#top gear interview is amazing

[skitskatdacat63]

Top 5 moment of cheeky Sebastian Vettel?

You guys making me choose between my favorite things.....

1. The entirety of his Top Gear interview (x)

2. I already mentioned Abu Dhabi 2009, so: any time he shoves Jenson during 2009:

3. Him attempting to pull Mark into the pool post-Monaco 2010 (x)

4. Any time he does an impression of another person, but especially when he does it right in front of said-person (x)

5. Most radio moments where he's bitching, but particularly Monaco 2013 when he got the fastest lap "for satisfaction" even tho Rocky told him not to (x)

[youkissedareaderinthedark]

Pay Attention

Synopsis: The 3 times everyone else knew you and Lando were in love with each other, and the 1 time you two actually admitted it

female driver reader x lando norris

A/N: for this one, reader is 22 and drives for mercedes with george. also, most of the story is told from lando’s pov because this originally started off as an entirely different 3+1 fic, and I don’t have the energy to fix it. and obviously, things like race results, driver lineups, ect will be changed to better fit the story

1-

Lando Norris knows Formula 1 is unpredictable. He knows you can’t tell what will happen during a race, nonetheless a season. But no matter how unpredictable the sport is, this was the most surprising part by far.

It’s barely been 10 years, but Lando feels like he’s known you forever. You two first met at the Karting World Championship in 2014, a race you were teammates with both him and Zhou Guanyu in. Even though he beat you to first place, your 14-year-old-self didn’t let that stop you from becoming best friends with him.

It was hard to keep track of each other when the two of you were traveling all over Europe to compete in different series, so Lando almost thought he’d never get to see you again. Until in 2020, when he heard talks of the most successful female driver yet making her way through the ranks.

Since you were announced as apart of the Mercedes driver line up in the beginning of 2022, you two have been attached at the hip. You both lived in Monaco and whenever you weren’t busy with media or team duties, you were together. Traveling, in the paddock, celebrating races; if you were there, so was Lando.

Fans were used to that fact and they usually expected it off the track, but not for races and track battles, so everyone was a bit surprised when you two placed P3 and P4 in Bahrain.

It was Round 1 of the 2023 season and even though everyone knows your results at Bahrain don’t dictate your entire season, Lando was still excited you were on the podium. He had qualified P6 behind George and yourself in P5 and P4, and with both Fernando’s Aston Martin and both Red Bulls in front of you, you weren’t expected to make it on the top steps.

Though after a few badly timed pit stops, Lando ended the race in P4, 5 seconds behind you in P3. Cheers rung out from around the grandstands as both the Mercedes and McLaren cars crossed the finish line. Your team garages were ecstatic, climbing the fence to meet you at the checkered flag and shouting congratulations through the radio.

Lando watched from behind as you steered your car into perc ferme alongside Max and Sergio and climbed out to celebrate with your team. It wasn’t P1, but it was a huge achievement to place so high so early in the season and it was obvious how proud everyone was of you.

He couldn’t help himself from leaving his car and engulfing you in a hug. You were both laughing and the Brit could practically hear your grin through it.

He couldn’t help himself from leaving his car and engulfing you in a hug. You were both laughing and the Brit could practically hear your grin through it.

“You did amazing! I’m so proud of you” He says, the words muffled through your helmets.

“Thanks, I wish you were gonna be up there with me, you deserve it” you say, looking up to the podium.

Lando smiles and he’s suddenly grateful his helmet is there to hide his blush. “Thanks. Don’t worry though, soon enough we’ll be up there with a 1-2”

“With me P1, I assume?”

Your eyes are playful underneath your helmet, and he laughs. “Yeah, we’ll see. Go celebrate with your team, Y/n. Don’t ditch me for the after party though!” He shouts as you walk over to your post-race interview, starting to laugh.

“I’d never ditch you!” You shout back over your shoulder, your helmet and balaclava coming off to reveal your grin.

Lando leaves to get weighed and meet his team back in the McLaren garage, keeping his head gear on because of the stupid smile he’s all too aware is still on his face. He was supposed to go to the media pen to finish up some race interviews before sitting down for the debrief with McLaren, but you were his best friend; he couldn’t miss your first podium of the season.

Lando, still clad in his orange race suit, arrives just as Max’s national anthem is playing. He probably should be paying at least a bit of attention to the winner, he’s one of Lando’s best mates after all, but then he saw you, grinning on the third step under the many bright lights of the street circuit, and he couldn’t look away.

He watched with his own smile as you opened your bottle of champagne and poured the majority of it on the Red Bull drivers, before downing the rest of it yourself. He’d wait until you came back to street level, where he’d be waiting for another hug and feeling the sticky champagne and bright grin against his neck.

You’d start talking about the race, the moments where you didn’t think you’d make it to the podium and how happy you’d be if you could get another one. You’ll ask about his race and tell him that next weekend, he’d better be up there beside you, no matter what.

And Lando will be next to you, like he always is, smiling and hanging on to every word you say because you’re happy, so he’s happy too.

What Lando would not realize is that each moment, from when he hugged you after you got out of your car to just then when you were walking through the paddock together, had been caught by multiple people, each one thinking the one thing you two had not yet realized.

“They’re so in love with each other”

2-

Lando Norris did not hate the Miami Grand Prix, at least not usually. But this time around, F1’s 2023 stop in Florida is one he could’ve gladly missed.

It was a double header weekend, and after coming off an extremely mediocre P9 finish in Azerbaijan, Lando was less than excited to spend 4 days in the hot sun in an even more mediocre car. There were so many unnecessary media obligations to go with the flashiness of Miami, and by Friday evening he was already looking forward to the flight back home.

The one thing that did brighten his day was you, who he also had dinner plans with after FP2. He let you distract him with whichever details about your life you had neglected to tell him before, let you get him excited for Sunday’s race again, and let you put him in a better mood.

You two were walking from the restaurant to Lando’s car, still talking and laughing as usual, when Lando asked to you come by his hotel after qualifying the next day.

“If both our qualifying are shit, we can get ice cream and mope together,” he posed jokingly, “and if it goes great, we can celebrate together as well”

But then you stop laughing and your tone changes. “Oh, sorry Lando, but I’m going out with Logan after qualifying; he’s gonna show me around Miami a bit. I’m sure he won’t mind if you come though? Do you want to?”

He pauses; Logan? “No it’s fine. I should probably be relaxing after tomorrow anyways, I think the heat’s getting to me a bit. You two have fun, though” He assures you, keeping a light-hearted tone to mask his distaste. 

Logan?

Lando didn’t have anything against Logan, he thought he was a nice guy with a lot of potential. But now he’s taking his best friend away from him and for what reason? You can see Miami any day, any time you want, and if you wanted to, you certainly didn’t need him as your guide.

But fine. Lando does not own you, you’re perfectly allowed to have your own friends, and if you wanted to have an evening out with Logan Sargeant, it was perfectly okay with Lando.

The Brit drove you back to your hotel before setting off to his own, and while you were his best friend and of course, delightful company, he couldn’t help but dwell on the sour taste left in his mouth. He didn’t know why this bothered him so much.

By the time Lando was back in his room, he was too tired to figure it why and decided it was a problem for Future Lando.

He woke up Saturday morning completely forgetting about the events of last night and instead focused on getting the best results possible today. He met up with his trainer for breakfast, left for the track, and joined his PR officer in the McLaren garage. She was escorting Lando to the media pen when he suddenly slowed.

“Lando? What’s wrong?” The woman took note of his tense figure, his hard-set eyes.

All because you were walking away from the media pen with Logan at your side, laughing and looking way too happy for his liking.

He felt the sourness this time. He felt it rise throughout his body and spread like wild fire. His only question was why.

Why were you laughing so much? Why did he feel this way? Why couldn’t he let any of this go? Why were you with Logan and not with him?

“Nothing,” the McLaren drives says. “let’s go” Lando never usually hurries to the media pen, but he didn’t want to look at you and Mr. American boy-next-door any longer.

He was asked questions and he gave answers, Lando just couldn’t tell you what any of them were. This was the problem Past Lando had left for him, and he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

He ruled out anger; he didn’t feel mad, per se, more frustrated than angry. He wasn’t upset; he certainly didn’t feel sad. Possessiveness? He wasn’t usually possessive over his friends though, and you two weren’t dating or anything like that, so there was no real reason to feel protective. Still, Lando couldn’t shake the sourness, and was once again left without answers about you and his feelings.

It wasn’t hard to miss the Brit’s change in attitude, and it wasn’t something his friends were going to ignore.

“Are you okay, mate?” Carlos says, walking alongside him through the paddock after FP3. “You’ve been quiet all day”

“Yeah, ‘m fine. Just tired, I guess” Lando shrugs, not sure if he should tell the Ferrari driver.

“C’mon, you’re seriously not gonna tell me? It’ll make you feel better, trust me” Carlos pushed, and he hesitated before answering.

“I don’t know. I barely know what’s wrong myself” Carlos gives him a look, and he sighs before continuing.

“It’s just weird with Y/n lately. I don’t know but the entire weekend’s just been weird”

“Why? Because she’s hanging out with Logan?”

“How did you-”

“Lando, it’s not that hard to notice, and it’s not that hard to notice why you don’t like it” The Spaniard nudges him, looking at him with a mischievious glint in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You like Y/n, so you don’t like her hanging around with Logan” He says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“What’re you talking about? I don’t like Y/n, she’s my best friend, that’s ridiculous” Lando makes a face. That makes no sense, of course I don’t have feelings for Y/n.

“Yeah, and the Haas is going to win tomorrow. Lando, I told you, you can trust me. Just admit it, cabrón”

“Admit what? I don’t like her, I told you that” Lando insists, because he doesn’t. There’s no way.

“Okay mate, whatever you say” Carlos says, putting his hands up in surrender and moving towards the Ferrari garage. “Let me know how that ‘not liking my best friend thing goes’”

Lando just shakes his head and sighs. Carlos has no idea what he’s talking about.

Qualifying turns out to be the thing Lando needs to get his mind off everything; he qualifies P6 with Oscar right behind him and confidence in his car for tomorrow. The man spends some extra time going over the data from today with the strategists and leaves the track just after sunset to head back to his hotel.

He wasn’t completely lying to you yesterday night; the heat was having a bit of an effect on him, and it was probably a good idea to relax and stay in for the night. He ordered something from room service that his trainer would approve of and took a shower before climbing into bed.

A knock on his door is the thing that stops Lando from falling asleep.

It’s past 10, no one should be knocking at his door, but that’s not good enough of a reason to ignore the person, so he gets up to answer it and should probably be more surprised that’s it you.

“Not here to collect team secrets for tomorrow, are you?” Lando questions, jokingly.

“I don’t think we need anymore help beating you McLarens, thank you” You play along with a laugh.

“I’m offended. I hope you have an apology along to go with whatever that it” He gestures to the bag in your hands, and you nod.

“I do, but you’ll have to let me in first to get either” Your best friend moves aside to let you into his room and onto his couch.

“Seriously though, what’s up? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing’s wrong. I just felt bad for ditching you today and figured I could make up for it with ice cream” You shrugged, opening up the bag and holding a container covered in frost.

“I appreciate the gesture Y/n, but we both know our trainers-” You cut him off. “Would kill us if we eat this, I know. That’s why I only bought one, so we could just share and have half. That way it’s not really eating an ice cream sundae, it’s just eating a scoop and a half”

“I like your thinking”

“That’s why you keep me around” You both smile, and Lando gets up to get two spoons.

“You don’t have to be sorry, by the way. It doesn’t bother me that you went out with Logan” He knows you must’ve felt really guilty, because you’re still wearing the clothes you wore in the paddock, meaning you went immediately from wherever Logan took you to straight to get the ice cream and come here, despite the fact you should be in bed and it would be chaos if someone found out you were here this late Saturday night.

He also knows you wouldn’t do this for just anyone.

“I know. I still felt bad though” You shrug, thanking him before taking a spoonful of ice cream.

“Don’t be. Where’d he take you, anyway?” Lando questions. He knows that if he was talking about this any time else, he feel that sourness all over again. But there was no reason to if you were right here beside him.

“Nowhere special; we just walked around, shopped a bit, and stopped to get some food before we realized we should probably head back to our hotels”

“And aren’t you having the same realization now?” He asks, taking another spoon of ice cream.

“Yeah, but I’m not worried enough to the point where I’m actually gonna do it” You explain, and Lando laughs.

“So what? I’m stuck with you for the rest of the night then?”

“You say it like you don’t totally love the idea” You smile playfully.

“You’re right, I’d rather you here with me than anywhere else”

“Me too” The man misses your soft gaze and love-sick smile.

Truthfully, Lando just likes when you’re with him in general.

3-

It was the Austria GP and for the first time in a while, Lando Norris felt a little carefree. He had over two weeks to recover from Canada, the next round was his home race, and things were looking positive for Sunday. He was happy with racing, and he was happy with you too.

Ever since Miami, you two have been closer than usual; fans were used to seeing you guys always together, but this time, they really never saw you without seeing Lando, and Lando without seeing you. Both of you seemed oddly smiley recently and it didn’t go without notice. Even more than usual, it was like you and Lando were in your own weird little obliviously-in-love bubble that nothing could break through.

Maybe that was why you and Lando finished P4 and P5, each of you one place away from a repeat of Bahrain. It obviously wasn’t your best finishes you two have ever had, but it was good enough for there to be a celebration afterwards. The drivers you and Lando were closest to also finished high in the points, and before you knew it, you had agreed to attending the after-party happening in a few hours at the nearest club.

You put on some makeup, fixed your hair, changed into a beautiful outfit, and stuffed your purse with your essentials before you got a text from Lando telling you that he was outside. You insisted that you could drive yourself and he didn’t need to pick you up, but Lando persisted, saying that it was stupid to bring two cars incase you weren’t fit to drive at the end of the night, and had to leave your very expensive car on the street all night.

“You look gorgeous, it almost makes up for the ridiculous amount of time I’ve spent waiting here for you” Lando says with a smirk as you open the door to his car.

You roll your eyes through your blush. “It wasn’t that long. Besides, my room’s on a high floor, it was the elevator’s fault.” You reason, clicking your seatbelt into place before Lando pulls out of the hotel parking lot and onto the streets.

“Yeah sure, blame the machinery because it’s never your fault you’re late”

“It’s not!” You insist with a laugh. He hums sarcastically in response, turning on the radio and letting it fill the comfortable silence

The streets in front of the club are lined with dozens of high-end cars, so you and Lando are forced to park nearly a block away from the entrance. The bouncer lets the two of you in without hesitation, and even from outside, you can hear the bass from the speakers inside.

The interior is exactly how you expected it to be, colorful strobe lights from overhead, music that you have to shout to hear someone over, and a dance floor that’s packed to the brim with celebrities, drivers, and everyone in between.

You and Lando claim the nearest booth to the exit, and he leans in close enough to be audible. “I’m going to get us a few drinks, try and see if you can find a few people” You nod, and the two of you go off in different directions.

You manage to locate Alex, Lily, George, and Carmen in a booth together and after a few very loud greetings, manage your way through the mob again to find Lando and lead him back to your friends. You all start talking and laughing, placing bets on which drivers are going home with a mystery girl, which ones are going to get black-out drunk, and which ones are going to show off their embarrassingly bad drunk dance moves in front of everyone.

Drinks and shots get handed out, a few more drivers join your table, and soon enough, you and your group are somewhere between tipsy and drunk and are moving onto the already-packed dance floor. Lando moved up to the DJ, telling you he’d be back to dance soon, and left you with your fellow drivers and their girlfriends.

You spend a few hours dancing with the girls, giggling through your drinks, and wandering around the club in search for more friends. At the point where your vision starts to got a bit blurry and the music is making your head hurt, you feel a hand on your shoulder and a familiar voice in your ear.

“Hey stranger!” Lando shouts, turning you around to face him.

“Lando!” You call out loudly, wrapping your arms around him in a hug. “Missed you” Alcohol made you a bit affectionate.

“Only been gone an hour and a half, love” Even though you can’t see his face and you’re not at your sharpest, you know he’s got a dumb smirk on his face.

“Missed you too, though” He says, taking the drink out of your hand and taking a sip before wrapping his hands around your waist.

“Are you here to dance with me?” You pull back, looking into his eyes. His pupils aren’t dilated, so you know he’s sober and the designated driver for the night.

“Wouldn’t want to do anything else” Even though everyone else around you is dancing at a fast, eager pace, you and Lando keep your arms wrapped around each other, bodies swaying softly, heads laying on each other’s shoulders.

Even with the flashing lights and booming music, you probably could’ve drowsed off on your best friends shoulder. You don’t realize how much time has passed but at some point, Lando taps your arm and pulls away from you.

“Time to go home, I think” He says, placing his hands on your shoulders to get you to focus on him.

“You think?” You reply, both drowsy and a little drunk.

“I think so. I’m gonna see if anyone else needs a ride and say goodbye, then we’ll leave, okay?” Lando tells you, intertwining your hands together before leading you further onto the dancefloor.

The Brit finds the other drivers and does what he said before handing you your purse and guiding you out of the club, hands still held together. Your best friend hands you his jacket to wear and places his arm around your waist as the two of you walk back to the car.

You know that Lando will get you back to your hotel and to your room where he’ll take your heels off for you. You know he’ll place a glass of water and a few Aspirins’ on a nightstand for you and lay down underneath the duvet with you because he’s too tired to drive back to his own hotel.

You’ll know you two will fall asleep almost immediately, and wake up closer than you were laying last night. You know Lando will not mind doing any of this, will actually like it, because you don’t let him take care of you as much as he’d like.

You know all of these things and a lot of other stuff too, you just don’t know that the person you did it all with is the person you’re in love with, or that he’s in love with you too.

+ 1

Lando always appreciated the summer break after half a season of racing, but there was something special about this one that made him wish it would never end.

You, Lando, and a group of your mutual friends planned a week-long trip to an island in the Caribbean as ‘one last hurrah’ before you two had to fly to Zandervort for the second half of the season. It was your fourth day on the island, and even though every moment since you arrived has been filled with some sort of fun and exciting adventure, this was already your favorite day of the trip.

You and Lando had connecting rooms, ‘a complete coincidence’ as your friends had put it, and this morning, you two decided to take advantage of it and make breakfast together. You weren’t supposed to meet with the others until a few more hours, and you loved cooking with Lando, so shortly after you woke up you made the short journey into his room.

“Morning,” your best friend greeted you, clad in black sweats and an old T-shirt you’ve seen millions of times. “I bought pancake mix from the store in the lobby, but we can run out and get something else if you like?”

“No, it’s okay,” you insist, “pancakes are fine. Besides, I know you make the best ones.”

“I know, you must be so jealous” Lando smirks, grabbing a mixing bowl and pan from the hotel’s kitchenette cabinet.

“Totally. So what’s on our agenda today?” You say, moving around him to take ingredients from the fridge.

“Not much, actually. I think we’re just going to the beach and walk around the town a bit” You nod as you grab your phone and click on the shared playlist between yourself and Lando.

You let the music fill the comfortable silence as the two of you move around the small kitchen. It’s a beautiful and all-too domestic scene; the morning sun streaming through the windows, the soft music in the background, the way you both seamlessly know your way around the kitchen, how easy it was to work around each other. They’re the facts your mind notices too quickly, and it’s hard to stop your brain from thinking about a future where things could be like this everyday.

Within a few minutes, you each had a reasonably-sized stack of pancakes that you brought outside onto the balcony with you. You settle into the adjacent chairs that look out to the waves crashing onto the beach and deep blue ocean. It’s still early; this part of the island isn’t awake yet, and it’s easy to relax in the still quiet.

While you shooed away the image of the future like this, Lando welcomed it with open arms. He thought how effortless it would be to make a scene like this; a hotel room, an apartment in Monaco, a house in the UK, Lando would take either and all of them. As long as you came with it.

His mouth speaking before his brain can control it. “I wish it was like this forever” He blurts out.

“You don’t want to go back to racing?” You look over at him, eyebrows furrowed. He doesn’t look back at you, keeps his eyes on the view in front of him instead.

“No, I do. I mean-” Lando pauses, thinks it over. He gets up from his chair to lean on the railing, his back facing you. This could ruin everything, he thinks. If he says it, he can’t go back, and nothing will be the same again.

He stops thinking.

“I mean with you. I honestly don’t care where we are; racing, on an island, whatever. We could be on another planet for all I care. As long as it’s just you and me, I think I could handle it” He finishes, feeling your presence next to him a few moments later, your shoulders brushing.

“Really?” You ask, eyes widened. You would’ve never thought he felt the same.

“Really. I’ve always felt that way” Then he’s looking you in that way, the way everyone’s been trying to explain to you for a while.

You don’t second-guess yourself when you put your hands around his face and press your lips onto his, and especially not when he starts moving his lips against yours. He wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you closer to him, and you don’t think you’d be mad if this was your forever.

You two finally pull away from each other, and even though the waves on the beach are still the same waves and the ocean is still the same deep blue, you think that everything changed just a little bit.

You’re still so close you could probably count his eyelashes if you wanted to, and you smile.

“I love you”

His smile mirrors yours the second after he hears it. “I love you too”

You two don’t really have to tell people; everyone figures it out within the first five minutes of being around both of you. Everyone teases you relentlessly, but internally, they’re just glad the two of you finally saw what’s been there all along.

i think this is really bad, so if u see it one moment and then don’t the next, it’s because I deleted it. i also never really know how to end these. anyways, a lando fic to make up for the time i’ve been gone. sorry about that btw, i got major imposter syndrome and the lack of f1 content makes for a lack of motivation. this is also my first ln4 fic, and i have no idea what to expect from it. hope u enjoyed tho 🫶

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @jijidraws

Jiji Knight is a latina pinup illustrator. Her work is overall geared toward thick ladies and dedicated to fat positivity out of a purely selfish need to create art she wished she had seen growing up. She often features sexy and soft macabre themes on vibrant or sweet colours and takes great joy in making folx feel good about themselves with her work. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and operates out of her very sunny hometown of Las Vegas.

Check out our interview with Jiji below!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Oh my gosh… I have art blocks all the time. My favorite way of overcoming it is by making fanart. Funnily enough, that’s something I don’t do in my own work anymore. But there are still IPs I return to that still bring joy to my heart. I love returning to drawing Sailor Moon like when I was in first grade. Or I’ll even look up the last fashion week and start drawing the fashion week outfits from the Paris or New York show. Stuff like that is what gets my creative juices flowing.

What medium have you always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

Resin. Resin art is so stunning. People make the most amazing and beautiful sculptures using resin, and I don’t think I could ever bring myself to play with something so complicated. There are a lot of ways to cure it, and sometimes, it doesn’t cure properly…I already work with enough chaos as it is! I respect resin artists, but I don’t think I would ever touch it. I’ve admired it from a distance. There is an artist I follow who does these resin layer paintings. So they’ll paint a layer of resin, then cure it, and paint on top of the cured layer. They build up these amazing paintings using resin…I could never. Maybe one day!

What is one interaction you had with a fan of yours that has stuck with you over the years?

I still remember…It was my first and only Flame Con in New York. I had a fan come up to my booth. They didn’t say hello or that it was nice to meet me. They started to cry! They cried, and the first words out of their mouth were, “I’ve never seen myself in artwork before.” So, of course, I started to cry! So we were just crying across the table at each other. It was just one of the sweetest interactions, and it really sticks with me still to this day.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

My latest collaboration with the artist Missupacey. We’ve been collaborating for two years now, and our last collaboration was for Midsummer Scream. It was two very cute clown girls, and I designed our T-shirt. It was one of the most fun projects we’ve done in a long time. We love doing collaborative work because it keeps working in the art industry fresh—being able to bounce ideas back and forth. So we do it where someone picks the color palette, and someone picks a theme. We’ll get references together, put them on a big board, and send each other sketches. It’s really nice to work with somebody else.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

Honestly, it changed everything. I mean, I used to draw for myself a lot. And while I still do that, I now predominantly draw for my Patrons. For a while, I was drawing for the internet. So I was drawing stuff people wanted to see in terms of plus-sized versions of characters—a plus-sized Poison Ivy or a plus-sized Sailor Moon. My Patrons have allowed me to start drawing for myself again. But technology, for a while, essentially dominated what direction I was taking with my art, so I’m grateful to take some of that power back.

If there is one thing that you want art enthusiasts to remember you by, what would it be?

Body positivity. I would love for them to remember that there is an artist making work that is making people feel good about themselves and about the way they look at themselves.

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Have a method of taking money, have a method of displaying your work, and have a way to take a break. I have a plastic picnic cover that costs like a dollar at any store. All I have to do is clip it to my display grates, and it covers up my entire display. I feel secure enough to take time for myself in a 10-hour workday to eat something, go to the restroom, or even take a moment to breathe and reorganize my inventory. So it’s so funny that this one-dollar piece of plastic is like the most life-saving item in my display of items.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@mayakern comes to mind. She is another body-positive artist who expanded into making body-positive clothing. She’s amazing, and just to see someone else out there promoting body positivity. Maya’s been doing it longer than I have, I believe. It feels good to know that I’m not alone. Her work is always stunning, and I love her body-positive DnD characters and the fact that she’s still plowing through the clothing industry. For example, she’s expanded from skirts to button-downs and even custom-wrap shirts. I love to see what she’s doing, and it inspires me to pursue different avenues with my own work.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Jiji! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jijidraws.

[dear-bunnyboo]

❝Ice Royalty || Jack Hughes❞

my baby Jacky won the poll i put up last night!! this is my first nhl fic here on tumblr so i hope you guys enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it.

this scenario was actually anonymously requested but i am an idiot and accidentally deleted that person’s request sooo if you are the one who requested for a figure skater!reader, this one is for you. i hope you enjoy it, love.

should i make this a series? comment if you want a part 2 ;)

Pairing: Jack Hughes x Figure Skater!Reader

Summary: What happens when New Jersey Devils’ star player meets Olympic female figure skating champion?

Warnings: cursing, fluff, first meeting awkwardness, teasing, some light flirting

Series Masterlist || NHL Masterlist || Main Masterlist

Jack mentally groaned as he tried to get rid of the sleep in his system.

The Devils had their usual morning skate but today was the earliest one they’ve ever had. Why? Because according to their team coach— they have been slacking off lately. This usually happens once the team gets back from off season, still hung up over their break.

They would usually get use to the flow of everything pretty quickly before the start of the season but that was proven futile when they lost their first two games.

So here they were, 5 in the morning in full gear walking out of the locker room slightly sluggish.

Jack was quietly twirling his hockey stick as they pile out of the tunnel, but before they could reach the ice they were met with music filling the arena, camera crew surrounding the ice as they followed a woman who was gliding across the ice.

“Excuse me, but what is happening here?” Nico the team’s captain ask the man who stood by the glass watching the production crew.

“I’m sorry but we have booked the rink for this hour for Ms. Y/N Y/L/N’s special on NBC News. We are about to wrap up our last take, if your team can wait for a while that would be great.” Said the man who they were assuming to be the director.

“That was stunning, Y/N! Let’s do that again and then we can wrap up and do the interviews.”

Y/N Y/L/N

Jack swears he knows that name from somewhere, he just can’t seem to know where from.

“Her name sounds familiar” he stated as they proceeded to settle down on the benches where they were directed to stay, they had a clear view of the woman in red who’s back was turned towards them as they touched up her hair and makeup.

“Y/N Y/L/N won gold for figure skating at the Olympics just a month ago.” Dawson piped in as he proceeded to attempt to fix the mess that sat on top of his head.

“She’s legit.” said Luke

Before Jack could even question his brother over the sudden knowledge over professional figure skating his thoughts were cut off by the director yelling.

“Roll Camera… Roll sound… Action!”

And on cue the same music played across the arena. The woman who Jack now know as Y/N started moving gracefully— her arms elongated in front of her as she glided across the ice before jumping high up and spinning and landing without breaking a sweat.

Y/N was laser focused on her routine, the music controlling her body as she continued with her jumps. She slid in front of the bench focusing on her form before pulling through and doing a quad jump and landing successfully gaining her the same euphoric feeling she always feels when doing so.

After doing her last jumps and turns she ended her piece with her last post.

“Cut! That was fantastic, Y/N darling. Take a quick break and then we can start the interviews inside you’re dressing room.” The director instructed before hastily directing the crew to pack up and move inside.

Y/N skated towards her manager and mom who happened to be her coach— they were waiting for her by the benches with her stuff.

“That was amazing as usual, Y/N. You’re mom and I need to look over the questions for the interview, so get dressed and we will meet you at dressing room in an hour or so.” She explained before answering another call.

“You were perfect, my love. Now hurry up get dressed I need to make sure they don’t ask you dumb questions.”

Y/N simply chuckled as she walked off the ice to put on her skate guards on. Once she was done packing up her stuff, she walked towards the direction of her dressing room but before she could a gaggle of hockey players started to clap.

Turning around to face the players who were all sporting their hockey gear, she was met with cheers and praises from the guys causing her cheeks to turn red from the attention.

The guys were now running towards the ice not after giving her a nod or a praise.

“You were amazing.” Said Jack as he neared her.

Facing the brunette she gave him one of her best smiles.

“Thank you, I’ve been doing this my entire life so I better be amazing.” She said jokingly making Jack chuckle.

Now that Jack was in front of her, he marveled over her presence— Jack stared at every single freckle, every glitter on her face before landing on her eyes which was watching him amused.

“Well, I have to go. I still have lots to do.” Y/N chuckled as she turned to move to her dressing room.

Jack finally got out of his daze, mentally slapping himself in the face for potentially creeping the poor girl out by staring at her like a creep.

“Do you even watch hockey?” He yelled to her

“Excuse me?” Y/N turned back around her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I sounded like a fucking asshole Jack said mentally.

“That’s not what I meant. I-I mean it is what i meant but not the way it sounded— I mean, do you watch hockey?” He rambled.

“Oh yeah, I do. Grew up watching it because of my younger brothers— they play hockey too” Y/N smiles. Jack pretty much almost melted on the spot.

“No way? Really?”

“Yeah, they are part of the USA Development Program— they’ll be drafted soon.” Y/N praises her younger brothers as Jack watched her in amusement

Unbeknownst to him, his teammates were watching him in amusement as well.

“That’s so cool, wait so if you grew up watching hockey that means you know–” Jack finishes by pointing at himself.

“I do know who you are, Jack” she chuckles.

“Oh, well I wouldn’t have known cause you didn’t come up and–”

“Scream and begged for a picture and an autograph? I could if you’re into that sorta thing.” She cuts him off slightly teasing him which Y/N found entertaining.

“No! I didn’t mean that. Fuck, I probably sound like an ass.” He sighs rubbing his neck.

“You don’t. It’s cool, you are cool.” Y/N maintained eye contact the entire conversation slightly intimidating Jack in the process.

“I really need to go, Jack. It was nice meeting you.” She said checking her phone before smiling back at him again.

“Yeah yeah, I’m sorry for holding you up, but before you go–” he said before mustering up the courage to ask her, “would you want to come to our game this weekend? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Y/N simply giggled and smirked at him.

“What makes you think I don’t have a ticket already?”

“You do?” He asked shocked.

“I do. Now, you’re teammates have been watching us for a while now, they must be waiting for you. Practice hard and score for me on Saturday.” She winked before walking away from the now astounded hockey player.

“Told you she’s legit.” Luke skated towards him laughing at his face in the process.

She’s legitimately gonna be his end. Jack knows it.

dividers: @cafekitsune

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭:

ೃ⁀➷ comment or message me to be added to the tag list :)

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[pascallatte]

Angel?

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Actress!reader

Summary: GQ Germany with PEDRO PASCAL aka him fawning over Y/n over a single this or that.

Date: September 2020

Warnings: none

A/N: I love love love this interview, his voice, his hair, the vibes, HIS SMILE!!! Everything, alsoooooooo probably the last one for 2020 for now next one may be a throwback or we’ll move on to ’21 (most probably). SO everyone, happy reading and tell me what you think!! Love lots x

“Hi, I’m Pedro Pascal I’m here at GQ Germany Cover shoot.” Pedro’s seen sitting in a chair in the set of GQ Germany for this month’s issue. The team decided to get him in to join a quick get-to-know-him-better game, an upgraded version of This or That.

Swimming trunks vs beach shorts

Sucking in a breath when the staff shows him two pictures, ”I would have to go with shorts, because of what I could pull off at my age. Despite the continuous disagreement from someone.”  He smiles.

Sweater vs hoodie

“Hmm I love a sweater though but I really love a hoodie.” Biting his lip, Pedro asks.

“Can any of these be ties?… Really?!” 

“Oh, it has to be absolute. Hmm, this is something me and my girlfriend often debate on, ‘cause she steals most of my tops which makes me buy more but then when I do buy hoodies she tells me to buy sweaters. But since this is my interview hmm…Well alright, hoodie it is. Either way, we take turns using it.” With a very satisfied tone, he explains his side looking at a camera with a small fond smile.

Oberyn Martell vs Din Djarin

Shocked by what he’s been shown, Pedro can only laugh as he responds, “Wow, that is a really hard decision to make.”

“Umm, the armour didn’t work so well for me at the end of Game of Thrones, but it looked amazing,” taking in a breath as the gears in his head takes in the pros and cons of each suit and character.

“That being said the armour in The Mandalorian looks very very good and I'm still alive. So I guess I would have to- you know I can’t I just can’t I cannot betray Oberyn and choose The Mandalorian. But umm let’s just leave it at that being an impossible decision.”

Smart vs traditional watch

“Traditional watch, people who use smart watches are people who can’t tell or read the time. And by people I mean…” Pedro turns to look at the camera and gives it or soon the viewers a knowing look, in hopes that they know what he meant by that.

Fedora vs baseball cap

“Those are my hats!…Oh wow”

“Well clearly since you have a picture of a fedora that belongs to me and a baseball hat that belongs to me… I favour both” he elaborates while raising his hands in a somewhat joking accusatory way to the staff who has asked him to pick one between his favourites. To him, it’s like asking him to pick between things or people he adores.

“I cannot and you cannot make me decide between a fedora and a baseball cap. I love them both equally”

Facial hair or clean shaven

“What? Are you making me choose between clean-shaven or facial hair?” 

“They’re currently showing me two pictures of myself.” He stops for a moment, making his sort of thinking face as he thinks back to 10 or so years ago.

“One that is maybe… 10 years ago, where clean-shaven may have worked.

"Umm, I'm gonna have to go with the very strange patchy facial hair that I am capable of growing on my face.”

Contacts vs glasses

Answering immediately, “Glasses.. what a ridiculous question.” He shakes his head as if telling them the obvious as well as the light tone of his voice.

“Glasses, sticking my own fingers into my eyes? I have yet to cross that threshold.”He continues to shake his head as he explains why he’d chosen it.

Y/n’s sheer 2018 met gala dress or her 2019 white oscars dress

Pedro’s entire face lit up as soon as the staff showed him the choices. “Ohh bot- this is a hard one…I love both of them, and it looks incredible on her,” he emphasizes, adorably staring at the pictures.

Sitting still while continuing to admire his love, “Ahhh would you look at that..."

"She’s beautiful don’t you agree?” Pedro straight away smiles as soon as the staff behind the camera agrees with him.

“The first one makes her look like this mermaid or angel- you know like a fallen angel, just for me, and the other is very- something she would dress herself in with how simple yet elegant it looks. So I would have to go with her Oscars look.”

A voice off cam tells him something that had caught his attention, making his expression turn into shock and amusement, “It’s a wedding dress?! Really?! She wore a wedding dress to the Oscars… hmm” slowly ruffling his hair he sits back after getting a closer look at the picture.

Leather or bomber jacket

“Wow, leather jacket. I have and I think I always will love a leather jacket.” Explaining this with a small smirk that had him explaining his thoughts right after.

“Y/n has bought us a matching pair of these incredible vintage leather jackets and-so basically it’s something that I will never ever lose my interest in.”

Coffee or tea

Nodding his head, he looks straight to the camera, “Coffee. Coffee all the way.” 

Raising his hands up similar to a surrendering position to defend himself, he chuckles before continuing, “It’s not that I don’t like tea but then again coffee is what keeps me up and going other than y/n… who is by the way is also a coffee addict.”

Clasping his hands together, he finalizes, “Coffee, 100%”

"Thank you for watching and click here to subscribe to GQ Germany!"

the dress for reference:

A/n: so I wrongly timed the post of this one, instead of it being posted yesterday at noon it was set to 12 am today haha, never gonna do that again. Anyways if you're reading this thank you and have a nice day ahead of you!!!

Taglist: @benonlinear @t-stark35 @heyitsme-2 @elleeeee21 @holmesstrange @tagakalat @flyestvenustrap @oldermenaremyreligion @cherryred444 @hobiismyhopeu @ilovehotdadsandshit @djarinsstuff @guacala @avengersheart @pukka-latte @lilvampirina @mmkkzz

[shoot-the-oneshot]

Enemies to Lovers

Mick Schumacher x Senna reader F1 Romance trope Masterlist It was so hard writing Mick as anything but a sweetheart but i think it turned out great let me know what you think!

Next part lance stroll marriage of convenience

“A rivalry we thought we’d never see again folks, once again Schumacher vs Senna on the formula 1 circuit.”  You toned out the anouncers voice coming from everyone’s phone you passed with in three miles of the track, it was common for them to point out the renewed rivals ever since you got to F1 following your fathers foot steps it’s always been the headline. Not that you cared it was true after all.

The Emilia race always head tension for you and Schumacher, being where your father crashed, and media was all over it. Getting you both together for interviews ratings always spiked this time during the season for drama alone.

“Senna.”

“Mick.” Taking the spot next to him in front of the camera not bothering to look at him. He scoffed, “Didn’t know we were on a first name basis now Y/N” you shook your head in disagreement, “We aren’t, once you start driving like a Schumacher i’ll call you one.” You saw his shoulders puff up out of the corner of your eye.

“We’re here today with the Daughter of Aryton Senna and the son of Michael Schumacher the two greats back on track fighting for the chance to win.” You snicker at their intro speaking only loud enough for Mick to hear.

“I’m fighting to win you’re fighting to just get in the points.” Mick snarled gearing up for his own comment but the interviewer Sarah, finishing her intro innturupted him.

“So we are all excited for this race, but what are you two looking forward to most.” She nodded to the Hass driver to start who took the chance to clap back.

“Can’t wait to beat this one.” Nodding his head towards you that easy smile he uses to fool everyone into thinking he’s a sweetheart sliding across his face, sure as if. Laughing giving him a sympathetic pat on his arm. “Oh Mick they don’t have a place after last.”

“Bite me.” Growling through clenched teeth still pulled into a smile to save appearances. “Not even with your teeth.”

“Okay,” Sarah dragged out her words at your back and forth, flipping for another question.

“Y/n, you have been at the top of the standings since the first race of the season Leclerc a whole ninety points behind you how does it feel to be this close to a championship win?” Finally a good question.

“It feels incredible, this year with McLaren has felt amazing the car just clicks with me and we are all very excited to be a contender this year.” And it was true after your first year with Aston Martin then getting to McLaren the next it felt right you could feel it in your bones this was your year.

Sarah smiled satisfied with your answer then turned to your fellow driver. “Mick its been a rough start with you earning no points in your F1 career, but how are you and your team feeling about this upcoming race?” Mick shrugged and you could tell that talks of you getting this close to a championship bugged him. “Well we are working on the car I’m sure it would be easier to get points if my name opened doors to bigger teams.”

You laughed out loud at the supposed burn. “Oh Mick my last name doesn’t steer the car, and it doesn’t get you a better seat as you’re a prime example of.” By now you and Mick were in a stare down, interview be dammed.

“YYYY/NNNNN SSSEEEENNNAAAA!!!” You broke the glare to see your teammate Daniel shout your name, his smile easing your anger. He saw the tension rising and made the decision to separate you both. Daniel smiled over your shoulder to Sarah telling her some bull story about Zak needing you, but she bought it not one to outrank a principal.

You turned to Mick giving probably the fakest smile. “See ya when i lap you” he nodded clinching his jaw, blue eyes turning into daggers. “Go fuck yourself”

Dan started pulling you away but you shouted back over your shoulder.

“I’ll think of you when i do!” Throwing a finger wave in for extra effect. Successfully stunning Mick to silence. Y/n 1-0 Mick.

You walked away with your head held high glad to have gotten the last word while Dan stumbeld behind, “That was an interesting come back. Since when are you into mini Schu?” He spoke his brows practically in his hair line.

“Uh never! It was just to make him uncomfortable.” Appalled he would even consider you having any feeling other than hate for the Hass driver.

“Oh i definitely think his race suit is more uncomfortable now.” His statement made you stop in your track. “No way.” “Yes way.” Dan laughed. “You didnt see how he looked at you when you turned around.” He hummed and you both carried on walking.

“With distaste more than likely.” You scoffed.

“I think you’re just his taste actually.” He suddenly stopped grabbing your shoulders positioning you to look at the huge pictures of you and Mick side by side advertising the rivals.

“Look how cute you guys look together.” He cooed, laying his head on your shoulder, which you quickly shrugged off.

“Just saying the line between love and hate is very thin.” The space between his pintched fingers was minimal emphasizing his point, making you roll your eyes. The rest of the day was boring and you just wanted to get back to your hotel room and get ready for qualifying tomorrow.

you were already running late having slept through the first two alarms you set. You were distracted by tying your boots and hopping down the hallway at the same time, you didn’t have a chance to see who was in the elevator before the doors shut trapping you together.

“Senna.”

“Mickey.” You sighed knowing who’s voice that belonged to without having to turn around. “There’s no one else here you can drop the attitude without ruining your image.” Did he just sass you? You spun around about to give him a piece of your mind when the lights flickered, making you both freeze. The elevator jurked to a stop making you fall backwards into Micks chest.

His arms wrapped around your waist instinctively, holding you tight against him. “Uh Senna?” “Yeah?” You breathed out. You felt Micks breathing against your back the steady rise and fall distracting you along with Daniels words from yesterday.

“I think it’s safe now.” He softy spoke squeezing your hips making you jump out of his grasp and fix your shirt trying to appear unbothered. Mick smirked at you behind your back as he pressed the help button. Which gave an automated voice saying they will get to it as soon as possible, making both your spirits drop.

“Well get comfortable.” He said leaning against the wall across from you, sitting on the floor. You mimicked him redoing your hair into a messy bun on top of your head, holding the bill of your hat between you teeth, you breath involuntary caught in your throat as Mick leaned closer gently pulling your hat out from between your lips, holding it for you. With that sweet aggravating look of his.

“That’s not very lady like.” He teased, Dodging your hand that went to snatch your hat back. He leaned back tracing the logo and your number sewn on. He hated to admit it but it was kinda cool. “I’m a race car driver I’m not lady like.” You grumbled trying to reach for it again, falling and catching yourself before you fell on top of him, ending up nose to nose, were his eyes always that blue or was it lack of oxygen.

“Clearly.” He agreed, placing a hat on your head, Snapping you out of it. “Why does your hat say Y/n?” He asked confusing you, does he really not know. “It’s my name genius.” He rolled his eyes, “i know that by why not Senna.”  His question made you pause, were you both actually having a civil conversation and were you going to allow it.

“When Aston signed me they only called my Senna, but McLaren let me step out of my fathers shadow a bit and make my own name for myself not just my last name. I’m sure you understand.” Mick wasn’t expecting that much of an honest answer from you, he was waiting for you to tell him to mind his business, then a lightbulb went off in his head. “Wait, is that why you don’t call me Schumacher?”

You shrugged finding the loose string of your shirt very interesting. It was much easier being around him when you were bickering. Mick couldn’t believe it, what he thought was you disrespecting him was actually you being kind to him and being the only person not to connect his driving to his fathers, were you just defending yourself when he snapped back? he didn’t know how to feel.

“Now i feel like an ass for Calling you Senna.”

“Oh i definitely think you’re an ass.” You teased your cocky smile back on your face. There’s the Y/n he knew. Your escape wasn’t long after that and you practically sprinted to the track not noticing the hat on your head wasn’t yours at all and he had switched it with his Hass hat until the paparazzi posted the photo of you running and Mick smugly wearing your McLaren hat behind you, with the headline. ‘Rivals to lovers?’

You made pole position in the race a sweet victory for your team, you were laid in your room after media, typing away on YouTube like you always did for background noise, how you got onto Hass YouTube page you’ll ignore but you didnt notice it until a knock on your door sounded.

“There’s our future champion, woah do you have a boy over?!” Daniel sang, when you opened the door, your brows furrowed not realizing he could hear the tv. At the chance to embarrass you he pushed passed you expecting some Frenchman in your room coming up empty, then he saw what you were watching.

Raising his eyebrows he slowly spun to face you. “Oh, what a turn of events this is.”

“I dont know what you mean i didnt put it on!” You defended turning the tv off. “Sure you didnt.” He scoffed throwing the Hass hat on your bed from your dresser. “Means nothing.”

At his look you knew you had to explain. “We got trapped in the elevator he switched our hats that’s it.” He nodded along not believing a word. “And you talked to him?” “Words were probably exchanged.” You shrugged, Daniel was loving this, having already gotten the details from Vettel. The two drivers were your biggest shippers. Seb knowing how big of a crush Mick had on you from when you first joined F1, and Dan just loved the drama.

Just as he was about to tease you more your phone dinged. Making Dans eyes light up. “Is that him!” He squealed. “No.” You scoffed sighing when you looked at the screen dropping your arms to your side.

“It is him you’re blushing!” He gasped like a school girl. “It’s hot in here!” You denied but did feel butterflies at the congratulations text. “I want y’all’s kid named after me.”

Somehow you and Mick became friends carpooling from the hotels to track, interviews together now being about racing not just your names. The next race weekend you even had a Hass care package in your room from Mick saying his hat was your good luck charm. You won that race too, much to his amusement and he even scored in the points. The media loved the video of him spinning you around both covered in champagne.

The kiss you shared after your home win outed you both plus the photographs of you and Micks family on summer break did as well, his sister posting on social media a photo of a tense chess match between you and her brother with the caption ‘rivals on and off the track’ made the fans lose their minds.

Now seated next to each other during a press conference the other drivers teasing you seeing the heart eyes you both shared between questions. “Question for Y/n, with both you and Mick, having big names in F1 who’s name would you take if you get married?”

“Mine.” “Mine” you and Mick answered simultaneously. Making the room laugh. Mick who tried to seem serious, looked at you. “What about when we have kids they would have my name.” He laughed. And you shrugged playing along.

“Technically one already has Daniels name.” Making his eyes widen. And Daniel fall to the floor from somewhere behind the reporters. “Excuse me!”

“How about whoever has the most championships by the time we have kids that’s the name they get.” You offered knowing you were one race away from winning your first. Making Mick shake his head fondly at your antics. You humor and teasing that used to drive him up the wall now was his favorite thing about you, he loved it.

“Deal.”

That press conference ended up having the highest views in history because there’s only one thing people and Daniel and Seb loved more that rivals and it’s the story of enemies to lovers.

Next up. Lance stroll as marriage of convenience

Hope you guys liked it the first of the F1 romance tropes down more to come if youd like to be added to my F1 tag list please let me know!!!

F1 tag list. Note I only have one tag list it’s to hard to separate them by driver so if you’d like to be removed please send me a message . @starxqt @motylekrozi @yeolsbubbles @laura-naruto-fan1998 @mooone90 @damianodavidhands @zig-zzag @its-astrotea-love @peakywitch @obsessed-fan-alert @lenniebordeaux @marelovesf1 @capela-miranda @enjoymyloves @amsofftrack @coffeehurricanes @ricsaigaslec​

[dontyouworrydaddy]

hellooo ^_^ can i get a request for a gn or fem (dosent matter to me) non-military!rock climber reader & platonic!141?? like theyre friends with each other, but arent in the same work. the reader is some super talented and well known climber (i was thinking bouldering? top, rope, lead and auto belay are kinda… meh to me), but the members of the 141 never knew until they saw some viral video about the reader. if u want any info on climbing if you dont know much u can make a post or smth replying to this and i’ll send in another message with whatever u need to know!!!! thank you!!!!!

ᙅᥲᥒ ყoᥙ ⳽ᥱᥱ ຕᥱ ᥙρ ᖾᥱɾᥱ?

Task Force 141 x gn! Reader

Hey! I hope you like this! I didn’t really know how to make it as interesting as possible so I hope you still enjoy this. Tried my best out here💘💘😆

\(◡̈ )/♥︎

You had always been among your friends. The Task Force 141 met you in a bar and from that point on they basically adopted you. An unexpected friend group.

While you weren't officially a part of their team, you had forged a close friendship with many of the members. Your skills on the rock wall were legendary, but the nature of your work and the surrounding it had always kept you humble and quiet about your achievements.

It all began on a typical day at the task force's secure facility. Captain John Price had called in everyone for an important briefing. You sat with Captain Price, Ghost, Gaz, Soap. your eyes focused on the mission details. Your presence, however, had become so routine that no one really questioned it.

The briefing ended, and you exchanged nods and pleasantries with your friends as they geared up for their mission. This was your usual role - offering support, sharing stories, and providing a brief reprieve from the harsh realities of their dangerous work.

But little did you know, the tables were about to turn.

As the team settled into the dimly lit briefing room, Soap, always the one glued to his phone, showed a viral video to the others. "You guys have to check this out," he said, his eyes glued to the screen.

The video started, and it showed you, the mystery climber who had become a sensation in the climbing community. Your impressive bouldering skills were on full display, as you effortlessly conquered one challenging route after another. Your movements were a mesmerizing dance of strength, technique, and agility.

You could feel the tension thickening in the room.

Ghost's eyes widened as he watched, then looked over at you. "Hey, isn't that…?"

Before he could finish, Gaz chimed in, "It is! That's our friend, you y/n. That’s you!"

Everyone in the room was captivated by the video. You were like a.. Ghost , moving gracefully on the rock wall. You for sure made Ghost question himself and over his name. No one had suspected that you were a climbing prodigy. The atmosphere in the room shifted from shock to awe as your skills left the boys speechless.

Price couldn't help but smile. "You never fail to amaze us, do you, y/!n?" he said with a chuckle.

The video continued, showing you giving an interview. The interviewer asked about your inspiration, and you shared your story of growing up in a small town, scaling cliffs and mountains as a child. Your eyes lit up as you spoke about the thrill of facing challenges head-on, your voice filled with a passion that resonated deeply with everyone in the room.

As the video came to an end, Ghost spoke up. "You've been hiding this from us, mate! You're a rock star and never told us?!"

Gaz agreed, grinning. "You need to show us some of those moves sometime."

You blushed, a rare sight for your friends who had never seen you flustered. "I didn't think it was a big deal."

Soap shook his head. "It's a huge deal! You're incredible!"

In the days that followed, your friends couldn't stop talking about your incredible climbing skills. They shared stories of their own adventures with you, and it was as if a new layer had been peeled back to reveal a different side of your life.

One evening, after a mission, you took Gaz and Soap to your favorite local climbing spot. With the cool breeze in your hair, you demonstrated some basic techniques and shared your passion for climbing. As the sun dipped below the horizon, you could see their enthusiasm growing.

Gaz, now harnessed to the rock, looked down at you. "You know, this is the best thing that's ever happened to me after joining the task force."

Soap chimed in, hanging from a challenging route. "Yeah, mate, this is our kind of thrill!"

Over time, the climbing outings became a regular part of your lives outside of the high-stakes missions. Your soldier friends now knew a different side of you – the thrill-seeker who found solace in the heights of the natural world.

Gaz and Soap, improved their climbing skills under your expert guidance. They marveled at the rock face, the trust in the ropes, since they’re still not good enough to do it without ropes like you, and the rush of adrenaline when they reached a challenging summit. It was a stark contrast to the intensity of their day jobs.

One afternoon, as you were all scaling a rugged cliffside, Soap looked down at you and grinned. "You know, you've given us a new way to unwind, something we never knew we needed."

Gaz nodded in agreement. "This is like therapy, but with a better view."

The bond between all of you grew stronger with every climb. Each expedition became a break from the darkness and danger of your profession, a reminder that there was more to life than the battlefield.

But as much as you cherished the moments spent with your friends, you were well aware of the realities you all faced. In your world, danger was never far away, and the missions could turn deadly in an instant.

[tnbscans]

Hiroaki Hirata, Masakazu Morita, Masayuki Ozaki UStream Special Digest Interview Part 1 (Tiger & Bunny TV)

Part 2 can be found here

The below is transcribed from the DVD release.

Ozaki: This is the first time we've had a discussion with the three of us, isn't it?

Morita: Yes.

Hirata: Yeah, it is.

Ozaki: What is your first encounter, or rather, impression of Tiger & Bunny?

Hirata: The screen showed more screens within, and then a lot of captions flashed by, and scenes changed… It was very busy. Ohta-san was reading his lines, and I couldn't follow it. I thought that I wouldn't be able to keep up. It moves very fast. I was very overwhelmed, but when Wild Tiger came out, I felt I could do it. I was a bit relieved.

Morita: You usually get reference material sent to your office for an audition, right? When I got it, I was told that it was for a foreign film.

Hirata: That's the kind of impression you get from it.

Ozaki: It must have been difficult for you to capture Barnaby's personality.

Morita: Yeah. Even after the rehearsal for the first episode, the director kept telling me "act colder, act colder." I wasn't quite sure how cold I should make him.

Ozaki: Hirata-san, did you struggle gauging your distance to Morita-san?

Hirata: Very much so. But compared to how much Bunnykazu-kun was struggling, mine wasn't as bad.

Ozaki: How was Kotetsu or Wild Tiger described to you?

Hirata: He seems irresponsible, but he still needs to show the difference, as an adult. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to differentiate him as the mature one, because he does stuf like take a silly photo of himself on Bunny's cellphone, and it's not something an adult would do at all. Right?

Ozaki: Yeah.

Hirata: He's thinking, "What? Who is this guy?" "What a weirdo. I have to team up with him?" But he doesn't totally shun him. He doesn't want to do it, but he does it anyway. It's the things he doesn't say… The fact that he can mentally switch gear, to do things that he doesn't want to… This must be what it means to be mature. That's how I felt way later.

Ozaki: I see.

Hirata: It's difficult.

Ozaki: There's a wide range of emotional spectrum within the 25 episodes.

Morita: It's like a roller coaster.

Hirata: Yeah, it is.

Morita: It's crazy.

Ozaki: It must be uneasy when that happens.

Morita: The way he acts in front of Kotetsu…The way he acts towards other Heroes and people…The way he acts towards his audience…And the way he acts when he's alone… There are four different Barnabys.

Ozaki: I see…

Hirata: Four different ones?

Morita: Yeah.

Hirata: That's amazing. I can't do that. I have a Kotetsu involving Kaede and a Kotetsu not involving Kaede. Just those two.

Ozaki: The way he acts with his family and the way he acts when he's not.

Hirata: He's either a doting father or he isn't.

Morita: There were some terrible gossips.

Ozaki: Yeah, at the beginning.

Morita: Before we started… More than I thought, people's focus was on the series being influenced by American comics. There was a rather negative impression in people…

Ozaki: It's not based on anything famous, either.

Morita: Yeah.

Hirata: It was a pretty bad start, wasn't it?

Morita: It was a terrible start. And then, its popularity skyrocketed. I was like, "See? It's great, right?"

Hirata: But you anticipated all of that, didn't you?

Ozaki: -Uhh…

Morita: -Aha!

Hirata: Like Bunnykazu-kun mentioned earlier, I knew it was great. But when it actually became crazy popular, none of us saw it coming. And we were all excited and grateful. None of us, except you. You said, "This was expected."

Ozaki: Yeah. I was certain that Tiger & Bunny would be a hit. I really believed it.

Morita: This series is aimed at middle-aged men who are fighting at the top right now. But when you look deeper, there are a lot of female fans. Naturally, there are a lot of male fans, but also female fans. Those young female fans are attracted to the Old Man. Just like this. Did you expect this?

Ozaki: Well, not really.

Morita: Did you expect it to be this popular with female fans?

Ozaki: That was unexpected.

Morita: Right?

Hirata: It took many years for me to get the title of Pirate Voice Actor.

Morita: Because you've done it for so long.

Hirata: Yeah. It took over ten years for me to be called that. And in three months, I became the Old Man Voice Actor. Three months! They kept calling me Old Man.

Morita: But when they call you that, it's meant as a term of endearment, with a little heart at the end.

Hirata: I would like that to be so.

Morita: This is new. Old men are back in fashion.

Ozaki: Yeah.

Hirata: That's part of Kotetsu's character. He's kind to women. For example, he doesn't understand Blue Rose's feelings. He's rather dense, but humble. And with his daughter, he's a doting parent. I think women find this endearing.

Ozaki: Were there any memorable events or happenings in the past year?

Morita: For me, that would be the Tiger & Bunny Hero Awards 2011 after the series ended.

Ozaki: We did that in November, right?

Morita: That was shocking, wasn't it? At the end, everyone in the audience got together and sang…

Ozaki: Yeah, when we did "Orion wo Nazoru."

Morita: And that happened at theaters across the country. I heard everyone cried. Some people tweeted that it was their first time crying at an event. To be honest, when it was over, I teared up as well.

Hirata: A live event was a first for me. But prior to that, we had another event to watch the final episode together.

Ozaki: Oh yeah, on the 17th of September.

Hirata: I thought that was nice, to be able to watch all the action on the big screen. Naturally, everyone in our theater was excited, but the fact that people were laughing and cheering in other places too made me feel like we were connected.

Ozaki: Connected and together with everyone. I think that's something symbolic of Tiger & Bunny.

[iwanthermidnightz]

As Taylor Swift rolled into Los Angeles this week, the frenzy surrounding her record-breaking Eras Tour was already in high gear.

Headlines gushed that she had given $100,000 bonuses to her crew. Politicians asked her to postpone her concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Scalped tickets were going for $3,000 and up. And there were way, way too many friendship bracelets to count.

These days, the center of an otherwise splintered music world can only be Taylor Swift.

The pop superstar’s tour, which is now finishing its initial North American leg with six nights at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles, has been a both a business and a cultural juggernaut. Swift’s catalog of generation-defining hits and canny marketing sense have helped her achieve a level of white-hot demand and media saturation not seen since the 1980s heyday of Michael Jackson and Madonna — a dominance that the entertainment business had largely accepted as impossible to replicate in the fragmented 21st century.

“The only thing I can compare it to is the phenomenon of Beatlemania,” said Billy Joel, who attended Swift’s show in Tampa, Fla., with his wife and young daughters.

In a summer of tours by stars like Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Morgan Wallen and Drake, Swift’s stands apart, in numbers and in media noise. Although Swift, 33, and her promoters do not publicly report box-office figures, the trade publication Pollstar estimated that she has been selling about $14 million in tickets each night. By the end of the full world tour, which is booked with 146 stadium dates well into 2024, Swift’s sales could reach $1.4 billion or more — exceeding Elton John’s $939 million for his multiyear farewell tour, the current record-holder.

Swift has now had more No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 over the course of her career than any other woman, surpassing Barbra Streisand. With the tour lifting Swift’s entire body of work, she has placed 10 albums on that chart this year and is the first living artist since the trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert in 1966 to have four titles in the Top 10 at the same time.

“It’s a pretty amazing feat,” Alpert, 88, said in a phone interview. “With the way radio is these days, and the way music is distributed, with streaming, I didn’t think anyone in this era could do it.”

But how did a concert tour become so much more: fodder for gossip columns, the subject of weather reports, a boon for friendship-bracelet beads — the unofficial currency of Swiftie fandom — and the reason nobody could get a hotel room in Cincinnati at the end of June?

“She is the best C.E.O., and best chief marketing officer, in the history of music,” said Nathan Hubbard, a longtime music and ticketing executive who co-hosts a Swift podcast. “She is following people like Bono, Jay-Z and Madonna, who were acutely aware of their brands. But of all of them, Taylor is the first one to be natively online.”

Before Eras, Swift hadn’t been on tour since 2018. And her catalog has grown by seven No. 1 albums since then, fueled in part by three rerecorded “Taylor’s Versions” of her first LPs — a project hailed by Swift’s fans as a crusade to regain control of her music, though it is also an act of revenge after the sale of Swift’s former record label, a move that, she said, “stripped me of my life’s work.”

“Folklore” and “Evermore” expanded her palate into fantastical indie-folk and brought new collaborators into the fold: Aaron Dessner from the band the National and Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver, rock-world figures who helped attract new listeners.

The other major tour this year that is enticing fans to book transcontinental flights, and to show up costumed and in rapture, is also by a woman: Beyoncé, 41, whose Renaissance tour is a fantasia of disco and retrofuturism. Like Swift, she is also a trailblazing artist-entrepreneur, maintaining tight control over her career and fostering a rich connection with fans online. Together with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a critique of the patriarchy told in hot pink, they are signs of powerful women ruling the discourse of pop culture.

But in music, at least, the scale and success of Swift’s tour is without equal. Later this month, after completing 53 shows in the United States, she will kick off an international itinerary of at least 78 more before returning to North America next fall. Beyoncé’s full tour has 56 dates; Springsteen’s, 90. (Recently, Harry Styles wrapped a 173-date tour in arenas and stadiums, grossing about $590 million.)

Outside Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, fans posed for selfies and shared their ticketing ordeals. Esmeralda Tinoco and Sami Cytron, 24-year-old former sorority sisters, said they had paid $645 for two seats. A stone’s throw away, Karlee Patrick and Emily DeGruson, both 18 and dressed as a pair in angel/devil costumes after a line in Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” sat “Taylorgating” at the edge of the parking lot; they said they had paid $100 for parking but couldn’t afford tickets.

As Swift’s opening acts finished, the crowd rushed in. Glaser, the comedian, later said that of the eight shows she had been to, her favorites were the ones where she had brought her mother — and converted her to Swiftie fandom.

“Everyone is in love with her,” Glaser said her mom told her after one show in Texas. “Now I get it.”

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton during the post-qualifying press conference, canada - june 9, 2007 (transcript under the cut)

Lewis: "Absolutely. Absolutely. As you can tell, I'm just delighted. It's been an amazing day. To come to Canada my first time… It's been tough. It's not an easy circuit to learn, and Fernando's been extremely quick and so have the BMWs and Ferraris. But we dialed in the car in P3 and I had an opportunity to go out and put it on pole, and this time I took the opportunity and grabbed it by the hands and did the best job I could by it." Interviewer: "How many laps have you done on, say, the simulator, 'cause there's a very sophisticated simulator at McLaren. Have you done a lot of laps before you came her?" Lewis: "No, I did about five laps, but we didn't really have time because we had a meeting to go to. But still, I got here on Wednesday, went out yesterday, and it was just like learning a new circuit, like going out on a circuit you've never been on before, so even if I was playing the PlayStation, it wouldn't really have made much diference. I had to learn… The kerbs are different, gradient changes, the bumps, so it doesn't really help. It just gives you an idea of where the corners are and perhaps what gears you should be taking." Interviewer: "It's a bit like a grown-up Monaco, really, isn't it, just a bit bigger with a fraction more space. Have you been brushing the walls here?" Lewis: "I haven't, no. Actually, in that qualifying lap I nearly did touch the wall in the exit of the last corner, just trying to squeeze as much as I could out of the tires, and it was really close, but obviously I got the time and improved that sector." [time jump] Journalist: "Lewis, are you gonna be able to sleep tonight?" Lewis: [laughs] "I think so. I think what's important is to enjoy the moment and then go back and… Still got a hard job to do to tomorrow, so to make sure I'm fully relaxed tonight I'll probably just have a nice evening with my dad and my trainer, get a good night's sleep, and come back tomorrow and try to do the same again." Journalist: "And Fernando, do you have any advice for your teammate, starting for the first time from pole position for tomorrow?" Alonso: "I think we'll see tomorrow. I think today has been a good qualifying for the team again, good job from everybody, being first and second, so the team should be very happy today." Journalist: "Any particular advice for tomorrow?" Alonso: "Advice? I think don't be too aggressive in the first corner and let me go through." [laughs] [journalists laugh] Lewis: [laughs] Heidfeld: "Same for me, please." [laughs] [time jump] Journalist: "How important is it for you to get pole?" Lewis: "Well, it's obviously a great feeling. It's another step I've taken in my steep learning curve, coming into my first season in Formula 1, and to be honest I knew I had it in me but I wasn't sure when I was gonna get a pole. I've never really been a driver that sticks it on pole, if you look at the past years, apart from Formula 3. I've always been top three, and it's not my strongest area, but today I'm really happy with the job I did and it's a great step forward for me, but also for the team."

[nickmillermit]

What can home theaters teach us about CX?

Can I share a secret with you? Well, I'm a bit of an audiophile -- which is the snobby way of saying that I really like high-end (see: expensive) audio gear. Whether I'm strolling to class listening on my Sennheiser cans, at home A/B testing my Fender CS 1963 Strat through a pair of Amplified Nation and Dr. Z cabinets, or just sitting on my couch watching Netflix at my home theater...I like to listen, a lot, and I like to listen LOUDLY.

But you know what I don't like? Like, really, really don't like? The process of buying this very gear that I love so much. In fact, I get anxiety just thinking about trying to mix and match speaker impedance levels, amplifier power ratings, and frequency response curves. Even worse is when the damn package finally shows up at my door and I find myself in a labyrinth of instruction manuals, cable snakes, and an array of switches or vaguely named controls that look like the cockpit of 747.

As Adam Richardson says in his HBR article on customer journeys, this experience should be "plug and play" but in reality is more "plug and pray." But why does the experience for such amazing products often suck?

The concept of mapping out a customer's journey from "cradle to grave" is something that many businesses are either A) not doing, or B) not good at doing. As the global economy has turned decidedly digital, many e-commerce providers have seemingly focused on selling top-tier products at the expense of creating world-class experiences. Whether it be due to cost compression, commoditization, increased competition, more efficient buying processes, or none or all of these things, the customer is the one suffering from a worsening experience.

Richardson's take on the use of customer journey maps to improve the end-to-end experience therefore hits home for me. The essence of it all is simple: understanding the step-by-step saga customers endure, often represented visually, from the initial allure of product research through the maze of its acquisition and implementation/setup, to the eventual daily use and beyond. This journey, ideally, should be a seamless adventure with proper customer support at key junctures.

Retailers and manufacturers, let me be loud and clear: you need to embed the customer's voice and experience into every product and process. This isn't just about solving problems -- it's about anticipating them, and designing experiences that preempt confusion and frustration. Next time you start creating a new product, take the time to interview customers, understand their journeys, and learn what it's like to research, purchase, use, and maintain or repair your items. All that's at stake is your entire brand.

As someone who lives and breathes for the joys of experiencing high-fi sound, I dream of a day when the end-to-end process of setting up my sound systems is as smooth as Stevie Wonder. Let's just hope the industry is listening....

[guiltygearconfessions]

sorry if this ends up sending twice because i got an error the first time. love what you do op i'm sorry you've become a front for several wars.

"people finding bridget annoying is a red flag" tbh shut up. what is up with new-with-strive fans in particular trying to make everything into some kind of moral statement. bridget means a lot to me as a transgender moron of vague alignment, especially how they fixed her up from being both a highly transphobic stereotype and an INSANELY sexualized child. i think about her now and it puts flutters in my heart…When I'm not being forced to see 1,000 pieces of fanart that reduce her to a flat cardboard cutout of a tarns woman doing shit that she literally never would. Or am being forced to see a seventh or eighth figure of her when Sol Fucking Badguy barely has shit (and DON'T say "well it's good that sol doesn't have any merchandise because um ah um he isn't transgender!!" if you're going to play that card i'm going to say "why does the white woman take precedent against the brown man protagonist that you think you just have the right to ignore?", an opinion that i don't really care all that much about but will still bite back with.

i'm annoyed with bridget's massive presence mostly because a lot of her Big Hits fan-content wise embody a complete lack of willingness to actually dive into what guilty gear has to offer when it comes to its lore and moving pieces. she's a wonderful part of the world but she is one of the. MANY. characters that embody daisuke's mission of "i want to make characters that underrepresented people can see themselves as happy in" (roughly quoted from that ones bridget interview). considering she is the only one that ever gets pushed to the forefront it feels like willful ignorance because guilty gear is a fighting game and bridget is, as the stars align, a conventionally attractive woman with not a lot going on that the average ham and eggar gives a shit about.

I should not be surprised that this became a source of Bridget discourse, and to be frank I'm just amazed it took this long to get to it. She's already one of my top tags.

[imabillyami]

for sleepover askssss

gimme your sami/jey headcanons 💕

FMK: Rhea, Finn, Damien

FMK: Naomi, Bianca, Jade

FMK: Sami, Seth, Kevin

Ohhhh these are so much fun 😍

(I’ll have to think of some to ask you as well)

Thanks for sending them!

I’ll put my actual reply under the cut cause it got quite long.

I appreciate you 💙 Hugs and kisses 😚

Sleepover asks!

Let’s start with the FMK shall we?

Rhea, Finn, Damien:

Fuck: Rhea (tattoo worship hellooooo, I’ll gladly spend hours on that)

Marry: Finn (we’d have so much fun building Lego and talking wrestling in a completely platonic marriage)

Kill: Damien (sorry buddie, I love you and you’re gorgeous, but Finn has Lego and one of the greatest wrestling minds, and Rhea is Rhea)

Naomi, Bianca, Jade:

Fuck: Jade (I mean… duh)

Marry: Naomi (Jimothy I’m coming for your wife, sorry not sorry)

Kill: Bianca (sorry hun)

Sami, Seth, Kevin:

Fuck: Kevin 🥵 (I don’t think this needs any explanation)

Marry: Sami (that one is a no brainer seriously, I could list a billion reasons)

Kill: Seth (I’m so sorry darling, ily. I’ll kiss you instead and send you back to your family, deal?)

And for the second part (actual first part), here’s an (incomplete) selection of my personal Sami/Jey headcanons:

- They VEX each other constantly. Yes, they love each other deeply, but they’re still very different from each other. They’re also both freaking stubborn, so they butt heads a lot once the honeymoon period of their relationship is over. Just like they used to. The making up is always beyond amazing though and it makes the fighting and bickering all the more fun.

- They annoy the ever loving shit out of the people around them. Constantly. (Whether with their squabbling or their heart eyes or something else is up to your interpretation)

- Sami has proclaimed his everlasting hatred for the Louis Vuitton bags and status symbols (in one of my favorite interviews to date). I think it’s common knowledge Jey owns at least one of those bags? And a lot of bling in general. Sami teases him mercilessly about it every chance he gets.

- Jey has recently proclaimed he wants to take Sami clothes shopping. Sami resists and they squabble about it. “It’s not my fault your shoe collection alone could feed an entire country.“ is totally something Sami said. “Babe I love you, but you look like a homeless person.” is totally something Jey said. It’s all good natured though (mostly, see the “they vex each other” hc)

- They’re both family men. But their understanding of what family does and doesn’t do for each other is very different. It’s keeps causing tension and is a topic they constantly return to.

- They both have a lot of unresolved trauma to work through and move past and they’re deeply supportive of each other throughout the whole process.

- Surprisingly (or not?), once Roman and Jimmy come asking for forgiveness and a second chance, it’s Sami who encourages Jey to hear them out and consider it (Jey is still very deep in his trust issues for obvious reasons, so he constantly doubts their intentions, Sami is constantly by his side as a sounding board and to reassure him. That doesn’t mean Sami isn’t wary of their intentions, still.)

- Jey tries to go vegan for a month and it does not go well. Sami is touched by the gesture, but finally tells him to “get his damn Waffle House already”. Jey eventually forgoes pork products altogether further down the line once they move in together though. He always liked chicken better anyway.

- While the crop tops disappear from Jey’s ring gear over time, they’re still very much a thing in their daily home life and the bedroom. (As if Sami would ever give up on crop top Jey, helloooo?)

- As much as Jey loves to give Sami crap about his “lack of style”, he secretly loves it. There’s his man, always wearing the same 5 shirts, not giving a crap what anyone thinks of his looks or belongings. The familiarity of him is beyond comforting. Being able to run his fingers through Sami’s long beautiful hair (even as is gets thinner with time) and the way his beard tickles him when they’re close are an added bonus.

- There’s no fixed top or bottom in this relationship, they switch things up constantly depending on their mood.

- Jey is the one to propose.

[prototypelq]

Monster Hunter World finished main story thoughts:

- Game is super good, an easy reccomend for anyone really. Action-rpg fans who enjoy building their character, armor and stats will like it. Entire game that consists of boss battles is just a great formula in general, the combat feels very good, monster designs are top notch. The game is a must-play for every monster-hunter genre fan for sure.

- 60 hours later, and I am Still Amazed How Good The Locations Are. They are beautiful, they are complex, the terrain is never flat, and they never feel like 'a bunch or arenas for fights connected with corridors'. Ancient Forest and Rotten Vale are easily the favourites here, Wastes gets third place. I think it is very beautiful, but easily overlooked out of all the other locations. Recess is beautiful, but a bit bland for me, and Highlands, while gorgeous, are just such a traversal hassle I try to avoid them.

- Final four bosses are not nearly as fun to fight, even when you combine them all together, as a single Nergigante bossfight. Nergigante is the true boss of the game, and I can easily understand why fans love him so much.

Teostra you just cool-drink or outheal. Vaal Hazak, while he has extremely good and creepy aesthetics and the best presentation out of all these elder dragons (he even outclasses Nergi and Xeno in terms of presentarion in my opinion), I beat him first try, while his half-hp debuff was on me.

Technically, I do cheat cause I installed unlimited consumables, so no healing flasks limit for me. Still, having a limited amount of healing items doesn't make the boss harder, it makes it frustrating and adds on unnecessary grind before you fight him. Vaal in terms of combat is just a walking hitbox, really, I didn't even faint once, and again, his half-hp debuff was working cause I didn't bring the item to cancel it. I am not a super skilled player, I am lazy and technically do cheat, but still beat him first try.

None of this mattered to Nergi, that bastard wiped the floor with me multiple times.

And I don't even want to talk about Kushala. Just no. I want to...at least interview the designer who created that bossfight, cause what the Hell was going on in his head. Did (s)he playtest this boss even Once??? This fight is criminally bad in my opinion, like, really freakin bad, because it is simply boring.

Xeno was cool but...again, a giant hitbox really. The presentation is great, and I reckon this fight is much more fun in multiplayer, but as it was I just peacefully stood underneath the belly and Xiva couldn't hit me once. Looks menacing, but the fight itself was boring. Not as nearly as bad as Kushala disaster, but still boring. Beat first try with 1 faint.

- The real hero of the game is my kitty squire. That boy faced horrors thousands his size, literally, in case of Xeno maybe even millions, and never Once backed down. All while never once asking for anything in return or taking any honours. Rootbeer was jokingly named because I didn't think much of palicos when I started the game, but he is the real Monster Hunter here, while I gracelessly bask in his honour.

Thank you Rootbeer for your service. I will strive to be as powerful and brave as you are.

- Somehow I never mentioned this, but the music in the game is also great. Really really good and specific monsters have very distinct tunes, so you know they are coming even before they enter the actual arena. Also the ambient sounds - bird singing, water running, monsters walking about, are just...so good. I genuinely booted up a game one time I really needed to calm down, picked some gear with stealth and walked/ran around the Ancient Forest for an hour. I will gladly listen to MHW locations ASMR videos. Never have I played a game where nature sounded so true, whimsical and beautiful.

- Numbers-wise I think the game is all over the place. Low to High rank transition is especially rough, cause you're very underpowered for new monster damage levels, are underpowered yourself (sharpness meter is the biggest issue here in my opinio) and you need to Continuously grind for the new gear. And then you need to grind for upgrade materials. Basically, this is where the mmo-ish nature or ambitions of capcom shine their true colours.

I have hunted 15 odogarons. I still don't have his full high level gear set cause I need gems. Also I finished the game without even upgrading to the final odogaron glaive form, cause again GEMS. Either the glaive-crit dmg build is busted or smth, I dunno. Why would you even need another weapon tier level if you are already destroying every monster in the game, which, I don't think scale with the hunter level, cause I keep butchering them in less than 30 mins when I need to. Anyway, numbers in this game are weird.

- For a game that showed me a new level of hand-holding, more like hand-cuffing, tutorials, this game does not explain shit. At all. You need a wiki and 30 youtube guides to see the entire moveset of your weapon, cause there is no united moveset list to read. You need a guide for the canteen, cause this thing is extremely useful, but it's help is veiled behind cryptic messages like 'wet blanket flop' or smth. You need a guide to understand where to even get the upgrade materials, cause surprise, important ones don't come from just slaying the monster (like the freakin gems), you need to specifically get a quest first.

This destroyes any need for exploration, besides your first trip to a new location or first-second hunt of a new monster. Outside of those conditions, you always will travel to a specific place to hunt a specific monster, whose spawn point you already know. There is no need to look or wander around ever again, which is a real shame, cause the locations of this game are gorgeous and deserve more attention than just your first time there.

It also messes with the optional quests system, cause hey, you have optional quests for some benefits, like new cooking canteen ingredients, but you can complete this only in the form of Chosen Quest, which you can get only one, and this lock you out of getting additional loot. So you need to hunt 15 odogarons for your material grind, plus some extra odogarons for a useful sidequest, but without getting those materials.

Hopefully I explained sufficiently enough why this is a goddamn mess, and I am on my way to nexusmods to mod the materials grind away before digging into Iceborne.

- surprise pinecone-bombs attack

- I think the items category should have been reworked too. There are two ways to go about consumables - make their effect minimal, so it only works in combination with others or exists purely for the fun-optimising-gamers who need their 3% attack boost. Or. You make them mandatory.

When you go to hunt and odogaron, you either take the glaive to simply fly over every single hitzone of his attacks, or you take an item to counter the bleeding debuff, cause otherwise you will just die from any of his attacks, cause most of them apply that debuff. When you hunt a venomous monster, you bring antidote, cause otherwise you will die.

This puts MHW firmly in the 'items mandatory category'.

When items are mandatory, you make them accessible. Otherwise, the player will get insane difficulty curve, and each subsequent failure to counter it will punish them even more, so the difficulty curve skyrockets even higher. And it makes the items useless, cause when the player finally conquers the obstacle - they no longer need the item, which was required by design.

In Death Stranding for ex., crafting ladders, vehicles or boots is not costly. Taking them with you is, as your weight capacity is a constant limiter, but it forces you to choose carefully what you bring next with you, especially when you go into new uncharted territories. So, you can pretty much always make the tool you deem useful for the task at hand, you just need to account for it's weight, and limited number of uses, and the weight of the cargo, plus the terrain again, plus the possible enemies. This makes planning interesting and worth it.

MHW kind of falls into every pothole available in this equation. The basic necessity of any combat game - Healing Items, are limited numbered consumables, which you Need To Craft. You Can Run Out Of Healing Potions.

(there is an asterisk here, cause crafting basic or even upgraded healing potion is not too hard and later you get a garden to grow ingredients, so you can not fear for healing items, but this solution ends here and other consumables are most of the time ungrowable).

You can and will run out of items required for specific fights (aka items needed to counter monster specific debuffs), which creates that skyrocketing learning curve.

So yeah, when I first realised exactly how prevalent this issue is, I said To Hell With It and installed unlimited consumables mod. Cause I want to have the counter-items required for some fights on me, without the need to grind for them on different locations.

- Sharpness system kind of has the same problem, but inside the combat loop. Sharpness directly impacts your ability to deal damage, and if it is low, your weapon will just bounce off any armour the monster has. However, To sharpen and be able to deal any damage again, you need an opening, cause the process takes a bit of time. And you can't create an opening to sharpen your weapon, if your weapon is already bouncing off the monster, so it can't deal damage to make said opening.

I learned through trial and error that sometimes you can bait a monster into attack, which you instead use to sharpen, but this does not translate well to every monster, and other ones are designed to obliterate your sharpness (hello Kushala). So those are fun. I did categorise this as a skill issue, rather than design oversight, so I didn't install mods for constant top sharpness.

- It's a disappointment that low and high rank monsters don't have any differences in their behaviour or attacks. Just the damage numbers go up. Understandable, but still disappointing

Anyway, all of this is just a gamedesign analysis fun thing for me to speculate about. Feel free to add or counter anything and everything I wrote here, I am interested in hearing other opinions. Also, obviously I didn't work on this game or at capcom, so I don't know the intent behind their design decisions. Perhaps for them, the points I presented completely nullify the idea behind the systems, and I don't understand shit, their game is perfect. I dunno. That's why I'm interested in discussions.

Just a reminder that I did enjoy the game immensely, and will happily continue playing it, even with all the flaws I pointed out. Would love to get a few hours of life wasted on material grind back tho.

[imaginedreamwrite]

Money Monday has to have our new Sugar Daddy/Baby relationship with Storm. I see her as loving to read but maybe she was made fun of it as a kid. And when he finds out her favorite author, he makes sure to find out where their next signing is and whisks his girl away to that city so she can meet her favorite author. As a surprise of course

We have to go somewhere on Friday, don’t have plans

The message was straught forward and to the point, so direct and entirely how Johnny Storm had acted when he wanted or needed something. He wouldn’t give you more than that giving you the impression that it was meant to be a surprise, and that had been on your mind since the beginning of the week when he had sent it to you. You were distracted from your job search and online interview processes to find a job in a lab or hospital, and when Friday had finally rolled around, Johnny had showed up to your door with a first edition copy of your favourite book and a tea.

“You haven’t told me where I’m going, and these are supposed to be clues?” You wondered, eying the book in your hand and the tea resting in his Bugatti cupholder. “I didn’t think you liked guessing games?”

“I’m not the one guessing.” He side-eyed you, watching you with speculation as you opened the cover of your first edition book, your favourite book, and began reading the pages again as if you had never read it before. “You really have no ide-“

“This is how I die. I imagined it would be with a mighty cry or on some exploratory trip that took me to exotic destinations or the thickest part of the wild jungle, but never like this. I never imagined that I would die with a whimper and a lifetime of regret clawing at my back.” You read the introductory sentences, the first words that had you hooked from the word go.

“Doesn’t it just captivate you?” You had snapped the book shut and sighed softly. “I love this book, from the beginning to the end, it just…makes you feel.”

“I never got into reading, never liked it.” Johnny had to remind himself not to continue to stare at you while he drove, he wanted to get there alive. “Even now-“

“Okay, so the tea is a little odd but the book-“

“Will you let me finish, brat?” Johnny cut you off with a veiled smirk, his blue eyes momentarily trained on you. “I hate reading but I like the sound of your voice.”

“You do?” You questioned, your eyebrows furrowed and your fingers aimlessly tracing over the indented letters on the front cover. “And I am not a brat. You are a brat.”

“You are a brat,” Johnny laughed under his breath, his heart palpitating when you had scrunched your nose and leaned back against the passenger seat, a breathtaking image of a young woman who was stealing every part of him without even trying.

“Can you tell me where we’re going? I don’t have the ability to guess right now.” You tucked the book against your chest, leaning forward to gaze out the window as Johnny pulled up to the curb of the Mark Hotel.

“That author of the book you love,” Johnny spoke as he shifted the gear into the park and shifted in the driver's seat to face you more head-on, “she’s here at this hotel for a trip. I asked her if she would be open to meeting someone brilliant and gorgeous.”

“We are not.” Your fingernails dug into the cover and back of the book as you whipped your head around to stare him down, readying yourself to strike if he had been screwing with you.

“Yes, we are. She owes me a favour-“

“Are you kidding me? I have loved her works for years! Are you serious?” Your excited squeak was high-pitched and was the first verbal signal that you may have combusted from happiness. “This is amazing! Oh my God!”

“I am the best, aren’t I?” Johnny had cut the engine and swiped the keys from the cupholder, tapping the top of your cup. “The tea was the clue, baby.”

“Breakfast tea with honey and cinnamon.” You smiled small, grabbing the cup from where it sat. “It’s from the book and it’s the author's favourite. Did you read it?”

“I don’t like reading.” Johnny had closed the door and managed to beat you to opening your door, escorting you out onto the sidewalk wherein he could slip an arm around your waist. “But I do like you.”

“This is the best. Thank you!” In your eagerness, you hadn’t just embraced Johnny but you had stood on your tippy toes and kissed his cheek, your lips mere a mere half-inch from the corner of his lips.

[solradguy]

SOLRADGUY SCANLATION GUIDE

LAST UPDATED: MAY 8, 2023 //

THIS GUIDE IS REDUNDANT AND WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED. Please refer to the other guide for updated scans/translation posts: https://solradguy.tumblr.com/post/701138089295364096/comprehensive-guide-to-unofficial-guilty-gear

It has come to my attention that my blog is a sort of go-to for Guilty Gear scans. Unfortunately, my blog is a cluttered hovel. Here is what I've worked on, what I'm going to work on, and what I do not have the material with which to work on.

Wanna look at Daisuke's stuff without thinking about it? Forget about the rest of this post and click this link.

Some stuff before the juicy bits: Yes, the Brisket <3 meme started here. My Japanese is self taught so I'm probably making a bunch of mistakes but I go back and polish up old translations regularly. These scans/translations are done as a hobby. I've been doing this since I started Begin sometime around December 2021. Real life stuff has priority so the deadline for everything here is "when I get to it."

THERE IS A FULL LIST OF ALL THE GUILTY GEAR FAN TRANSLATIONS IN ITS OWN POST OVER HERE: [THIS IS A LINK]

WHAT I'VE WORKED ON //

🔥 Guilty Gear Begin - Light novel. The current earliest point in the lore.

English translation: Tumblr - Archive.org Art scans: Tumblr

🔥 Artworks of Guilty Gear X 2000-2007 - Art book collecting (most) of Daisuke's work going from GGX through to Isuka. Does not have anything from Overture, despite it being in production around the time this book was published.

Tumblr tag - Archive.org

🔥 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Material Collection - Art book for Overture. I will not be scanning this whole book, but I did scan the main illustrations, story illustrations, and translated the main illustration captions plus the 8 stories.

Illustration index: Tumblr - Neocities Story index (English) - Tumblr - Neocities Archive.org (.PDF + uncompressed scans)

🔥 Guilty Gear Xrd (Revelator) Visual Book - Small art book included in the special edition release of XrdRev in Europe and Japan. This is a scan of the European book, which is in English (mostly). These scans were done by @birthdaytrain and I only compiled it into a .PDF for Archive.

Archive.org

🔥Channel 3 Records Guilty Gear: Missing Link Vinyl Art and Interview Book - A 2LP that came with a short booklet containing some ML era GG art and a brief interview with Daisuke himself. I did not rip the music from the records for this archive.

Archive.org

🔥Dengeki PlayStation F, Volume 10 (October 13, 1995) - Volume 19 of the Japanese gaming magazine, Dengeki PlayStation. Has an article on what appears to be the first printed appearance of any sort of Guilty Gear 1 material. Very early prototype stuff in this.

English: Archive.org

🔥Dengeki PlayStation F2, April Special Issue, Volume 19 ( April 10, 1996) - Volume 19 of the Japanese gaming magazine, Dengeki PlayStation. Has an article on an early build of GG Missing Link. This issue also has articles for Final Fantasy 7, Tekken 2, Street Fighter Zero, Darkstalkers, and a lot more.

Full magazine scans: Archive.org Guilty Gear article English translation: Archive.org - Neocities

🔥Magic In Your Eyes (Japanese, BL doujinshi, SFW, 32p) - Sol/Ky doujinshi from 2004 by Rima Setsura. Its plot revolves around cooking, shenanigans, and amazing facial expressions; overall very lighthearted. A lot of the rest of the cast also make appearances. Google Docs has been placing images with a slight white border along the top and left sides of the page lately. I'll update this .PDF once I fix it. Will eventually be translated.

Neocities (.PDF)

🔥Guilty Gear X (vol.1) and X Plus 4koma Kings (DNA Media Comics) - Two different 4koma manga volumes. These are 4-panel funny strips.

GGX Vol. 1 - Archive.org GGX Plus - Archive.org

WHAT I'M GOING TO WORK ON //

In no particular order:

Lightning the Argent - Light novel focused on Ky. Japanese manuscript compiled (thanks, Volcanic). Needs translated.

The Butterfly & Her Gale - Light novel focused on Chipp. JP manuscript compiled. Needs translated. (Someone's working on this, I think)

Guilty Gear Comics Anthology (Missing Link manga) - Translation in progress

Ohzora Comics' GG Isuka manga (unless someone beats me to it)

Dengeki Playstation F Volume 10, October 13, 1995 - Guilty Gear Missing Link announcement issue, basically. Has a bunch of rare art in it + character bios with information that got retconned in the game's actual release 3 years later. Rare as all hell. Currently working on a translation.

DON'T HAVE THIS STUFF, BUT WANT IT //

All of the manga that aren't the four X/XX Anthology volumes, the Missing Link manga, or the GGX and GGX Plus 4koma manga.

SOCIAL MEDIA //

Other people had the solradguy handle outside of Tumblr before I started using it so if you see another Sol Radguy out there that isn't listed here, it isn't me.

Archive.org: Daemonis

Twitter: junkyarddogmk69 NSFW/18+

Reddit: u/junkyarddogmk2

Scans-only Tumblr: @junkyarddogmkii

Neocities: solradguy (looks best on desktop)

Discord: Ask. I am Sol Radguy there though.

Ko-fi: Somnivagrious - I will always do scanlations for free, but if you like what I'm doing you can toss me a few bucks if you want. Anything donated because of Guilty Gear will go back into it through new art books or Japanese study materials. Please specify that's what your donation's for if that's how you want it to be used.

Email: junkyarddogmkii [at] gmail.com

FAQ //

Can I use scans/translations for stuff?: You can use them for any personal/non-commercial projects like icons, banners, blog themes, etc. Credit is nice, but not required. 

How long does stuff take?: Begin took about 6 months exactly, Artworks of GGX took a little over 8 months, the Overture short stories take 1-2 entire days, so like maybe 8-15 hours of work.

How long have you been into Guilty Gear?: I heard Holy Orders from GGXX in 2013 and was fully consumed by the disease when I watched my friend play Strive in August 2021.

WHAT ABOUT BLAZBLUE? //

I don't go to Blazblue but maybe one day after I run out of Guilty Gear stuff or my brain finally melts and pours out of my eyes from Google Doc radiation exposure I'll get around to it. My buddy @smellpelt made a compilation post of the work Daisuke did for Blazblue though, over here.