#so don't let The People Team replace us.

[hippo-pot]

Btw, re: my opinion that computers are not gonna be able to translate sign languages in our lifetime, it's not that sign languages are necessarily More complicated than spoken/written languages (I truly don't know how you'd measure that but I'd assume they're equally complicated). But video is, in terms of sheer data, much bigger and presumably harder to process than audio. I cannot imagine this happening without *astounding* computational resources which would take far more energy, water, and money than a human interpreter (and, more importantly, wouldn't work as well, at least for the foreseeable future). I assume the computation would happen off site in most cases if it did work, meaning the Internet connection is gonna need to be phenomenal (there is already widespread dissatisfaction with VRS human interpreters used in medical settings because half the time the connection drops). Speech to text, with all the issues it still has, seems like a breeze in comparison to 'understanding' a video.

I also cannot wrap my mind around how a machine would handle depictions. Like, with some practice behind me, my human mind is now able to understand (some) depictions I've never seen before (thank goodness, because there will ALWAYS be new depictions I haven't seen before, bc Deaf people are resourceful and creative), but I don't see how a machine would. That's pure sci fi to me. I also wouldn't expect a machine to do a good job translating stuff it's never heard before in a spoken language (e.g. wordplay, or the way you can sometimes tell the meaning of a new slang word from context, or an uncommon name even), but the thing is I think depiction is a much bigger part of daily life than wordplay is?

[artbyblastweave]

So I don't really think that it's a secret that Boston has a significant Minotaur problem. It's a pretty common situation for older American cities on the East Coast- centuries of poorly-documented cowpath-style urban growth providing an ideal nesting ground, widespread electrification and plentiful steam tunnels that compensate for the loss of the temperate Mediterranean climate that they're used to. And all this on top of limited institutional knowledge of proper containment tactics at least up until the Greek diaspora started to really blow up in the 20th century. You only have to fuck up the safety checks on one cargo steamer coming in from the broad area of old Minoa and then basically any import controls you put in after that point are closing the barn door after the bulls are loose. So yeah, no secret, it's an issue.

I do think, though, that we've kind of let the specific narrative surrounding the issue get away from us in the usual fashion, the problem people picture when they hear "Minotaur" isn't anywhere close the to the problem as it exists on the ground. I mean people's minds immediately jump to the 1949 Boylston massacre, but let's be real, even though that was really politically useful for finally getting the exit fares on the T removed, that was still a black-swan event, right? Basically every mayor since, like, Hynes has lived in mortal terror of having to manage a repeat of something like that during the mass media era, let alone the smartphone era. So we've got these Theseus kill-teams with their titanium-composite ropes and souped-up cattle prods and bolt guns, we have these constant "track replacement" stoppages on the orange line, and it's fine. It's fine! There hasn't been a serious Minotaur thing within walking distance of a T stop since, like, 2006, which again you can mostly chalk up to the chaos surrounding the dig.

No, the actual danger zones, the silent killers are the exurbs, like West Roxbury, Roslindale, parts of Hyde Park. Relatively dense foliage, bad sightlines, far enough from the urban center that the response times are bad, foot traffic that's basically nonexistent for big parts of the workweek because everyone's either commuting or hunkered down working from home. And, of course, a steady stream of delivery drivers with no political ties to the area. Which is an important element, right? I mean it's kind of baked into the Minotaur's nature, that they have a very finely tuned instinctual awareness of the politics of their situation. Start snagging homeowners, there might be a ruckus. But Amazon does steady business everywhere, and Minotaurs are smart enough to cover their bases, to wait until after the drivers have dropped off your package or delivered your food. So yeah, watch yourself out there. One eye on the treeline at all times. And if you see an Amazon van left idling, get ready to run faster than the driver could.

[vettelcore]

to not really give a fuck about football i really do have some very strong opinions about luis enrique being kicked out of the spanish nt

[bengals-barnesbabe]

The Girl Behind the Camera

Pair: Joe Burrow x Videographer!Reader

Descr: When The Bengals hire a new social media manager, people start to notice a certain QB coming out of his shell.

TW: mentions of sex, nudity, gossip, racism, classism, invasion of privacy, protective boyfriend!Joe.

Main Masterlist

WC: 2083

*. * ·┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ ｡˚ ✧

"Which of your teammates would you rather be stranded on a deserted island with for 72 hours?"

Was the question being asked on the way out from practice. From behind the black and white jerseys Joe could hear the bouts of laughter from each answer. Most of his more outgoing teammates thoroughly enjoyed walking up to the woman with the camera on a day to day basis, while others like him avoided making simple eye contact with her.

But today's Friday and Fridays are very special on this practice field. Not only do they have shorter practices but the recurring sports journalist major with a sometimes too sunny attitude, is replaced with the new silk press and brown glossy lips-wearing photographer that could stop him in the middle of the busiest highways just with her smile.

"Hey 9!" You beam as he approaches you with rosy cheeks. "Wanna hear today's question?"

I'd listen to anything coming from those pretty lips.

"Sure, whatcha got for me?" His eyes are solely focused on the way your glittery nails push back your dark brown locks and the movement of your lips rather than the content flowing from them.

He stands there motionless for a minute contemplating his answer, when in reality he just wanted to see how long you'd hold his gaze before squirming. 45 seconds is the current record.

"Joey, come on.."

25 seconds, he must look especially good today.

He smirks as your pout forms, or maybe he just likes giving you more work to do in the editing room (aka tonight at his place).

"Are you going to answer or should I shut off the camera?" A chuckle arises from his belly as you attempt to make an authoritarian stance with a smooth caramel leg jutted out and your glistening arms crossed over your chest.

Rolling your eyes at him, you start to ignore him and play around with the camera, before his voice interrupts you. "Alright, I'll answer. Only for you though."

He does his best to revert back to factory settings (aka grump mode as you like to call it) when you give him the go-ahead. "I guess, I'd take Ja'Marr. Hopefully, he doesn't get sick of me in 3 days."

You let out a cute giggle at his response recapturing his gaze from above the camera. He'd make it his life goal to keep that sound pouring from your plump lips.

So he adds to his answer. "Or I'd take my girlfriend, she loves beaches you know. She's kind of the yin to my yang." He smirks nodding to your necklace.

Flustered you try to cover your smile, before asking him a follow-up question. "Would you get on a boat to rescue her, if she somehow got trapped out at sea?"

"Of course, I would," he chuckles. "But then I'd ask where she found a boat in the first place and why she got in it when she doesn't like them either."

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-

"Maybe she was just trying to find food for her quarterback boyfriend with a bottomless pit as a stomach." His entire body shakes with laughter as you smile accomplishedly behind the lens.

"That's cute, you know her or something?" You shrug, as he straightens up due to another presence approaching.

"Don't stop on my accord, you did great today J. And you Miss Thing, I can't wait to see the shots you got of my team out there." Coach Taylor praises walking past you, causing your faces to heat up.

"God, I don't know how much of this I can use." Your video voice sombers.

You watch as the orange jersey fills the frame until not even the 9 is visible. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Kind of like how..." His low and teasing voice barely gets picked up on the audio. A shiver runs down your spine because you remember exactly what he said before walking out of view.

"Kind of like how you will when you get home tonight."

'And boy was he right, but not about the editing.' You think gawking at his body as he walks out of the bathroom, water dripping from his hair and shoulders down his nice pecs and delectable abs. His strong arms and toned abdomen are tinted red due to the steamy shower that's releasing vapor into the room.

"Still editing I see?" He asks teasingly as he ruffle-dries his hair with a microfiber towel. You painstakingly nod but push the laptop down and off your lap.

"It can wait." You say as your gaze drops down to the blonde happy trail that disappears underneath the towel secured around his waist. "It's not due til noon anyway."

"Good, I've been thinking about you laid out on my bed for me since we got home." A smirk curves up his lips when he notices your eyes fixated on the bulge of the fabric.

"Lucky me." Then the towel drops. Lucky me indeed.

✧ ⁺ . ° ➶ ｡˚ ✧

Eventually, the video does get edited and uploaded to social media like it's supposed to and your bosses thoroughly enjoy the impressions it brings to the organization.

You tried your best to edit out all of the parts that gave too much about your relationship away without completely taking Joe out of the video. You thought it did a great job, the final cut showed a very professional interaction between the two of you. Everyone was happy.

Until you started trending on Twitter almost 3 days later.

Something you didn't realize before becoming the Bengals' backup photographer/videographer and official social media manager was that your boyfriend rarely if ever participated in the post-practice videos. Anna, their main journalist, did mention that Joe liked to hide from cameras at practice, but you thought she was talking about paparazzi and overzealous fans. It wasn't until you went through every post-practice TikTok video that you realized that she was not kidding at all.

Currently, you are sitting wide-eyed on the couch watching a well-known YouTube gossip talk about your video and your relationship. She hadn't said the word dating yet, but by her analysis of the short clips- she was not very far from finding out.

"I think the key here is the woman behind the camera. Their conversation was short, but you could tell she could get him to say anything. And the way it's cut, oh my god. Anyone could tell that there was much more to this chat than we saw. Sadly, I couldn't find her socials, so the woman behind the camera wins this time."

You paused the video as soon as Joe's footsteps became apparent as he walked toward the area where you were sitting. "Hi, baby!" You cringe at the perky tone of your voice.

"Hi?" He says plopping down next to you and kissing your head. The lingering embarrassment makes your spine stiffen. Joe raises a brow in confusion. "Y/n, what's wrong?"

You huff and pout sinking into the couch cushions. "I kinda fucked up."

"How so?" He asks pulling your hands into his.

"Have you watched my video?" You whisper as if saying it aloud will anger the universe.

"No, but I heard it was doing well. Do you want me to pull it up?" You shake your head immediately. "What's wrong with the video?"

"You're in it." You mumble laying your head on his chest.

"Huh?"

"You hate attention, you hate cameras, and you literally hide from them when we're in public! And I put you in my video!" One of his hands lets go of yours and begins to stroke the back of your head.

"Baby, I put myself in-

"No, I forced you to do the one thing you've always set a boundary on. I'm a shitty girlfriend, I should've just ended it before you walked by or just kept the whole clip for myself."

"Y/n, listen."

"Joey I'm so sorry, everyone is talking about how you and 'the girl behind the camera' are probably a thing. They're probably digging up pictures of us in public at the moment and there's nothing I can do to stop it. All of your business is going to be aired out-

"I know-

"Reporters are going to start showing up to your practices, and paparazzi will be following us. It's a disaster- wait what did you say?" You sniffle pulling your head up to face him. And he's smiling?

"I know and I don't care. All I care about is that the most important woman in my life is safe and happy. That's you mamas." He says softly, wiping away a stray tear from your cheek.

"Wait but you've worked so hard to keep your private life- private and I should've respected that."

He shakes his head. "I wanted to be in that video because you were the one behind the camera. Even if we weren't dating, I would have been in that video and people would've had something to say about it. I did it because you make me happy and I love watching you work. In fact.." He takes his phone out and queues a video onto the TV screen.

"Joe, what is this?" You ask as he comes up in today's outfit looking like it was filmed when he left for work this morning.

"Just watch." He grins.

*In the video he’s seen smiling and taking pictures with fans before his morning meeting.

“Hey Joey B! Over here!” A young boy jumps up trying to get his attention.

Your boyfriend chuckles and shuffles over to the kid to sign his helmet. “Hi, how you doing bud?”

“I’m great! My sister’s sad that you have a girlfriend now though.” The kid vibrates with energy and excitement, very different than his sister who’s glaring at him from the side.

Joe just laughs, gives the kid a fist bump, and moves on to another fan.*

“Joe, you didn’t say anything. What is this supposed to prove?” You huff in confusion.

“I know, that’s just my favorite part. You just need to see what happens next.” He assured pushing your focus back to the TV screen.

*As Joe starts to wave bye to the crowd a swarm of paparazzi and journalists emerge.*

You immediately start to frown because this is exactly what he's been trying to avoid.

*The people behind the giant cameras ask him all kinds of outlandish questions, all of which he ignores until a question about you pops up.

“Joe, are you hiding your girlfriend because you’re ashamed of her career and her race?” He stops right outside the door to the facility and spots the woman who asked the question.

“What did you say?” His eyes squint and brows furrow in the same way as they do when people question his football fatality.

“Last night, the Bengals website updated their faculty and staff page. The only new social media manager was a black woman named Y/n. What other reason could you be hiding your relationship for?” She asks confidently sticking her camera in his space.

“Do you hear how fucking dumb you sound?” He says so calmly making all the eyes around him widen. Including yours as you watch the incredulous look on his face turn to a scowl.

“I’m hiding her from idiots like you guys who follow me around with cameras chasing the wrong narratives. Do you really think I want to hide the love of my life from the world? Cause I don’t, but I would rather us have a good relationship that’s private rather than a shitty one controlled by the media. Literally, look at what happened after one lighthearted joke got taken out of context! And to even comment that her race was an issue? What fucking year do you live in? I would love that woman no matter what she did or how she looked. And it shouldn't matter. All of you are ridiculous. Have a great day.” Then walked into the facility slamming the door behind him.*

When he looks back over at you, silent tears are falling from your eyes. “Shit was it too much.” He says panicked.

You shake your head with a chuckle then lean up to press a chaste kiss on his lips. “No, it was perfect. I love you so much, Joseph.”

He returns the sweet kiss and holds you close. “I love you more than anything Y/n. I’d do anything for you, never forget that.”

“I won’t.”

~●○°●○°●○~

a/n: sorta kinda inspired by @slimshiesty, if you know you know and you absolutely should know.

[onmyyan]

Yandere DC Purge Au

A/N: inspired by a bot on janitor ai here's the link reader is this universes wolverine fem reader, yandere themes

Getting home from the Titans Tower, you shrug off your brown leather biker jacket, letting the heavy garment fall to the floor with an audible thump.

Boot clad feet accidentally kick a small black elegantly wrapped package that been slipped through your mail slot. (E/c) Eyes full of curiosity, you bend down to pick up the box, it was a little bigger than your hand, unable to fight the curiosity, you threw your helmet on the couch and used your sharp pointer finger nail to tear a seam into the paper, your mind moved a mile a minute as five neat letters in black envelopes were revealed.

Your heart falls to your stomach, you knew what these letters meant, what they entailed, you'd been chosen, and not by one yandere, but five. You didn't bother to read the letters, setting them down on your coffee table like the paper was going to bite you, sitting on the couch with a groan, your shoulders coiled like a animal ready to pounce. In all your 24 years you'd never had to deal with a yandere, while you were aware of them of course, your particular lifestyle didn't allow for such things, you were a hero after all, you couldn't help but tense, yes you were a formidable fighter, yes you had confidence in your abilities to defend yourself but five separate psycho's? That was a lot to deal with even for you.

You had a day to prepare, that's all the decency the government allowed people like her. A day to prepare for the insanity that was the Purge. All former plans for a quiet week off patrols were gone, replaced by your fierce determination. You wouldn't be caught, you'd been caged enough for your lifetime.

The next morning you make your way into the Titans Tower business as usual, you had no idea who the senders of the letters were so you kept your guard up.

It was a tradition for the team to hang out one last time before the purge, since all crime, including all yandere crime, was legal, the team technically got a week long vacation. So they liked to hangout the day before those infamous sirens would ring out across the city. The whole team was there, doing their usual things when you were approached by Rachel Roth aka Raven.

"Your mind is.. guarded tonight, are you alright?" Her soft monotone voice calls out dragging you from your mind, "Yeah just ..tense about tomorrow ya know?" Your voice gruff yet feminine, you didn't mind the fact that she was peaking into your head, having long since gotten used to her antics, instead you lean back on the counter surveying the room with a calculated gaze. You kept your thoughts clear knowing she had a penchant for reading your mind without permission, you didn't want to tell the team about the letters for a multitude of reasons, the main one being you didn't know if it was one of them who sent it. Of course you trusted your team but you'd learned long ago to trust yourself before anyone else.

And your enhanced animal like senses told you danger was a foot. "Any big plans for the week?" You ask casually still observing your other teammates.

"I rented a cabin in the snow, very tranquil, very secluded.." she paused a moment her dark eyes scanning your features, "You could come with me- if you don't want to spend the purge alone?" The question hung heavy in the air, the intensity in her gaze made you smirk, no way in hell were you taking a trip right now.

"I actually have some plans already." You smiled at the dark haired sorceress, trying to soothe the wound of denial. "Well if you at any point change your mind simply call for me and I'll be there." She says flatly, but her steel gaze was as intense as ever.

"Definitely." You respond before pushing off the counter, "I'm gonna hit the gym, see you later Rav."

'Well that was something' you thought to yourself, she'd always been attached to you, finding comfort in your troubled past, but she'd never looked so..like that before.

Shaking off the encounter you find yourself in the gym toned (s/c) arms stretching across your chest in preparation, a training dummy standing across from you. Just before you throw the first punch Conner aka Superboy walks in the room his arms crossed. "You wanna keep playing with that thing or you want a real fight?" The tall wall of a man asks walking closer to you, this wasn't out of the ordinary as you were one of the only people on the team who could keep up with Conner physically.

"let's go." You say getting into a fighting stance, your feet wide, fists in front of your face.

The spar was intense as usual with him, he didn't hold back, because of your healing factor he didn't need to, and you preferred it that way. You two danced around the mat swiping at each other, trading blows that would send a normal human to the grave. Your adamantium covered skeleton allowed you to land hits on him that actually sent him reeling. Your breath came out in heavy pants as Conner made an expert dodge, he sweeps his leg under you catching you off guard enough to stumble backwards, he grips your tank top stopping you from hitting the mat staring at you for a second too long before bringing you into a head lock, panting in your ear, "You give?" You could hear the smirk on his face, you growl under your breath, "Fuck off.", elbowing him hard enough to make him release you, instead of getting angry he just grins at you looking like an animal about to pounce.

The spar ends in a draw both of you covered in sweat, "you wanna hang out tomorrow?" He asks wiping his forehead, you pause thinking over the fact that tomorrow was the first night of the Purge, sure is didn't start until 7pm but it was risky as hell to go about business as usual on the day of.

"Sorry big guy I'm fully booked." The lie flows off your tongue easily enough, you couldn't risk getting Conner involved in whatever the yanderes had planned for you tomorrow, you also couldn't rule him out as a suspect yet.

The rest of your day is full of similar interactions with your team, Garfield aka Beast Boy had invited you over to his place for a gaming fueled sleepover, pouting when you decline, Kori aka Starfire had offered to straight up stay with you for the duration of the purge, looking absolutely confused as to why you'd said no.

The day ends with you gathering your things as you wouldn't be in the tower for a week. Damian, the current Robin and leader of your team walks over before you can leave. "I assume you've made preparations?" The enigmatic man spoke in that usual Damian tone that you could never quite get a read on. "I'll be fine." Was your simple answer. His green eyes studied you, taking in your response. He simply smirks at you before bidding you goodnight.

You got zero sleep that night the rainy Gotham skies a background to your inner turmoil. Your instincts said to run so you were. A few minutes before the sirens go off, you're in your garage, a duffle bag thrown over your shoulders, when you notice your bike's tires have been slashed, both of them deflated.

Cursing under your breath you steady your nerves before heading back up to your apartment. Navigating the streets of Gotham on the first night of the purge was a bad idea even for a self healing mutant with adamantium claws like yourself. Instead you choose to take the situation as it came, barricading the front door with a bookshelf, you pour yourself a double shot of whiskey and light the cigar you'd been saving for a special occasion.

The shrill terror inducing sound of the annual purge sirens go off on schedule, you remain unflinching as you prepare yourself for the inevitable encounter.

About five minutes after the bell stops ringing there's a loud knock on your door, the handle jingling seconds after, "(Y/n), open the door." The command was given pleadingly. You recognized that voice, the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention. You were prepared for some nobody to try and claim you. Not him.

"We're getting in there no matter what so you may as well just," a loud bang shook the wood, "Open up." A second voice spoke out, this one just as familiar as the first, your heart fell to your stomach at the realization, the other three didn't need to speak for you to guess they were out there.

Your eyes quickly scan the window of your apartment, you were on the third floor but it was an easy drop for someone with your healing ability.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be." The third gruff voice speaks before a gunshot is heard, the bastard had shot out your front door lock, a blue eye peaked in the hole locking onto you instantly a predatory look in the gaze. "There you are kitty." He says before glaring at the bookshelf in his way, it doesn't take much for him to start throwing his shoulder into the wood of the door.

"Don't scare her." The fourth voice chimed in but did nothing to stop the man barreling into your apartment. By the time the five entered you had already booked it out the window, your broken ankles healing as you sprint down the dimly lit Gotham streets.

"She's on the move." Bruce finally speaks, his authoritative voice left no room for argument. Damian was the first to act scaling down the apartment so fast he skipped some steps, he was a man on a mission.

Dick was quick to follow flipping out the window and landing gracefully before giving chase. Tim quickly pulled out a tablet tracking your every move.

Jason snarls at the chase, running after you like a beast on the hunt. Bruce follows behind in the batmobile with Tim guiding him to your location in the passenger seat, each man's heart burning for you.

The night had just begun and you were now playing a game you wanted no part in.

[caitlinsclark]

NOT CASUAL caitlin clark ² caitlin clark x reader | summary: it was never casual for Caitlin. part one ✰ bree's notes: i don't know if I did this justice, but this is the longest fic i've done so i hope you guys like it!! word count: 4.4k masterlist and tag list

The world had seemed to spin on its head when you walked away from Caitlin. Because you truly had begun to act as if it all had been casual. Kate was the sole witness as you indulged in a full fledged factory reset, waking up early to run drills in replacement of the early morning runs you used to go on with Caitlin.

In fact, you hadn’t wallowed for a single second and you didn’t feel the need to. The frustration only fueled more energy, energy that would be used on much more efficient things than Caitlin’s exhausting presence.

This newfound composure was tested at the first practice since the blowout you two had. You were far too determined to let it slip. Coach Bluder had first called for drills which you ran through with ease, able to block out the overwhelming glares Caitlin sent your way. At least, that’s what they felt like in your eyes. In reality, the brunette was staring at you longingly from her position on the other court, thinking that if you were focused you wouldn’t notice.

Her straight face was a disguise, hiding all the depressingly aching thoughts that flooded her entire body with disappointment. She wasn’t expecting for your words to hold the weight they did. Honestly, she had half expected you to eagerly pick her for the 1v1s you had run during practice but you didn’t even look in her direction when you picked Gabbie.

No matter how many times she turned over the argument in her head, she only heard the harsh words that flew from her own mouth. The reporters were right in their critique when they said she wasn’t great at defense, and that didn’t only extend to basketball.

“Money!” You cheered excitedly when you drained a 3 effortlessly, chest bumping with Kate who shared in your enthusiasm as you both landed back on the ground with smiles. Caitlin turned her back to you when she started to smile herself and shot her own 3, staying quiet as it swished around before falling into the basket. She silently celebrated along with you as if your cheers were for her too, since she wasn’t sure she’d hear them anytime soon.

After practice, you were in the locker room beaming as your phone went off. You gave a reaction that drew in attention, a little dramatic just for a ringtone. But it made sense once you answered the call and greeted the blonde on the other side of the phone.

“Hey, P!” You sent her a jokingly flirty wave with a huge grin, matching the energy of the extroverted girl on the other end.

She had a similar smile on her face, biting her lip to keep it down but failing, “Hi, ma.” 

“Say hi to the team!” You flipped the camera to show the rest of the team who said hi and allowed the blonde to greet them back. They exchanged a few casualties as Caitlin stared hard at the athlete on the phone.

You didn’t see, but Paige blushed at the realization that the entire team had heard the way she greeted you with so much adoration. Your presence was capturing and she had been another to get succumbed by it.

The way you spoke held hope, “You’re gonna be coming to the game right?” Your eyes glimmered in the locker room lights and Caitlin wanted to cover her own ears at the sweet tone she hadn’t heard in days. She couldn’t help but torture herself with wondering how long this had been planned. Why were the two of you speaking with such familiarity?

“Me, KK, and Azzi,” Paige added as if you forgetting how many people supported you was ridiculous, “But mostly me.” The extra words invoked a small laugh out of you that endeared your teammates. They all shared matching knowing looks, minus Caitlin who wanted to avoid it all together.

Minutes later, It was only you and the brunette left in the locker room, but you didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by it. You continued tapping at your phone with an eager pace and a grin. The girl who was normally glued to her own phone felt herself judging you bitterly, “You know she’s not just a friend, she’s into you.” 

“At least she cares about me like a friend first.” You laughed it off like she was ridiculous, and she was in the moment. You both knew it when it rendered her speechless. 

“I deserve that,” The brunette gave in, “but you know that’s not true, you were always my friend.” Her facade seemed to break the most you’d seen since that night. But you couldn’t stop the painful reminder about the absolute disregard it took for her to knowingly play with your feelings.

“I don’t know that, Caitlin,” You patted her shoulder as you corrected her, talking to her like a child who didn’t understand a complicated concept, “In fact, you’ve never even said otherwise til now.”

And you walked out right out the door, staring expectantly at your phone with a bitten bottom lip, highlighting your anticipation. 

Her head fell into her hands and a line of tears threatened to spill out of her waterline. You believed that she didn’t internalize every time your hands held on a little too long, the time she covered your eyes so you didn’t see your favorite character die in a show, the time she almost felt the urge to get down on one knee when watching you juke her brothers out at soccer.

Despite her words, there were so many moments the two of you had shared. Caitlin knew that the no attachments rule was a load of bullshit the second that the two of you kissed. You pulled away far too quickly for her liking and she found herself greedily pulling you back in, enamored with the way you tasted, consumed by you entirely in a way she’d never experienced.

With a cleared throat, she attempted to shake it off and noticed your left open locker, leaning over to shut it for you.

Her movements slowed at the picture, somewhat hidden in the back of your locker, of the two of you cuddled up at her family’s house in Long Beach. That was the weekend that she knew the two of you had slowly been developing into something more.

The weekend that fear enveloped her being when she realized how much attention was truly on the two of you already. How much the two of you had to lose when you were able to separate yourselves from the pressure you usually had on you. 

But that didn’t hold a candle to the pressure building up in her chest at the thought of you currently being swept away.

You and Paige had gotten closer since the first time you met during an intense match against her team. The game against UCONN was an energizing and highly anticipated one. 

You’d been conscious enough to look at their roster before hand and scope out their starting players. It was easy to find previously taped games to analyze their usual game play.

So you weren’t surprised when Paige came in, a force to be reckoned with that left you impressed despite your team’s win. Impressed enough to find her after the game and offer her a good game personally.

“You gave me a run for my money,” You complimented with wide eyes, truly impressed at her IQ on the court. 

She chuckled, lifting her jersey to wipe her hairline slowly. Your eyes might have slipped down a little at the action and you were not quick enough to lift them all the way back to her eyes. 

The blonde just smirked, wordlessly holding her hand out for you to shake. You accepted and allowed your hands to stay connected for a few extra seconds.

“Anymore compliments?” She raised her eyebrows teasingly, “I’m always accepting from pretty girls.” Her flirty personality immediately popped out and you knew that she was dangerous.

“Oh, you’re good!” Your head shook in disbelief and allowed a laugh to escape as she did the same.

She rubbed her hands together jokingly and you shoved them down quickly, laughing along side her goofily, “Nah, stop the rizz hands! They’ll work!” The two of you hadn’t realized how close you got in the process, but it felt like a natural gravitational pull.

“Hey, I’m Caitlin,” A hand lightly appeared and rested on your waist, easily seen and very protective. But the brunette held her other hand out to Paige in a friendly manor even though you knew better, and Paige accepted happily. And that was the end of it.

You’d always thought she was attractive, how could you not? But there was something about the pull you felt to Caitlin that never let those thoughts stray too far without adjusting to the brunette. Now fear also played a factor in allowing yourself to give into anything of that nature.

Though your adoration for her was genuine, and you two had many discussions about the state of your opinion on dating basketball players. 

It was prompted over a live with Azzi that you joined with a level of excitement to see your girls.

“Hi!” You waved, setting the phone down on your table. The girls waved back and were quick to ask you how the season was going. It was later in the live that Azzi squinted at the chat and said your name.

“They wanna know if you’ll go to their sorority formal with them, they’re a basketball player so apparently you’re soulmates,” Paige read out with a bitten lip, holding back a laugh as she waited for you to respond.

“Nah basketball players are sworn off romantically,” You made an ‘x’ with your arms and shook your head in distaste, “I’d break their ego in a 1v1 and we’d break up.” You played off the real reason and deflected when the girls laughed with you.

Paige had made a mental note to ask you about that later, and you assumed her intentions were simply coming from the place of a worried friend. You were comfortable enough to dive into the intimate details of yours and Caitlin’s falling out.

And you were met with nothing but support, which you expected from the girl. She’d been another outlet for you to maintain the composure you needed in order to function on a team with Caitlin.

The crowd was buzzing on both sides, Iowa and LSU. You were quick to scan your home side upon exiting the tunnel and going onto the court.

It was the first game since yours and Caitlin’s falling out which added a level of nervousness. In the sea of 22 jerseys, you were shocked to find one of your own draped on the pretty blonde you’d invited. This was at the same time that the cameraman also seemed to be made aware of her presence as she appeared on the big screen.

The cheers of the crowd summarized your reaction to a tee, especially as Paige stood up to turn around and point to make sure the camera would capture your last name on her back.

When Paige sat back down, she had the most satisfied smile playing on her face and it took everything in your willpower not to collapse at the wink she sent your way afterward.

Caitlin had to hide her face in Kate’s shoulder to ignore the scene, being overtaken by the pain in her heart. The blonde could only pat her friend’s head sympathetically, shielding her.

The game was intense from the get go, and your frustration with Caitlin only made you play harder. You were driving to the net with a tenacity that she had to admire even in your rough patch. You were much stronger than her considering she’d been missing almost every shot she’d taken. It was to the point where she’d just given the ball back to you when she got possession, too scared to fuck up even more.

Because of your handle on the ball, the opposing coach had been smart to have her players begin to guard you more consciously. It led to one of your opponents sending you flying to the ground during a layup, a groan leaving your lips as you fell flat to the ground.

You ignored the hand that Caitlin held out to you, trying to lift yourself up slowly on your own. Caitlin sighed at your pettiness, deciding to at least help you by giving you more time. She kneeled to tie her shoe, only standing up once you were settled back on your feet. 

The game continued back and forth with a nail biting second half. Ultimately, Caitlin got pulled to the bench and you were deservingly still out on the court. The most frustrating part was that your team had still won, with your help as opposed to hers. With 10 assists, 25 points, and being speedy with practically every rebound, you had completely carried them to win the game despite the brunette’s multiple turnovers and fouls. 

You were at the top of your game while she was at the bottom of hers. Caitlin watched as the team crowded around you from a distance, nodding appreciatively at you once you glanced in her direction. She ultimately chose to let you be as she turned and returned back to the locker room, body language unlike someone who just won a game.

You were so distracted by the girl waiting for you at the end of the hallway that you didn’t notice the one approaching from behind you.

With a grasp on your arm, Caitlin halted your movements to speak, “I need to talk to you.” Her posture was sluggish and slumped showing the same exhaustion she’d had on the court.

“Sorry, our work relations and window to talk finished the moment the buzzer went off!” You smiled curtly and plucked your arm to continue walking with Paige who tried to not look as amused as she was.

“Funny,” She deadpanned, rolling her eyes at the pettiness you were doing a great job at showing. This aggression was a complete flip from the affection you usually approached her with, it felt like a new person.

“No, my funny side is reserved for people that mean more than being a teammate to me.” You opted for checking your reflection in the mirror on the wall beside you, adjusting your hair just a bit. Caitlin was beginning to see red, but tried her best to push it down. She couldn’t help but get a last jab in though.

“What, like her?” Caitlin nodded to the blonde waiting for you down the hall. The thought of you agreeing had a pit growing in the brunette’s stomach. You followed her gesture and gazed at Paige, admiring the way her hair cascaded down her back in soft waves and framed her growing smirk at the sight of you giving her attention. She seemed secure as ever with her arms crossed loosely, raising an expectant eyebrow at you as if she knew what you were going to choose.

“Actually,” You kept looking in admiration at Paige despite Caitlin’s heavy stare on you, “yeah, exactly like her.” Finally, you graced the brunette with your eye contact to show the honesty behind your words, content on the way her shoulders slumped in response.

Caitlin’s grip on you loosened to a non existent one, accepting to physically let you go in her now weakened state from your words. But that didn’t mean she was going to let you go completely.

Her aching heart was only a fueling factor as she watched you prance happily over to the other athlete. That couldn’t be the end.

“Almost like there’s some kinda tension between you guys,” Paige side eyed you playfully, still managing to keep the air light and easy. You craved that breezy feeling as opposed to the way your heart clenched with the brunette you left in your trails.

You wiggled your eyebrows at her, “Some could say there’s tension between me and you, does that make it true, Bueckers?” It was a clear fish for something and your glance down to her lips as her tongue darted out to wet them seemed intentional. It was.

Caitlin could be called a sadist with the way she refused to move her eyes from the two of you. Her mind was a cruel force to be reckoned with as it began to compare the stark differences. Paige’s extroverted personality easily captivated you, shown by the way you leaned into her enticingly, biting your lip like you had to hold yourself back from being completely taken by her.

Caitlin had never been bold enough to give into you in that way, fearful of being rejected for her genuine personality than the one she put on.

The only similarity was the enamored look on Paige’s face, Caitlin hated to admit it was the one she caught herself giving you more times than not. Those tiny moments she indulged herself in what you two could’ve been. All sweet things that could be easily ripped away once things got serious.

The entire team was buzzing, taking up the living room in a cozy haze. You’d taken a few celebratory shots and had stepped outside with Paige to get a couple fresh breaths of air.

You were close as ever, your legs draped over her lap in a comfortable and cozy position. Your upper half leaned against the back of the couch, tilting toward her with a drunken imbalance.

It seemed like the perfect, quiet moment to let yourself indulge in the pretty blonde who seemed to welcome your closeness.

The scene was karmic at best, timing on no one’s side at all. As your lips got dangerously close, all it took was one finish push, you heard as the backdoor opened and slammed shut subsequently. By the time your eyes opened, you caught the sight of Caitlin walking past the glass door back into the house.

“On TruTV’s Most Awkward Moments,” She narrated and patiently leaned back, waiting for you to chase after her. Her tone didn’t seem angry, not even offended.

“I don’t have to go handle that.” You assured her, shaking it off and sitting back down on the chair. Her eyes burned into you with suspicion like she knew you would break.

You sighed, “I have to go handle that.” She smiled at you, a genuine smile, and leaned in to give you a tight hug. Paige squeezed you and you squeezed back, wishing that things could just be simple.

The light environment returned, despite the situation you’d been in moments ago. But Paige let a smirk take over her features again as she teased you when you pulled away

“If you guys ever need a third..” She trailed off and licked her lips dramatically, still able to make you laugh despite the situation you were heading into.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” You squeezed her arm before turning and heading toward the door Caitlin had disappeared behind.

“Good luck,” she called out, lacking any resentment and you felt like you genuinely needed it. You thanked her with a smile and went inside, searching for the emotionally challenged brunette.

Caitlin didn’t even look up at you from her phone once you’d entered the otherwise empty room she occupied, “Oh, don’t let me interrupt.” You walked over and plucked the device from her grasp, ignoring the incredulous look she sent you.

“You did interrupt,” you said plainly as you sat down in front of her, “Same way I interrupted the day you had someone leaving your dorm, except I’m going to handle it a lot differently because this was the grace I deserved.”

Her demeanor changed, a frown settling on her face, though she didn’t make a move to argue. She even nodded in agreement, staying silent as she waited for you to go on.

“We’re teammates, you have no right to get mad,” You reiterated what you said to her the last time. It was firm and took all of your strength to hold it together.

Caitlin tried to challenge you, shaking her head, “We’re more than that.” Finally hearing her say it made you want to jump up and down, but it wasn’t that easy.

You crossed your arms over your chest to protect yourself, “Are we? Because last I checked we’re barely even that.” It hurt that she hadn’t corrected you until then.

The reality check clicked somewhere in her brain, the thought of you truly believing that it all was reduced to nothing making her ill. 

“I’m sorry I lied to you when I said it was casual,” Caitlin confessed weakly with a shallow breath, “It was not casual. You’re the only person I kept looking to today for reassurance, and when I realized you were looking to someone else for yours, I wanted to collapse.” The admission was easy, a scary leap from when she couldn’t even acknowledge the weight behind your physical relations.

“So another competitive thing?” You raised an eyebrow, hesitant to believe the quick change in attitude like some kind of epiphany. 

“Not at all,” and with the way she looked offended at the insinuation made you want to believe her, “I was taking advantage of how understanding you were. You were there to ground me and basically be a girlfriend without me giving you the same validation. I couldn’t show you then, but you deserve to know the feelings were there, if any of that matters.”

You didn’t know if it did matter, couldn’t tell when your heart was buried under the emotions of the last few days. 

“I was definitely jealous too. I’ve been jealous of Paige since the day you met.” Caitlin rubbed her eyes roughly like that could get her to say the next words easier and you pushed her hands away from her face, “But getting you away from her was never my angle. You should go back out there.”

You weren’t expecting the follow up confession, scrunching up your face while she looked away from you. You and Paige had met practically worlds before you and Caitlin had even started your agreement. 

She knew you’d put two and two together, and you did. Her feelings had gone on for a lot longer than yours did. Caitlin took the advantage of you staying with her for a few more moments at least.

Her voice reduced to a whisper, looking at you with her head settled defeatedly on her fist, “Is this what you felt every time?” 

“Yeah.” You sighed and moved to sit next to her, allowing yourself to sink comfortably into the couch within her presence. There was still a lot of room between you, a responsible amount.

“I’m sorry I was a coward,” She went to reach for your hand out of habit, but stopped midway where her hand dropped on the couch between you, “I didn’t deserve to have you come after me.” Caitlin toyed with the thread of the cushion to distract herself from the urge she had to be close to you.

“But I don’t think you deserved to see that either, same way I didn’t deserve to see it when I went to your dorm.” You reasoned, filling her heart with warmth at the way you still cared, despite the reasons she gave you not to. 

A sympathy she was not qualified to receive after the way she’d treated you.

She shook her head at the generosity you were offering her, “No, I did. I was really shitty to you and that was payback for it. I got karma.” 

You offered her a small smile, feeling like she’d suffered enough over the last day with Paige.

“Yeah, a little,” you agreed teasingly, grasping the hand she’d left lingering in between you two. You played with her fingers and she let you, too scared to scare you off with even a subtle move.

“Paige said she’d be a willing third if we ever needed,” You wiggled your eyebrows at her in a daring moment of silence.

Caitlin threw her head back in a genuine laugh, the comfortable environment returning that you hadn’t gotten even a glimpse at in a few weeks. You couldn’t help but giggle alongside her, squeezing her hand in a simple gesture.

Your head lolled to the side, taking a silent moment to gaze at her features appreciatively as she did the same. You were the one to break, to surge forward and interlock your lips with a searing and much missed intensity. 

But the shortness of the kiss shocked you, full of sweetness and desire but no more than a few seconds until the brunette pulled away. You expected her to possessively push you back, show some sort of dominance to initiate something further. 

But Caitlin cared more about showering the rest of your face with attention, craving to memorize every little detail that she’d missed out on thus far.

“I’m not doing anything with you for like two weeks,” You vowed as a warning to test the waters, pulling away slightly as she kept kissing all around your face, trying to get a word in through your interrupting laughs.

“I’ll wait,” She hummed, switching so she could hold your jaw, prohibiting you from squirming away now.

“Three weeks.” You changed your mind, staring at her to gauge her reaction. 

She didn’t even twitch, still staring at you with an adoring smile, “Okay.” 

“Four weeks,” You squinted at her suspiciously, waiting for a sprout of disappointment or hesitance.

“Okay.” 

“Five weeks,” You challenged once more, though she gave the same response as she looked at you with amusement written on her features. 

“Really, nothing? Five weeks and you’re okay? Are you obsessed with me or something?” You quirked an eyebrow, putting your hands on her shoulders to add a little bit of separation. But her hands made quick work of grabbing your waist to pull you back in as she made a loud noise of agreement, the warmth of a chaste kiss on your jaw following it.

“Not very casual of you.” You grimaced playfully, gently tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, twirling it between your finger tips as you switched to a happy grin.

“Not at all.” Her voice dripped in happiness as she leaned into you, accepting the way you pushed up to meet her halfway once more.

TAGLIST! @lovermcres @glorioushamsterqueen @miedmead @blueagle45 @pbloverr @cavillary @elizabethkitley @1-800-fantasy @into-f0lkl0re @mysticchildsuit @sapphicmermaid

[imaginesig]

You Would've Done It Too

Ollie Bearman x Verstappen!Reader

SMAU

We all know Mad Max, but what if his younger sister is worse? And what if her on track enemy isn’t always that?

HEAVILY inspired by: Enemies or Lovers by @claypgeon and DR creators on tik Tok for radio ideas

f2updates

liked by user3, user91, user93, and 917,828 others

f2updates: Y/n Verstappen and Ollie Bearman made contact at todays GP. Both drivers are well, but forced to retire their cars

tagged: no one

user1 now this is real racing

user2 im glad that Ollie is finally giving Y/n's aggression back

user3 right?? Verstappens gone too long without someone humbling her

user4 I hope she can be tamed like Max and really put her drive to good use

user5 you know they’re both pissed

User6 these post race interviews are about to be HEATED

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f2updates

liked by user4, user2, user7, and 719,822 others

f2updates: Y/n Verstappen and Ollie Bearman's comments on the incident today

tagged: no one

user1 lmao Y/n and HITECH can whine all they want, all Ollie did was exactly what they've been doing to the grid all year

user2 the jabs at each other give me life

user3 I live for this rivalry

user4 yes Ollie 👏👏 humble her

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f1

liked by: carlossainz55, user5, Olliebearman, and 927,828 others

f1: Prima driver, Ollie Bearman, will replace Carlos Sainz this weekend

tagged: prema_team, olliebearman, scuderiaferrari

user1 I wonder how y/n is feeling about this

user2 why bring her up, this ain’t about her

user1 because she's been negotiating with different teams to get a contract and try to drive in a free practice but now Ollie gets to race for Ferarri before she gets any of that

user4 and he gets to race against her brother, something Y/n has publicly said she misses and prays to do again

user3 Y/n isn't any better at racing than him, id argue they're equals, nor should she get special treatment because of Max so she can wait her turn

user5 ahhh I can’t wait!!!

User6 I’m gonna miss Carlos this weekend 😭😭

user7 please please please Ferrari have a good strategy for him🙏🙏

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f2updates

liked by user82, user5, user89, and 718,828 others

f2updates: Y/n Verstappen commenting on Ollie Bearman's temporary move to F1: "It's truly an amazing experience (to drive F1). Ferrari sees something in him, so best of luck. I've defiantly noticed a lack of headaches this weekend."

tagged no one

user1 the was she still has to make a snarky comment

user2 I mean they are rivals 🤷‍♂️

user3 most civil I've ever seen an interaction between them

user4 I don’t understand why someone went out of their way to get a comment from her, let Y/n race and comment on herself and let Ollie shine without dragging the mood down by asking his rival for a statement

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Pre-Race

Post-Race

ynverstappen

liked by: pauladon_, hitechgp, user5, and 817,929 others

ynverstappen: That's how you do it the HITECH way

tagged: paularon_

user1 ig we don't need to ask how she's celebrated the win

hitechgp perfect 1-2 weekend!!

maxverstappen why the last slide

ynverstappen I had to inform the people of my opinions

Maxverstappen anyway, I’m so proud!!

ynverstappen 🫶🫶

Carlossainz55 congrats on p1 little-stapppen

Redbullracing performance so good we were left speechless 👏👏

user2 as much as I love a good rivalry it was nice to have a gp where Y/n and Ollie weren’t fighting and making digs at each other

User3 I agree

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olliebearman

liked by prema_team, user87, kimi.antonelli, and 728,928 others

olliebearman: P3 for my little buddy 🧸

tagged: no one

user1 awww the bear

user2 always a good day when we get a Y/n and Ollie podium

user3 its the only time they're ever civil when near each other

Prema_team very proud of your performance 🤝

user3 help im jealous of a stuffed bear

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f1

liked by ynverstappen, maxverstappen1, user4, and 828,928 others

f1: Y/n Verstappen has been called up to replace Williams's Alex Albon this GP! She's already been seen in the garage looking right at home

tagged: hitechgp, ynverstappen, williamsracing

williamsracing we can't wait

Alex_albon she's gonna smash it!!

user1 please bring Williams back to the glory days

user2 Verstappen? Nice try, welcome back Nico Rosberg

user3 she looks so good in blue

user4 Y/n lead Logan to the podium

user5 yes ma'am 👏

user6 give Max a run for his money

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f2updates

liked by user4, user83, user93, and 293,939 others

f2updates: for her free practice session, Y/n Verstappen has run into issues with her car

tagged no one

user1 her radio killed me: "Um guys somethings wrong I don't think the car likes me very much"

user2 looks like she's causing as many problems there as she does here

user3 please please please I NEED Williams to sort this out so she can still race

user4 she handled the situation very calmly and professionally, very impressive

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f2updates

liked by user53, user9, user93, and 928,894 others

f2updates: Ollie Bearman comments on Y/n's absence after his race: "Very unfortunate to have troubles so early on. I guess the car could tell she was a hot head haha. I know all of us drivers are hoping the problem clears up"

tagged: no one

user1 I wish they would stop bothering the other for comments, if the situation doesn't involve both Y/n and Ollie then they shouldn't make a statment

user2 exactly it feels like the media is trying to get them to lash out at each other

user3 exactly they aren't friends, but they don't go out of their way to cause problems and people need to realize that

user4 yk he felt so pleased with the hot head joke

user5 "I know all of us drivers are hoping the problem clears up" he's trying so hard not to get into it with pr

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ynverstappen

liked by logansargent, paularon_, williamsracing, and 928,829 others

ynverstappen: Williams, what an honor it was to be chosen to drive for you this past weekend! I hope I've shown my appreciation through my performance and actions. Alex, sorry for almost ruining your car, get well and kick ass next weekend mate!

tagged: williamsracing

maxverstappen1 you were amazing! I'm so proud

ynvserstappen ❤️❤️

landonorris very impressive battle we had!! still pissed I lost to someone who overheated the car her first lap but yk

ynverstappen thank you for putting up a fight! so happy to beat you Mr. Nowins user8 I need more public Y/n and Lando interactions

user1 the purple helmet ate

user3 its so funny to me that she just happened to get called up the weekend she had a special helmet

user2 lmao she saw the Nico jokes

ynverstappen had bestie hunt the jacket down for the bit (its now my favorite piece and I will live in it forever, thank you Britney)

user4 someone tell her she showed her appration and more

user5 right- she gave Williams their highest qualifying and ending positions

user6 since Logan is leaving can we get her on the grid next year

user7 if you want to rush her and have her burn out like Logan then sure, but I say just give her a contract and get comfy in F2

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ynverstappen posted a story!

caption: to quote the note left, "they're crochet so you'll remember this weekend forever"

replies:

paularon_

seems like he knows his stuff

I cried

maybe its time to put these ruse behind mmh

don't take my fun away from me

and he really does piss me off

oh I know

I just don't know how he still puts up with you, mini max

hey max was worse

are we sure??

bff_username

ugh what I wouldnt do to have what you do!!

it really is the best

I mean he puts up with your shit better than I do

ok now first Paul and now you

you know im working on it, getting all the Jose out of my veins takes time

and im so proud of you for it

maxverstappen

who.

bff/n

thats a lie

you wouldve tagged her

who.

overprotective much 🙄

im your older brother its my job, now spill

I will at dinner in a few days

f2updates

liked by user5, user39, usrr93, and 829,839 others

f2updates: in what felt like a rendition of the Norris-Verstappen insident, Y/n Verstappen and Ollie Bearman had a collision in their battled for 2nd, behind Paul Aron in first. The collision caused both to lose significant places in this race, but both were able to return

tagged: no one

landonorris wannabe @/ynverstappen

ynverstappen fuck off Norris

user1 welp cannot wait for the media digs from this

user2 there goes our time of peace

user3 at least this time it was clearly Ollie's fault, I mean he pushed Y/n off

user4 bffr it was a defenive move, maybe she should have stayed straight rather than turn into him? user5 turn into him?? Ollie kept changing his path in turns before and did it again here, all Y/n did was stay on the track rather than turn off

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f2updates

liked by user4, user93, user3, and 839,094 others

f2updates: Y/n Verstappen and Ollie Bearman's comments on their collision today

tagged no one

user1 praying for every f2 driver tonight that they dont run into each other in the hotel or else I fear it may end in a screaming match

user2 just once I need these two to be able to swing on eachother

user3 it'll settle everything once and for all

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ynverstappen

liked by maxverstappen1, paularon_, kimi.antonelli, and 928,845 others

ynverstappen: he's hot, you would do it to

tagged: olliebearman

olliebearman I love you schat

ynverstappen I love you too!! Best (almost) year ever, love

user1 im sorry its almost been a YEAR

paularon_ finally im free from this torture

kimi.antonelli you can say that again

ynverstappen nah he's still my #1 opp

olliebearman no one pisses me off quicker 🫶

maxverstappen1 I dont like you. you're not good enough for her. you never will be. I'll personally carve out another appendix so I can't drive you into the barrier if you ever hurt her. y/n you're learning to back flip right now.

ynverstappen a bit much?

olliebearman nope perfect amount, I understand very clearly

landonorris max almost passed out

landonorris please post more im enjoying myself

user2 LMAO LANDO

user3 this was not on my 2024 bingo card

user4 kinda upset we'll never see them swing on each other

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olliebearman

liked by ynverstappen, kimi.antonelli, user1, and 844,294 others

olliebearman: only person id wear red bull for ❤️

tagged: ynverstappen

ynverstappen only person id wear Ferrari for 💙

olliebearman forever grateful 🫶

carlossainz55 im hurt

Charles_leclerc me too

maxverstappen1 Y/n take that off and burn it now.

ynverstappen no 🫶

user1 im crying they work out together 😭

user2 I just wanna know when that second picture was taken

olliebearman before she got caught leaving the Ferrari garage

ynverstappen and y'all believed the outfit change 🤣🫵

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hitechgp and prema_team

liked by ynverstappen, user45, kimi.antonelli, and 834,253 others

hitechgp: I guess we're related now or something??

tagged: ynverstappen, olliebearman, paularon_, kimi.antonelli

prema_team family karting day??

user1 not neither team knowing what to say

ynverstappen so fun!!

kimi.antonelli no not "so fun" so scary you almost killed us for the win

ynverstappen and I looked good doing it

olliebearman yeah you did 😍

paularon_ bring back the Ollie that would've cussed her out over that

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[cy-cyborg]

It's been confirmed that there are 3 amputees in the main cast of Dragon Age: the veilguard - Neve (leg amputee), Bellara (arm amputee) and your inquisitor (arm amputee). So as an amputee myself, here are some things I'd like to see.

Note: these aren't predictions, just things I'd really like to be included.

The inquisitor doesn't use a prosthetic (I already talked about this in its own post but with 3 amputees, and 2 of them already being shown to use prosthetics that, lets be honest, do look like "perfect replacement" prosthetics, it would be nice to see at least one who doesn't)

We will get to customise our inquisitor in chatacter creation, so I would love, if they do use a prosthetic, for there to be some customisability to it (im not holding my breath there but still).

Neve and Bellara's prosthetics aren't perfect prosthetics, and they are actually acknowledged as being disabled while still being active members of your party.

There's some kind of party banter between Neve and Bellara about some of the downsides/problems with their prosthetics, not necessarily in a "poor them" way, but in a "ugh, don't you just hate it when you can't get the stupid thing on in the morning" kind of way.

I get a kind of jokey/adventurous vibe from Bellara, I hope they aren't affraid to let her use her prosthetic for pranks or jokes. I don't think neve would, but I can see bellara having a blast with it.

I hope the prosthetics come off during down time. No amputee wears their prosthetics 24/7, it's uncomfortable, and they get heavy and sore after using them all day.

I hope we see Neve express some frustration or see her alter her walk animation on rough terrain. It's hard to get a clear look because the trailers she's been shown in are so dark, but her foot doesn't look articulated, which is going to change how she walks, even just a little bit.

I hope the prosthetics don't break - this is a trope I'm starting to notice more and more, where someone has a perfect prosthetic that is only not a perfect replacement when it breaks, usually for plot reasons, at which point the character in question is forced out of the action until its fixed. DA has forced companions out of your party for story reasons before (e.g. solas after you free his spirit friend and he needs to cool off) so I can see this being used for plot, and I really hope it's not.

The inquisitor, Neve and Bellara compair prosthetists (the maker of the prosthetic) and maker techniques.

I really doubt they'll do this but I'd love it if random NPC's approach you if you have any of the amputees in your party to ask what happened and/or make weird comments at them ("but cy, that would be so annoying and inconvenient!" That's the point. So many people do that to irl amputees, and it's never at a convenient or even safe time, and I've never seen it happen in media. A game is arguably the best place to have it happen, in, say, a random event similar to the ones that could happen in origins)

In that same vein, I'd love to see a scene where someone approaches the inquisitor to call them an inspiration- you and the inquisitor assume it's for, you know, beating corripheus (I know I spelled it wrong lol) and saving the world, but it's revealed the chatacter has no idea who the hell the inquisitor is and just means it's inspiring that they're out in public "like that" - referring to their arm. This also happens to me all the time, and you can't tell me some snooty orlesean or tevinter noble wouldn't make those back-handed compliments, lol. You also can't convince me that any version of the inquisitor would just accept that

I hope none of the chatacters are used as inspiration porn ("don't you worry Rook! I can still pull my own weight on the team despite being an amputee, you just have to give me a chance to prove myself!")

At least one of the chatacter's stories of how they lost their limb is left untold in game (we don't always need to know how it happened if it's not relevent to the plot).

Like I said, these aren't predictions, just my hopes. I wouldn't hold my breath for any of these to be honest (bioware has not been the best in term of disability rep in the past) but A lot of them wouldn't be hard to implement and could take the representation from hardly even acknowledging their disability to something actually pretty decent disability rep-wise. It's also pretty rare to have so many characters with the same kind of disability in the cast of such a mainstream piece of media, and I really, really hope they do something with that because you can have a lot of fun with that.

[lackadaisycats]

Hey Tracy! Have you heard about the new Ai called Sora? Apparently it can now create 2D and 3D animations as well as hyper realistic videos. I’ve been getting into animation and trying to improve my art for years since I was 7, but now seeing that anyone can create animation/works in just a mare seconds by typing in a couple words, it’s such a huge slap in the face to people who actually put the time and effort into their works and it’s so discouraging! And it has me worried about what’s going to happen next for artists and many others, as-well. There’s already generated voices, generated works stolen from actual artists, generated music, and now this! It’s just so scary that it’s coming this far. 

Yeah, I've seen it. And yeah, it feels like the universe has taken on a 'fuck you in particular' attitude toward artists the past few years. A lot of damage has already been done, and there are plenty of reasons for concern, but bear in mind that we don't know how this will play out yet. Be astute, be justifiably angry, but don't let despair take over. --------

One would expect that the promo clips that have been dropping lately represent some of the best of the best-looking stuff they've been able to produce. And it's only good-looking on an extremely superficial level. It's still riddled with problems if you spend even a moment observing. And I rather suspect, prior to a whole lot of frustrated iteration, most prompts are still going to get you camera-sickness inducing, wibbly-wobbly nonsense with a side of body horror.

Will the tech ultimately get 'smarter' than that and address the array of typical AI giveaways? Maybe. Probably, even. Does that mean it'll be viable in quite the way it's being marketed, more or less as a human-replacer? Well…

A lot of this is hype, and hype is meant to drive up the perceived value of the tech. Executives will rush to be early adopters without a lot of due diligence or forethought because grabbing it first like a dazzled chimp and holding up like a prize ape-rock makes them look like bleeding-edge tech geniuses in their particular ecosystem. They do this because, in turn, that perceived value may make their company profile and valuations go up too, which makes shareholders short-term happy (the only kind of happy they know). The problem is how much actual functional value will it have? And how long does it last? Much of it is the same routine we were seeing with blockchain a few years ago: number go up. Number go up always! Unrealistic, unsustainable forever-growth must be guaranteed in this economic clime. If you can lay off all of your people and replace them with AI, number goes up big and never stops, right?

I have some doubts. ----------------------

The chips also haven't landed yet with regards to the legality of all of this. Will these adopters ultimately be able to copyright any of this output trained on datasets comprised of stolen work? Can computer-made art even be copyrighted at all? How much of a human touch will be required to make something copyright-able? I don't know yet. Neither do the hype team or the early adopters.

Does that mean the tech will be used but will have to be retrained on the adopter's proprietary data? Yeah, maybe. That'd be a somewhat better outcome, at least. It still means human artists make specific things for the machine to learn from. (Watch out for businesses that use 'ethical' as a buzzword to gloss over how many people they've let go from their jobs, though.)

Will it become industry standard practice to do things this way? Maybe. Will it still require an artist's sensbilities and oversignt to plan and curate and fix the results so that it doesn't come across like pure AI trash? Yeah, I think that's pretty likely.

If it becomes standard practice, will it become samey, and self-referential and ultimately an emblem of doing things the cookie-cutter way instead of enlisting real, human artists? Quite possibly.

If it becomes standard industry practice, will there still be an audience or a demand or a desire for art made by human artists? Yes, almost certainly. With every leap of technology, that has remained the case. ------------------ TL;DR Version:

I'm not saying with any certainty that this AI blitz is a passing fad. I think we're likely to experience a torrential amount of generative art, video, voice, music, programming, and text in the coming years, in fact, and it will probably irrevocably change the layout of the career terrain. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was being overhyped as a business strategy right now. And I don't think the immensity of its volume will ever overcome its inherent emptiness.

What I am certain of is that it will not eliminate the innate human impulse to create. Nor the desire to experience art made by a fellow soul. Keep doing your thing, Anon. It's precious. It's authentic. It will be all the more special because it will have come from you, a human.

[sebscore]

rubyyy i have an idea for your gen-z driver series! when you are free, maybe you can write about when lil miss just got into f1 and had many people doubted her just for her to nail her rookie season like the goat sir Lewis Hamilton did in his. feel free to tweak it however you want. I just thought it would be cool to see more off the racing side of gen-z driver. :))))

and i really enjoy your writings, keep them coming but also don't stress out too much about them as well :)

WELCOME TO THE STRANGE WORLD

pairings: f1 grid x driver!reader 

warnings: sexism. swearing. based this one on the 2018 grid, cause I imagine her joining the grid that year. christian horner & helmut marko. 

author's note: this got me immediately inspired!! It's also the first time I tackle the racing aspect of the series so I hope it's a bit accurate and that it is enjoyable x

• • • • • • •

''Do you feel the pressure going into this week's race?'' The reporter asked her, a polite smile on his face. 

Y/N carefully adjusted the mic attached to her cheek. ''Uh, definitely,'' she nervously chuckled as it was her first F1 press conference, ''there have been a lot of reactions, both negative and positive, so I do feel a lot of eyes on me at the moment.'' 

To say that there had been a lot of reactions was an understatement. The announcement of the female race car driver joining the F1 grid had become the #1 topic on several social media platforms and even international news channels had broadcasted about the ''controversial'' arrival of the young woman. 

Various notable figures in the motorsport world had also voiced their opinion on the new face on the grid. There were many positive reactions, for example, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff saying: ''It's a step in the right direction. Many young girls will see her race and get more interested in the sport, which will hopefully motivate them to start karting.'' 

Susie Wolff, former development driver for Williams, also showed her enthusiasm. ''I think Y/N is the perfect role model for all the young girls who watch F1 at home. We've been following her closely the last few years and she's proved that she can compete with the big guys, I'm very proud and I can't wait for her performances this season.'' 

Unfortunately, there had also been less positive feedback. Red Bull Motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, had questioned whether she would be able to handle the ''physicalities'' the sport asked of a driver. ''I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if she would be replaced by the second race.'' 

His Red Bull colleague, Christian Horner, had also made some sensitive comments about the young woman. He recalled his first meeting with her, stating he thought she was one of the grid girls and that it would be tough as she's ''entering a man's sport''. 

Y/N had been upset with key figures of the sport making such statements about her, but she had heard worse throughout her racing career. Men like Horner were stuck in old times. 

''Sebastian, how do you feel about a female joining F1?'' Both Y/N and Sebastian internally cringed at the rookie being referred to as a 'female', trying to not let it show on their faces. 

The German collected the right words before answering. ''I'm very happy that Y/N is sitting here next to us,'' he smiled at her, ''I think her being on the grid and competing alongside us, is going to bring a lot of positive changes that should've been happening a long time ago. I've known her for some years now, so maybe I'm biased, but I couldn't think of a better person joining the line-up.'' 

''Thank you.'' Y/N mumbled, grown shy by Sebastian's praises. He had been involved in her career since her humble karting beginnings, wanting to guide her as he knew a lot of people would try to stop her from flourishing in the sport. 

The journalist then put his focus on the other world champion sitting at the panel. ''Lewis, you share the same opinion as Sebastian?'' 

''I agree with Seb, it's nice to see that progress is being made in diversing the sport and she's here, because she deserves to be here.'' Lewis' answer showed his disagreement with the people who were convinced that the woman's arrival to F1 was nothing more than a statement to the FIA. 

Y/N wasn't ignorant and knew her claiming an F1 seat would bring a lot of publicity, not only to her, but her team as well. However, they wouldn't risk losing millions of euros, because they simply wanted to make a point that women can competitively drive as well. 

''I've seen her drive, we've all seen her drive and you can't deny that she has a huge talent.'' Lewis concluded his answer, sending a soft smile her way. 

The reporter who asked the question directed his attention back to the young woman. ''Y/N, it must be great to hear those positive words from such seasoned drivers.'' He said to her, his hands pointing towards the two World Champions. 

She shyly nodded her head, feeling the gazes of everyone in the room on her. ''Yeah, it's, uh,  very nice of them.'' 

''It's the truth.'' Sebastian chuckled. 

''That's P11 tomorrow, Y/N! Good job, we're proud of you over here.'' Her engineer announced over the radio, letting the driver know her qualifying session was over. 

She pressed her radio button. ''Thank you so much, guys! A good start!'' She enthusiastically exclaimed, delighted about her team being happy with quali. 

They had greeted her back into the garage with an applause and many headpats, congratulating her on her first ever F1 qualifier. ''Let's discuss now.'' Her coach put his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the team's briefing room. 

It hadn't lasted long. The team was overall very satisfied with how the qualifying session had gone and didn't have much feedback for the rookie. 

''Of course it would be great to score points, but finishing P11 is the realistic standing tomorrow.'' Her team principal's words had taken her by surprise, expecting them to want to score as many points as possible at the race tomorrow. 

Y/N wasn't too sure if that was the genuine opinion her team had about the next day or if they thought that she wouldn't be able to make any overtakes. Whatever it was, the dilemma clouded her mind as she walked through the paddock, ready to go back to her hotel and unwind. 

However, an arm pulled her out of her thoughts, making the rookie flinch at the sudden touch. ''What the heck,'' she hastily turned towards the person, ''Seb, don't scare me like that.'' Y/N calmed down seeing the German man grinning at her, Britta standing next to him. 

''You looked like you were overthinking.'' He had seen the frown on her face as she passed the Ferrari hospitality, immediately knowing something was on her mind. ''Starting P11 is good for your first race, the best of the rookies.'' Sebastian figured it was related to the qualifying session. 

''No, I'm happy with my starting position.'' She assured him, shaking her head. 

The Ferrari driver furrowed his eyebrows, being confused. ''Then what is it? Did someone say something to you?'' 

Y/N glanced around the paddock, making sure no one of her team or a reporter was standing near them. ''I just, uh, well- during the briefing, they basically said that they don't expect me to make any overtakes and that I just need to try to keep my position.'' She explained to the duo, both listening attentively. 

''They're already underestimating you?'' Britta commented, shocked they wouldn't encourage her to at least try to overtake as many cars as she can. 

Sebastian agreed with his friend. ''A team telling their driver to not score points is the weirdest thing I've heard in years.'' He said to Britta, a frown gracing his face. 

He turned towards the young woman. ''Don't listen to them, okay? You pass as many fucking cars as you can, alright?'' It almost looked like he was scolding her. 

The girl nodded her head, an appreciative smile on her face. ''You know I will.'' 

''I love the confidence.'' Britta laughed, patting her back. 

''Don't think about it too much, Y/N. You're gonna do great tomorrow, I'm sure of it.'' Sebastian ruffled her hair, a sincere tone in his voice. 

Y/N simply smiled at both of them, and thanked them for their support. ''I'm gonna go back to my hotel now, but I'll see you tomorrow then.'' She bid them goodbye, waving as she walked through the exit gates. 

She could see and feel the condescending stares as she waited on the grid before the start of the race, some people didn't know how to be subtle. She had her headphones on, blasting music through them so she could drown out all of the negative thoughts. 

A tap on her shoulder brought her eyes from the ground to the face of a semi-looking concerned Kimi. She paused her song and took the headphones off, ready to listen to what the older man had to say. ''Yeah?'' 

''I can hear your song.'' Kimi pointed at his own ears, visualizing his words. 

Y/N's eyes widened, her worried expression altering into one of embarrassment. ''Oh, sorry, I'll turn it down.'' She apologized, immediately grabbing her phone to change the volume. 

''No, uh, is okay,'' he told her, ''you good?'' 

She was stunned by his question, awkwardly staring at him for a few seconds before answering. ''Yes, I'm good.'' Kimi always kept it short, she figured she should do the same. 

''Don't be nervous,'' the Finnish driver continued, looking into her eyes, ''people want to see you do bad, prove them wrong.'' 

She had met the man a handful of times before, but they had never talked this much with each other. Kimi kept to himself and she wanted to be respectful of that, not wanting to accidentally cross one of his boundaries. 

He wasn't a man of many words (at least sober) so she appreciated his advice very much, knowing he wouldn't tell her this if he didn't think she could actually prove them wrong. 

''Thanks.'' 

''No worry.'' A small assuring smile was found on his face, making the grimaces of her critics seem like nothing. 

''Y/L easily passes the Renault, moving up to P10.'' The commentary of David Croft sounded as she overtook Sainz, going from P11 to P10. 

Her team's pit crew cheered in the garage, watching the spectacle on the screen. ''Keep pushing, Y/N! We're in the points.'' Her engineer told her over the radio. 

''Hehe, understood.'' She chuckled, proud of her smooth overtake. 

She managed to pass the Mclaren of Vandoorne in the same lap, falling behind the Mercedes of Bottas and the Renault of Hulkenberg who was doing his best to keep his seventh position in the race. 

The pair was too busy challenging each other that they didn't see the car of the female driver coming through, passing both of them when they left a gap. ''Y/L jumps ahead of both of them! She jumped Bottas and Hulkenberg, moving up to P7! What a stellar performance of the rookie driver!'' 

People couldn't believe their eyes as she passed the Mercedes, undoubtedly one of the fastest cars on the grid compared to her team's midfield one. 

''Bloody amazing, Y/N! The Red Bull is too far up to catch, but defend for your life now!'' P6 wasn't possible anymore as she went into the last lap, Max's car being quicker and having fresher tyres than her. 

The last lap almost went by in a haze, the young woman scared something would ruin the beautiful moment for her, but that never came. ''Y/N Y/L comes across the line to celebrate her dream debut and she becomes the first woman in over 40 years to score points in a Grand Prix!'' 

She parked her car behind Max's, her hands on her helmet as if it were her head. Y/N sat in disbelief as reality dawned on her. You scored points in your first F1 race, the sentence played on a loop in her head. 

''Oi! Little Miss scoring points on her debut!'' An Australian accent pulled her out of her thoughts, several pats on her helmet making her look up. ''You passed the Mercedes? Fucking amazing!'' He exclaimed as he saw the silver car parked behind her. 

''Daniel, can you help me get out? My body is in shock, I think.'' Y/N awkwardly chuckled, a bit embarrassed about not being able to get out of her car on her own at the moment. 

Fortunately, the Red Bull driver didn't see the big problem and helped her stand up, supporting her underarms. 

The support turned into a congratulating hug, the Australian swaying her side-to-side. ''Welcome to Formula One, baby!'' He loudly exclaimed. 

Y/N laughed at his antics, touched by his excitement for her good result. ''Thanks, Ricciardo.'' 

''Good overtake there.'' Valtteri patted her helmet with his hand, complimenting her. She bowed her head in appreciation. ''Thank you.'' 

Her and Daniel followed the Mercedes driver into the cooldown room, the latter handing her an ice-cold water bottle from the table. ''What place did you get?'' Y/N asked Daniel, turning to him. 

''P4,'' he sighed, ''but I got fastest lap, so a little redemption.'' The Red Bull driver laughed it off, at least happy he got an extra point for the championship standings. 

A pat on her back made her look back, being met with a sweaty Charles. ''Hey, man.'' She greeted him with a side-hug.

''Saw you got P7, congrats.'' The pair had been teammates the year before at Prema Racing so they have a good friendship with each other. ''Thanks, how did it go for you?'' Y/N was curious about her fellow rookie's debut race. 

He shrugged his shoulders. ''P13, but only because 5 people retired.'' Charles downplayed it, glimpsing at the ground. 

''Cheer up, Charlito! It's only the first one of the season.'' She tried comforting him, not wanting him to be down about his result. 

Charles just smiled and moved on, ready to go back to his team and discuss everything. The rest of the drivers, except the top 3, followed swiftly. Y/N received a grand welcome back in her garage, it almost seemed like she had won the World Championship. She had a brief discussion about the race and her team prepared her for the post-race interviews. 

Surprisingly, the interviews had gone well and not one discriminating question was asked. She mainly received a lot of congratulations and one female reporter even thanked her for her race performance as it would inspire many young girls watching it. Y/N had almost teared up during the specific interview, not expecting anyone to do that. 

The rookie was walking to her driver's room when a call of her name stopped her in her tracks. Lewis jogged up to her, greeting her with a big embrace. ''Good job, you did so well!'' He told her with a huge smile on his face. 

''Thank you, Lewis.'' Her head felt warm, the older man making her a little flustered. 

''And this is only the beginning, you know? You showed everyone today that you deserve to be here, truly amazing!'' He continued praising her. 

Y/N grinned at him. ''Thank you so much, that means a lot to me.'' 

''The three of us were watching it back in the cooldown room, like waiting to see in which position you came in.'' Him, Sebastian and Kimi had attentively observed the screen that replayed the race, interested in knowing how the young woman had performed. 

She was touched by Lewis' words, honored that three World Champions had looked out for her and wanted to know her result. ''Oh my god, that's- wow, that's really cool.'' Y/N awkwardly laughed, not knowing how to give a proper response all of a sudden. 

''Anyway, congrats and celebrate it well,'' he made a move to leave before visibly remembering something, ''oh, yeah, Seb asked me to tell you that he'd come by your driver's room.'' Lewis conveyed Sebastian's message. 

''Oh, great, I'll, uh, see you in two weeks then.'' She bid him goodbye and she was on her way again, hoping the German wasn't already waiting for her there. 

Fortunately for her, Sebastian wasn't there yet and she had the time to change into her casual wear so she could leave the circuit and go straight to the airport afterwards to go back home. 

Three knocks on her door stopped her scroll through social media and she called for her guest to come in, not having the energy to get up from her couch. 

She watched an energetic Sebastian walk into her driver's room, practically running to give her a hug. ''I told you that you could do it! P fucking 7!'' He exclaimed, excitedly. 

''Congrats to you for winning!'' She retorted back, not having had the chance yet to congratulate him on his GP win. 

''Thank you, honey.'' He sat down next to her on the couch. 

''I would have loved to see the faces of everyone on your team the moment you passed Carlos, it must have been priceless.'' Sebastian smirked, thinking of what she had told him the day before. ''And the double overtake? You couldn't have had a better race.'' 

''Oh my god, I couldn't believe it, Seb! Like I finished in front of a Mercedes? Wow, just wow!'' Sebastian laughed at her enthusiasm, imagining how great she must feel now. 

The winner of the day scratched his voice. ''Kimi said how nervous you looked before the race and I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit worried about you,'' he had lowered his voice, different from his loudness of before, ''but you dealt with the pressure perfectly and you didn't let it affect your race. I'm very proud of you.'' His sincerity and expression of pride almost brought tears to her eyes, the words of her idol and mentor meaning a lot to her. 

''Thank you, Seb,'' a shy smile graced her face, ''that means a lot to me, I couldn't have done it without you.'' She thanked him. 

''No, it was your hard work that got you here.'' He argued, not wanting to take any sort of credit for her accomplishments. ''And maybe a little of my money, but you know.'' Sebastian jokingly added, not able to help himself from teasing the younger one. 

Y/N rolled her eyes at the comment. ''Always so humble! Red Bull Seb made an appearance for a second there.'' 

''He's still in here, I just need to keep him in check.'' 

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[sharkylass]

ALRIGHT IN STARS AND TIME FANDOM, I'M BOUT TO HIT YOU WITH MY TAKE ON THE BELOVED SISTER!!

Those who don't want to get spoiled about little details about Bonnie's sister (or the game at all for that matter- There's spoilers for Act 3 and 4 in here so YOU'VE BEEN WARNED)

SAY HELLO TO PETRONILLE!! Or how I am going to call her, Nil. I've seen a few people do their take on her, and I wanted to join in!

@insertdisc5 I am sorry in advance if you have a vision for her, especially if it is WILDLY different to mine-

KEEP IN MIND, I AM GOING TO BE RANTING A LOT, IVE HAD THIS IN THE MAKING FOR A WHILE, THERE'S MORE ART, SO SKIP AHEAD IF YOU'D LIKE

First thing's first! I tried to figure out what she would look like in the original style. I didn't want to overly detail her with my normal style, and I wanted her to somewhat fit in with the rest. Bonnie was clearly the strongest inspiration , she has their eyes, the black hair, white thing around their head to bring attention to her face- That's also why she has lip piercings! To bring more attention to her face (and due to Bonnie's earring type, I assumed piercings can exist in the world)

Her ear has 3 earrings, that was not intentional, I just thought it was cool. I like to think they perceive those as "regular" earrings, and even if a person wears bonding earrings, they can also wear more normal earrings.

I just had the image of her not really having a short range weapon, so maybe it's time for someone with a semi-long range weapon to join the team! In my head Nil seemed to be the type to like getting dirty with her hands, so a rope seemed fitting somehow.

Also- She is paper type! I liked the idea of her looking like such a rock type, but being paper. I considered making her dual type, but since those are rare, I didn't want to get ahead of myself. Admittedly, that does make the party a little overloaded with paper types, so if she was to be in a game with balancing, I'd probably change her to rock or something. BUT AS A CHARACTER THING- she remains paper.

(EDIT: I was just reminded of the huge hammer she broke a wall with, so that is ABSOLUTELY a valid replacement weapon for her. If she was rock type that would be her weapon for sure. Altho it IS funny to imagine she broke the wall and swore off heavy weapons for life. I like to think thats what happened with my take on Nil)

Mechanically I think she wouldn't be too dissimular to Isabeau, but instead of boosting the party, she debuffs the enemy. Particularly slowing them down, and lowing defense. Alternatively, I can see her being a second healer of sorts, but while Mira is good at healing everyone, Nil is good at healing a single person and giving them a boost (just things she learned to take care of Bon). I do see her attack not being that high tho, probably lower then Mira.

ALRIGHT, TIME FOR MORE ART

Her dynamics with everyone:

Bonnie:

I like to think Bonnie got their spunky attitude from somewhere. So I like to think Nil is very playful with them, even if she is looking out for them. Bonnie clearly knows the difference between lighthearted serious, and SERIOUS serious. They also seem to revel in compliments, so I like to imagine they are used to receiving them from their sister!

Nil is the most serious around Bonnie tho. As their sole caretaker, she's trying her best to keep them out of trouble while teaching them and letting them grow at a normal pace.

However, when she's with the adults- I described it like- Around Bonnie she can be serious and a voice of reason. When she's with adults tho she herself becomes the Bonnie, so to speak. She's loud and a bit hot-headed.

Mirabelle:

I swear I saw Insertdisc mention that Mira and Nil would have a bit of a rivalry going on AND I'M SO HERE FOR IT-

The two of them are those siblings that fight constantly, but the moment someone else gives either of them shit, the other will go for the jugular. They mainly try to compete for Bon's affection and who's the better sister, and they get a bit... blindsighted. Nil usually doesn't go out of her way to spoil Bonnie I don't think, I think she tries to be reasonable with them where she can. However with Mira in the picture it becomes- a little hard... Nil doesn't like the thought that she's being replaced

However, if either of them needs it, the other will be there. Nil provides Mira with a strong shoulder to lean on, and Mira provides an emotional yet reasonable approach to the situation bothering Nil.

Odile:

I like to think at first Nil didn't really get along with Odile. Supposedly Nil has a bad relationship with her parents, so I imagine her seeing someone who's a parent aged adult who holds seemingly more authority- It would... Unnerve her for a little while.

Odile will probably give her something to do, and Nil would refuse, because who is Odile to be ordering her around?? You know. Like a child. But with time they get used to the dynamic, Nil grows to respect Odile at the very least, and Odile picks up on the fact Nil seems to respond positively to positive reinforcement from her.

Having someone close, to break that pre build idea in Nil's head with positivity, despite Odile being strict and struggling to show affection- It would do her a lot of good, and Nil will eventually thank her, and apologize for being so rough to her in the beginning.

Isabeau:

Isa and Nil are actually very similar- I did not mean for it, but I hope they don't end up being TOO similar.

They are both loud, love to laugh and take care of those they love. Even their hobbies are a bit more similar then everyone else. Nil likes gardening, and taking care of things, and Isa likes to create clothes. Both of them are in a way creating something. Nil making sure what she's taking care of grows to be big and strong, and Isa is more literal-

Where they differ is in smarts partly. Isa is clearly very book smart. I think Nil would turn to him if she had a general question about something (and later on Odile once she gets used to her). She completely encourages him to show more of what he knows.

They also differ in their buffness slightly. While Isa is still the beefiest on the team, he did it with the intention, he trained. Meanwhile I think Nil just likes the field work so she's constantly outside doing heavy dirty work.

I like to think that after being unfrozen, Nil's clothes were roughed up and she didn't really think to or have the time to fix it. So I imagine Isa saw the roughed up state of her pants and gloves, and made her some himself, Which she treasures but GOD she is not used to receiving anything from anyone, LET ALONE gifts.

They also similarly hide their insecurities under bavado. Isa hides his smarts to be liked, and Nil hides her fears so she can be brave. I'll go more into detail when I get to Nil's own section. (I SWEAR I didn't mean for Isa's section to be so long I PROMISE-)

Siffrin:

These two don't do a lot of talking I'd imagine. While Nil is used to being loud, I think she'd get used to the silence around Sif and simply enjoy the quiet.

A lot of the ideas I had with those two were very touch focused. I assume Nil struggles with touch because of potential childhood related traumas, and not being warned sends her into a fight or flight. While Sif is deeply unused to it but craves it.

I still imagine Nil isn't an inherently NOT touchy person- I mean. Bon's the touchiest little guy out there. So maybe she knows how to warn people of when she's about to touch them, AND she is more used to asking for hugs and affection. So after she learns that Sif struggles asking and being startled, she became the person that would encourage them and tell them how to do it. In every single drawing where they're touching just know that either she warned them or they asked for that touch.

Also Nil is a very grounding reminder for Sif that he's not in the loops anymore. So if they get a particular scare, like they were woken up wrong, they had a rough sleep, smelled a banana, remembered the king- anything involving going back- Nil serves as a reminder that they're here, with everyone, in the present. No going back. So that, combined with their touch therapy, it results in him being particularly physically clingy with her. She squeezes their hand ocassionally. It's a grounding reminder.

Nil is also UNBELIEVABLY THANKFUL for Sif, once she learns about how they lost their eye. The fact Sif went out of their way to protect HER little sibling- It means the world to her, and she wouldn't wish it on Sif one bit. She probably holds guilt that she couldn't take the hit for both of them, Bonnie is her responsibility! They probably end up having a conversation similar to Sif telling Mira "Do you think she was wrong? To save you?" She doesn't know about the end of act 3

AAAAAND NIL HERSELF!

A lot of this is already information I mentioned. Her being a paper type, her liking bugs, being traumatized, startled by touch- But I drew these beforehand, so!

I imagine Nil ran away young, cause Bonnie doesn't remember her running from their parents. What happened in there, I do not know and I don't think I'm capable of imagining. It might not even be as dramatic as I illustrated it. But either way, she grew up being the sole caretaker of Bonnie. I'm sure Vaugardians were kind and that they didn't have to struggle too hard for food or a place, or to get Bonnie into a school- But Nil still wanted to learn how to be self sufficient, how to provide in case something happens. It might be why they live in Bambouche honestly, Nil learned how to grow plants and being close to the sea is good for catching a lot of fish! ...It was also at the edge of Vaugarde. Probably the edges where the King's curse reached slower.

She likes getting her hands dirty and working outside, so I imagine she's a bit sunburnt! If only on her shoulders and cheeks.

Growing up alone, self sufficient- She probably had to grow a bit fast (even if she indulges in childish things with Bonbon). She quickly started repressing all fears, all questions of her decision to run away. I imagine she's actually insecure in her abilities, how Bon deserves more capable people in their life, how she doesn't really know anything and how she literally got frozen and Bonnie had to fend for themselves- After Bon comes back, she's so filled with admiration and adoration for her little sibling. They really went to the ends of the earth and saved the world. What a brave little sibling she has.

The new family kind of... Feels like a threat to her title as sister at the start. All 5 of them saved a country. The people Bonnie met are strong, knowledgeable, been all over the world- She's glad they protect Bonnie. She just wishes she had something to offer. It takes her a little while to realize they are also there for her too.

I was ranting to a friend, and I am pretty sure we know Nil would like to travel after everything. Being able to explore her more child like fantasies, with the safety blanket that is the family- It means a lot to her. She gets to truly indulge in living and letting loose and depending on people for the first time in her life.

Afterwards tho... I like to imagine she would settle down. It takes a while, but she likes having a place to call her own. And so we talked about how she would probably have a ranch of some sort. I like to imagine she'd love having horses. A way for her to remain free spirited, while taking care of creatures and having the security of a place to rest at the end of the day. And if she chooses, she can go wherever she wants with those bad boys!

My friend mentioned they might have goats or sheep or chicken, and I'm all aboard for that too. I'm not settled on the idea of a farm life for her, but I like it.

Also if I dare pull a Dreaming One for a second- Bonnie and Sif are like little siblings to her, Mira is like a twin (or relatively same aged), Isa is like an older brother, and Odile the everlasting grandma.

ALRIGHT THAT TOOK A WHILE-

Sorry, I started drawing her for fun and just started BRAINROTTING about her out of nowhere.

I still have little doodle ideas but this was already getting so lengthy so I am going to leave it here, and maybe return another day.

I just deeply wanted to establish Nil as her own character who can fit within the group's dynamic and belong in the family. While she very much IS Bonnie's sister and that's such a big part of her, I wanted to expand her a little further.

If you took the time to read, THANK YOU. I HOPE YOU LIKE HER, AND THAT YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL REST OF YOUR DAY

P.S. IF YOU DRAW OR WRITE WITH HER I BEG YOU TO TAG ME

[ross-hollander]

The hangar crew won't tell you, but...

Every 'mech is a melee 'mech. Doesn't matter if it has weapons mounted on the arms, doesn't matter if the weapons are the arms, you can still use them to bash other people with, it's completely safe. Go for it.

As long as you don't, you know, blow yourself up, repeated reactor overheats are actually perfectly fine. In fact, they're good for it, much better than letting it sit cold or idle. A properly maintained 'mech should be kept just below critical as often as you can stand.

You should paint your kill tallies on the biggest, most prominent (and therefore most often-hit) armor face of your 'mech. The tech team will know not to scrap it for something less battered, of course, because they're courteous like that.

If you're trying for a Death from Above drop, don't bother with the landing mode. After all, 'mech metal has a much softer consistency than roads and soil, so landing on one is sure to be easier on the legs of your 'mech than a standard drop.

The hangar teams really love washing crushed PBI off the feet of your 'mech. It's practically the highlight of their day, trying to spot bits in the slurry from the power-washer. They've got a bet pool going, it's ten points if you spot an intact limb, twenty for a head.

The glass on your cockpit? Yeah, you can get that at any auto shop, pretty much. Probably window places too. Don't worry about it at all. You look so much cooler coming in with a panel or two blown out, and they can get combat-grade replacements in any major settlement, no problem.

[pastel-peach-writes]

Fire Comes From Within II | Korra x Reader

╰┈➤ PLOT: In what's supposed to be the night of your life, you let the Avatar feel your wrath.

╰┈➤ WARNINGS: Cursing, Angry Reader, 4000+ Words, Rivals to Lover, (One-sided) Enemies to Lovers, Part Two, No Use of Y/n, Not Proofread

PART ONE

⍣ ೋ Enjoy!⍣ ೋ

"Where is she?!" your voice boomed through the halls. The doors to the locker room swung open, hitting the walls and then recoiling, almost smashing your teammate Yi in the process.

"Where's who?" Yi asked. The girl scrambled to match your strides, you were too in a fury to notice.

"You know who. I'm going to give her a piece of my mind. First, she's going to steal my spot on the Fire Ferrets then she's going to obliterate me in a match I'm supposed to win?" you scoffed. "She's the Avatar, she's not even supposed to be competing in the first place."

"Oh, come on, Lightning, you know she earned her place fair and square. She's not even using all of her abilities."

"I don't care!" you shouted. You turned on your heels to face Yi square. Your body was trembling with anger while your eyes expressed the pain you were trying your best to hide. "I tried out for the Fire Ferrets. I made it in and I was going to replace their teammate until she stepped in and ruined everything. My spot is on the Fire Ferrets, not the Elemental Mixers."

Yi frowned, her big brown eyes dimming as she stared into yours. "So, you don't want to be on the Elemental Mixers? You never did?"

"What? No, I just–"

"No, it's okay. I get it. I hope you can find your peace, Lightning." Yi left before you could get another word in.

With a yell, you turned away. That same fire in your chest made its return. Yet again, another thing ruined by Korra. You loved the Elemental Mixers, you did. But your heart was with the Fire Ferrets. It always has been and always will be.

As you came to, you noticed Guo's frame. He wasn't too far away in the halls and was talking to some person from another team. You hoped he didn't hear you yell, but the person he was talking to eyed you and then looked back at him

You groaned to yourself as Guo left the person. The male with the long brown hair looked at you displeased, his lips in a frown.

"How much did you hear?" you sucked in a breath.

Guo shrugged. "Just about all of it. Did you mean it?"

"Guo, you know I love being on this team. I think of you guys as family--"

"Did you or did you not mean it, Lightning? I don't have time for your games."

With your eyes fixed on him, you noticed the sternness in his eyebrows. Usually on the thicker side and friendly, they seemed to have thinned out and expressed a massive amount of disappointment.

"I mean it, Guo. I'm sorry--"

He interrupted you once again. "I'm sorry," for the first time since you joined the team, he called you by your name, "you're off the team. Someone on the Elementals doesn't express their hate towards other players or their own team. As you said, we're a family. A family that loves each other and protects each other.

"I saw how you broke Yi's heart. I watched the fear in her eyes as she watched you storm and rant about whatever the heck you were ranting about this time. You're off the team, officially, for unsportsmanlike behavior."

"Oh, come on! You can't kick me out. Like you said, we're family. Family doesn't kick out family, Guo."

The older boy shook his head. "It's clear to me now that you were never family, just a pretender." And like his "sister", Yui, Guo left without you getting another word in.

In the hall, you've captured the attention of some ongoers. Most of them you didn't care about, but then your eyes landed on bright blue eyes and deep skin.

She just had to be there whenever you're at your worst, doesn't she?

You walked through the crowd of people, brushing past them and glaring into Korra's eyes as you met her in the middle of the crowd. "You ruined everything for me, Avatar," you grimaced. "You've stripped everything I've ever worked for and known of from me in just a matter of weeks. You're a rookie. You shouldn't have all these favors and things handed to you just because you're the human the spirits chose to master the four elements."

Korra didn't say anything. Her expression was unreadable with her blank eyes and stone face.

"I hate you, Korra, and I hope karma bites you in your ass."

--

You didn't know Guo was serious about kicking you off the team. After the match, win or lose, the pro-bending teams were having a party to celebrate the end of the season. One of the teams rented out an old-school ballroom to host the party.

The party was electric, similar to the party a couple days ago, but the energy was significantly higher probably because all of the hard work was over.

You had to attend this party, it was the party of the season, but Guo got your name off the list. When he had time to do that, you had no clue.

You sat outside, high upon the marble steps to the ballroom. Guards stood by the entrance of the building, dressed in slick black suits and glasses like they were someone important.

Many partygoers and pro-benders eyed you and spoke to plus ones about you sitting on the steps. Though everyone eyed you differently, some with sad expressions and others with anger, they all spoke about the same thing.

"I heard they got kicked off the Elemental Mixers." "Do you hear that they got into it with the Avatar?"

"I heard them and Guo were in a relationship and had a messy breakup."

"That's not even what happened!" you exclaimed to a woman no more than 3 years older than you. She stuck her tongue out, her arm tightly wrapped around the girl. The two of them swayed their hips up the stairs, giggling to themselves.

"Why don't you just leave?" Mako spoke, making your eyes snap from the side of you to in front of you.

On the steps below stood Mako, Bolin, and Korra in their best party wear. If you weren't extremely pissed at them, you might even say they looked good.

Might.

You shrugged and faced your body away from the three. You didn't know why yourself, but you weren't going to tell them that. They knew enough about you already.

Mako let out an irritated sigh in replace of your silence. "Fine, don't tell us. Staying out here is just going to make you feel worse about yourself. Plus, you can't stay out here forever. You're going to get cold eventually."

"Goodbye, Fire Ferrets," you said, your gaze still not on them.

The three of them sighed in unison before walking up the stairs. Korra kept her eyes on you as they walked, but you didn't care enough to notice.

"I feel bad," Korra whispered to her teammates once they reached the door.

Mako scoffed. "Are you forgetting the part where they tried to trash talk you and then expressed utter and complete hatred towards you?"

Bolin nodded, agreeing with his brother. "Yeah, and you're the Avatar. No one should hate you."

"But that's the thing," sighed Korra. "They hate me because of who I am or at least what I represent. Because of my abilities, I've taken everything away from them. They trained their whole lives for a spot on the Fire Ferrets and all I had to do was flash a pretty smile towards Mako."

Mako scoffed again, more flustered this time. "That is not all you had to do."

Korra shrugged with a grin. "It's pretty much it."

"Pretty smile or not, you earned your spot on this team. They're jealous and will have to deal with it." Mako put his hands on Korra's shoulders. "You're the Avatar and it's unlike you to shy away from that. Don't let someone hating your destiny dim your light."

Korra stared into his eyes, her blue eyes sparkling. Bolin stood beside them, glancing between the Avatar and his brother. Mere seconds later, Korra laughed in his face. She took his hands off her shoulders, laughing harder.

"Wow, you almost sounded wise for a second," Korra snickered. Mako huffed with red cheeks. He turned his body away from Korra with a grumble. "I'm gonna go apologize, but that was good, Mako!" Korra announced as she ran down the stairs. "You should be a comedian!"

Korra's pumps clicked and clacked against the marble steps. You could hear them above the commotion from the party. You laid an arm along your lap and rested your chin in your other palm. You did your best to ignore Korra, feeling her presence directly behind you, but the Avatar was as stubborn as she is powerful.

"Hey, Mixer," her voice carried over. "Can I sit here?"

You kept your gaze away from her. Why would you give her the chance to look into your eyes, the gateway to the soul, and find something to make fun of you for? Something to use against you and make you feel even shittier than you do now?

From the side of you now, Korra sighed. She sat down a few feet away from you. Her legs stretched down the bottom of the steps and crossed at the ankle as she leaned back on her hands. Just like you, she avoided your gaze. Not because she was worried about what you discover about her, no. But because she didn't know what to say yet.

She came over to apologize but she didn't think of the words to say. How would she bring it up? Should she come out and say it or should she make a segway into the apology?

The orange sky with pink ribbons captured her attention. There were barely any white clouds in sight and the golden rays of the sun made the white and gray marble steps sparkle.

A breath moved past Korra's lips. "The sky looks nice."

On your side of the steps, the sky was a murky blue. The clouds were dark, almost resembling a storm. The moon wasn't to be seen, so there was no light to illuminate the clouds or sparkles of stars. You scoffed, taking in the bleak sight of the sky. "Yeah, right. It looks like the Wicked Witch is coming."

"Huh?" Korra veiwed the sky to her right, where you were sitting, and snickered. "No, not over there." A hesitant hand reached out to turn your shoulder but quickly retracted. "I mean over here." She pointed at the sunset.

Taking a gander at her side of the world, you tilted your head to the side. Nice was barely scraping the bowl to describe the sky's beauty.

The colors were warm and soft strands of clouds danced across the sky. The inviting warmth of the sun's rays invoked peace within you. You had to take a deep breath to really captivate and absorb Nature's gift. The sunset wasn't just nice. It was perfect.

After minutes of comfortable silence, you spoke. "What are you doing here, Korra?" The sunset was becoming enveloped by the dark sky, but for some reason on Korra's side of the world, it wasn't as dark. "You should be inside."

Korra shrugged. "I wanted to apologize. I think I understand why you hate me."

Understanding? Korra? The hot-headed Avatar, known for holding a grudge, was apologizing to you after you initiated all the arguments you've shared? The action was out of character. She should be trying to pick a fight with you like you have for the entirety of the season.

You shook your head, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon. "You have nothing to apologize for." You should be the one doing the apologizing yet you couldn't find yourself to.

"I took your spot on the team. I overheard your conversation with your teammate and then again through the grapevine. I never thought about the lives I affected by taking the open spot on the team. Some say it wasn't fair for me to be on their team, but I thought it was being I was the Avatar," Korra scoffed. "I mean, a lot of stuff is about me being the Avatar, but I realize there's another side to that.

"I didn't try out or train to get my spot on the team. I showed up and was accepted practically on the spot. I was so happy to be a part of something that uplifted benders. I didn't think about the dreams I would be crushing."

You grumbled. You picked at your outfit and returned your gaze to your side of the world. It was dark just as it was before.

Korra sighed at your silence. She mimicked your actions and picked at her blue dress while watching the clouds move across the sky. "We don't have to be friends, but this thing between us needs to stop. It won't be worth it since I won't be on the team anymore."

"What?"

"I'm leaving. Most of this information is classified so don't tell anyone, but my duties as the Avatar are going to rise significantly as time passes. I won't have time to be on the Fire Ferrets, no matter how much I want to. It's only right that my spot goes to someone who earns it. You."

You shook your head. You met her eyes and searched for insincerity or hints of a joke. Her eyes, instead of the words previously described, were the opposite with a genuine gaze and a slight smile on her face. "I don't get it. You hate me."

"No," corrected Korra. "You hate me. I never hated you, just found you mildly annoying." There was a chuckle that followed after. Without staring at her in a fit of rage, the sound of her laughter was actually... pleasant. You wouldn't mind hearing it again.

"Ha. Ha." You adverted your sight. You rested your chin back on your palm. Become a part of the Fire Ferrets and for real this time. An actual tryout, a chance. It would finally be your time to shine. "What about your teammates? You may not hate me, but they hate me for hating you. How could I try out if they won't let me."

"Oh, trust me," a devious smile spread across Korra's lips, "they'll let you."

--

It took careful consideration, around 6 minutes, before you agreed to take Korra up on her offer. Honestly, you thought yourself to be a fool to reject another opportunity to be on the Fire Ferrets.

Though it took a lot of convincing on Korra's side to allow Mako and Bolin to let you try out, your tryout went well.

You hit every target, fired Earth disks when told, and showcased your agility. The brothers were impressed, obviously, but them accepting you into their team wasn't what surprised you. It was the team disassembling just minutes after you were accepted.

It was just your luck to want something so badly, get the opportunity to have it twice, just for it to be ripped out from under you.

Your rage towards disassembly was justified but not targeted towards anyone. The classified information Korra was talking about the night of the party? Yeah, apparently there were people out there taking away Benders' abilities. And being close friends with the Avatar and benders themselves, Mako and Bolin had no choice but to help Korra out.

Days into fighting Amon and discovering his plans, the Krew realized they were taking on more than they thought. Every hour, Amon was recruiting new members. Now his small group of around 20 expanded to nearly 100. The Krew was outnumbered.

"We're going to need more help," Asami informed her friends. The Krew stood around a map spread out on a table at the Air Temple. "Preferably someone agile, has a history doing combat, and is lightning quick."

Korra quipped a brow, smiling at the side of her mouth. Agile, history of doing combat, and lightning quick; Korra knew just the person.

It seemed like Korra was going to be doing a lot of convincing this season. The Avatar thought you would be eager to jump at the opportunity to fight side-by-side and to use your bending for something other than professional bending, but she was wrong. You flat-out refused to join her Krew.

"It's the same story," you informed the Avatar. You two were sat at a ramen place, slurping on noodles and drinking locally made tea. This wouldn't be your first time hanging out with the Avatar. In fact, since your joining and then well, leaving the Fire Ferrets, you two found out that you like each other more than you wanted to admit. "I get the chance to work with Mako and Bolin then it gets torn away from me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. But fool me three times? Nuh-uh." You slurp up another noodle before continuing. "Not doing it."

"Oh, but come on," Korra whined. "There's no way for you to get kicked out this time! There's no one else in the running for your exact spot and there isn't going to be another worldly crisis taking the brothers away from you. Swear!"

You shook your head as you continued to chow down on your ramen. "Nope. Not happening. Find someone else."

"But there isn't someone else!" Korra pounded her fist on the table. The action shook the table, a thud echoing throughout the wood. Your cups and bowls rattled as the table continued to move. "There is no one as fantastic as you, Lightning. Guo said it himself, Mako and Bolin saw it, and even I did when we were competing. You're letting your fears take control of your life. You didn't have any fears when going against me and trash-talking, and I can kick your ass faster than anyone on this planet."

Through a smile, you scoff. "You wish, Avatar."

Korra rolled her eyes, her smile matching yours. "Come on, Lightning. If you can take me head-on, you can take on these Equalists. My crew and I will be right there fighting beside you if that helps anything."

From your seat across from her, you could see the eager determination in Korra's eyes. She was serious when she said there's no one else to take your spot and that her team needed you. Even through all the petty arguments and digs, Korra saw the best of you. The you that you refused to see sometimes. There was no need for competition if you were on the same team as your rival. Plus, how badass would it be to fight beside the Fire Ferrets? Oh, Kei was going to blow her lid.

"Fine," you prepped another bite of your ramen. "I'll help you guys out but as a guest, okay? I'll fight alongside you until the Equalists are gone, but once they are, I am too. I'm going back to pro-bending."

"Yes!" Korra bumped her fist in the hair. A grin spread wide across her cheeks and her eyes into upside-down C's. "You won't regret this, Lightning. Swear."

--

Your fight against the Equalists was your first with the Krew, but it definitely wasn't your last.

As you fought alongside them, you saw progress in your growth and how you fought. Bolin was the perfect role model to look up to and his positive happy-go-lucky attitude was infectious. There were even moments when Bolin taught Korra some Earth-bending moves and you were invited to join in on the lesson!

Sure, you were more focused on Korra's muscles than improving your skills, but that was a price you were willing to pay to be a part of the Krew. Speaking of Korra and her muscles, you two definitely grew closer as the years went on.

Since she was your top rival, you would train and spar with her the most. In the beginning, it was a bit annoying. Now that Korra could use all four elements, mostly three in the early days, she was hard to beat. She would use your own Earthbending tactics against you and then blast some fire your way just to annoy you. But now, years later, it was second nature.

Sparring with Korra will always be tough no matter your skill level, but she taught you great defense and offense. You were lighter on your toes which was usually hard for an Earth bender, increased your flexibility and hand-eye coordination.

"Is that all you got, Lightning?" Korra taunted. She used two fingers to shoot a fire stream. She was careful to let the fire blow a few feet away from your calf. She wasn't trying to burn you, you were too cute to burn. She wanted to let the heat annoy you and get you irritated.

Her Earthbender, who wasn't hers just yet, was cute when ticked off. Well, in a sparring sense. Korra blamed your early relationship for her finding you cute when sweaty and threatening to beat her into a pulp. Your threats were empty. She knew this and it's exactly why she wants to poke fun.

"Korra," you growled, moving out of the way of her attack. "What did we say about using fire?" You stomped your foot and a boulder rose from the Earth. With the circle of your forearm, the boulder grew in height. You swiped your arm across your chest. The boulder dashed in front of your body, you pivoted your standing foot and struck the rock toward Korra with a kick.

Korra laughed. She used dainty fingers and hands to pull two streams of water up her body and then towards the boulder to stop it from colliding with her body. "Nothing! It's free game!"

You groaned to yourself. It was times like this that made you miss your shared pro-bending days. Life was so much easier when Korra was restricted to her waterbending. You punched the racing boulder twice and it exploded into two halves. You took the first half and propelled it towards Korra. As expected, she took the rock and shoved it into the ground behind her. The rock acted as a wall.

With her back turned toward you, you took the other half and shoved it into the ground opposite of the first half. Korra spun on her toes as the ground shook beneath them. With a smirk, you collected other rock walls and built a makeshift shelter around her.

"Oh, really?" Korra called out. She turned around herself, surrounded by the walls made out of rock. She shook her head, rolling her hands in a balling motion to gather air. "This is so easy to get out of. Why did they even do this?" Using the air she collected, Korra spun up into the air. The walls busted from the movement, falling flat to the ground.

The Avatar's ponytail whipped around her head as she continued to spin 8 feet into the air. Up in the air, Korra couldn't help but notice you weren't to be seen. The Avatar landed on the slab you used for the roof, her eyebrows knitted. "What--" she scoffed while circling herself. "Lightning?"

A gust of air is violently taken out of Korra as you tackle her from the side. She cried out a groan, and you two pummeled into the ground. "Hah!" you war-cried.

The two of you rolled around in the dirt. The sounds of rustling clothes and leaves filled your ears. Korra grabbed onto your wrists as you two tumbled down the faint hill of the training grounds. "Spirits, Lightning, stay still!"

"No!" you laughed out. As you continued to fight and wrestle on the way down from the hill, your sweaty faces dirtied from the earth you two insisted on rolling in. Finally, with an accidental jab to her ribs, Korra decided she'd had enough.

She grunted, pinning your back into the patch of grass. Her hands formed what some would call a white-knuckle grip around your wrists. Her teeth were gritted, beads of sweat rolled in between her eyebrows and down the side of her face. She's almost seethed from childish horseplaying until she sees your laughing face.

Your laugh expressed a childlike joy. It reminded Korra of Jinora and Ikki playing pretend. They would frolic around the temple, using tablecloths as princess dresses. They took sticks or cooking utensils, whichever were available at the time, and used them as wands. As they stood and jumped around furniture, their giggles would echo throughout the Air Temple.

That sound, their laughter, soothed Korra even on her toughest days. On the days she disliked Mako and Asami. On the days she couldn't figure out airbending, Jinora's and Ikki's laughter would be heard from down the hall and remind her that everything would be alright.

Since the girls considered themselves to be "too grown" to play princesses, Korra assumed she would never find a sound to invoke that emotion within her again. That was until she pinned you down on the grass, your arms in the grip of her hands, and her thighs on the sides of your body, she heard it.

Your belly flexed and relaxed with your laughter. The sun beaming directly into your face didn't stop you from laughing and squirming from underneath Korra. "You should've seen your face! Oh, my Spirits, I wish I had that photographed."

Korra sat back, removing her hands from your arms. Though she was holding you down anymore, your back remained on the grass. Korra watched with an embarrassed yet fond smile on her face. "Yeah, haha. Let's make fun of the Avatar," she chuckled.

"Please!" you opened your eyes, the apples of your cheeks bright from your smiling and laughs. "You had it coming. You know how I feel about your unfair fire bending."

"'Unfair'?" exclaimed Korra with a laugh.

"Yes, unfair!"

"No, 'unfair'! You are my rival, Lightning," she poked your chest. "You're the only person I practice my firebending with. What, you prefer I get rusty and only use my firebending on the bad guys?"

A sound that was similar to a giggle escaped your throat. "Yes, actually. That would be best. Or, y'know, go train with Mako."

Korra rolled off your body and lay beside you instead. You missed the squeeze of her thighs around your stomach, but considering you were breathing easier now, it might've been for the better. "Absolutely not. Mako doesn't get cute-upset like you. He just gets upset like a dad. It's not a pretty sight."

You snickered. "Dad Upset" would be the perfect word to describe Mako's disappointment. Arms crossed over his chest, lips in a scowl, and his eyebrows so close together, they looked like one with a huge dip in the middle. "That's pretty accurate actually." You wiped your glistening forehead with the back of your palm. "So, you think I'm cute?"

Korra shrugged, a flustered smile threatening to break through her cool facade. "Yeah. That okay?"

Taking your gaze from the bright white clouds that were traveling across the vibrant blue sky, you meet the different vibrant blue of Korra's eyes. "Yeah, as long as I get to think you're cute too."

If Korra's flusteredness ever showed on her face, you didn't see it. The moment your sentence ended, she was grinning with a teasing sparkle in her eyes.

"I knew it! I knew you liked me. See," Korra laid on her side and rested her head on her palm. "I thought so when I kept catching you staring at me that morning of the big tournament, but I wasn't sure. I mean, you were so angry with me over nothing!"

The mention of your "hating Korra" arc struck a cringe from deep inside you. You slapped your hands on your face and groaned. "Please, don't mention it. I regret that whole situation every day."

"Nah, nah, nah," Korra laughed. "Don't regret it. If it wasn't for your angstiness, you wouldn't have gotten kicked off the party list and we would've never spoken on the steps. Without that conversation, I would've never thought of you to help out for Amon and we wouldn't be here... talking about the crushes we have on each other."

You let out a sigh, dragging your hands down your face. You wanted to tease her about using the 'c' word because when did you ever admit to having a crush on her? You just said you thought she was cute. But, nevertheless, you let it slide. You slipped your hand into hers and squeezed her calloused hand. "Yeah, whatever..."

Korra snorted. She poked your cheek with her other hand as the teasing sparkle in her eye morphed into a teasing smile. "You like me. I bet I kept you up at night." You closed your eyes with a heavy sigh. Korra only laughed. "I bet you thought about my arms wrapped around your body because, let's be honest here, you were not subtle with your staring."

"Korra," you warned.

"I wonder how long it took you to realize how many times I crossed your mind. I wonder when you realized the shift of hatred to 'Whoa, I'm in love with the coolest girl in the universe'."

"Korra."

"Oo!" she giggled a little. "I wonder how many times we got so close in sparring that it made your heart race. Tell me, Little Lightning," she hadn't called you that nickname since your rival days. "am I making your heart race right now?"

"Korra, if you so much as drag that finger down my cheek as you tease me, I will not hesitate to have a piece of Earth come from the sky and crash down on you."

The finger that was just barely touching your skin froze. It retracted, its owner pouting. "Well, gee. What a party pooper."

You laughed. With the squeeze of your hands, you two decided to spend the rest of the afternoon resting on the grass and cloud watching. Her hand felt perfect in yours and all it took to get here was a pro-bending match, failed Fire Ferret attempts, and a whole lot of rivalry.

Fin. | WC: 5,051

[faeryarchives]

i'm not jealous !! (savanaclaw x gn!reader)

requested by anon: Heyy, saw the req is open again 👀 Can i req headcanons of savannaclaw with gn s/o where s/o gives all of their attention to another person rather than their own boyfriend (accidentally or not on purpose, maybe 'cause that person needs something important and s/o helps them). Thanks 💓 note: this is very overdue 😭 recent fics: savanaclaw with a furina-like female reader & octavinelle with a fischl like female reader! & you feel like home & let me kiss you

* ˚ ✦ leona kingscholar

"you're leaving already?" "mmm! since the vdc is coming up, vil asked me to help in managing the team. i will try to make it up to you okay, leo?" "hmp, suit yourself."

leona is not a clingy type of guy but he for sure wants to have most of his time either sleeping or being with you (yes he is clingy)

he is too used to the fact that you would find your way to bother him everyday + it feels empty without you by his side

so when you start to hang out more around the vdc group instead of him- this man will be very very petty 😭

not because you were busy no leona knows how much you want to help other people but what takes the cake is the fact that you started cancelling out your plans

"i'm sorry love, can we take a rain check? things are kinda hectic here right now" "... oh my god, are we supposed to go out today? sorry leo, i promise i will make it up to you."

the moment you try to make it up, he will tun the other way, his tail aggressively thumping on the floor while leona will look you dead in the eyes menacingly

"finally have some time for me now?" "leo-" *cue his tail thrashing*

at first he will try to look unmoved by your apologies and the only thing you can do is talk to his tail

he finally give in after receiving home made food with meat and being his pillow for a while but never do that again 🤬🤬🤬

* ˚ ✦ ruggie bucchi

i dare to say he is the most vocal out of the three

because what do you mean you can't come to your date because something about someone happened 🤬 that is not your responsibility young one 🫵

ruggie won't move if something will not benefit him but with you involved this hyena will run

"wow welcome back, did you have fun?" "uhuh, come here you hyena your face is not fooling anyone."

ruggie's approach would be in a teasing way

but it is a facade to not show his jealousy too much because you were supposed to spend your time together 😔and a guy like ruggie values his time especially with you

"why don't you spend time with them again?" "...ruggie, are you jealous?" "what like it's supposed to be a secret?"

while he is the most vocal one - he is the one who will also give you silent treatment when you start to cancel on your plans

you were supposed to do things together are you replacing him now!

"i'm not one to share what is mine. especially when it's you."

after wrapping things with your friend's problem - expect this hyena to be attached to you to the bone and give him some donuts when you are at it

* ˚ ✦ jack howl

this man will be dejected for the entire time to the point that people are pointing out how his ears droop

unlike the other two, jack would try to convince himself that it's normal for you to pay attention to other things

at first jack would try to help you out because you are also friends after all but unfortunately it's not the field he can offer his help so all he can do is to reassure you that he's fine

"jack are you sure?" "it's alright. they need your help right?"

but to be honest he needs your help too 😭 he already reassured you right? but why does he feel so jealous whenever you come back to hang out only to talk about your friend whom you had helped out

"jack, you look a little sick - are you okay?" "well... it's because you keep talking and spending more time with them." "huh?" "why don't you just go hang out with them instead? i'm sure they'll keep you better company, right?"

after that - as much as jack doesn't want to avoid you, he just can't help it + he can't look at you in the eye after suddenly blaming you

technically both of you are at fault but shouldn't your relationship be built on trust

when you finally confront him, all your problems are clarified and just lack communication with each other

it may take some time for jack to fully acknowledge that feeling and become more open about it but one thing that he knows for sure that he trusts you

"i'm sorry for saying such things that day."

"you're so cute, you know that? don't worry jack, i love being with you."

[mysticheathenn]

What Is Your Intuition Trying To Tell You?

Hi, Hexlings!

This pick-a-card reading is about what have you been ignoring when it comes to your intuition. Some of you don't trust your intuition completely and those of you that do have been ignoring it for x reason. Let's dive in shall we.

This is a general reading, remember to take what resonates and leave what does not. This reading does not supplement your need to seek professional help. Tarot should be used as entertainment and not a for sure answer to your problems but as a guide, a sense of hope, and amusement.

Take your time when choosing your pile. Ask yourself the question and choose the picture that you can’t stop looking at. Listen to your intuition.

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Pile l:

What is your intuition telling you? (Tarot: 4 of Swords (reversed), Knight of Swords, Death, 9 of Swords, 7 of Wands)

It's time for a change in pace, place, and environment in general pile 1. Some of you are prolonging the inevitable of your life trying to change for the better. This could be you possibly slightly self-sabotaging yourself by procrastinating on things that could help better your life, circumstances, etc all because you are listening to the negativity of your mind. This could be anxiety, depression, or imposter syndrome, either way, there is something in your life that you need to act on but you are taking your slow sweet time. You may even entertain the idea that every time you do something as small as touch your project or whatever it is that you need to be doing you treat yourself with rest, and playtime, when in reality this is a form of procrastination. It's time to get yourself together and do the thing, whatever it is for you. For some of you, you're asking for a change in your life but refuse to act on the things that will give you the changes because of fear. Sit down with yourself and ask yourself is this really what I really want and if so figure out ways to get the job done and bypass your anxiety and perfectionism. If it is not what you want have a chat with your spirit team that you no longer want what it is that they are offering. For very few of you, this change that is happening in your life is what you want but the way you have to go about getting it is not the route you want to take. Again talk to your spirit team about this.

Extra Messages: Spellcasting Oracle Deck: Love, New Beginnings, Family, Peace, & Freedom.

Whatever this is that you have been ignoring is trying to bring in the things that you complain about of have been trying to manifest. For some of you, this is love but you refuse to take your inspired action in going out to meet people, the same thing goes for making friends. I am also hearing that some of you want to reconnect with family but are afraid it might be a bad decision, but overall this thing you need to act on is bringing in freedom and peace.

Pile ll:

What is your intuition telling you? (Tarot: 5 of Pentacles (reversed), Knight of Wands & Swords, King of Cups, Strength, & 7 of Swords.

Pile ll I feel as soon as you began to choose your pile you already knew what you have been ignoring with your intuition. I am just here to confirm it for you that...yes...yes you do need to leave whomever it is around you that is on your mind alone. Some of you have been thinking about leaving a specific group, job, or person alone for a while now but lack the strength to leave because either fear of FOMO, you fear change, or because you fear what comes after the change. Similar to how some people don't fear death just what happens after it. You fear what may come after leaving whatever this is alone. Will you feel lonely? Will this person or place retaliate? Will you need them later on in life and regret losing them? These are the questions that plague your mind pile ll. You have to trust the universe (God, Allah, Source, etc) that whatever is being taken away from you, will be replaced with something even better. There is a quote that says "I would rather adjust my life to your absence than adjust my boundaries for your disrespect" and this is what you have to do. Stop allowing others to play in your face. You deserve better than that and you know this...have more self-love and respect for yourself. Love yourself more than you do whatever is it that is causing discourse in your life. You are the most important thing in your life, not a job, friends, etc but yourself. No one is going to treat you better than you can yourself. I need you to know this and to demand better and not let others shame you into wanting more. You might be the type to also eat whatever the waiter brings to the table when it's not what you ordered (some not all of you).

Extra Messages: Tea Tree Leaf Oracle Deck: Parting of the ways in either romance, friendship, or business, You will receive a gift, Strong emotions passionate love or hate, Happiness and well-being, Wish will not be granted, Dealing with a younger man, feeling tied down or frustrated.

Pile lll:

What is your intuition telling you? (Tarot: The Hierophant (reversed), Ace of Pentacles (reversed), 7 of Swords, 10 of Swords, and 8 of Pentacles.

I feel you are our own enemy pile lll. What you are ignoring with your intuition seems to be a mindset that you can't let go of. Maybe you are used to having to work hard for everything you have or have been taught that being a doctor, lawyer, etc is the only way you can be something in this lifetime and you are starting to finally see that they might not be true. OR at least you are kind of entertaining the idea but not tall the way fully. The abundance that you see is on the other side of the ways you have been telling or letting others tell you is the way it needs to be done. For some of you, you may have found teachings by Neville Goddard, The Secret, Joseph Murrey, etc, and have this aching feeling in your body to test out some of these theories for you to make more money because you are starting to believe that there is no way you have been placed on this earth to just work, sleep, pay bills, and die. You want to do more with your life and that includes traveling for some of you or even saving for retirement because you are seeing so many of the older generations having to go back to work because they didn't predict the inflation that is happening in today's society. You want financial freedom and stability. You want to be comfortable with your finances to where you only need to check it once a month or two to make sure you aren't overspending. Some of you also I am hearing need to learn more about about budgeting and not be triggered by the word budget. Purchase a spreadsheet from Etsy where you can track your expenses to see what you spend every month. I say give this new mindset a try. I can honestly speak for myself that it does work when ou change your mindset to a more abundant one and go about bringing in money the non-traditional way. Follow this lead. You won't know unless you try and when I mean try I mean keep going even when you don't see results. Give yourself a few months of trying something new. It doesn't hurt.

Extra Messages: Spellcasting Oracle Deck: Trust, Forgiveness, Financial Health, Life Purpose, & Clarity

Trust that whatever your intuition is leading you is the way to go. Some of you may be from a religious background and stepping into the world of manifesting, LOA, etc might give you some anxiety. Trust and embrace the new path you are walking on. Trust that the traditional way to have financial stability is not the only way. This path may even lead you to your life purpose, following non-traditional ways of making money whether it's being an artist, manifesting money, or whatever it is that has been speaking to your intuition that you have been ignoring.

Pile lV:

What is your intuition telling you? (Tarot: Justice, The Wheel, 6 of Cups, 7 of Cups, and 8 of Wands

Therapy is what your intuition has been calling for you to seek but you keep ignoring. If not therapy your inner child is seeking for you to heal whatever it is that happened in the past to help break the cycles of your future. You have probably made excuses for the behaviors of others in your past and something maybe a lightbulb moment hit you to where you finally said no..the things that happened in the past are not okay and you aren't sure how to go about processing your emotions. It reminds me of a video I once saw about how your inner child wants love but your inner teenager wants revenge. You probably rage with your emotions from depression, and rage, to just everything and anything within the spectrum of feeling sorry for yourself to wanting to watch the world of others burn and you need someone whether a therapist, a shadow work journal, or even a trusted LEVEL HEADED friend...you see what I put in all caps..please choose a level headed friend who won't encourage you to go to jail because you want to slash your exes tires and bust the windows of his car. Either way, you can't avoid this healing pile lv, it's time you forgive yourself for the past and stop letting it have a hold on you and dictate your future. You are not the reason or cause for the way people have disrespected you, made you feel unsafe, etc. Some of you may be waking up that the way you were raised was not okay and you don't want to repeat that on to your future kids or others in your life.

Extra Messages: Spellcasting Oracle Deck: Empowerment, Financial Health, Life Purpose, Fertility, Commitment, & Blessings.

You are on the verge of birthing a whole new you pile lV. As you begin to heal old wounds of the past and forgive yourself you will be releasing soul and karmic ties, bringing in blessings, a healthier relationship with money, finding your life purpose, and feeling empowered that you are taking back your life and not allowing the past to make you feel the way you have been feeling any longer.

Thank you for liking and reblogging my readings. I always appreciate you guys on here and on Patreon.

Stay safe and be blessed

[radiance1]

So, this one was inspired by those few posts I saw about Danny turning into a ghost but he leaves his body behind. I don't think it was like that one au where he left a dead body behind and he could just turn back into a human.

But where he went ghost, flew out of his body and then when he was done he just went back in.

So now I'm thinking about Danny becoming a hero, part of the JLA, Teen Titans, or any other superhero related team or if he just acts alone most of the time and allies with them or whatever.

But I'm thinking of him becoming a hero, his body facing a grave injury that should've put him out for either a week or month at least and then he's back the next day.

How and why?

Vlad Masters.

Whenever Danny is actually gravely injured or anything, he goes to Vlad to make use of the multitude of clones he always keeps around. Surprisingly, it works extremely well, each and every clone's DNA matches his exactly and it's not like they have a consciousness to force him out or anything. So basically, he possess his clone bodies until his main one-which would currently be healing in one of Vlad's pods-heals up until he could get back in.

Of course, this draws some suspicion. But most people just write it off as Danny just having an extremely powerful healing factor.

Hell! You could even drag Ellie up into this too!

Even though she's also a clone, so that would mean that she would be possessing the clone of a clone but that doesn't really matter anyways.

Why does Vlad let them do this anyway? Well, because he literally has no use for them like, at all. He gave up trying to create the perfect son a while back and he already had a perfect daughter (Yes, Vlad and Danielle have developed a parental bond which is probably another reason) plus, he was planning to throw them out later.

So why not?

Just, think about it. Rows upon rows of clones that Vlad created for the sole purpose of being temporary replacements for both Danny and Dani whenever they've suffered a major injury in their hero work that they need to heal up while still doing their heroing.