#okay maybe I'm a sucker for character foils but like

[the-sky-is-full-of-light]

Listen I know everyone shipped SwanQueen and that's cool I guess but EMMA AND LILY ARE RIGHT THERE.

[georgierre]

Can we hear about the george fic?

HI ANON THANKS ANON FOR ENABLING ME YOU HAVE FREED ME FROM MY CHAINS

okay so i've wanted to write some sort of fic about george feeling wonky about his career in f1 for a. LONG time. i have outlines for different fics — one where it's an introspection on his bitterness towards lance, one that's more like perfect blue where loses grip on his identity, one that's dialogue heavy and bojack-inspired with existential conversations — but none of them really Clicked and it just ended up becoming drafts on my shelf.

then, i had a very like. peculiar idea of george running away impulsively. like, he outright Quits and fucks off somewhere because he doesn't want to pursue f1 anymore. i have this planned after george has 2 world championships, because i want george to realize how empty he feels after reaching his peak (first win). like, the depression is Real, he really can't find anything worthwhile in f1 and feels trapped and overwhelmed, so he just goes "fuck it!", packs up and isolates himself from everyone.

(i'll put this under the cut because it is Long + intro to the first chapter is here too!!!)

the fic is actually HEAVILY inspired by daremebyday's fic "for all the honest world to feel" with is drag race rpf of trixie and katya (this is an rpf friendly space yes) wherein trixie hits a mental low, lies to her manager about needing time to write an album, then just rings a random friend to bunker up away from LA. it's such a raw and sad and just Real fic, probably one of my favorites (drag race writers are no joke) and i wanted to adopt some of the story elements of it (think of it like, i'm making an au with this as the basis) but some of the central themes and character introspection are much different. i don't intend to plagiarize anything, i promise, but some events and characters will mirror the original fic.

in my fic, george leaves after the imola gp, packing his bags and heading for london. he has no particular plan. there, he accidentally bumps into nicky who is still studying in the london business school, and he allows george shelter for as long as he needs. these two are two sides of the same coin in my potential fic, but for how, you'll just have to wait til i make it. the main reason i picked nicky as george's roommate and main Bestie for the fic is bc 1.) the dynamic seemed interesting since they both have experienced being stuck in the worst possible team in f1 for two years but having to act like nothing's Wrong. i am a SUCKER for two people stuck in bad situations they have to make do in, especially when they become good friends just because they have no choice. 2.) since george is literally throwing away his f1 career, i thought nicky would be an interesting guy to volley with because he chose to study instead of pursuing driving elsewhere.

other factors of this fic include: this is a georgierre fic! because i like georgierre! they're not gonna be the central theme of the fic until like, a while, but if george and nicky are like two sides of the same coin, george and pierre are sort of like narrative foils. in the fic, george doesn't bother informing pierre about running away because he knows pierre wouldn't run away with him. it's not toxic per se but pierre is everything george thinks he's not, and it hurts for him to think about it. pierre's definitely not doing okay though my god, imagine your favorite person in the world cutting contact from you without saying anything. no closure no reassurance no whatever, just gossip about how george somehow ended up with nicky, and you're thinking about what you possibly did wrong

the fic is definitely inaccurate in a sense that, i don't think george can legally do that without fucking up sponsors and contracts and whatnot, but if it's any consolation, toto has picked up on george's defeated mannerisms a year early, so he IS responsible for george being allowed out scot-free. toto's not mad, maybe frustrated but not mad, and the one thing he tells george is that, the only time he will be disappointed is if this decision of his amounts to nothing. if it turns out george was just wasting this privilege of being let out, toto will never allow him back into merc.

so, central theme! george has to figure out what he wants to do. he's literally pressured into making his impulsive little run away scheme something worth it, which is HEAVY, because george is not mentally okay either. he explores it through going around london, talking to nicky, ignoring all the messages from colleagues and family, blah blah.

i have the first half of the fic already outlined, but the second half i still need to work on. the first chapter, though, is finished, and i can give u all a LONG sneakpeak of it (aka the intro):

[The moment George picks up his new iPhone and heads home, he knew it was over.

There's not much of a difference between this phone and his old one. When he turns it on, it displays the default, aurora-like backgrounds Apple utilizes, and it dawns on him for the first time that, he's really doing this.

He adds important contacts from his previous phone, then downloads all his necessary apps which, actually, is not a lot, since he doesn't plan on redownloading any social media. There's the obligatory WhatsApp (although he doesn't bother syncing his old account), Puzzledom (he needs something to keep his jittery hands busy), and Spotify.

Once he manages to find a radio of upbeat songs, he gets packing.

All his clothes are hastily pulled from his hangers and tossed like basketballs into his luggage. All his toiletries are put into little ziploc bags he conveniently prepared last night. He funnels in a couple of pens in a small pocket inside his backpack, then his diary and important documents. He doesn't clean the mess he's made as he fumbles around, too invigorated with this unique kind of adrenaline he's feeling.

Finally, he gets his old phone. He opens up his Notes and copy pastes a few messages he's made days, even weeks before, into some WhatsApp chats.

To his coworkers,

I know this is incredibly sudden, and I apologize, but I won't be racing anymore. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill myself, nor am I going to do something else crazy like join a cult. I am just going away to self-reflect. Please don't send anyone after me, nor look for me yourselves. 

Thank you for everything. George Russell out.

To his friends,

I'll disappear for a while— I need to settle some new realizations I had. Not any stupid ones (I know what you're thinking Lando), more life-changing ones. I'm not going to do anything crazy like murder someone (again, looking at you Lando), but I'll get back to you all in a couple of weeks or months. I hope you understand, and bye for now.

To his family,

Hi, I'm very sorry for how sudden this is, but I'm going to take an indefinite time off from everyone to find myself. I won't do anything crazy, and I'm not getting abducted, don't worry. This is none of your faults, and I promise I will get back to you soon. 

To his team,

I know this is going to be a huge hassle for all of you, but mentally and emotionally, I cannot continue racing. I am not going to do something horrible, don't worry, but I'll be going away. Please don't look for me.

I need this.

I hope whoever replaces me does well. Thank you to everyone for everything you've done, especially Toto. I wouldn't be here without you all. But respectfully, I feel like I'm missing something, and I'm going to find it. I hope you all can understand, and I hope that I see you again someday.

Use the remainder of my salary to make up for lost net worth. It should be enough. I calculated.

And to Pierre,

I'm sorry. This is not your fault.

I love you.

After a long press and a sigh, George's old phone vibrates violently as it finally shuts down. He thinks he saw a part of Pierre's name displayed in his notifications.

He still brings the phone with him, just in case.

With a suitcase and backpack on hand, he skims different available flights out of France, selects one headed for London, and books a taxi to the airport.]

[lilacerull0]

Some of your tags on your Mr. Darcy post got me thinking (by way of my associating Mr. Darcy with Jess Mariano) that there are some commonalities between Jane Austen and Amy Sherman-Palladino in the way they write very layered, complex characters (who can't always be neatly sorted into "right" and "wrong" in their behavior) and seem to show a keen observation of human behavior that comes through in a certain wry, satirical humor... But I'd say that Austen's view of humanity is inherently optimistic (people can change for the better and learn from their mistakes) while Sherman-Palladino's view is inherently pessimistic (people often don't change for the better, and can remain stuck in harmful patterns). But ANYWAY, that philosophical tangent aside... I agree that with characters like Darcy and Jess, they're more complicated than just "this poor, misunderstood guy doesn't know how to talk to people." Because while that IS a big part of it, both of them really can also be genuinely rude, because (at the beginning of their development) both of them think themselves in some way "superior" to they company in which they find themselves. Darcy because of his refined upbringing and "good taste", and Jess because of his intelligence and "good taste." In addition to being introverted and not knowing how to relate to people, they also don't even really WANT to relate to them. And I think if we're honest with ourselves, a lot of us have experienced that. I think Jess especially exemplifies the experience of kids who have been rejected and deal with it by thinking, "Well, I wouldn't want to hang out with you anyway!" C.S. Lewis, in "Surprised By Joy," describes being a lonely, nerdy kid who grew to pride himself on being "better" than the jocks who bullied him (even starting an epic poem where clever Loki triumphs over the "brutish" Thor). It's an understandable human response, but snobbery and pride and hate are still morally cancerous (I still remember the moment I realized I had become what I hated, as a teenager). You can be both unfairly maligned AND still be a jerk who needs to learn how to value other people, and I love that Darcy and Jess not only portray that experience but are given the chance to learn from it.

Okay so there's a significant lot to unpack here and this might get *drum roll* ✨personal✨... but who cares, we're all tumblr given creatures, right? First off, I have to point out that "I wouldn't want to hang out with you anyway" isn't really the vibe I get from Darcy (but maybe I am projecting here) but is the exact vibe I get from Jess (*COUGHS* 💫THE CAULFIELD SYNDROME💫🤩??? No? Ok.) I for one just genuinely prefer solitude and it's not some deeply rooted psychological issue caused by a childhood trauma that made me feel that way, I just never really felt the need to socialize with anyone outside of my family when I was a kid? My arrogance problem is a lot better now and I did manage to meet people who I find bearable at least and I think that's Darcy? He has Bingley (and later Lizzie), that's all he needs! He feels comfortable enough to insult Bingley because he knows he won't abandon him and no, I don't get it, I don't get Bingley at. all. but I love him so much no matter his (nonexistent) logic (HOUSE x WILSON! HOLMES x WATSON!). They're like that strange duo that shouldn't work but does (and I'm a sucker for narrative foils thing... that >>>>>>> anything else ever I can talk about this forever but that's another post, here's my Hilson analysis anyways, I feel like it covers a lot of my psychological conditions, it's a nice little insane tag read that can be taken out of fandom context and applied to a different fandom context🎶✨). So yeah, I don't really think Darcy falls under that category of "I hate you because I want to be you." You did say Jess especially exemplifies this and YEAH I agree I just love pointing out differences between him and Darcy because they aren't that apparent at first, it's all about the little things, the smallest puzzle pieces that make one different from the other. Like... Jess is more of a Salinger character that way, he has strong opinions and he wouldn't change them for anybody else but deep down, he craves acceptance and validation from the outside. While Darcy doesn't care much about the outside factor in a textbook case, he does care a lot about the opinion those he likes have of him, more than he'd like to actually, which is where a lot of his distress comes from. And I feel like he gravitates towards people who are different from him just enough (for him, it's more about deeper understanding someone could potentially have of him and he of them, though he doesn't necessarily long for it before he encounters it) and clings to those differences and admires them (for reasons unknown to him) while Jess looks for the ways in which he overlaps with somebody else. But I think they both value deeper understanding and intellectual connections the most when it comes to relationships, though they're both kinda freaked out by those things at the same time. About rudeness vs social skills, I think I've said what I needed to say (at this moment in time at least) here, might add to it later.

Now, for ASP and Austen parallels. I absolutely adore this and yes, you're entirely correct! I just think they both put a lot of effort into making their characters human beings, it doesn't matter if they're unlikeable. And while their reasoning can be tracked down to some of their earlier behaviour or thoughts, it isn't exactly about understanding these fictional people as it is about relating to them and creating a specific, but universal human experience that can mean something outside of the written work, its initial sphere or whatever. I don't exactly know which side I'm on when it comes to the "people change or do they?" debate, but you're soooo right about the optimistic/pessimistic approach Austen and Palladino seem to take while sharing stories and both of those approaches have helped me with some of my own stuff and that's worth something, right?

Thanks for sending this, it was such a fun read and I will be thinking about this ask a lot.🌟✨ Somebody who has more knowledge of Loki should write a Jess x Loki parallels post (if there isn't one already?), my Marvel knowledge is mostly Spiderman related and I'm not much of a MCU fan, but I do love the characters! I just think that MCU sucks. (also I get that Lewis wasn't writing about MCU that's more than obvious, this is just a follow up thought, my answer makes it seem like Lewis got his timelines mixed up hdjsfjisidkskdkskd, adding this now cause I didn't notice the slip up at first!)

[stainedglass-sketchbook]

For the ship rating thing (not doing Titian's characters cause your chart is perfection and I'm trying to do stuff you haven't really drawn)

Jason X Roy X Kori

Clark X Lex

Dinah X Hal X Ollie

Jason X Roy X Kori

Squick / Just nope / A trainwreck you can’t look away from / Mehh but they are bloody everywhere / Not interested but no negative feelings / I need to see how I could make it work / BroTP / Cute / I love them / They rented a room in my mind and are here to stay

dude im sorry ive gotta be honest this is a NOTP jsdakljdlask like I get the appeal but the kory jason roy dynamic and the characterizations of kory & roy in rhato are just so far removed from how I picture these characters that the pairing holds no appeal for me.

This ship also doesn’t work for me in the sense that like ntt was my first exposure to these character and when kory & roy first met jason back then he was like twelve and they were adults. He was the kid brother of their boyfriend & friend. So pairing them off together with that context doesn't make any sense personally. Its just not romantically compelling & comes off a bit weird?

(if rhato was its own isolated thing and kory and roy were never in comics before that  maybe i could get on board or at least approach neutrally, but alas they are not and here we are, with me steadfast in my dislike)

Aaaaaand honestly it doesn't help none that my favorite ships are dickkory and dickroy lmao

Clark X Lex

Squick / Just nope / A trainwreck you can’t look away from / Mehh but they are bloody everywhere / Not interested but no negative feelings / I need to see how I could make it work / BroTP / Cute / I love them / They rented a room in my mind and are here to stay

OKAY okay so I think they're a fun villain superhero pair up like as characters they bounce well off each other and can be good foils for each other yada yada yada characters good & fun but romantically? Not tooo many thoughts and I def need to read more superman comics but well I enjoy it and I think it can be a really compelling pairing at times.

Like as a result of the first superman media I ever consumed being smallville and superman: birthright I have a huge soft spot for versions of the superman origin story where clark and lex were friends when they were kids. Theres a lot of angst potential there (which im a sucker for) and I just love the whole we could be friends!! if you weren't such a dipshit asshole thing they have going on. Its the appeal of the buddies to arch enemies to divorced dads of clone son pipeline.

Dinah X Hal X Ollie

Squick / Just nope / A trainwreck you can’t look away from / Mehh but they are bloody everywhere / Not interested but no negative feelings / I need to see how I could make it work / BroTP / Cute / I love them / They rented a room in my mind and are here to stay

I also desperately need to read more green arrow comics so i don't really have an opinion on this pairing yet but every time @batphobique writes or talks about them them my heart goes <333333

[bisexuel]

🌸🌼🌻 ^_^

🌸 - favourite stand

omg this is such a hard question. okay i think it's a tie between killer queen, the hand, cream, jail house lock, or maybe purple haze or sticky fingers. i... really really like villain stands. much love for jojo stands though.

🌼 - favourite ship

honestly i'm not sure at this point but years back i was a sucker for fugio and josuyasu. what can i say i love me some besties and/or character foils. anyways i don't pay much attention to them anymore but either way their relationships are very interesting i think

🌻 - favourite friendship

JOSUKE AND OKUYASU FOR SURE the besties of all time best friends forever. they are friends so much. like wow they really are just. the best friends ever. incredible how they did that wow.

[ameliarating]

Hi.....If you don't mind me asking, who are your top 5 favorite characters from MDZS? And why? I'm sorry if you've answered this question before.......

Haven't answered and I don't mind!

But unfortunately, I'm really super bad at quantitative rankings of characters.

I'll give it an abbreviated try... here are CQL rankings. Below are changes for MDZS novel-verse.

Xiao Xingchen - if you follow me, this one may or may not be semi-obvious. But I can't get over a character who seems to be constructed entirely out of compassion. He's just kind and he wants to help people and for him that's simple, even when it should start to get really, really complicated. And I'd argue that while the narrative gives him the saddest possible consequences for it, it doesn't punish him for it either. We leave the Yi City arc crying and saying it wasn't fair but ultimately that everyone else should be more like Xiao Xingchen, not, like Xue Yang said, that Xiao Xingchen should be less like Xiao Xingchen. And honestly, I'm just a sucker for really kind characters.

Lan Wangji - he's just so stubborn and determined and never gives up and goes from not at all knowing what he wants (but the show never makes fun of him for not knowing) to being super conflicted about what he wants to knowing what he wants and just going for it, and it's just all done so lovely. And he suffers really well too, not going to pretend that isn't part of it. And he's allowed to just be... himself. I love watching how the characters he cares for make room for how he's different, rather than try and change it.

Lan Xichen - like Xiao Xingchen, he's just trying to do the right thing all the time, and that's a favorite character trope for me, but unlike with Xiao Xingchen, it's never going to be simple for him. He has too much to balance, way too much responsibility, and finds himself always needing to compromise because to not compromise would mean... well, we see what happens to Wei Wuxian, but Lan Xichen doesn't have the luxury of ever thinking that if he steps out of line it will be only him that pays the price. Too many people rely on him. He he really does do his best and, like with Xiao Xingchen, it ends up being a tragedy but he's not punished for his mistakes (well - maybe by Nie Huaisang). But again, I'd argue we're supposed to understand that more people should be more like Lan Xichen, not Nie Huaisang.

Wen Qing - it is just so good to see a character that cool and blunt and effective at what she does and not have the narrative insist on trying to soften her up, get her to display more of her emotions, or just change her. She has that in common with Lan Wangji, but there's also a special thrill here knowing that she gets to be a female character who's allowed to remain herself through the whole story. Like almost everyone else on the list, she's motivated by a quiet desire to do right by the people she has decided she needs to do right by and she plays it perfectly. Just really, really wished she could have been in the second act of the show. (Also, as an older sibling, I love how the full force of her care shines through with her baby brother, even when she's more guarded about it in other contexts.)

Xue Yang - okay so, he's obviously the odd one out here, but first and foremost - I just love to watch him. The moment he appeared on screen, he gave me butterflies and I need you all to understand, I am very very gay. He's cruel and he's terrible and he's strangely vulnerable and he bleeds over everything I love in the show and ruins it the characters I care about and it is so much fun. Also he makes me cry. For him and for others. But when a character makes you want to see more of him every single time he pops on screen for a short moment... he's just a delight and such a problem and I'm fascinated by him. Would definitely nurse him to health without realizing who I was helping out.

Okay, that was CQL, so now I have to make two substitutions - in MDZS Lan Wangji and Wen Qing get bumped and get replaced by...

A-Qing - honestly, A-Qing should be on my top five regardless, but I especially love her extended role in MDZS, how much more we see of her trying to get Xiao Xingchen to leave with her, her role as a ghost later, how little patience she has for both Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang at times, while being incredibly fond of the former and, I'd argue, softening up to the latter... and then at the end, she's just so brave. And just a kid.

Song Lan - yes, it is clear that I am absolutely all about Yi City. I also really appreciate his slightly expanded role in the novel, the way he is deeply uncomfortable with touch in a way to the extent that people think he's just acting too good for them, and the greater share of hope he's given at the end of his novel story. Ultimately I love so much the the role he plays with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan, the tragic dance they do together, how they all are foils and counterparts and partners to each other.