#just as capable of flaws and fucking up and making mistakes

[melmedarda]

Will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts about act3:) (if you want to share obvi)

Hello lovely! Okay so. Many thoughts and I have more gripes than anything.

First of all, the art was beautiful as always. Fortiche you will always be famous. I really loved episode 7. It meant everything to me, possible only bright spot in this entire show. And we couldn't even keep it. And then to see what Jayce when through, yeah I know he was right. I loved everything about Ekko's storyline in this Act, I'm just sad he didn't get to keep the happiness he got to experience.

But Mel's arc hit me the hardest. Like, she's lost everyone. Her lover, the man she saved even when she didn't know what she was capable of, accuses her??? Her mother slaps her in her face and when Mel makes a plea on Ambessa's love for her, her mother only scoffs. Sorry I'm killing everyone with my mind WHAT DO YOU MEANNNN

And then Jayce and Viktor. Sorry to everyone but Viktor has fallen greatly in my book. It really is fucking me up how its literally VIKTOR who starts this chain of events in the first place by giving Jayce the rune. Like.... Why did he not alter Jayce's future instead of his own? Perhaps because he knows himself. In every timeline his ambition drive him to the same thing. He can't trust himself because of his own selfishness. And then why does Jayce have to go and fix his mistakes? Why does he make him promise? And now Jayce is sworn to end Hextech because he views it as his duty.

Since Viktor was essentially shaping Jayce as a child, it makes me feel like Jayce is cheapened as a character. He has no agency because his every move is determined by Viktor. He's nothing but a contingency plan put in place by Viktor because Viktor's not strong enough to overcome his own fatal flaw. His entire life Jayce lived like a puppet on Viktor's strings :/ Its as through the writers just used Jayce to further Viktor's arc instead of fully realizing his own. I am not happy about what they did to my boy.

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

You know what, I wanna see Diego do something awful S4. Boardroom massacre, betraying-siblings and -causing-the-apocalypse, consistently manipulating those around you to the point of making an actual cult and abusing your abilities over your sibling to effectively cut them off from everyone else despite their repeated desire to actually let the rest of your family know they exist, levels of awful. I wanna see, like with Allison, how fast the fandom turns on him - because everyone was fine with Allison until she dared to be something more than virtuous, supportive towards your white favs - and then the second she did something on the same scale of fucked up as Viktor, Five, and Klaus, she was the Devil, irredeemable.

And you can give any justifications you want, but that’s what happened - Viktor, Luther and Klaus abuse their powers to take advantage of other people physically or otherwise (Viktor nearly killing his whole family and lowly sucking the life out of them in the S1 finale while forcing them to relinquish control over their bodies and enjoying it; Luther manipulating Vik’s trust in him to lock him up in a very traumatizing place for him against everyone else’s wishes; Klaus using everyone in his fucking cult and then leaving them to rot with the heavy implication he also used them for sex and also how he treated Ben; for that matter, Ben using Klaus’s body to try and have sex with Jill) and they’re still the fandom saints (sans Luther bc he’s not a skinny little white boy) - but Allison dares to (for an arguably more valid reason) and she’s got people calling her an irredeemable bitch, accusing her of being as bad as Reginald, and everything in between.

So yeah, I wanna see Diego do something bad. And I wonder how fast white fandom will turn on him the second he’s not just the ‘lovable himbo protector’ to be used as a prop for their white favs.

[ladybracknellssherry]

I see so many posts since the dam broke about NG in which people are lamenting how horrible celebrities and people in power are and asking where we went wrong as a society to let this happen.

The fucked up thing though is that humans have always behaved like this. We just have the internet now.

And please don’t mistake this for resignation or apathy or anything other than disgust.

But I just keep coming back to the point that human beings are capable of truly terrifying, horrible things.

So I feel like we’ve got to remember that most people don’t do terrible things. But we’re all capable of them.

And I don’t fault anyone for being devastated to learn that someone they respected did indeed to terrible things. It would feel wild to call someone foolish or stupid or naïve because their first instinct was to believe that someone is decent. They’re not anything like that other than someone who was lied to.

I actually do think as a society we are in fact getting better about calls for justice in situations like this.

But people who behave like NG…people who do these things…their personalities are a cancer. And we can do what we can to try to prevent things like this from happening. But I don’t think we can stop it all from happening. It’s never going to disappear completely.

But we can continue to listen to victims. And we can continue to be vocal about demanding justice and accountability.

The court of public opinion and the legal system both fail terribly at times, especially in situations like this. Another flaw of human nature, I think.

The “I’ll wait for the legal system to decide” argument isn’t really helpful here. Because SA allegations / abuse are some of the hardest things to prove in a court of law. And there have been legitimate actual cases in which victims have come forward with allegations, there was no evidence to be found/the evidence wasn’t “good enough” and these victims were instead actually CHARGED with filing false reports. So putting all of the onus or faith in the law here just… again… isn’t helpful.

Sometimes the justice can be best served by demanding consequences that aren’t legal punishments. There are petitions to remove NG from his positions as a writer/showrunner in these shows we love.

Sometimes just making sure the word is spread is the push to topple the dominos.

As others have said and continue to say, you can do both terrible and great things. And they don’t cancel each other out. Doing great things doesn’t make the terrible ones any less terrible. Doing terrible things doesn’t make the great things any less great. Two truths can exist at once.

Sure, we can argue that continuing to consume NG’s work is continuing to put money in his pocket. Yeah. But once again, as far as my random internet user opinion.

I experienced some very similar things to what his victims said they experienced in these interviews. And they wrecked my life in no uncertain terms. I’ll never “come back from that” because we don’t. We just keep going forward having to carry that. It doesn’t go away.

But my abusers took so much from me. And the good things I got out of those relationships are made so much more important because of how much suffering they cost.

Sidebar, but that’s something that I see people using in their arguments for why the “abuse” allegations weren’t real or “that bad.” Because the victims went back. Or they continued to stay. Or continued to pursue. Listen. When you go through all of THAT, it is so common to scramble to keep what you perceive are the “good things” you get out of that dynamic/relationship. Or you convince yourself that it’s not as bad as all that. Because, god. “I went through all of that and they STILL LEFT.” “I gave them (they took) all of THAT and I still wasn’t good enough for them.” It’s this survival element where we have to convince ourselves all of that suffering we went through was WORTH IT. Or, the gaslighting gets imbedded and we believe it must have been our fault. “Yes, they treated me badly, but I must have done something to deserve it. They told me it was my fault. Everyone else loves them. I did something wrong.” Yeah. NO.

So if you can separate yourself from that abuser - get far enough away to have the clarity and perspective to finally say “no, that was fucking real what happened. That was abuse. They’re an abuser.” I say, anything “good” you got out of that - take it and fucking run.

NG is a predator at best. And we are all suffering for it. But we got our books and our shows and we found each other in these fandoms. I say take these good things and run. You didn’t cause this. Don’t let him take any more joy from you or anyone else.

[sweetiecutie]

Ok ok listen-

teacher!valeria x student!reader🫶🫶

(I imagen her and us having "study sessions" she calls us in her classroom to talk about our grades or she calls us in her classroom so she can "help" us with something that we didnt understand 😻😻and could reader be a fem?. if u dont want to do this is ok!!🫶❤️)

Pairing: Valeria Garza x fem! Reader

Warnings: NSFW, smut, university AU!, professor/student trope, age gap implied

A/n: this is literally so sexy, I’m about to cream my fucking pants😩

Okay, so this is a university au, in which Valeria is one of the professors. I have a feeling that she would be teaching something hard and complicated - let’s say math.

Professor Garza is very strict. She’s one of the people who value discipline and order over anything else, punishing everyone who dares disturbing it. Valeria wouldn’t think twice before giving out detentions and extra work for behavior she deems unacceptable within auditorium. Chatting during her lectures? - detention. Forgetting to do homework she gave? - detention and double the amount of exercises you had to be handed over to her due to 3 pm the next day.

Many students fear Miss Garza, many hate her, many like her; but every single one has some sort of respect for her cold and stoic demeanor. Valeria is strict and demanding , but she’s also one of the bestest - many students wish to be teached by her.

And even if it seems nearly impossible, Valeria does have favorites. Very few - 3-4 students in whole university, but boy are they privileged.

Valeria values conformity over anything else. She prefers students that are polite and well-behaved, never causing any commotion or fuss. And you happened to be just that - miss goody two shoes, one of the bestest in your year, never once failing ho hand in whatever assignment Valeria gave you, no matter how complicated or cumbersome the work was.

Garza quickly caught onto your skills, and by the end of first year she already valued you over the rest of your group. Not only the brilliance of your mind, which was capable of so many amazing thing, drew her in; you’re quite a sight for sore eye as well - clothes always neat and ironed, hair framing your pretty face perfectly no matter what, light makeup only highlighting your natural beauty. Valeria couldn’t help her eyes lingering on your soft thighs whenever you decided on wearing a skirt or a dress to uni, flooding her head with images of these exact thighs spread wide before her.

It was quite a challenge for Valeria to find any mistakes in your works. You were a smart little girl, she had no doubts about it at that point. But every time, with extreme effort, professor Garza managed to find all the little flaws in your works. They did seem ridiculous tho, something other math professors wouldn’t even deem as a mistake. So first time this happened you came up to the older woman, asking about your strangely low grade; and Valeria, voice softer with feigned sympathy, patiently explained why she had to grade you so lowly. “I hope you do better next time, hm?” She’d say with a small smile, dismissing you from her classroom. Oh how the sight of your pouting lips and teary eyes got her off

As semester drew nearer to its end your works didn’t seem to improve even a slightest bit. At this point you were convinced that it was something personal - that professor Garza simply disliked you (oh if only you knew). So it was a surprise when Valeria called out for you to stay behind as everyone was leaving after the end of her lecture. You obediently descended the stairs of high auditorium, coming to her desk, standing there patiently as all the students left.

Once alone in the room, Valeria turned to face you, one hip leaning onto the edge of her working desk. Her dark eyes gazed at you from above thin lenses of her reading glasses, arms crossed over her chest making her tits perk up teasingly from within two unmade buttons of her white blouse.

“Y/n, I wanted to talk to you about your grades” she said, her voice sounding a bit softer than usual - voice she used on you only. Your body tensed slightly at her words, your fingers gripping your books more tightly as you looked at her tentatively.

“I made a small research on your academic performance and it seems that you only struggle with my subject. Is there any particular reason to this?” She asked, concern lacing her words.

You bit your tongue, fighting back bitter words of indignation - it was Valeria’s fault only that your grades in math were so low. But you kept silent, gazing dully onto the floor under your feet. Professor Garza heaved a heavy sigh, her heart thrumming loudly within her chest at what she was about to do.

“Y/n, you’re a very smart girl, and I don’t want you to ruin your record because of arithmetics. I can give you some extra credit” she said calmly, your ears perking up at her words.

You looked up at the older woman, obviously surprised - Valeria never gave extra credit, no matter the circumstances. You blinked rapidly a few times - you won’t lose such an opportunity, you’d be a fool if you did.

“Sure, I’d be very grateful!” You said quickly, looking at Valeria with wide eager eyes.

She only smiled at your words, nodding for you to come closer. As you did, she took your books and notes out of your hands, placing them on the faraway side of her desk. “You won’t need these”

As you were going to ask what she meant her warm hand clasped around the back of your neck, slamming you against her desk. With a small squeak you were bent over the table, your cheek squished against some papers scattered on top of it. You felt Valeria’s hot chest pressing against your back, her free hand glided up and down the side of your hip as she whispered into your ear “Now I need you to be a good little girl and spread your legs wider”

And you did. Arousal pooled in the pit of your stomach, making your knees go weak as Valeria’s hand slipped in between your soft thighs - just like she always dreamed of, massaging your soft pussy through thin material of your panties.

Soon enough these same panties were shoved into your mouth to muffle all desperate cries tearing through your chest as to not disturb other professors in nearby auditoriums; three of Valeria’s long fingers fucked in and out of your drooling pussy with loud squelching sounds, her fingertips grazing that one spot deep within you, making your eyes roll and toes curl.

You exited professor Garza’s auditorium on trembling legs, your makeup and hair unnaturally messy, eyes unfocused and bleary but - most importantly - with impeccable record on arithmetics.

But to keep your math performance this way, you had to visit professor Garza some more for extracurricular activities <3

Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated! Writers live off feedback, give us some love<3

[maibeenot]

Last one about TUA season 4, for now.

(I talked about this in the tags of one of my RBs before but I wanted to elaborate)

I don't like how they keep trying to make Five a badass.

I find it especially frustrating as doing this constantly, bogs down any form of character development we could've had from Five.

For whatever reason, the writers seem to be allergic to acknowledging Five's biggest character flaw, his arrogance. Five always has to be right. He always has to be capable of everything and never needs any help. Despite the fact that Diego also has a very similar flaw (and is punished for it consistently), Five's seems to go completely untouched.

(A part of me thinks that the reason why they punish Diego so much more is because he comes off as the hot-headed impulsive one. While that's true, it certainly doesn't negate Five's ability to make mistakes or be incompetent)

Instead, they keep trying to invent a new flaw for Five in that; he is obsessed with the apocalypse. In reality, he's not obsessed with the apocalypse. He's obsessed with keeping his family safe. It just so happens that their most immediate threat (in his eyes) tends to be the apocalypse. (I really don't understand what they're trying to get at with this, especially considering the fact that he already has an extremely apparent flaw)

While this isn't an issue I take with season 4 specifically, it has definitely amplified this issue like crazy. Five's arrogance is vaguely addressed by his siblings in season 1, but it never seems to get him in trouble? Or at least he doesn't seem to have learned from it (except for the time-travelling thing from when he was 13, and when he bled out also in season 1)

Season 1 (and 2) handled it the best out of the four. Five never seems to ask for or accept help unless backed into a corner (telling Viktor about the apocalypse, asking Klaus to help him get the prosthetic eye). Or if he is literally incoherent or unconscious (him passing out from blood loss, him being drunk and telling Diego and Luther about what's happening).

And outside of that, Five's arrogance still had brutal consequences within this season (him not noticing Viktor's declining mental state because he was so sure about the apocalypse (but this was partially because this man tunnel-visions like crazy)).

(there are probably more instances of this with s1 & 2, i just can't think of them off the top of my head so tag them if you'd like)

Season 4 is extra mean with this. From the 'Five getting to work for the CIA at 19' to 'Five randomly figuring out what's causing the end of the world with a bunch of other Five's' while he was off moping.

And when he does make mistakes, it's not because he's actually not capable of everything and anything.

Noooo, Ben really really sneakily stole the marigold and spiked the sake. Five couldn't have possibly noticed. (and none of the other siblings for that matter)

Noooo, it's because Luther is actually super smart in figuring out that Five's boss is a Keeper (no shade to Luther btw, I like him. They just don't treat this moment as Five being a complete dumbass).

Oh no! Five (and Lila) can't figure out a way back from the metro! Never mind, another Five managed it.

Five being a homewrecker? That's him being an asshole, not incompetent so it doesn't count (lighthearted).

Five's arrogance one of his defining flaws, yet it's not really challenged. The fact that he gets away with a lot of bullshit is simply because he can! When he doesn't face failure, he doesn't find growth. He doesn't learn to stop being self-destructive just because he thinks he can do anything. He doesn't learn to reach out.

This stunt in growth is obviously not only present in Five but also everyone else. I just find his to be particularly grating since he's my favorite.

Feel free to add your thoughts to this, not just about Five's fucked up character growth but everyone else's too!

(I'll make long a ass post/video essay going into detail about all of them one of these days)

I'd love to read them :)

[formulawolff]

ii. eighteen minutes - t.w.

pairing: reserve fem driver!reader x toto wolff

word count: 2.5k

warnings: morally gray individuals, slow burn, sexual content (intercourse), allusions to sexual content, cursing, marijuana use, references to alcohol use, lots of power imbalance, questionable boss x employee dynamics, light toxicity, slight controlling tendencies from toto

a/n: here’s the second chapter of my new baby. i really like the direction of this fic & i hope y’all do too. also, i really wanna clarify and say that the reader, toto, and max are NOT supposed to be good people. they are supposed to be written as people who have flaws + make mistakes. i hope y’all enjoy! <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆:

“look at you! come on now, do a little spin for me.”

sucking in a breath, you swivel on your heel, turning in a tight circle. lewis nods in approval, his tongue swiping along his lower lip.

“who knew a fire suit could look so good on someone? if you’re not careful, you may have quite a few drivers in your dms later. me included!”

“stop,” you hiss through gritted teeth, “it’s a little tighter than i would like in some areas.”

lewis’ lips purse, the british driver eyeing every inch of the suit, “that’s not necessarily a bad thing–”

“could you stop harassing our sweet girl?” 

george strolls through the entrance of the garage, arms folding over his chest. lewis rolls his eyes, mouth forming a pout as george plucks a strand of hair from your right rib-cage, “how come you get to be that close?”

“because i don’t sexualize her every five seconds,” george mutters, shaking his head, “how are you feeling? nervous?”

“nervous?” a dry laugh erupts from the base of your throat, “i’m clenching my cheeks right now. i’m afraid i’m going to shit myself.”

“it’ll pass,” george shrugs, “soon the adrenaline will kick in and you’ll be fine. don’t stress yourself out too much. it’s only qualifying.”

“it’s only my first qualifying in formula one,” you counter, wiping your slick palms on your suit, “it’s only my debut as one of the few female drivers in a male-dominated sport. it’s only the first time the other teams will get to watch me drive and–”

“you just want to look good for red bull,” lewis waves a hand, “don’t act all coy over there. we’ve seen your interviews. we know you have an interest in joining the dark side.”

“the dark side?” you arch a brow, “what does that mean?”

“you’d be under the helm of christian horner if you went over to red bull,” george exhales, his hands settling on his hips, “that’s a no-no in the mercedes handbook. so, we refer to it as the dark side.”

“oh,” a slight wave of shame blazes within you as you sense the subtle scrutiny radiating off the british drivers as they pick you apart, anticipating your response, “i just wanted to showcase my capabilities, that’s all.”

“there’s no harm in that,” lewis whistles, “after all, a lot of seats are up for grabs. several long-term contracts for drivers are going to be up after the season. 2025 is going to be one interesting year. that’s for sure.”

“indeed,” george nods, “not a lot will change around here though. i’ll be sticking around. so will lewis.”

at george’s statement, you notice the way lewis tenses up, almost freezing in place. yet, he loosens up the moment another individual enters the paddock, the driver bearing a meek smile.

“howdy, toto!”

“guten morgen,” the team principal is almost cold, showing no emotion as he approaches the three of you, “i assume the two of you briefed our little hase on our strategy for qualifying this weekend?”

“yep,” lewis dips his head, “she’s chomping at the bit to get a hot lap in!”

“ah!” the team principal’s head turns in your direction, a smug smirk now apparent, “is that so?”

fuck you, lewis hamilton. fuck you big time. 

“yup!” you swallow thickly, shifting in place, “i’m ready!”

in reality, there was nothing more than you wanted in that moment to be in max’s arms, snuggling against his chest as his hands roamed, rubbing gentle circles into your back. 

as much as you shunned those feelings that bubbled to the surface whenever he was near, there was one thing that you could not deny. 

he knew how to make you feel safe. 

and god did you wish he was at your side, your fingers intertwined together. even the sound of his voice was enough to soothe your nerves.

if only he was here right now.

if only.

due to the nature of formula one’s guidelines, in order to replace george, you would have to participate in at least one of the practice sessions on the track. which, since qualifying was considered a practice session, you would be given the okay to compete. however, there was the more petrifying aspect of it all.

qualifying determined the grid.  

if you did not perform, then mercedes would be at the bottom of the grid, fighting their way to the top in order to earn points. if you did not manage to snag a position in the top ten, then you would not earn any points. 

and no team wanted zero points. 

especially at the beginning of the season where a high-caliber team like mercedes wanted to make a statement. 

so, it was up to you to set that tone. 

to prove that you were not only a worthy competitor, but also that you were capable of earning points. 

talk about a pivotal point in your formula one career.

a point which would hopefully last more than eighteen minutes. 

hopefully.

“all right,” toto clears his throat, placing a hand on your shoulder, “come with me. we’re going to go on over to the car. i’m going to have you meet with bono, marcus, and james. they are going to give you a little insight about the new upgrades to the car, along with some adjustments we’ve made since sakhir.”

“sounds good,” letting out a shaky breath, you follow the team principal’s lead, dipping your head to fellow members of the crew as they wave, circling around you like vultures. they appear eager, poised to pounce at any given moment. with every passing second, the tension in the air thickened, a buzz beginning to grow among the garage. 

of course, they were talking about you. 

this was the first time you were going to be behind the wheel of their car. the car that they had worked tirelessly on over the course of weeks, if not months. the car they had poured all of their passion, their energy, and their resources into. the car that required numerous donations and sponsorships to build, craft, and perfect. 

a car that was worth millions. 

and it was up to you to ensure that the car came out unscathed, without a single scratch or dent.

some pressure that was.

and god, was it starting to weigh on your shoulders.

“before you speak to the team, i need to tell you something.”

you pause, cocking your head, “yes?”

toto leans forward, his mouth hovering merely millimeters by your ear. 

“don’t fuck this up, hase. the moment you get behind the wheel of that car you are going to do one of two things for me. one, you manage to qualify in the top ten for tomorrow. or two, you crumble under the pressure and crash the car.

if you crash the car, you’re fucking done. you will never step foot inside brackley ever again. i will release you from your contact the very moment you make it back to the paddock. so don’t fuck this up, yeah? i’m sure you don’t want to lose your cushy little lifestyle in the reserves.”

a shiver courses down your spine, fear bubbling up in the pit of your stomach as he towers over you, wearing a sickeningly smug grin. however, that terror only lasts a second, dissipating as retaliation takes over. it’s fiery and hot, your jaw clenching as your fists form tightly wound balls. 

“fuck you,” you manage to spit out, “fuck you, toto wolff.”

“that’s exactly what i wanted to hear,” he coos, breath hot as it fans against your ear, “good girl.”

“fuck you,” you sneer, “if you utter so much another word to me, i’m crashing the fucking car.”

toto wolff couldn’t help but let the satisfaction course through his veins as you glower, folding your arms tightly against your chest as you make your way over to the huddle of engineers and crew. you were almost stomping, your steps a little louder than usual. 

he had you right where he wanted you.

tensed up, fury filling you to the brim. your brows pinched together with dismay, a frown etched across your features. the toes of your shoe tapping away against the floor, itching to feel the wheel beneath your fingertips. impatient as ever, the fear of loss mixed with the desire to win creating a dangerous yet lethal mix. 

a loaded gun, merely seconds away from firing. 

to toto, this was necessary. 

this was the only way he was going to make you a champion. 

you see, toto wolff made no mistakes.

he was a calculated individual, carefully plotting and carrying out every single move when it came to the decisions made by the team. no detail, no matter how miniscule or trivial was finalized without his permission. no contract was signed without his presence. no calls were made without his knowledge. 

so, the decision to replace george with the reserve driver for the first grand prix was not a decision that was made lightly.

in his eleven years at mercedes, the team principal had witnessed it all. with eight constructors’ championships, seven driver’s championships, and a stake in the team, toto was a dominant force in the world of formula one. he had seen his fair share of controversies, faced backlash from the media, and harbored his secrets. 

although he thought he had seen just about everything there was to see in formula one, that all changed the moment he saw your face. 

that was the exact moment in which toto wolff’s entire world came to a screeching halt. 

that was the moment in which he knew he had to have you. 

he knew he needed you at mercedes. 

no matter the cost. no matter the stakes. no matter the risk.

he had lewis hamilton to thank for that. 

it all happened one race weekend in zandvoort. toto could recall the memory perfectly, down to the exact minute. he could remember the way lewis was toting you around, your arm entwined with his. it was in the garage, as lewis was giving you a tour, showing you around a little bit, introducing you to a few prominent members of the team. 

at first glance, toto was under the impression you were just another fuck for the british driver, another innocent girl that fell victim to the bachelor’s charming ways.

that all changed when lewis introduced you as the prodigy of prema racing, the one who shattered records and obliterated barriers.

the next world champion pf formula two. that was, if you played your cards right.

the next face of the mercedes team, if toto played his cards right. 

as fate would have it, you did earn that title. 

in turn, that achievement ended up changing the trajectory of your life. it opened up numerous doors, more than you ever thought were possible. brands reached out to you through social media, inquiring about sponsorships. fans praised you across social media, stating that you were a trailblazer for the world of motorsports. 

most importantly, it opened the door to formula one. 

you had toto wolff to thank for that. 

with the help of lewis, he was the one who got the ball rolling on your contract. he was the one who took a chance on the hot-headed, bratty driver. he was the one who called you, inquiring if you wanted to sign a two-year deal with mercedes. you would be in the reserves, but you would be on the team, nonetheless. 

although you were not the first or second driver sitting in a seat, toto was well aware of the potential brewing within you. 

which, was partially the reason why you were competing today. 

he wouldn’t have made the call if he did not believe in you. 

as you slip into the car, he lingers at the helm of the control panel, sliding on a pair of headphones. 

“one, two, radio check. hase, can you hear me?”

your voice, so sweet and delicate, floods his ears, “i can hear you, toto.”

“good, good,” he tuts, “okay team, let’s have a good qualifying, yeah?”

as the remainder of the crew finish the check, the team principal’s gaze fixates on the reserve driver. her helmet was a little too big, but he could make out her lashes as they fluttered, her head bobbing along as the team buzzed about, ensuring that everything was in perfect order. 

a member of the crew flashes toto a thumbs up, signaling that it was time.

“all right hase,” with every fiber in his being, the team principal fights a grin as you mimic the wave of a princess, a gloved hand rotating back and forth as the car lurches out of the garage.

“es ist zeit zu gehen.”

the second you sailed on to that track,, your foot pressing on the gas, any doubt or fear dissolved, replaced by nothing but pure, electrifying adrenaline. 

“all right ms. reserves,” marcus’ voice seeps into your right ear, “let’s see what you can do.”

when it came to qualifying, all it took was one lap. 

one singular lap to prove yourself. 

and by god, that’s what you were going to do. 

you were going to prove yourself that you were more than just a body in the reserves. you were going to prove to the world of formula one that you were dominant on the track, just as you were in formula two. you were a world champion. 

the only woman in your sport to ever accomplish that magnificent of a feat. 

one of a kind.

the longer you were on the track, the more you realized how your body longed to be behind the wheel. the bells and whistles of the car came easily to you, really. natural, even. just as you had practiced in the simulator. 

your reflexes were sharp, on point with every turn of the chicane. your feet rotated back and forth between the gas and brake with ease, almost as if they had a mind of their own, like they knew this circuit by heart. 

before you knew it, you were sailing back toward the pits, to the mercedes garage. the chatter of the radio was almost like white noise to you, as you had paid no mind to the voices that filtered in and out of your helmet. part of you felt a sense of guilt for not listening to the engineers or crew. although, at the end of the day, you were the one driving the damn car.

coming to a halt at the garage, you pit, flipping the visor up. members of the crew swarm your car. yet, the only one you really make out is toto. with his broad stature and powerful aura, he was truly hard to miss. 

the team principal leans over, one hand resting against the halo of the car. 

the other taps your helmet, the corners of his lips tugging into a broad smile. 

for the first time, you make note of his dimples. how they soften his chiseled features. 

and for the first time, you can’t help but notice how gorgeous toto wolff is when he smiles. 

“congratulations, hase,” a chuckle rumbles in his chest, his hand lingering on your helmet. 

“with the fastest lap on the track, you’ve made it to the second session of qualifying.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆:

taglist: @sweetjellyfishland @ts1m1kas @bxuzi @racecardilfs @bblouifford @justacornerofmybrain @irishmanwhore @noooway555 @sleutherclaw @okdokeygryssel63 @jeannealicette @marknolee @allyisalright-blog

[amymbona]

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UUUUUPP!!!

FOR ONCE STOP MAKING TASHI THE VILLAIN! Stop making Tashi look like the bad guy because you didn't get your gay ending! Stop making Tashi look like the bad guy because Art is depressed! Stop making Tashi look like the bad guy because Patrick is horny!

Instead of hating on her, I'm begging you, watch the movie again and try to pay attention to her character. I'm not saying she is a flawless angel - no - she has done many questionable and not always approved things, but so have Art and Patrick!

It's important to understand Tashi's full story and the actions which shaped her into the person she is. Some of you people seem to forget that she lost her biggest passion, that something that she loved deeply was taken away from her. Within a single moment, Tashi lost her career, lost her strength and all her desires. She became no one to herself, a failure and a completely miserable person.

Her behaviour is natural, and it's determined by everything she has gone through. It's very obvious she went through a rough time of depression and had to cope wirh the loss somehow. She's also just a human, and humans make mistakes.

Tashi loved both Art AND Patrick - and we can notice that very clearly in multiple scenes and if we think about it really deeply, and when she has married one, she couldn't just forget about the other. It's natural that she jumped towards the opportunity of spending some time with Patrick, even just one night (in 2011). Later on, she sleeps with Patrick again because she still loves him, but that doesn't deny that she loved Art and Lily too.

She's spent 8 years married to Art, every day of those eight years and I doubt she would have cheated on him with anyone else than Patrick. Let's not forget that Art is a flawed human too. He earned by Tashi as a result of his obsession and manipulation, which is a long way from love that they eventually found.

If Tashi didn't love Art, she would have abandoned him the moment she started seeing him on top of his career, because he had something she could never have again - tennis. But Tashi never left. She stayed and supported Art throughout the whole process, in her own way.

Stop praising Art for having a fat ass and looking up at his wife. He chose the life he's living, he chose to marry Tashi, have a family with her and pursue his tennis career with all the consequences. Yes, Art is depressed and miserable and he's probably not too happy with his life, but he's also an adult fully capable of making decisions. Just because he's submissive, loyal and dedicated, doesn't mean he deserves to be babied and told that he's too good for Tashi.

I don't always like to bring this topic into the discussion, but it's clear that some of you are pure misogynists, hating on the female protagonist because she got to fuck your favs and because she has a life. Tashi Duncan is somebody, she is a strong female lead with even stronger emotions, and if you really wanna understand her, you can't just watch - you need to think as well.

[gravityfallsrenaissance]

I rewatched Gravity Falls with my sister and holy crap being an adult and watching everything Stan goes through is insane.

I’ve been working through some stuff in therapy and like, this man has made some mistakes but definitely did not deserve what the narrative did to him.

Screws up his brothers machine on accident? Homeless at 17 and doesn’t speak to his twin for 10 years. Sees his brother again when they’re both at the end of their respective ropes and in their worst places mentally? Gets in a fight that lands his brother trapped for 30 years while he takes his death and tries to open the technical monstrosity his brother built when this man hasn’t even finished high school. Gets his brother back after 30 years? Doesn’t get a scrap of acknowledgement and is told to move out and leave him alone. Has spent 40 years trying to fix and atone for his mistakes? Not even a thank you and gets emotional about it such that the spell against Bill doesn’t work.

What’s left? Oh I don’t know, how about losing all of your memories and sense of self, letting the narrative boil you down to nothing more than a mistake and the only way you’re capable of rectifying it is by ceasing to be yourself, as literally as possible.

Like, I’m sorry, but if Ford really was so unreceptive to actually talking/working through things, I think Stan had more than atoned for his mistakes. I don’t think he was a fuck up or that his takeaway from everything should be that he wasn’t worth it. That his sacrifice was what he owed the world for everything he did.

Because he didn’t do any of it alone.

And boo fucking hoo that Ford had to shoot his brother. If their places had been reversed I doubt Stan could have done the same.

I’m sorry, you trusted an inter dimensional demon, kept secrets because you were too prideful to ask for help or admit to your failings, and again too prideful to say thank you to your younger brother who spent 3 decades doing everything he could to get you back? Stop throwing such a tantrum and get off your high horse.

Sure Stan made mistakes, but Ford never seemed to learn from his.

Rewatching it I was actually angry at the ending, at the idea that when Stan is facing Bill he’s not even upset at the hand he’s been dealt. At the unfairness of it.

Because it was unfair.

And if I had a single gripe with the series at all I would wish for maybe one extra episode after Stan losing his memories and before getting them back. Just one single episode of Ford admitting how he hurt his brother, the role he played in the apocalypse, just 20 minutes of him coming to terms with his own flaws.

Because we as the audience know Ford isn’t perfect, but I need him to acknowledge that too.

There is so much fanfiction where Stan’s life is horribly lonely or traumatic in ways the show can’t cover or makes light of and I get it but also it’s clear other people relate to Stan feeling like all he’s done is make mistakes and that he deserves what he’s gone through and that is so NOT the case.

And I wish the official narrative would acknowledge that too.

[1v6]

Pride Makes Prejudice [G/T]

[Word count 1589]

Her fatal flaw? Pride. His fatal flaw? Being an idiot, I guess.

A sequel(?!) to this!

---

It was almost too easy.

His trip to dreamland was, in fact, far quicker than she had initially predicted. She had predicted he would have started bombarding her with questions about her kind, and then from there she would meet a few ends, so to speak: to be kept as a pet or a toy, to be sold like one if not, or to be killed, in one way or the other, for some silly, ridiculous benefits humans believe in if they consumed her people.

His lack of preventative measures for her, again, indicates two things: Either he is an idiot, or he doesn’t deem her capable enough to escape from his clutches. The first would be a relief; the latter would offend her. She hoped it was the former situation. Any human would seal her prison with some iron chains, at least— he must be an idiot not to, no matter how physically superior he is compared to her.

Thanks to this reason, escaping the glass prison is a trivial issue for her. What will be annoying to her is what happens after she breaks the glass.

She eventually waved her thoughts away. It does not matter anyway. She would eventually find a way to escape him, just as she trumped over many other humans in her life.

She checked once again to see if he was still sound asleep. His snores told her all she needed to know.

She daintily touched her glass walls with her index finger and quietly muttered something, unintelligible to the average human.

The glass split into two, perfectly equal halves, as expected from someone of her talent.

This was her usual method of escaping. Break the glass in half, and then push one half away from the other until a crack is formed, wide enough for her to squeeze through, then freedom would be hers once again. It was a simple, yet efficient method, as she would be long gone by the time her captors discovered her empty prison.

Unfortunately, she is unable to say the same for this escapade when one of the glass halves lost its balance as she pushed it, and it fell to the ground with the loudest CRASH!

Ah. I seem to have…miscalculated.

A groan came from the large bed beside her. He is stirring.

As the popular saying goes, time waits for no one, and she is certainly not waiting for him to wake up and capture her again.

While he was occupied with moving his large, clumsy body, she stood at the edge of the infinitely tall bedside table, her back against nothing but the long drop that awaits her.

She welcomed it by leaning towards thin air, free-falling towards the cold, hard ground.

When he finally opened his eyes from that loud noise, the first thing he did was check on the borrower.

He was fucked through and through.

She was already gone.

Worst of all, the glass was broken? How the fuck did she even manage to pull that off? It’s not even shattered. Well, one half of it was shattered. It just pathetically lay on the floor in sad, transparent shards, a shadow of what it once was.

The other half just looked like someone sliced it through like butter.

Definitely weird, but okay. Note to self: …don’t put her in glass?

Anyway, he did wake up from the noise, so she shouldn’t have gone far. Probably not even left his room yet given that the door is shut, and he never remembered opening his windows, ever.

He’d sweep up the broken glass first, but at this moment he had other priorities. A very good thing he wore slippers in the house, to focus better on the recapture of the borrower. He knew it wasn’t really the right thing to do, but how many chances will the average person get to even see a tiny person, in real life? That’s right, zero. Or highly improbable though not impossible. Whatever.

He put on his glasses this time, not willing to make the same mistake as last time. Turning on the flashlight on his phone, he borrowed its light to look under dusty cracks and corners. He checked the bedside table first, since she was literally placed there and could not have run that far with her tiny feet.

Through the dusty darkness underneath the bedside table, an eye blinked through the cracks, and saw nothing. Weird. Maybe she was hiding at another angle he couldn’t see. He changed his position to look underneath from another angle, yet still no sign of her.

Then she probably wasn’t there anymore. Well, in that case, there were probably few options for her to hide before he came for her.

The bed, which would probably be very unlikely, considering the question: who’d run to somewhere more dangerous for themselves?

That leaves the dresser.

It turned out to be a good guess, because just as his body got up for the dresser, the mirror he put on it cracked into a million pieces.

Oh, so that’s how she managed to escape. 

She’s definitely here, then. He started looking around. On the top of the dresser, below the dresser like with the bedside table, in the drawers… (hey, you never know).

There was still no sign of her.

A voice inside him told him to give up, that he was probably seeing things, but the broken glass on the floor and the cracked mirror on the dresser proved otherwise.

Surely she can’t be that hard to find, he thought, first meeting encounter stories never went this bad.

Bad news: she was that hard to find.

He had spent at least an hour scouring the entire room for possible hideouts by now, and there was just— absolutely nothing! He checked his phone; the screen blinded his eyes for a brief moment, but he saw it was already 3 in the morning.

And he planned to fix his sleep schedule. Great.

If he’s sleeping at 3, he might as well sleep even later. Tomorrow’s a Saturday, he can sleep in anyway, so who cares? Certainly not him.

Late night doomscrolling go brr.

He crawled into bed, wrapping himself in his warm, cosy blanket, and readjusted his pillow to use his phone better while lying down.

Probably halfway through scrolling he watched a video that contained weird muffled noises. Funny, because it was just a video of cats doing random silly stuff that would have no reason at all to have those sounds.

He scrolled past that video.

The muffled voice persisted.

Okay.

He muted his phone, and…the noises were still there.

From under his pillow.

So he lifted it up to see what the hell was wrong with the pillow.

Her mother used to warn that her pride would be her own downfall someday.

Mother was right.

She managed to avoid his detection by changing her hiding spot whenever he shined that atrocious blinding light in her direction. After the light blinded her, she would have perhaps a few moments before his eyes descended to scan the battlefield. Shifting from one table leg to another this way, she reached the edge of the bed.

The most dangerous option is often the least dangerous option. He would have never guessed that she planned to hide in his bed and waited for him to leave in the morning. Who would, given that a normal person would want to be as far away from their threat as possible?

She would.

And the consequences of taking risks came back to bite her in the arm.

Her dark, suffocating world instantly lit up with the removal of his large pillow, making her shield her eyes to get used to the sudden change in brightness. Finally able to draw a breath of fresh oxygenated air, she stood there for a few moments catching her breath.

Moments of what felt like a chilling eternity passed, and she was still not grabbed, or caught by a certain pair of large brutish hands. She was not even touched at all. She raised her head to look at him.

Perhaps he is stupid. All he was doing was observing her movements with a mouth he forgot to close instead of, say, perhaps, capturing her. Astounded by his unmatchable idiocy, she couldn’t help but ask him, albeit with an overdose of sarcasm, “Well? I am a sitting duck. Why are you just gawking at me like you have never seen how respiration works?”

He frowned at her, though remained still all the same. “I don’t have a reason to trap you if you’re not going to leave.” He shrugged. “I only caught you in the first place because I thought you were a cockroach, then after I didn’t release you because you’d definitely run away, like you just proved to me.”

A what?! Any feeling of respect towards enemies, even humans, simply vanished into thin air after hearing that sentence. He does not even respect her enough to see her as more than a pest! For the sake of…whatever!

Yet, from this answer alone, it also shows that he underestimates her abilities.

Which means she could use Plan B, a plan she rarely ever used, due to humans tending to be overly cautious when dealing with her people.

Except him.

She forced a smile, and asked him with strained politeness, “If we plan to converse, introductions should be made.”

Her insincere smile turned into a mischievous grin.

“May I have your name?”

[faint-petrichor]

never underestimate the power of telling someone "come on now, you're better than that", "that's not it", "I expect better of you" and similar. it has worked exceedingly well in many scenarios where telling someone to go fuck themselves or whatnot would have just terminated the conversation or our entire relationship.

it really is a flawed practice to evaluate a person's Goodness/receptiveness based on if they'll rise above someone hurling endless vitriol, even if they are expressing a reactionary idea. human beings are just not that rational. all of us have a bias to rationalize ourselves as good and correct, and those who are other as wrong and bad. and though systemic material interest certainly exists, it is only one (albeit considerable!) force which affects a person's decision making. we must have a critical understanding of ideology and its function in these matters.

ultimately, different tactics are more effective to different people. sometimes the nuclear option, so to speak, is what is called for. in other scenarios, expressing disappointment or mere expectations can be more effective and nurture (as such things are not often immediate) long term yields.

it's a mistake to always resort to the very western and liberal tactic of "deny, push away and otherize." especially on an individual level, we have more power to change people by bringing them closer rather than by pushing them away. living up to the expectations of the people you care for or depend on is a powerful persuasive base.

we must understand very clearly that individuals have no fixed character. this should be clear as day from how many famous revolutionaries have emerged from hegemonic and reactionary classes. even looking at ourselves we will understand that nearly none of us can claim to have never held liberal, reactionary or idealistic positions in our past. if we embrace rather than reject that, then we can scientifically (experimentally) undertake the task of learning how to cause and accelerate these developments in those we are most likely to be able to affect.

at the end of the day, we can only change so many minds. not every enemy can become an ally, clearly, and after a certain point it becomes a folly to waste our time trying to remediate stubborn reactionaries. however, by honing our methods and developing a clear and strategic practice, it becomes possible to recruit more individuals into a revolutionary programme; just as reactionaries have done with no qualms whatsoever to broaden their own base!

it is clear in this regard that relying too heavily on individual morality and other lazy or idealistic notions stands to limit our capabilities. it is hard, hard work to slowly and patiently challenge people—certainly less satisfying than telling someone to kill themselves out of rage and spite. but we must engage in this work in all effective areas in order to expand our base.

[mal3vol3nt]

it is crazyyyy seeing ppl go all the way back to ITSV and trying to find things to hate about gwen even then.

like in atsv, she is a realistic portrayal of a traumatized teenage girl who doesn’t know what to do with everything that’s happened to her and therefore ends up leaning on and trusting the wrong people. she made mistakes and was more human, but y’all didn’t like that. people HATED her for her mistakes and went out of their way to portray her as some sinister person while simultaneously simping for and loving up on male characters who’ve made similar if not worse mistakes.

in itsv, she comes off as a badass who rarely slips up. this is mainly because we’re seeing her from miles’ point of view and he very obviously has a crush on her so…. like duh. point is, in that movie gwen is an extremely capable superhero who is pretty and a lil traumatized but it doesn’t interfere with what she’s able to accomplish in itsv. she doesn’t make many mistakes in terms of her abilities or her relationship with miles because throughout the movie she’s slowly opening up to the idea of allowing herself to get close to people. therefore, she doesn’t yet have a friendship with him since her arc consists of her cold exterior melting away so she can let him in as a friend.

by atsv logic, itsv-gwen is the far superior and should- be-likeable version for some people since she’s a female character who is badass and doesn’t seriously fuck up or have any perceivable flaws (beyond the flatness that inherently comes with). but nooooo. y’all still hate her from that movie too so like… she just can’t win. you don’t like her when she’s an idealized version of herself and you don’t like her when she’s a realistic version of herself. it’s crazy seeing people pick her apart in itsv when most of the time her actions, like every other character’s, were based entirely on the very intense situation of the damn collider. to pick her apart specifically for her treatment of miles (which i don’t even think was cruel or coming from a place of illogical underestimation considering lives were on the line and miles was a very, very fresh-off-the-bite spider) and not the other characters is insaneeeee.

like to use her actions in itsv, which i would argue were logical in the context of the movie’s plot and situation, against her to further prove that she as a person is undeserving of miles in either a platonic or romantic way reeks with a lil something…. something that starts with an m and ends with a y. idk tho it’s on the tip of my tongue…

anywhore i just wanted to rant. not arguing or debating with anyone cus i don’t got the energy.

[inspector-montoya-fox]

It's always really difficult to choose between An Opera of Fear and A Cold Alliance for my favourite Sly 3 episode, but it's safe to say that Flight of Fancy is easily the most nostalgic. Not because it's rooted in my childhood memories (it is) but in the sense that it shares elements with episodes from Sly 2 during a game which presents the gang at the peak of their career. Let's discuss

I think we can all agree that the series very effectively presents the gang's development, not only as individual characters, but also as a team of thieves. Sly 1 shows the gang as teens during their first set of adventures which sprout from Sly's desire for vengeance. They make many mistakes, they don't really have planned heists or jobs - Sly just casually goes into every level breaking shit and then faces off the big baddie - and they surpass their own expectations of themselves to defeat Clockwerk in the end. Then, Sly 2 covers a crucial point in the gang's career. It felt as if up until this point they hadn't truly fucked up so they went into it being very cocky, especially Sly. And when they got their asses handed to them by Neyla, getting separated tested their individual and collective limits.

In Sly 3, the gang has evolved to master thieves, capable enough to feel comfortable recruiting and as such mentoring strangers and also worthy enough to inherit an entire lineage's stolen loot. This is also shown in the missions, which up in scale and spectacle. It's no longer just "follow this villain" or "pickpocket this person". It's a combination of missions we grew accustomed to during Sly 2 like "follow Octavio and do recon under time pressure", or something completely new. Right off the bat, for example, we send a ferris wheel rolling across Venice squashing guards in its way, like this is just a mission not Thunderbeak or something. Every Sly 3 mission evolves explosions, high-tech and the eventual mini boss-fight.

So it's then a bit surprising to see the gang reverting to their sneakier, more subtle ways during Flight of Fancy. That's not to say we don't have explosions and thrill in the episode (the dogfights, Muggshot vs Carmelita, wolf-riding, shooting literal fucking windmills into blimps), but the way they choose to sabotage the competition due to how delicate its internal politics are creates some nostalgia. Paddling around the sewers in a blow-up rowboat and breaking into the pilots' rooms is very Sly 2. It felt like something 18 year old Sly would do. Also, scaling the Baron's castle harks back to Sly 1's platforming and is reminiscent of how small Sly would seem when approaching a villain's daunting lair.

The design choices for the Netherlands seem primitive too, enhanced by the fact that we're in the countryside. I feel like there's that Sly 1 and 2 rule of thumb at play here, where Sucker Punch chose the aesthetic or genre first and then chose the location. For example, they wanted a spooky level in Sly 2 so they chose Prague which would accommodate the genre through its architecture and gothic character. That allowed them to exaggerate a lot in terms of level design. And it's the same for Flight of Fancy, where we have a spooky castle on top of a very cartoony hill and you can hide under haystacks. Oppositely, the rest of the game's levels seem to have departed from the previous entries' design principle (except Kaine Island, which is fully fictional). It feels as if SP chose Venice and wanted to play up how European it is, or the wilderness of the Australian outback but without any radical stylistic choices. The genres are explored through the narrative, not through design.

Lastly, let's close off with some Thieves in Time slander because it wouldn't be a signature me tumblr essay without it. If we really use the entirety of our brain power and manage to look past all of the game's bullshit, one additional flaw would be how it doesn't consider the gang's development when telling its story. I'm not saying that in the series' fourth game the gang should have been infallible or indestructible due to achieving master thief status in Sly 3, but here the mistakes they make feel so unnecessarily stupid and like shit they wouldn't have done even in Sly 1. Falling for Penelope's schtick twice; Sly letting his guard down during the Le Paradox boss fight after the Contessa; whatever the fuck went down in Arabia... yea.

[crumbledcastle28]

Two Birds with One Stone

Pairing: miguel x fem!reader (she/her; afab)

Summary: Miguel is of the opinion that revenge is best served cold.

Warnings: blood! violent miguel, swearing, cocky miguel, probably incorrect science, some biblical references, descriptions of dead bodies, HEA. Technically a part two to Come Hell or High Water, but can be read on its own.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read part one, especially @vanilla-sweets @blueberry-thrawn @freehentai. You guys rock.

Word Count: 1.3k Type: blurb

Miguel O'Hara never knew how easy it would be rely on the omnipresent arrogance of a narcissistic Doc Oc variant. It was shocking, really, how little the Doctor believed himself capable of making a mistake. One could argue that it was his downfall, his Achilles heel, his fatal flaw.

Miguel was beginning to learn that everyone had one of those, his being the woman the Doctor still had in his titanium clutches, and that was okay. Because if there was one thing Miguel was nauseatingly good at, it was at finding people's faults.

Funny enough, he had found the way to get you back purely unwittingly.

He had been staring at his orchestra of beaming yellow monitors in the early hours of the morning and fell into the insatiably seductive trap of merely "resting his eyes."

"Just for a minute," he whispered, voice dripping in aching exhaustion, and dropped his head right onto the keyboard.

After a moment, he was woken by a piercing ringing in his ears. He figured it was a rogue anomaly alarm, causing him to bring his tender neck up and his swollen eyes scanning his screens once more. It took a few seconds for Miguel to process what he was looking at.

A tiny, flashing, lime green light blinking right at the center of the Spider-Verse, its diagnostic reading "Anomaly Found, Canon At Risk."

He shook his head, readying himself for disappointment. There was no way the Doctor would just...reveal himself, right? Unless it was a trap? Or some kind of scheme?

Or maybe, just maybe, the Doctor had made a mistake.

Miguel clicked on the diagnostic, reading further into the fine print. His eyes squinted as he read, one word from the comprehensive paragraph burning into his beaten frontal lobe.

Being currently dozing.

He rubbed his eyes, reading the words again, and again, and again.

The Doctor had fucking fallen asleep, effectively de-powering his tracking repellant installed in the chip of his brainstem. Without his conscious mind keeping the arms powered, therefore not keeping the inhibitor powered, his restrictions on his location were terminated.

Therefore, the restrictions on your location were terminated.

Miguel felt coolness drape itself over his body, a twitching sensation begin in his left eye, and an itching, tiny, yet incandescent glow begin to bloom across his chest and down his thighs.

The familiar, almost homey, grounding feeling of calculation and strategizing washed over him like a baptism. Renewing him from the wallowing man he had been, to the righteous one he was.

He knew how to be quick. He knew how to be efficient. He knew that getting you out was the main priority, while defeating the Doctor was secondary.

But Miguel had never been talented at only using his head.

A chilling, feline smile etched its way onto his face, his fangs dipping slightly over his bottom lip. His triceps flexed, his eyes narrowed, and his determination dropped like a stone in his stomach, sending ripples through the rest of his muscles.

Why not kill two birds with one stone?

"In the name of efficiency, of course," he mumbled, and powered up his gizmo.

~*~

Miguel O'Hara realized two things at once.

Firstly, Miguel didn't realize what he had done. The scope of it, the brevity, the fucking gore of it. Not until he stood still, the Doctor's mutilated corpse in front of him, metallic arms ripped from his body, clutched in Miguel's hands, dripping ooze and blood and bone.

Miguel didn't realize what he had done until that moment, and consecutively, how little he cared.

He hadn't hesitated. Not when the Doctor begged for mercy, just as Miguel had done. Not when the light began to slowly fade from the Doctor's eyes as his back became shredded, his spine shattered, and his brain ripped in half. Not when blood so red it was almost wine colored began dripping from Miguel's claws, effectively soaking the skin of his abdomen and upper thighs. No, Miguel hadn't hesitated.

And he didn't fucking care.

"Y/N," he yelled, throwing the dismembered pieces onto the metallic floor. He was in a warehouse of some kind, likely of the Doctor's own design. It was cold, grey, and composed of only panels and panels of sound-proof metal. No one could hear what was happening from the outside, and no one inside could hear what was happening outside.

His skin crawled and his jaw clenched at the thought.

He yelled your name once, twice, three more times. His fangs protruding from how wide he was opening his mouth, his deep bloodlust-filled voice regurgitating across the walls in an echo with a thrilling crescendo. He began to panic, his chest puffing at the thought that the Doctor had taken you somewhere else. That he sacrificed himself on purpose to send Miguel on an endless goose chase that ended with his own eventual death.

Because he would never stop searching. Never. You were worth spending the rest of his life a shepherd, looking for his one lost sheep.

He opened his mouth and strained his vocal chords one final time, and just as he was about to scream your name in a way that made every emotion he was feeling completely transparent to you, he heard a clanging from beneath his feet, and the muffled sound of his name.

His eyes locked on the bolts surrounding the small square he was standing on, as well as a small vent near his left foot, and realization washed over him.

It took him less than fifteen seconds to pry the hatch open, and pull you out.

His brain became muffled at the sight of you again - eyes he had gotten to know the color of so well, mouth with lips he could never seem to wipe away the feeling of, neck and jawline he had been desperate to trace one last time. Your features had always been striking to him, and with the blood and grime from the last few days strewn across them, he somehow found them even more so.

He only took a few seconds to admire you before practically tearing your suit in half, inspecting your wounds.

"Miguel," you said, you voice noticeably groggier from multiple days without use, "he let me bandage and clean them. I'm fine."

Miguel ran his fingers over your middle, inspecting your craftsmanship, pressing down on the bandages to ensure any bleeding or oozing had long since passed. He felt your soft fingers grasp underneath his chin, bringing his head up. You didn't hesitate to press his equally dirty forehead to yours, closing your eyes, breathing him in.

"I'm fine," you repeated, and Miguel exhaled shakily.

He let himself bask in the moment, forgetting the pain and carnage of the past, and the uncertainty of the future. Here he was, here and now, with his woman.

He hadn't failed you.

You brushed his hair from his face before pressing a quick kiss to his chiseled cheekbone. You then attempted to stand up before halting halfway, your face grimacing at the strain of the motion against your torn muscles.

He rotated your worn body into his arms, picking you up as a husband would his bride, and holding you close. He walked you from the warehouse, leaving the Doctor's body to wither and rot.

He grinned down at you. "How did you get him to fall asleep?"

You snorted, eyes closing against his swol chest. "You said I could experiment with my suit whenever I wanted. I took advantage of the opportunity," you said with a yawn.

Miguel's eyebrows furrowed when he caught the cocktail of scents in the air - carly sage, fresh roses, and a hint of lavender oil. You must have installed a ventilation of it as a fail-safe, the vent in your dungeon the perfect vessel to permeate it around the room.

He couldn't help but grin. "You truly scare me sometimes."

You looked up at Miguel one last time before succumbing to the exhaustion of your wounds. "You've never scared me."

He had never heard anything sweeter.

Tag list:

@leahkenobi @buckysblondie @tayleighuh

[glowfangs]

Is it just me or is Twilight Sparkle a jerk in some of your AUs (I am reffering to false draconequus and your Cozy Glow head cannon).

I like writing flawed characters. My personal favorite version of Twilight Sparkle ever is the one in Mentally Advanced Series/Rainbow Dash Presents, and I tend to base my au versions of Twilight off of it. I love Twilight as a cynical pessimist that thinks she's a realist, I love her being sarcastic and sardonic and just trying to put up with everyone's shit. Here's my favorite quote from MAS/RDP Twilight that I think sums how I write au versions of Twilight pretty well:

"Well, the social sciences are nearly impossible to test empirically, and my little case studies are the furthest thing from scientific. So the best thing I can learn is the magic of drinking with Applejack on the weekends but only specifically with Applejack. And those lessons don’t generalize over to other ponies unless the lesson is insanely vague. And sometimes not even then."

There's just something about this cute little purple pony being an overworked cynic a la "confound these ponies they drive me to drink" that suits my fancy. I have a lot of MLP aus that I don't ever talk about, especially shared ones with my partner, and usually Twilight ends up acting somewhat like this (and also usually ends up a stallion... but thats just for fun.)

As for my nextgen's Twilight, I honestly dont write her that way (shocker). That one doodle in the Cozy Glow au image is a veryyy small glimpse into my nextgen, but overall I write my nextgen Twilight the exact same as in canon. I genuinely do believe that Twilight would try to justify keeping Cozy in stone prison, because Twilight loooves ignoring the fact that people can change. It's how she acted with Trixie, its how she acted with the Flim Flam brothers, its how she acted with Discord. Yes she was right about Flim and Flam, but she had no way of knowing that. Twilight as a character in canon has a very hard time believing that people who have done wrong by her and her friends are capable of change. The line I wrote in that image feels very in character to me, I can hear it in Twilight's voice near perfectly.

Don't think that any of this means I think Twilight is cruel or that I don't like her! I love her! I love characters who make mistakes and fuck up and are sometimes bad people! Hell, my top favorite Pokémon characters are all trainers who have either abandoned their pokemon or are otherwise cruel to them (looking at you, Paul...). Basically, I'm not hating on Twilight or writing her like this because I dislike her, I write her like this because I love her

[shv2]

Long post, any commentary welcome

Okay confession time: I disliked Wander for years and now I'm realising that the only problem I have with him is that he is not called out on his bullshit/mistakes when it's really important.

I just feel like he is only shown as being in the wrong about small things. "He wants to help too much, even if people don't want it! He ignores his health to help others!"

But these are laughably small. Remindes me of when a person makes a character but they don't want to gives them any actual flaws so it's just "They are too kind/smart/etc".

Main problem (for me) is that Wander actually has big, intresting flaws with his character. But they are not explored. I cannot treat the episode about him trying to help people that are fine when. Everything else. I'm going to give 2 main examples that give me the most discomfort. You can skip if you understand.

1. Constant invasion of boundaries, to the point where "when he is a villain he deserves it" doesn't personally work for me. The entire fremergency episode.. Also the one where he and hater sang on stage. Why is he so weird about unconsious/not fully there Hater. He immediately makes him do/say things (in public or even on camera) that he would not say usually. Imagine someone you know is drunk so you take them in a public place to act like you are close while your buddy is filming that. I get Hater is a villain but damn... I'm not asking for a big callout or anything, can we at least not do the "it's so sad that he has to return :(" thing in the end.. Wander overstepping everyone's boundaries is so consistent it's a character trait, but it's mostly played for laughs/ignored/endorsed. It's not only villains... I remember this one animatic (scrapped/after credit scene, don't remember) where he pets Sylvia and his hand goes down to her tail so she has to physically stop him. Also a lot of other minor stuff, but.. I feel like this is more glaring than "oh he's just too sweet and kind".

2. The entire dominator.. Thing. Wander sees a trolley problem with the entire galaxy vs dominator (+hater stops being a villain), and decides he wants to save everyone. No matter how right you think he was, he did not achieve what he wanted. Dominator did not change. Hater did, but not complitely. But innocent people died. We can't just ignore that Hater has the power to stop Dominator, and one of the main reasons he didn't was because Wander was helping him out with Dominator. Look at Hater's face when Dominator laughs at his confession. He's not even surprised. He would 100% give up sooner if Wander wasn't hyping him up so much. Wander actually made sure that the only person capable of defeating Dominator was peaceful towards her for as long as he could. How many people lost their homes/died while him and Hater were busy with their crap? Again, I know this is a children's show. And yes, Wander is presented as being wrong, but un a really weird way. It's more about Dominator than her victims. It's more "Not everyone wants to change/be your friend/some people are just enemies" etc. The show shows (haha) that Wander was wrong, but the consequences are not in the picture. There are 2 elements to what happened: "Wander made the wrong call and many wrong decisions, AND many people died/lost their homes because of his decisions". The show only talks about the first part. It almost makes it look like if Dominator actually agreed to become friends, everything else would become okay.

Every time I rewatched the show I was thinking "Oh, yeah, this guy let countless people die because he wanted to solve the situation 100% ethically and gets away with it. Oh, he is very touchy without consent. Oh, he doesn't listen to his best friend and almost gets her killed. Oh, oh. Fuck this guy".

Now I think that it would be fine if it was adressed. There is no need to reduce/ignore his mistakes. Half of the main cast are villains (I personally consider (Wander, Sylvia, Hater and Peepers the main 4, people still love them. I love them! Not only that, we have Brad Starlight that satirises traditional heroes. Why doesn't the show apply at least some critical thinking towards Wander? Also, Sylvia is a hero too! She was a bounty hunter, she has anger management problems (where she is implied to hurt people in the way that a family friendly show can show (ep about the race)), she often "learns her lesson" if Wander is right.

Another thing.

Episodes where Wander is wrong are weirdly disconnected from the rest of the show in my opinion. At least it feels like it. It feels like tonal whiplash. One episode, Wander does something wrong - it's fine/haha funny. Other episode, Wander is W R O N G and needs to learn his lesson, also everything is extremely more on the nose. Try watching "The Fremergency Fronfract" right after "The Helper". Throughout 8 years I saw several people that had an opinion that these episodes felt really out of character for Wander, and I can understand where they are coming from. In my opinion, it's not Wander as a character, it's the lens through which we see him. Swapping from uncritical acceptance to critique feels unnatural to me.

Thinking of alternative scenarios/fanfiction makes me like Wander so much more. I think I can actually appreciate the guy so much more now. Everything I wrote was prompted by RWBY (+rewritten), because main team has the same problems Wander has times 1000.

I do hope that in season 3 they planned to explore Wander more (I remember seeing some tweets about it being the case), but I think that there is no way to adress this in season 3 without making it disconnect in many ways in some way from season 1 and 2.

[wetcatspellcaster]

Do you have any advice on writing characters in fanfic? I want to make one but I worry I'm gonna write the characters out of character. Which is like my worst fear.

Do you have any advice or Tips?

ooooh, that's a good question!!! I'm not sure if any of my advice is going to be helpful or obvious (that's always how writing advice feels to me!) but I'll give it a go.

I find that getting the voice down means that a lot of other stuff gets forgiven. "he wouldn't say that" or "he wouldn't do that" is a lot harder if you've thought through a character's internal/external voice, and can make them sound like they're in the situation. So try and make it sound like them first, and then people are more willing to suspend disbelief for you! OOC is only OOC if people aren't willing to believe a character is capable of being in that situation - voice is one of the key ways that you can get there.]

I also think that when you learn a character's voice, the next challenge is making it sound natural. For a character like Astarion for instance, don't have every sentence that comes out of his mouth be outlandish! Only like, every 4 in 5 :') just try not to overuse tics, is what I mean!

don't be afraid to acknowledge their flaws, even if that means they make mistakes. i think a large part of writing OOC comes from idealising a character. hopefully, the blorbo you enjoy you like despite their flaws, or maybe because of them. if you think they'd fuck something up, let it happen - and then see how they fix it after.

I have characters I can write easily for, but if I ever need to refresh I watch clips, I replay, etc. The good thing about BG3/dragon age is that a lot of their content is online - rewatch cut scenes, remind yourself of motivations but also just... what words they use. How they phrase things. What rhythm their sentences have. If you're ever worried about things being OOC, I find that the age old "revisit the source material" is genuinely helpful. I don't like fanon versions of characters if I can help it, so I go back to the canon and I dip my toe in to litmus test my own work!

People want characters in unusual situations, and they want them in romantic ones. For instance, when I write Astarion, I often worry it's OOC if I get him to do something soft/romantic... obviously, this is what a lot of people are IN fanfic for. So if you're worried that the OOC parts are too soft, or too nice, or w/e... don't worry. This is what a lot of people want from fanfic, so they'll suspend their disbelief for you.

Brief acknowledgements of the obstacles to an audience's full buy in can sometimes help. So for instance, in an Astarion smut fic, a brief nod to "he feels weird about sex, or used to" can immediately make anything "OOC" feel more forgivable bc you've lampshaded "yes, this does take a stretch of the canon, but I've flagged to the reader which bits I'm imaginatively changing" and then you can dive straight in.

Otherwise... it is... unfortunately... practice! ! ! Even a few chapters back in honest lie and pieces, I felt like I couldn't write for a majority of the ensemble cast. Now that I've practiced, I don't feel as daunted about managing multiple voices. I hate it here, but writing improves the more you do it. So don't let the fear of being OOC deter you, even if you start out in a more OOC place you'll get there through writing more :)