would probably do an official month for her of art prompts.

but thats all if she even appears. if she doesnt, well, expect me back next december to do this! if she does, ill have to think about it, so we will see then ^^

anyways, ive had a good month doing this! it may be a bit before i post new art, to give myself a break, but ill be back 😄

bye yall, and happy new year 2025!!! 🥳🥳🥳

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indiestsnake · 2 months ago

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heyyy look it’s a vent post. about. how i keep forcing you all to repeat the nice words you say because evidently my skulls a bit too thick to retain the info

don’t read if you don’t want to, I’ll probably sleep this off anyway

I hate how my brain neutralizes compliments

the longer nice words someone says stay in my brain the more fake they feel. even from my friends. what if their opinion has changed? what if I’ve done something wrong? what if they just don’t feel that strongly anymore?

it doesn’t help that i can’t expect anyone to come up with new ways to validate my stupid brain constantly

I still remember the beginning of to find warmth. every word mattered so much to me. checking my phone and always seeing that little inbox number tick up, faster and faster with each chapter, comments growing longer and more complex. I got tumblr and random people came by to tell me how cool they thought I was. I finally felt like I was important for once

and then it just. slowly started to mean a little less

my brain adapts. moves the goalpost. it writes the last words off as meaningless and says the current ones aren’t actually that impressive. sure, people like your writing. so what? you’re bad at a million other things.

and then the comments themselves slowed down. my fifteen minutes ran out. I no longer woke to 99+ notifs on tumblr, I stopped having new comments to read every morning. consitient commenters come and go because how the hell can I expect someone to find a new way to be nice to me every single chapter I post? it’s not possible. much less any sort of reasonable goal

the comments still mean a lot. it’s the difference between a gallon of water after a trek through a desert, and a sip on a hot day. I used to be starved for compliments. now I’m not.

someone called to find warmth one of their favorite books. someone said it genuinely empowered them with its themes. a friend reached out to translate it to Russian. the numbers grow higher and higher

but for some reason I just. it doesn’t feel real unless they say it again. it’s corroborated, or reiterated, or repeated. I keep forcing you all to keep telling me the ways I’ve impacted you over and over in different formats because I dump all the words you say into a self hatred acid pit apparently

I’m so grateful for the fandom I’ve grown and recieved. I could never express how happy it makes me to see this reach and help so many people. I’m sorry you have to hear me whine as if your words mean nothing I swear they do

I promise they do. they do. please please believe me. I just need you to repeat them. that’s all I ever say to you guys

im sorry. you don’t have to. you dont have to repeat yourself. you dont have to reach out to reinforce what I should already know. nor do you have to keep telling me things if this post makes it feel meaningless

im so happy to have you all. im sorry

#vent #ramble

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lamardeuse · 3 months ago

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well. shit. the Kenny interview just made me realize this may be really happening, huh? if it's real, here's the thing:

Tim Minear is not special. There have been so many TV powers that be, whether creators or showrunners or networks, who have been fundamentally incapable of guessing the ingredients in the secret sauce, the magic stored in this creative endeavour they've been entrusted with - even if they played a hefty part in making it. I'm sure all of us could name a dozen shows like this: shows we loved where that magic gets lost when TPTB think the format needs a "shakeup" or the program needs a "broader appeal". Sometimes it's a reaction to something happening behind the scenes, such as an actor asking for what they consider to be too much money or a Black woman knowing her worth and having the audacity to ask for better treatment (yeah, I'm talking about more than one show). They decide that they know better than the audience what the audience wants, enjoys or expects from the show. And nine times out of ten, it backfires.

911's special sauce is, first and foremost, that its core cast is incredibly fucking talented and - more than that - beyond happy to work together, in a way I haven't seen on many TV shows. There seem to be no prima donnas on that cast, and the #1 and #2 on the call sheet lead by example when they have every right by Hollywood custom to put up their feet and demand star treatment. I defy you to find an actress of Angela Bassett's calibre, experience, and status who would go through that whole cruise ship filming ordeal, but she did it. Krause puts himself through the same longass overnight shoots the rest of the cast does. The show itself is not great art, it's basically a high concept soap opera that only works because the writers have created loveable characters and the actors make you root for them no matter how silly the plots get. And because everybody lives and nobody dies.

If we wanted to watch a show where people die on the regular, we have a hundred other options. But this is one of the reasons we tune in to this show. We LIKE the stakes being low, we like our escapist nonsense, we're good with it.

One of the pitfalls of being in charge of a TV show, it seems, is you get to the point where you think you're making Great Art, and worst of all that you're smarter than the audience. Tim decided the audience (and who knows, maybe the actors) needed a lesson, needed to know after seven and a half seasons of keeping everyone intact that people could actually die. But here's the thing: we're not fucking stupid. We know all of this shit everyone survives could have killed them several times over in the real world, or on a TV show that was based in reality. But 911 has never been based in the real world, and we don't care.

Tim could have been happy that he and the other writers and cast and crew had created a show where the audience was able to suspend its disbelief to a frankly ridiculous extent because they loved the characters and actors that much, but instead he decided he was making a different show after seven and a half years. And if this is real and Bobby is really dead - and right now it seems like the only way it might not be real is if Tim hasn't told the actors what he's planning for the finale - I can't help but wonder if the secret sauce is gone forever.

Fuck.

#911 on abc #911 spoilers

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unofficial-underfell · 1 year ago

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Hey guys, I've been thinking about making this post for a long time and I think its finally time I do so. After realizing that some of my last work was done over a year ago, I don't think I can really ignore it anymore. While I haven't quite thrown in the towel on this quite yet, it's pretty evident to me and I'm sure to everyone who still follows this blog that my fervor for the project has drastically decreased. And has been kind of dead for a while. The comic has not been a priority to me, or posting online much at all actually. I did some soul searching and found that I'd started relying on outside approval for my art instead of doing art for the sake of wanting to tell a story and express myself throughout my work. I have limited energy and depression and sometimes it feels like i get such little progress done even though it takes all of my energy. While I'm trying to go to the gym more and build better habits my energy levels and mood still have a lot to be desired, and I'd rather use the limited energy I have to work on something I'm more passionate about.

I've been trying to grow my skills and absorb more stories and I've moved around a lot and started to listen to what I really felt, and I found that a lot of the art I want to focus on deals with heavier and more mature topics. I do love this story, and all of the characters and I feel like I could make a really clever subversion of what is expected from an Underfell comic. But I feel like in these uncertain times with the world and with all of the stuff going on right now, I'd like to use my energy to work on stories that hit closer to the things that I feel are important. So that's why I've not been posting much.

I'm working on a book, and I've actually got quite a lot of progress done on it, but because of all the horror stories online about people stealing author's original works, I'm kind of holding off on publishing any chapters before I can copyright the first draft of the novel. So my online activity will still be pretty scarce for a bit, though I'll still post occasionally on my @cosmicpixel01 account. I'll try better to not be so radio silent though lol. Even if that means I'll post something boring about my dog or books I'm reading just so everyone knows I'm still alive.

I don't want to call it quits on the story. But I also feel like you guys have been kept waiting to see what happens for a really long time, and that makes me feel so guilty. I will try to finish up the pages I have in the works, and I'm probably going to switch to a different format that is some drawings, some writing to finish the story. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to finish it the way I intended for you guys, even with all of the support and kind words and even the fanart that I've kept in a folder on my desktop. I am letting a lot of you down, but I feel like the radio silence is probably more irresponsible than just going out and saying something. And I'm sorry I've kept you all waiting for a not-so-happy update on the blog.

I hope that some of you will continue to follow me for some of my other exploits and see whatever other things I have going on, but I understand that you all followed me for Undertale so I don't want you to feel any sort of guilt if you decide not to. I'm just happy you all supported me for so long.

I'll try to work on this blog again soon, and if anyone has any questions, my asks are open, though I'll probably keep the asks private. Until then I hope everyone stays safe out there. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

-Avery

#not pages #unofficial-underfell #this was so hard to write i dont want to be a quitter but I'm tired #avery speaks

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almodovarispunk · 2 months ago

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my stream of consciousness thoughts on tlou season 2

i watched tlou season 1 with my now fiancée as it came out. my fiancée is a huge fan of the game and wanted to watch the show with me, which i agreed too. this made me the pedro fan i am today, but also got me into gaming as a whole. i never grew up with any modern video game consoles in my house. i got a used PS2 from a flea market when i was 12 so i could play guitar hero, but that was it. so when i visited my fiancée earlier this year (we're long distance, i live in canada, he lives in scotland) i finally got a chance to play tlou for the first time.

tlou1 was amazing but tlou2 floored me. i knew joel was gonna die and that was it. i didn't know about abby, lev, yara, manny, dina, jesse, all of these characters that would fucking make me sob my eyes out. the game drained me, but in the best fucking way.

abby and joel are my favourite tlou characters, and i cannot express how much the season one finale fucks over the plot of season two. directing the finale to make joel look so sad and guilty while doing it, when in the game there is so hesitating at all (i.e. the "i don't have time for this" line) and you are forced to shoot your way through this hospital. the bodies, the violence is THE POINT, but in a season of television with almost NO VIOLENCE before the hospital, it's whiplash in hindsight.

while i love that season 1 was my introduction to the tlou franchise, i now HATE the fact that we're now watching an extremely sanitized, watered-down version of the last of us part II, one of the most violent pieces of media to ever exist. ellie is not pathetic enough in the show. ellie is not focused, not irrational, and therefore, her actually going on this trip THREE MONTHS AFTER JOEL DIED doesnt make any fucking sense. AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED WITH DINA. dina/ellie makes no sense and it feels like a lesbian relationship being written by a man, while the game feels like a natural, realistic relationship. ellie not saying that dina is a burden was the point when i realized that this is just... not the same story at all. it would be okay to change small things to adapt it to tell the same story in a television show format, but the changes are so severe (also the significantly less time we have in the tv show compared with the game) that the story we are watching is just... not the same. it's weak, and it makes you question why they are making these changes.

the seraphites do not seem like an actual threat in the show. they look cheap and it's hard to believe that they could scare the WLF, even with the small sacrifice scene we saw. the fact that they introduced the WLF dogs and didn't have ellie shoot the dog feels like craig and neil are not interested in actually getting to the same thesis that tlou2 gets to about violence - they're interested in being in the universe of tlou. they learned the wrong lesson from long, long time and they're spending way too much time on details and exposition that ultimately get in the way of its own narrative.

the game is so magical with its storytelling, and i'm just witnessing a butchering that has gone too far. every moment with ellie and her character is not depraved enough, not dark enough, it's juvenile and baseline. there is not enough guilt. every happy moment in tlou2 with ellie and dina is outlined with ellie's PTSD, and so far we have not even really seen her PTSD, there have been no cracks in her mentality, there has been no ugliness.

the thing i love about tlou2 is that none of the women are perfect. tlou season 2 is trying to make these women's morals perfectly defined and not messy at all, and it's just... not interesting.

i'm excited to see joel back, but i swear to god, i feel nothing but dread watching this. they're gonna fuck up everything with abby and lev (my faves) and i WILL need moral support lmao please

#tlou #tlou2 #tlou spoilers #tlou2 spoilers #tlou hbo

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mmmbored · 6 months ago

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SQUID GAME X DANDYS WORLD

Squid Game Spoilers!! Or kinda!! Idk!! Also horrible formatting on my end!! Also fruitcake!! And a final thing, death!! So consider it is clearly a bit dark since yknow squid game but yeah it's a half baked au that came to me while I was on the toilet

Sprout wouldn't really say he was forced into doing this game at all,the goal was to clear his very much brink of financial ruin debt. He would be considered someone quite easily an avid dreamer with the goal of having a rather easy life. At least it would be easy by his standards, as it would be something he'd be happy waking up to doing everyday; he really wanted to start up a baking business, open a cute little shop and just put smiles onto faces of everyone in the town.

But, being a fucking IDIOT, he follows under his only parent's incessant demands to file a bunch of loans to go to college and become some sort of medic. With his parent who should give some sort of assist to him doesn't, now without a job and already close to having filed for bankruptcy, a strange man in a suit gets him to join this game. As player 067, they only referred to others by their player number. Not being told they were at a risk for death, it certainly came as a shock when toons were being gunned down in a seemingly harmless game children play 'Red Light, Green Light'.

Not even a game later, he's gotten to know the names of some of the players he's sort of fallen into a group with. More notably the person he pickpocketed being Player 456, Vee V1, a failure of a gameshow host who went millions in debt, Player 199, Shelly Fossilian and player 218, Astro Novalite. This current game was tug of war and the toons had to go find people to pair up with, there is where he met with player 240, a swiss roll toon that seemed rather timid or didn't care for conversing with many people.

His name was Cosmo. Like normal, as the games progressed, they were never told of the games they were playing beforehand, so they had to adapt whenever they could. Sprout and Cosmo both teamed up before they knew it they were told that the toons eachother paired with had to compete in a game of marbles however they decide to play it.

With ten minutes on the timer, the two had time to talk. "What were you even here for again?" Cosmo asks Sprout, looking at him up and down, specifically at his number 067. The taller toon, slightly uneasy at the thought of sharing it, adjusts his shirt just barely before looking to the side.

"Loan debt. I was in medical school, dropped out," He responds bitterly, Cosmo having a shocked look on his face before giggling just a little. Turning his head and shooting the swiss roll a glare, Sprout asks incredously "What?" Almost as if he was embarrassed.

"I was actually in medical school too," Cosmo tells Sprout with a sweet smile. "Its expensive but god...i hate it. I mean I'd probably be getting kicked out of that school if I make it out of here for my absences but you know...at least I could pay it off," He shrugs, leaning against the wall and putting his hands in his pockets, Sprout leaning against the wall too in a sort of mimic fashion to Cosmo.

"Then why are you here?"

Letting out a hum, he answers "A guy was feeling particularly greedy after I saved his life when he wrecked his car into mine after I drove past his vehicle. He was unconscious as I pulled him out of the car and had to do CPR on him so that way he was conscious. However, he decides the best course of action is to sue me so...." Clicking his tongue, Cosmo just shrugs as if that it is what it is, his eyes hiding a undercurrent of anger and how pissed he was.

He was a little surprised though at Sprout's angered face regarding it. "That bastard, why are people like that?" He hisses lowly, kicking one of his shoes into the dirt. Cosmo tilted his head.

"It is what it is-"

"No!" Sprout scolds Cosmo immediately for that line of thought. Saying it is what it is is sounding like he's just accepting it as it is, not wanting to get any sort of retribution. "That's not right! The fact the courts actually agreed with him too-" the strawberry was about to go on a whole rant.

"What? You gonna fight him for me? Thanks to the lawsuit I know where he lives," Cosmo joked, smiling just as bright as the sun.

"You know what? Fuck it, give me his address. I'll beat the shit out of him for you," The strawberry actually encourages, earning a chuckle being forced out of the two in a tense situation where other players are dying not that far from them depending on who won or not.

After a moment of silence, Cosmo started talking again. "I really loved baking when I was little." Sprout turns his head to Cosmo to give him his full attention. Cosmo continues, "Its what the dalgona game reminded me of. I know it's a silly childish thing," He smiles a bit sheepishly, the tone of voice embarrassed. "...but I did want to have a bakery at some point. I didnt really pursue that much, but I still carried on baking as some sort of hobby...making a bunch of cute little sweet treats...ah...." He looks down at his shoes, his sort of smiling carefree-ish expression fell. Sprout turns his head to the side before coughing into his arm.

"Seedly." He coughed into his arm. Cosmo turns his head to look up at Sprout. Sprout faces Cosmo. "Well....since we were sharing things that were apparently childish, I figured I may as well tell you my last name."

Cosmo slowly blinks. "Oh wow you're serious." He spoke. "But a last name isn't childish-"

"So a childhood dream isn't stupid!" Sprout exclaims, pointing at Cosmo. "But the last name is stupid though. End of discussion about seedly," He concludes. Truly, Sprout must have angered the gods to have been forcefully given a surname just as ridiculous as Seedly.

Not even a second to wait, Sprout continues on his spiel,"I basically wanted to try to start a bakery too. My only parent basically just told me to go to medical school, that dream was stupid. I mean I was still wanting to do that, but I filled out a bunch of loans and then poof," Sprout made a pop sound with his lips. Cosmo looks at the timer up on the higher wall. 5 minutes. They got 5 minutes left practically.

"You know what?" Sprout ends up speaking up again not before long, Cosmo looking at Sprout again, giving him his full attention. "We could definetely start something good together too. Like starting a bakery together." He entertains the thought so easily like it just feels right and the suggestion falls out of his mouth before he even knew it, the swiss rolls eyes widening as if he couldn't imagine the thought that someone would want to do something like that with him. A friend.

Taking a deep breath, Cosmo looks at the wall in front of them. "I tried being incredibly nice to people in school. I like....would you call it the forgotten friend?" Sprout frowns as Cosmo continues talking. "I never really had any friends growing up. That's technically all I'm saying. Well--" He pauses. "I mean i did have friends. But they weren't close. They weren't close friends that you were constantly going to eachothers house every night, not falling asleep after playing video games until 3 am. I was alone a lot. The teacher calls for us to be in groups, I was the 4th person left out of a 3 person group. I had no one at my birthdays beside my parents, but always people kept asking me for stuff," Cosmo shared incredibly quietly, Sprout quiet as well. Cosmo forced out a laugh. "I guess that carried into my adult life too."

"I was sort of called the 'mom' of the group," He meekly shares. "It was because my friends described me as more overprotective of everybody." That was all he could ever share as a response to that. Cosmo smiles wider at that, it was the sort of smile that reached the eyes.

"I can tell. I certainly feel not very alone in these 10 minutes," Cosmo says with a smile, the two toons looking up at a timer. 2 minute, 30 seconds.

"Well i guess we should get started huh?" Cosmo steps forward. "We toss a marble and whoever crosses the line wins right? Whoever gets the most out of three also wins if we both cross the line however if one of us doesn't make it then the person automatically wins." Sprout nods in confirmation.

Taking the first turn, Sprout throws the marble and quickly, it lands past the line he had to make it past. Sprout gulps a little, leaning against the wall as he watches Cosmo take his own turn, but his heart actually drops when Cosmo tosses the marble aside.

"Woops," He carelessly says in a sing-songy voice, the marble landing far away from the goal line.

"Toss it again," Sprout tells Cosmo, immediately walking to stand in front of the swiss roll. Cosmo doesn't move to do anything. "Toss it AGAINWHATTHE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Sprout grabs Cosmo by the shirt.

Quietly, Cosmo spoke, "I got nothing left,really." He tells Sprout. "One of us wasn't gonna make it-" He grunts when Sprout lightly hits Cosmo against the wall.

"I don't care! Throw it again!" Sprout snaps. Cosmo looking up at Sprout with a somewhat empty yet somehow warm expression, says the following;

"Start up your bakery. Put a bunch of smiles on people's faces if they enjoy what you make," Cosmo whispers, Sprout trembling as he slowly let's go of Cosmo, tears being held back. Cosmo, internally, was at peace that he found someone that seemed to actually care about him genuinely in such a short period.

Sprout hears the guard coming up from behind them, the announcements came on.

'Player 067, pass.'

Sprout knew he had to go. The guard began to escort Sprout, his back facing the swiss roll as another guard took its place beside Cosmo as Cosmo watched Sprout walk off.

"Hey Sprout!" Cosmo called out, Sprout stopping in place. He didnt dare turn around. "Thank you...." his smile falters, but he forces the smile to stay. "Thank you for being my friend."

Sprout flinches when the gunshot rang in the air and then the thud of a corpse falling onto the ground.

'Player 240 eliminated.'

#dandys world #dandys world sprout #dandys world cosmo #fruitcake dandys world #dandys world fruitcake #fruitcake #twisted cosmo #twisted sprout #squid game au

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