#see? get it? get what I did there? him not being an enemy and also not being a helpful npc? do you get the metaphor ??

[russellbee]

MEETCUTESNYC LESTAPPEN VER. (MV1, CL16)

charles leclerc x driver!childhood friend!reader x max verstappen (no team or gender specified) summary. you, max, and charles are approached by the meetcutesnyc instagram account, and this is how it goes. (1k) warnings. should be none!! andi's note!! obviously this is not the oscar fic i was working on but i keep seeing these reels on ig and i got inspired :) — if you don't know what i'm talking about the account is meetcutesnyc & they go up to couples and ask them how they met, etc.

nav+masterlist

meetcutesnyc Sports Rivals

["Excuse me." You, Max, and Charles all look up at the sound of his voice. Max has a blank look on his face, expecting a fan interaction, while you and Charles both look a little spooked. "Are you two a couple?" The person behind the camera gestures to you and Charles.

Max snorts, "All three of us, actually." You roll your eyes as Charles nods. "That's awesome. Would you guys mind telling me the story of how you all met?" Charles visibly lightens up, and he nods eagerly.

"I will tell the story."

The camera cuts, and now you're all standing along the edge of the sidewalk with Charles in the middle. "I met them both in karting when I was seven, but they met when they were younger. They hated each other, and at first, I played the mediator, for a while, actually. But then, Max really started to get on my nerves." Charles laughs a bit, his cheeks turning rosy. "So we," He gestures to you and him, "Became his number one hate group. He was our enemy." Max rolls his eyes at 'enemy' before interjecting.

"I was their enemy because I was better, of course." You and Charles both begin speaking over each other, arguing about your skills. Max just laughs as you both go on. Eventually, Charles calms down enough to continue. "Then, it was 20, uh, 2015. They come up to me and say that they went out on a date with Max-- him of all people! I was outraged. First, he got an F1 seat, then he got my crush, too? Oh, it was horrible. It destroyed me."

You shake your head, an amused smile on your face, "He's being dramatic, he literally asked me out the next day." Charles gasps. "I am telling the story, let me continue."

"So, I learn of this and then I go to Max and tell him about my feelings for them. Then Max just goes 'oh I like you too if you're cool with that'. I was shocked! Who wouldn't be? So, the next day I go up to them and I ask them if they want to go out on a date with me and Max. Obviously, they said yes. And now we are here, many years later."

"What's the secret to ten years together?" Max's face scrunches up in response and he turns toward the two of you. "Has it really been ten years?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Before they can start bickering, you answer the the original question. "We work together so it's really easy to see each other, but when we don't that's a little hard, obviously. But, I think our rivalry keeps things going, even during the off-season, we're arguing or joking about something that happened 13 years ago."

"Racing against each other definitely makes it very interesting. Adds some fun to everything, I think." Max teases, his eyebrows raised. "It's also just nice in the summer; we go on vacation and don't do anything. We just enjoy our time together," Charles adds.

"And what are your names?"

"Charles." "Max." "Y/n."

"Thank you." You wave toward the camera, and the video ends.]

view comments

user charles and y/n being the original max haters...yeah i could've guessed that lol

user the funniest part is they're like his biggest defenders now 😭😭 user the verstappen hater to max defender pipeline is in fact very real, no one can resist his charm ↳ user loser cat dad charm ↳ user user duh ofc user gax rivalry at the end of 2024...where he mentioned how y/n and charles would do anything to defend max...uh huh, yeah cool

user charles being so excited to tell their story 😖 he just knows everyone will eat it up

user and i did. i've watched this video 30 times now and it just keeps getting cuter

user "adds some fun to everything" oh yeah i'm sure it does max 😼

user never forget las vegas 2023...i have those pictures saved to a special pinterest board that i look at every day ↳ user and las vegas 2024...i can't wait for november, las vegas has become their number one race for being insanely hot in public user max always needs to add an innuendo if he's in an interview with either of them 💀

user i was today years old when i learned they've been dating for ten years...i thought this was a recent thing

user you and max apparently 😭 user it's been recent publically, but everyone kinda assumed they've been dating for a while just bc of the way they act

user playing the y/n champagne pour edit on my tv while i watch lestappen interviews on my phone

user #1 y/n edit, good choice user every time i see anything related to any of them, i'm opening my camera roll to watch the edits i've saved

user max looked so offended when the guy didn't realize all three of them were dating 💀 how obvious does he think their relationship is

user literally everyone knew before they announced it lmao ↳ user how do you think they look to an outsider tho? not everyone's an f1 fan ↳ user never forget ted kravitz interviewing y/n pre-silverstone 2022 where they jokingly said they were gonna crash into charles for 'leaking their relationship' and then having to do damage control later when they actually (accidentally) crashed ↳ user user watching those interviews seasons later actually had me crying 😭 literally no one would believe them

user watching this makes me wonder how the grid deals with third-wheeling them all the time, it must get tiring at a certain point

user they seem so fun to be around tho, they're always bickering 🥲 user please tell me you've seen those compilations on yt of clips of the grid being annoyed/rolling their eyes at them whenever they're around 🙏🙏 ↳ user OMG??? i'm about to run to youtube i need to see this

[elbiotipo]

If I had to rewrite Breaking Bad's finale

(SPOILERS OF COURSE)

I would do it mostly the same, but I would remove that scene where Walt manages to blackmail the Schwarzes into giving his money to his family. It honestly sucked so much. It both plays into Walter's fantasies that he was screwed by them and screwed by life AND makes him win at the end, because his money (which, we must never forget, was made at the expense of people's suffering) goes for HIS purpose and HIS family, just like he wanted. At the end, he wins. (of course, it might be that the money doesn't get to Walt Jr. but the impression left in the audience is that it will)

The whole theme of the series IMO was that Walter did all this for nothing, just for his lust for power. In the finale he wins everything; he manages to get his money to his children, kill all his enemies, free Jesse, and have a final goodbye to his family (except Walt Jr. but he does get the money). You can't always get what you want, but he got all of it.

I also would have made Jesse free himself at the end. Or perhaps making Jesse the one who frees Walter, but he (Walter) dies in the process. I think the intention was there, but again, it was Walter's finale, everything went good for him.

I liked the rest of the scenes though. I did like the machine gun thing because it was a throwback to earlier in the series where Walter had a problem and he solved it with SCIENCE. Despite that I dislike Walter given so much closure, I liked his final encounter with Skyler and Holly. It's just the fact that he WINS everything else that makes it a subpar finale for me.

If it was up to me, Walter would be more vengeful and deranged, eventually failing at his big scheme to avenge himself, but just succeeding at freeing Jesse (or being freed by Jesse) and seeing Skylar and Holly one last time. It's not that I want Walter to be Punished For His Actions To Teach The Viewer A Lesson, it's that the whole theme of the series was that he did all this for his own power and ego, and it would be thematic that at the end, he just can't win them all.

[w-40-k]

*Insert gif of the nodding nun who says 'it has to be said that I do enjoy a good statue' but replace 'statue' with 'angst'*

Like, this is a yandere scenario, would be odd if he didn't have at least *some* trauma from that.

Oh, you know what.

Say, before the lion get's deployed -for the first time since their reunion- he, secretly without the sons noticing, gives Guilliman a device or xeno artefact that, when Guilliman activates it sends out a signal to lion as an indication Lion needs to get Guilliman out of the sons grasp again.

(Imagine then, a scenario where someone who *shouldn't* -chaos agents working under Lorgar pherhaps- get their hands on the device and uses it to lure lion in a trap.

Then use the Lion as a bargaining chip against Guilliman.

And Guilliman has his hands tied, because whilst he wants to help,

(thats his *brother* one of the few that remains and one of the few people who treat him like an actual flesh and blood *person* with feelings and desires of his own as oposed to the distant idol the Imperium and arguably even his sons see him as)

and a(nother) primarch in the hands of the arch enemy is a the stuff of *nightmares*,

(the dark mechanicum would *love* to get their hands on a whole primarch, think of what they could do with all of that fresh, uncorrupted *geneseed!*. One of the bottle necks for making new chaos astartes *is* the limited quantity and quantity of their geneseed)

he *can't* do anything about it personally because the sons would *loose their shit* if he so much as *looks* in the direction of chaos.

By that point the lion would've probably managed to collect the rest of the Fallen and got the angels to calm their tits *somewhat* (going from paranoid about *everything* to being paranoid a normal amount).

Lion and sons vs Guilliman and sons happens on special occasions and is treated as close to a reenactment of the Siege of Terra as they can.

(I imagine they might go to some place that isn't Macragge for that since they actually like their chapter world and people *live* there.

Then again, would that mean that they wouldn't be as prepared for when the actual palace gets eventually attacked?)

Now, Guilliman vs sons would be an *interesting* prospect.

The sons might insist because 'what if, due to the sons failing to protect him Guilliman get's influenced by chaos in some way!'

(or someone manages to put a spell on Guilliman so he perceives the sons as the enemy -pherhaps chaos astartes- and the sons need to occupy him long enough to disable the spell)

Guilliman would certainly be hesitant, because it brings up bad memories (the sons did had to get him to hold still long enough to put the collar on him *somehow*), but he would eventually relent because he can see the merit of this idea (also because the sons get *very* anxious about this if he doesn't).

Guilliman's going to be on edge the entire time of the engagement and is going to be withdrawn from the sons (he turns towards the baselines of the Network during this) and in a foul mood for some time afterwards.

(Can we take a moment to appreciate just how bonkers this entire au is from a meta standpoint?

Because we have a primarch, one of the most *powerful* mortal -debatably- entities in existence. And he's forced into a scenario where he is acutely *helpless*.

With his *sons* -gene conditiond to be *absolutely* loyal- as the perpetrator no less!

And they do it out of *love*, the sheer animal *horror* that they could *lose* him for *real* this time! (a gift Guilliman has never *wanted* yet is nonetheless given)

A primarch -this demi-god made of warp stuff, more myth then reality- is afterall *still* mortal.

'Yandere au involving a primarch and his legion, but with the primarch as the victim' is an *insane* concept!

So let me say this, from the bottom of my heart;

Thank you for coming up with this au!)

The custodies could very well train with Guilliman (of the few that aren't busy supporting the Imperium's already streched thin forces that is).

Got an angsty idea:

-In Short-

Yandere ultramarines binding/caging/disabling Guilliman at all costs for his own safety. Even if they must hurt him, even break him to do it. No more fulgrim/mortarion incidents.

-In Long-

Basically, what if after witnessing his reckless personal behavior towards personally fighting his brothers and his "death" at the hands of fulgrim as well as his LITERAL death at the hands of Mortarion (regardless of the fact he was brought back, he fucking DIED), the Ultrabois just fucking go full Yandere and try to keep him out of battle and under watch as much as they possibly can to ensure his absolute safety from ANY harm, even himself? And what if this desire, this NEED to keep their primarch, their FATHER, safe went to the extreme as he inevitably tried to get back to business, including personally fighting? He's a primarch after all, weapon first, human second, and his duty is to guide and safeguard the Imperium...

My brain basically had an idea of a gilded bird-caged and bound Guilliman and spun a background around it. Some mental images even include a blindfold and gag for the Ultrabois benefit cuz you know Guilliman's words are some of his best weapons (best way to talk them out of it- to a point).

Very OOC, I know, but with the way the Ultrabois were willing to die in droves to get him away from fulgrim as he was dying AND to protect his stasis before his revival, it seems it could very easily become a possibility via Slaaneshi influence, Lord of Excess and all...

GOD I wish I could draw bodies or write 😭

[animalsalvationassociation]

[ DO NOT REPOST, ALL ART & CONCEPTS WERE MADE BY ME ]

Father Finlee (Full Name Unknown)

Species: Alexander Archipelago Wolf (AKA Black Wolf)

Accent: Russian

Role:

Leader of the Order of the Light

Former Slave of the Призрачный щит Fortress (AKA The Phantom Shield) Lead by the Followers of the Great леший (Leshiy)

Relations:

Mother Zinaida, Mama Izolda, Sister Tatiana, Sister Iness, Sister Jelena (His wives, who have bore him 21 children)

Joseph Hughes (Right Hand, Head of his Guard)

Saídê of the Palace (Enemy, Former Slavemate, Fellow Soldier)

Maren of the Palace (His once desired)

Y.N. Palace (Former Follower . . . Chosen one of the вознесенный)

Fale Tsuyoshi (Enemy, Target)

The Spectator (Selected Ally)

The Hatter Trio (Questionable Alliance)

Personality:

Cult? Cult.

Astute. Finlee is nothing but careful in everything he does. Every move is calculated, precise. Even as a young pup he saw things others didn’t. 

He has quite the temper but he doesn’t show it as often as he used to. He was much more brash and hard headed as a young man, and would easily throw himself in harm's way for a more “brutal” result.

(Man was a BEAST on the battlefield, I'm just saying~)

He prefers to dominate his opponents in the most humiliating way possible, but pure violence is never off the table.

Man is a PERV!!!! P. E. R. V. E. R. T.–PERVERT!!! Do NOT be alone with him!!!! I repeat, you cannot trust this man! – I understand he’s attractive, don’t do itttttttt I begggggg TvT

I don’t care if you’re happily married with two kids and a grandchild, I’m still going to FLIRT with you!!!!

(Wow that wasn’t specific at alllll)

“My dear~” in the most husky voice he can manage (Me: *bangs face into table 20 times*)

Imagine a very flirty Shere Khan (Jungle Book) . . . Yes.

. . . . masochist

How old are youuuuu????

(Answer: Ancient)

It’s called . . .  torture~

(Literally his favorite pastime.)

Somehow this man has weaseled his way into every one of my friend’s hearts. They are all followers now, I literally don’t know what to tell you. Finlee has irl followers . . . I SEE YOU GOOGLING HOW TO FIND THE COMMUNE STOP IT!!!!

Neat freak, everything must be organized.

“Pick it up!” – “Nah” – “PICK. IT. UP.” – “Well since you said it like that . . . No <3”

(The man who tested his patience was promptly murdered at the scene. – @urautismdiagnosis-wistie )

The most Russian man that has ever Russianed . . . but evil.

Torture may be his favorite hobby but revenge? That’s his passion in life.

Screw you America.

Don’t ask also . . .

I am so sorry Fae.

No you don’t get context.

I should feel bad for Y.N.

“Should” being the opportune word here . . . @calamaroo 👀

I did . . . and then I started writing the Light Arch . . . Ya’ll need to apologize.

Don't ask why just do it!

I only feel bad for them before and after this arch . . . never during . . . you guys are meannnnn

Grade A Nuisance upon every sound minded person.

Oh you weren’t insane BEFORE you met him?

WeLl YoU aRe NoW!!!!!!!

For some reason his main wife, Mother Zinaida, is literally the only person he actually treats with equal respect. THIS MAN LOST AN EYE FOR HER!!! (Sure she lost an arm but it’s the thought that counts . . . right?)

TREATS 👏 HER 👏 Right 👏 . . . we are still trying to figure out if the other wives get that same privilege . . . *shrug*

Finlee has been around for a VERY long time. He knows what he’s doing. That being said, if you’re on his list (whichever one that may be) he already knows everything about you, down to your daily routine.

He knows your favorite food, your fav. picnic spot, where you keep your grandmother’s diadem, even your mother’s elementary boy crush.

It’s too late for you.

Finlee has his ways.

I promise, you do NOT trust himmmmm!!!

DON’T FALL FOR HIS HOTNESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

TwT

Listen at your own risk . . .

Welcome home my dear~

[ This is a Octonauts AU, in no way is this canon to the OG storyline. ]

[corseque]

I just had the most lightning-strike-my-brain realization

(extreme SPOILERS for the entirety of Clair Obscur, do not click on this post)

Think about it, oh my god....

To put it into words rather than a couple images - this game tried and succeeded to include and then deeply humanize every type of antagonist it could. Each member of the Dessendre family is a different type of Sympathetic Villain, to the point of them becoming Sympathetic Antagonists. Because they are ALL antagonists in some way, and they are all humanized, the player of the game's mind whirls and sorts them all in the "character" category instead of the "villain" or "antagonist" category.

What was brilliant while playing was that whenever you thought you had come across a character who was purely a villain - surely Renoir, who kills Gustave right in front of you, surely he's just a villain? You were wrong. And there were like 5 different types of these characters. Renoir - the archetype of shitty wizard villain who is Killing Everyone for Love, and Killing Everyone Also For Very Good Reasons Beyond Love, who would suffer and wait and plot and kill for thousands of years if it meant his family would be safe and whole again, who must Kill His Love To Get His Love Back, who is an extremely reasonable man but is in an extremely hard position where his back is to the wall and he must make sacrifices of others. The Emet-Selch type

Verso - the archetype of shitty wizard villain who is a tortured good man who must join a party of heroes and then lie to them about his purpose and his past and his true identity, even falling in love with those he is lying to, in order to Kill Everyone and Destroy the World to protect a true world and its true inhabitants. He also wants an end to his personal suffering, but doesn't see a way. The Solas type

Maelle/Alicia - the archetype of shitty wizard villain who is very understandably trying to escape from the real world and her real self and her real problems, even if she must hurt others, or torture and puppeteer the dead to do it, refusing to part with them. This is the type of villain that Batman holds hands with and comforts.

Aline - the archetype of shitty wizard villain who is so caught up in the throes of grief that she does not realize who she is hurting or the devastation she is causing in her grief (This is the type of enemy like when you fight a crazed wounded dragon as an antagonist or something, a pitiable enemy.)

Clea - the archetype of shitty wizard villain who is impatient and uncompromising, and willing to do whatever she needs to keep herself and her family alive, even if it means creating a horde of monsters and dismissively letting them roam with no oversight and kill people just to get a little bit of an edge, or a sliver of time advantage. The unconcerned antagonist in her secret lab who does things coldly but for good reason.

And the best part is Clair Obscur took all of these ideas and all of these kinds of antagonists, and not only did it humanize all of them extremely well, it gave each one of them a melancholy but happy ending TOGETHER. It's simply amazing. They all lived. They all won.

The real problem was all the shitty wizards being sad. It's literally the perfect story.

So no wonder all the reversals come out of nowhere, and no wonder that no matter how much foreshadowing they slather on Verso, you can't seem to mistrust him, because there are SO many other humanized villains and antagonists in this story (even the monsters are humanized and speak to you!) that you can't believe that there will be another one. You can't believe it. And it makes the writing keep striking in a really unexpected way.

It's so smart because these are all usually the fan favorite characters, so for a game to say, why not have the majority of the characters be like this kind of cool and reasonable but very dangerous nefarious wizard character? The answer is, why don't people do this ALL THE TIME

[ackerlikesmen]

No, Rick. This is bad writing.

Alright, I know I've talked about the judo flip already, but seeing how Rick commented on it, I can't not respond because it's laughable at best and stupid and horrible writing at worst.

So, Rick says that Annabeth judo-flipping Percy is a "strategic move" on Annabeth's end. It shows how "strong and quick-witted" and "a wonderful, bold leader" she is.

I... I'm sorry.

WHAT?!

I had to reread and ensure I'm not misinterpreting anything, but nope! I'm not. It's real. Rick seriously said and believes Annabeth was being wise and all that dumb shit.

Rick, are you fucking kidding me?

I said this will be short and I'll try to keep my word.

Mister Riordan, if you seriously think Annabeth judoflipping Percy makes her

strong

quick witted

excellent strategist

bold and good leader

Then, I have news for you. YOU'RE WRONG.

1.) That's NOT what makes you a good leader. Intimidating and beating up your comrades is not good leadership or wise. It's fucking psychotic and creates a stressful, hostile, and horrible work environment. Annabeth would have people on their damn toes and fearful around her, and if there is another ship nearby, they'll most certainly abandon her and join the other team. Hell, you kinda show how stressful she is to be around with PERCY.

It doesn't make her wise because she's putting Percy in an uncomfortable and painful situation, along with showing enemies like Gaea where his curse spot is to better hurt him, but she almost started another war with the Greeks and Romans. Thank the gods Reyna, Jason, and Percy were actually good leaders, and prevented that from happening.

And before I get people saying "he doesn't have the curse spot!"--- Yes, I know he doesn't have it anymore, but SHE DID NOT KNOW THAT AND WAS WILLING TO PUT PERCY AND THEIR MISSION IN JEOPARDY.

It doesn't make her quick-witted or a good strategist because there are other ways--- Hold on. What the fuck was the point of the judo flip? To intimidate the other side? Well, that worked and nearly caused another war—something Percy can not afford. It doesn't make her strong either. It makes her abusive and controlling.

A good leader not only plans for the inevitable but also ensures that this plan is coherent and will provide the best outcome. They wouldn't risk their comrades' safety and would inform their teammates what to do. Last, they wouldn't physically harm their mates because they're angry and can't control their emotions.

Annabeth has much to learn if she believes that makes her a good leader, let alone a good teammate.

Now, if the judoflip was PLANNED, then that would be a different story, because at least Percy is expecting it... But it wasn't, which leads me to number 2

2.) What was the purpose? We never saw Annabeth plot in her head or give us a reason behind her judoflipping him--- actually, we do, and I'll get there. Moving on, this wasn't a plan. Not a coherent one, at least. If this were a plan, how come Percy doesn't know? "Because they want to make it real!" Okay. How come the others don't know? You'd think Jason, Piper, Leo, or someone would comment on Annabeth's plan. Hell, they'll probably comment on how fucking horrible and risky her plan is. Either way, you failed to put that information there, Rick. If this is Annabeth's way of plotting, which I don't think it is, then you've done a terrible job showing that. Because the audience and PERCY believe she's being serious, which she was. That's another thing. If this was a plan and Percy doesn't know the plan, why doesn't Annabeth apologize and tell him this was a skit? Gonna say it again: BECAUSE IT WASN'T.

Last and not least,

3.) Rick, I have a feeling you regret writing that judo flip scene. That's why you're trying to pull an Isayama and rewrite what happened, hoping the fans will be naïve and believe that shit. And I have to say, it's horrible to insult the intelligence of your audience.

Annabeth never thought about Romans vs Greeks, nor did she think about Gaea. Because that's not what you wrote. Annabeth judoflipped Percy because she was ANGRY at him for leaving her. It's in the book that YOU WROTE. It literally said in the scene that she did not care about what else was happening around her. She judoflipped Percy because she's angry at him. Literally, she says, "If you ever leave me again, I swear to the Gods,". IT'S RIGHT THERE. Everyone can go read it. Fuck, YOU should reread it. Nowhere does it say she's plotting or thinking about Gaea and anything else. She only thought about taking Percy and hiding somewhere while also being extremely angry at him for 'leaving her', so she takes her anger out on him. Hell, Percy tells Grover that he's trying to MAKE IT UP to Annabeth for leaving her.

Again, what good leader leaves their comrades in the dark? What good leader HURTS their teammates because they're angry and can't control their emotions?

You're trying to rewrite this shitty scene and make Annabeth and her gross actions look heroic and justifiable. Trying to make percabeth seem good and healthy, and it's pissing me off. Can't you just admit that she fucked up and should not have done that? Instead, you have to lie and act like she's this 'great leader that's so strong and wise' and try to rewrite your mistakes.

I know I'm being a cunt right now, but I can not stand this type of shit. Just admit that Annabeth was wrong and shouldn't have done that. Judoflip will NEVER be good or moral because she didn't do it to be good and 'strategic'. She did it to hurt Percy. That's it.

You can try to rewrite this all you want, but we got the copies, and they show Annabeth is a terrible leader and, most importantly, a terrible, abusive girlfriend to Percy.

Alright, rant over. Goodnight.

[infiniteeight8]

Oh, look at me popping into your prompts. Completely unexpected, I'm sure.

Some more enemies-to-lovers? I'm just vibrating in my chair in anticipation for how this is going to develop.

Such a surprise to see this one get prompted. 😂 All kidding aside, I am glad for it, because I’m rather pleased with my plan for it! There are at least three more ficlets to go after this one. Maybe four? It depends a little bit. (I know I said at least four in part 4, and this is part 6, but I also said then that maybe 5 or 6 would be better… We can all see where I landed on that now. LOL.)

Behind the cut because this is a long one.

-

Tony peers over the shoulders of the two apprentices Stephen gave him to work on the digitization project. One of them, Sarah, is carefully scanning the yellowed pages of a book while the other, Kenzo, works on cleaning up and validating pages from a previous scan. “How’s it going?”

Sarah looks up at him and smiles. “Good! This is my third book today.”

“And no stubborn ones so far,” Kenzo adds.

Magic books, it turns out, can resist being digitized. Tony and Sangita are trying to figure out why, but it’s not a high priority since there are thousands of books in the library and they’ve scanned less than a hundred and completed the files for only a fraction of them. Besides, convincing Stephen that an air-gapped computer was just as safe as a locked and warded library—safer, with Tony’s protections added—had been hard enough without adding in what the books thought about it.

“Excellent,” Tony says aloud. “When you—”

Between one word and the next, Tony is translocated out of the lab. “—finish— What the hell?” He swallows whatever words might have come next when he registers Stephen sitting on a bed in front of him, shirtless and swathed in bandages. They’re spotted with blood and Stephen looks pale and exhausted. There are two Masters standing over him, casting some sort of spell. “Are you okay? What happened?” Tony asks, stepping forward and reaching out to touch before dropping his hand.

“Tony?” Stephen blinks and looks at the Masters. “Did you call him?”

They don’t answer, intent on their tasks, but Tony suspects he has the answer. “I think the Sanctum brought me here on its own. Stephen. What happened?” It occurs to him, once the words are out, that he might not want the answer. What if it was the Avengers? Tony hasn’t been following the news. Not lately.

Stephen sighs. “Mordo. He was leading an attack in Hong Kong. We’ve turned him back, but it was a… difficult battle.”

Tony’s stomach feels tight, his nerves jangling. “Casualties?” he asks.

“Four cases of magical exhaustion,” Stephen says. “Two minor injuries.” When he stops, Tony raises an eyebrow and Stephen rolls his eyes. “And me, obviously. Mordo got me with a slashing spell; I’ll be fine, I’ve been seen by doctors and healers.”

Tony pulls up a stool and sits, then has to take a minute when he realizes that shaky feeling is relief. “Why are you two so at each other’s throats, anyway? If you worked together, you’d have a much better chance with the Avengers.”

“Believe it or not, the Order has more in common with the Avengers than with Mordo,” Stephen says dryly. Above his head, the Masters exchange a glance, but they don’t object when Stephen goes on. Tony finds he isn’t surprised; Stephen’s people trust his judgment. “Mordo believes that mundanes—non-magical people—are incapable of governing themselves properly. He aims to create a kind of ruling class composed entirely of sorcerers and to bring the rest of the world into their control. It would be a pseudo-Feudal arrangement, as far as I’ve gathered.”

“And the Order believes in people’s right to self-determination?” Tony asks skeptically. 

Stephen snorts. “People are idiots,” he says. “They absolutely need guidance. But there are areas in which they can be permitted to make mistakes and areas in which they can’t. The Order uses a behind the scenes approach that permits maximum freedom and minimum casualties.”

Tony stirs uneasily. “But you’re still running things.” 

“When necessary.” Stephen must see how much that bothers him, because his expression softens. “Tony. If a demon from another dimension came to Earth and said, ‘Join up with me and you can have eternal life. Refuse and be consumed.’, would trust humanity to put it to a vote, or would you just do what was necessary to banish the demon?”

“That not—” Tony stopped, taking in the absolute evenness of Stpehen’s expression, “—a random example, is it? That actually happened.” 

“Yes.” The two Masters finish what they’re doing and Stephen nods briefly at them before they depart, leaving Stephen and Tony alone. “The Order protects humanity just as much as the Avengers do,” Stephen says. “Sometimes, that means protecting them from themselves.”

“And sometimes that means interfering in non-magical events,” Tony says, because the Avengers have tangled with the Order over a lot more than magical artifacts and dimensional visitors.

“Yes.”

Stephen is so confident. There’s no uncertainty in him at all as he meets Tony’s gaze. Tony fights down an absolutely inappropriate rush of heat at the sight of him half-dressed, wounded, and still full of strength. “So why does the Order get to be the ones to choose how to manage things?” Tony asks.

“We’ve been doing it for ten thousand years and humanity is still here,” Stephen says simply. Then he grimaces. “Granted, the advance of technology has made our job much more difficult over the last few decades. It’s so much easier for people to do so much more damage now.” He sighs.

Tony can’t help an immediate surge of sympathy. Mentally, he shoves it aside to deal with later. Maybe after he resolves the disturbing contrast between the Order’s ten thousand years of successful management and the utter shit show that has been disaster response and clean up since enhanced people arrived on the scene. And that’s just one example.

“Come on,” Tony says, helping Stephen up. “We should get you to your bed.”

“My guest room,” Stephen corrects. Tony shoots him a confused look, and then coughs and ducks his head when he remembers: he’s been sleeping in Stephen’s bed. Stephen smiles. “I’m quite satisfied with the current occupancy of my bed.”

“Oh, really? You’re giving it up that easily?” Tony says, heart racing.

Stephen smirks. “I did say current. Not future.”

“You might have a fight on your hands.”

“I’m sure a compromise can be reached.”

Tony’s mind supplies him with a vivid image of what compromise might look like.

He’s still thinking about it after he’s settled Stephen into his guest room.

[insomniacauthorfromhell]

You know what I think? Childe is only naive with people he trusts.

Childe is definitely kinda naive when it comes to people he thinks he can trust. For example: The Tsaritsa, Pulcinella and Zhongli (his reaction in the bank). When he trusts someone, he doesn't half ass it, he gives it completely. He trusts the Traveller and what did he do? In the Fontaine quest, he gave his Vision to the Traveller with full belief that they will keep it safe. When this man trusts someone, he will do so with his full heart. Too bad he will stabbed in the back by the Cryo Archon and Pulci.

I think while he presents himself as a silly guy, he is not fully stupid. He managed to trick the Traveller and managed to pull off an escape from the Fortess. He has his moments of dumbassery but well within reason. When it matters, he will be intelligent. Because Childe is just a mask. He has masks. Tartaglia is another mask. Childe introduced himself as Childe, a sunny, eager guy who is easy to get along with. When he shows up in the Golden House, that's not Childe. That's Tartaglia, the Eleventh Harbinger who's left many a destruction in his wake. Ajax is reserved for his younger siblings. So yes, as much as these are name, these are also his masks. For me personally, Childe has no true personality. Instead he has a series of masks suited for the people around him as he sees fit.

He's not an actual fool and I am very sure that when that particular wave of mischaracterization hits, I'll be very annoyed. The Childe hate is frankly, very unwarranted. They call him all kinds of untruths.

Like where did they get the "Childe is a simp" bit? Just cause he called Lumine girlie or paid for a few things during that Liyue quest cause Zhongli is so used to making mora that he forgot to carry a pouch of it as a mortal disguise, doesn't mean he's a simp. Childe is at best, friendly to the Traveller. He thinks they are strong and fun to be around and that maybe travelling with them would be fun cause wherever the Traveller goes, strong enemies are sure to be found. He's not a simp for any character. I love Griffin's song covers, but he is definitely not helping with this weird fanon characterization of Childe that's being considered canon by some weird fans.

Also Childe being weak??? Where??? Idk where people get the "Childe is Weak" bits from. Like ik why Skirk calls him weak, she literally trained him so she had mentor rights. She's also definitely a non human, so her definition of strong vastly differs.

Idk why she says Traveller and Neuvi is strong cause they dealt the last blow to the whale, like Childe did most of the damage over a very long period of time. I mean yeah, Traveller is OP and Neuvi is a Sovereign but they are also not mortal. Obviously they are strong. Childe did more in that fight, as much as he humanely could just for the funsies because this man is an adrenaline junkie.

Other characters?? Like Childe will win against all the human characters. Like the only human who I think has a chance of defeating him is Shenhe. The other human characters don't even come close to being able to defeat him, but the glazers say otherwise. (I've seen people saying Kaeya or Diluc or even Ning are capable of defeating him like??? How??? Where???) Childe is an actual soldier, he fought his way up the ranks as a teen and became a Harbinger at eighteen! He has mastery over all weaponry with the exception of the bow. And with the way his strongest hit with the bow is him simply throwing the arrow, his physical strength is probably very high.

People cannot get it through their brains that gameplay doesn't equate to the character's actual strength. If you build a character right, they'll deliver. However in the actual story, Childe is one of the strongest characters on the powerscale. If you remove the immortals from the powerscale, this guy can be even in the top 5 because that's how strong he is in the lore.

This guy fell into the Abyss and came out alive. He was a child and he survived when adults and hell, even immortals couldn't withstand the effects of the Abyss. Child came out with a shit ton of trauma and he's definitely seen some things down there but his psyche is somewhat intact enough for him to function in society. He was strong enough to do that.

Childe can never be a weak character to me and when I see the fandom say otherwise, I get so, so angry. He's a complex guy. He is so much more than 'Ginger', 'Simp', 'Liar', 'Weak', 'Asshole' or whatever the fandom wants to call him these days. Some of the things I see people say about him are as follows:-

•"He lied to us!" Oh boo hoo, so did Zhongli and I don't see anyone harping him for it. Zhongli arranged for the whole thing to happen and Childe was just the pawn who had to make it happen, he didn't even know what was going on.

•"He tried to kill us!" So did Scaramouche but the fandom licks his shoes and worships him anyway. He got redeemed, yes but all the harm and damage he did still happened. He hurt people too but just cause the fandom is full of masochists who get off being insulted, everything is alright apparently.

•"He tried to harm the people of Liyue!" Wtf was Raiden doing to her people? It was a fucking dictatorship in Inazuma but the fans don't mind that, do they??? I didn't really like it when she apologised and all was forgiven.

•"Childe is a terrible brother!" He cares for his brother. He takes the safety of his siblings as well as their dreams very seriously. Diluc tried to harm Kaeya but nooo he's misunderstood right? Diluc was grieving right? Kaeya did nothing yet Diluc tried to pull a sword on him. I know grief can do horrible things to a person but between the guy who pulled a sword on his brother put of anger and grief and the guy who used a transformation that could harm himself just to protect his brother's dreams, who is a better brother? According to the fandom, apparently the first guy. (I'm not villainizing Diluc here, I'm just presenting my point here. Diluc is a great character and did not deserve the hell that Dottore made for him)

Always when it's Childe, people pick at these things but when it comes to everyone else, they get off scot free without so much as a slap on the wrist. Like Childe lied? This guy was very upfront about being a Harbinger, it was very obvious that he would do something so idk why people are so butthurt about it. The Harbingers don't care for the Traveller and won't take their feelings into account when they make plans. Childe and Traveller are quite cordial now in the game, but the fandom is still hung up on that 'betrayal'.

Childe is obviously going to be one of the key players in the story in a way most of the characters aren't. From his name being Ajax, to that story of Ajax (with that whole sink into the Abyss and forsake the self and be reborn into a holy infant bit), Dain only talking about him and not the other Harbingers, that whole description of his Foul Legacy that Skirk gave (if you get what I mean), him having to be directly involved in that project Snow or whatever is going on when Arrle said she's just helping with funding, his constellation being broken by the Whale and Skirk's description as his master...Childe is not a background character. He is one of the main players in whatever story is going to be unraveled. Also the part where it's said Skirk saved Childe from that fate, the word they used 'providence' who's definition is 'The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power' and that means some relation to the gods which I'm taking as Celestia probably. Childe is definitely crucial in the story.

He's going to be very important to the storyline that is going to be laid out, post Snez I am guessing.

"Give us complex characters!" They can't even handle Childe.

Fans, my ass. They boil characters down to their mediocre understanding and pretend this mediocrity is canon and force this fanon down everyone's throat. I get not liking a character, but having such shallow understanding and such shallow reasoning...is just annoying to me. Like I'm not a big fan of Dazai from BSD but that doesn't mean I won't put in the effort to understand him as a character as well as his backstory and his whole deal. If this shallowness is what gets celebrated and encouraged in the Genshin fandom, then I'm never going to say I'm a part of the fandom.

I have to scrounge through the Ao3 tags to find something that isn't mischaracterization. Like okay, you can't get something 100% canon, I'm not telling anyone to. I just want Childe to be treated as the complex character he is. Childe is THE morally grey guy of Genshin Impact. Treat him as such instead of...whatever the fanon version of him is.

I don't care if someone thinks I'm overreacting with this post. I am allowed to have my opinion on this and well this is my opinion. I am a Childe defender till the day I die, he just ticks off so many boxes for me. Childe as well as Ace Trappola from Twisted Wonderland are kind of in the same area, both are loyal ginger guys with a cheeky personality and a morally grey setting.

I like complex characters and I'd like to see being presented as such instead of the 2D fanon that the fandom tries to shove down my throat.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk. I hope that this didn't bother those reading this so much, I can get...passionate a out my favourite things.

I wish you all a pleasant rest of your day/night.

skirk being called 'fool's master' is gonna unleash a whole new wave of childe mischaracterisation, isn't it?

[vaguely-concerned]

thinking about not only the specific people lucanis pulls in to represent the 'locks' in his psyche, but the storytelling that happens in the structure/order of them. the underlying ideas are presented something like:

the lucanis who went into the ossuary never came back out again; he died down there (the boy caterina raised is gone forever) -> you're putting yourself in danger doing this (by being close to me), you should leave because I can't bear it if you get hurt because of me -> it doesn't matter even if we do try this, it won't work anyway (again because of me) ('you know what he's like, you can open the door but he won't walk through it' :'( oofie doofie) -> what if the real secret is that there was never anything but the monster in here from the beginning. you should leave, there was never anything here worth saving in the first place. (implicitly: what if I deserved what happened, all along.)

it runs pretty cleanly from outward-oriented attachment anxiety ('caterina won't even want me back like this, she won't recognize me (the same way I no longer recognize myself)) and gradually deeper inwards until we reach self-image and self worth. or you know, the harrowing basic lack of it lol.

"careful -- they'll know we're not right," spite says in one of their first scenes... but clearly, some very deep part of lucanis has feared or suspected for much longer than that that there's something inherently not right at the core of him, way before any demon entered the picture. and the voice he gives those lines to is the person who should know him better than anyone in the world, who he has loved more than anyone in the world -- and who deliberately chose to hurt him so horrifically anyway. 'It's better if I'm just a monster and deserved what happened than it is to allow for the idea that the brother I love doesn't really exist and maybe never did'. it's better if he's fundamentally flawed in some way that needed fixing to help him survive, and that's why caterina chose to hurt him again and again -- out of love. (this one I think he might have a very sad wakeup call on one day if he ever ends up with the responsibility and care of a child of his own in some way and realizes just how alien the idea of ever intentionally hurting them for any reason is to him. oh buddy. also interesting that he keeps caterina as the outermost lock -- there IS a distance he keeps there that he hasn't with illario. he doesn't resent her 'anymore' he says, but he also keeps her carefully further away from his deepest self.)

as far as I could tell the only note in the mind prison that's fully hidden and needs to be uncovered is the sad painful helpless stupid little truth that even after all this, even knowing what happened... he still loves his brother. is there anything illario could ever do that would make lucanis completely stop loving him, do you think? sometimes the trouble with unconditional love is that it is, well. unconditional, even when some terms and conditions probably would have been in order haha.

that's the pattern you see there again and again; he would rather destroy and abandon and imprison himself at every turn than let go of love, even when it's just scraps, even when there's only ever enough of it to hurt him. it's only when rook shows up and as it were takes his hand and walks along with him that he can entertain the idea of changing the story of what walking out the door might mean in the end.

[soullessjack]

so im on s5 of miraculous and i keep thinking about cat noirs whole “kept at a distance” arc bc it’s genuinely really interesting but gets so wasted by always winding up with him basically validating ladybugs nonsensical decisions and treatment—the same treatment that we were already shown upset him enough to destroy public properly about it. the most consistent reason LB ever gives cat about why he can’t be fully trusted or relied on is that he’s too much of a liability for their partnership to work—either because he’s too reckless, too in love with her, or his cataclysm would be too dangerous to use.

whatever it is, the baseline is that she thinks he’s a liability, and obviously that’s like salt in the wound for cat since he genuinely loves her and enjoys being partners with her, but it’s also just sad to see him continue to respect her decision and act like it isn’t a problem for him when he’s literally upset enough to physically lash out and use his powers to do so. and I know a lot of it can probably be explained by ladybug’s experience in the cat blanc timeline, but 1) she starts holding him at a distance way before that even happens, 2) she’s actively making it worse by not telling cat noir about cat blanc and why she thinks she has to exclude him for his own safety, and 3) SHE SHOULD HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT CAT BLANC TO BEGIN WITH BECAUSE IT’S LITERALLY A WORLD ENDING SITUATION INVOLVING HIM DIRECTLY‼️‼️‼️‼️

instead she just allows him think he’s unwanted and unnecessary, calls the shots on how he should feel about “having more free time” and ironically makes him even more susceptible to being Akumatized because of it. ladybug might not be aware that cat is adrien and has a terrible home life he actively uses his miraculous to escape from, but she’s playing right into all the key aspects that adrien resents from his father; she decides what he wants without considering or asking him, she trusts him conditionally and still distances herself enough for him to just not know certain things. it’s done with good intentions, but it still clearly affects adrien very poorly, and it’s just such a frustrating glass-chewing miscommunication that only needlessly complicates the situation

don’t even get me started on Kuro Neko where ladybug falls head over heels for the changed version of her partner and narrowly avoiding her having to actually screw up and learn a lesson about accepting cat for who he actually is because catwalker is just “too perfect” for her to function—instead of being an obedient idealized version of her best friend who lets her be in control of everything (WHEN ADRIEN LITERALLY USES HIS DOUBLE LIFE TO HAVE THE CONTROL HE DOESN’T GET AT HOME).

theres so much potential for the base concept of the miraculous of destruction and its Kwami/holder being distrusted outliers among the rest of the Kwami/holders, but the magic system sucks and it kind of loses any chance when the other Kwamis are established to be catastrophic if they use their powers without a holder. and it gets even more confusing if you consider that Fu specifically chose adrien to hold that miraculous, but then encourages Marinette to keep her distance from him and barely acknowledges him as a hero in general. Like why did you even bother testing adrien for his worthiness or whatever if you obviously don’t think he’s worthy of knowing anything about you or the rest of the miraculous OR his best friend’s identity??? but you’re totally okay with her just giving them out to anyone in Paris who’s conveniently around and having her know their identity???? master fu when I catch you master fu

auugghhhfgg I don’t know the magic system thing could be its own separate post but likeeeeee I just think the miraculous of destruction whos constantly mistrusted for no reason and goes Kamehameha Krazy in another timeline is very special and could be treated so much better if the writers were good at their job and didn’t make every character’s sole purpose be validating ladybug/marinette even when she’s in the wrong

[dannybobany]

THE REFLECTION makes itself known

[plus a gif to show what it would look like in an actual battle]

Alrightttt, I’d like everyone to meet The reflection! This was one of the first ideas I had for an enemy in Marzenie, a miniboss based on Hero

It’s meant to embody some of the more general insecurities Basil has, it takes the form of Hero because from Basil’s perspective Hero is like. The GOAL for the kind of person you should be in life, he’s smart, successful, attractive, he’s the embodiment of (from an outside angle) the perfect man (and obviously Basil is wrong to think Hero is perfect, but comparing himself to Hero is one of his self deprecating habits so that’s what all of this is mostly about in the end)

Given the Fear and Hunger inspirations for this AU, there’s probably a form of ‘sanity’ bar in addition to HP, this enemy would do a mixture of both but its mind attacks would be far worse while its physical attacks would do barely any damage, the gimmick of the fight is that before it uses one of its mirrors a text pop up will say something hinting at which it’s about to use, and which mirror its raising is the one you have to shatter before its able to use its attack (basically the whole ‘which limb do I cut off to avoid getting obliterated’ thing in fear and hunger but with mirrors)

PS: if this is the first Marzenie post you’ve seen, it’s a perspective switch au where Basil has an inner world like sunny does except his is terrifying and awful! More info available in tag teehee

[drgemmadawnnightingale]

"You make it sound like you would rather be feared." Gemma noted. "As I said, it is still possible to both be trusted and feared at the same time. It's just a matter of keeping your word, meaning what you say, and not taking advantage of the people around you. Being feared and being genuine can go hand in hand, if loyalty in others is ultimately your goal." How else could one foster trust in other departments without making connections? This was the only thing she could think of. It's a shame that this was the middle ground she had to reach, but even middle ground is a step foreword.

"It's true that I feel a little more comfortable that I can call you a friend." she admitted. "When I heard of the experiments, I had to meet the man responsible for them. I had to know who would do such a thing and why. And in meeting you... I was very afraid back then." She can admit it now. It was never a secret, but it took every ounce of willpower to not show it in front of him all this time. "But through that fear I worked to see if I could find another side to Dr. Harley Sawyer, if he was more than the man he presented himself to be." She got herself to smile slightly, it was drained of energy, but satisfied. "I have learned a few new things, but ultimately I've learned that you truly are a man to be feared, Doctor."

She certainly felt like she was the only person who tried to get close to him on purpose, but it wasn't true. There were others on the outside who were intrigued by the mystery of the head of Special Projects and were, in the least, trying to be a part of the division. But for Gemma, it was knowing who Dr. Sawyer was and what he did that drove her closer. To keep enemies closer, but also to see if she could get him to stop the experiments. It was clearly pointless to try if even he knew that he couldn't stop now.

"Even so, I do still want to keep working with you. We can still learn from each other. And you're more than welcome to come to my office to chat about anything you'd like. To answer why... well, how to put it to words..." She blushed a bit as she tried to come up with a word worthy answer. "...I'd have to say that the things that pushed others away is what drove me to you. Because there's a person underneath that feared reputation, and so far I've really enjoyed getting to know him."

It was the truth, the best way she could put it. As far as she was willing to word it.

"Quick, while no one's looking - let's find a place where we can be alone." (Sawyer to Gemma)

The way that was worded quickly brought a blush to her face.

"My office?" she suggested. "What's this about?"

[maryasmorevna]

why are you, as an adult in 2024, still hung up on reylo. why are you still mocking the shippers. why do you believe yourself to be superior only because you dislike a stupid ship from a fucking space fairytale. girl (gnc) get a grip

[mushlyslog]

Finally watched Kung Fu Panda 4, tell me why it unironically changed my life

[hauntingblue]

ENIES LOBBY TIME!!!

Sanji's face here.... he Knows he is going to fuck him up

THAT IS SANJI??? 😨

Holding them in my hands again....

Sanji struck a nerve there akdjaoajkq

Increible trio btw.... look at the evidence

............ me next please 🙏🏻

That is love right there I can see it

What if we all killed ourselves (except usopp is telling her the opposite ajahkdhsakjd)

I need sanji to go insane like this more often.... after the timeskip it doesn't happen as much and I love to see him suffering

This is so funny.... there is no denying to her face card

"It's not like she actually wants to die" well yes she does, but no because you know she doesn't really. It is in a quantum state right now

Luffy is such a menace akdhaksjkaak

TELL EM!!!! THAT'S MY GIRL!!!!

Look at franky worrying about robin.... do not fret luffy is coming and he will NOT lose!!!!!

This is zoro remarking how usopps fear of being left behind makes no sense.... this is so good.....

This is so endearing but it also breaks my heart....

Who is that sultry binch... (I don't recall this attack AT ALL and i'm sure we never see it again)

They botched his bbl.... 😔😔😔

Luffy's face here... he was convinced she wanted to go with them but was compelled to do otherwise but no.... he thought wrong and he can't fight to her.... I've just been staring at this page for minutes like damn.

Nevermind.... this is something your mother would say "you want to die??? Just wash the dishes and you can do whatever you want later"

"If you wanna die, or whatever...." this is so good like he knows what he is doing.... he Knows.... look at her face. After knowing how luffy and ace were as kids this just makes more sense (oda didn't think about this i'm sure but damn does it fit) also the slight manipulation.... look at all of us we're already here and look how we all miss you already... you know that post about luffy being selfish but his selfishness is jusg kindness to others... yesh

Thinking about robin's cinderella lifestyle.... why did her mother leave her with that aunt and why didn't some archeologist take her in?? Because she doesn't complain about anything just like she doesn't respond when that mother accused her of hitting her child without reason... that's so fucked

Alright this is funny (and also true)... I'm sorry fellow women....

*Justin Bieber voice* I like your laugh... dereishi shishishi

SHE'S GONNA ASK HER MOM TO TAKE HER TO THE SEA WITH HER??? LIKE SHE DOES AFTER WITH LUFFY??? MY GOD!!! I just bursted into tears like I got punched in the nose I can't keep going ajdhakajk

I lied i can keep going... but head in my hands over this....

Find out how my emotional stability survives this arc in ennies lobby part 2. coming soon

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

A post in honor of General Jarod Fire Emblem my precious.