#was thinking about which sport i follow i'm most excited for next year and it's definitely wta tennis

[batsplat]

although 2025 is probably going to be marc and pecco (or probably just marc) running away with the competition, i feel like based on the last 2 years the press conferences still probably have the top 3/4 people in mathematical contention. so i was just wondering since marc+pecco will probably be quite a boring press conference combo who on the grid (no matter how realistic/unrealistic it wld be for them to get into he top 3/4 of the championship) would you hypothesize could be added in as a third party and act as a good instigator for more press conference drama a la valentino?

yeah I mean two people pressers for most of the season isn't really a thing and would be AWFUL vibes. (they should bring back a single presser, just have a bunch of guys...) and. uh. not to pessimistic but realistically none of them? I just don't think we HAVE instigators these days, which is FINE - there's more than one way to have fun in a sport and sometimes you just have to accept that the vibes will remain frigid. also to be clear I would actually support the vibes between pecco and marc being proper frigid, I just don't think they will be... my ironclad sports law is that the worst type of rivalry is one where the two participants are 'friendly coworkers'. no particularly meaningful history, no particularly meaningful interactions outside of the bare minimum mandated by the sport, get on reasonably well, no real tension, no feeling of mutual desperation to beat the other, no feuding. I could give a few rivalries here as examples but unfortunately my top examples tend to be some of the most popular rivalries in their respective fandoms, so I shan't say. anyway my worry is we're headed for a fairly chilly iteration of that particular dynamic with pecco/marc which. for shame

and who you'd pair them with... I mean, look, I do think pedro still has something to prove on this front. I like the kid a lot, I have a feeling I might be rooting very strongly for him in the future depending on Certain Developments, I think he's funny and a bit of a character... but also, it's not like he's REALLY done that much shit stirring in his first season, whatever his rhetoric might be. it's a high bar, but remember who we're comparing him to!! jorge was mid-feud after ONE RACE, got an intervention by the spanish king after his second race in the premier class - and that was only one of like four major premier class rivals he'd managed to irritate by the time he turned 21. casey got A Reputation for being hot-headed and rather rude about his employers by mid-rookie season, which for a while looked like it might endanger his future in the class. hell, even dani was embroiled in a cold war situation within the honda garage by the time he made it through his rookie season, and memorably did cause a massive massive controversy in the penultimate race that year (that would've had far more lasting consequences if the final race had played out differently). and let's not even get into valentino's litany of threats, subterfuge, title decider controversy, feuding and media shit storms pre-premier class. pedro still needs to do some work here!! I also think fundamentally he's not going to affect the vibes of these pressers much because he doesn't really TALK all that much to his potential rivals, in particular marc and pecco who he seems to have very limited interest in having any sort of repartee with. it's all right promising you'd be causing some drama, but you need to occasionally interact with these guys!! him and marc especially have like, negative chemistry, which I'm sure could get interesting if they ever face off for a title but isn't currently giving much on the instigating front

apart from that, at a certain point you do literally need to have someone who can actually get these guys to talk. that's the bare minim I reckon. I was briefly thinking of miller, who I think it's safe to say would be an unrealistic pick to feature in these pressers - crucially him and pecco get on very well and he is someone who can get pecco to like. open up a bit. but also him and marc get on considerably less well so that's probably a bust. my main pick would be fabio I reckon? very much not with the word 'instigator' attached, fabio is not an instigator, BUT he is a nice friendly bloke who has a decent-ish relationship with both of next season's title rivals and could imo contribute to making the vibes 3% less frigid. still high on hopium about yamaha's current trajectory so sure, let's pretend like this could actually happen

[bienmoreau]

Can you tell me abt sunshine court? I see a new book came recently and I've gathered it's a book series and I could just look it up but I have not. It's books? About foxes? I guess it's not about foxes. I like foxes tho. When I see it on your blog I think abt foxes which is nice.

Boy CAN I!!

The Sunshine Court is a spin-off of the All For The Game trilogy by Nora Sakavic! It follows my absolute favourite character from the trilogy the one and only Jean Moreau! (And my 2nd favourite Jeremy Knox)!! BUT! TSC is going to make next to no sense unless you've read AFTG!

So what is AFTG?

; A trilogy consisting of the books The Foxhole Court, The Raven King and The Kings Men.

Shortest answer is: a truly wild collegiate sport drama with an extra flavour of trying to escape from the mafia and shed loads of trauma!

Slightly longer answer is that the books are about Neil Josten a boy on the run for his life from his dad who's obsessed with a fictional sport called Exy. Against all better judgement he is convinced to sign with a college team. And against all odds doing so is probably long-term what saves his life. Tho not for many a close call when his past and his present collide with more fallout than even he could have anticipated. Thankfully he has the 'psychotic midget' Andrew Minyard at his back and maybe they can make a future together out of this mess.

Longer/other answers can be found in this tag here #wtf is tfc

And also please mind there are a heap of trigger warnings for these books if you do plan to read them! More info on each book here!

But yeh. These books mean a lot to me. A friend got me to read them in 2015 and a group of us spent a couple months building a fandom and promoting the heck out of them and that fandom is now bigger than I ever could have imagined back then and most of the old crowd aren't really in it anymore but the love from that time hasn't gone anywhere and then last year Nora messaged me to say she was writing TSC (incredibly exciting madness since she went offline YEARS ago!) so I've been dipping my toes back in a bit since then, mostly just for tsc & jerejean again, but the OG 3 books still mean so much to me and I'm rereading them rn and still absolutely adore Nora's writing and the story she is telling with these books!! So with all that (sorry got a little tangential there) if you are interested and wanna know more feel free to ask me anything abt them!

🦊xx

[umlewis]

Hamilton hails four-time champion Vettel as 'an amazing option' for Mercedes in 2025

Lewis Hamilton has given his backing to Sebastian Vettel as he fielded questions over who could replace him at Mercedes for the 2025 season, saying he would "love" to see the German make a Formula 1 comeback.

Vettel called time on his illustrious F1 career at the end of 2022, having made almost 300 starts and racked up four world titles, 53 wins, 122 podiums, 57 pole positions and more than 3,000 points.; however, following on from a recent endurance test with Porsche, the 36-year-old has admitted that a return to the sport could be "appealing," having also held general talks with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. Wolff is searching for another driver to slot in alongside George Russell from next year, with seven-time world champion Hamilton having deciding to make the switch to Ferrari, where he will replace Carlos Sainz. With the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso all returning to the sport after sabbaticals, Hamilton was asked about F1's everlasting appeal and the chances of Vettel doing the same. "You're always going to miss it," said Hamilton. "It's the greatest sport in the world and it's the greatest experience in the world. It's the most amazing feeling to be working with a group of people towards winning something, achieving something. Probably there's nothing that's going to ever feel the same. I've not asked any of the drivers what they're missing, but I can just imagine. But I would love for Seb to come back. I think he would be an amazing option for the team, to have a multi-world championship-winning driver, someone who's got amazing values to continue to take this team forwards… I would love it if he came back." Hamilton was then asked how much thought he is giving to the driver who will replace him and whether it should be an experienced pair of hands such as Vettel, or potentially a newcomer such as Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Anontelli, to which he also implied support for the latter. "I think the only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone with integrity and values that are aligned with the team, where the team is going," he said. "Someone with compassion that's able to work with all these great people, continue to lift them up. As drivers there are some that are more selfish than others. There are some that are good drivers but perhaps not the best within team environments. I don't know, because I've not been in with all of them. They've already got George and he's perfect for the team. I'm sure they've got so many options. I do think it's always great to give an opportunity to an up-and-coming driver, so the idea of a youngster coming in I think, for me, is exciting."

[nana-kom]

Hi 👋🏻

This is a wg fic, this contain weight gain, feederism, a little bit of sex, humiliation and bullying. If you don’t like don’t read.

New York’s Feedie

When Jeongin met Hyunjin two years ago, he never imagined that his life would take this turn, yet here he was, living in a sublime New York apartment with his boyfriend. It had been over three months since the two men had moved in, and they were both blossoming. Jeongin felt grateful for all they had achieved together, but he was nervous about his new life in the United States, as it was a very different place from what he had known in Korea. What's more, Hyunjin had recently signed with a modeling agency and had been on the job for several weeks, while Jeongin had enrolled at a university to continue his studies in literature. Things had by no means been rushed, and both were doing their best to keep things running smoothly, both in their relationship and in their various occupations. Although Jeongin was increasingly used to feeling lonely because Hyunjin worked so much, he obviously loved him and felt grateful for all the opportunities he had given him, but the feeling of loneliness had quickly replaced the excitement of the early days.

At first, Jeongin decided to devote himself to his studies and writing, as he too wanted to sign with a publishing house, but he knew he needed to make even more of an effort. As the days went by, Jeongin also made friends at university, which made him feel more surrounded, especially as he also met a boy from Korea named Jisung. He was really nice to Jeongin, and they spent most of their time together at university. As a friend, Jisung decided to act as Jeongin's tour guide to the best restaurants in New York. As Jeongin had no shortage of free time, every lunchtime they went to different places to sample the food. Jisung loved to eat, Jeongin always saw him nibbling on something, yet the man was miraculously still very slim, and he also spent a lot of time at the gym. Jeongin had tried sport before, but it wasn't really his thing, preferring to enjoy meals with his friend. Jeongin learn to love eating huge amount of food with his friend, when their class were over, they were going on new restaurant to make Jeongin taste different thing on the menue. And Jeongin was really enjoying every moment of eating, feeling the pleasure of the food in his mouth and how his belly was also swollen after every meal. So he takes a next step when he asked Jisung to give him some good addresses for having food delivered to his home, which Jisung did, and in the evenings that followed he order from one restaurant to another. Now eating his lunch with Jisung and enjoy his meal at night by himself in his apartment. As the days went by, the extra kilos began to show on his body, but even if he wasn't paying attention, he couldn't see much difference, and the food here must be higher in calories, so it's probably normal, he told himself. One evening, as he was drifting off to sleep, he heard the apartment door open and a few minutes later Hyunjin lay down on the bed beside him before putting his arms around him.

"I missed you," said Hyunjin, kissing Jeongin's cheek, and Jeongin smiled.

"You too." Said Jeongin and Hyunjin wrapped his arms around his belly before suddenly starting to touch it, catching the fat that was starting to appear.

"Looks like you're enjoying the food here... "Said Hyunjin and Jeongin suddenly straightened up, turning on the light.

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing! It's just a fact, but I think it's super cute!"

"Hyunjin I don't understand what you're talking about!"

"It's just that...you've...well it's light...but you've put on weight..."

"The food here is pretty expensive and we don't have much choice in the cafeteria...and I try my best to…stay healthy…"

"I'm sorry baby, I know and I'm not saying it's your fault...I'm never here to eat with you...and I don't know any place to eat here..."

"Me neither...But I can lose weight if you'd prefer..."

"Of course not, I love your belly, it's all soft and fluffy, and I just want to kiss your little cheeks." Said Hyunjin, placing a kiss on it.

"Still, I don't see how I could have gained any weight..."

"In any case, you're still adorable."

That night, they fell asleep together, Hyunjn's hands around Jeongin's belly. Jeongin was well aware that he had lied, but he couldn't admit that he spent his days gorging himself. Because now, when he wasn't in class, he was either at the restaurant with Jisung, or at home eating, or working on his lessons with snacks on the side... He'd fallen in love with food and couldn't get away from it. Every bit of food that entered his mouth made him a little happier than the moment before. His weight gain became even more noticeable when his pants became too small for his thighs and belly, and also when his belly began to protrude from his t-shirts. Luckily for him, finding larger clothes wasn't difficult, and although he loved dressing up, being comfortable quickly became more important.

As the weeks went by, he noticed that his arms were getting bigger too, and that his belly was swollen all the time, starting to show more and more despite his baggy clothes, and he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his visible pair of breasts for much longer. But he'd also noticed that the more weight he gained, the more Hyunjin took care of him and even made sure to come home early to cook for him, so in his eyes it was a win-win situation. Hyunjin had noticed that he was eating more than before, but he had no idea how much Jeongin could eat in a day. Hyunjin wasn't the only one to notice Jeongin's sudden weight gain, and Jisung, for his part, seeing her friend taking pleasure in eating, began to offer to eat more and even help him finish his meals when Jeongin couldn't move. In the months that followed, Hyunjin increasingly found Jeongin not sleeping but on the sofa, finishing his meals with his stomach exposed and his hands massaging it. Jeongin was really fat by now, finding it hard to walk because of his belly, which was full all the time due to the food, and above all he had become more lazy than before and didn't really like to make any effort. And despite his new condition, Hyunjin found him so sexy and their sex life so much more exiting, Hyunjin loved to touch Jeongin’s breasts and when he was being penetrated by his boyfriend, he loved to feel his belly falling against his body. He loved to feel the weight of Jeongin's body on his own, and he loved to explore every part of his body and his fat. He was really happy with his boyfriend but his new body was something that really turn him on, he doesn’t really now why. But seeing how fat Jeongin was becoming make him really happy and kinda horny too.

One evening, Hyunjin arrived at Jeongin's door, explaining that he had been invited to a gala and would like him to accompany him. Jeongin agreed, wanting to please his boyfriend, but finding a suit in his size this time was much more complicated, but thanks to Hyunjin's contacts, they succeeded anyway, and seeing Jeongin in that outfit that evening, Hyunjin fell in love all over again. Seeing his double chin go over his collar and the shirt they'd taken a little wider a few weeks ago were now slightly too tight on him. After complimenting him all the way, they arrived at the party, and as they entered the reception hall, all eyes turned to them. Most people were whispering behind Jeongin's back as he waddled to Hyunjin's side. Hyunjin left his boyfriend for a moment to fetch them drinks from the bar, and a colleague nd of Hyunjin's wasted no time in making his way over to him.

 « You invited a friend?" His colleague asked.

"He's my boyfriend, actually! I wanted to make sure everyone liked me before showing I was in a relationship with a guy..."

"With a guy or with a whale?" Hyunjin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Nah, seriously, Hwang, how can you date a guy like that? There's so much better out there...oh or is he rich?"

"Fuck you." Hyunjin then walked over to Jeongin before taking his hand tenderly.

"Shall we go?"

"What? Already? I haven't even met your colleagues."

"They're not worth it...I..."

"Hyunjin!" then called out a woman in the distance before arriving at his side. "Glad you and your...friend could make it..."

"Jeongin, nice to meet you!" he said, shaking her hand, and the woman winced slightly.

"Yeah…whatever...Can we talk? In private?" She said, resting her eyes on Hyunjin, and he nodded before telling Jeongin to wait for him.

Jeongin smiled and let him go before heading over to the buffet and starting to taste the different dishes that were being served, and the food was delicious, he could feel that it was good food and in his taste buds he could feel the luxury of this event and also realized all the work that Hyunjin did for him to be here and that if he could be here it was thanks to him.

"I don't think pigs are allowed at this kind of party!" then said someone behind his back.

"Excuse me?" Jeongin said, turning around.

"Are you really dating Hyunjin? How can he be dating someone like you?"

"I...we've been together for over two years...what business is it of yours?"

"When the most popular model of the season goes out with a real pig there's plenty to wonder about. Come on, tell me, did you pay for it?"

"No...I..."

Tears welled up in Jeongin's eyes and he decided to leave the party, so he found himself all alone outside waiting for Hyunjin to get out of that horrible place. He looked down at his belly and sighed. He'd put on weight, yes, and he'd never been treated this way before, so he didn't understand the problem: he was still a human and deserved respect. After a moment, Hyunjin came running up to him and gave him a hug.

"I'm sorry, we should never have come, these people...they're stupid."

"Why aren’t you leaving me?" Said jeongin, wiping away his tears. "I didn't put on weight just by eating at the cafeteria, I’m eating all the time..and I don't want to stop...you weren't there and I had nothing else to do...but now…it’s different…I love being fat…not really right now …but in general… »

"Innie, I don't care about your weight, I find you...super sexy, I love every one of your shapes and every single one of your bulges. And you're the man I love above all else, thin or fat, you're mine!"

"But someone like you..."

"Stop it, we don't care, the modeling world is super demanding on people's looks but they're not us! And I'm not them! I'm me and I love you!"

"I love you too!"

Hyunjin then smiled before hugging him again more tenderly and Jeongin felt safe in his boyfriend's arms, Hyunjin stepped back before caressing his cheeks then kissing him tenderly as he felt the taste of the tears that had run down his lips.

"Come on, let's both go have some fun!" said Hyunjin. "I'll look for a nice restaurant for you and me ok?"

"Wait, I've got a question, what did your colleague say to you?"

"Well...she asked me why I'd brought you here and what it did for my reputation..."

"Oh...and what did you say?"

"I told her that if she was jealous of our relationship she should find someone else...and that I was very happy with you no matter what they could think, after that I left because I didn’t want to listen to them talk for any longer tonight !"

"Thank you for standing up for me, I love you."

"Me too, and now I'm taking you to eat my greedy baby."

"Wait...I'm going to choose…I’m the expert, and I know a really nice place..."

"I'll follow you then. Surprise me."

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

[fuckyeahdindjarin]

Fuck Yeah 1st birthday fic vote

I survived one year on this hellsite! 😉 It's been a wonderful almost 365 days in our little Pedro fandom - March 19 was the day I posted It Would Be, and what a ride it’s been since! Thank you friends, mutuals, readers, followers and everyone who makes it so much fun to create and to share with you guys ❤️

How about a ✨ fic vote ✨ to celebrate? It's been a while since we had one, and I've been very mean and teasing y'all with so many plot bunnies. Help me decide what to write next!

Since I have no plans to start a new series after I finish Palomino, these are all one- or two-shot ideas. I hope to get round to writing all of them at some point, but I will write them in the order of votes received. Fic summaries below the cut!

Young!Joel Miller x Baker!F!Reader | outbreak, what outbreak? | fluffy meet cute with a smutty second part | planned two-shot

Summary: What if Joel doesn't forget to buy himself a cake for his birthday? But by the time he remembers, all the bakeries in his neighbourhood are closed - except yours.

The first draft of this idea was Speed Dial, which was supposed to be a PWP, but as it turns out, I'm not great at PWPs... so how about a two-shot instead?

Javier Peña x Centra Spike Analyst F!Reader | accidental audio voyeurism | one-shot, might be more | sexual tension galore

Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve. You’re alone and transcribing a tape recording of an informant for Javier Peña, something you've done a hundred times before - except this time, you overhear something that is clearly not meant for your ears.

I've been stewing in this idea since before New Year's. Probably the most creative idea I've had so far, and will probably be difficult to write, but this fic haunts my dreams and I will have no peace until I sit down and write it.

Agent Whiskey x F!Reader | straight-up filth | planned two-shot

Summary: He's absolutely not your type. But hey, what happens in Glastonbury stays in Glastonbury - especially mistakes in the shape of a silver-tongued, smarmy American cowboy sporting a ridiculous belt buckle.

After going to a music festival last weekend, this is all I've been thinking about.

Joel Miller x F!Reader | self-conscious!Joel and shy!Reader | 👏🏻 body positivity 👏🏾 | planned one- or two-shot with potential to be more

Summary: Joel has a problem. Having settled into some semblance of a 'normal' life in Jackson that no longer involves running for his life and living off scraps, his clothes are getting a little… tight. Self-conscious, he deals with it the way he does most things - he ignores it.

That is until one day, the zipper on his jeans finally gives up after one too many desperate tugs, leaving him stuck. With neither Tommy nor Ellie anywhere to be found to get him out of the tight spot, Joel begrudgingly heads to the clothing store he’s seen in town for help - and a new pair of jeans.

There, he meets you.

Thank you everyone who has been so enthusiastic about this idea! It definitely has Grays vibes, but can you blame me for wanting to give this man reassurance? I’m also super excited to write a shy reader, which is a departure from my others ❤️

Frankie Morales x F!Reader | enemies to lovers | second chances | angst | planned two-shot

Summary: At the Summer House where you and the boys have always spent the last week of August, some traditions are held sacred. Above all, Frankie always brings a girlfriend, and you're always single.

You really should’ve known better than to tempt fate. The summer Frankie shows up alone and you bring a boyfriend is when it all falls apart. 

I am beyond excited about this one. I've teased the idea before - it's going to be so self-indulgent and will have all the tropes that I've wanted to write for. It's been a while since I've written angst, and damn this will be angsty!

Got any burning questions? My askbox is open as always! I'll leave this poll up for a week, excited to see what the results will be ❤️

[wisteriagoesvroom]

🏎️💨 THE FORMULA 1 TAG GAME! 🏎️💨:

stealing this from the timeline...

+ zero pressure tags (but i love reading these!) - @lecrep @souvenir116 @fueledbyremembering @thinkingaboutfilm11 @supercollide @fireopaal @callsign-shortstack @thatguywasvaping @linewire @buryawoman and whoever else wants to do it.

1. Who or what got you into F1?

charles edits on tiktok + drive to survive, lmao. i'm one of those bitches. sorry not sorry!

but! i will say! what greg james said about f1 resonated with me because i have never ever really cared about physics or engineering in any deep or substantial way. and now, i am avidly reading people like supermak's incredible posts talking about downforce or apexes or deltas and car configs, looking at the charts and the data, and i just think that is a really fun place to be.

f1blr and f1 fandom so far has been a nice confirmation that multiple things can be true - yes we want to make the vroom vroom boys kiss, but we also care deeply about the ethics of the sport, the growth, about driver + team stories, driver pipelines and equity and race excitement and engineering. i think it's really cool these things can coexist.

the sport never should be one thing to one group of people, you know? (wow that ended up longer than i thought.)

2. Who was the very first F1 driver you supported? Do you support them now? Have your opinions on them differed or stayed the same since then?

charles, and still charles lmao. unfortunately.

i am an oscar piastri enthusiast also. i think there's a bit of recency bias at work here but he's come swimming like a fledgling shark into the shallows with his deadpan personality and i'm just very intrigued by His Whole Thing.

i want good things for yuki! and lewis! my GOAT!! give the man his 8th :( (it probably isn't happening but lets' not manifest that.......)

TL;DR it's been a joy getting to "know" the grid (or at least as much of their public persona will tell us) and getting into the lore. *shaky hands* the LORE!

also nobody asked, but, schumacher was an omnipresent name when i was growing up - which might give away my age - but he always felt like an old school driver. in the sense of his mythos, his mystery, his dominance of the track. that era of f1 is over and the sport only moves on and evolves, but in the same way his presence felt a lot more removed and unrelatable to me, and far away. the speed of technology now and broadcasting and social content makes f1 feel more fun and accessible. it feels a lot nicer to find fandom spaces like f1blr where there are different audiences (female, queer, a variety of ages and backgrounds etc) yelling about the same things.

it's just a different time, not a value judgment. but i am enjoying it.

3. Who’s your current favourite F1 driver?

see above, but i'm 100% here for lestappen having a track battle next year only for oscar to pip them to the podium in one of the races lmao. i think it'd be amazing.

4. Is there a driver pairing or pairings you support? What made you attracted to that pairing in the first place?

*long sigh* once again lestappen baybee... the lore... the parallels... the sun-moonism.... the enemies-to-rivals-to-friends-and-gay-rival-soulmates-something

i like other pairings too like in my about me post - landoscar, galex, blabla. my dark horses are riccussell (george/daniel) and groto (george/toto).

something about that greyhound, very wound-up, very upper-middle-class, highly-strung, born-to-want-but-not-to-always-win english george:

5. Do your parents, siblings or relatives have a favourite team and/or favourite driver(s)?

i got my sister into f1 at around the same time but she's not indicated any preference on drivers yet tbh. she's a casual fan. must be nice being normal.

6. Do you have any favourite races? Are there any that stand out to you the most?

haven't seen enough of them to say, 'cus i only started following like two months ago as the season was winding down. i looooved Vegas '23 though and the legendary charles overtake. he's just so fucking smart and cunning when he's given the conditions and the car to be. watching Abu Dhabi '21 on replay was also a TRIP.

7. Do you have a favourite circuit? Can be from the past or from the current calendar.

i'm still learning them. but i'm mildly curious about the old tracks like nürburgring - it was from a totally different era of the sport and it'd be nice to rebalance the long tracks with the current spectacle of street races even though that doesn't seem to be where the sport's moving towards.

8. Have you ever been to an F1 race in real life? Feel free to tell us your experience going to one if you like.

i actually live in a place with a track... i had a free ticket for general access once many years ago but that was pre-f1 hyperfixation, and at that point i didn't understand the appeal at all. idk.

i feel like f1 is actually a better experience for me to watch on tv as a fan.... probably blasphemy i know.

9. Have you ever met an F1 driver in real life?

no and idk that i would because i've seen celebrities in person in the past and it's usually so quick and transactional because they're surrounded by hordes of handlers and/or they're usually running somewhere even if it's a fan-focused interaction.

THAT SAID! i would love to attend a talk by Lewis or just generally hear what he has to say, because what he's done is so beyond f1 at this point and he always shows up in terms of advocacy and speaking up, in recent years, where it really matters. he's a fascinating figure, sometimes contradictory, sometimes controversial, but i definitely would love to hear what he has to say.

10. Do you have a favourite F1 car? If so, what is it?

i am partial to that black and gold lotus from the 80s, ngl:

and this 7up car (jordan 191?) which with the fujifilm sponsorship is just peak 90s:

11. Do you have a favourite one win wonder?

does charles count as a one win wonder............ fight me in the comments

12. Do you have any favourite quotes from the F1 world? This can either be inspirational or hilarious.

"don't waste it" from seb vettel to charles on seb's last day

[charles-leclerc-official]

I get you about the DTS Singapore episode, but I also want to share some other thoughts: I'm sure to some degree they will bias it towards Carlos doing an 'amazing' job because he ended up winning and for non-f1 fans who don't know the drivers well I guess it works for the drama to show someone winning in between Max's domination.

However, in the last season DTS actually did really well to show behind the scenes bits of RB talking about how Ferrari were fucking over Charles and how Charles should be the priority, and in the Silverstone episode they made a point of showing that Charles got screwed over and Ted saying 'What a day for Ferrari, but they won with the wrong car.'

I think the DTS producers do care about and support Charles. And the producers have said that they look for certain drivers to be the 'face' of the show. Mainly they mean having someone charismatic and funny like Daniel was, for marketing purposes, but of course thinking of the storyline and the drama of the show, it makes more sense to focus more on the drivers who will have a good arc, i.e. might win a championship one day. I definitely think they are following Charles more for that, because they can see he has more 'potential' for interesting content for the show than other drivers.

Like remember Netflix supposedly filming Charles ice climbing last January? We might see that clip in this upcoming season. They definitely seem to care a bit more about Charles. I expect there will be some clips showing the positives to Charles' year.

You are absolutely right. I do agree that if it's a Ferrari based episode then there is a lot more room for nuance(it will still hurt me personally)

Given the fact it's been clear the Ferrari are making Charles the future I'm sure you're right that DTS want to follow him as the main thread for the Ferrari narrative.

However I see so many people misinterpret that race from a Ferrari, RB, Merc and even a Mclaren perspective. There were so many fuck ups, and weird stars aligning. My worry is that any nuance will be sacrificed to make it more dramatic for the newer fans that the show is bringing in. Especially since that was such a big complaint about this last year, that the sport got "boring" (which I completely disagree, if watching Max make F1 history is boring then we are all truly lost as a sport) So I can easily see them make it a mid season episode to give the idea that Red Bull struggled more than they did? I don't trust DTS not to pull something like that.

I would also be okay with an episode focusing on the behind the scenes at Red Bull and more info about why that race was the odd one out, where they struggled etc. Like give me Christian and the team frustrated and Max's feedback about what's off about this race.

But given that the large narrative is going to be Red Bull domination and Max's insane season, I fear they may fall into the trap of overplaying the only non-RB win.

It has the potential to be a great episode because it's actually a VERY interesting race from an analytical standpoint, but I just see people run the wrong direction with it all the time.

I am hoping that we are going to see them laying the groundwork for Charles and building towards the next steps for Ferrari this season.

I will say as much as I am dreading Singapore, I am jumping up and down for Vegas because I know they are going to talk about it and hype Charles up(overtake of the year, and one of the most positively reviewed races as far as fans being excited about the actual racing)

[papayatori]

Stuck WIth Us (p2) SK2 x reader TW: Alcoholism, abuse

The week went by rather quickly, and I still had heard nothing from the team. I groaned loudly as I plopped onto my bed again, the boys had had a game tonight, and Kiyoko asked me to be there, so I went. The two of us had grown rather close, she even introduced me to the ever-so curious team of boys who had continued to endlessly pester her about me until she finally gave up. They were all nice enough, Daichi, who I had learned was the team captain, was probably one of the nicest and simultaneously scariest human I had ever met. The man towered over me, but then again, most of them did, I wasn't very tall anyway. It was incredibly intimidating, and after the game tonight against Nekoma, I was given more reasons to be intimidated. They lost, yes, but they put up a hell of a fight before going down. Apparently, the team hadn't been doing too well until this year, and they were ecstatic about it. Though, even thought the team played well, I still couldn't keep my eyes off of Suga, even if he was on the sidelines for most of the game.

I groaned as I laid there, texting Kiyoko about what I was going to do next. She had heard from some of the girls team that they had been eyeing me closely, watching me at the boys game tonight. Though, that was a bit creepy, I went with it. I was hoping to hear back from them tomorrow, as it was the last school day of the week.

As sleep took over me, I couldn't help but think about tomorrow, if maybe I'd get my chance to play again, and maybe even win some to make my father proud of me, even if he wasn't here anymore.

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"Hey! Aren't you the girl that's been following Kiyoko around during practices?" I heard someone call during lunch hour. I looked up to see Tanaka on the other side of the hall. I nodded slightly, seeing that he was standing with Daichi and Tadashi.

"Yeah, hey guys." I said, a small smile on my face as I walked over to greet them slightly. I had met Daichi before, but the other two I still wasn't completely acquainted with yet, even if Kiyoko had introduced me to the team.

"So, are you like, another team manager or something?" He said, eyeing me excitedly. I snorted.

"Far from it. I just enjoy the sport." I said with a small grin on my face. I saw Daichi rolling his eyes at Tanaka's enthusiasm.

"Oh, so you're on the girls team then?" He asked. I shook my head, a little bit of disappointment showing in my expression.

"I actually haven't heard back from them, which is sort of odd." He nodded in understanding. "I used to play in middle school, but with the move and everything I haven't really had time to pick it back up, but I want to." I smiled.

"What did you play?" Daichi spoke up this time, clearly invested in the conversation. I hadn't noticed before, but Suga had walked up behind him, waving at me as he did so. I waved back with pink cheeks.

"I was our teams Libero, the only one actually." I saw Tanaka get even more excited by this.

"So you're like Noya! That's so cool!" His voice went up a few octaves as he said this, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I wouldn't say I'm anything close to Nishinoya, but yea, like Noya." I grinned.

As the conversation died out and I finally ripped my eyes from Suga, I started walking back to class.

Walking through the hallways, I saw a group of girls staring at me. I didn't think much of it, this was high school after all; and I was a new kid. Though, their whispering is what threw me off as I passed them.

"She's so tiny, she wanted to be on the team?" "Yeah I heard Kiyoko even vouched for her, must be some insane pay off going on between them." "Do you think she owes her a favor?" "I saw her at the boys game last night cheering on the team, I heard that she sits in during their practices with Kiyoko. I'm telling you, she's no good." "Just look at her." "I don't think she'll make it to the team, anyway."

Through gritted teeth, I walked passed them with whatever dignity I had left, immediately texting Kiyoko about what I had heard; and as the day progressed with still no word of my acceptance, I had given up.

I slumped onto the practice bench in the gym, not uttering a word to the team who seemed to be in shambles anyway. The coach was frantic, looking around and asking for Kiyoko, who also wasn't anywhere to be seen. I was overthinking, but had something happened?

Sure enough, I looked up to see Nishinoya on the floor, groaning about his right arm. I tilted my head a little in confusion before worry laced my expression. I stood from the bench, starting to walk quickly over to the group before a strong hand placed itself on my shoulder. With a jump, I turned to look at whoever had done so.

"Have you seen Kiyoko?" I heard coach Ukai say with a worried expression on his face. I shook my head. He let out a loud groan in response. "Dammit, we've got a game next week." I heard him say.

"What happened to Nishinoya?" I asked with a worried expression. He shook his head.

"Jammed his elbow on the floor, we're pretty sure anyway. Knocked it up pretty harshly trying to save the ball. I swear these kids never listen, and because of it, we don't have a Libero." I heard footsteps echoing from behind me. I looked back to see Suga and Daichi sprinting towards Ukai.

"He's hurt pretty bad, coach." I heard Daichi say, his expression also laced with worry, and it matched mine and Suga's effortlessly. I shook my head.

"is he alright?" I asked quietly. Suga smiled down at me, causing my cheeks to turn a little pink regardless of the situation. His smile took my breath away, at least I thought it did, that was before he spoke.

"He'll be fine. It isn't anything we haven't experienced before." He chuckled. "Though, whether we'll be playing in next practice match with Nekoma next week is a pretty touchy subject." He smiled sheepishly. I hadn't heard a word he said, but he said it beautifully. I nodded. Daichi looked down at me, as if processing something.

"Say, didn't you say you were a Libero in middle school?" He asked me, though I wasn't following where he was taking this. I nodded hesitantly.

"What's that got to do with Noya, though?" I asked meekly. He smiled, looking up at Coach Ukai, who also didn't seem to be following.

"Do you think you could fill in?" He asked me, but his eyes were locked onto the coaches. I heard a cough escape his lips, as if he wasn't expecting it, and my eyes widened at the question.

"But, I'm a girl." I said, eyeing Coach Ukai, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Daichi shrugged.

"I've never read anything in the rules that says it's illegal to allow a girl to sub." He said with a smile. I saw Suga smile too, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"I don't think it's a bad idea. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" I snorted as Suga said this, to which he looked at me again with a questioning glance.

"I haven't played since middle school, and even then I wasn't all that great." I mumbled, still a bit shocked by the idea.

"I mean, you have a point, Daichi. It's not like it's against the rules." I heard Ukai say, completely ignoring my statement. Suga's hand tightened on my shoulder.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Suga started, smiling with a soft smile that turned my heart into mush. "...but I think it would be pretty cool to have you on the team, even if it was only for one practice game." A blush crept upon my cheeks at his words as he continued to smile at me.. Daichi and Ukai looked down at me expectingly. I let out a breath.

I hadn't heard from the girls team, and based on the whispering I had heard earlier today, I didn't think there was much of a shot of me getting a spot anyway. With another shaky exhale, I spoke.

"I'll do it." I said, a small smile on my face. I heard Daichi exhale a breath, one that I hadn't realized he was holding in.

"It's settled then. You can start today." He grinned down at me. A shock look rolled onto my face. "I'm sure there are some extra practice uniforms around here somewhere-" He mumbled, looking around and walking off, Ukai trailing close behind him as they continued to chat.

Suga and I were left alone, and because of this, my stomach was in shambles. I guess my feelings were plain on my face, because Suga patted my shoulder in response.

"Don't sweat it, y/n. You're worrying too much. I'm sure with a little practice, you'll be fine." He smiled. "I wouldn't have vouched for you otherwise."

I found myself smiling softly at his words, giving me a small boost of confidence.

"You're a setter, right, Suga?" I asked with my newfound confidence, actually being able to speak to him without my palms sweating or my tongue stumbling over my words. He nodded, a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, how come?" He asked in response. I smiled up at him again.

"Set for me. I need to get back into the grove of things." He grinned excitedly as I said this, and I could've sworn he blushed slightly, but I was only imagining things.

-

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Suga had walked me over to the court, and the news had spread like wildfire. Noya was sitting on the bench I usually sat on, watching me with an excited look on his face. Tanaka and Asahi were next to him, eyeing Suga and I as we stood on the court.

"Alright, I'm just going to throw you some from across the net right now, just worry about receiving them." Suga said, walking to the other side with the ball in hand.

"I'm ready when you are." I grinned, feeling the adrenaline of the court rushing through my veins.

As he slapped the ball across the net, it felt like time had slowed down almost completely. I kept my eyes trained on the multicolored ball, tracking it, and as it came plummeting down towards me, I shoved my arms out, sending it flying into the air with ease.

"Nice receive!" I heard Takana call from the sidelines, he was grinning over at me. "For a girl!"

"Suga, send me up another one, but don't aim it at me this time." I smirked, looking directly at Tanaka. He was dumb enough to smirk back.

"Are you sure?" Suga asked, getting ready to throw the ball. I positioned myself behind the line, standing in mid court.

"I'm certain. I've got to shut baldy over here up." I grinned. Asahi and Noya found this hilarious. Suga nodded, a small smile on his face as he threw the ball into the air, slapping it to the other side.

The ball was sent to the left, and I had kept my eyes on it as I sprinted in that direction. Just before it hit the floor, I lunged for it, knocking my fist out to send it flying upwards again. I watched it fly closer to the net, and this time, instead of just letting it fall and working on my receives, I sprinted over to it again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tanaka's jaw hit the floor, and Noya grinning from ear to ear. I jumped, slapping the ball at full force back over the net, and sending it across it to slap the floor with a loud smack.

"Nice one!" i heard Suga yell, a grin on his face that matched Noya's, who was still clutching his arm. I grinned happily up at Suga across the net, my heart pumping quickly not only from his smile, but from the set we had just played, too.

"How's that for a girl, Tanaka?" I called with a smirk. At about that time, I finally saw Daichi and Kiyoko standing in the corner beside the gym doors, as if they had been there the whole time.

"I'd say that was good enough to play on the guys, team, wouldn't you say, Coach?" I heard Daichi call to Ukai across the gym., who smiled in response.

"I think it's enough to call you our new libero. That is, until Noya is recovered. Even then, i think keeping you on the team would be of use." He smiled.

I could feel my heart racing in my chest, my cheeks burning from the smiling. I hadn't felt this happy in years, this needed in years.

"Yeah!" I yelled loudly, grinning as I pumped my first in the air. I saw Kiyoko laugh out of the corner of my eye. I smiled up at Suga, ready for another serve.

The rest of practice went somewhat like that. The rest of the team showed up eventually, hearing word of Noya's injury and the new girl that was replacing him for the time being, and possibly even remaining on the team for further use. No one seemed to really be bothered by it, much to my liking. Though, my anxiety had started to set in about what I was going to tell my mom.

As the rest of the guys packed up, I paced anxiously outside of the gym. I had 3 missed calls from my mom, and I knew that there was no hope for me once I got home. I fidgeted with my phone, trying to call her back, but honestly, she was probably too drunk to answer now. It had been hours since she had called, and it was pretty late now.

"Everything okay?" I heard Suga call to me as he exited. The rest of the team had pretty much left already, they had stayed behind to help clean up. I looked up at him nervously, but nodded regardless. I put my phone up, shoving it into my back pocket without a second thought. She wouldn't be answering anyway.

"Yeah. I'm alright." I smiled up at him, though, I guess it wasn't convincing. He took another step forward before he spoke again.

"Do you want me to walk you home? It's getting pretty late." He said, looking up at the moon hanging in the sky. I nodded.

"It is, isn't it?" I said, falling into step beside him.

"I'm really happy you decided to join. Honestly, I'm not really sure what we would have done if you hadn't." He said, a small smile on his lips. I smiled back as we walked. I guess he could sense my anxiety better than I had imagined.

"I'm honestly just surprised myself." I said, feeling a little sheepish. "Though, I've been wanting to play for a while. I actually signed up for the girls team, but I haven't heard back, and I don't think I will be hearing anything, either." I chuckled humorlessly, feeling a little disappointed.

"What makes you so sure of that?" He asked, his head tilted slightly in curiosity. I shrugged.

"I heard some of the team talking about it after I talked with you guys during lunch." I said. "They called me small, said that I wouldn't be any use." I mumbled, looking down at the sidewalk as we walked. He hummed in response, his eyebrows creasing slightly.

"Hey, don't let it get to you, y/n." He said, his hand finding its way to my shoulder again. "The way I see it, once word spread around that you're a girl good enough to play on the boys team, they'll want you there in no time." He grinned, a small chuckle escaping his lips before he spoke again. "And then, it'll feel really nice to decline their pleading offers, since you'll be staying with us, right?"

I felt my muscles tensing, my heart palpitating. Had he asked me to stay? Without giving it much thought, I smiled up at him, holding eye contact.

"Yeah, I'll be staying with you." My cheeks turned a little pink as he grinned excitedly down at me. I felt the rush of the wind in my hair, the moon positioned just right above our bodies as if it was a spotlight of some sort, as if it was meant to happen. It traced his features perfectly, making him glow underneath it. I couldn't help but smile softly at the sight.

"Thank you, by the way." He said, still grinning. "We really need you right about now."

I smiled as the silence rung out, leaving our footsteps loud and clear. I turned down the familiar street that I new to be mine as of recent, and he looked down at me with a funny look.

"Is this your street?" He asked, a small smile on his lips. I nodded, not understanding the significance of it.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." I said back, now completely confused as the grin grew on his face. I urged him to explain with the arch of my brow.

"This is my street, too." He grinned. "Hell, wouldn't it be funny if we turned out to be neighbors or something?" I snorted.

"That would be funny, honestly." I said, simply enjoying the moment I was having with him. We both continued to walk, making small talk as we did, though mostly we were both just excited I was on the team. As I rounded that last corner of the street, my anxiety was at its peak. I looked up at him, trying my best to mask it with a small smile like I always did, even if I knew he'd see right through it.

"That one is mine." I pointed to one of the houses, the house that I didn't want to live in, a house that I didn't call home. He gave me an almost bewildered look, and I almost felt my heart stop beating.

"What is it?" I questioned, my gaze more concerned than anything else. He looked back up at the last row of houses and then looked back down at me. He shook his head as a small smile crept onto his face.

"This is really funny." He said to himself, pointing at the house right beside mine. "I live there." I looked up to where he was pointing, and sure enough, I wasn't dreaming it.

"So, we actually *are* neighbors?" I asked, still a little stunned that the guy I had come to like after my first week here.

"I guess I'll be walking you home tomorrow too, then?" He said, an amused smile now on his face. If I wasn't flustered before, I definitely was now. Regardless, I smiled back, utterly giddy that he would even offer to do such a thing for me. It felt nearly impossible that someone cared enough to see me home, and I scolded myself heavily, he was probably just being kind because I was his neighbor.

"I'd like that, yeah." I stated meekly, trying my best to steady my heart rate again. I reached my hand out, clasping his to show my appreciation. "Thank you." I said.

The moon shone perfectly down onto him once more, like the spotlight of the heavens had decided to make my heart beat just a little faster. I felt my legs go a little weak as my face started to heat up, and I swore I could feel the entire world stop turning as we looked at each other, hand in hand. His gray heir fell perfectly onto his face, the moon lighting it in a way that made my heart flutter. I couldn't help it when that familiar smile crossed over my features, a look of longing in my eyes that I wished I could just cover up completely. Suga smiled back down at me.

"No need, I enjoyed our walk; and besides, it gives me a reason to look forward to our practice tomorrow morning, too." His smile grew wider into a grin as he squeezed my hand gently, the hand that still lingered in mine, as if neither of us really wanted to let go. I parted my lips to respond, but before I could, I heard someone say my name.

Every muscle in my body tensed as I met my mother's piercing gaze from the footsteps of our house. The hairs on the back of my neck stood simultaneously. and a look of fear waved across my features. I met Suga's gaze again, who met my own with a look of concern tracing through his. He squeezed my hand again gently. I watched his eyes slid to my mothers, who was glaring daggers at him. I felt a chill roll up my spine.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay?" He said, his grip on my hand gentle yet firm. In a hushed tone, he spoke to me only. "I'll text you in a little bit, your mom doesn't look happy." I grimaced slightly, not wanting him to pick up on that. Reluctantly, I let go of his hand and did my best to give him a smile.

"Thank you." I said, my voice slightly shaky. I turned and walked up the steps to my house, feeling my mother's terrifying presence lingering as I opened the door and walked in. I fought every muscle in my body to keep from turning to look at Suga one last time, and I felt his eyes on me until the door shut behind my mother an I.

The house was a mess, torn the pieces like it always was when I got home. Empty liquor bottles littered the living room floor, as if they were placed there purposefully, oddly enough I had become used to it.

"What were you doing out so late?" I heard her seethe. My muscles tensed again. I knew even if I tried to explain myself, it would be of little use to me or what was probably going to happen regardless. I let out a shaky breath.

"I joined the volleyball team today, we had practice. I've been going to practice all week, actually." She glared at me as I spoke, my expression blank even as the fear was threatening to take over.

"Who was that holding your hand?" She spat back at me, as if she didn't believe what I was saying to be truthful.

"That's our neighbor, he's also on the team and he offered to walk me home-" Before I could even finish, her hand met my cheek with an amount of force that I hadn't even realized was possible. I sank to the floor, holding my face tenderly as it stung. I glared up at her, still in shock that she would do such a thing for such a simple reason.

"Some lie you've thought up, huh?" I came to recognize the slur in her words, the wobble of her legs as she stood in front of me, and then she walked off as if nothing had happened. I watched her stumble up the stairs in anger before I heard her door slam shut behind her.

I sat on the floor, curled into whatever I could manage as the stinging on my face continued. It grew hot, and I knew there would be a bruise there tomorrow. I felt the tears well in my eyes as I stared at the staircase she had just climbed, as if I had dreamed it, and maybe if I stared at it long enough and with enough willpower, my dad would emerge somewhere within the shadows of our broken house and save me the way he used to.

Somewhere deep within me, I found the strength to stand and dust myself off, leaving the memories of whatever 'happy family' we had had before with the dust I dumped onto the floor. Pieces of my heart shattered in that spot as I realized that things would never be the same, and I could never get my mother to stop drinking, to put her life back together. As I walked away, I looked back once to see the tiny shards of my heart lying there with the dust on the floor, and I vowed I would never let myself break like this again, not for as long as I lived.

The steps creaked as I walked up them, my knees wobbly still from the adrenaline. I shut my bedroom door silently, locking it as I did just in case she decided at some point tonight that she hadn't punished me enough in her drunken state. As much as it pained me to admit, this wasn't a first encounter.

My body lazily slumped onto my bed, tears threatening to fall but I held in desperately. This was no time to cry. This was nothing to cry over. I was still alive, yeah?

As I thought this, I knew part of me wasn't. Part of me had died with my dad last year. Not only that, but my family had died that day, too. That had become evident after tonight.

My phone buzzed from my pocket, and I thought about ignoring it, but the words Suga muttered to me before I walked into the house replayed in the back of my mind, and I quickly took it out to unlock it.

Sure enough, he had texted me asking if I was alright. I smiled softly as my heart sped up. Who could find it in themselves to care for me? Why did he, anyway?

I looked out the window, sitting up on my bed after reassuring him that I was alright. Though, I'll admit, it wasn't even convincing to myself. I could see clearly through the window another window. one that I assumed belonged to Suga's house. He was so close, yet he was still worried for me. So close, yet so shut off from reality. A tap on my window made my thoughts shut off completely.

Quickly and with shaky hands, I opened the window, seeing Suga on the other side, his window open now too. The look on his face was a mix of concern and anger, and I was stupid enough not to understand why.

"You're crying." He whispered, his voice steady as always. I reached up to my cheeks, as if not quite believing it myself, and sure enough, he was telling the truth. His hand reached out, lingering on my cheek for a moment before I winced slightly, the stinging in my cheek still evident. He noticed, and pulled his hand away quickly. "What did she do..." He asked, looking slightly more angry now than he was before. I shook my head.

"Nothing happened, Suga.. Don't worry." I said, doing my best to fake a smile, one which he easily saw through.

"She slapped you?" He asked angrily. I averted my gaze, not responding. That told him all he needed to know.

He allowed the silence to remain for a while, but he still gently wiped the tears from my face, even if I was too stubborn to answer.

"Are you okay?" He whispered softly, staring into my gaze as if he was searching for the answer himself. I thought for a moment, was I really okay?

taglist: @gumiiiiezzzz

[female-buckets]

How is it trashing Megan to point out that her early journey in the W was rough? That’s how it goes with bigs, unfortunately. They’re often undersized. And yes she played more when BG was out this year but Phoenix was very bad, and it’s been years since her college hype

Anyone who’s a basketball nerd loves Caitlin because not only is she elite at the game, she also has an elite basketball mind, so the way she talks and sees the fame is very appealing to basketball nerds. So if that’s your strategy, she’s great for that too. Especially since she’ll be in Indiana which is such a basketball state. It’s not like she’s this sparkling personality, people very much like her for her play on the court

I also think Caitlin and the new stars have an advantage over players like CP and DT because the league is growing at the same time they are. The W’s gotten more popularity every year, especially this year with the best teams in big markets, so the fanbase is already growing - and the obsessive Paige/Caitlin/Angel/etc fans can grow with it

I’m not super worried about them having smaller roles on their W teams, because as long as they’re playing, people will be excited. Every Lynx player was a god in Minnesota even if they weren’t all the star. New York fans love Han and Marine and they barely play. Even DT herself said a player like Caitlin is gonna be her team’s point guard playing 40 minutes a game. And in terms of not winning, well, this is where it helps to not be a blue blood. The underdog teams are more familiar with losing, lol

The Iowa fanbase has two pro-level players. But they do not follow Meg's games. Every WNBA player your school produces should get eternal princess treatment. That's the rule. Hawkeye fans should have a whole Meg monologue prepared for whenever anyone says anything slightly critical of her. That's the bare minimum that other schools' fanbases do for their pros. A hoop nerd can make any role player sound like god's gift to basketball. If Iowa fans are real hoop nerds, they should start there.

I'm not doubting that Caitlin will be a WNBA star. I'm just letting you know that 2024 will be the most famous year of her life. The growth of the WNBA parallels WCBB growth. It's two parallel lines like this:

📈

📈

And the WCBB line is above the WNBA line. The WNBA line will never cross or catch up to the WCBB line. Not unless there's a massive shift in American culture.

The big sports media will cover Caitlin's rookie year. They'll have her at the 2024 ESPYs. And then at the end of 2024, the big media train will end. And the train will go back to the station and pick up the next college star and start again. For Caitlin, everything after 2024 is up to her and her agent. If she wants to maintain college fame, only one player has ever done that. BG.

Do you know how famous BG was in high school and college? In high school, she was the first viral amateur basketball star. The video she uploaded of high school dunking highlights was the first amateur basketball video to get 1 million views. And that was only the beginning. She kept growing. Every single thing she did and said between 2008 and 2015 made headlines. She was famous in high school and college. And she stayed exactly as famous through her first three WNBA seasons. Then she grew up a bit and settled down. And then Putin forced her back into the spotlight in 2022. That had to do with a lot of stuff outside her control. But the 2008-2015 fame was in her control.

BG is proof that it is possible to keep America's attention after your rookie WNBA season. Young BG did something no one in women's basketball had tried before. She grabbed American culture by the horns and started wrestling the whole beast. I don't think Caitlin is planning on doing that. But maybe she'll surprise me.

[batsplat]

just so you know bc I don’t think enough people tell you this but every time I check your blog (a bit compulsively at this point? your compilations and opinions are very enlightening on the general psychology of those crazy motherfuckers and also the uhhhhhhhh other part) and see that you answered another ask I honestly break into the hugest grin and settle down at the next given opportunity to read the newest batssay (batsplat essay) like it’s an academic paper (it is to us sports scholars, I believe)… please never feel the need to cut short your thoughts on any subject. the longer the better! connect all the dots, bat! we are listening!!

thank youuuuu this is so sweet, I know this ask is a little older but trust whenever I get something kind in my inbox I very much read and appreciate it and it very much makes my day. and I love the term batssay. a lot

so I thought it'd be fun to do a follow up post to the casey/jorge/valentino one where I just dumped a bunch of photos with a wee bit of context... for the culture, y'know. and I'm doing this with just casey/valentino, mostly for 2007-09 but with one 2005 photo chucked in as. build-up. for flavour

we know from the #archives that the two of them did have like. a reasonably warm dynamic pre-casey's motogp debut. they'd talked... also at least one race where casey shows up to valentino's podium and chats to vale's crew chief and fellow aussie jb... I think about it often. what did it all mean

casey's first win!!! qatar 2007, very first race with ducati. he'd gotten very close to a win before - in his third ever premier class race at turkey, lost at the final chicane. casey's goals going into that first season with ducat had just been winning a few races... he notes that valentino congratulates him warmly, but reckons it's just because valentino didn't take him seriously as a threat, which. I don't think that quite stacks up with supplementary evidence from the time, but we'll allow it

one of my fave photos for a reason, idc it's sweet. I was trying to figure out when this photo was from through like, normal means of reverse image search, but then instead I had a horrifying moment of 'oh yeah I'm pretty sure I remember that specific presser backdrop is at mugello that year' and. I was right. which. god. anyway yeah mugello 2007 pre-event presser. by this point casey was 21 points clear in the championship standings

more mugello 2007!!! look at casey constantly sipping from his lil cup. this will have been after qualifying, where casey snagged pole. I'd forgotten valentino actually makes front row in qualifying because he makes a typically horrendous start. I'd also forgotten that this race is like. proper good. one of the best that year. slows down eventually but the first ten or so laps are some of the most exciting of the entire alien era

catalunya 2007, which unfortunately I also dated solely through the presser backdrop. idk I just like the vibes of this photo. anyway!! this race is ofc the one where casey won an all timer late race duel against valentino (+ dani). it is after this race that valentino said casey was, and I quote "riding like a god". a seminal moment

the championship is already extremely over by the time they get to estoril, but casey still needs to formally wrap it up: this is his first match point race. depicted here is valentino getting one of his few Ws that season. an account of this event: “valentino was playing table football in the yamaha hospitality and somebody spotted casey outside. so they invited him for a challenge. it was all good fun”

motegi 2007. valentino had managed to put off the inevitable the race before and temporarily stopped casey from sealing the title, taking his last win of the season (cool duel with dani in that one). but motegi... well honestly it's just a bit of a flop all round, nobody's bike is working the way they want it to, casey seals the title with his worst result all season of a sixth place (the horror) and in his autobiography he was kinda like 'well I was very happy but also. meh race' (I paraphrase). but really, who cares, he had his title

bit of a time skip!! after both of them have put their sketch early 2008's behind them, the pair of them had a proper fun fight at catalunya for p2. a continuation of the battle the year before with valentino once again coming from lower down the field, this time he gets the better of casey. still, things are finally looking up at ducati... and the post-catalunya test might be enough to put casey right back in title contention. the above photo is from donington, where casey confirms the progress ducati made by winning his first race of the season after the opener in qatar

still donington, both of them watching each other etc etc. valentino is in a much better place than the year before, given both casey's rough start to the season and how they're both now on the same tyres. but it's not a good sign if casey's hitting his stride... at assen, valentino makes his one mistake of the year and crashes on the first lap, remounting to finish eleventh (he still beats casey's teammate melandri). this puts dani in the championship lead - and with casey's second win in a row, he is now very much closing in

look at them chatting here!! cute imo. this is casey's third win in a row, at the rainy sachsenring. dani crashes out from a few miles in the lead - while casey had stayed sensible and brings it home for a pretty straightforward victory. valentino needed to fight his way through from further down the field and in the end he loses too much time to put any serious pressure on casey, but it's still damage limitation and he retakes the championship lead from dani (who will miss the next race due to an injury sustained in the crash). and yet, momentum really is firmly on casey's side now... and the rest of the calendar does looks like pretty casey-friendly territory. next up, they're headed to a race track where casey had won very comfortably the year before. would he seal his fourth consecutive win at laguna?

now with my sincere apologies to casey stoner, every photo that came out of laguna 2008 is objectively pretty funny. I have limited myself to a mere two podium photos, but lbr there's a full collection. casey had already rejected valentino's handshake in parc fermé - which some might have taken as a social cue to give him some space. whereas valentino, local dickhead, just will not stop yapping at casey on the podium. this is quite possibly as genuinely delighted as he gets after a race, and it's simply a beautiful contrast with casey who is not quite rude enough to actually tell valentino to shut the fuck up - but may be fantasising about pushing valentino off the podium. this, to me. is art

gather around body language experts, we need to have a conversation. this is at the pre-event presser of the race immediately after laguna, aka brno. by this point, casey's less than flattering remarks about valentino's riding at laguna had already been distributed near and far... everyone's been talking about them, people have Opinions. the captions for these photos are all something along the lines of 'stoner extends olive branch to rossi to apologise for his post-race comments after losing laguna'. now, I don't know if he literally is apologising in these actual photos - though of course he did publicly walk back his comments, saying all riders can react badly to losses and that he'd overreacted when he'd said he'd lost respect for valentino. he has since walked back his walking back, doubling down on his criticisms of valentino's comportment at laguna

still, for all the talk that the feud properly started after laguna, it's kind of fun to have the presser immediately after it showing... well, it does look like casey is actively engaging valentino in conversation, right? whether he's apologising or not - this isn't just valentino yapping at him, if anything it's the reverse. laguna had been right before the summer break, so casey had been given a month to cool off... and also be viciously criticised by the press. brutal, isn't it? it's not just the loss that sucks, it's also being excoriated by the press and fans for having the audacity to get mad over it. is all of this just him being forced into pretending to play nice to get the press to leave him alone? were there any genuine regrets over his laguna comments? what ARE the vibes between them like at this time? what story do these photos tell us

casey went on to crash out of this race from the lead, the first time he had done so in the premier class and his first dnf with ducati after their one and a half seasons together. when he crashed, he'd had a fairly comfortable lead over valentino - though valentino was steadily closing in, and the commentators were already rubbing their hands in anticipation of another laguna

the next race is at misano - and casey is struggling with an old hand injury, see the bandages in the photo. the previous year had been the first time valentino had gotten the chance to race at this circuit, so close to his home... but he'd suffered a mechanical dnf, not his first or last in a frustrating season. this year, everything is different - and casey once again crashes out of the lead as valentino takes victory in front of his worshipful home fans

another trip to america, this time for indy: their first time racing at the track. after the double whammy of brno and misano, casey's title charge is essentially over... but you never know, right? indy kinda gives off the vibe of being a good casey track

in the end, the race is extremely wet and very, very windy and is eventually red-flagged. because of how many laps they still have to go, it is initially unclear whether they would restart... at which point first valentino (who was leading), then casey (in fourth) go to dorna ceo ezpeleta to tell him they have less than zero interest in going out in that weather again. a beautiful moment of solidarity - long live the power of unionising, capable of overcoming even the bitterest of feuds. blast the internationale over the footage, I've seen enough. the race is called off and valentino wins his fourth consecutive race

by the time they get to phillip island, valentino has already won the title, courtesy of his fifth consecutive win at motegi - the same circuit casey had won the title at the year before and the home race of valentino's old enemies at honda. a couple of nice photos of jorge congratulating his teammate and casey spraying vale with champagne here. casey, known phillip island goat, would of course finally end valentino's win streak at that circuit, which is where the photos are from. idk they're fun to me, like this is still not that long after laguna. I'm aware being able to chat normally with your coworkers and share a smile with them isn't normally that high a bar, but canonically valentino has been known to completely blank some of his rivals. it's not like casey is particularly cold towards valentino either, eh

case in point. this is from sepang 2008. #TheEstablishment does not want you to know casey and valentino canonically still regularly yapped in pressers post laguna. they won't silence me. sepang was valentino's last win of this season, after a good scrap with dani - and the season is rounded off with a casey victory at valencia

jerez 2009, where valentino gets past casey with a block pass at the final corner on his way to victory. unlike in 2005, he actually manages to not barrel into his rival. this is just a fantastic photo... I don't even have much to say about it. a+ vibes

a lot of the photos from this season were already included in the jorge/valentino/casey post, which reflects how casey wasn't consistently a factor in the same way the other two were. this one's from assen, the race right after catalunya when all three of them were tied on 106 points. very good side eye here, excellent job casey. unfortunately, casey is now in mystery illness territory - and he can't really compete with the two frontrunners in this stretch of the season

this is the first race after casey's return to competition - valentino goes up to casey after qualifying at estoril to congratulate him for his front row grid position. casey would win an early race scrap with valentino in the race itself, eventually finishing second behind jorge and swiftly silencing all the people who had declared him mentally weak and done for in his absence. a race that brought back suspense to that year's championship

phillip island 2009, another important moment in the canon where I've limited myself to just the one photo. casey wins just his second race back - and he also hugs vale pretty warmly in parc fermé. jorge was kind enough to crash in the opening lap, meaning valentino can very much be pleased with a second place here

and at sepang, valentino seals the title, while casey wins another race. casey ended up crashing in the warm-up lap of valencia, apparently due to an issue with the tyre warming? just kinda... the general vibe of his 2009, really. valentino closes off the season with another podium at his least favourite track, while dani takes the win

anyway after that they spent three years getting into increasingly. dumb arguments. like. so dumb. by the end of 2012 you feel you're killing your brain cells by even engaging with this stuff. it's beyond undignified. there's zero competitive justification, but they just couldn't shut up about each other. that being said, they're still capable of doing a small talk with each other even during the dark years, so that's something. maybe one day they'll finally be able to get that dinner and talk about all the good times

[cupidbedsy]

𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 ; 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 ୨୧

➪ summary: the boys are always going to be there for their little sister, whether that's after a game, when she has a nightmare, at the end of a bad day, or when she's going through a breakup

➪ warnings: reader has a bad day, breakup

➪ word count: 4.0k

➪ file type: new fic (hinted at being in the baby bear universe)

➪ sunny's notes: i have been slaving away so hard to get this fic down and i'm so happy it finally is! i hope you guys enjoy this and feel free to start sending in asks and things about the baby bear universe!

© cupidbedsy (sunflower-lilac42) ; do not copy, repost, or translate my work and designs on any other website or here

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⟹ game day ; quinn - 13, reader - 7

Y/n had been bouncing off the walls since her parents told her that they were going to Quinn’s game. This happened every time she went to one of their games, it was her favorite thing to do. Not only did she get to watch her brother play, but she also got to watch her favorite sport, a win-win situation if you asked her. Ellen, however, was regretting her decision to tell her daughter. While she knew she would be hyper, she somehow continued to do it despite knowing it. 

Currently, Jim had taken Quinn to the rink while Ellen tried to rangle her daughter. Jack and Luke weren’t being the least bit helpful as they sat in the latter's room playing a random video game. Y/n was running down the hallway in one of Quinn’s other jerseys he had acquired through the year, not making it easy on her mother before they left themselves.

After 10 minutes, her mom was able to get her to calm down and sit at the kitchen table with a plate of apple slices. Y/n ate them quietly as thoughts raced through her head about the game. She was hoping Quinn’s team would win, she was hoping Quinn would score a goal. But no matter the outcome, she was hoping she’d gate postgame hugs from everyone on the team, it was one of her favorite perks of being a younger sister.

When the time game, she skipped happily out to the car, the rest of her family following behind her with less excited expressions on their faces. Jack sat on the other side of his sister as Luke sat in the back making comments about random things (mostly complaining about having to go to Quinn’s game). 

Y/n sang along to the music that the radio was playing, swinging her feet back and forth. And then she decided to annoy Jack and Luke, “Jack! Jack! Jack!”

���Yes, y/n?” Said boy turned towards her with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you excited for the game?”

“Sure.”

She frowned and thought to herself ‘how could he not be excited for the game?’. She quickly decided to end her pestering, knowing it would only end in her upset or Ellen angry at the three of them. She went back to looking out the window and quietly naming things she saw to pass the time in the car.

Once they got to the arena, she held Ellen’s hand as they walked in. They took their seats amongst the other families that were sitting there, most of the moms making conversation with Ellen. Not long after, Jim made his way up to them, sitting at the end next to Luke. 

Y/n thought that it would be a good time for a pregame nap, so she laid her head on Jack’s shoulder and slept until the horn sounded through the arena. She was briefly startled before she became aware of her surroundings and stood up and started cheering for everything and everyone. 

The other four Hughes’ quickly got used to her cheering and just smiled everytime they heard her voice at this point. The other families around them also adored her and her antics, thinking it was sweet that she always came to cheer on her brother and the rest of the team. 

Throughout the game, y/n screamed loudly when Quinn’s team got a goal or their goalie blocked a shot. She only got scolded twice for booing the opposing team, which was much improvement from the last game she was at. Whenever Quinn was on the ice, she would yell his name in hopes that he would hear her. Most of her efforts were in vain until the third period when she had either finally screamed loud enough that Quinn had been actively paying attention to the noise of the crowd. 

His head quickly snapped to where he thought the noise was coming from, scanning the crowd for his hyper little sister who he found jumping and waving her arms. He was able to wave his arms in her direction which unbeknownst to him caused her to smile and look at their mom excitedly, “Mommy! Mommy! Quinny waved at me!”

Ellen looked up from where she was sitting next to her and smiled, “Did he now? That’s amazing, sweetheart.”

She just nodded happily and sat back down, swinging her feet like earlier. The rest of the game went by quickly, y/n slowly growing tired from the amount of cheering and moving she had done. By the end of the game, she had practically fallen asleep against Jack’s shoulder once more. She walked through the crowd of people clinging on to her dad as they made their way to find Quinn.

They stood at the entrance to the tunnel, y/n watching as other players walked out to their families. Despite her shy nature around most people, she had no issues giving or accepting hugs from each player who walked by her. Most of them patted her head while some also thanked her for her cheering.

After what seemed like ages to the little girl, her eyes finally laid upon her older brother, and wasted no time walking over to him. She crashed into him harshly, wrapping her arms around his waist. Quinn wrapped his arms around her, dropping his stuff in order to, “Hey y/n/n.”

“Hi, Quinny.” She mumbled, keeping her head buried in the jacket he was wearing. 

Quinn gave a look to his parents before picking her up and following the rest of his family to their car. Y/n got herself situated immediately; laying her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck, curling into him, and cringing slightly at the way he smelled, “Quinny?”

“Yes, baby bear?”

“You smell.”

He let out a soft chuckle, “I can put you down if you want?”

“No no no, it’s okay.” 

And before Quinn knew it, he heard her soft snores. He placed her down in the car, making his way to the other side of the car to sit next to her. He made sure everyone kept quiet on the way back, not wanting him or his parents to deal with his cranky little sister at this time. 

Jim went to carry her inside when they got home but Quinn shook his head and carried her inside to her room, tucking her in and placing her stuffed animal bear in her arms. He kissed her head and mumbled a quick ‘Love you’ before walking to his room to change and shower. 

ू ₒ ु ୨୧ ू ₒ ु

⟹ nightmare comfort ; jack - 10, reader - 6

It wasn’t often that she would have nightmares, but when they happened, they were awful. It was close to 3 in the morning when she woke up from one, her eyes snapping open in terror and a small whine escaping her. 

She was confused, she didn’t know what to do or what was happening, what was real and what wasn’t. The only thing she did know was that she wanted her older brother. So she climbed out of bed, dragging her teddy bear and small blanket with her as she made her way down the hallway to Jack’s room. 

She knocked hesitantly, knowing he wouldn’t be awake but still wanting to be nice. When she received no answer, she pushed the door open slightly and made her way into the room. She was careful to not get her blanket caught on anything Jack had laying on the ground, picking it up as she walked closer to the bed. 

She whispered his name a few times but she continued to get no response from the boy. She tried again and again but every try went unnoticed. She didn’t really want to disturb his sleep so she quietly went to the other side of his bed, placing both her bear and her blanket on the bed before climbing up and sitting next to him. 

It was only when she finally got comfy that Jack noticed her, turning around in his sleep, mumbling incoherently. He went to shift over but he hit something soft and unfamiliar which caused his eyes to open. His arm had hit her bear and he instantly knew what happened. He murmured her name to see if she was awake and watched as her eyes slowly opened, “Hi Jacky.”

“Hey baby bear, whatcha doin?” He wrapped his comforter around her, allowing her to scoot closer into his arms.

“Nightmare.”

He frowned and finished tucking her into his blanket, “I’m sorry, y/n/n. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Didn’t want to bother you.”

“You would never bother me with something like this, okay?”

She just nodded, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No thank you.”

“Alright, y/n/n.”

The two were silent and then y/n could feel her stomach grumbling, “Jacky?”

“Yes, baby bear?”

“Me Hungry.”

He chuckled softly before nodding, “I’ll go get some goldfish for you okay? You want some water too?”

“Yes please.”

“I’ll be back then.”

She watched him get up and walk out the door. She listened for his footsteps down the stairs and the slight movements from him downstairs. She looked around his room, eyeing all the posters of hockey players and all his medals and trophies. She smiled happily at them and curled further into the bed. 

Jack came back upstairs a few minutes later with two small bowls of goldfish, and two water bottles full of water. He handed one bowl to her and her favorite colored water bottle to her, helping her sit up on the bed. 

He sat down next to her and started eating his goldfish before she interrupted him, “Jacky?”

“Yes?”

“Can we watch Max and Ruby?”

“Sure, y/n/n.” He reached down and grabbed his iPad from under his bed and turned it on to navigate to Max and Ruby.

Y/n laid against her older brother and continued to eat her goldfish and drink her water as they watched one of her favorite shows. Halfway through the episode, she fell asleep leaving her goldfish finished and her water empty. Jack laughed and closed his iPad and got himself and her comfortable again before falling back asleep as well. 

ू ₒ ु ୨୧ ू ₒ ु

⟹ bad day ; luke - 18, reader - 16

Luke had texted her and asked if she was riding home with him after school, but he never got an answer from her. He had texted her during both of their lunch periods, so he knew she was on her phone. It usually wasn’t this late in the day when he would just be finding out how his sister would get home. There were only three options, himself, their mom or dad, or one of her friends. 

By the end of the day, he still hadn’t received an answer from her, so he sat in his car for about 10 minutes after school and that’s when he saw her text that told him he could go. Initially, he hesitated, he knew there was something wrong with her, okay maybe he didn’t know but he could feel that something was wrong. But who was he to not follow what she said? 

An hour after he arrived home he could hear the front door open and a thud before it closed again. He made his way downstairs and saw y/n sitting on one of the stools in the kitchen, looking down at her phone. Her head snapped up the footsteps and she placed her phone down on the counter, watching his movements.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft, especially for the time of day it was. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and took a seat next to her, “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Her response was quick, practiced. 

Luke rolled his eyes, “Uh huh. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!”

“Bull shit.”

She hopped off her seat and went to grab the bag of goldfish from the pantry. She came back and stood against the island, continuing to watch as Luke came up with ideas for why she was acting the way she was.

In return, Luke stared at her and her actions, the quick and fake answers, her comfort food, all tell tale signs that was not okay. While his mind couldn’t come up with any good ideas on what might’ve happened to make her upset, he still wanted to make her happy. 

So doing what any of them would do, he dragged her over to the couch, handed her the remote and let her choose what she wanted to watch. At first, he thought she would’ve picked Tangled, one of her all time favorite movies, but was pleasantly surprised when she turned on Beauty and the Beast and settled into the couch.

He made his way back to the doorway, grabbing her backpack to bring it up to her room. When he came back down he threw her blanket at her before walking into the kitchen to make hot chocolate. He knew how to cheer her up, he had grown used to all of the things that made her happy. Hot chocolate, goldfish, her blanket, a Disney movie. It was unusual to see the bear out as she grew older, but it still sat in the middle of her bed. 

He came back with her favorite mug and handed it to her, acknowledging her soft ‘thank you’. He watched the movie with her, drinking his own hot chocolate and sometimes stealing some of her goldfish. That usually ended with a slap to the hand but also with a few crackers, he would always claim that it was worth it. 

When the movie ended, he saw y/n’s side eye in his direction. He raised his eyebrow and looked over at her, “What?”

“Are you going to make me talk about it?”

“No… but I am going to make you tell me if someone did something.”

She shook her head, “Just a crappy day.”

Luke could get on board with that, simply nudging her side and nodding his head in the direction of the remote, “Pick another.”

“You don’t have to stay here, I can just go watch movies in my room.”

“Nonsense, I would never leave you on a bad day to watch movies by yourself. I got all night. Go on.”

She smiled at him before scrolling to find another movie. She looked down at her mug once it started and frowned, “Lukey?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you make me more hot chocolate?”

He stared at her with a blank face before holding his hand out, “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time, baby bear.” He teased as he ruffled her hair.

“Dick.”

ू ₒ ु ୨୧ ू ₒ ु

⟹ breakup ; quinn - 23, jack - 21, luke - 19, reader - 17

She hadn’t been expecting it, or maybe she had and just didn’t want to acknowledge reality. She had thought they had been okay, everything was going well and then just out of nowhere, he sent a text. A text that no girl ever wanted to receive, “I want to break up.”

She knew there wasn’t anything she had done to make him feel differently about her, at least that’s what the logical part of her brain said. Yet, she couldn’t help but think deep in her mind that she had done something to change his mind, to make him stop loving her. 

The text was sent at 8:23 p.m., the first thing she saw when she finished her homework. It happened quickly, probably, maybe, she didn’t know if she was totally honest. She remembered her phone dropping, the instant tears that came to her eyes, the whirlwind of emotions she felt. She didn’t remember curling up in her bed, holding her bear to her chest, head digging into the pillow. 

That was how Luke found her. At first he had thought she had watched a sad movie or a sad tiktok but then he saw the bear. The bear she only brought out when she was extremely upset or one of the boys placed it in her arms. He knew something had to be seriously wrong for it to make an appearance. 

He slowly padded over to the side of her bed, squatting down so his face was mostly level with her own, “Y/n/n?”

Her eyes fluttered open at Luke’s soft voice, tears immediately visible in them. Luke winced and frowned at the sight, cringing at the whimper she let out, “Luke.”

He wasted no time standing up and sitting next to her on the bed. At first she didn’t make any signs of moving closer to him, nervous that he would tease her for crying. But then he lifted his one arm and placed it amongst her pillows and she scooted towards him, crying into his sweatshirt. 

For a few moments, he didn’t do anything, just sat there silently as she cried. Then he moved his arm to wrap around her and pulled her closer into his side, kissing the top of her head. Y/n still kept her bear close to her chest even as she laid in her brother’s grip, not wanting to let go even for a minute. Luke thought about calling Jack and Quinn, but at the same time he wasn’t sure if she wanted them to see her like this. 

So, he waited a while, mostly until she calmed down. And that’s when he asked, “Do you want me to call Quinn and Jack?”

Confusion flashed across his face when she nodded her head, but it was gone as quickly as it came. He nodded with a murmur, “I’ll be right back okay?”

He gave her another kiss on her head before untangling himself and walking out of the room. Y/n could only hear his muffled voice from where she laid, millions of thoughts running through her head. Most of them were about Daniel and why he broke up with her, but some about the conversation that was happening outside her door creeped in.

Meanwhile, Luke was struggling to get a hold of either of his two older brothers. Both of them had been out with some of their friends, Luke wanting to stay home and be lazy all day. He had originally just gone into Y/n’s room to see if she wanted to order some food with him and that’s when this happened.

Finally, Luke had gotten a hold of Quinn who answered with a heavy sigh, “Yes Luke?”

He only rolled his eyes, “We have a problem.”

“We as in the three of us or we as in you and y/n/n?”

“Technically both?”

That’s what gained Quinn’s alertness. He instantly shushed the group of guys he was around, sticking one finger in his ear to block out the rest of the noise that came from the bar. Most of them looked at him quizzically while the rest  looked at him with annoyance, “What is it?”

“I don’t know. I walked into y/n’s room and she was just crying, wouldn’t say anything. When she finally calmed down I asked her if she wanted me to call you guys and she said yes, so I called.”

“And when you mean crying…?”

“The bear was in fact there.”

“Alright we’re on our way.”

“Get food and ice cream. She hasn’t been out of her room since she’s been home.”

“Okay.” And then the line went quiet.

At the bar, Quinn grabbed his jacket and eyed Jack, “Let’s go.”

“What? What’s going on?” Despite his questions, Jack followed him, grabbing his own jacket. 

“Y/n.”

And that was all Jack needed to hear to understand the urgency of the situation. 

ﾟ +*:୨୧:*﹤

Luke made his way back to the bedroom, shoving his phone back in his pocket, “They’re on their way, baby bear.”

She nodded, sitting up in the slightest. Her back now rested against the headboard, her knees curled up into her chest. He sat next to her and she laid her head on his shoulder, playing with the fur from her stuffed animal. 

It was quiet for a while, neither of them knowing what to say. Yet, the curiosity ate away at Luke’s brain so it wasn’t too long before he asked, “You wanna tell me what happened?”

She briefly looked up, not at him just forward, before shaking her head and looking back down. He frowned again, “Are you going to wait until they get home?”

This time she nodded and he let out a soft sigh of relief. He wasn’t oblivious to her tendencies to keep her emotions bottled up, most of the time they had to be relentlessly annoying to even get her to tell them how she was feeling. So the fact that she said she would tell them lifted a weight off his shoulders. 

The minutes from when Luke’s last words were spoken to when Jack and Quinn arrived home passed both silently and quickly. The two walked into her room, bags of food from her favorite restaurant in hand and another bag of random treats and desserts in the other. They smiled at her and took their seats on her bed, Quinn on her right side and Jack in front of Luke on her left. 

She eyed them as they started to take things out left and right, handing everyone their own food. Quinn took the initiative to turn the TV on and open the Disney+ App, finding Tangled and hitting play. Her eyes watered at their actions, unable to keep the tears in ultimately.

The three froze and exchanged glances with one another before looking at her. Their faces softened and Quinn pulled her into a side hug, allowing her tears to soak the fabric on his shoulder. Jack paused the movie and Luke finished handing out the food. 

Once she calmed down again, she murmured a ‘thank you’ before reaching for her food.

“Ah ah ah, food after you tell us what’s wrong,” Jack spoke, tugging her food out of her hands. 

She pouted at him and played with her fingers before speaking, “He broke up with me.”

“Daniel?” “He what?” “Fucking hell.”

Their reactions startled her, but she still reached for her food, “I did my part.”

Jack only nodded and gave it over to her, all of them watching as she opened it slowly and started eating. The boys flanked at each other again but then decided to finally leave it alone and settle back into her bed, watching the movie play.

As the movie went on, everyone finished their food, Jack and Luke both getting up to go throw the trash away. Quinn and y/n continued to watch as Flynn died and Mother Gothel fell out of the window. As Flynn and Rapunzle exchanged what they both thought would be their last word’s to each other, y/n leaned further into Quinn and looked up at him, “Quinny?”

He looked down at her with a soft smile, “Yeah, baby bear?”

“Will I ever find my Flynn Rider?”

It seemed like a stupid question to ask, sure. But she was 17 and going through her first heartbreak (real heartbreak). All she wanted as her own prince to make her feel wanted and loved, was that too much to ask anymore?

Quinn felt his heart break at the question. He knew it was inevitable that she would experience something like this, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to protect her from it happening. He just held her tighter and kissed her head, “You will, y/n/n. You will.”

𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 ୨୧

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[basileus]

Caity's 2023 Most Enjoyed List

This isn't a real reclist, but a list for me to squirrel away all the things I enjoyed this year before it's over. It's a little all over the place but this was a mess of a year so I suppose my most enjoyed list can be a mess as well. See you later 2023, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Media:

1 - "Lena" by qntm. This is a very short story in the format of a Wikipedia article that gives me so many delightful shivery feelings about consciousness and trans-humanism and who owns the rights to machine learning/AI datasets. Very topical this year.

2 - Dungeon Meshi finished its publication and the final chapter made me cry real tears. I've been following the series for 8+ years and it is everything good with comics - art, world building, the engagement and subversion of fantasy tropes, relationships, story, recipes, the casual cannibalism, the ending. All perfect. Ryoko Kui is a genius. I am very excited for the anime airing next week.

"I think the entire point of this journey we went on was about learning how to accept death."

"Meals are the special privilege of the living. In order to stay alive, we need to keep eating."

3 - I read a lot of questionable cnovels this year but I really enjoyed two. The first was The Villainous Shizun Is As Beautiful As A Flower which is a shorter BL Shizun fucker cultivation romance. The arc after the MC finds his father goes on for a little too long (and the timeskip is awkward) but the MC is engaging enough that I didn't mind. This was a very fun quick read that I want to talk more about.

The second was For Love of the Game which is an e-sports danmei where an former actor falls in love with the captain of his fake League of Legends team (lmao). Look. Okay. I was on a kick and actually read FOUR e-sports BL novels this year and this was the one I enjoyed the most. I loved that the MC and ML had an established relationship before ever meeting face to face. Some of the reviews are salty about the ML's sneaky plotting side but both I and the MC were into it! The MC was even into the terrible secondhand embarrassing singing confession scene. But beyond the main couple, I LOVED the side paring of their "old" player and the captain on the rival team. I even got into the stupid video game strategy stuff. I had a great time.

I also re-read Who Dares Slander My Senior Brother and Where is Our Agreement to be Each Other’s Arch-Rivals? now that the translations are finished and enjoyed both of them again free from the tortures of machine translated cultivation terms. I still think both suffer from 3rd act issues. But damn did I like both ships.

(As a note - this is a list of likes but my highest high to highest disappointment cnovel was Cannon Fodder Fake Master Was Stunned After Being Reborn which I'm not even going to link because I'm still mad about it. The idol arc and the triple baby swap reveal made me so crazy invested I was literally telling my sisters the entire plot scene by scene as I read. But the last couple arcs ruined the romance/plot. I HATED the ML by the end. What haaaaappened.)

4 - I remained pretty into the SCP Foundation this year, but instead of the wiki itself, I spent a lot of time listening to the SCP Archives podcast and The Exploring Series podcast episodes. I really enjoyed the radio play aspect of the SPCA but I also enjoy how the Exploring series is just listening to some dude give you lore dumps. Its the ideal painting, journaling, chore, driving, etc. podcast for me. Check out Exploring the SCP Foundation: The ABCs of Death (Compilation) for TWELVE HOURS of great SCPs. Crazy stuff.

5 - Fire Emblem Engage and Fire Emblem Heroes. Not a ton to say on these but I enjoyed them! Ike/Soren continues to cook in FEH and I finished up merging/ascending my Eirika collection because she is the prettiest princess in the entire world.

6 - Among Us. I played..... a lot of Among Us this year with both my discord friends and new friends. Moving on.

7 - Silo on Apple TV. I'm a little burnt out on apocalypse media right now but I started watching Silo when I was also reading Red Rising and it got my brain working on all of these humanity is most human in the soil! the unfeeling earth feeds us! kinda thoughts. Rebecca Ferguson is the prettiest woman in the entire world.

8 - Speaking of digging, @Kala on Tiktok who is tunneling a "suburban mine" under her house, presumably in an HOA community the eastern United States. Kala is actually in the process of being cancelled right now and people are making very boring "I told you so" videos because someone finally snitched on her to authorities for not having a permit to dig, install electrical work, weld, reinforce, "mine", etc. under her property. Obviously this is bad! This is not how people engaging in the social contract/not experiencing some sort of mental illness do things! But I work in Construction/Engineering and am still fully obsessed with her. Hobby tunneling is so fascinating and here is someone who is documenting it for the internet. Let her dig!

Non-Media Related Likes:

1 - Volunteering once a month at my local hospital. I LOVED THIS. I got to hang out with friends and gossip for a couple hours every month, cook new giant recipes for families going through a hard time, and give back. Definitely going to continue this next year.

2 - Summer floating after work in my special "secret" river spot with a big floppy sunhat, a couple ciders, and someone to chat and watch the local birds (herons, turkey vultures, albatross, blackbirds) with. I brought 3 separate dates floating this year and it was the best idea. Will be happening again.

3 - Espresso martinis. I was actually sober for most of this year because I discovered I just like a fancy drink/excuse to go out and don't actually need the alcohol (and it's cheaper). But espresso martinis from this one tiny wood paneled bar in North Portland decorated like a hunting lodge where they make them extra frosted and sweet? Obsessed.

4 - Live music. Nothing as crazy as last year's 23 shows & 2 festivals (thank god) but shouting along to 'Batman' live at the perfect Front Bottoms show in late summer. The Michigander concert that I didn't even want to go to that felt like a house show. The Beaches on Christmas. Tons of local shows at Turn Turn (rip). So fun.

5 - Parasailing. I had never parasailed before my trip to Mexico this year. Who was gonna tell me it fucks! I want to go again right now.

6 - The weird local actor/play scene in Portland. I'm talking about a Cthulhu puppet show, publicly submitted one acts, a live acted Harry Potter rewrite where people shout along to Oppenheimer quotes, a horror fest in a theater so small they make you leave between acts and everyone in the lobby is talking about clown classes, and a one-man gay musical about ghosts. Where else except local theater will you spend $10 and a few hours watching someone pretend sprinkle themselves with seasonings and shove themselves in a large pot. This is the arts, babe. I am only going to attend more of these shows in 2024.

[fifteensjukebox]

Hey hello how about 01, 12, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and 55 for the HORRIBLE ask game. This year.

hiiiiiii anon! i haven't gotten an anon in ages this is so exciting <3

also sorry i'm answering so late i explain it in the middle but i had a family outing and i thought mobile would let me edit

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? i do! my mom's my best friend in a way i'm sure is annoying to people who don't, and my dad is annoying but he is the best dad i know

03: Do you regret anything? biiiiiig question. i try not to. i try to tell myself i needed to do things to learn or whatever but i'm always wondering how else things could've gone and second guessing things as i do them

05: What is your relationship status? very much single. if you want to hear about my latest crushes you'll find it in my "vie" and "lore" tags but i'm sure they're not going anywhere so shoot your shot!

08: Played any sports? my dad coached a soccer team i was on when i was 4 but i was more interested in the dandelions on the field… outside of required gym class stuff (which i did not enjoy) i've enjoyed tennis and beach volleyball with my family (18 y/o brother included)

12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? i think my record is 36, the last day/night/flight home from seeing my now-ex tumblr gf

well. if anything (back to earlier qs i could say i regret the whole met-online-ldr thing but it was good when it happened and im seeing it work out so well for friends so it could've been worthwhile in the long run!

13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? irl i don't entirely hate anyone but i have some strong mixed near-hate feelings about the exes (and one not-yet-ex? i think? they're on the way out) of people i care about, and a certain ex friend of mine (if she makes the next move in reaching out i might be able to find it in myself to forgive but at this point it won't be as easy as it could've been)

21: What are your plans for this weekend? tbd but probably festive family things? extended family christmas dinner is on monday and we'll do our gift exchange that morning (speaking of which i need to get ready rn to leave for our family brunch followed by mall trip to shop for secret santa - my parents+18 y/o brother+i do a mini secret santa - well mini in that there are only 4 names but we have a generous budget bc it's usually our main/only source of gifts amongst ourselves. i got my mom again this year and she made it a little too easy by requesting a specific pair of raybans that make up most of the budget, but i'll get creative with the rest) we're also going to the distillery district for the vibes on thursday and my dad's taking these 2 days off work so collectively it all feels like weekend plans. maybe i'll go skating on the actual weekend! i haven't done it yet this season and i miss it

update here is that i didn't find anything for mom except the raybans so i may be going out alone to shop more on fri/weekend

34: Who/what was your last dream about? damn. the one time i don't write it down. oh! ok the last one i remember was one where a version of my ex bestie and i got back together so to speak but she was being overtly manipulative and i had to decide if i was ok with that? which. thanks subconscious! way to mix her with the bitch i had a crush on in middle school! real ex-bestie would never do that but i think it's created some irrational fear where before i just had sadness that i was mostly over (to briefly recap the situation there, she's depression-ghosted and blocked me before and she did it again earlier this year but it hurt more bc we'd been closer leading up to it than we had before the first time)

55: Are you mean? i think i can be really petty but people take it hard because they think of me as being so nice, so i know of some people who'd say i'm mean

thanks again for asking anon! i hope you're having a wonderful holiday season <3

[wtflife01]

Ok so I translated Kelly's interview that was just posted here. It took me way too long to be honest, but please excuse any grammar errors, I've worked more than 9 hours today and I'm tired lol. Please read because this whole interview is so contradicting with all of her actions of the past year or so.

-

Kelly Piquet is known to be Max Verstappen's girlfriend, but mostly she is a mother and model. Her Dutch roots appear in her down-to-earthness: 'For me, being in balance is the key to everything.'

Recently Kelly Piquet signed a modelcontract with Micha Models/Talent Motherhood, a renowned bureau which also represents succesful models like Maartje Verhoeven and Bregje Heinen.

Kelly says writing down her signature was 'a proud moment'.

'During the first conversation with Micha Models, I knew I was in a good place, I agreed with their vision. Micha sees someones potential better than anyone else.' This is why signing the contract was a big deal for Kelly. 'It's the start of getting to know each other and discovering ways that please both parties. We call this learning to dance together, and I can't wait to see what's next.'

I definitly prefer to be in the background - Kelly Piquet

Eventhough Kelly has Dutch roots, English is her main language. Half her family lives in The Netherlands and she used to spent a lot of time there. 'I have fantastic memories of The Netherlands and I'm always super excited to go back. To be honest, I don't speak the language very well, but I'm able to follow a conversation and of course I know all the naughty words, haha!'

Kelly's interest in modelling was - Kelly's father is Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet  - sparked because of her mother, Sylvia Tamsma, who was a succesful model in the 80's.

'As a child I was very impressed by my mothers fotoshoots in magazines. Every time she showed me a picture, I would think: that is so cool, I hope to get the same chance one day.'

Kelly Piquet graduated from New York Marymount Manhatten College in 2011, she holds a bachelor in International Relations & Affairs. She lives in Monaco, together with Max Verstappen and her daughter from a past relationship, where she works as a health & wellness coach. Having an own career, interests and passions are very important to her: 'that defines you as a person. I constantly try to grow and I'm always up to learning new things. Curiousity is what keeps life interesting.' Her priority lies with taking care of her daughter. 'You always have to think about, and work on yourself to be happy. Only then can I show happiness to my daughter en give that to her. Supporting Max and working on my own projects gives me extra power.'

One of Kelly's passions is sports. And yes, she says, she usually works out together with Max and his trainer. 'I enjoy working out and staying fit. I don't have a perticular goal I want to achieve, except being healthy.' Obviously she sometimes needs to put herself in the mood to work out. She has a piece of advice you should never forget: 'Always push trough. You will feel amazing after. This is import to me, besides the fact that working out helpes me clear my head.'

Kelly is relaxed about her appearance. She is at her most beautiful when she's natural, she barely had any make-up on for the MIRROR MIRROR shoot. 'For me being in balance is the key to everything. Altough I enjoy styling myself and doing my hair and make-up myself, I also have no issues with going out without wearing make-up in a simple t-shirt and jeans. I feel pretty then aswell. Your personality and charisma are what make you beautiful. Then, you're able to rock whatever you're wearing.'

Standing out to be standing out, like by being Max Verstappen's girlfriend, is not in her nature. When Max gloriously won in Zandvoort and received a trophy afterwards, Kelly watched the cermony from a modest distance. Altough the camera was able to zoom in on her, she prefers to be in the background. 'I'm an introvert-extrovert person, you know. I love meeting knew people and I would describe myself as confident. But sometimes certain events can be overwhelming and I definitely prefer to stay back, especially when it's not about me.'

Being a person of interest and being well-known for social media brings responsibility, says Kelly. 'Every day you find yourself in a position to inspire people. But people don't see what happens behind the scenes, what can lead to misunderstandings, which is upsetting.'

The shoot with Kelly took place in the South of France, at a waterfall surrounded by rocks and crystal clear water. 'A magical location', says Kelly. 'It's very adventurous to get there. My team and I had to walk a difficult route to get there. I instantly fell in love with the place. Because of this location I immediately was in a good vibe as a model, I felt powerful and feminine. The place is so special that I shared a sneak peak trough Instagram with friends and followers (1 million followers). Loads of them told me that they wanted to go there themselves. I find it fantastic to share such moments.'

Kelly emphasizes that doing model-work is an important step in her career. 'To take things to the next level, you need a team that not only believes in you, but also takes care of every aspect of your work and image.' She says about the role of Micha Models. 'You need someone who can guide you trough this industry. Micha Models has an incredible track record of that.'

As thank you 🙏🏻

[mesozoic-system]

Bakugou Katsuki is not as bad as he seems.

Okay, fine. That's a lie. Bakugou is a loud and obnoxious asshole with little to no character development and will snap at anyone who breathes on him the wrong way.

Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to why he's like that.

You all know what PTSD is, yeah? If not, it stands for "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder". It's something that causes panic attacks, unnecessary aggression, trust issues, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and more. People will develop it after a traumatic experience. It takes years of therapy to recover... actually, most people never recover from it.

Fun fact: Katsuki canonically has PTSD. It's confirmed, and you know what? After everything he's been through, it's not much of a surprise. He's been through one tragedy after another and never seems to get a break.

When we first met Bakugou Mitsuki (Katsuki's mother) in chapter #96, we instantly realized how aggressive she was. I mean come on! She talked smack right in front of him and his teachers- in front of All Might who she knew her son was very fond of. Katsuki may be irritable, but to have your own mother backhand you in front of your own role model is a little much.

Later on in chapter #165 during the Provisual License Exams, we get a little more information that only points towards more abuse- and this time it's not so verbal.

Most people paid no real attention nor gave it a second thought in these panels, but remember when Katsuki suggested to use violence against the kids? Of course, you'd look at it and wave it off as "normal Bakugou behavior", but what he says next took me by surprise:

That's right. He was raised that way.

Which means either Mitsuki or Masaru (or both) had struck him in some way multiple times as he was growing up, and I doubt it was Masaru.

"Spoiled" my ass. He might have a strong quirk, but people don't turn into little monsters just by being praised. It'll definely boost his confidence, but not dramatically. This could also explain his aggression toward Midoriya. He realized how helpless he was and had power over someone else for once. But that's just a theory.

Okay, let's fast forward a bit. He's finishing up his third year of Middle School and is preparing for the UA entrance exams. He's pushed away his childhood friend to follow his own dreams and tells him to jump off the roof.

Literally.

And then he walks out the door only to regret it much, much, muuuch later in the series- y'know. The "character development" I was talking about.

Next time we see him though, he gets what he deserves.

One panel he's tramping through an alley with his friends, and the next, he's being swallowed alive by the most perverted-looking slime monster I've ever laid my eyes on.

While Izuku's dreams are being crushed by his own hero, Katsuki is fighting for his life in the middle of town. He's struggling, but all he could do was look back at all the dozens of fearful eyes...

Right there. Right now. Look at him:

He's terrified. He's humiliated and afraid and hurt and despite all of the heroes that were there, none of them had even attempted to save him.

And this is where it really starts. This is where it all begins. Next thing we know, Izuku's running straight for him... The boy Katsuki's bullied almost all of his life is risking his own in order to save him.

You know the story from there; All Might trains Izuku to withhold his power, they get accepted into UA, and then comes the Sports Festival.

Katsuki's already made up his mind: he's gonna win. He's willing to give everything he has to show the country what he's made of, and this may be his only chance to make up for the mishap several months ago. And Monoma, being a professional at making things worse by opening his mouth, rubs salt in the wound.

It was pretty easy to predict Katsuki's reaction: pissed off and more than ready to prove him wrong. He does, but it cost him his "first place" during the Calvary Battle. But that's okay 'cuz it's not over yet!

Welcome to the next and last stage of the festival: The Battle Tournament, where all the kids get to beat the shit out of each other until only one remains.

Turns out, Katsuki does win. It was a foolproof plan: get Todoroki to go all out on him so he can make a final impression before the end of the day. But it was obvious that Shouto was still unsure of himself, so Katsuki did what he did best:

He had to piss him off.

But instead of getting angry and bursting into flames like he had planned, Shouto threw away the battle at the last second, and everything Katsuki had worked for with it.

No shit he's gonna be upset! He worked his ass off to get where he was, and the whole point was to leave himself a footprint! His entire life had been dedicated to that moment, and it faded away right in front of him.

Midnight put him to sleep and he woke up and threw a temper tantrum.

Now this is was UA did wrong:

Why would you do that?! They were all aware of what happened to him only a few months ago, he obviously hasn't properly recovered from it, and they restrain him in front of thousands of people. They cover his mouth and gag him, lock his hands in a tiny metal box and expect him not to go insane. Helloooo?! Wake up! He's just a kid!

Several months go by and now it's time for camp. Katsuki is tired. They all are. It's been a long day of training and training and training, and suddenly villains come out of nowhere, and nobody is prepared. And who shows up? The League of Villains, and they're after certain students...

Tokoyami escapes safely, but Katsuki isn't so lucky.

Just think about that for a second. When we see Shigaraki holding a picture of him, it's the one where UA tied him up. He knows what this child has gone through and he pities him. To be honest, I think the LoV treated him much better than anyone ever has (except maybe Kirishima). They're hesitant, but they treat him with kindness. They didn't just want him for his quirk. They saw what the heroes did to him and wanted to help him get the revenge he deserved.

But when All Might showed up (more like "burst through the wall like the Cool Aid man"), Katsuki is instantly teleported in the strangest way possible... and the most traumatizing.

He chokes out this weird slime-like substance that devours him within seconds. Thankfully it only last that long, but then again, the Sludge Incident, remember?

Yeah, bet that brings back some memories.

But what must have hurt him the most was All Might's downfall and early retirement. He said it himself:

After several chapters, he finally burst. He's been holding all the pain inside of him until it bubbled over and he couldn't take it anymore. So he went to the only person he could- the person he hated and yet trusted the most.

Maybe the Class 1A concert helped him in a way. It seemed like it brought him down and maybe even relaxed him a little. And something incredible happens. Something we haven't seen from him at all until now...

(From here, I'll try to keep it short to avoid as many manga spoilers as I can. That and I'm tired...)

He began to change; started to support Izuku... in his own twisted way, of course. As chapters went by, he started to open up little by little. He admitted what he had done to Izuku in middle school to All Might, which had brought him some peace of mind. It wasn't quite the apology we had hoped for, but I guess it'll do.

And during the war, he made the greatest sacrifice, finally unlocking his quirk's full potential. Despite being unable to move, he used his quirk to throw himself in front of Izuku without thinking, taking a blow to his stomach. To his stomach.

He was impaled.

Holy shit.

Last time someone had been impaled was Nighteye, and he died from his wounds.

But Katsuki somehow managed to survive... And woke up ready to beat Izuku's ass if he didn't wake up.

Anyway, that's all I have to say (so far). However, I'm excited for Season 5 of the anime series! Can't wait to see our new story animated! I mean, I've been watching the episodes as they come out, but still.

-Blightcon

[t-lostinworlds]

Request for Peter Parker and y/n: y/n arrives at the Parker apartment for a long awaited study session with her crush Peter when a stressed Peter with a crying toddler on his hip answers the door. Turns out, he agreed last minute to watch the kid of one of May’s coworkers so May and her coworkers could go out for the night and he forgot to text y/n about the change in plans. Seeing Peter struggling, y/n decides to stay and help Peter babysit 😄

a/n: eep, four days late i’m sorry but i hope you like this lovely! it’s just all fluff and cuteness ahaha <3

-:-:-:-:-

You let out a nervous breath as you stood right at the front door of Peter Parker's apartment, the same boy who you've had a crush on for who knows how long. The hallway was faintly silent aside from the muffled cry of a child, to which you assumed was coming from right next door.

"Just a second!"

You hear a voice call out inside the apartment the moment you knocked. Your brows furrowed when the crying started to grow louder, your eyes widening in shock the moment the door finally opened up.

"Oh, uh…hi?" you greeted shyly as you stared at Peter, face all flushed, hair a disheveled mess but what confused you the most was the toddler he carried on his hip.

"Oh shi—"

"You forgot," you butted in with a small smile, not giving him any chance to curse in front of the still crying child.

Peter's eyes widened as he frantically shook his head. "No! No, I didn't forget we had a study session today because I've been really looking forward to it. But May asked if I could watch her friend's baby so they could go out—which was so last minute by the way—and I couldn't say no but it slipped pass my mind to send you a text to maybe reschedule but now here you are and—"

"Peter, it's fine," you giggled, cutting him off from his long tangent.

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You have a valid reason so," you trailed off, Peter letting out a groan of defeat when the young one let out another loud cry. You tilted your head at the frustrated baby before you turned to Peter who sported nothing but stress on his features. "Can I come in? I mean, if you want, I can help because you look like you need a bit of help—but only if you don't mind."

"No, not at all," Peter rushed, shooting you a grateful smile—because he's going to take all the help he can get and well, any excuse to spend some time with you—as he moved out of the way, closing the door behind you once you got inside. "Y/N, meet two-year-old Ethan, Ethan meet Y/N," he introduced.

"Can I hold him?" you asked when you noticed how Ethan was still crying in his arms.

Peter nodded with a hum, gently handing the child to your spread out arms. "Yeah, of course, but he's a bit fussy. He's not used to being away from his mom yet—" Peter stopped himself when Ethan quieted down the moment he got into your arms, the little one's head tilting to the side to stare at your face briefly before he leaned forward to lay his head on your chest with a soft coo, his tiny thumb finding its way into his mouth. Peter narrowed his eyes at the baby suspiciously before his eyes landed back on you. "Okay, how'd you do that? I've been trying to get him to calm down for over an hour now."

"I don't know," you giggled, walking over to sit down on the couch with Ethan on your lap, now completely silent as he snuggled into your arms. Peter followed your movement, sitting right beside you with a bright grin, a certain glimmer in his eyes as he gawked at you. Feeling his burning gaze, you turned to look at him with a shy smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?" you asked.

"Nothing," Peter chuckled shyly, looking away from your beautiful face as his eyes landed back on the boy in your arms. "I think he likes you."

"Well, I like him too," you said with a wide smile, looking down at the sweet boy who was staring up at you, your heart melting at the seams as he lifted his tiny hands to reach out for your cheek.

"Do you like me too?" Peter whispered, your head snapping in his direction to look at him wide-eyed, the brunette boy just now realizing that his words didn't remain inside his head. "Oh no did I say that out loud? Oh gosh forget I said anything I'm—"

You cut him off as you leaned over to place a sweet peck right on the corner of his lips, pulling away just slightly to flash him a smile. "I do. I really like you too Peter," you hummed.

Peter's face turned into different shades of red at your words, a sheepish grin growing on his lips as he leaned even closer until your faces we're only centimeters apart, the tip of his nose brushing against yours. "Good, 'cause I've liked you for who knows how long," he whispered, his breath hot against your lips.

You giggled with a nod, closing the distance between you two as you pressed your lips against his. A satisfied sigh came out of Peter as he lifted a hand up to cup your cheek, attempting to pull you even closer, to deepen the kiss. That until Ethan let out a huff and proceeded to cry once again.

You swiftly pulled away to look down at the boy, gently hushing him as you cupped his chubby lil cheeks. He was quick to quiet down at that, a smile growing on his tiny face as he reached up to your face.

Peter scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest childishly. "Greedy aren't you. Only wanting her attention for yourself," he grumbled at that toddler, rolling his eyes playfully before turning to you with an adorable pout, tilting his head to the side to silently ask that he wants your attention too.

That made you let out a hearty laugh, leaning in quickly to give Peter's jutted out lip a chaste kiss.

"How about we get him to sleep? That way you can have me all my attention to yourself," you offered, Peter's eyes glistening with excitement as he smiled widely.

"Sounds pretty good to me."

-:-:-:-:-

>> requests are closed! until next time <3

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